I was hoping for more reviews, I am still moving forward with writing this story to the best of my ability, but I would appreciate some comments. Enjoy chapter 10!


Ch10: Temple Tests

"Spyro!"

"Cynder!" he replied back with welcome relief. The two dragons ran to each other and enveloped each other in a loving nuzzle. No matter how far each of them seemed to stream across space, they would always find their way back to each other. That fact alone was known to both of them, for eternity. Sparx wanted to jump and give Spyro a hug, but figured it would be best to wait. Jak and Daxter standing behind Spyro gave a warm grin, seeing the two dragons in love reunited, though Daxter was trying to refrain from tearing up.

"Dax? Are you crying?" Jak asked him.

"No! just swallowing a lump," he replied, "A lump…of emotional baggage! WAH! It's just so beautiful! Sniff."

"Hehehe, good to see you haven't changed at all Daxter," Cynder said walking up to them, "Hi Jak."

"Hey Cyn," he greeted her.

"Hello," Daxter followed.

"Come on give me a hug," she offered opening her wings. They both welcomed it, it was a true scene of old friends reunited after past time. Jak was quick to notice that Spyro wasn't the only one who had grown since their last visit. Breaking from the hug, he told her, "You're getting bigger too? Oh man Spyro was right, you both are gonna dwarf me in coming years."

"Afraid so," she commented.

"Spyro bro!" Sparx took the moment to finally hug his brother. He squeezed his neck, causing Spyro to gag a little. "How many times have I told you to stop disappearing into mysterious otherworldly phenomena? How many?!"

"I don't know, didn't know we were keeping score," Spyro replied, "It's good to see you Sparx, and yes I'm okay."

"Good," Sparx said breaking away, "You know I'm sticking around until you learn how to stand on your own four feet."

"You? Taking care of me?"

"Hey Mom and Dad's orders, and I will not forget them," replied Sparx.

"I'll remember that," Spyro chuckled with amusement, his brother could be a mother hen at times.

"Hey glowboy! You gonna give him a bottle and a blanket?" yelled Daxter. Sparx immediately buzzed over in front of Daxter face to face again.

"I don't recall asking your opinion fuzzball! What about you? Still picking up after Jak?" Sparx argued with his old rival.

"I'll have you know I'm the only reason he's still around! So stuff it!" Daxter yelled back.

"Oh I'll stuff it! And I'll mount it on a wall!" Sparx retaliated.

"That's it!" The two sidekicks lunged at each other to attack, only for Jak and Cynder to catch both of them before they reached each other. They both wore the same look, it said 'Same old same old.'

"You know, we were hoping some time and distance would make you too behave a little more maturely toward each other," commented Jak.

"And boy were we wrong," added Cynder.

"What in the world is this?" the additional voice caused all of them to turn toward the door again. Calidan was standing there, completely befuddled with what he just saw. He literally didn't have a clue at what he had just gotten himself into.

"You guys have to be the strangest dysfunctional family I have ever seen," he said.

"You haven't seen strange yet mack," Daxter told him.

"Who is he?" Cynder asked Jak.

"A tag-along," replied Jak, "and he's going to stay that way until further notice."

"Further notice? Didn't know I was under a restraining order?" retorted Calidan.

"Consider it established, I still have no idea what your game is, and I will find out," said Jak.

"The only game I'm interested in playing is the one that will feed me some answers," said Calidan.

To acquire the right answers, one must ask the right questions young one.

Everyone was silenced, all except Calidan were now looking toward the Precursor statue. "Who was that? Is there someone else here?" he kept looking around until he saw that everyone else was looking toward the statue. He was awestruck, the only thing that could make sense was… "You…you're a Precursor?"

Young warriors you have traversed much to all come together here, at the site where a powerful alliance will take place, for the fate of all that breathes freedom hangs in the balance.

"Hangs in the balance? What are you talking about?" asked Spyro.

An ancient powerful force is brooding, and it has already set its sight on this planet, and I fear more will come soon.

Everyone was baffled by what they were just told, but they knew it had to be something heavy to capture the attention of a Precursor, and the had to wonder, what was it?

"Okay, enough with the cryptic mythical talk, lay it down straight, and no more riddles because my head already hurts too much from the other ones," said Daxter.

"I'm with the furry rat on this one," added Calidan, who Daxter winced at what he called him, "give it to us straight, what is coming here? Who are these creatures named Spyro and Cynder? And what do they have to do with what is going on?"

The answers you seek lie in a link between our two worlds, one that began half a millennia ago, and has resurfaced after centuries apart.

"He's right," Spyro told Calidan, "We came here to this world before over a year ago, and when we arrived we learned of a dragon, our species, called the Dragon Father, who formed an alliance with the Precursors to save their treasures from the Metalhead leader Kor, by creating a link between these two planets."

"Dragons huh? And you guys have come here before? Why didn't anyone remember until now?"

"Because the alliance was made centuries before any of us were born or could remember," answered Jak, "if there was any recorded history, it was well hidden or destroyed."

Well hidden indeed great warrior, for the records of the precursors chronicle all of time and space, there are so many stories you have yet to be told, but there is only one that matters right now. For while the alliance made between the dragons and the precursors saved many valued treasures and forged an ancient alliance that has dulled with time, it may be our only hope of stopping the one threat that predates it before.

Everyone was stumped, and shocked at the same time, from what the Precursor was telling them, something was coming that seemed to predate the metalhead threat they had just taken on. Spyro and Cynder had learned that the original home planet of the dragons was destroyed by the metalhead legion, though they were never told of any other threats that were just as dangerous. Jak was wondering what it could be himself, if it was something that had the Precursors worried, he knew it must be serious. Calidan was slowly trying to comprehend everything he had been told, it was all coming at him at once.

"Predates? You mean before the metalheads?" asked Spyro.

Indeed young one, look above and bear witness to the coming of evil.

There was a low rumble, and then just behind the statue, something was protruding from the center of the complex. It looked like a giant glass sphere, held in place by four protruding fingers. When it had neared the ceiling, it stopped, all eyes below gazed at it. There was eerie shimmering glow coming from inside it, but soon form took shape, and they could see what appeared to be a shining purple star.

"The Day Star," exclaimed Calidan. His response baffled Jak, who turned around to him.

"You know its name? I thought only the monks knew," said Jak.

"I've heard some of their tales as they scavenged for artifacts near my desert homestead, though I never learned anything else."

"What is it really?" asked Spyro.

"Do we wanna know?" Sparx asked him fearfully.

Behold young ones...

The image appeared to zoom in on the star, and a peculiar shape came into place. It looked like some kind of dark seed, the size of a spaceship, though it appeared to have appendages branching out from its body, and its color was an eerie dark purple.

The seed of our destruction.

"What is it?" asked Cynder.

"It looks like some kind of…spaceship," exclaimed Jak.

"What's a spaceship?" asked Spyro.

"Uh, a ship that travels through space," said Calidan who had finally walked up to join the group, who felt like he was stating the obvious, "you don't know about spaceships?"

"Dude," said Sparx flying in his face, "we hardly know anything about this crazy world you call home, so don't go smart-mouthing." Calidan just shook his head while the Precursor continued...

We Precursors built many worlds across the universe, shaping them with eco into something good, and even forging new alliances with several species. All in order to work toward a universe of peace and equality for all, but we were foolish, the Dark Makers were once Precursors...

Focus turned toward the star again

But their exposure to dark eco changed them, they began twisting worlds, conquering life, and dark ages ensued. Now the dark ones have found your world, and are coming to claim it for themselves.

"Well ain't that just great," Daxter yammered, "we have yet another world threatening crisis."

"A whole race of aliens," exclaimed Spyro who was in shock, "that live only to conquer and twist planets with dark eco? Are we talking another metalhead crisis?"

"Spyro," started Jak, "I'm afraid this enemy dwarfs the metalheads by a large margin."

"I came here for answers," followed Calidan, "and I find out that the entire planet is about to be invaded? What have I gotten myself into?"

"I'm afraid this is beyond your control," Cynder answered him, "everyone is now involved in this, including us." She finished looking toward Spyro, who was feeling more concerned than ever. They turned toward the viewing globe again, only to see what appeared to be a pair of giant orange colored cannons.

There is but one hope left, you will find a planetary defense system hidden deep at the core of the planet, there is still a chance to save your world, and you all must prepare yourselves vigilantly and become armed with as much strength as you can muster, young warrior step forward.

Everyone looked toward Jak, who noticed that all eyes were on him, and decided to follow along and stepped toward the front of the group.

Now is the time for your new powers to be tested, and undergo the training required to master them. Be warned, these tests will be difficult, and it will take a strong will to overcome them.

"Let's go then," said Jak.

Your friends must step back, for this is your trial, and yours alone.

Jak in response nodded to his friends, who responded by stepping back near the door they had just entered from. As soon as they did, they heard the sound of a low hum, something was coming from below the statues, out of the abyss they were mounted from. The entities soon made themselves known, they appeared to be levitating nodes of white energy and their sounding hum appeared to growing louder. Suddenly, the unexpected happened, and they both fired lightning bolts of white energy toward Jak which enveloped him! Daxter was thrown off!

"JAK!" cried Spyro and Cynder. Daxter shook the stars from his head, and turned in horror to see his best friend having the life shocked out of him.

"Jak! Get out of there! Its gonna kill you!" Daxter shouted.

Jak couldn't hear him, the bolts of energy were overloading his senses, but he took to heart at what he heard and struggled to keep his will to live strong. The agony continued for one minute while trying to yell the pain away, only to have it stopped immediately. The lightning nodes ceased expelling energy and then levitated down into the abyss from which they came. Jak's body was smoking from the attack, and he appeared to be twitching slightly, though he was sure if he tried to move, the pain would only worsen.

"What the heck was that all about?!" Sparx yelled.

"If we all have to take these tests I'll pass," said Calidan.

Look into the light and find rejuvenation hero.

Everyone stayed vigil, though still shaken from the test they were forced to watch, watching for any sign of Jak responding to what the Precursor had told him. Jak kept his eyes closed for a moment, and then opened them to reveal they were glowing a brilliant white. They something happened which stunned the watchful party. Jak suddenly started levitating in the air with his arms opened wide, and his whole body became enveloped in a brilliant blue and white glow.

"What the heck?!" asked an astonished Calidan.

"What is going on?" asked Cynder who was shocked by what she was seeing.

"This...this is what Jak talked about earlier, his new powers," explained wide eyed Spyro. Jak continued levitating for a few minutes, with his furry best friend watching from below, who was actually stunned silent for a change. Eventually he floated down to the ground again, and then the Light Rejuvenation glow dissipated from his body. Everyone was silent for a moment before Spyro asked, "Jak, are you alright?"

"Couldn't be better guys," Jak said turning around with a smirk.

Signs of relief shown over all of them, except Calidan who was still stunned silent from everything that had happened.

"That was weird," said Sparx, "but awesome! Man you are full of tricks aren't you?!"

You have passed the first trial, the light power of rejuvenation will be of great value in the future, but beware using this power, for it will also leave you vulnerable, use only when circumstances are fit.

The party was silent for a moment before Jak spoke again, "so what now?"

The first trial has been passed, but three more await, though you must be wary, though these powers may be all we have left to give, they are unlike anything you have ever experienced.

Another humming sound echoed through the chamber, immediately catching their attention. Suddenly from out of the abyss rose another set of figures, they appeared to be spinning platforms rotating faster than they could keep up, a total of 12 were counted, positioned around the full diameter of the room, and located either in conjunction with one another or adjacent to one of the platforms the statues were holding in their hands.

Through the power of eco one can wield powers few can share, including the constant measure of time. Use this power wisely, for it is not something to merely trifle with.

Jak's body became enveloped in light again, astonishing the audience behind him again. He stood still for a moment, and then by instinct he crouched down and clapped his hands together. BOOOMMM! There was an expulsion of bright light, causing the dragons, sidekicks and rogue to shield their eyes. It died down after a moment, allowing them to open again. To their shock however, Jak had vanished!

"Where'd he go?" asked Sparx.

"Jak! This whole vanishing act is really getting old!" yelled Daxter looking around.

"Spyro what happened?" asked Cynder. The purple dragon was befuddled, though something that the precursor had said seemed familiar to him.

Unbeknowst to the rest, Jak was jumping across the first set of platforms to the left of him, though they were moving slower allowing him to actually jump across safely. All this was thanks to the power the precursor told him about, the Light Flash Freeze, the ability to slow down time. With time being manipulated, he could now move faster than the platforms could spin. He made the final jump across the first set, and finally made touchdown on the first statue platform. Light dissipated from him again, ending the time manipulation. Almost immediately, the party looked to the left and saw that Jak had reappeared on the left side platform. But how? He seemed to appear completely out of nowhere!

"How'd he get over there?! He was just here!" said Calidan astonished while pointing to the step in front of them. Upon seeing what had transpired, Spyro finally came to a realization.

"Time, Time! He's slowing down time!" exclaimed Spyro.

"What? You mean like you?" said Cynder.

"Unbelievable," said Spyro.

"Say what?" exclaimed Daxter who heard Spyro.

"It's a long story," followed Sparx.

You show promise young warrior, but mastery of time is not a simple task, show me that you can use it wisely, and this trial will be pass.

Jak closed his eyes again, and concentrated, illuminating his body in light again. He clapped his hands together again and vanished from the others sight. Back in his own time reality, Jak jumped across to the next statue platform in front of the next set of spinning platforms. He started making his first jump, and made successful touchdown, and he continued to the following platform and then the next. He reached the following set of statue platforms and made contact. He then released the energy and took a respite. As he was continuing the tests, Calidan watched with awe, he had no idea what to expect next from these strangers, but they were clearly something special in the limited time he had spent with them.

'These guys have more than what they show, I wonder if sticking around would be good or bad for my health,' he thought.

Jak just finished jumping to the last set of platforms, and was about to make the final leap, with everyone watching the step in front of them waiting for him to show up. Jak made the jump, and just before he landed, the light faded and he resumed normal form. He staggered his landing, and took a deep breath, this test clearly took a lot out of him.

"You okay?" asked Spyro

"Just need to catch my breath, huff..." said Jak.

"So you can slow down time too? You and Spyro share more abilities than you know," asked Cynder.

"What?!" exclaimed Jak.

"She's right, guess we'll have to collaborate more," said Spyro.

"Fine by me," said Jak.

Be warned heroes, as I said manipulation of time is not something to be taken lightly, use it sparingly, only when circumstances demand.

Spyro nodded, he remembered being told the same thing by the Chronicler long ago. He wondered if the Chronicler and the Precursors were of similar wisdom.

This next test will be one of endurance, you must surround yourself with this form of concentrated power to deflect everything that comes at you, and when the moment is right…unleash it.

The same lightning nodes from before resurfaced again, everyone was weary from seeing them again, especially Jak. They started to hum as they gathered energy again, and also started spinning around Jak's head. Everyone stood their ground, though this was Jak's challenge, they didn't want to take any chances. The nodes continued to spin for a few seconds, and then the humming reached its peak. The lightning was released again directed toward Jak. He dodged the first two shots, and prepared for the next one. The node directly above him started charging again, and at the same time, his eyes started to glow. The energy discharged, and suddenly Jak glowed again with his hands directed up, emanating a shield which absorbed the energy. The Light Shield was big enough to encompass himself and all within three feet from him. The others stood back slightly shocked.

"Well, that's a handy trick," said Calidan.

The other node spun around and started firing at Jak as well, only to be absorbed by his shield. As the energy continued to fire, the shield seemed to glow even brighter. The watching party were taking notice.

"The shield, its absorbing the energy!" exclaimed Cynder.

Unleash it warrior, Now!

Jak's gaze turned up toward the nodes, they were still expelling energy, but his shield was still glowing brighter, until SHHOOOMMM! The concussive force blew the nodes away, and also causing the watching party to shield themselves. The glow faded from Jak's body again, as everything settled again.

"Wow, just wow," said a stunned Calidan.

"As long as I've known him, he's never been any weirder," said Daxter.

"You think I'm not freaked out myself Dax?" asked Jak, "a while ago I was still suffering from dark eco, now it seems so far away."

"Dark eco?" asked Calidan.

"I'll fill you in later," said Spyro.

Well done great warrior, your bravery and talent has served you well, though you will still require as much strength as you can muster to handle the coming threat.

As he finished speaking, a light shown from above and enveloped Jak, startling everyone, all wondering what could be waiting at the end. Although, they were slightly surprised to see Jak being suspended in the air.

Prepare to wield this final light power, one which will help you reach new places, places only in your dreams.

The light enveloping Jak grew brighter and brighter, causing everyone to shield their eyes. There was a flash before the light subsided, allowing everyone to open their eyes again. Once again, they were stunned frozen where they stood at what they saw. Jak was floating in air, but this time with large giant shining wings protruding from his back. They were slowly flapping as they kept him suspended in midair.

"No way," exclaimed a shocked Calidan.

"He's...flying," followed Cynder

"He can fly now? Unbelievable!" finished Spyro. The two sidekicks were silent with astonishment.

These wings will aid you in the coming battles ahead great warrior, but you must continue to grow in strength and spirit to acclimate them, for they are only as strong as you are.

Jak continued to sustain the Light Flight for a few moments, until he finally set down on the ground again. The light fading from his body once again, and he held his head shaking it slightly to rid himself of the fatigue. He looked up toward the statue again as it continued to speak.

Your trials are now complete great warrior, but these powers alone will not guarantee your victory, you must remember to surround yourself with those trustworthy, keep your friends close, for alliances are the only way toward universal peace.

The viewing globe atop the statues collapsed back behind them, and the glow from the eyes of the statue faded out. Jak took a few deep breaths, finally having the chance to catch them again after the tests. He turned toward his friends with a sense of recollection, that another mission was awaiting all of them just like it did last time, though he wasn't sure if they were willing to go with it again. He was sure they had had enough of adventure, like he had.

"Well everyone, looks like we have yet another cataclysmic incident on our hands, unfortunately," he told them.

"Well mark it on your calendars if this just became the most miserable day of your lives," said Daxter, "because it certainly became mine."

"Sorry," Sparx interrupted, "but are we ignoring the fact that Jak can now SHINE, ZOOM THROUGH TIME AND FLY THROUGH THE AIR NOW, or was everybody completely ignoring the show?!"

"I'm shocked to say the least," said Spyro, "you've surprised me more than ever now Jak, you might even have enough power to rival a purple dragon."

"Think so?" Jak asked with serious notion.

"No doubt, and if what the Precursor said is true, you're going to need every bit of it, as are we all," Spyro stated.

"We? We?!" yammered Daxter, "Oh no! I am well passed my patience for danger thank you, I'm going to back to the desert city, where there are feasts fit for a king! Literally, I'm going to dine with royalty! And showcase my royal etiquette putting that beakbrain to shame!"

"Enough," demanded Cynder, "Digressing the situation won't make it any better, doing something proactive will."

"Cynder is right, we just need to figure out our next move," added Spyro, "Another threat is on its way, and it needs to be stopped."

"Wow," said Jak, silencing them, "I half-expected you guys to immediately disregard everything you were just told and go home and pretend nothing happened. Aren't you tired of saving the world? Wouldn't you prefer to go home and live in peace?"

"Of course we would," said Spyro, "but the safety of everyone we care about comes first, it always will."

"He's right Jak, and that also includes our friends," added Cynder.

"Meaning you, so we're not going anywhere, not until your world is safe again," finished Spyro. Jak was never much for sentiment, but he couldn't help but feel touched that they were still willing to help them out. It was great to know that even a space wide distance between worlds couldn't tear good friends apart. He was still a little frustrated with having to save the world again, but having Spyro and Cynder here again gave him good reason to persevere, since his old friends were away in Haven fighting for their lives. He then turned his gaze to beside them, where Calidan had his head turned around, apparently deep in thought.

"Hey," Jak called to get his attention, "You still awake rogue?"

Calidan wasn't sure how to respond, but he felt all eyes were on him. They expected a response to Jak's call, but the wastelander's stoic form had them akin to wonder if he was still deciphering everything that had been told to him. He had after all come here to collect answers, and he found what he had been looking for, though now he seemed more confused than ever of what to do.

"Calidan," said Spyro. "Are you ok?

"Ok? How am I supposed to take that? The answers I came for have turned out to be a revealing that a dangerous alien spaceship is coming! One that if makes contact, it will decimate the whole planet! And I'm just a humble wastelander, all I've ever wanted is to survive and thrive out here like the old wastelanders of the stories have done! So I am feeling a bit thunderstruck with everything I have just been told!"

"We know it's a lot to take in," said Cynder, "but we've had our fair share of adverse situations, and there's always a solution."

"Yeah, but I doubt I can be of any aid, I've seen what some of you can do and I can see I'm heavily outmatched," said Calidan hesitantly.

"There's more to being a warrior than powers," explained Jak, "There was a time when I didn't have any powers at all other than what I was able to channel from eco wells."

"I've also had to ask aid from my friends on my journeys," added Spyro, "They say I'm a rare dragon that's born once for every ten generations, but that doesn't mean I can handle everything on my own."

"Sure, but what help could I be to you guys anyway? I'm just a desert man with a car, a gun and a cat," asked Calidan.

"Yeah, and I'm just a furry rat running around the desert without a pair of pants!" yammered Daxter, "but I'm stuck with this guy anyway," he said pointing to Jak, "so I'm going along with it."

Calidan gave him an annoyed look, and wondered if he should stick with these guys and see this through to the end. On the other hand, he had received the answers he came here to find, as disconcerting as what they were. Maybe he should just go back and take care of Robin, and stick to his usual routine. However, he knew deep down that wasn't an option, after hearing the Precursor's tale, going back to routine wasn't ever going to happen. Even if he did take care of Robin, it would be the same as waiting for the inevitable invasion. For the second time today, his mind was made up.

"Well, I don't know if I'm up for it," answered Calidan, "but I have someone to look after too, and I can't do that with the planet in jeopardy."

"So you are with us?" asked Spyro.

"I am."

"Welcome to the team, I'm Cynder," said Cynder happily.

"Yeah welcome to the club," added Sparx. "The looney heroes club that is," he whispered to himself.


So the team has gained a new member, just wait because the adventure is just beginning!