Jak and Ashelin walked together along the twilit forest path, heading for the hill at the island's centre where the hidden Precursor relic lay. Ashelin looked up at the tree canopies passing by overhead, and was immediately reminded of a few nights back, when she had gone for her special midnight swim in the bathing lake. Ironically, it was because of that little excursion, indirectly and purely by accident of course, that the island's hidden Precursor object had been discovered in the first place. She still had not told any of the others about that, however, keeping it to herself out of embarrassment. In fact, she had considered visiting the lake again tonight for another secret swim, until she became distracted by the stars out on the beach, and then Jak had turned up, telling her about the strange dream that he had experienced. It still puzzled them both, but they were not talking about it now, however. They had other things on their mind: an ancient mystery that needed unravelling.
Very soon, the two of them broke out of the shadows and stood in the clearing. Ashelin looked up at what had once been a tall, grass-covered hill, and her mouth dropped open at the sight of what had now become of it. An intact dome-shaped Precursor monument, perfectly matching the hill's original size and shape, now loomed over her. The green light of night gave it an eerie and ghostly colour, and it seemed to sparkle in the starlight, like a pristine jewel at the island's heart. Its sides were clean and smooth save for the spherical decoration they had originally uncovered, and there were more around the sides, the only features on its otherwise blank façade. Only one layer of earth still crowned the very summit, keeping the berry bush rooted and alive.
"Wow," said Ashelin, taking a good look at it and stepping closer with Jak. "I never thought it would take up the entire hill!"
Jak nodded proudly. He and Olto had been working hard to uncover it over the previous days, working mainly in the mornings and evenings when it was not too hot, and he was pleased with the progress that had been made.
"Well, it actually never was a hill, really," he said. "This thing's been here all along. The grass just grew over it."
"It sure looks pretty," said Ashelin, standing within touching distance of its base. She placed her palm against its surface and moved her hand across it. "It's warm."
"Yeah, Precursor metal's like that," Jak explained knowledgeably. "It's like it contains some kind of energy. With eco you can tap into it."
Ashelin withdrew her hand, and could feel a tingle lasting for about a second after. "So what do you know about this so far?"
"Really not a lot," Jak admitted. "I can't remember ever finding something exactly like this before. Usually there's at least some kind of obvious switch or button somewhere that does something, or you need a bit of eco to get it running. Blue works best. If we had some here I could channel, that might get us somewhere."
"My gun's powered by eco," said Ashelin. "Should I go get it?"
Jak shook his head. "Wouldn't work. I'm not talking about small amounts like that. I'd need a lot more." He walked a short distance around the dome, before coming to a stop by one of the spherical shapes that were embedded into its sides. "But I think these have got to be for something," he said, leaning forward on one foot against the metal slope to get a closer look.
Ashelin joined him at his side, studying the protrusion. "Have you worked out what the words around it mean yet?"
"No, I can't understand them," said Jak. "Some of these letters I've never even seen before. It's a shame because they probably tell us exactly what we need to do with it."
Ashelin looked a little past him to the next one. There appeared to be four in total, one for each quarter of the dome. If a line could be drawn from each of them into the dome, they would probably meet exactly in the middle. "Do you think they could be compass points?" she suggested, taking note of the even spacing between all four.
Jak considered this; it sounded like a sensible idea based on what he could see. "Possibly. But which is which?"
In order to work this out, he guessed he would have to stand on the very top and watch where the sun rose and set every day. That way, he could at least roughly estimate which way was east and west. Was this structure a giant navigational instrument then? Some kind of orientation platform? Could it even possibly direct them home somehow?
"What's at the top?" Ashelin then asked, looking to the summit and the crown of earth it still bore.
"Don't know," said Jak, looking up too. "It's the only part we haven't dug up yet."
He stopped thoughtfully. He and Olto had purposefully left the top layer of soil in place, for now at least, so as not to sacrifice the reliable source of food that the berry bush provided.
"But maybe there is something up there though. If there's a switch or anything, that's where I'd bet it'd be..."
"Shall we climb up and have little look then?" suggested Ashelin. "Can't be much harm in taking off just a little bit of the dirt. One corner maybe?"
"Sure," said Jak, impressed by Ashelin's intuition. "You're pretty good at this, Ashelin. If you weren't running the city, you'd make a good researcher."
Ashelin smiled humbly. As far as she was aware, she was just applying her common sense to what she could see and observe. "Well, I don't have the same knowledge about this as you do," she said, trying to be modest.
"But you're asking a lot of good questions," Jak said, smiling back. Surprising enough as it was, he was beginning to see a little bit of Keira in her, even though the two women were very different characters. "I guess we can take off a bit of the soil from the top then. Follow me up, but climb carefully. This thing's kind of slippery."
Of course, Ashelin did not need reminding about this, but Jak was right. While he could scramble up with relative ease in his bare feet — having spent most of his childhood climbing all over Precursor metal just like this — Ashelin was finding it difficult to get a sure grip, even in her worn but still rugged boots. It was like a slide from a child's playground. To help her, she placed one foot onto the nearest spherical protrusion as an initial foothold, allowing her to make a slight start on the ascent. But then her foot unexpectedly slipped off, and she sprawled across the metal with a pained groan.
"You OK?" Jak called down.
"Yeah, I'm not hurt," Ashelin called back, a little embarrassedly. She had no luck whatsoever when it came to climbing this thing, but at least this time there was no horrible wet mud to fall into. "But I might need some help getting up here."
Jak slid back down to lend a hand, but when he reached her, he noticed that the sphere she had used as a foothold seemed to have shifted a little. "Hang on. Look at this."
He slid all the way down and took position in front of the sphere, observing it closely. In the dark, he could make out a shape that had become half-revealed on its surface, a kind of indentation. He placed both hands on it, and found that it had become slightly loose, and now turned stiffly in its socket.
"It moves!"
"Oh wow," said Ashelin. "Huh, I must have dislodged it with my foot when I slipped."
Jak used his strength to rotate the sphere further so that all of the indentation could be revealed. It was hard work; this sphere had clearly not been moved for a long time, or it was not meant to be turned manually. It shuddered with each push, and flakes of dry mud were shaken free from the edges and its inner workings as he turned it around. But soon, he had rotated it so that its inner face was now looking outwards, and it sort of locked into place and would budge no more. On its newly exposed face was a shape that looked curiously like a handprint.
"Now this looks like something!" said Jak excitedly.
Following his instinct, he pressed his hand cautiously into the print, and he felt the familiar warmth from the metal flow into him, vibrating under his palm. Now he knew he was really onto something. When he pressed down harder, the sphere sank an inch lower into its socket, and the words around the rim sparked and flickered momentarily with blue light. Jak's eyes shone with a similar luminance of discovery, but then the sphere resisted and stopped moving, like it had hit something, and pushed back into its original position, and the lights went out again. Jak creased his eyebrows in thought.
"Did you see that?" said Ashelin. "What's it doing?"
Jak tried again, and the same thing happened. "This has to be a way to activate it," he said. "But it's not working."
"Do you think the other ones might turn around too?" proposed Ashelin.
Jak's face hopefully brightened again. Ashelin had made yet another good idea. "Very probably," he said, feeling all the more admiration for her. "Let's check them."
They both set off around the hill in opposite directions to the other three spheres, and tried to rotate them around too. They each proved initially difficult to shift, just like the first, but by applying enough strength or a well-placed kick, they were able to eventually dislodge them from their stuck positions, and turned them all around. Ashelin had been right: all three of the others revealed a similar handprint shape too, and Ashelin and Jak met at the last, their hands quite raw after their efforts, to establish what it meant.
"I think we're nearly there," said Jak, feeling more excited by the minute. "Let's try pressing the handprints again."
They went around together and each lay their hands in place one by one, and again, the letterings lit up fleetingly at the touch, but nothing more. By experimenting further, they attempted pressing two at once, and this yielded a more promising result: the letterings stayed alight for a fraction longer, but still, they went out again and the spheres shunted back into place.
"I think I see how this works," Jak called to Ashelin from the other side of the dome. "I think all four need to be pressed at the same time."
"That means we all need to be here, then," said Ashelin. "You, me, Torn and Olto."
They regrouped at the front of the dome, sharing an excited smile.
"Shall we go get them?" asked Ashelin.
Jak looked back through the forest pathway, back towards the camp. "No, let's wait till morning."
"Oh, yeah," said Ashelin, understanding. "They probably won't like being woken up in the middle of the night just for this."
"Well, Olto might not mind," said Jak mischievously. "He's quite interested in this. But Torn..."
"Hmm, you're right, that'll only make him grumpy. Guess we've got a few hours to kill then."
Jak was consumed with feverish excitement, feeling ever closer to finding out what this dome really was, but he could wait a few more hours. Ashelin shared his anticipation, and was actually quite surprised by how much it was affecting her as well. She had never really cared much for Precursor history back in Haven, but it turned out that she had a natural fortune for it, and now that she had personally discovered something herself, she felt much more a part of it all. This was turning out to be a very interesting night.
To pass the remaining hours until dawn, they sat together on the dome's summit, snacking on berries, chatting and watching the stars continue on their slow course through the sky, a sight that kept Ashelin serenely mesmerised. A gentle wind blew over the tree-tops, sending a pleasant chill to their vantage point on the dome. Soon, the stars began to fade out, and colour returned to the sky. It lightened from a deep nocturnal blue to a dim dawn red, passing through the magenta states in between.
"You know," said Ashelin philosophically just before sunrise, "We've been through a lot here, haven't we? When we get back home, I don't think I'm going to be the same person."
"Me too," said Jak, understanding what she meant. This had certainly been his most challenging adventure to date. Though he had lived through many more dangerous encounters in his past, he had almost always had help or support from his friends then, but this time, his friends were just as helpless as he was. But most of all, his closest companion who had been with him through every one of those past adventures was now gone, likely lost forever. He doubted he would ever fully get over Daxter's loss, and he already felt himself forming closer bonds with those who were still around him, especially Ashelin sitting beside him now.
He looked at her furtively, taking the time to admire her in the growing daylight. It didn't feel long at all until the first sunbeams began to glow on the horizon, streaking golden paths across the cloudless sky, and glimmering upon the ocean.
"Hey, the sun's starting to come up," Jak said, nudging Ashelin in the arm.
They sat back to watch the natural spectacle unfold. For a few minutes, there were both stars and sunlight in the sky together, but as the brightness grew with the rising sun, the greater light obscured all others.
"This is amazing," said Ashelin in peaceful awe.
Jak smiled pleasantly, feeling such a familiar resurgence of happiness, amplified by having someone new to share it with. "Back home, in my old village," he said fondly, "Daxter, Keira and I used to get up extra early in the summer sometimes just to watch the sunrises. This is just how they used to be."
Ashelin took her eyes off the beautiful sight for a moment. "You miss it, huh? Bet it was nice."
Jak nodded. "It was. But this place... it reminds me a little of home. Still, I bet the sunrises from the top of the palace were a show, huh?"
"Uh, I never really paid it any attention, to be honest," said Ashelin. "Wish I did now, though."
They sat there together for longer, as the sun climbed higher and life returned to the island, bathing it in light and warmth. Soon, all the stars had disappeared, and the day had arrived.
"Alright, what do you say we head back to camp now?" said Jak. "Torn and Olto will probably be up soon."
The two of them descended to ground level, enjoying the quick slide down the dome, and returned along the forest path, emerging at their campsite. While there, they prepared some breakfast, and it was not long before Torn and Olto were drawn out by the smell of cooked fish. Over the food, Jak told them both about the breakthrough they had made at the dome, and how it would require all of them to activate it.
"Ah, I thought those lumps couldn't be just for decoration," said Olto interestedly. "It's about time we knew what that thing was. I'm all for it."
Torn was less enthusiastic, preferring as always to focus work on the new raft, and he took more persuading. He still had his misgivings about this mysterious dome. "So you're sure about this, Jak?" he asked.
"It's gotta be," Jak said eagerly, "But it needs all four of us to do it."
"Yeah, but then what?" asked Torn sceptically. "Have you thought about what it might actually do once we activate it? We don't know what this thing is."
"We'll just have to wait and see, won't we?" said Jak, flashing a reckless, excitable grin. "That's all part of the discovery."
"And you're sure it's nothing dangerous?" Torn persisted warily.
"I'm pretty sure it'll be safe," said Jak. "But if anything goes wrong, I'll try and handle it. Trust me."
Torn was still not fully convinced or satisfied about this, but then he caught the goading look that Ashelin was giving him. She too had been just as cautious about this Precursor object as he was, especially when they had first discovered it, but her doubtfulness now seemed to have evaporated overnight. He knew he could trust her judgements, and she trusted Jak's, so he eventually relented.
"Alright, I'll come along," he said. Hopefully it would not take too long anyway, and then he could return to more important work afterwards.
A few minutes later, they all emerged at the foot of the dome, now gleaming in the early sunlight, and Jak wasted no time in organising them all. "Alright, pick a sphere, everyone!"
He and Ashelin moved around to the other side of the hill, standing before the spheres on the far side. Olto needed no further encouragement, and stepped up next to the one on the front right, peering intently at the hand-shaped imprint in the metal.
"You're right, it does look like a hand," he said with intrigue and mild humour. "Why didn't we think of moving them before?"
The last one was for Torn, and he approached slowly, still questioning with himself if this was really a sensible thing to do. But he put his faith in Jak and his knowledge of such things, and prepared himself for the unknown.
Meanwhile, Jak was buzzing with the anticipation of imminent discovery, his hand hovering over the palm print. Now they would see if he was right. "Everyone ready?" he called.
"Ready!" answered everyone else, and they held their hands in position too.
"OK!" said Jak. "Three, two, one, now!"
As one, they each pressed their hands down into the imprints and pushed. The letterings around the rims all flashed into life again, and the spheres vibrated beneath their fingers with a deep hum and sank deeper into their sockets. Olto's eyes lit up like a child's, and even Torn momentarily forgot his worries as he succumbed to fascination.
But then suddenly, from somewhere there was a muffled thud, which seemed to halt everything. The vibrations stopped, the hum ceased, the letters extinguished again, and the spheres juddered back into their original positions. Jak's excitement and sense of promise was dealt a heavy punch to the stomach.
"What happened?" asked Olto from the other side of the hill.
"Is that it?" asked Torn, withdrawing his hand uncertainly.
"Jak?" said Ashelin, looking sideways to him.
"Hang on." Jak was quickly thinking. Why was this not working? Was there something else they needed to do?
"Did you all press down firmly?" he checked.
"Yes," answered everyone.
"And did the letters all light up around the edges?"
"Yes."
Jak grumbled with frustration. Something must be missing here, but then it struck him: eco. Thinking back to all the Precursor objects and machinery he had ever activated in the past, he had always been channelling eco, and this dome must surely require some too. But they had none here, not the vast enough quantities he thought would probably be necessary, and even if they did, the others were not adept eco channelers like he was. Would this dome remain forever dormant to them?
"Jak? Should we try again?" suggested Ashelin.
"Alright," he said, though with his new realisation in mind, he was sadly not expecting anything better this time. But who knows, they might just get lucky. "Worth a shot. Let's try it again. Ready everyone? Three, two, one, go!"
Everyone again placed their hands into the metal, and the hum started up once more. But this time, promisingly, it lasted several seconds more, building in intensity, and the letterings stayed illuminated too, a little brighter, before it all cut out again with another muffled thud.
"Did you see that?" said Olto positively. "I think it's just warming up."
A small smile returned to Jak's face, and as his hopes regained strength, it grew broader. Maybe they did not need eco after all. "This might be working!"
"Once more?" asked Ashelin, smiling back at him fruitfully.
"Once more!" replied Jak with a confident nod. "Three, two, one, go!"
Their hands pushed down on the metal and the hum returned, and this time it was strong and loud, and the letters bright and clear. They kept up the pressure until the spheres sank down to the wrist and slotted firmly into place. The vibrations intensified through their fingers and into their whole bodies, like a mild electric current, but warm and pleasant. Now the sound was building in volume and pitch, as if with a growing power, and the ground was shaking.
"Jak?" shouted Torn with apprehension. "It feels like this thing's going to explode!"
Olto and Ashelin shared Torn's concern, and all three of them began to back away, but Jak was laughing loudly. "It's working!" he shouted out, instinctively knowing that nothing bad was going to happen now.
Then there was a deep, mechanical whirring noise from above, and everyone looked to the summit of the dome where the last layer of earth and grass remained. It began to shake, and clods of dirt fell loose and rolled past them down the sloped metal. Then the whole crown of earth split in two and diverged, a powerful white light shone forth through the opening, and the berry bush and the rest of the soil and grass fell away through the middle.
"Wow!" said Olto, but over the noise the dome was making, he could barely be heard.
Everyone shielded their eyes against the light, feeling the vibrations in the earth around them. And then everything stopped. There was silence in the clearing save for a gentle reverberation in the air around them, a mild electric energy, and the bright light at the summit shone and twinkled in the morning sun.
The dome had opened.