Coming to you from blizzard conditions! I can't see out my ground floor windows and there is a five foot snow drift in front of my door trappin g me in, its also a white out. Yay and while i'm freezing to death….lets write about desert heat! woot plot! Thanks to,Jak and Dax freakand WRTD for reviewing. Congrates to Jak and Dax freakfor being my 30th reviewer!you get ten brownie points!Yay! Kay go read now. Remember read if you want, review if ya do!
-- Get Your Freak On-- ch 15--
Jak trudged through the ankle deep sand after Clue. He couldn't believe he had managed to get the dune buggy all the way up there and fallen asleepto top it off. Lady luck really had to have it for him.
They were just in site of Spargus's shield wall, and the sun had just about reached its zenith in the sky.
Clue groaned, he wanted to be back by now. He adjusted his heavy trench coat he had slung over his shoulder.
Jak was miserable, he was sweating buckets, and felt sticky all over and he felt the beginning of sunburn on his back. He had long since removed his shirt and managed to strap his sleeveless shirt around his waist, revealing his scarred chest to the harsh desert sun. Jak glared at Clue's back. He looked like his was just out for a stroll.
It was safe to say; Jak's mood had progressed from bad to foul.
Daxter's little nails were digging into his shoulders and he was just about ready to throw him off, when out of nowhere Clue grabbed him by the shoulder and basically threw him over a rock.
"What the HELL!" he shouted angrily at the dark haired waste lander.
"Shut up." He growled back as the sound of motors roared near.
Two brown spiked and armored dune buggies tore up over a dune and speed towards them, they slide to a stop far to close to the rock they hid behind for comfort.
"Who they hell are these bastards any way!" Daxter asked
"Marauders," Clue answered, peeking over the rock. Two men sat half in and half out of their vehicles, conversing quickly in a foreign language. They both wore masks, with bright colors and designs, with dark goggles built right in. One lifted off his facemask, revealing a shock of bright red hair.
"And?" Jak half growled as he looked himself.
"They're the local tribes that lived here before the city took root, any one in the desert is fair game," he said dryly, trying to keep his voice down.
Daxter groaned. Jak just looked as foul as he was feeling, just what he needed, more people out to kill him.
Clue took a deep breath, looked at the blond elf and otsel and groaned, as if all his problems stemmed from them. "We'll have to make a run for it"
Jak nodded and untangled his gun from his shirt that he had hastily tied around his waist.
"On three we go," Jak said.
Daxter Gulped, "oh God…" the city walls had to be at least a quarter mile away.
"Three!" Clue yelled and they leaped over the rock, the two men on top of their vehicles looked at them with wide eyes.
Clue and Jak ran past them, back into open desert and toward Spargus. Wild shouts were heard behind them, and a single shot rang out. It burst into the sand not two feet from Jak. Jak picked up speed, trying to catch up with Clue. Engines roared behind them followed by the sound of two twin chain guns.
Suddenly, a hot burning pain flared as a bullet grazed his bare shoulder. He stumbled for a step then slide to a stop, and spun around to face the on coming cars. Running wasn't going to work.
"JAK! Jak, buddy …." Daxter trailed off as he felt the dark eco crackle under his friends skin, "OH SHIT!" Dax leapt from his shoulder.
He flung his gun away, he'd had enough. He let his migraine consume him, and let the familiar yet painful felling rip through his body.
Clue stopped and spun when he heard a scream, well not so much a scream as a battle cry. He watched Jak's bare back fade to a pale purple, as the purple sparks cascaded over him. And he stood there as his comrade charged the oncoming vehicles with eco induced rage.
The marauder vehicle sped up, intent on running the oncoming figure over. Jak drove his fist forward, metal collapsing around his fist. The vehicle stopped with the sudden force. Dark eco rippled down his arm and into the internal parts of the smashed engine.
The driver stared down at the pale skinned demon before him with shock and fear. And he just stared. Then to his complete horror the beast starred back, with its bottomless pitch black eyes. He watched the purple sparks dance across the demon's powerful chest, the scars and muscles clearly visible. The marauder screamed something unrecognizable and probably foreign.
A surge of dark eco burst through the machine, Jak tore his arm away and watch the engine exploded, with pure sadistic pleasure.
Daxter scampered up Clue's hanging trench coat and unto his shoulder. He watched Jak's smoke obscure figure stumble back and shake his head, regain his normal skin tone. Clue was smirking for no good reason. Jak scrambled away from the burning vehicle, scooped up his gun and bolted toward clue.
Clue watched the second vehicle slide to a stop in the sand; the driver jumped out and rushed to the other mans aid. Then he to bolted.
They didn't stop till they reached Kleiver's mechanical door, as soon as the doors slammed behind them, Jak leaned against a wall panting heavily.
He didn't want to look at clue, so he just stared at his boots as he caught his breathe. The more he stared at his boots the more the sand inside them bothered him, so finally he gave in a and slumped against the wall.
He poured a small mountain of sand out of his boot, " I know you like the desert Jak but really now you can't bring it home with you," Daxter was rewarded with a boot thrust over his head. The otsel managed to squirm his way out. "AAACK EEELCH! OH GOD… THE SMELL!" the otsel tottered around melodramatically a few steps then collapsed.
Clue already had his trench coat back on and buttoned up, "I meet you back at my place….you going to be okay?" He asked sounding deep in thought.
Jak nodded, "I'm good…"
So, he was going to be like Sig and just pretend the whole incident didn't happen.
Jak watched him leave. His whole body ached, not to mention his shoulder was bleeding. He quickly emptied his other shoe of sand and untangled his shirt.
His sweat made his shirt stick to him and his light armor rub uncomfortably. Daxter sat on his should guard, chatting happily at him while he bandaged up his shoulder. And then they where off.
As he walked streets he had no idea where he was going, he was only wandering. 'So much for starting over,' he thought bitterly, remembering his high expectation for the city.
He nearly bumped into her before he saw her, Seem glared at him, and made some quick finger movements, "there you are, I knew I'd be seeing you again," she said in contempt, "that dark eco ore you have, it is dangerous…and in the wrong hands…." She trailed off.
"You can't have it," he said dryly, remembering it was in his pocket.
" Yay! Go find your own monk boy!"
Seem squinted at the otsel, "I'll bet this light eco ore against yours, that is if your up to a race," she said with a sly smile. Jak gave her a quizzical look, how did these people know how to bait him.
"What kind of race?" he asked.
Seem motioned to the leaper behind her, "my precursor monks use these creatures to retrieve artifacts, we train them well." She said the last part as if this some how made the blonde before her inferior. He lifted an eyebrow as he watched Daxter inspect the Leaper behind her, as Seem continued to talk at him he noticed the similarity between Dax and the kanga rats.
the flut-flut like lizard lounged at the fuzzy orange rodent and atempted to make a lunch of him.
Jak burst out laughing, Daxter's two little paws kicked frantically from the jaws of the over grown lizard. Apparently, the leaper saw the similarity as well.
Seem did not look pleased, "Barush, barush," she crooned gently, caressing the creature. The leaper spit Daxter out unceremoniously.
"YUCK! Lizard drool." The otsel wiped a glob of it off his face.
" I'll see you back here in the market tonight," she said pointing at the ground and sounding a bit like a professional drag racer.
Jak nodded, and she faded back into the crowd. This light eco crystal intrigued him, there wasn't supposed to be any light eco around anymore. He frowned, what was he getting himself into. He groaned, he was still managing to get himself wrapped up in something.
"Stupid monks and their stupid leapers…." Daxter grumbled, "we're going to kick their asses tonight!" he cried triumphantly. Jak shrugged, "hey buddy you gone mute on me again?" A fuzzy upside down face entered his vision.
"No…I'm good." He said not sounding convinced of what he said.
"Oh what's that?" Daxter said suddenly pointing at a large crowd of people. A flood of people swarmed toward the arena, "hey, don't we need like three of those things from there or something," Dax asked using is wonderful memory skills.
"Yeah," Jak said with a sigh and head toward the entrance.
He strolled into the arena and stopped in front of Damos's throne. The king smiled, "I see you are back for a second battle amulet. In the arena we fight with honor and bravery," he pronounced, he motioned at the blaster upgrade on a small table before him. Jak smirked; at least something good was going to come out of this day.
Jak twisted the new mod into place, nodded at Damos and hopped on the elevator.
As the machine clanked downward he saw four prisoners marched into the arena below him, two red heads, a blonde girl and an older brunette man, two other prisoners where escorted in separately, both wearing green and black gang colors.
Peckers voice boomed out over the stands and the arena, "today our contestants are a group of marauders caught attacking our citizens in our desert, two criminals off our own streets," the crowd exploded, Jak watched the two young men be released. They didn't look quit so excited as the crowd. Jak's elevator touched down at arena level and he got of, "And finally we have Jak! And his annoying pet, the winner today will be allowed to go free!" the crowd exploded again.
"FIGHT!" Damos's voiced commanded, echoing over the stands.
The two gang members dashed behind a crate, dodging fire from the blonde marauder girl. When those two left her sites, she focused the attention of her twin pistols on Jak. Jak ran toward her firing, she rolled out of the way.
One of the red head's jumped at him, curved saber in hand, "Oh shit," Jak shouted as he stumbled back ward and began to dodge the sword strikes. Then the other read head came up suddenly on his left. Jak blocked the next sword slash with his gun. He realized just then that his two attackers where twins.
Identical in every way, they even wore some kind of uniform, they're brown tunics sporting matching red emblems.
Jak rolled backward away from the oncoming swords men; he quickly contorted the gun with a twist back to the scattergun. He fired, throwing the twins back.
Jak looked around quickly, one gang member had just shot the older marauder in the head. The young girl went after them with a vengeance. She slammed the taller blonde man against the wall, aimed a gun to his chest and fired. With a red blast, his chest opened up and splattered her with its contents. She watched him slide down the wall with her bright green eyes. blood splater decorated her once inocent pink tank top.
It took Jak a moment to figure out what made her seem so strange to him, it was her ears, they where small, too small. They where about half their normal size and tattooed.
"What the HELL is up with her ears!" Daxter asked from his shoulder. The two twins ignored him now, and one charged the second shorter man who was aiming his gun at the girl. The girl turned just in time to see the red head bring his sword down, there was a sickening sound and she watched blood spray up ward from the headless corps. The body teetered back and fell with a slump. The crowd exploded again.
Jak watched the head slowly roll toward him, its dead face trapped forever in an angry scowl. Jak kicked it out of his way as he manipulated his gun back to the blaster mod and approached the remaining three marauders.
The red laser targeting dot danced over the girl's chest, she still stared at the read head the dead corps with a confused and inocent expresion. Jak fired, the young girl let out a blood-curdling scream.
Jak watched her fall back, blood bubbling out of her mouth.
"VIA!" the closest read head screamed and ran to her, the other charged, Jak aimed and shot.
He swore, the boy stumbled but kept coming, blood seeping out his shoulder. The red head jumped him with a loud battle cry. He leapt high and crashed his feet down on Jak's shoulder. The marauders feet smashed him into the ground, knocking the breath out of him and sending both his morph gun and Daxter flying.
The next few events happened so fast that Jak wasn't sure how he managed them. The boy brought his blade down, aiming to slice his jugular open. Jak, not quit sure how it happened, grabbed the boy's wrist and twisted. With a scream, the curved blade popped from his hands and skittered across the arena floor.
Jak brought both legs up and kicked him up and off him. The red head landed with a thud and rolled to the right as Jak lunged to punch him in the stomach. He jumped at the marauder before he could scramble to his feet, he pinned him on the ground, wrapped his finger around his neck and squeezed. A frightened look passed over the boys face, Jak grinned.
The boys oxygen deprived face suddenly change expressions, Jak snapped his head around just in time to see the other twin charging him, sword upraised. He rolled of his brother, but not fast enough. The warrior marauder swung his sword and nicked him across the side.
Jak's hands reached for the wound as he rolled away. He turned and faced his enemies. The charging twin helped his brother up and said something softy to him, Jak couldn't hear it but he braced himself when one made a vague gesture at him.
Dax suddenly scampered up his shoulder, "What you waiting for? Get 'em!" he shouted in his ear. Jak ignored him and waited. They happened to stand between him and his gun.
The twin that had rushed him was crying, he handed his brother one of the girl's guns. The twin on the left brought up his gun, placed it on his brother's forehead, and squeezed his eyes shut.
Jak just stared.
" HEEKI…." He shouted keeping his eyes shut. The crowd went dead silent
The crying red head also raised his gun and placed the cool barrel against his brother's head, " EN TAHL!" he screamed in return. His scream was punctuated by twin gunshots.
"HOLLY SHIT!" Daxter shouted, breaking the deadly silence that had passed over the crowd after the twin's bodies had thumped to the ground. The silence continued.
Damos's voice suddenly boomed over the silent arena, "and our champion is JAK!" the crowd suddenly roared up.
The twins' death left Jak feeling extremely uneasy. And as he stood before Damos, the king handed him the amulet, but there were no words of praise. Just the amulet and a nod. Jak nodded back, not knowing what else to do and left.
As he trudged down the stairs, he held his side. When he reached the bottom he leaned against a near by wall and lifted up his shirt. It wasn't deep, little more than a scratch. But it hurt like hell.
"You gona be alright Jak?" he asked, for once not yelling, "cause you're bleeding in more than one place." He finished with a laugh.
"Yeah… I'm good," he said with more conviction than when he had said the same words earlier.