Chapter Eleven:

Collecting the Pieces

"Attention all racers, the Class Three races will be starting in one hour," a feminine voice blared over the speaker system in the garage.

Keira moved from the racing zoomers after her final examination and to the table where Jak, Daxter, and Erin were talking about the race. She sat down between Jak and Erin and listened to their conversation.

"Are there any rules we have to follow?" Erin asked, a large amount of nervousness evident in her voice for the impending race.

"Only a few," Keira stated. "The combined weight of the driver and the zoomer must weigh one thousand pounds. This gives all the racers equal advantages when turning and accelerating, and anyone who false-starts or is caught tampering with another racers zoomer is automatically disqualified."

Erin waited for Keira to continue with the rules, but there weren't any. "That's it?" She asked incredulously.

Keira just nodded.

"There aren't any rules against running an opponent off the track? Or ramming an opponent into another opponent?" Erin asked hopefully.

"I'm afraid not," Keira answered.

Erin sighed, ran her fingers through her red-brown hair, and held her head off the table with her hands. "Remind me why we're doing this again."

"Because the winner of the Class One race gets to tour the Palace, perhaps if we get in we can learn more of what the Baron knows about the Tomb of Mar, and maybe disrupt some more of his operations," Jak answered her.

"Yeah, right," Erin commented lamely.

"Erin, what are you so worried about?" Jak asked. "We've had to race through the city many times running from the KG, and you handled yourself rather well."

They had both decided to race in the tournaments to greaten their chances of getting into the Palace, but now Erin was having second thoughts. She finally raised her head from the table and looked at Jak. "Running from the Krimson Guards and racing in a serious sports race are two ENTIRELY different things."

Jak just laughed at how serious she was being, Erin just glared. "Come on, Erin, just breathe and you'll do fine."

"I'm going to take the zoomers down to the track and do one final check list," Keira announced to her two person racing team.

"Ok," both racers said in unison.

Keira left the room and went to the zoomers. In the newly built Stadium, each garage had it's own personal lift up to the racing track. All the mechanics had to do was place the zoomers on the platform and the elevator would do the rest.

After Erin heard the elevator lift start up, she looked over at Jak. "Can I ask you something?"

Jak didn't look up from the list he held of the other racers, "Sure."

"You're not racing just to get back at Erol, are you?"

This time Jak looked up at Erin, "…no."

She raised an eyebrow, obviously not convinced. She stood, grabbed her racing jacket from the back of her chair, and looked him in the eye. "Don't let your need for vengeance cloud what really matters. We're stopping the Baron for the good of the city, not just for gratification."

Erin looked him long and hard in the eyes, emphasizing her point, then made her way out of the garage to the racers lounge.

Jak sighed, Erin sure had a way of making him feel bad. She was, yet again, not looking for revenge.

Whatever. Jak got up and followed in the direction that Erin went.
The racers lounge was technically a waiting area. Couches lined the walls, nothing fancy. During the first stages of the tournament, this is where the racers learned which heats they would be racing in. No racer knew which race they would be racing in until just before the start of the first day of the tournament, this helped to prevent sabotage of another racer's zoomer, which tends to happen more often than not in this high-stakes, lucrative sport. With the allure of money comes the danger of cheaters to claim the prize.

Jak found Erin in the crowded room, she was wearing the same blue jacket as him with the symbol of Keira's racing team, the Blue Wumpbees. Many teams were here, with many racers on each. Most teams had at least five racers, to greaten their odds of claiming the victory prize, along with the glory and honor of beating one of the best racers ever to enter the Stadium, Erol. Not one other team in the circuit thinks that Keira's small team will even make it to Class Two.

Boy, are they in for a surprise.

Both Jak and Erin had dressed in new clothes from the Underground's storage, and each of them had a fake name to go with. The Baron and Erol would be at every one of these races, and they wouldn't want to have an 'accident' before reaching the Championship race.

The race officials posted the heats on a board at the back of the room. Jak and Erin waited for their turn to look at which race they would be in. Each heat was made up of ten racers, with two heats racing simultaneously on opposite tracks. The winners of each heat would advance to the Class Two races being held in two weeks.

"Which heat are you in?" Erin asked Jak when they had finally found each other again in the crowd.

"Heat three, you?" By the look on her face he only needed to guess.

"First heat," Erin answered, her face slightly blanched.

"Which track?"

"The northern one," she answered, still in shock.

"All heat one racers report to their designated tracks, the race will begin in fifteen minutes," the generic woman's voice blared over the speaker system.

Jak noticed Erin swallow in anxiety. "Erin, you'll do fine."

"Well, if I don't make it to Class Two, at least one of us will," Erin stated as she headed out of the lounge.

She walked out onto the walkway of the crowded stadium. Almost everyone in the entire city was here. This was their one chance to forget their worries and just have fun watching the only entertainment available to them. The Baron had taken everything from all the citizens in the city, except this one sport. The Baron only allowed the races because of his own interests. In his day he had been reigning Champion of Haven City. Many people whispered that Praxis had arranged for his right-hand-man Erol to take his 'throne' as Champion. With a sure winner in the races, Praxis could make an immense amount of money.

Erin didn't think that she could take the title from him.

She rounded the large stadium. In the center of the large bowl-like arena was the tracks. For this early in the racing circuit they had made two tracks, one at the northern end and one at the southern end. This allowed for two races to be running simultaneously, and eliminating the weaker racers quickly. Since this was the only entertainment available to the people, many would try and prove their worth in the races. Many people would waste their money to be allowed to race, just because it was the only glimmer of hope in their depressing lives. Most wouldn't make it out of Class Three.

Erin checked in at the booth at the northern track, where she was given her lane assignment. She had been given lane five. Perhaps that was a good sign, five was her lucky number.

Her racing zoomer was waiting in her assigned lane. Unlike conventional zoomers, a racing zoomer is built for speed. The design is mush more aerodynamic, allowing the racer to climb to speeds much higher than an everyday zoomer. The seat is also much lower, allowing the driver to seemingly become a part of the zoomer. But, basically, a racing zoomer was nothing but an engine with a seat bolted on it. Very dangerous if you don't know what you're doing.

Erin tried to gain control of her breathing, she had practiced for the past two weeks strait on a racing zoomer. You can do this!

Time seemed to fly by way too fast. Many of the racers in her heat had started to get ready in their lanes. It wasn't long until the announcer called for everybody to--

"--Start your engines!"

The roars of engines sounded over the many enthusiastic fans. Erin could hardly hear herself think with all the noise ringing in her ears. She pulled down her racing goggles over her eyes.

Above the starting line were three lights. The first one lit up, ready, followed by number two, set, and then number three--

"GO!"

The buzzing sound of engines accelerating blocked out the noise of the crowd.

Unlike the other racers, who jammed their foot down on the acceleration pedal the instant that the final signal was give, Erin waited for one second. As soon as every one of the racers had taken off for the outside of the lane on the turning lane, she turned her zoomer to the inside and accelerated as hard as the zoomer could handle. This little stunt gave her a strait shot through the turn, taking her into first place.

Now all I have to do is keep it.

The tracks were built with many turns, so the driver has to take the turns just right to maintain the lead. If a driver drifted too high or too far out on the turn, another driver would whip past them and take the lead.

Erin just forgot about winning and tried to drive like she would in practice.

She had just passed the first lap marker when the announcer blared something over the speakers.

"Munch has taken the lead!"

Erin was shocked, she hadn't seen anyone pass her. She looked ahead, and sure enough there was a zoomer pulling farther ahead of her. Until that moment she had thought that she had obtained a lengthy lead and had slowed down slightly to take the turns better, now she pushed the acceleration pedal down as far as it would go. She flew around corners at top speed, trying to re-gain the lead. Munch was just in her sights as they stated the third and final lap.

He turned sharply into another tunnel just after the starting line. A short cut! Erin had to slam on her brakes for a moment to follow him.

This tunnel was about one third the size of the normal race track, meaning that you would have to stay sharp not to hit a wall. Erin didn't have time to slow down and be careful, she raced through the narrow tunnel as fast as she dared to catch up to the other racer. When they exited the smaller tunnel Erin was right on his tail. They had a half a lap to go before the finish line.

Erin tried to pass him, but he slammed his zoomer into hers and almost caused her to hit the wall at a dangerous speed.

He looked over his shoulder and gave her a cocky grin as she backed off.

She glared at him for a moment and slammed her foot on the accelerator again. When she was head to head with him he turned sharply into her again, but this time she was ready.

The instant that he tried to ram her into the wall, Erin slammed on her breaks and turned the other way to avoid him. He didn't have time to correct himself and slammed into the wall with a large explosion just as Erin passed the finish line.

"Well done Team!" Keira called excitedly as she entered the garage after securing the zoomers back in their places. Both Erin and Jak had made it to the Second Class races, a feat that no one in the entire circuit thought they could do.

"When is this city gonna provide some challenge, huh?" Daxter asked no one in particular. He had shown up for the races late, no doubt spending some quality time with Tess. Jak just shook his head, Dax hadn't even been their for all of their races.

The sound of booted feet cut through the cheerful air. Everyone in the garage suddenly felt the atmosphere change at the drop of a coin.

"Hey, I watched you race today. You were pretty amazing out there," Ashelin said to Jak. Jak was the only one to relax when he recognized her. As an after thought she looked to Erin, "You both were."

"Oh, thanks…" Jak started as he rubbed the back of his neck in anxiety, "Ah, Keira, Erin, this is Ashelin. She's just…"

"Everyone knows who she is," Keira said darkly. Erin could see the jealousy evident in her emerald eyes.

"And Keira's a…" Jak tried to continue, obviously uncomfortable.

"A friend. A very good friend," Keira emphasized the last three words. Erin just rolled her eyes internally, her newest friend had a real problem with other girls being around the man that wasn't technically hers.

"Thanks for helping out with that tanker, Jak." Ashelin said, obviously ignoring Keira's words. "You saved a lot of lives."

Erin wasn't sure what Ashelin was talking about, but with the tension in the air, Keira thought it better not to ask.

Ashelin turned to leave the garage, but stopped just before she had stepped out into the hall. "I'm not my father, you know." She started, trying to explain her situation. She seemed to be staring into a wall, thinking hard. "Ever since I was a little girl, I've looked down at the city streets from that ridiculous Palace, and imagined a better place."

A quad of Krimson Guards seemed to break her out of her trance. "By the way, they're hunting for you. I'd watch out for Erol. I can't protect you from him." With that warning she walked out into the hall and was immediately lost from sight into the crowd.

"Whew, she's a betty!" Daxter commented loudly, efficiently breaking the dark mood that had been set on them. "And she likes you Jak! Not that I can account for her tastes."

Keira seemed to turn livid as Daxter continued to jabber on. "I bet you'd love to pin some medals on her chest, huh?"

Keira stomped out of the room when Jak didn't hurry to correct him.

"What? What'd I say?" Daxter looked honestly baffled. "What did you say, Jak?"

Jak threw up his hands in defeat. He looked over at Erin as if she was going to join the list of women that were pissed at him.

She threw up her hands, "Hey, don't look at me," she laughed, not wanting to be part of a three-way cat fight.

"The first piece is in a Lurker totem pole?" Erin asked, trying to get their mission strait.

Jak nodded. The small transport aircraft was taking them to the Dig. Samos had been talking to Onin, and together they had figured how they could get into Mar's tomb. To get to a small sacred valley in the Precursor Temple, they needed to find all three pieces of the Seal of Mar. With the Seal of Mar complete, they could get to the device that, according to legend, would show them the way to Mar's tomb. Samos and Onin also figured that the kid was the key to opening the tomb.

If the kid really was the heir to the Haven City throne. If he wasn't then they'd have to search hard before Praxis could capture him. If Praxis ever got his hands on the Precursor Stone, they all might as well kiss the planet goodbye.

The transport landed heavily on the pad outside the Dig. Jak, Daxter, and Erin unloaded and headed for the large entrance to the tunnels far beneath. Most of the Metal Heads that would normally be in the tunnels were absent due to the Krimson Guards in the area that kept down their numbers.

Jak led the way, with Erin following behind with Daxter on her shoulder. It didn't take too long to traverse the distance to the large totem on the other side of the large cavern.

The totem was a ghastly looking thing, it was huge with large gruesome Lurker faces on it.

"Man, that guy looks worse than Brutter!" Daxter said, pointing at one particularly ugly face.

Erin just shook her head and snickered, "Come on, Dax, Brutter doesn't look that bad."

"Says you!" Daxter commented.

Erin just shook her head. Jak climbed to the top of the totem to retrieve the piece of the Seal of Mar. Retrieving the first piece was easy…

…But the same couldn't be said for the second piece.

When they entered Haven's city limits, Samos contacted them on their communicators.

"Great job on collecting the first piece!" The Shadow congratulated them. "We have information that Brutter is the guardian of the second piece. Legend goes that Mar, after he made the Lurkers his friends, entrusted them to guard the pieces of his seal. Three hundred years later, the Lurkers still have two of the three pieces, the one that you got from the Dig and the one that Brutter is personally responsible for. He has the second piece hidden in an abandoned house at the Water Slums. Go there and get it."

"Yes, sir." Jak answered.

Jak, Erin, and Daxter grabbed a zoomer to take them to the Water Slums not long after touching down at the Port. This part of the city was always busy this part of the day; it was about three hours before sunset. It was very easy to acquire a zoomer in the masses of people minding their own business. They reached the Water Slums in a matter of minutes.

"Where should we start looking?" Erin asked, stepping out of the zoomer on to the creaky, wooden walkway.

Jak switched off the zoomer and slid out of the zoomer as well. He shook his head at her question. Samos had said an abandoned house, but the fact of the matter was that most of the houses in the Water Slums were abandoned to begin with.

"Should we split up?" Jak suggested, hoping to cut their search time in half.

Erin nodded. Jak went down one wooden path, Erin and Daxter went in the opposite direction.

Erin couldn't see this part of the city ever being presentable. All the wood was rotting from the continued exposure to moisture and the lack of upkeep from the people. Most of the buildings were practically unfit to live in, but the homeless made due with the disregarded buildings that no one else wanted. The water was almost black because of how filthy it was. The city walls kept the water stagnant, instead of letting the ocean currents keeping it clean, and this area of the city didn't have filtering pumps to cleanse the water like the Port. This entire part of the city reeked of rotten wood and swamp water.

At least this part of the city was never busy. Even the KG ignored this part of the city, considering there was nothing of value in it. Some people even referred to it as the 'New Dead Town," since the Baron wouldn't spend the money it would take to fix up the place.

Daxter and Erin continued to circle the area, looking closely at all the abandoned buildings in hopes to find the next piece of the Seal of Mar. Erin absently thought about how far Praxis was to finding the Tomb. Had he even the slightest idea to where it was or how to get into it? Or was he closer than the Underground? The thought of the Precursor Stone in the hands of someone like the Baron or Erol frightened Erin.

"What's that?" Daxter asked from her shoulder.

Erin looked to where Daxter was pointing. At the end of a dark, dead-end alley stood a small Lurker totem that was an exact replica of the one in the Dig, only about 1/100th of the size. Erin walked cautiously onto the rotten walkway that was even worse off than the others in the Water Slums. The walkway moaned dangerously every few steps that she took, but she continued to the small totem.

Even with the lack of light, Erin could easily see the detail of the totem. This was the building they had been looking for, no doubt about it. But before she entered, she took another look at the small, carved totem. It came up to about her waist and had exquisite detail. Daxter jumped from her shoulder to take a closer look as well.

"Hey!" Daxter called excitedly, just before he put his small arm into the totems mouth. A second later his furry hand re-appeared with a small piece of metal.

"The second piece!" He raised the small portion of Precursor metal into the air, showing it to Erin.

"Nice job, Daxter." Erin congratulated him. She then reached for her communicator. "We have the next piece," she broadcasted to Jak, and Torn and Samos at the Hideout.

Many lights suddenly flashed into her and Daxter's eyes, leaving them blind.

"FREEZE!" Ordered a booming voice. Twenty guns appeared, pointed directly at her heart.

"We have the next piece," Erin's voice was heard over the communicator. Jak sighed in relief and turned to head back to the zoomer. Static came through on the radio after Erin's announcement, then a loud voice yelling the word 'freeze!'

Jak instantly ran past the zoomer to the direction that Erin had disappeared down. His heart raced as he heard the struggle over the communicator. He heard many shots and yells.

Jak was sure his heart broke when he heard Erin call out in pain, followed by static as the communicator was disabled. His feet pounded on the rickety walkway, mirroring the pounding in his chest. He ran even faster, to the beating of his heart.

Three large Krimson Guard drop ships were floating in the area that he had last seen Erin, and it was obvious that she was there.

It was also obvious that it had been a trap.

Somehow the Krimson Guard had known that they would be there. They were waiting for us to lead them right to the Seal!

He turned down the dead end alley that the KG were swarming to, forgetting any thought about self-preservation, and dove into the crowd of armed men. The instant he was in the center of the forty or so men, he allowed his dark self to take over.

Dark Jak concentrated all of his dark energy into one motion that would kill all the enemies in one fowl swoop. When he hit the ground with his fists a dark shockwave erupted from the contact, sending his enemies flying through the air…

…The contact of the dark eco killed them before they hit the ground.

Dark Jak collapsed, his energy drained. It took less than a moment for his normal self to return.

Jak was exhausted, but he jumped back up to his feet and grabbed his morph-gun, ready for any Krimson Guards that had survived.

No one had.

Where the bodies had landed was puddles of dark eco. The contact of the dark bomb had changed them into the dark energy quickly, leaving no trace that there had been a struggle. Jak knew that no one who hadn't been touched by dark eco could see the small traces left from the bodies. He was safe, for now.

The power of his attack had scared him. He had never used that power before, the Oracle mentioned it, but he hadn't enough Skull Gems to buy it at the time. He had discovered how to use it on his own. But how? Was it from fear? Or even anger?

"Jak?" He heard a pain filled voice. He looked over and saw Erin laying on the ground with handcuffs on. The KG had captured her, and if he hadn't figured out how to use that dark bomb, she would have been back under the hands of Erol.

He ran to her side. Had the bomb affected her too?

"Are you alright?" Jak asked anxiously.

Erin slowly sat up from the ground, which was more difficult given the fact that her hands were restrained behind her. She had been thrown into the wall when Jak had used his pulsating bomb, which didn't help her bullet wound.

Jak noticed the dark red blood stains on her pants, running the length of her right leg. He pulled out one of his green eco packs, but when he opened it he found that the gooey substance had also been affected by the dark eco. Instead of the usual liquid-y substance, the green eco looked more like a lump of coal. The dark eco had completely destroyed the green eco, leaving Erin without healing.

If dark eco could do that to other eco, Jak thought horridly, imagine what it's doing to your own body!

Erin winced as she moved to lean against the wall. "I've been better," she said through tight lips.

The truth was she was miserable. Her whole body hurt from being thrown onto a wall, getting shot in the leg, and being pushed around by the KG. Not to mention her cuffs were too tight.

"Can you walk?" Jak asked gently. He hated to force her to walk on her injured leg, but they needed to find a safe place in case the Baron sends more troops to look for the quads that they had just lost. It wouldn't be long until they realized that they had lost contact with them.

"I don't know," Erin answered uncertainly. She gave out a yelp when she moved, but gritted her teeth and forced herself to her feet, leaning heavily on the wall to the worn shack. Jak couldn't help, so he just had to stand back and watch her struggle.

She was breathing hard when she had reached a standing position. It was agony for Jak to watch her in such pain. She looked around for a moment.

"Where's Daxter?" Erin gasped when she moved.

Jak had been to worried over Erin, the thought of his best friend escaped his mind. "Daxter?" He called, searching for an answering voice.

"I'm in here!" His muffled voice answered.

Jak followed his irritated moaning, Dax had been thrown through a window in one of the abandoned houses. He stood on the floor and looked up at Jak, obviously miffed.

The old house was filthy, with no form of furnishings what-so-ever. They probably had been stripped clean years ago by the desperate populace. They needed a place to hide, and with the current state that Erin was in, this was the only place that they could hide.

Jak relayed his idea to Erin, who wobbled over to the house, her jaw sat firmly against the pain that her movement caused. Jak could offer no assistance, and had to stand back as she traversed the distance to the small door into the hut. When Erin had slowly lowered herself to the dirty floor of the hut, Jak entered and closed the off-set door behind him.

"If any KG's show up, lets just hope that they think we fled the scene of the crime," Jak talked to her, hopefully giving her some comfort.

Erin nodded, but said nothing. She leaned against the rotting wall, trying to find a position that wouldn't upset her burses and cuts.

An hour passed quickly, and still there was no sign of the KG. Erin had taken one of the pieces of fabric tied around her boot and used it to stop the bleeding in her leg.

"I think it's safe now," he commented, they hadn't heard a sound since he had killed the Guards. He pulled himself to his feet, thinking of a plan. "I'm going to go find some healing packs. I can bring them back to you and then you should be alright to travel."

Erin's face turned grave, "What if the Krimson Guards return? I'm in no condition to defend myself."

Jak knew that she was right, if he left her and the KG found her then she would be right back in the hands of the Baron. On the other hand she needed something to heal her so that they could get back to the Hideout and figure out how the Baron knew where they were going to be.

"Hey, Dax?"

Jak sat on the filthy, wooden floor of the hut and contemplated ways to torture Daxter. The sun had just gone down, and he still wasn't back from finding some green eco for Erin. Jak could understand a delay, considering how small Daxter was and the time that it would take for him to get around, but five hours was just ridiculous.

Erin was lightly sleeping against the wall on the other wall of the small one-roomed house. The wound high up on her right leg had stopped bleeding but the caked blood was easy to see, even in the deepening dark.

A small knock sounded at the door and Jak rose, his gun ready, and opened the door. He glared down at Daxter, "What took you so long?"

Jak was momentarily startled as Torn stepped from the shadows. "The Baron has had this part of the city sealed off for hours, we couldn't get in until just now."

Jak was rather uncertain why Torn himself found it necessary to help them, all they needed was some green eco packs.

"Is she alright?" Torn inquired as he entered the shabby shack.

"She'll be fine," Jak started, "It's just painful for her to walk on her injured leg."

Torn knelt down beside her and quietly examined her sleeping form.

"How long has she been sleeping?" Torn asked, a small amount of concern in his eyes.

"About an hour," Jak answered gruffly.

Torn nodded and fell into thought.

"If you don't mind me asking, sir, why are you here?"

Jak's commander sighed, "I feel responsible for this happening. The Baron figured out that we were using the KG radio signals to communicate with each other." He shook his head, "There is no way of telling how much information he has learned."

After a moment he reached out his hand and gently shook her awake.

Erin jolted, which caused her to yelp as pain raced through her. When the pain had passed she looked up in shock to see Torn beside her.

"We better take care of that leg wound," Torn commented, leaning closer to examine it. Erin leaned back so that he could get a better look.

Torn carefully laid his hands around the wound on her right leg. The tear in her pants was just below her hip, he tore her already ruined pants a little more so he could see the damage done.

Erin couldn't help but to flush at his closeness. She wasn't used to people being so close to her, not to mention her handsome commander. Luckily Torn didn't seem to notice her blushing because he was too focused on slaving the green eco on her wound.

She looked up when she noticed Jak shift his weight uncomfortably from one foot to the other, scowling at Torn's back. Jak's show of jealousy only made Erin flush harder.

It only took Torn a few minutes to clean the wound and place the healing eco on her flesh.

Erin tried to pull herself to her feet, but Torn stopped her, "You shouldn't walk on that until it is completely healed."

She was about to ask how she was supposed to get from here to the Hideout, but Torn leaned down and swooped her up in his arms. Erin had to bite her lip so that she didn't yelp in surprise.

Torn effortlessly carried her out of the hut and into a waiting zoomer, Jak followed, glaring daggers into Torn's back all the way.

He set Erin down, carefully, into the passenger seat of the zoomer. "You'll have to follow behind," he said to Jak as he climbed into the drivers seat, seemingly oblivious to Jak's smoldering temper.

Jak didn't say a word as he turned his back on them to find his own ride.

Erin was spared any more discomfort, as Torn was only making idle chatter on the way to the Hideout. Her face finally felt like it was it's normal color, at least until they reached the Hideout.

Torn dropped the zoomer, Jak landed right behind them. Torn proceeded to carry her into the Hideout, and to Erin's mortification, he had to hold her closer to fit down the narrow stairway.

As Torn disappeared down into the Hideout, Jak stopped, brooding. Daxter bounced on his shoulder, noticing Jak's reaction to Torn.

"Are you just going to let him do that?"

Jak just sighed and kicked a rock down the deserted alley. What choice did he have?

Author's notes: Ok, chapter eleven is here!!! I had this chapter pretty much done for about four days, but the whole Jak jealous of Torn I worked until it souned alright... Hope I did a good job!

YAY! I just passed the 50,000 work mark! Two chapter celebrations in a row! YAYWell anyway, tell me what you think... you know the drill...REVIEW! Please!