Authors Note: Again, I'm sorry for the lack of updates people! Things just haven't been that great the past few weeks… English ISU, Pig Dissection in biology, tests, I'm moving sometime this summer… so, yah. Not the best. But I'm updating today because it's so close to the end that it would be stupid of me to not update and to put it off. To my reviewers:
Miracle Mar: Aww, lol, its ok, we all have blonde moments sometimes. Keira was a jerk in that part, she really was D: I didn't change anything and that was how she acted in the game. And I'm sure Ter would love the help in killing Sig XD lol. YES THAT MISSION IS ANNOYING it took me like a hundred tries to beat it. Not kidding. Thanks for the review!
Empty Tranquility: I know eh. And yup! Book three shall be starting very soon! Lol, glad you're looking forward to it. Oh boy XD don't be expectin' any true romance for a long while you lol. Thanks for the review!
xoxReneeOrionxox: Roughly five more, actually, including this one lol. I'm glad you liked the chapter! XD Yes she was a bitch. Thanks for the review!
Twilight Angell: Yes she is, and I donno! D: … oi don't kill me if there isn't any JakTer stuffs till way later kay? XD Thanks for the review! Sorry for the update wait…
And now, on with the chapter! This one's got a bit of 'drama' in it, so enjoy!
Through Another's Eyes: Book Two
Chapter Eleven: Mar's Tomb
The bazaar was fairly quiet as it started to get later, people heading back to the relative 'safety' of their homes. Tera wished she could've been one of the ones heading home, the blonde sighing as she trotted along beside Jak and Daxter. They had been headed back to their apartment when Samos had called them, telling them to meet him down at Onin's tent. They were only going because they knew they would get an earful later if they didn't…
As they entered the tent, Samos and Onin turned towards them, Pecker perched on the Sages head rather then the mystic's for once. "The birdbrain and I were just talking about you Jak. Onin is very proud of what you did."
Jak frowned, "What I did?"
Pecker flapped back over to Onin, "What you did… what you'll do… it's all the same!"
"Will you stop with the deja voodoo stuff?!" Daxter exclaimed, "It's creepy!"
Onin began to wave her hands around, magic following the flow. Samos glanced at her before interpreting, "Onin says you must find the Tomb of Mar."
"Even now, Baron Praxis seeks the tomb, but only… arrrk! The one true heir of Mar can open the Tomb's seal." Tera and Jak glanced at each other skeptically, looking back to the three when Samos spoke again.
"We believe the kid is the key."
"The prophecies say the true heir of Mar must face the ancient Oracle. He alone must circumvent the cunning tests of manhood. He alone must wield the Precursor Stone, thereby unleashing… geez louise, fossil lady!" Pecker flipped, staring at Onin from over the rim of her hat, "Stop with the snotty mystic talk already! You know that it hurts me lips!"
Jak frowned, "Why is Mars tomb so important?"
"The fabled Precursor stone is rumored to sleep within the tomb, stupid," Pecker spat, "I added the stupid part. The Precursor stone contains vast eco energies. It can be used for great good, or… great eeeevil!" Pecker laughed, looking to Samos, "I just love saying that last part!"
Samos shook his head, looking back to the three renegades, "The Baron wants the Precursor stone for himself to rule the world. But he is playing with forces he does not understand."
"Which means we get more crappy missions," Tera muttered under her breath.
Jak sighed, "Okay Pecker, so how do I get this… Precursor Stone?"
Pecker went to speak, but Samos beat him to it, "First, you must go to the dig and find the lurker totem. Onin and I learned that a piece to the Seal of Mar is contained within its ancient carvings. You must find all three pieces of the seal to open Mars gate into the canyon."
"The dig?" Tera echoed as they left the tent, Jak already scanning the skies above them for a zoomer, "isn't that where you and Daxter went when I was… er… injured?"
"Yah… though I get the feeling that it's not KG's we're gonna be looking out for this time," Jak jumped up, grabbing a zoomer and knocking the driver out. Tera jumped in the passenger seat, and they sped off towards where the air train was waiting, silently taking it to the dig.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Two hours later, after killing numerous metal heads, swinging over lava, and hitting switches, the three underground operatives had finally found the lurker totem that Samos had been referring to. Looking up, it was easy to see that the seal piece was on top of the totem.
"I'm on it!" Daxter moved to jump on the totem, then stopped, pointing at Jak, "Wait a minute! I think this time you should go get the thing!"
Tera and Jak shared a look before the male shrugged, beginning to climb to the top of the totem.
"Looks dodgy up there! Don't hurt yourself, Jak!" the ottsel called once his had reached the top, the blonde pulling on the seal piece to dislodge it. It finally came off, but a piece of the totem fell with it, landing on Daxter with a crash.
Jak jumped down, sighing and shaking his head. Tera did her best to hold back a laugh.
"It's a curse isn't it?" the ottsel mumbled, taking a deep breath once the two had pulled the piece of wood off him.
Tera looked down at her comm. when it went off, groaning, "Great, Torn's calling us. May as well go see what he wants, I guess."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Yet again, Torn was pacing back and forth in front of his table when the three entered the Underground headquarters. The commander turned when he notice them, a grin on his lips.
"The Baron's coming down pretty hard. Whatever you've been doing, you're really upset him."
Jak returned the grin with a smirk, "I'm just getting started."
"He's brought in new Krimzon Guard 'Hellcat' cruisers, making the streets dangerous for the Underground. We've already lost five men this week."
"Your men should be able to take care of themselves," Jak frowned, turning his back on the commander and crossing his arms. A smirk formed seconds later as he looked back to Torn again, "but I wouldn't mind taking out a few Cruisers if that's what you're getting at."
Tera rolled her eyes at her friends words, Torn nodding simply to the blonde male, "Never part of a bigger cause, eh Jak? Fine, I'll take your help any way I can get it. Bring down all five Hellcat Cruisers. That should send the Baron a message."
"On it," Jak grunted, turning and heading for the exit, Tera trailing behind him quietly.
"You just love getting to shoot things down, don't you Jak?" she questioned simply once they were out of the head quarters, rolling her eyes, "Men and their guns, oi."
Jak chuckled, "You seem pretty fond of your own guns, Ter. Lets just get this mission over with so we can bring the seal piece back to Onin."
The girl nodded, "I drive, you shoot?"
"Sounds like a plan."
The three grabbed the first, larger zoomer that came into view, Ter flooring the gas as they sped off towards the first beacon on their comm. units. The cruiser wasn't too hard to spot, as it stood out fairly well amongst the red cruisers of the normal KG. The first easily fell to the sudden barrage of Vulcan Furry shots from Jak's morph gun, Tera steering them away before the other KG units could attack.
The other four fell just as easily, though the group had had to switch zoomers at one point when theirs began to smoke. Once they were done with the cruisers, Tera steered them back towards the bazaar, heading again to Onin's tent.
"We sure showed those KG's!" Daxter cheered from Jak's shoulder as they hopped from the zoomer, approaching the tent. Tera's ears perked at voices coming from inside, the girl motioning for the guys to be quiet as they entered the tent. Kor stood in front of Onin, the elderly man speaking vividly with the sage woman.
"Expecting that little boy to save us is folly! At his age, he's no match for the Metal Head leader…" the man trailed off, turning towards the exit. He jumped slightly, startled, when he spotted the three teens in the entrance, "Oh… Jak. We were just talking about Samos' plan."
"Onin says your voice sounds very familiar," Pecker piped up, Kor turning back towards the old soothsayer, "I'll bet you two golden oldies go way back, huh?" a narrowed glance passed between the two older people, Pecker turning to address Jak and the others, "Onin needs you to prove yourself, Jak. You've shown your brass, and your brawn. Now you must use your brains as well. Frankly," the bird put his wings together, "I don't think you can do it; Tera maybe, but eh, I'm not the boss. Beat this test, and the third piece to the Seal will be revealed."
Tera didn't miss the look that passed over Kor's face, unnerving the blonde. She turned to mention it to Jak, but the male seemed to be out of it, his eyes staring blankly ahead. Tera frowned, shifting uncomfortably when she felt Onin's gaze drift to her.
"Onin says you have a great destiny ahead of you, young one," the girl jumped when Pecker addressed her, eyes snapping up to meet with the older woman's, "she says that you will face many hardships in your chosen life, but that you will pull through in the end."
"What does that me-" Tera froze when Jak seemed to come back to it, the make blinking and frowning.
The two seal pieces that they had gathered rose up in the air in front of them, a third appearing as the three sealed into one piece.
"Behold! The seal of Mar is now complete!" Jak caught the seal when it floated over to him, sending a grin Tera's way, "Onin says the three artifacts you're retrieved from the Mountain Temple… arrrrrk… are relics from an ancient Light Tower. Old songs tell how this light tower once shined down on the actual site of Mar's tomb! I sing one of these songs for you!" the monkaw took a deep breath, "From the mists of time, Mar's light would shine!"
The three underground operatives winced at the last note, Kor dropping his walking cane in surprise.
"Whoa there iron lungs," Jak cut him off, rolling his eyes, "Just tell us what we need to do."
Pecker huffed, planting his 'hands' on his hips, "Cretins with no taste, huh? Bah!" he glanced down at Onin when she began to 'speak' again, "You must take the three artifacts to Mar's gate. Only then will the Light Tower rise and reveal the tomb."
Tera noticed Kor leaving from the corner of her eyes, but didn't mention it as she followed Jak and Daxter out of the tent. Something was odd about that man; his presence made her feel uneasy…
"Ter, you alright?" the girl blinked at the question, flushing when she realized she'd stopped walking when they'd reached the zoomer.
"Yah, I'm fine," she brushed it off, hopping in and sitting silently while Jak drove them over to the Mountain Temple. There, they took the lift back down into the temple and approached the sealed door. Jak lifted the seal up, the artifact giving off a faint glow as it lifted from his hand and attacked itself to the centre of the door, the metal pulling back to reveal another passageway.
The three entered and crossed a set of pipes over to the next area (unfortunately having to use the jet board; how Jak still managed to maneuver it perfectly with her added weight Tera wasn't sure), continuing forwards. They reached an area cluttered with three large machines. The three shared a grin, Daxter getting the gear and Tera taking the shard while Jak ran the lens over to its rightful place.
Once all three were in place, the tower began to rise, the machines activating automatically. The three jumped when a sudden beam of light shot out and hit the lens, directed out into the city. Even from their place in the mountains the three could hear something crash, and, nodding to each other, they raced back out to the city gates, speeding off towards the new beacon on their comm. units.
It turned out to have been the statue of Baron Praxis that had crashed, the beam destroying it and revealing the tomb sealed underneath. They took the elevator down to the tomb's entrance, not surprised to see that Samos, Kor and the kid had already beaten them there.
"You did it, Jak!" Samos exclaimed in awe when he spotted them, "You actually found Mar's tomb!"
"Great!" Jak spat, approaching the kid and laying his hands on his shoulders, "Now what? We send this poor kid into a meat grinder?" Tera nodded in agreement, frowning as she stared at the huge door before them. Something wasn't right…
"This is the day I've long awaited…" Kor breathed, not seeming to notice the anxiousness of the others, "To hold the fabled Precursor Stone… in my hands!"
Samos approached the child, laying a hand on his shoulder once Jak had removed his, "You must be cautious, child. The tests of manhood are sure to be fraught with Peril, and Mar's heir must face them alone."
"It's okay, kid!" Daxter jumped down beside the child, grinning broadly, "It's just a deep, pitch-black, 'sure to be filled to the brim with painful death'…" Daxter didn't notice both Tera and Jak frantically trying to get him to stop, "old tomb… " he leaned closer to the kid, "I wouldn't go in there…"
"Welcome, heir of Mar,"the oracles voice suddenly boomed, starting the group, "Finally, the chosen one stands before me. Enter, and prove yourself worthy to claim the ancient birthright."
"Jak?" Tera nudged the male in the side, frowning at his dazed look, "You alright?"
The blonde didn't answer, laying a hand on the kids shoulder again as he slowly started to walk past him, staring at the opening door as he approached it.
"No," Jak was snapped from his daze by the oracles voice, the door stopping, "This child is too young to face the tests." The door slowly began to close, sealing off the tomb yet again.
"What?! No!"
"Do something Jak!" the blonde growled, running towards the door.
"Jak…" Daxter started, rushing after his friend, "remember the 'sure to be filled to the brim with painful death' part?!" Jak didn't hear him, rolling under the door and pulling the ottsel in with him just before it slammed closed.
"Jak!" Tera rushed towards the door, pounding a fist against it, "Dammit! Jak!"
"Great tree limbs! He's gone to face the tests!" Samos exclaimed, Kor giving a 'hmph'.
"No, he's gone to his death."
"Freeze!" came the sudden voice of a guard behind them.
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Jak looked out at the tomb around them, the room filled with water except for a few platforms. He glanced around, frowning when he noticed that a certain blonde girl was missing, "Tera?"
"She didn't come with us, Jak!" Daxter panted, climbing up onto his friends shoulder again, "She got left behind with the others… lucky."
"Well," Jak pulled out his morph gun, loading the blaster mod, "Let's get this done with so we can get out of here."
"Sounds good to me!"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Jak growled, slamming his fist against the wall of the tomb as he watched the Baron's mech fly off, the Precursor Stone in its metal claws. They'd beaten the Tests only to have the stone stolen from them by that idiot of a Baron.
'If he hadn't have had that mech I could've killed him,' he growled mentally, unclenching his fists when he felt dark eco spark through him. Daxter jumped up onto his shoulder, patting him on the head.
"It's not your fault, Jak! How the hell'd he even know we were so close?!"
"I don't know Dax, but we'd better get out of here to," the blonde sighed, loading his gun again to take care of any remaining tomb watchers as they left the ancient building, heading back to the entrance. Jak frowned when there was no sign of Tera; she wouldn't have left, would she?
He picked up his comm., hitting the number for her unit, "Tera, you there? Where are you?"
Nothing but static came through the unit. Jak bristled, eyes narrowing. The Baron had said something about his friends not being any match for him…
His eyes flew open; the Baron had Tera as well as Samos and the kid. Dark woke up in the back of his mind, hissing and clawing, 'I'll rip them apart for touching here!' the demon snarled, dark eco flaring slightly under Jak's skin.
Jak grit his teeth, forcing the demon back. First, he had to find out where they were being held; then he could rip out the throats of any KG's that got in his way.
"C'mon, Dax," he grunted simply, snatching the nearest zoomer, "Maybe Torn can help."