Chapter 8: Mountain Pass and Volcanic Crater

Jak looked at the monster… and the monster looked back at him. Then Jak jumped onto a rock platform that was floating above a large pool of magma. The monster roared and began to launch flaming boulders at Jak with this weird gun arm. Jak quickly acted and continuously jumped across all of the rock platforms that were available to him. Then, the monster dived into the magma and Jak took in a cluster of blue eco that suddenly appeared. This caused a bridge to be made and the monster got out of the Magma. At the end of the bridge, there were two clusters of yellow eco.

Daxter: "Jak, get that yellow eco and fire away; I think the monster's about to do something big!"

Jak got on the bridge and began to make his way over to those clusters. As he did so, he had to avoid more flaming boulders from the monster. Once Jak got to the clusters of yellow eco and took them in, the monster started to create a colossal boulder.

Daxter: "Jak, fire at it; don't let it do its thing!"

Jak did just that and fired shot after shot at the monster. The monster jerked around a little until it couldn't hold the boulder up anymore. The boulder then fell on the monster's head, and the monster itself fell into the magma. From there, the boulder was launched to the end of the bridge as Jak avoided it. Then, it began to chase him down until Jak safely got back on one of the rock platforms. After that, the monster came back up from the magma.

Daxter: "Ugh, looks like we'll have to repeat that whole process, Jak…"

And Daxter ended up being right. Jak went through the same thing twice over again, only with less and less parts of the bridge to work with. After making a third boulder bonk the monster's head… the monster went down. And with the defeat of the monster, a power cell appeared next to Jak. He picked it up, then he and Daxter did a victory dance together before they both pocketed it. *power cell no. 78* More platforms emerged from the magma in front of the duo, and the communicator appeared to them. Keira's voice came from it as this happened.

Keira: "Great work! The people of Rock Village are breathing a collective sigh of relief. But there's no time to celebrate. Use the zoomer to navigate the Mountain Pass up ahead. Be careful, it looks like the lurkers have rigged the whole pass with explosives. When you reach the Volcanic Crater, visit the Red Sage's lab and activate the warp gate so that the rest of us can join you."

The communicator went away and Jak went across the newly emerged platforms to reach the Mountain Pass. Once he and Daxter got to where they can see the zoomer, a few flying lurkers appeared and laughed before flying away. The communicator came back with Keira's voice as soon as that happened.

Keira: "Oh my! Those lurkers must be headed for a detonator at the end of the canyon! If they reach it before you do they'll blow up the entire pass! You gotta beat them there and destroy the detonator, or it's all over!"

The communicator disappeared again and Jak quickly got on the zoomer. From there, he began to drive it. Jak went straight for a bit, then went right and jumped off from a ramp. He collected a few Precursor orbs as he did that. Then, he landed and took a slight left to where the first scout fly was at. He freed it and continued going left. This took him to where the second scout fly was at. He freed it and kept going forward.

He then jumped off a couple of ramps to collect several more orbs, and the second of those ramps led to him freeing the third scout fly. He collected some more orbs, and took a cluster of blue eco. Jak turned the zoomer a bit to the right, got more orbs, then jumped off a thin ramp to reach another part of the Mountain Pass. There, he immediately freed the fourth scout fly and continued going forward.

Then, he went through a blue eco vent and entered a cave, where he smashed through a Precursor orb crate. Jak began to turn right a lot as he came across and freed the fifth scout fly. After doing that, he smashed through another Precursor orb crate and passed through three more blue eco vents, in quick succession. He used the extra speed to get to the sixth scout fly and free it.

Then, he jumped over a short gap and collected some more orbs in the process. This caused a power cell to appear in Jak's hands, which he immediately pocketed. *power cell no. 79* After that, he freed the seventh scout fly, which nabbed him another power cell. He looked at it for a second, then pocketed it. *power cell no. 80* And then, he smashed the zoomer into a lurker that was setting up the detonator.

Daxter: "We did it! We stopped them from blowing up the pass!"

As Daxter said that, Jak drove up to the pad at the end of the pass and got a power cell that was resting there. He and Daxter did a bit of dance together before the latter pocketed the power cell for the former. Jak then got off the zoomer and the communicator appeared before him again. Keira's voice came out of it, and she said…

Keira: "Good work! You beat them to the detonator! The red sage's lab is just up ahead. Go turn on the warp gate so we all can join you guys."

The communicator went away and Jak walked forward. This led him to the Volcanic Crater and he saw what seemed to be the red sage's lab. He walked over a bridge and entered the lab to activate the warp gate. Once he pressed the button, everyone else started to come through the warp gate. Samos arrived first and his head landed on the floor.

Samos: "Ow! I always wonder if I'm losing body parts in those things!"

Following him, came the girls and Klug. All four girls landed okay, but Klug fell to the floor.

Klug: "Ow! Ugh… Now I know what you mean when you said that these warp gates were wonky, Samos…"

The group looked at the state of the red sage's lab, and…

Lidelle: "G-guys… this place…"

Samos: "Holy yakow! The red sage's lab looks worse than the blue's!"

Raffina: "Just… what happened here?"

Keira: "Well... it looks like there's been some kind of struggle here."

After Keira said that, a figure suddenly came in from above and he began to speak.

?: "*chuckle* I'd hardly consider that to be a "struggle"... would you, dear sister?"

As he said that, another figure came down, made herself known, and said…

?: "Certainly not. The red sage gave up with so little effort; no fun at all."

Samos looked at the guy above and he recognized him.

Samos: "Gol? Is that you? You've finally gone off the deep end, eh? And Maia, I told you the dark eco would affect you both! *grunt* Nobody ever listens to old Samos... What have you two done with the blue and red sages?!"

When Samos said that: Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, and Klug's eyes all widened in shock.

Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, and Klug: "...?!"

Gol: "Don't worry about your colorful friends, you old fool. They're perfectly safe in our citadel... as our special guests."

Maia: "They have graciously agreed to help us on a little "project"."

Gol: "You were wrong, Samos. Dark eco can be controlled. We've learned its secrets… and now we can re-shape the world to our liking!"

Samos: "You can't control dark eco by itself! Even the Precursors couldn't-"

Maia: "Until now, we've had to scrape by with what little dark eco we could find near the surface. But soon, we will have access to the vast stores of dark eco hidden deep underground."

Samos: "*gasp* Not the silos!"

Gol: "Yes, the silos... They will be opened, and all the dark eco of the world will be ours!"

Samos: "But that's impossible! Only a Precursor robot-"

Maia: "Oh, don't look so upset, Samos. We've got big plans for you... Hahahahahahaha!"

Gol and Maia disappeared and Daxter decided to chime in.

Daxter: "Wait a minute! THAT was Gol?! The same Gol who's supposed to change me back?!"

Klug: "HE'S the person that can take us back to our world?!"

Raffina: "And he's trying to kill us?!"

Raffina, Klug, and Daxter then looked down to the floor and said in unison...

Raffina, Klug, and Daxter: "We're doomed…"

Samos: "This whole WORLD may be doomed at this rate! If they open the silos, the dark eco will twist and destroy everything it touches! We must get to their citadel and stop them!"

Keira: "The fastest way there is through the Lava Tube at the bottom of this crater. A few more power cells and the zoomer's heat shield should be strong enough to allow you to cross the lava safely."

Samos: "All right, children: You know what to do! Take the fleabag and go round up more power cells. Uh, after you all quickly bathe at the nearby hot springs here, that is…"

Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, and Klug: "R-right, we'll bathe right now and get it done quick!"

Daxter: "Hmm… I would like a quick dip in those hot springs, too…"

And so… Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Klug, Jak, and Daxter all took some time to bathe. After they were finished they went back to the red sage's lab and went up to Samos. Then, the green sage began to speak.

Samos: "Great balls of eco! There seems to be a large lurker presence in Spider Cave!"

Daxter: "Great. Sounds like a real cheery place. Let me guess... there are spiders in Spider Cave, right?!"

Samos: "Of course there are spiders in Spider Cave! But that's the least of your problems! The lurkers are after crystals of concentrated dark eco. You've got to destroy the crystals before those monsters get their hands on them! To get to Spider Cave: Use one of the minecarts that's rolling around the Volcanic Crater; it should take you straight to the entrance. So hop to it, children! … Except for you, Klug. Stay here."

Klug: "O-of course."

And so, Klug stayed right by Samos and the others walked up the Keira. Then, she faced them and said...

Keira: "Hey guys! Keep collecting power cells, they're the key to continuing our journey north."

And then… Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, Jak, and Daxter all left the lab and proceeded to free all of the scout flies and collect all of the Precursor orbs in the Volcanic Crater. Eventually, Raffina collected all fifty orbs there and a power cell appeared in her hands. She then laughed for a bit before pocketing the thing. *power cell no. 81* And then, at another part of the Volcanic Crater… Lidelle freed the final scout fly and a power cell appeared in her hands. She twirled around a bit and smiled before pocketing it. *power cell no. 82* After that was done, the group met back up and the communicator appeared before them. Keira's voice came from it, and she said…

Keira: "Guys, according to my calculations: It's going to take one hundred power cells to fuel the heat shield against the lava on the way to Gol and Maia's citadel. You guys are almost up to that number, but not quite. So get the power cells that you can and then come to the Lava Tube."

The communicator then went away and Raffina sighed.

Raffina: "*sigh* Why am I not surprised?"

After she said that, the whole group saw two miners pick away. They all decided to go and talk to them.

Amitie: "Um, hello there."

Willard: "Hmm? Hey, Gordy! Duh, I think we got visitors!"

Gordy: "Ya think, Willard? Howdy, strangers. Uh, passin' through? U-us too! Well, we gotta be movin' on, nothin' to see here!"

Willard: "Duh, I thought you said this was a "priceless gem" worth-"

Gordy: "WILLARD!"

Daxter: "Actually, we want power cells, not gems."

Willard: "We got four of 'em! Duh, you want 'em?"

Gordy: "What bird-brain here is trying to say is: We "may" have a few power cells laying around, and we might be willing to part with them for... ninety orbs each!"

Daxter: "Where have I heard that before? Hey, how do you two geniuses expect to get that big gem out of here, anyway?"

Gordy: "Well, smarty-pants: We got twelve more years of diggin' to figure that out!"

Willard: "Uh, Gordy? Wouldn't it take less time if you dug too?"

Gordy gave Willard a glare and the group didn't know what to make of all of this. They began to whisper to each other.

Raffina: "They have four power cells? But we have to exchange ninety orbs for each of them… Isn't that a little much?"

Daxter: "Eh, we've been giving other people ninety orbs for a power cell that they had since we started this adventure. It's not a ton, Raffina. And… I think we actually have enough to get all four of their power cells right now."

Amitie: "Huh? We do?"

Raffina: "... Do we actually? … … Oh-! We do! Well, what are we waiting for?! Let's give them a total of… … Three hundred and sixty orbs!"

And so… Amitie, Raffina, Lidelle, and Jak handed the miners ninety Precursor orbs each and…

Gourdy: "Oh, all right! Here are the power cells for all those orbs of yours."

Gourdy handed all four power cells to the group, giving one of them to Jak, and one each to the girls. From there, the group (and Daxter) did a dance together before they all pocketed the power cells that they were given. *power cell numbers 83, 84, 85, and 86* And then Gordy spoke again.

Gourdy: "While you're here, why don't you make yourselves useful? Lurkers have been excavatin' the dark caves over there. Seems they're looking for Precursor artifacts. They can have the artifacts for all I care!"

Willard: "For all we care!"

Gourdy: "Willard, feed your bird; all I care about are gems! But I ain't gonna be able to get the cave's gems! 'Cause when they're through, they're gonna collapse the place! If you take out the lurkers chewin' at the support beams, you could save the cave for me! Now beat it!"

After Gourdy said that, the group walked away from the miners and they talked among themselves.

Raffina: "It sounds like we have a couple of things to do in Spider Cave…"

Lidelle: "B-but… I don't want to go into a place that's full of spiders…"

Amitie: "M-me neither… Spiders are so creepy!"

Lidelle: "Th-those hairy legs…"

Amitie: "Those beady eyes that they have…"

Daxter: "And those terrifying fangs!"

Raffina: "Oh, get a grip, you three! *sigh* Fine. If you guys don't want to go into Spider Cave, then I'll go. But…! The rest of you better do something productive while I'm gone!"

Amitie, Lidelle, and Daxter: "O-okay."

Raffina then left for Spider Cave, leaving the others behind. They wondered what they should do in the meantime, and then… the communicator appeared and Keira's voice came from it.

Keira: "Is Raffina going into Spider Cave alone?"

Lidelle: "Y-yes, she is…"

Keira: "Why aren't you guys going in there with her?"

Amitie: "Because the rest of us were too scared to go in there... Spiders are too creepy and now we don't really have much to do..."

Keira: "Oh, that shouldn't be a problem. There might be something for you to do high up in the mountain."

Daxter: "Uh… High up?"

Keira: "Yeah! There's a gondola in the Volcanic Crater that you can take to Snowy Mountain. It looks like you guys can grab some power cells while you're there."

Amitie: "Really?! This is great! We have something to do now! Thanks, Keira!"

As Amitie said that, Daxter growled in annoyance. He didn't want to do any extra work when this could have been free time for him.

Keira: "No problem, Amitie. Anyway, I'll be going now, guys. I might have to help Raffina a bit with the communicator, since she's going in Spider Cave alone."

Amitie: "Okay! Bye!"

The communicator disappeared as Amitie closed her eyes and began to smile.

Daxter: "You just HAD to answer that question, Amitie… Great! Now I have to collect even more stuff with Jak on that snow-covered rock! It could have been totally glossed over, but noooo! *growl*"

Amitie: "Oh, come on, it'll be fun! I love snow!"

Daxter: "Maybe you love snow, but uh… I DON'T! Jak, let's have the two girls go there. And in the meantime… how about we take another dip in the hot springs?"

After Daxter said that, Jak gave him a look of disapproval. And then…

Daxter: "... … Oh, alright! We're going to Snowy Mountain, too…"

Amitie: "Yay! Thanks, Daxter!"

Amitie took Daxter and squeezed him tight. The furball was being crushed by her arms and he flailed about.

Daxter: "Ack-! L-let me go…! You're crushing me again, Amitie…!"

Amitie: "O-oh, sorry. Ehehehehe…"

And so… Amitie, Lidelle, Jak, and Daxter went on the gondola that Keira mentioned, and they were taken to Snowy Mountain…


Author's Notes: You guys are now probably cheering: "Yes! More stuff related to the overall plot!". Uh, yeah, we sure did get through more plot-related things in this chapter. There was the appearance of Gol and Maia in the red sage's lab… and what they both said to Samos. To put it simply: Jak's world is about to be destroyed. It's only a matter of time before Gol and Maia open up the silos and take all of the dark eco of the world for themselves. Our heroes HAVE to stop them before they can do that. However, they still need to collect some power cells before they're able to travel through the Lava Tube and reach Gol and Maia's citadel. In order to do that: They need to collect power cells from around the area.

The group has already collected six power cells from the Volcanic Crater alone, and now... the group has split up somewhat. Raffina went into Spider Cave alone to get important things done. And as for the others: They heard from Keira that they could go to Snowy Mountain by having a gondola take them there, and collect some power cells. This means we now have two more locations to cover before going into the Lava Tube. With that said, our heroes have so far collected a total of 86 power cells, 84 scout flies, and 1650 Precursor orbs. And, with that in mind… Raffina is about to enter Spider Cave and destroy a lot of dark eco crystals. What will happen when she gets there? Can she stop the lurkers from harvesting those dark eco crystals while she's on her own? And what of Amitie and the others? Next chapter, Chapter 9: Spider Cave and Snowy Mountain.