Chapter Fifteen:

Dark Revenge, Part II

Jak stopped in his trek to the massive fortress that was home to thousands of the Metal Heads that were planning one final attack on Haven City. No doubt the entire nest was in a frenzy, anxious for blood and glory of defeating their enemies. Kor knew that Haven City was the only place that could keep him from his goal of global domination. Mar had built the place as the one safe place that people could seek refuge, but with the Precursor Stone in his hands the City wouldn't stand long.

Without the defenses of Haven City, the rest of the world would quickly fall under the might of the Metal Head armies. Now that Kor had an undying energy source his army would be unstoppable. Only one last thing stood in his way.

Me.

Part of Jak knew that Erin wouldn't want him to lose himself in his need for revenge, she had been better than that and wanted him to be too. But the other part of him knew that killing Kor, his need for retribution, was the only thing keeping him going. If he was not seeking to bring Erin's killer to justice he would fall into a never ending depression that, it would seem, he could never escape.

Revenge was the only thing he had left.

Jak continued to study the land surrounding the nest. It was flat and barren, showing nothing that would make his entry into the nest easy. Nothing to hide his approach.

He had spent nearly two days with Vin trying to plan a way into the death filled lair. Vin told Jak of a large eco gun that Mar had built before he died, which he had planned to use to blow an entry into the dreaded nest. Though Mar had died before he could see his plan into action, Vin had no doubt that he could make the massive gun work.

It was the only option they had if Jak was going to get into Kor's lair.

The only other option was suicide. He would have to enter one of the hundreds of small entrances and fight his way to Kor. By the time he reached Kor he would be much too tired to continue fighting, especially to fight an enemy who would never tire.

No, Jak needed to reach the heart of the next, get right to Kor, if he was going to leave this battle the victor.

Vin spent many hours calculating and analyzing the plans to Mar's eco gun. Painstakingly working out every possible solution to the problem he faced. He devoted every last minute of his time to helping Jak, because even though Jak was out for revenge, it would benefit the entire city.

After almost a day of problem solving, Vin had the solution.

Vin gave Jak an energy cell whose energy source had been multiplied to that equivalent of thirty individual power cells. It took Vin many hours of testing, but he finally discovered how to magnify energy into smaller objects. He had been working on it for years, but now, finally, he had found the answer. He handed the super-charged power cell to Jak, which had glowed a dangerous red instead of the usual gold and told him it should work.

"If it doesn't, you'll be blown into smithereens," was Vin's final warning when Jak left the Power Station. Vin had assured Jak that he hadn't been wrong with his calculations before, but warned him that there was a margin for error.

Jak now circled the large valley that housed the massive Metal Head nest outside the city, trying not to draw any attention from the Metal Heads as he moved closer to the ancient and unused eco gun. Mar had built it in hopes of one day ending the Metal Head war, but when he died the project died with him and the massive gun had been left abandoned on the outer edge of the valley for hundreds of years.

Even from the distance he stood from the nest, Jak could easily see the glowing skull gems of his enemies sitting safe in their tunnels. The sun was starting it's long descent in the late afternoon, but the greenish haze coming from the infested area made the day seem later. The sky was an unusual tint of greenish-blue and the air was heavy with a watery mist of stench. The entire area smelt like rotting flesh.

He raced quickly, while hunched to the ground, to the ancient weapon. He circled the machine, trying to hide his presence from the Metal Head army that congregated in the countless tunnels ahead. Once he was sure he was hidden, Jak went to work trying to find the where the energy cell needed to go. He found the slot, but hesitated. Once he powered up the eco gun, it would draw the army's attention and they would pour out of the nest in a massive horde. His timing would have to be perfect if he was going to survive long enough to reach Kor.

Jak planned out every movement he would have to take over and over again in his mind. Once the machine started up he would quickly have to aim and fire the gun at the nest. If he took too long he would be overrun by the monsters.

After he was sure he had the procedure down, he placed the super-powered energy cell into the gun.

It took less than a moment for the Metal Heads to notice the machine start to whir and hum. The mechanical parts protested as the energy forced them from their dormant state, grinding and tearing at the joints and gears. Jak was fearful that the strain would be too much, but the gun started and the screen flickered into life. He quickly climbed up to the operator's chair and aimed. The old gun followed his commands quickly, and it wasn't long before he took the shot that would bring him closer to Erin's killer.

The gun erupted with energy as the shot fired, the force shook the ground around the weapon. When the laser impacted the nest, it made a colossal crater and tossed the many pieces of the nest downwards, crushing most of the enemies flooding from the tunnels below.

His strategy had worked, at least so far.

Jak quickly exited the seat and killed the dozen or so Metal Heads who had managed to escape the falling debris. It didn't take long shooting them from a distance. When the last one had been felled by Jak's shots, he moved quickly to the looming in the valley before him. He had to keep his pace fast, it wouldn't take the Metal Heads too long to exit the tunnels on the other side of the nest and make their way around to his position.

The stench of death grew worse as he approached the slimy shell to the Metal Head lair. Jak placed his morph-gun on its place on his back and grabbed the wall with both hands. The outside of the next was like a metal plate covered in slime. It was almost impossible to keep a good foothold on it. The slime was a sickly green and brown collage of stink. It took his several minutes to climb his way to the crater he had created. When he finally pulled himself up into the newly blasted tunnel, the smell changed from that of rotten death to burnt death. The walls were the singed metal and green slime.

Jak made his way to where the tunnel led. Each step brought him closer to his goal. The musky air made his eyes water with it's potency, but he would make out a light far in the distance of his excavated roadway. Jak couldn't hear a thing in the muffling tunnel, not the clawing of Metal Heads nor the screeching of the smaller species. There was an undeniable ominous air lingering about the place as each of his steps brought him closer to the dim light at the other end of the tunnel.

Jak almost lost the power to breathe in the heavy air.

He forced his feet to move forward, even though it felt like he could hardly breathe. The air was weighing him down and it seemed like the oxygen level was dangerously low. Each movement sapped at his strength as the light grew closer. Jak was starting to wonder if the stench was some sort of inhibitor that was stopping his oxygen intake.

It seemed like an eternity before he reached the end of the long blast hole. He stumbled through the portal and practically fell flat on the soft, organic floor. Everything was blurry as he tried to get his eyes to focus on his hands which were keeping him off the floor.

Oxygen flooded his lungs and slowly his eye sight returned to normal.

Jak breathed hungrily, trying to regain his strength. His muscles burned from the lack of oxygen, his limbs were weak and jerked uncontrollably. He barely had the strength to keep his body from hitting the floor.

"Welcome to my humble abode," the voice Jak had been wanting to hear scream until it ended in darkness mocked him. Kor's voice held no fear that Jak had come to fight, it even seemed like he enjoyed his pathetic attempt. "It's rather amazing you even made it this far, the toxins in the air around our nest have kept us safe from invaders for hundreds of years. It was foolish of you to come in here without an air mask."

Rage ripped through Jak, he wished that he had the strength to get to his feet. His hatred for the creature before him didn't want to be kneeling in weakness before him.

"With the Precursor Stone, the boy will play his final part in this affair," Kor continued.

Jak found the strength to lift his head. He found that his vision had cleared. Kor's massive and ominous form stood before him, the Precursor Stone held firmly in his grasp. And in the center of the large chamber was a sleek black orb, and inside was the boy.

The oxygen had returned some of his strength, but he still had to struggle to get on his feet. A weakening shiver rippled through his muscles, but his pride wouldn't allow him to fall back to his knees. He concentrated on the boy in the black energy sphere. Erin had given her life to protect the boy, he was sure, because it was the only way that Kor would have gotten her charge away from her. He gritted his teeth as he faced the monster again. Erin had fought for the boy and so would he.

"Not this time," Jak challenged, hoping that his body would hold up against the inevitable battle that was quickly approaching.

Kor's hissing laughter cut the thick air again. "Oh, but this child is such a part of this! Such a part of you!" He laughed as he let Jak ponder the lingering comment for a moment. "Don't you recognize him?" He asked as if Jak should have known all along, and was a dense fool.

"The boy is you, Jak!" Kor laughed.

A blanket seemed to wrap itself around Jak when the words passed Kor's monstrous fangs. A muffling substance seemed to have plugged his ears. It took him many minutes to even comprehend the meaning of his statement, but Jak couldn't deny his words. What he said seemed to make sense in his mind. Small similarities he had thought nothing of in the city came back to him clearer than ever. What had seemed just coincidence at the time now drew a deeper meaning in his thoughts. The city had almost seemed familiar to him when he escaped the Prison, and someway, somehow, it was.

Through the barrier his mind had placed around his thoughts, Jak finally acknowledged that Kor had continued to speak.

"...this is where you began, in this place that you thought your future!"

Through the fog, all Jak managed to mumble was, "But how...?"

Kor laughed again, long and hard. "Oh, the revelations aren't about to end there. You're girlfriend, Erin," he snarled her name as if it were a curse, "she is from this time as well. Both of you were born on the same night amidst a celestial event. One from a palace, one from a gutter. You both were hidden from me in opposite directions in time, in the hope that one day you would gain the skills and knowledge you would need to defeat me."

As Kor's speech continued his voice rose into an irritated screech, but now it changed into one of victory.

"But Onin was wrong! With Erin dead I have proved her prediction wrong, and with you tainted by dark eco the Stone will never open for you! But your younger self, however, still has the pure gift, and with him I will awaken the Stone and the Precursor entity lying dormant inside!"

He gave a guttural howl of triumph.

Jak was thinking fast, with every passing second his strength grew. He had to delay Kor so that he could fight him.

"The Stone is a Precursor?" Jak asked, it was the only thing he could think of to say, and his explanation might give him the time he needed to figure out a plan.

"The last Precursor egg!" Kor answered. "Mar was clever," he continued with disdain at the mention of his dire enemy. "He covered his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me, and building the shield and city to defend it."

Kor shifted his large girth and faced Jak, "It has been a long siege," he snarled, "But today, I will finally feed on the last Precursor Life Force and burn the infernal city to the ground!"

By now Jak's strength had about returned to normal. He pulled the morph-gun from his back and slung it across his body. He had already made his decision on what action to take, and he gripped the gun in his fingers as reassurance that he chose the right path in coming into this Metal Head nightmare.

His resolve couldn't have been stronger as he faced the creature that had been hunting him all his life. Jak had been kept hidden from Kor for many years, but he wasn't going to be hiding anymore. He was going to end his hunt, permanently.

"I'm not going to let you get away with this!" Jak yelled defiantly at the creature that towered over him. The first time he had failed to end Kor's life, but this time he wouldn't, or at least he would die trying, just as Erin had before him.

Kor laughed, yet again. "It would seem that the odds are against you, Jak, even more so than the odds were against Erin. Only one of us is going to leave this place, and I doubt that it's going to be you. I have the Stone, and all you have is your pathetic pee-shooter."

"When you fought Erin you had the element of surprise. You struck when she hadn't any idea what was coming. You struck a defenseless opponent, just as a coward would." Jak's heart ached at even talking about Erin, but if he could provoke Kor, perhaps he would get sloppy.

He could only hope.

Kor snarled at Jak. It seemed to have worked. "I may have killed her, but the both of you have hid from me for years, let alone the time I spent waiting for the Prophesied two to appear. I have spent hundreds of years waiting for the day to end Mar's bloodline and claim the world he built for my own!"

"No!" Kor continued. "The time for honor has passed; all that matters now is that I achieve my desire, at any cost."

Kor's fangs clicked together in irritation and anticipation. "It all will start with your death!"

His dangerous claws held up the Precursor Stone, and in a flash of brilliant green light, shot a massive bolt at Jak.

Jak ducked and rolled, but the impact of the energy shook the entire nest, throwing him off balance when he landed. Jak had to catch himself from falling back on the floor. He didn't have much time to dodge the next bolt, but he managed it. Again the nest trembled, but this time a small chunk of the ceiling broke free and landed in front of Jak. It was then that he had a plan of killing Kor.

He moved quickly, dodging the many shots that Kor threw at him. With each shot the ceiling cracked a little more, he just had to get Kor to hit it directly.

Kor grew irritated and howled. In moments many Metal Heads scrambled into the large chamber, eager to defend their leader to the death.

Jak wouldn't have a problem helping them reach that goal.

It was instinct when Jak reached for his morph-gun, as he had done it many times before. With precision Jak fired rounds at any Metal Heads that entered the room, while still having to dodge the deadly power of the Precursor Stone. Kor had given into mad fury; he wanted Jak dead and was irresponsibly taking a shot at Jak at any opportunity.

Jak had to keep on his toes at all moments. The earthshaking tremors from the Precursor Stone were doing their job, and at any moment the cracked ceiling could collapse. Jak continued to shoot at the Metal Head minions that flowed from the small entrance into the chamber, but it was tiring when he had to dodge Kor's attacks.

The Metal Heads continued to swarm trying to defend their master. Jak shot, rolled, and then would shoot again. He was quickly loosing energy as every moment passed.

He needed to get Kor to hit the rock above if he was going to win this battle.

In a radical notion, Jak placed the morph-gun on his back. He had only one chance to end this battle in his favor, and with each passing second more Metal Heads clambered into the chamber. Jak Turned his back to the approaching Metal Heads and took off in Kor's direction.

Kor smirked, his fangs and wings twitching with anticipation. He thought that the battle was his.

Jak wasn't going to let him win.

The green bolts of energy eradicated the earth around him. Jak dodged as quickly as he could, because he knew that one shot would be the end of him. Jak ran with all his speed, hoping that Kor wouldn't get lucky and get a shot off.

As Jak ran closer, Kor grew intensely irritated. He was growing wary of this fight, and just wanted to end it so that he could raise Haven City from the ground.

Jak dodged one last bolt, the electricity just grazed his right shoulder. In one step he quickly transformed, and with his superior strength jumped in the air.

Time seemed to slow as Dark Jak flew through the air, his muscles pushed him high over Kor's monstrous form. Kor snarled again and raised the Precursor Stone above his head, not thinking of the repercussions. Without thought of safety, Kor fired at Jak. Dark Jak twisted in the air just as he fired. The energy just missed him, but it was heading for Jak's intended target.

When Dark Jak hit the ground he turned to face his enemy.

Kor howled in irritation. "That is enough! This ends NOW!"

Jak let his dark form dissipate. He glanced at the ceiling just as the fly shot from the Precursor Stone penetrated it. "I couldn't agree more!"

A large cracking noise cut across any response Kor would make. His enormous head tore away from Jak and finally realized the danger he was in. He howled as the cascading rock flew down to greet him.

Jak quickly darted for the dark orb that held his younger self prisoner. If his younger self died he would cease to exist. He watched for any rock that fell down across his path and had to dive out of the way of several large chunks of rock.

Kor continued to howl and fired the Precursor Stone at the rock that was crashing down around him. He managed to disintegrate several of the chunks of rock, but there was just to many. Countless fractured stones cut off his incisive howling.

Jak reached the boy and grabbed the dark orb. The instant he touched the energy surrounding him it turned into dark eco and he absorbed it. Jak grabbed the boy and ran for cover from the falling rock.

He reached one of the smaller tunnels to find that the Metal Heads were retreating, perhaps knowing that their leader had died. Jak pulled the boy in his arms and waited for the tremors to stop shaking the nest.

The dusty mist still lingered in the air when Jak found it save to enter the main chamber again. The dust swirled and slowly settled on everything, making every sound seem muffled. Jak stepped forward. The dirty air tickled his nose and left a gritty, filthy taste in his mouth. Jak looked up and could see the last red rays of light from the lingering day pass above the crater in the top of the nest.

He had finished what he set out to do.

Jak moved forward in the swirling mist, searching for the remains of Kor. A large pile of rock towered before him as the mist parted. A slight glowing green tainted the air.

The Precursor Stone.

Jak approached and found that Kor's claws still gripped it, even in death. His monstrous arm appeared out of the large pile of rock. His claws were covered in the green sludge that was a Metal Head's blood. Jak kneeled down and pried the Stone from his death grip. For the size of the Stone, Jak found that it was a lot lighter than it looked.

Dust had settled on it's surface, filtering the green light inside. Jak wiped the Stone with his sleeve. It looked undamaged.

Jak almost jumped when he felt someone at his side. He looked down and the young boy grabbed his arm. It was hard to imagine that the young boy was him, but he knew it was true. The boy would never talk, just like Jak wouldn't.

He is me.

With his mission complete, Jak had to wonder what made him refuse to talk. He could never remember talking, but he knew it had to have been a choice because he can talk now. Perhaps it was some personal tragedy that was long forgotten.

Jak sighed and patted his hand on the boy's head. He looked a little scared; he probably couldn't remember how he got in this place.

The boy pulled on his sleeve and pointed up. Jak followed where he pointed. Above the crater in the ceiling was a large balloon gently floating down into the nest. Jak watched as it floated down and landed in front of him.

"Jak!" The little orange ottsel exclaimed at seeing his friend.

It was the person who Daxter was standing on that caught Jak's attention.

"Jak, my boy!" Samos greeted. Not the Samos who was known in this time as "the Shadow," but the same Samos that had raised him.

"Samos?" Was all Jak could say, he was shocked. Jak wasn't sure that he would see the old sage again.

What was also shocking was that about everyone he had ever known was on the balloon raft. Ashelin the new baroness, the young Samos, Brutter the Lurker, Torn, Vin, and, of course, Daxter.

But lastly there was Keira. Her eyes caught his attention from where she stood at the back of the small group. She looked at him with eyes that showed the deep feelings she felt for him, but those were feelings Jak knew that he couldn't return.

"What's going on?" Jak asked after looking the group over.

The old Samos stepped from the flying raft and stood before Jak. "We must set in motion the events that have come full circle today," he answered.

"What do you mean?" Jak asked, puzzled.

"We must send the young you," Samos started as he looked down at the boy holding on to Jak's arm, "to a place where he can grow up safe from harm. He must become old enough to complete the destiny he has fulfilled today."

"Wait a minute!" The young Samos exclaimed, "It's you! I mean... it's me!" He sighed loudly, "I have to take him back and watch over him, don't I? Ah, grub roots! Talk about being in the wrong time at the right place!"

Torn, Brutter, and Vin helped to move a large seated machine that Jak recognized.

"I sure hope I built this replica right," Keira said as she approached Jak and her father. "I don't know if it…"

"It's perfect, Keira," Samos cut across her doubts. "This is the very machine we found... or will find later."

"What? I just built this. After seeing the first one, I mean. It's based on what I remember from…"

"Honey," said Daxter as he took his usual spot on Jak's shoulder, "the more you think about it, the more it hurts the head!"

Jak knelt down by his younger self before he was loaded up in the machine and sent to the past. "Take care of yourself, kid."

The boy reached out and touched the Precursor Stone that Jak still held in his hand. In a brilliant flash of light, the Stone shattered. A bright human-like form emerged and floated before them. The Oracle ignored the group and focused on the older Jak.

"It is finished... Our ancient enemy is no more," the voice of the Oracle held great gratitude. "Much may seem lost, but take hope brave one! In the dark a light will be at it's brightest. The other may choose to return, you must not give up hope!"

Jak's heart lurched at the mention of 'the other.' Could he possibly be talking about Erin?

"What do you mean?" Jak demanded. "Erin's dead, isn't she?"

The Oracle dissipated without answering the question. As the Oracle started to fade, Jak stepped forward.

"Wait!" He yelled, he wanted, no needed to know about Erin.

The light vanished.

Jak yelled in frustration. It seemed to him that he must always be left to discover things on his own. Like a child who mustn't learn until many years have passed and he would be able to better understand. Jak knew that Samos would know about everything that would happen, even when they first got transported to the future, or present…whatever. But Samos knew what was going to happen, but didn't bother to tell anyone. He was left out of the loop.

He turned back to the group, and each one of them was watching him intently. Each one seemed to know his innermost feelings just from his one little outburst.

Jak sighed, it didn't matter.

But when his eyes met Keira's, he felt somewhat guilty. Jak had had feelings for Keira since they were both young, and he knew that Keira had as well, but somewhere down the road he lost sight of that. He had unknowingly moved on. His feelings had moved on to care for Erin. But from the look in Keira's eyes she still felt the same way about him. Her eyes held sorrow.

Jak still cared about Keira, as a friend, but it would never be the same way he had felt for Erin.

Old Samos decided that the silence had gone on long enough, "Come on, lets get this over with."

Young Samos reluctantly climbed into the metal contraption, and Jak placed his younger self in with him.

The metal machine easily floated up to the rift gate that had remained intact from the collapse of the roof. Jak hadn't noticed it there before or after the fight, he had been too focused on destroying Kor.

"I'll take good care of the child!" The young Samos called before they both disapeared in through the rift gate. "And don't worry... I'll be back in time for the celebration! Fare well!"

"It's funny," Samos commented as his younger counterpart disapeared in the ring of light. "The boy won't remember any of this."

Jak shook his head, "No, I do remember the light."

Epilogue:

The Celebration

Baroness Ashelin had spent two weeks on preparing for the celebration of the death of the city's biggest enemy, Kor the Metal Head leader. The entire city had been a buzz about the death of her dictator of a father, and were skeptical about her as a ruler. Ashelin was using the celebration to gain the people's trust, and prove to them that she was nothing like her father.

An entire two weeks were spent in preparation for the evening, and the entire Palace square was decorated top and bottom. The street posts were covered in ribbons, the walkways were lined with thousands of flowers.

Even the greatest of the skeptics of the populace was anxious for the start of the celebration.

A short speech from the Baroness and a spectacular show of fireworks started the party.

The entire city was alight with hope, the one great threat to their home had been destroyed, and their new leader was looking to be much better than her father.

But one person was absent from the celebration. The one person who gave cause to have one was noticeably missing from the jubilant festival of dancing and drinking.

Jak had nothing to celebrate.

Every person he talked to congratulated him on his victory, and thanked him for saving the city. The truth was that he didn't feel he deserved their thanks. He hadn't really done it for them.

Jak quietly left the people to their celebration not long after it had commenced, and sat alone on a rooftop, watching them from a distance. He had spent most of the last two weeks on his own, just thinking.

Now that his revenge was complete, Jak felt useless and didn't know what to do next.

But what the Oracle had hinted at in the Metal Head nest made him wonder. Could Erin possibly be alive? When he went back to Mar's tomb to be sure her body was nowhere to be found. It could be assumed that the creatures living in the dark tunnels had taken her body, but there was no trail of blood and no evidence of movement; no footprints left in the dust that had settled from the cave-in that killed her.

It was a mystery.

Jak watched the streets below. People were happy and could think only of the possibilities of the future.

Jak just sat outside the crowd, thinking only of how things could have been if Erin was still alive.

But he would hold on, hoping that the future brought something better.

End of Book I

To be continued in Book II, Coming soon!