She stood still trying to understand. She had control again, but the claws were still there and streams of dark energy arced to the open wounds of the bodies. That last one had been her. She had forced her arm and slashed the guard, but that was all she could take. She was lost in her mind.
'Yes, finally, you understand. Stay there, in your safe mind. Let me have this freedom. I so deserve it.'
The empty numbness in Kaida's limbs was only surpassed by the feeling you get at the moment of your death. But as quickly as it came on it ebbed away. The darkness was losing power.
'No!' She was out of dark eco and the minimal amounts found in the city couldn't sustain her transformation. Kaida's control and consciousness slipped back into control. Her skin tone returned and the claws shrank away. The feeling of all the blood rushing from her head gripped her and she staggered. She looked at the dead bodies at her feet and felt a touch ill.
She searched out a KG box in surprisingly short time. For all of the fighting she had done she felt relatively undrained. With the quick use of the health pack she was back to health and looked around for a zoomer. Once at the port, Kaida at first was pointed for Krew's bar, but as she came past the halfway mark over the water she stopped.
Why was she heading for the bar? She knew that Jak had completed the mission by the fact that there was no big commotion around the saloon, nor had she heard anything over any of the KG's radios. She had no need to head there. Jak did need her for anything, plus she knew that he would have a mission for Krew to do. She sat up on the single person zoomer and contemplated what to do next. Her mind flicked through all of the missions Jak did in the game and she landed on the gun courses. She hauled the zoomer around and headed for the gun course.
So what if she couldn't keep one, it would be nice to try out a gun in the course. She landed outside the door and hurried in. The room was empty of people and her boots crunched on empty shells dropped by various fire arms. Her eyes scanned the walls of weapons and she pulled another Morph Gun off the wall. Her eyes ran over the gun quickly. Back in her world she had used a rifle and her dad's old revolver, but that was only a few times and she still had very little practical knowledge of guns. She picked up a clip and loaded the gun carefully. She aimed at the far wall, knowing that the blast wouldn't reach, and fired.
The bang was amplified by the close walls and the kickback made her stumble. She cocked the gun again and re-situated herself in a better stance and fired again. Though she didn't move back, the kick still sent a jerk through her arms. She unloaded the gun and put it back on the wall. She needed a smaller weapon. A glance around again and she laid her eyes on a longer gun. It was like a long, slender version of the Blaster Gun.
She took it off the wall and removed the long mod. She fired, the now hand gun sized weapon, again at the far wall. The blast was significantly smaller then the Scatter Gun but the shot seemed to go a little farther and the kickback was manageable enough that she was sure the she could handle the gun one-handed. She jumped startled, at the computerized voice as it spoke in a calm tone.
"Would you like to try the gun course?" She stepped through the door for the gun course and waited for the targets to appear. She loaded and cocked the gun as quickly as she could and prepared. The first batch of targets were easy to shoot and she quickly got the hang of the gun. The clips for this gun were surprisingly small so she had to load more often then Jak's morph gun had to.
She soon had a good handle on firing and loading the gun. Instead of walking forward to the next set of targets, she quickly switched the mod on her gun and loaded the new ammo. This mod had a scope on it, though at this distance she still didn't need it. She held this gun like she would a rifle and aimed for the next target. The shot was like the Blaster Mod for Jak's gun, except this seemed a little more high powered as it pierced the target and continued to the wall.
Once she cleared the rest of the targets(shooting a few of the friendly targets accidentally, as well) she changed back to the first mod. After looking at the broken pieces of targets she should not have killed, she had decided to go back to the basic gun and work on her shooting. By the end of the course she had a deep set frown on her face. She had nailed more friendly targets then she had thought she would. Her aim was off and she was a little trigger happy. She pulled the trigger the instant a target jumped into her vision without giving herself time to register what it was.
Despite her issues, somehow, at the end of the course the computer announced that she had passed and asked her if she would like to "try for the course record?" Her spirits had been lifted for the short time she had spent shooting, but once she exited the doors of the course, the heavy weight in her chest settled back full force.
She set the gun and gun mod back on the shelf, but after a few minutes of hesitation she found herself irresistibly driven to take the gun. Kaida bit her lip, she was against stealing, but she liked that gun and there was a feeling deep down that told her that she deserved that gun. She had, after all, done that last job with Jak, and she was almost sure that she would be needing to do some job for Krew in the future, so wasn't she entitled to a weapon too? At last she decided she may as well have the gun, but the mods she refused to take.
'I'll have to earn those.' she told herself with purpose. The gun was small enough and the holster on her belt was big enough that Kaida easily carried the gun out of the building without looking suspicious. She quickly mounted her zoomer and rose into the skies ready to find something to do, perhaps visit Torn again, or maybe wait for Jak or something. She had only gone 20 or 30 feet out over the port when a sudden feeling came over her.
It was almost as if it was a tug at her heartstrings. She headed carefully in the direction it pulled her. She worked her way around the maze of city streets with ease and little attention as the tugging directed her with care. She stopped at one point and thought about turning around. She had never felt this before, what if it was something dangerous? Yet as she pondered the pull did not grow, and seemed to understand her fears. It remained as if it were just a casual thought. She gave into her curiosity and it continued to lead her.
As she suddenly took notice of her surroundings, she found things to be relatively familiar. She headed into a place well known to her, the water slums. Her heart sped up a notch as she got the feeling she was close. She pulled up next to the dock and walked along the boards and stopped at the door of the only moderately clean building in the slums.
She looked at the doors and the smooth grey walls of the house and understood. This was the house of the Oracle.
Jak stepped out of the Hip Hog Saloon with relish, the weight of his newly acquired gun resting on his back. Truthfully, he had never had a gun before, but he was very eager to try it out. He arrived at the gun course in short time, for having walked the entire way.
He noted quickly the stacks of ammo crates against the wall, and noticed also that a few of them had been broken open. Jak cracked open a few crates himself and stocked up on ammo. The gun was relatively easy to load and cock, and he ignored the crunch of empty ammo shells has he hurried to the door of the gun course. A flash when though his mind, and he had to shake off the strange thought that had recently decided to stick in his mind.
Something was pulling at him, as if it was a thought he had long ago put aside and was now unable to completely produce. Jak quickly forced it away as the first target popped up.
He found he had to stand with good footing as the gun's kickback was powerful. The scatter gun blast was powerful and took out more then one enemy at a time. At the end of the course the computer asked him if he would like to try for a record, but when the flash of the thought from before, entered his mind he had to pass on the gun course.
He exited the building and ran back to Krew's place, eager to see what he and the man named Sig, had to say now. The doors of the building whooshed open and Krew greeted him quickly.
"Excellent shooting, Jak! Ever thought of being a wastelander, mmm?" Jak crossed his arms and, having never heard of a 'wastelander', responded.
"Can't say that I have." However, Krew seemed all to ready to tell him all.
"Wastelanders find items for me outside the city walls, 'ey. Any artifact or weapon worth having comes though MY hands." he spoke with confidence and then added, "Work for me, and I'll throw some of the sweeter items your way, mmm?"
"Kill metal heads, get toys? Sounds good to me." Jak responded with interest at the description of the job. Daxter's face contorted into fear and he quickly put in his two cents.
"Slow down, Jak and the fat man! You two had better run that by me again... Cuz there's NO WAY I'm going outside the city to face more metalheads!"
"Sig will show you the ropes." Krew responded as everyone ignored Daxter's loud protest.
"So, YOU wanna be wastelanders, huh dough boys?" Sig spoke up as he stepped towards Jak and the frightened Daxter. "Well, we'll see what you're made of when we get out in the thick. Krew wants some new trophies to put butts in chairs at the hip hog. So I'm gonna bag him five nasty metal heads at the pumping station. Don't wet your fur chili pepper, cause we're rollin' with the peacemaker." he added at the look on Daxter's face. However, his face changed instantly once he looked at the big gun.
"Wooh! I need one of those. Where'd you get it?" He asked eagerly. Krew cut him off after that comment however,
"Don't ask. Sig needs some one to watch his back while he tracks the metal heads, 'ey?"
"We'll meet at the pumping station. Listen cherries, don't you leave me dangling in the wind out there!" Sig added seriously, despite the odd nicknames.
"Let's do it." Jak said simply with a broad smirk/grin. With a nod Sig went to the back, probably to prepare for the hunt and Jak headed out, into the street so he could try again to remove the mysterious pull on his mind. He shook his head and knocked a citizen from his zoomer in order to steal it. He set off at a good pace towards the pumping station, all the time having to deliberately keep the drawing tug at his brain away.
Jak's scowl deepened as he found that the farther he went the stronger the pull in his mind seemed to speak to him. When he finally entered the water slums he was concentrating so hard on fighting the pull that he didn't realize he had changed direction slightly and ended up in front of a large, semi clean, grey building.
A spark of curiosity flared up in Jak's mind when, at the sight of the building, the annoying pull died down. He stepped off his zoomer and stepped up to the door.
"Hey Jak," spoke up Dax, "not that I am in a hurry to die or anything, but aren't we supposed to be meeting Sig?"
"Yeah," Jak replied, sounding slightly distracted. "He can wait for a minute. I just want to know what's inside this building."
"Uh, isn't that a little rude, to just walk into someone's house?"Daxter said, though Jak didn't seem to hear him. Jak stepped up to the door and tried to make it open but the door was locked shut tight.
Once Kaida stepped though the doors the feeling in her head disappeared and she lost the ability to walk. Candles, that never seemed to shrink, burned all around the house, shedding and orange light around the place. The flickering candles gave a spooky glint to the large metal relic placed in the back of the house. Kaida's jaw had gone slack and she could only stare at her surroundings.
The Oracle in person was nothing like it seemed when watching through the TV screen. A resounding voice issued from the large golden statue and filled the space.
"Greetings lost one." The deep voice spoke.
"S-so you called me here?" Kaida said quietly when she was finally able to speak.
"Yes, I summoned you here so I could speak with you." the Oracle continued, "I can sense your inner torment. The dark seed sewn into your body has made its appearance. Your soul was not meant to be subjected to this treatment and your mind cannot yet accept what it is you are now."
"Of course not! I am not supposed to be here!" Kaida spoke loudly as her distress finally broke free,
"None of this makes sense, and none of it concerns me! I'll never see my home again!" Her numb legs gave way under her and she fell to her knees as the weight of the thoughts she had suppressed in her mind, came back. "A-and even if I do, look at me! There is no way I could go back now..." The weights were again fully realized on her soul as she finished speaking.
"Yes, I feel deep regret that you are here now. The afflictions of your soul are permanent now and you will forever bear these scars. However," Kaida looked up as the Oracle spoke, "despite the negative side, you have been given great power. I will give you the ability to control this darkness, not only to keep it at bay but to control its great power for your own uses. The enemies of us all are the Metal Head creatures. Bring me skull gems and I will teach you to harness your powers. Do not despair, you will find a solution to your plight."
After this, the Oracle went silent and Kaida knew this was the last word. She rose, ready to search out skull gems. The Oracle said she would find a solution to her problems, but a grim hope was all that appeared in her mind. The solution might just be that she would survive and find a way to live with this. In any case, there was no present way to rid herself of her dark side, so she may as well learn how to use these powers to her own advantage.
She ran a hand through her hair to calm any remaining frazzled nerves. Reaching into her pack, Kaida counted 3skull gems. She would definitely need to get to work.
'Maybe,' she wondered, 'if I collect all of the skull gems by the end of this game the oracle will help me leave...' She looked down at her new gun resting comfortably in its holster. She knew full well that at this point in the game the only place to hunt for metal heads is out side of the city walls, and the only way out at the moment is into the pumping station. She knew, also, that Jak would be soon heading to the pumping station with Sig, if he wasn't there already. 'It doesn't matter if he is there or not. I need those gems.' A sound of almost hungry desperation seeped into her mental voice, but for the most part she ignored it. She turned to the door and stepped up to it and waited for it to open.
Standing outside the door, Jak could hear voices coming from inside. Daxter opened his mouth to protest again, but before he could his orange ears perked up the familiar voice. "Hey, I think Kaida is in there!" he said excitedly. Jak looked up at Daxter to confirm that Daxter had said what he thought he had said. He turned back to the door and put his ear next to it, listening intently for the conversation on the inside. Though his hearing was acute and though the metal door should carry sound extremely well, Jak could only hear fragments of the conversation going on.
"...don't belong here...I'll never see my home again!" silence for a moment, then the voices began again.
"...at me! There is no way I could go back..." The voices faded in and out. The next voice he could hear speaking was so deep that he could only tell that it was resonating. It was impossible to distinguish precise words and sounds. After this there came a silence and Jak backed away from the door. Those statement had come from Kaida.
She seemed to know her way around the city fairly well so how could it be that she wouldn't see her home? Did she come from somewhere else? But there weren't any other cities nearby, how would she have gotten here? Questions about things, he was sure were none of his business, wandered around in his mind until, abruptly, the door slid open.
There another chapter done. It took me a while cuz I had to decide whether or not to split the chapter into two pieces, but in the end it came out like this. Thanks for your patience!
LunaticPandora1: This review I felt that I must respond to. Thank you very much for your input. I will keep that in mind. Please don't think that I am disregarding your comment, as I very much am not doing that. My defense is this: the darkness is the opposite of the light, and thus, each darkness is different. To a certain extent the Dark forms are alter egos, and again, each will differ. In Jak's case, once he comes to terms with, and learns to control his dark form he basically uses it as an advantage. He is also much more used to this sort of thing. Kaida is much more fearful in general and everything she isnt, the darkness balances out. She is not meant to be in the game and she is not meant to have a dark side. The dark inside of her frightens her and as much as she pushes it away, it pushes back, and eventually, as the game dictates, she cant hold it back all of the time. She isnt Jak so she will never have the same relationship with her darkness as he does, but eventually...she'll accept it. Thank you, again, for your response! I hope you understand my reasoning and such, but if you still would like to talk about it, feel free to review and/or E-mail me.
KatanaBlade: Thank you! I am happy to hear that I have encouraged you to read Jak & Daxter fan fiction. I hope my story continues to be one on your favorites list!
To all other reviewers: Thank you for your responses! For those of you who said that my story about being 'sucked into a game' is something you never thought you'd read or didn't like that story theme, but like mine, special thanks! And I hope everyone continues to review!