It was raining in Sandover Village, and the whole area felt nothing but gloom. Daxter was walking in the rain towards Samos's hut, where Samos, Keira, and Jak were sitting and looking outside.
"Hello Daxter." Samos said, not in the mood to yell at him for dragging mud into the hut.
"Hey Samos." Daxter said before looking around to notice someone missing. "He still hasn't returned?"
"He hasn't left that spot for three days." Keira answered.
"The three of us were about to head out to try again and see if he'd return. He'll catch his death in this weather." Samos said.
"Mind if I tag along?" Daxter said.
"No. Now, let us go." Samos said. The four of them left the hut and ventured past the Farmer's hut towards the hole in the rock wall that lead to the Forbidden Jungle. They walked through the hole, but stopped and looked to the right to see Zon sitting on the sand hugging his knees to his chest and his head down. And right in front of him was a gravestone, with an inscription etched upon it.
R.I.P
ZAL
Father and Friend
-5 days ago-
It was sunny, like usual, in Sandover Village as everyone was doing their own thing. Keira was tinkering with the A-Grav Zoomer, Samos was listening to the plants with his sagely powers, Jak, Daxter, and Zon were out exploring, and Zal was busy with an invention.
"Let's see here. Connect these wires to the Eco Canisters. Power Limiter set. Clamping mechanisms functioning perfectly. Everything's in order. Now, to test it." Zal raised his invention up to chest level with a smile before Keira walked towards him. He had been using the lower level of Samos's hut to conduct his research and to tinker with his inventions.
"What is it?" Keira asked as she looked at the invention. It looked like a piece of armor that was for the right arm with strange objects and wires running all over it.
"A new way to handle all kinds of Eco. Including Dark Eco." Zal said as he slipped it on. "Fit's like a glove. Let's see if it works." Zal and Keira went up top to show Samos the invention.
"So, according to that explanation, this contraption of yours will allow anyone who wears it to safely channel even Dark Eco?" Samo said.
"Correct." Zal said. "And who knows. We may be able to use this to find other uses for Dark Eco."
"Is it safe?" Samos asked.
"That, I'm not certain." Zal said. "But we'll never know unless we try."
"I won't stop you, but be careful." Samos said. "Just test it away from my home."
"I will." Zal said as he left towards the door. He stopped and looked back at Samos with a stern look. "And don't tell Zon. He'll offer to help. I know the dangers of this experiment, and I won't allow it to harm him. Well, I'm off." he said while waving back at them. Samos and Keira waved back, not realizing that it would be the last time they'd see him.
-2 hours later-
Jak, Daxter, and Zon were at Samos's hut, with Samos scolding the three of them for scaring the farmers Yakkows...again.
"That farmer's not getting any younger!" he said. "I'm honestly starting to think that you three like being yelled at by everyone inside the village!"
"We were just having a little fun." Daxter said.
"You drove one of the Yakkows into the Farmer's home while he was napping! Does that sound like 'a little' fun?!" Samos yelled.
"You're right. It wasn't a little fun. It was a whole lot of fun!" Zon yelled, making the three boys laugh. Samos glared at them while tapping his staff into his hand. The boys noticed and quickly stopped laughing before Zon said, "Not funny at all."
"That's right." Samos said with a smile. "And the Farmer and I have graciously talked about how long you three will be shoveling Yakkow droppings." The three boys groaned while Keira giggled. Suddenly, the sound of a massive explosion erupted through the area. Everyone in the house fell over as the resounding boom shook the whole area.
"What the heck was that?!" Daxter yelled as he quickly stood up and looked around.
"That sounded like it came from Sentinel Beach!" Keira said.
"Oh no." Samos said before he flew out of the room and towards the beach. The four children quickly ran out of the hut and towards the beach while following the villagers that were curious as well. Everyone was now running as fast as they could towards the beach, but stopped at the sight before them. The beach, once full of white sand, was now sporting a massive scorch mark. Darkened glass and bits of equipment were scattered about, with Samos standing in the center of the area. Everyone walked towards him to see what he was doing in the center.
"STOP!" Samos yelled, halting their advance. Everyone looked at the Green Sage as he stared at the body before his feet. Everyone was nervously looking at the body except for Zon, who stared with a blank face.
"Dad?" he whispered so quietly as he took a step forward. "Dad? DAD?! DAAAAAD!"
-Present-
The funeral was held 3 days ago, and Zon hadn't left his father's burial site since. People would come by and console him or bring him food, but the boy merely sat there either staring at the gravestone or at the sand. He didn't move, even as the sound of crunching sand got closer to him.
"Zon." Samos said. The boy didn't budge an inch. "It's been days now. I know it's hard, and I know you're hurting inside, but sitting there won't bring him back. And I don't know what he would be thinking right now, but I doubt he'd be happy seeing you sitting here for the rest of your life." Zon lowered his head further, his shoulders shaking as he tightly hugged himself.
"It should've worked." The four of them looked at each other, each of them uneasy about what he said. "My dad was called crazy back home, but his inventions never blew up in his face before. Why now?"
"We all know he was experimenting with Dark Eco." Samos said. "It's properties are still a mystery to us. Experiments and research with it are very dangerous. He knew the risks, and he accepted whatever the outcome was."
"It's not fair." Zon said, his voice heavy with emotion. "First my mom dies. Now my dad's gone too!" Samos walked towards him and gently placed his hand on Zon's shoulder, who looked up at him, his cheeks stained with fresh tears as they slid down his face.
"He may be gone, but as long as you remember him, a piece of him will always remain." Samos said. Zon sniffled and rubbed his eyes with her forearm before looking at his father's grave once more. "Now, let's get out of this rain." Zon stood up and placed his hands on the gravestone, whispering one final goodbye to his father, before turning and joining the others on their way back to the village.
-One Month Later-
Jak and Daxter were racing up the walkway to the Green Sage's hut before running to the lower level.
"Come on Zon. We're going fishing!" Daxter said. "I hear there's good fish this time of year."
"I'll catch up later." Zon said as he fiddled with a few devices and papers. He had spent the first two weeks moping around the hut after Samos decided to let him stay, and the last two weeks tinkering with his father's research. "Go on ahead." Jak and Daxter looked at each other before shrugging and running off, leaving Zon be. 'I'll find out what went wrong Dad. I'll continue your research. I'll discover a way to channel Dark Eco without it twisting my mind. Just wait Dad.' he thought with a smile on his face.
-Meanwhile-
Gol was angrily floating back and forth in his Citadel, a scowl upon his face as he reread a note in his hand
Leaving to conduct Dark Eco experiments.
-Maia
"If it concerns Dark Eco, why wouldn't she consult me?" he asked himself. "There must be a reason."