Author's Notes: I think its gonna pick up a bit after this chapter. I got in a serious writing groove as soon as I hit this. Its good times my friends. Anyways, Enjoy.

Chapter Three
Fallen Hero

The jungles outside on the borders of Haven City were still a place that no commoner of the city would dare tread. There were still too many metal head lingering about the area for anyone to actually be able to enjoy it. The afternoon sun was starting to sink low into in the horizon of the far off wastelands, warming the area with a low golden light. It would have almost been called picture perfect, except for the sounds of gunfire echoed throughout the brush.

Jak, Daxter, Sig, and Keira had spent most of their day making their way through the waterfall areas of the pumping station. Despite what had been stated by Torn, the northern area where they had been assigned to had very few metal heads lingering about. The small group had started to hike up towards the top of the waterfalls as an attempt to get a better view of the surrounding area.

"Ya know," Daxter began as Jak climbed up onto the next ledge, "I thought this would be more eventful." Jumping off at the edge of the cliff, the creature moved forward, leaving Jak to daggle at the edge. "I mean woo! I am working up a sweat with all this climbing."

Pulling himself up so that his arms were resting on the edge of the ledge, Jak glared at his companion, "Yeah. Sure." He grumbled as he put all his strength into his arm muscles and hoisted himself up. Looking forward, Jak patted away some of the dirt on his sleeves. "Hey Sig! See anything yet?" he called upwards.

Sig had hurried a bit ahead of them to a higher perch overlooking the lagoon below him. He held one of his massive hands up to help block up sun's setting rays. Narrowing his eyes a bit, he glared about the below area, in hopes of spotting a least one metal head that might prove to be a challenge.

Sighing a bit, Sig dropped his hand and turned back to Jak, "Nothing yet."

Daxter tossed his ears a bit, crossing his arms, "They probably heard I was coming and decided to make a run for it." He gloated in his normal tone of cockiness.

Not even bothering to give the animal a reply, Jak turned to glance over the edge of the cliff. Keira was slowly moving up the ledge, taking one foot hold at a time. Though almost near the edge, the aqua-haired mechanic looked as if her arms were going to give out under the strain of the climb. Keira was new to the whole recon tasks, but she was determined to help in any way she could.

Taking a knee, Jak extended his hand down to the girl, "Need a lift?" he questioned, smirking a bit.

Looking up, Keira noted the outstretched hand and Jak's smile. Sighing a bit, she reached out for the opened hand and linked her hand with his wrist. He returned the action, gripping tightly onto her dead weight. She dangled for a moment on the rock face as Jak made sure his hold on her was tight enough. Then, with one swift pull, Keira was rushed upward to where Jak stood.

Turning a bit as he pulled, Jak placed the girl down beside him. She knelt slightly, making sure her stance on the ground was sturdy enough then straightened her back out. Lifting her head up, Keira came face to face with Jak's brilliant blue eyes. Those were always one of the things she loved about him. Despite all of the eco treatments he had endured and all the pain he had felt, those eyes had never changed since the first day they had met. As she looked at him, she noticed his cheeks slowing starting to turn a light shade of pink as his eyes cast downwards. It took her a moment to realize that Jak and she were still holding onto each other's wrist. But, neither of them moved to any motion to release their hold on the other.

"AHEM!" Daxter's loud voice echoed, breaking the eye contact between the two. They both looked away to find both the Ottsel and Sig looking at them with raised eyebrows. Though the creature's look was more out of annoyance, Sig had a small grin at the edge of his lips. Withdrawing their hands quickly, both teens blushed a bit more.

"Sorry," she muttered.

"Nah. It was my fault." He quickly retorted back.

Trying to avoid anymore of an awkward situation, Jak quickly began to turn forward and continue onward. But before the elf could reverse his direction, he felt a wave of dizziness strike him square between the eyes. It was a hard and dull sensation that was like nothing he had felt before. Staggering a bit, Jak quickly shook out his head. As he tapped the side of the head with his palm, a lightly touch came to his shoulder. Glancing back, he was met with Keira's green eyes.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked, face full of concern.

Just as quickly as the pain had come, it had diminished. Taking his hand away from his head, Jak blinked a few more times, making sure it was truly gone. Looking back over his shoulder, he let a small smile escape him, "Yeah. It was nothing."

Rolling his eyes, Daxter quickly scurried up to his place on Jak's shoulder, "If you two are finished," he began, a glare darting back and forth at the two. "We are here to hunt—"

"Metal heads!" Sig's voice broke through the conversation.

Looking up towards where their friend was perched, Jak felt his eyes widen as the sky became covered with shadows of the deadly creatures. At least sixty metal heads lingered above, waiting for them to make some kind of sudden movement. Their wings made the familiar sickening fluttering sound that could make him cringe. Without a second thought, Jak grabbed for his scatter shot and let the safety loose. Aiming into the sky, he let his shot fly.

Chaos erupted following the shot. Sig charged up the peacemaker for a massive shot, while Keira and Jak covered him. The pair fired rapidly into the sky, turning most of the metal heads they hit into dust with just one shot. Daxter kept giving the heads up to where the next target was. He clung onto Jak's shoulder tightly, making sure he didn't loose his balance. Yet, with every one killed, three more would appear in its place.

Jak jumped up onto a higher ledge, widening the firing range between him and Keira. He let another shot fly from his gun, taking out two more metal heads. Gritting his teeth a bit, he curled his upper lip.

"There's just no end!" he shouted over the gunfire of the others. Grabbing another cartage of ammo from his back, he quickly reloaded. Taking aim once more, he fired up into the sky.

Sig let his sixth shot from the peacemaker fly, taking out a chunk of the enemy. To his disappointment, more metal heads appeared in their places. "Damn! We need backup!" he cursed, beginning another charge cycle.

Taking note of the order, Keira reached for her communicator at her hip. "Torn! We're being bombarded by metal heads in the north lagoon! We need backup!" she screamed into the small device.

"To your right Jak!" Daxter shouted, causing his friend to turn and fire. The metal head exploded on impact from the shot, leaving nothing but a small pile of dust.

Smirking a bit at his kill, the blond haired youth aimed his gun upward again, "Thanks Dax." He said, firing off another shot. Lifting his gun up once again, Jak took aim. He let his eyes narrow as he watched the bugs swarm above him, not trying to dive down for an attack. Placing his finger onto the trigger, he let his eyes narrow as if making himself focus more.

Jak felt a small pulsation rush from his head to his toes and back again. His eyes began to loose focus on the enemy. As he pointed his gun, the area above him started to drift in and out of focus. Blinking a few times in hopes to rid himself of the blur, Jak found it only made it worse. His hands began to tremble as if he had just awoken from his nightmare. He felt icy sweat beginning on the edge of his temples and palms, making it harder to hold onto the rifle. Jak felt his knees beginning to weaken beneath him, causing his balance to begin to lessen.

Daxter took note of his friend's lost concentration, "Jak! What the hell is wrong? Focus!" he shouted in his friend's ear.

But the Ottsel's voice seemed like a million miles away. The same pain in his head was building up within him. He could feel it swelling up in his chest, making him cringe in pain. Darkness began to filter into the corners of his mind, causing the area of view to tilt and sway a bit. In an attempt to hold onto his balance, Jak released the gun from his grasp, clutching his head in pain.

Sig looked down from his place above Jak. He watched as the boy released his weapon from his fingers, leaving himself completely opened. The young man was staggering around as if he had too much to drink, gripping onto his head for dear life.

"Dax! What's up with the kid?!" the man cried, firing off another shot into the sky.

Jumping off of his friend's shoulder, Daxter looked up into his friend's face. His eyes were barely opened as he struggled to keep himself on his feet. "I don't know!" he called back to Sig, "He won't answer me!"

"Jak! Heads up!" Keira's voice called to him, causing his eyes to cast upward slightly.

And yet, before the young man could attempt to move out of the way, a flash of purple light hit him square in the chest. Jak felt his feet leave the ground as he flew backwards. He couldn't find the strength to stop himself from slipping. It was almost in slow motion as he watched Daxter and the others slip away from him. Gravity began to take over as the young man felt his body lean and fall. The air rushed past his head as he felt himself rush downwards, tilting his head backwards a bit.

Before he could come to terms with falling, Jak felt himself hit the water hard. It was cold and like needles on his skin as he continued downwards within the depths. He tried to move, but the pain he felt made it difficult under the water. Looking up towards the surface, Jak's blurred vision could make out the sun across the surface of the water.

'Why…do I feel so…strange?' he thought as he let his hand reach upwards towards the surface.

'His powers are starting to emerge…'

Blinking slowly, Jak felt himself beginning to grow drowsy. He closed his eyes to only let himself begin to slip away.

"JAK!" Daxter screamed loudly as he watched Jak collide with the water. The small Ottsel ran to the edge of cliff, staring the long ways down to where his friend had fallen. His mouth hung agape as he looked down for any sign of his friend resurfacing, but nothing came.

Sig quickly glanced at the small creature and then back at the looming metal heads. The bug-like creatures slowly began to retreat into the sky, as if they had completed their mission. They did not bother to give a second glance to the remainder of the party, moving off into the horizon of the setting sun. From what Sig could tell, they were returning to the wasteland areas.

Growling a bit under his breath, the man leapt from his position on the highest plateau down to where Daxter stood. Glancing over the edge quickly, he saw that there was no sign of Jak's surfacing. "Damnit," he cursed under his breath, causing Ottsel to look up at him. "Dax, get down to the shore with Keira." Dropping his gun to the ground, Sig took a small running start and hurled himself into a dive off the cliff

Swimming was never one of Sig's favorite activities. He always thought he was way too large for such a thing and tried to avoid it whenever possible. Not to mention, being from the wasteland, there was really never a need for swimming type activities. But when it came to his current situation, some things just needed to be forgotten. He took large strokes as he swam downward, pulling him through the water quickly. As he looked downward through the clear water, Sig kept his eyes locked on what was below him.

Pausing for a moment, the large man narrowed his eyes as he looked at the bottom of the lagoon. Sure enough, sinking towards the sand below was Jak. There was a small hint of red in the water about his body as he float there, motionless. His eyes widened as he took off towards the teen, picking up his pace.

Reaching outward to the boy's outstretched hand, Sig grasped it tightly. Pulling upwards, he brought Jak up closer to him, taking hold of him around the waist. The young man's body was limp in his grasp as he held tightly to him. His head fell backwards against Sig's shoulder, making the man glance briefly over at him. There, upon his forehead, a bit of the lingering red in the water seemed to be fading faster than the rest. Adjusting the amount of dead weight, Sig started kicking for the surface as fast as he could.

"What do you mean they're down there?!" Torn roared, throwing his hands into the air. Ashelin and the leader of the underground stood at the water's edge with Keira and Daxter. When they had arrived as the scene, they were there just in time to see Sig jump into the water after Jak. The pair tried to explain what happened with the onslaught of metal heads, but Torn was more interested in why Jak decided to go for a swim.

Daxter paced back and forth on the shore line, waiting for some kind of sign of the two men. It had only been a few minutes since they had vanished into the water, yet it felt like an eternity. "Look, I already told you want happened." He growled back at Torn, not halting in his movement. "If you had just shown up as backup when we called,"

But Torn pointed his finger at Daxter, "Listen you little rat," he began, "We were also bombarded by metal heads. We couldn't get out of it without killing all of them."

Keira tuned the arguing pair out as she always did. She kept her eyes locked onto the lake in hopes to see some sign of the duo. She felt terrible for not grabbing that metal head before it got to Jak. She could have hit it and saved him. But, there was no way that it would have been possible. Keira knew that Jak would have hit the target; no questions asked if it were her life on the line. Yet, she couldn't even do that.

Suddenly, a loud splash echoed throughout the area, silencing the arguing. As they looked out to the center of the water, Sig burst to the surface, gasping heavily for air. He panted as he drew up Jak to the surface as well, still holding onto him tightly.

"He's got him!" Daxter screamed happily as he watched Sig head towards the shore.

Sig swam with one arm, pulling Jak through the water towards the others. As he approached the shallow water, the man looked up at them. The dead weight at his side began to concern him greatly as he moved into a place he knew he could stand. Rising to his feet, Sig threw one of Jak's limp arms around his neck. Then, taking hold of his waist again, rose up with as the young man's support.

Keira gasped at the sight of Jak. He was hanging completely limp at Sig's side as if he were a rag doll. A small bit of his tunic was discolored in a deep shade of red, which dripped onto the ground due to the water. His normally tamed blond hair hung loosely about his face, small droplets of water clinging to the strands. His goggles had fallen from their place on his brow to hanging about his neck.

"Jak!" she cried, running towards Sig with the others quickly at her heels.

Moving onto the shore, Sig quickly took a knee. "He's not breathing," he grumbled, his breath still slightly heavy but hurried tone. Gently, the large man placed Jak onto the ground. He adjusted the young man's head into a better position for his neck. Taking a knee next to the body, he quickly let his eyes scan over the unconscious man.

Daxter ran up next to his friend, his eyes filled with shock at the condition of his partner. Coming up to his side, the Ottsel placed his head onto his friend's chest. Raising an eyebrow, Daxter's brow furrowed a bit.

"I can hear his heart beating," he commented, looking up at Torn and Sig.

Nodding a bit, Sig held his hand out quickly to their leader, "Give me your knife. Quick." He demanded, not removing his eyes from Jak.

"What are you gonna do? Just end it for him?" Torn commented as he handed the knife over; which only got a glare from Daxter.

Taking hold of the handle, Sig quickly leaned over Jak. He slid the sharp blade between the thick strap and the blood-stained shirt. Then, in one swift motion, the man pulled the knife through the leather as if it were butter.

As the sound of the belt breaking echoed slightly, Jak's eyes few opened into a wide position. His body lurched harshly as he quickly turned himself over, spitting out a large amount of water he had engulfed. His entire body shook violently as he sat there on all fours, hacking and coughing up water from the lagoon. His complexion had grown an ashen white as he continued to tremble.

"Jak!" Keira and Daxter shouted joyously, coming up beside him. The girl fell to her knees, placing a hand onto his back. She gently rubbed his back, trying to easy his coughing and hacking. She placed her other hand under onto his chest, trying to steady him as he hacked.

The small rat scurried up onto Sig's shoulder, overlooking his friend carefully and with worry upon his face, "Man Jak. Way to scare the rest of us to death." He said, his normal sarcastic tone told.

Ashelin hung back a bit with Torn, watching Keira and the others try to lighten the mood. The red-haired woman crossed her arms, letting her normal long stare dart about. Glancing down at the young man on all fours, she couldn't help but feel her muscles tense. His body was shaking too much from just a mere case of water log. The tips of his ears had grown paler with each passing moment. Something was not right. Eyeing Torn out of the corner of her eye, she could see the man was on the same train of thought. He let his brow furrow a bit more than normal and his arms tensed in their crossed form.

"Do you get the feeling," he began, looking back at Ashelin.

"…that something isn't right?" she finished, gaining a nod from him.

"Hey buddy," Daxter's voice asked loudly, causing the two to look back over. Daxter placed his small paw onto his friend's arm, looking at his with somewhat of a forced smile. "Hey…c'mon. Say something."

But Jak could not hear his friend's words. Their touches seemed like mere light breezes in the air as he knelt there. The pain began to come back to his brow once more, making him tremble even more so than before. Gasping for air seemed like the only thing he could try to do, though his lung felt as if they were on fire. His arms gave way under him, sending him into a soft resting place.

Though he could not speak or hear, Jak's eyes had not failed him yet. Looking up in a daze, he could see the familiar faces of his looking down at him. Keira seemed surprised as touched her hand to his face, then grew more concerned. Daxter's normally cocky filled expression had become considered as he started yelling. But despite him yelling and shaking at him, Jak heard or felt nothing.

'Mar…'

Feeling himself drifting once more, Jak closed his eyes, 'Stop calling me Mar.'

Author's Notes: Hope you all enjoyed this installment. Please Read, Review, and Enjoy.