Jak and Crash
ACT 2: The Journey
Chapter 8: The Air…or Travelin'


Haven Forest

Month 1: Januria, Day 17
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon

"Almost there…" Tawna said to herself as she stretched her arm as far as she could to reach an hourglass shaped tan fruit from a tree, "GOT IT! WHOA!" Upon grabbing it, Tawna felt harshly to the ground, saved from her imminent death by hitting multiple branches and that fact that she was only about 15 feet high. She came out looking like she walked pass a hurricane, but was seemingly pleased she collected enough fruits.
"Tawna! Stop playing around and get the food!" Gin cried out, inching his head out from the main entrance, "I can't fix the ship with an empty stomach!"
"Oh, shut up, ya bulgy midget!" She cried back.
"HEY! I resent that! I will have you know I lost an impressive 10 pounds since we landed here in this stupid planet!"
At that point, Tawna shoved the hourglass shaped fruit to his mouth, "The next one I plan to shove is between ya butt cheeks if you keep givin' me that attitude."
"N-N-Now calm down, we're a-a-a-a-a-all just edgy since the others have y-y-y-y-yet to return." Brio said, joining the other three.
"We're just lucky them Krimzon Guards haven't found us yet." Tawna said, "Thank god for large, scary, mysterious forests."
"I'm going crazy in either case; I can't stay in this stupid place forever!" Gin shouted, and then he proceeded to whisper, "It does things to your mind. The others not keeping in contact with us doesn't help. I think I see dead people as the winds blow past the trees every night."
"Fer pete's sake." Tawna mumbled.
"It's s-s-s-s-safer that they haven't contacted us." Brio said, "Just concentrate on f-f-f-f-fixing the ship, we're almost d-d-d-d-d-done, then we can proceed with the engine when they return."
"But when WILL they return?" Gin dropped his wrench out of frustration, "It's been like a month now or something; whatever the month system is in this planet. I'm starving; I can't eat any more of these fruits—"
"Yea, I wonder why fruits grow during winter, is this like some winter fruit?" Tawna pondered, eyeing the hourglass shaped fruit, "Maybe it's a Precursia thing."
"—I'm cold, I'm slowly going insane. IF THEY DON'T GET HERE, I'M GOING ON A KILLING SPREE and NOT one of those murder happy killing spree, oh-no. It'll be a MURDER SAD KILLING SPREE WHICH THE LIKES YOU'VE NEVER SEEN, SO THEY BETTER GET HERE NOW OR I'LL—"

"N.GIN!"
Gin stopped yelling.
"TAWNA!"
"BRIO!"
The two who had their names just shouted turned to the direction of the voice. There they were, their friends and companions: Jak, Coco, Cortex, Daxter, Ani, Brutter, Puar, and…someone they've never seen before, but looked oddly familiar.
"COCO! CORTEX!" Tawna cried out. She hugged both of them tightly.
"Easy, kid, my bones are small." Cortex chuckled, "Oh, it's good to see you three. Looks like you survived a month with those two."
"Trust me, it ain't easy and I suggest no one consider sticking with Brio or Gin for even a week without proper protection." Tawna suggested.
"Well, we got the engine, now load her up and let's get the hell outta here." Coco said while pointing to the giant bag Brutter was carrying. Brutter took this in cue and both he and Shuin shoved the thing inside where Gin and Brio followed to connect the engine.
"A month passes and Coco still the same?" Tawna gasped, "I'd have think Happy Boy over there (pointing to Jak) would have lightened her up a little."
"It's especially trying." Jak said, slightly happy, slightly exhausted, "But on the positive note, I know enough of her anger that I know enough to stop bothering her."
"Fantastic, now if there was a way for you to not bother me, period." Coco said.
"Oh, Coco, you are a wave of fun." Jak grinned. He then eyed the fruits lying on the floor, "Snow Pears! Delicious fruits. People tend to store them for spring or summer, but I find it best to eat them during their wintry periods. It's the tastiest then."
The heroes went inside and already they could hear Gin's frustrated shouts over which wires go on where and a mouthful of cursing.
"Hey, Cortex." Tawna spoke softly, unlike her usual boisterous voice, "Your newcomer…is it just me or does he look an awful lot like—"
"I know." Cortex quickly said.
"But is he? How?"
"I don't know, Tawna. I'm trying to ask him little by little, but he doesn't seem interested in knowing of his physical appearance to my son."
"So who is he?"
"Shuin Mihako, a rogue bounty hunter who was suppose to collect Jak back to the Queen." Cortex started, "Instead, he's been having weird visions in his head and wants the prince to interpret it in return for sword training lessons."
"Shuin's visions, is it possible that it could be a connection to him?"
"I don't know, could be." Cortex shrugged, "That's why we must keep him as long as we can. The crystal collar hasn't glowed in a while, so that's no help."
"After so many years…having never seen his face…the one that I loved." Tawna placed a hand on her chest and felt her beating heart, "My heart hasn't beaten this hard in years."
Cortex placed a comforting paternal pat on Tawna's hand.

…………………

Haven Palace
Month 1: Januria, Day 17
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon

"I'm sorry I couldn't talk with you in your headquarters, but I'm far to busy with my plans." Veger said via a phone located inside his personal COMP, "I can assure you General Torn and his top army is ready for departure. I made approval with the Queen and they'll be at Filia in about a week's time, I gather."
"Excellent." Spoke a man's voice from the receiving end, "As for the prince, we hit a snag in the Precursor Basin about a week back. He and his friends have managed to outdo one of my comrade's storm monster or whatever she calls it."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, it was more or less of a test to see how powerful the prince can be." The man said, "Unfortunately, he's friends helped him along and we did not get to see the prince's eco power. He needs to awaken them if our ultimate goal is to be realized."
"Is there anything I can do?"
"You just concentrate on the invasion, we'll handle the boy. That'll be our main goal for the time being."
"Are you sure?" Veger asked.
"Yes, our boss has just recently supplied us with our own…heh heh heh 'dark' tools."
"Alright." Veger nodded and hung up, then started to phone another.

………………

"Grandma, this is wrong." Ashelin said, "We don't know if the other nations wants to invade Haven. We should contact them and ask ourselves."
"It's too late to ask at this point." Alexandros said, "Torn will be leaving in a matter of hours."
"It is NOT too late to ask! How can you possibly listen to Veger's words? He speaks lies!"
"Do you have any proof of that, my dear granddaughter?"
"Well…umm…no, I don't…that is…errr…HE LOOKS SUSPISCIOUS!"
"How the hell did you get the job as Haven's governess again?" The queen eyed Ashelin now, complete with her stern face. Ashelin groaned.
"You're not thinking straight!" She shouted, "You're depressed because of all the times you never listened to Jak and now it's too late because of those Dark whatever invading, but you can't beat yourself up by declaring war on the other nations!"
"You're right! We ARE being invaded by those dark creatures, but I'm doing something about it! The world is at stake and we Precrusians are nothing but greedy little selfish mortals in the end. We will never achieve the perfect status of our Precursor Lords. Those other little selfish rulers will bring an end about our fair kingdom, it's every kingdom for itself and I intend to protect Haven and my people, even if it means breaking down our alliance with the others!"
Ashelin's eyes were wide as she took in all this. What on Precursia has happened to her grandmother? What poison did Veger feed into her head? Ashelin quickly ran off and down the hallway. There, she immediately bumped into Torn.
"Ashelin, what's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost." He gasped.
"Torn!" Ashelin clutched onto his arms, "Y-You're going to Filia."
"Yea, them peace lovers suddenly decided to turn violent according to the Queen and Veger." Torn said, "Seems like everyone's desperate, what with the invasion of those dark…whatevers."
"Torn, you can't go; the queen's off her lid and Veger is a lying snake, I just know it!" Ashelin shouted hastily.
"I have to go, Queen's order." Torn said softly.
"No, you don't need to!" Ashelin cried, "Something is wrong here and you going out to war against Filia is one of them! So…don't go."
"Ashelin, I know you're my wife, but I've been given a direct order from the Queen and in this case, I have to favor the Queen over the status of a governess."
"Then do it for your wife!"
"…I'm…sorry, Ashelin." Torn said, then he slowly walked away leading a distress Ashelin behind. She lowered her head…then she ran to the bathroom. She had the urge to throw up…

Haven Forest
Month 1: Januria, Day 18
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Morning

"Alright, the engines are officially in!" Gin cried out, "Let's hope they're compatible enough with this airship."
"S-S-S-S-Star the e-e-e-e-e-e-eng-g-g-g-g—"
"START THE ENGINES!" Coco shouted.
Cortex nodded and started the ignition from the driver's seat. Pushing a set of buttons, the heroes could hear the starting engines and the rumbling, indicating the ship was starting to lift off.
"So far, so good." Cortex said calmly. The rumbling started to become so violent the others were hanging onto walls and tables or whatever steady material they could find for support.
"Gin, how's the engines?" Cortex asked via communication.
"Like it's gonna explode! Maybe this was a bad idea!" Gin screamed.
"If it gets any worse, then get out of there!" Cortex ordered, and then he concentrated on piloting the ship, "Come on girl, don't let me down now!" The ship steadily rose from the ground, but the feeling was uncomfortable and unreliable. The trees parted way from the blowing wind coming from the engine. Birds flew off and animals scurried past. The ship slowly, but surely inched further and further up in the air, something akin to that of a hot air balloon.
"Come on, come on!" The Nicodemus managed to gain itself off a considerable amount into the air. The heroes cheered.
"It's not over yet." Cortex said, grinning, "Time to put the real juice into the engine!" He reached for a lever and thrusting it down, the airship's main jets burst a heat of flame and flew off majestically through the great blue yonder. Again, another roll of cheers was heard except for Shuin who merely crossed his arms.
"We are officially airborne, my friends." Cortex said.
"The engine is now purring like a kitten, Cortex." Gin spoke via communication, "Although I'm going to stay down here for a while and keep an eye on it."
"Good idea, see you in a few." Cortex nodded.
"Next stop, Lucius!" Daxter pointed to the giant window in front of him.
"Lucius…" Shuin softly said to himself as he eyed the ceiling, "…Back there again." Tawna and Cortex both noticed Shuin's sudden shift in voice.
Jak meanwhile started to run out.
"Hey, where the heck are you off to?" Coco asked.
"To the outside deck, I want to see the view from above." Jak smiled, "Care to join?"
"Not really." Coco said crossing her arms, eyes half closed.
"Whatever you say." Jak shrugged, and then he made his way out to the deck.
"What is his deal with me?" Coco muttered halfway to herself.
"He is just wanting to be friends with you." Brutter answered.
"Are you sure it's not something…more?" Daxter raised his eyebrows up and down, grinning towards Coco, "I can't imagine why not? You're a very fine looking gal with the hourglass figure. I'd be all over you in a sec!"
"Wait, didn't you mention you had a girlfriend named Tess?" Cortex said from his pilot seat.
"Sure, sure, but we're going…steady…sorta." Daxter gestured. Coco merely groaned and left for her room.
"You never is knowing what is in Daxter's mind." Brutter chuckled.
"Well, Coco's gone and left…so I'll divert my attention to you." Daxter said, eyeing Tawna. Tawna merely eyed Daxter in a mixed fashion.

………………

The view was spectacular. The airship quickly passed the snowy landscape and instead came upon the ocean which they had to cross. The clouds wheezed past like giant watery cotton candy. Jak smelled the crisp, clean air. He absolutely enjoyed every aspect of flying…
….He eyed the ocean, each wave mesmerizing him.
…Cortex and Brio serenely pilot the Nicodemus.
…Tawna seem to be having a nice chat with Shuin. While Shuin wasn't overall enthusiastic as he normally isn't, the fact the two seem to be already been in good terms left a slight jealous mind in Cortex's heart.
…Daxter, Ani, Brutter, and Puar talked to each other on subjects mainly related to their encounter of Ne-Ne that some week ago. If she can talk and Ani can talk because of Jak, who else will be given the gift of Precursian speech?
…Coco was in her bunk, more particularly her bed, lying down on her back, hands behind her back as she pondered her own thoughts, mostly of Jak and how he still puts up with her sourpuss personality. It dawned on her that she felt a slight sense of guilt for declining Jak's offer to view the deck with him.

Hours later, Shuin and Jak practiced their sword fighting out in the deck. Shuin obviously handed Jak his ass, but commented he was getting better, saying his blocking and counterattacks was improving.
"Try to look from your left more often." He hinted.
A couple of days passed. Coco left her bunk. She walked casually over to the deck where Jak still was. That man was easily amusable as far as she was concerned and stuck with limitless patience. She'd have been bored staring out the same waves of ocean lines hours ago, but she approached him nonetheless.

In another location, somewhere, somehow, a dark presence gathers near. A feminine figure floating in midair was surrounded by an army of darkness. A smirk leaves her mouth as she watches the airship fly pass.

"Coco!" Jak smiled brightly, "You came to join, how wonderful."
"Yea." Coco said, "Look, I was just being a bit on the rude side when I declined your offer, so I'll say sorry for that, but don't make anything out of this."
"Why would I?" Jak shrugged, "I just want your friendship. You have no reason to avoid me like I'm some sort of bloody plaque."
"I guess you're just too happy for me." Coco said, "Maybe if you kicked it down a notch."
"Oh, Coco, you are such a sourpuss." Jak sighed, shaking his head, "Why can't you for once try to see it my way?"
"Your way?"
"You know, the happy way." Jak said, "Life is too rich to be sad for extended periods of time."
"But it's okay to be angry." Coco suggested.
"Not for me. My anger has consequences that are…deadly." Jak spoke morbidly like he was going to die or someone close to him did.
"What the hell are you jabbering about? It's okay to be angry, it's common." Coco said, "You did it just like last week when you literally broke off those poacher's heads." Jak eyed Coco with a sense of concern and admiration.
"Coco, trust me, my anger is a lot different then an average person's anger. If I get so angry, so emotional, I could…end up…dark." He uttered the last word with a sort of whisper.
"End up what?"
"End up—"
BOOM!

Jak and Coco both fell down.
"Are you alright?" Jak asked.
"Yea, what the hell was that? Did the engine die?"
It wasn't the engine, but the ship was starting to show smoke regardless from near the back. Before either of them could question what happen, a swift dark creature flew past them and back. They were small dark creatures with wings and needle-like noses, kind of like dark mechanical insects.
"Dark Makers!" Jak gasped.
"They look like hornets or some type of bugs." Coco gasped. More spewed seemingly out of nowhere. In a matter of seconds, hundreds of them swarm around Nicodemus.
"You've gotta be freakin' kidding me." Coco gasped.
"JAK! COCO! GET BACK INSIDE THE SHIP NOW!" Cortex's voice rang from an intercom hooked outside. Both of them wasted no time running towards the door inside, but the Dark Hornets stopped them, blocking their paths.
"We fight?" Coco asked.
"We fight." Jak grinned.
Two sets of swords flailed as Coco's daggers and Jak's sword wrecked havoc on the dark, annoying creatures.

"Great, they're trapped in the outside." Cortex gasped, "Shuin, Brutter, Tawna, you three get out there and help them!"
The three nodded and left for the front door, but the waves of Dark Hornets blocking it caused them to shove and tackle hard to get through. Immediately the Dark Hornets covered the front door after the three passed through the door.
"Alright, it's CLOBBERIN' time!" Tawna cracked her knuckles. In seconds, she literally plowed through the Dark Hornets with her fist like a bulldozer. Shuin took out one of his katana and immediately sliced the nearest Hornets in two. Brutter relied on his brute strength and literally would rip them apart. Coco, using her slim build managed to easily maneuver the Hornets while Jak swayed with his new sword techniques Shuin has taught him so far.
"Look to my left, look to my left." Jak repeated to himself.
"This is gettin' pointless!" Tawna shouted, "The more we destroy 'em, dozens more seem to take their place."
"HANG ON TIGHT, KIDDIES!" Cortex's voice rang on the intercom. He's words were meant as literal as he thrust the engine to hyper drive and Nicodemus flew past in mach speed. The heroes outside the deck hanged onto the balcony for dear life as the Dark Hornets chased afterwards. To everyone's surprise, the Nicodemus changed its direction and headed in their direction.
"Umm, Cortex, I think you want to head to the OTHER SIDE!" Daxter screamed.
"Not what I have planned!" Cortex grinned, then he went over to a red button encased in glass with a sign overhead, "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY BREAK GLASS FOR FREAKIN' COOL DAMAGE." Cortex did just that and pushed the red button inside.
In a matter of seconds, various parts of the ship unleashed missile holes. Dozens of missiles fired towards the Dark Hornet, knocking most of them out. Everybody was stunned.
"Game, set, match." Cortex said coolly.
"You know, we could have used that like 15 MINUTES AGO!" Coco shouted from outside, although from the distance between her and Cortex, the only thing the short scientist could make out was Coco's angry face.

The remaining Dark Hornets got note of their current situation. Using whatever dark powers they seem to possess, the Dark Hornets crowded themselves together to form a giant version of themselves or at least twice the size of the storm monster they faced last week.
"You remember how I said we'd probably face a giant bird or something last week?" Daxter asked. The others slowly nodded, "Well, I DIDN'T MEAN THAT SO LITERALLY!"
"Technically, it's a giant b-b-b-b-b-bug composed of smaller bugs, so therefore, it wouldn't be a bird, it'll be a-a-a-a-a-a—"
"CORTEX! MORE MISSILES!" Coco shouted. The others outside with her all waved their hands, hoping against hope he'd get their message. Cortex seem to partially understand as he spoke through them saying, "Err…I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but we're out of missiles."
"ARE YOU KIDDING ME? HOW THE HELL DO YOU EXPECT US TO KILL THAT HUGE THING WITH JUST US?"
"We could always ram the ship." Jak said, smiling nervously. Coco merely glared at him, in her mind strangling Jak, "…It was just a suggestion."
"Wait, we COULD ram the ship." Shuin gasped. He quickly went inside and gestured to Cortex, "RAM IT! RAM IT NOW!" Cortex put on a determined face and nodded.
"Everyone, get back inside now!" Cortex ordered. Jak, Coco, Tawna, and Brutter wasted no time heading back inside, "Then grab a hold of something."
The airship Nicodemus flew dead ahead like a well aimed missile, aiming for the giant hornet who remained unmoving. Instead it stood like a mountain, hoping its massive bulk could counter back. Everyone grabbed onto something or each other as they kept a wide eye look out the giant glass window as the giant hornet got closer in view. Cortex let out a piercing scream and in a matter of seconds, the ship collided with the giant Dark Hornet.
Everybody had their eyes closed, but slowly started to open them when they saw themselves still alive. Everything was quiet except for the low hum of the engines. The heroes observed their surroundings. Yep, still in one piece. Cortex casually turned the ship around and found no trace of any Dark Makers. Did they truly destroy the whole lot by ramming the ship? Did the surviving ones fly away? Did they—
"Oh, who cares! WE WON! WE SURVIVED!" Daxter jumped up and down. Brutter, Tawna, N.Gin, and N. Brio joined in on the victory dance while the others had more concerned, mixed emotions. The Nicodemus continued its steady course towards Lucius.

………………

Entrance…
Month 2: Feburia, Day 1
Year: 2 AOTN (Age of the Nations)
Time: Afternoon

"LOOK! It's Lucius City!" Jak shouted from the deck. The others noticed him waving and pointing frantically. Some of the crew went outside to see the kingdom with him, some stayed inside. Whatever the case, Lucius was right smack dab on their face. A giant kingdom surrounded by brimming colors of red and white. The houses and palace had an orient feel, including the banners, the structure, and feel. Flags, giant paper dragons filled the sky. Nicodemus seem to be the only airship in the sky as most of the items in the air were artistically constructed or some form of mystical use of magic to create illusions of mystical beasts and the likes. And to top it all off, there were massive torches where fire was lit. In fact, fire seemed to be everywhere in the city. Even from atop an airship, the heroes could make out candles, lanterns, etc.
"My God, it's Asia!" Cortex gasped, "Well, Precursia's version of it anyways."
"Looks like a familiar spot for you then, Cortex." Gin commented. Cortex merely nodded as he watched in awe. He has never seen so much magic and mystics before in his life.
"Welcome to Lucius." Shuin said, "Fire Kingdom of Magic and Mystics."
To Be Continued…

……………………

NOTES:

1.) Some hints on Ashelin's current predicament by the end of her role, ey? Oh, and yes, no Kiera and Chiso on this chapter, so you gots to be more patience on their appearance.

2.) Well, after so long, we advance the plot and the heroes FINALLY reach Lucius. It gets more hectic from here, folks.