(Emerges from the shadows, face hidden behind cowl)

Once again, it is great to see you all, and I hope your having a great day. As for me, right now I'm praying that Hurricane Wilma keeps her distance from the Florida panhandle…my but this has been a busy hurricane season. I hope and pray that none of you have anyone that you know or love who are currently in the projected path of the storm.

Aside from that, School's the usual and I'm getting irritated to no end by my writer's block on my other story…(disgusted sigh) Ahhh well, life goes on.

Anyway, to those of you who reviewed.

Saiorse- I'm glad that you liked the level of detail that I put into my works, and I thank you for the compliment. If I start to slip, please let me know, and yes, I'll keep my updates regular, as I have no desire to wind up like a murder victim in Clue.

Snowecat- Happy to hear that you liked it, and Damas' reaction will be somewhere between jaw dropping and eye popping.

MariaShadow- Glad that you liked it. As for who gets to use Veger as a punching bag next…well…I think it'll probably be Samos, but it will be several chapters before we flip back over to Keira and the others.

jesse- I'm touched by your faith in me, and I hope that I can continue to please. If you have anything you'd like to see happen, let me know and I'll try to work it in.

Farr2rich- Glad you liked the chapter, and get ready for some bloody combat, as the title no doubt indicates (insane cackling is heard). As for the Veger torture, still trying to think more up, but I can tell you that there will be one part in which Torn shoves a rifle barrel down his throat, and when he draws his blaster on Xadec (the ottsel leader) Tarath goes ballistic on him. I also plan to have Damas beat the snot out of him just once…maybe use him as stirring stick for a drink during the victory celebration?

Air of Mystery- Hmmm, Pecker butt kicking…I might be able to work in him and Dax trying to aim a peacemaker at one point, so thanks for the idea. As for Jak's clothing, it will remain the same (as will his hair) until he acquires Mar's Armor, which I have made plans to modify that will hopefully result in it being better than it was in the game, as well as not looking like a relic left over from the Greco-Roman era.

Jetrex12- Thanks for the Veger torture ideas, I'll try to fit that in there somewhere, as I can definitely see Samos going ballistic upon him at one point in the altered story line.

DarkStarPhoenix- Not sure when exactly, but Sig will be the one to break the news to him about just who Jak is, though Damas will be somewhat…confused and hesitant at first. Kage won't be unleashed here, that little bloodbath will be reserved for the next chapter, much to the surprise of all Wastelander's who are present. Thanks for the torture ideas, I'll try to fit it in somehow. Plus I'm thinking about having the Precursors 'draft' him into the armed forces for the final battle, what do you think?

Evil Manic- Thanks for the ideas, my friend. And, its funny that you should mention gunblades…well…you'll just have to read hehe. Hope you enjoy it, and please let me know of any other ideas, as the Marauder/Wastelanders use bullet weapons. (Kleiver's packing an A.K. while Seth has a PSG-1 for example).

jaklover123- You need no worry, as Damas will survive in my story. (That was evil beyond words…casts an ultima spell in the general direction of whoever thought that up) Hope you like it, and please let me know of anything you'd like to see happen.

GoodMourningBeautiful2005- Really wish I had enough time to turn out more than one chapter a week, but between school and everything else I have to do, I unfortunately can't. Still, should the opportunity present itself, I shall try to update more often.

Philoworm- A God, me? If only. Trust me, if I was a deity, this world would be very different though I'd likely let the power go to my head. Hope school turns out okay for you, and that this chapter was worth the wait.

exodus12188- Glad to hear that you've finally joined the community, and I look forward to any fics that you might write. Thanks for the idea on how to get Keira out into the Wasteland. While it won't be exactly the same, I think I now know how I can pull it off, though it'll probably be about chapter eleven or so before she gets out there. Hope you enjoy the chapter.

animedragongirl- Got your note, and I'm glad that you like our favorite demon's 'theme song'. Though, I'm not exactly certain what you meant by list of characters. At any rate, sorry to hear about your flame, and if it is that particular…member…then the best thing I can say is to either ignore her, and send her a really nasty virus. Best of luck on Jak X, and please tell me there is JxK in there…(gives sad anime eyes)

Fang- Okay, here's the update, hope you like it.

Exardas- Thanks for the vote of confidence, I was really worried about that last chapter (endings are not my strongpoint). Not really sure when our dark elf will find out about his old man, I'll let you know when I think of it. Hope you like the chapter I wrote up, and best of luck to you in your own writings.

Silvereyes18- Glad to hear that you liked the story thus far. Hopefully, I'll be able to continue to please. I'll also try to keep my updates as frequent and regular as I can.

gamehead64- (camera zooms in on ruined headquarters of N.D. only to be blinded a moment later as another ultima spell detonates) Hehe…that felt good. I'll be frank, the third game needed some work, as both that scene in the ending and the whole Precursors are Ottsels deal, not mention Errol's unexplained return from the dead, all make it seem as though they were spur of the moment decisions that totally wrecked the plot. At any rate, might I know where you found these pics? As I need to stir hope in my heart again.

SRHumphrey727- Well, Fall Break ain't much of a break when one has teacher's planning multiple tests for the very day that you return. Ahh well, such is life. Hope you like the chapter, and that it is sufficiently bloody.

Hybrid- Glad that you liked the AU idea, expect to see more. Not really sure on when Damas and Jak will finally have their tender 'reunion' but Sig will fill Damas in on the situation once he returns to the scene.

Shadow Cael- You flatter me, and thanks for having faith in me, as I have serious self confidence problems. I hope that I continue to make this story worth you time and that I do not disappoint with future AU ideas that may emerge from my demented brain.

Light-Eco-Sage- Glad to hear that you plan on updating soon, and did you get my second e-mail? Oh yeah, don't worry about him getting Kitetsu back, as he will, right before he proceeds to paint the Arena red with Marauder blood. Heheheheheh. Hope to see your work soon, and please let me know of anything you'd like to see in this story.

Crazed Demon- Yes, grove he has, along with the ability to kick copious amounts of butt.

Dark priestess666- I am pleased that this story appeals to you, and I do hope that the flamemail that flooded their computers regarding the third game convinced them to get off whatever kind of crack they were on. (crosses fingers) Hope you like this chapter, and please let me know what you think.

Yuuzora- No Kage in this chapter, you'll have to wait for the next one to watch him unleash his samuraish fury, though it will be on something far more dangerous than Marauders, hehe. Hope this chapter proves to be worth the wait. Oh yeah, and Seth will be neither minor nor major in his role, if you know what I mean.

JakxKeira4ever- I am honored that you think so well of me, but there are authors out here way better than me. Check out Cyrex's work, Jak and Daxter, Dark War if you want a really good read.

To those of you who read but did not review, I hope that this story has proven itself worth your while, and that I have not driven anyone insane with the poor quality of writing.

Lawyers: I own nothing save those characters that have been spawned of my own brain who are likely to be dead before all is said and done at any rate, so bugger off!

That said, please enjoy.

&

Gladiator

He sat on the stone, his eyes closed and his breathing deep and even. Faintly around him, he heard the rippling and babbling of the spring water that ran through the throne room of the city of Spargus, home of the Wastelanders.

To say that he had been surprised to learn of an entire civilization living out in this gods' forsaken place would have been an understatement of grand proportions. He hadn't found out a whole lot about the city, though, as almost as soon as he'd gotten here, he and Daxter had been put in this place, and while the ottsel had immediately started to use the water as an impromptu swimming pool, he had opted to meditate. They weren't certain what had happened to Pecker, as Valthos had taken him away with Kleiver and the other Wastelander, Seth, if he recalled correctly.

What fate awaited the two of them, he did not know, but he was alive for the moment, and he'd figure out what to do upon learning more information about this place.

"Ahhh yes." Daxter suddenly exclaimed with a pleasant sigh, causing Jak to open his eyes. "I love water. Water good, desert bad!"

"I would appreciate it if you would get out of that, as it makes up a good deal of our drinking water." Came a voice from behind.

The dark elf and the ottsel turned to see Valthos, looking at the latter of the two with what appeared to be a stern expression on what little of his face was visible. There was a kind of strength, a strange power almost, to those eyes, which looked old beyond their time, and after about two seconds of glaring at the furry rodent, Daxter complied with the request, hopping out of the water and shaking himself dry.

"I still can't believe that an entire city exists outside of Haven's walls." Jak muttered, shaking his head.

"Ahh yes…" the Sand King growled with a similar gesture. "We are the forgotten ones, a combination of exiles such as yourself and native born people who are the descendants of citizens thrown out and left to die." His eyes suddenly had a faraway look to them, and for a moment, Jak thought he saw a slightly waver in those steel hard eyes. "At any rate, we saved your lives, and now they belong to us. Rest assured, we intend to use them, provided that they are actually worth anything."

"Hey that sounds like a bad deal!" Daxter exclaimed, crossing his arms and huffing.

"You are in no position to 'deal,' rodent." Valthos growled, before motioning for the two of them to follow him.

As he turned, Jak saw Kitetsu, strapped to his back along with his normal weapon, and he narrowed his eyes into a glare, growling silently as he saw the Wastelander ruler displaying a weapon that was his by right and birth. Faintly, he almost felt as though he could hear the Precursor forged katana calling for him, pleading for the dark elf to take it back into his hands, the hands of the one it had chosen to wield it.

'It is almost as if he is taunting us!' Kage rumbled, still very much irate over the manner in which they'd been forced to surrender the heirloom.

'Don't worry, Kage.' Jak told his guardian oni. 'We'll get it back, and the consequences be damned. I'm not about to fork over my only link to my past without a fight.'

'What should we do for now?' the winged demon asked, raising an eyebrow within his mind's eye.

'We wait,' the Ascended Channeler replied as he and Daxter joined the Wastelander on the lift that led down to the desert city, 'an opportunity will present itself soon enough.'

"So what's going on?" Jak inquired, throwing up the hood of his electro-mesh armor, hiding his face and eyes, as he didn't feel like revealing those alien irises to the whole population.

"You're going to be tested to see if you are of any use to us." Valthos returned, not bothering to turn around and face him.

"And what exactly will this test be?" Daxter inquired. "Is it too much to hope for multiple choice?"

"Part of being a Wastelander is being prepared to meet any challenge, even those not foreseen." Was the reply the diminutive rodent received.

The ottsel's face fell almost instantly, realizing that it probably meant some sort of gruesome, death trap filled maze or a combat test of some sort. He really, really hated those kinds of tests, as he and Jak had just about had their fill of them. He also silently prayed that no strange sort of box puzzle awaited them, as had been in a few exceedingly frustrating cases in the past.

The lift reached the bottom, and the three of them stepped out into the desert city, with Jak following the Sand King at a four pace interval, Daxter carefully balancing himself upon the ferrosteel shoulder pauldron of his armor.

The door opened, and the dark elf stepped out onto the man made metal platform that was suspended above the lava pit that served as a training arena for the rawer Wastelanders and some of the veterans who whished to polish their skills.

His cowl was still down, hiding his face from the populace that filled the stands, eagerly awaiting the coming event. It wasn't every day that an outsider performed within here, and all of them wanted to see how well he would do. Or perhaps, given the apparent general consensus among these desert dwelling elves that anyone hailing from Haven City was a weakling, how long he would last.

'They will be in for a surprise, won't they?' Kage mused suddenly, a wry smile upon his fanged muzzle.

'Yeah.' Jak concurred. ' Though I'm hoping whatever I'm up against, that using our powers won't be necessary, I'd rather keep you and them under wraps if at all possible.'

'That is understandable, seeing as how I am the reason you were exiled from Haven in the first place.' The oni muttered, lowering his head with a frown.

'Stop blaming yourself for that!' Jak growled, anger in his tone. 'Veger and the rest of the Grand Council are the ones responsible for us being dumped out here, not you!'

The Dark Eco demon fell silent after that, and the Ascended Channeler took the time to stare around the stands, searching for a certain elf. Soon enough, he found Valthos sitting upon a metal throne, Kitetsu was leaning against one side of the throne, while the Sand King's own weapon, which Jak had learned was called a 'gun blade' leaned against the other.

It was, without a doubt, the single most bizarre melee weapon that the dark elf had ever gazed upon. It had a blade very similar to a broadsword, or at least the bottom part of it was, starting off at about two inches in width, before jumping out to four a couple of inches away from the 'hilt,' and then tapering down to the point. The top part of the blade, however, was straight, and had a rifle barrel of some sort concealed within it, which ended about an inch and a half before the tip of the sword, whereupon the metal curved down to meet the lower point. The hilt and grip were even stranger, as the rear part of it resembled the stock of a hunting rifle, while the forward area had finger grips one normally associated with a pistol. Just in front of that were the trigger and the guard that surrounded it.

Jak had no clue where the ammo was kept, or even what the blade fired, but he couldn't help but wonder who had come up with such a weapon in the first place.

Continuing his scan of the throne box, he saw that Daxter was there as well, it having been decided that he would only be a hindrance in the coming challenge.

As the section of the platform that he was standing upon suddenly detached itself from the rest of the arena and made its way up to where the Sand King sat (by way of a fairly complex and sophisticated hydraulics system, and the reason as to why Eco powered repulsor lifts were not used escaped the dark elf for the moment), he noticed Kleiver and Seth flanking him, as well as a certain multi-colored monkeet.

"Pecker?" he exclaimed as he drew closer, surprised to see the familiar at the king's proverbial right hand. "Where have you been?"

"Unlike you two," the monkeet replied in his accented voice, glaring at dark elf and Ottsel alike, "there are some in this world who appreciate my talents." He then smirked. "Valthos says that I am to be his new counselor and that my wisdom will serve him well. Let me tell you, it beats working for a living. He also says that you will most likely die in a very horrible and painful way and…"

"Will you can it, bird brain?" Daxter growled, irritated about the whole darn situation, and once again wishing that he could be more than just a bit of baggage to his best friend. "Valthos can speak for himself!"

"The feathered one is correct." the Sand King said quietly. "You will most likely die in the arena. Very few people not of this place have gone through it and have crawled out of it with enough life left in them to boast of the deed." He paused, and looked Jak straight in the eyes, or, at least, as best he could with his cowl down like that. "Here, we will determine whether or not you are strong enough to be of any use to us."

"I saw some of the fights earlier." Pecker stated, before a slight shudder came over him, "Eeehhhh, not a pretty sight."

Jak went to reply, but before he could, the monkeet cleared his throat and spoke out loudly, the strange acoustics of the arena letting all present hear his voice.

"Welcome, citizens of Spargus, to the arena, where we get to sit back and watch others wet themselves in fear!" there was a scattered cheering and a few jeers at this, before the familiar held up his wings to call for silence. "Now, for your viewing pleasure, exiled from Haven City and plucked from the desert by the hand of fate, I give you…Jak!"

The dark elf turned around slowly, as the cheering and whatnot grew to a crescendo. He then watched, amazed, as the arena rearranged itself, turning into an obstacle filled gauntlet of sorts. Once that moment of awe passed, though, a smirk formed underneath his cowl. If this was the best that they could throw at him, then getting through would be a breeze.

Such were his thoughts as the platform he was on moved back to the start of the course, and he prepared himself to show these Wastelanders just what the Heir of Mar could do.

He'd made it through without a hitch, throwing in some flashing and dangerous acrobatics for the heck of it. At the end, another platform had carried him back up to the waiting king.

"Nice to see you haven't forgotten the moves I showed ya, old buddy." Daxter said, a beaming grin upon his face.

"Anyone can make a few measly jumps." Valthos replied, glancing down at the diminutive rodent. "Now then, Jak, let us see how you fare against the living." he said, before calling out in a louder voice. "Readjust the arena structure, prepare it for full combat!"

"Prepare it for full combat!" Pecker echoed, getting him a glance from the Sand King.

"I just said that." The cloaked elf replied, raising an eyebrow.

"I know." the familiar said. "I was just…you know…adding the whole thing… how you do with the... anyway. Prepare the warriors!"

"What am I going up against?" Jak inquired, cocking his head slightly.

"Marauders." was the answer that he got from Valthos. "They are in short, the scum of the desert, worthy of neither pity nor mercy. The ones here are prisoners of war, fighting in the arena or toiling in the few factories that we have below."

"How many?" the dark elf asked, crossing his arms over his chest.

"A dozen, all of them armed and armored." Kleiver said a smirk further disrupting his scarred face.

"And to even the odds…" Valthos muttered, before reaching around behind his throne and throwing the elf something that he could only assume was a gun of some sort.

It was, however, without a doubt, the strangest looking blaster he had ever seen. It was made entirely of gray, unpainted metal, and it was about two and a half feet in length. An old fashion 'V' and circle sight appeared to be the only means of aiming the strange gun, and its ammo, at least, he assumed it was the ammo holder, was limited to a banana shaped part that was coming down from in front of the trigger guard. Wiggling it back and forth, the Ascended Channeler was able to detached it, and looking inside, found it half filled with some sort of strange, needle shaped metal objects. He reattached the clip, noticing the large bayonet type attachment running along the underside of the barrel, obviously intended for melee attacks.

A gun…once he had used such weapons, but he vowed never to use them again if he had any other options available. Just holding this strange rifle, the dark elf couldn't help but remember times when he had nearly let his rage consume him and destroy every thing that he had ever cared about or for. It might not have been very practical to think along such lines, but he had powers far more destructive than any rifle to call upon if he needed to, and Torn had also taught him some rudimentary Echani hand to hand combat skills. He'd use those for now.

So, reaching his decision, he deliberately dropped the weapon at the feet of the ruler of Spargus, before turning back around and letting the platform carry him back down to the newly reassembled arena.

"Will you look at that, people!" he heard Pecker exclaimed behind him. "Spitting upon his opponents' skills, Jak has opted to face them without a weapon!"

There was a deafening silence after this, and all watched this turn of event with interest. Valthos in particular leaned forward upon his throne, rubbing his chin through his cloth mask. Sig had told many a tale about this elf, though had been a little dodgy in some areas, almost as if he had been hiding something. But there was one thing that his old friend had stressed and it was that the dark elf could hold his own in a fight, but that he did very much disdain guns, though he'd never been clear on the why.

And so he looked eagerly on as another platform brought a dozen Marauders onto the battle arena, all of them eager to kill and live to fight another day. They grinned behind their helmets, thinking one elf, apparently unarmed, would hardly be a challenge for them.

The poor sods literally had no idea what they were going up against.

They walked onto the main arena, and Jak looked them over. Most were armed with blades, though one of them looked to have a rifle very similar to the one that he had left back up at the throne. They were eyeing him as well, and were no doubt whispering stratagems and possible battle tactics amongst themselves.

"Begin!" Valthos cried.

The rifle carrier opted to stand back and watch as the ones armed with blades rushed at him. Jak assumed an Echani combat stance as Torn had showed him, and awaited the onslaught that was barreling towards him.

The first Marauder reached him, and brought his large, double handed scimitar down in a vicious chop, trying to split him in half. In a blur of motion, the Ascended Channeler reacted, swatting the weapon aside with his right hand, while twisting and bringing up his left foot, smashing his ferrosteel plated boot into the heavily muscled elf's helmet. The armored elf grunted and fell back one step, only to meet with the toe of the other boot as Jak pushed off the ground and followed through with a horizontal spin.

He went down, hard, and Jak immediately found himself having to deal with two of his comrades, both of them swiping at him at the same time. He ducked underneath the attacks, before spinning around with his left leg extended, sweeping both of their feet out from underneath them. He followed through with a second spin, this time aiming for their chests. Both went down and found their breath knocked from their lungs as they hit the metal of the arena floor and skidded for a few feet.

From the stands, Valthos watched with increasing interest as Jak worked with what little of the martial arts that he knew. The Sand King was very much impressed with what he had seen thus far, but he knew that the boy was going to have to do a little better than that if he wanted to come out alive from this battle, as Marauders were rather tough, and it would take more than a few kicks to bring them down. In fact, the first three elves that he had faced were already getting back to their feet and grabbing their weapons as the exile moved on to his other opponents.

Daxter was feverishly biting at his nails, wishing that there was something he could do to help his old buddy, alas, he could not, and he hated himself for it.

The three Marauders that had been downed earlier were charging back at the dark elf from behind whilst another trio kept him hoping and dodging about. The crowd held its breath as they charged into the fray, certain that the killing blow was about to occur. However, a warning from his inner demon gave Jak plenty of heads up in regards to the three returning to the melee, and the crowd was suddenly open mouthed in shock as they watched him vault up more than twenty five feet into the air. He performed a back flip, and landed some distance away from his foes, spreading out his left arm and his legs to absorb the force of the impact.

During the maneuver, his hood had fallen back, and as he glared back at his opponents. They, and those people with front row seats, beheld his slitted and utterly alien eyes for the first time.

The Marauders hesitated for a few moments, unsure of what to make of this phenomenon, and it gave Jak the time he needed to think. While he had progressed rapidly in his hand to hand combat training with Torn, things had gone down the crapper before he had been able to learn the more advanced tiers of the style, which left him predominantly with moves that were meant to disable and incapacitate. Not only did he lack the knowledge of the more advanced killing techniques, but for the most part, the disabling moves required one to hit either the face, neck, or one of the pressure points located along the arm. In the cases of his current opponents, all of these areas were covered by spiked battle armor, and Jak had little desire to inflict pain upon himself, healing factor or no.

He growled slightly, there had to be a way for him to beat these guys that did not involve revealing Kage or the full extent of his powers.

It was then that inspiration graced him, and he knew what he could do. He glanced up at where Valthos and the others were sitting at, and saw Kitetsu still leaning against the Sand King's throne. With a wicked smile, he stretched out his arm, calling to the blade.

Daxter saw what his friend was doing, and let out a sigh of relief, and Pecker simply smirked while the three Wastelanders attempted to figure out what in the Nine Hells Jak was attempting to do. The elves in the box seat were suddenly distracted by a rattling sound, and they peered about attempting to locate the source of the noise. Valthos looked over, and felt his eyes widen as he saw Kitetsu rattling in its scabbard. The very next second, both dark katana and scabbard were airborne, as the partially sentient blade answered the call of its master.

The crowd saw it too, as did the dark elf's opponents, and they rushed forward to stop him from acquiring the weapon, knowing on some instinctive level that they would be in big trouble if he got it.

He grasped the Sword of Kings around its scabbard as the first Marauder lunged at him. Jak threw himself to the side as the other elf did so, but did not fully escape the thrust, as it caught him along his jawbone, cutting deep and drawling a large line of Dark Eco infused blood. The blow would be costly for the armored elf, though, as Jak flipped the blade around to where he held it upside down, before slamming the butt end of it into the Marauder's neck. The purple Dark Eco crystal at the end of the hilt pierced through the steel collar that the elf had on, and punctured his jugular, sealing his fate.

Another masked foe charged in from the right, his blade cocked back and ready to try his luck at spilling Jak's blood. However, the Marauder met with a surprise in the form of more acrobatics from the dark elf. Jak leapt up as the scimitar came in, and the blade sailed harmlessly underneath him. At the same time he also flipped himself upside down and spun around, drawing his weapon and bringing Kitetsu in line with his opponent's neck. The dark katana hissed, and sheered through the Marauder's spiked collar like it was cardboard, decapitating him smoothly. The corpse hit the ground, blood starting to gush from the stump of the neck at the same time that the Ascended Channeler hit the ground. Scabbard held in one hand, blade in the other, the dark elf looked out across the arena to his ten remaining opponents.

"How did he do that?" Valthos finally asked out loud, not expecting an answer.

Thus he was very much surprised when Pecker offered him one.

"Kitetsu has been awakened, my liege," the monkeet replied with a bow, "and now it heeds only the voice of its master, the one who can use it to its greatest potential."

"I see…" the Sand King replied, returning his attention down to the arena, where Jak was currently adding insult to injury by mocking his opponents.

"Come on, come on, who's next?" the dark elf inquired with a smirk, while his adversaries stared at him, their looks of horror hidden behind their masks.

The dark elf then flipped Kitetsu around, to where he was holding the Precursor forged blade as if it were a knife. He also extended his left hand and arched himself to where he was leaning forward a slight bit upon the balls of his feet. Valthos' eyes widened upon seeing that stance, as did Kleiver's. The kid knew the Ataru fighting style? That was something to brag about.

Returning his attention to the battle below, he watched as three charged at him, yelling battle cries at the top of their lungs. The dark elf smiled a feral grin as they closed, the first one bringing his two handed scimitar in from his left, trying to split him at the waist. Jak brought the scabbard of his blade down, swatting it aside while bringing Kitetsu itself across his foe's chest. There blade hissed eerily as it always did when swung, once more sounding as if it was cutting the air itself. The Ascended Channeler felt the slightest hint of resistance as his sword hit the steel armor of his adversary, and tore through it in an instant, continuing through and shredding internal organs as he brought it up at an angle to emerge from the Marauder's right shoulder.

As the body was falling apart, Jak's next foe, circling in from behind, struck out then, trying to run him through. At the same time, lucky number three brought his sword down in a fierce chop. Jak ducked, and the two weapons clanked harmlessly against each other. Before the two could react to the sudden evasive maneuver, though, they were forced to come to terms with the fact that they could no longer feel their legs. They found out why about half a second later, as the dark elf, spinning around, suddenly picked himself up on the knuckles of his left hand, got into a one fisted handstand, and while still spinning, lashed out with his armored feet. Both of them went sailing backwards, leaving their legs behind at the kneecaps, howling as blood gushed from their stumps.

'Heads up!' Kage warned, and Jak instinctively pushed off out of his maneuver and threw himself to one side.

It was a good thing that he did, as the Marauder who was armed with that strange rifle had just joined the battle, taking aim and opening fire upon the dark elf. As he rolled, the elf shot at him again, and this time, Jak was able to notice the ammunition of these bizarre weapons in action. A trio of orange colored flashes shot by him, pinging off of the metal arena and flying away, ruling out any possibility of it being an Eco based weapon.

Regardless of whatever it was that that thing was shooting at him, it was important that he take that guy out, and fast. Tapping into his superhuman speed and reflexes, the dark elf blasted towards the rifleman, jumping and dodging and spinning in a bid to throw off his aim.

Back up in the stands, Valthos rubbed his chin as he and the others stared down at Jak, once again marveling at what the elf was proving himself capable of doing.

"By the gods," Kleiver stated, shaking his head in awe, "he is fast."

"You ain't seen nothing yet." Daxter remarked cheekily, smirking up at the elves as Jak got to within thirty feet of the rifle totting Marauder.

They were to be further astounded when Jak leapt out to one side, dodging one last burst of fire, and throwing Kitetsu end over end towards the masked elf. His foe barely had time to let his eyes widen in surprise before two and a half feet of blade sheared through his armor and sunk in up to its hilt in his chest. He went down, his death throes causing him to fire into the air a few times as his fingers spasmed over the trigger. The Ascended Channeler extended his hand once again after that, summoning the blade back to him, and then turning to face his remaining six opponents.

He paused, deciding to let them come to him, whirling Kitetsu around for a little bit, letting his doomed adversaries know of their fate, and accentuating this fact by waltzing over to one of the legless elves that was still alive, and quickly rectifying that problem.

Nonetheless, Marauders were not exactly known for being a kind of people who just lay down and died, so they came at him en masse, a desperate attempt to overwhelm him through their numbers.

They had no way of knowing that Jak had taken on odds much greater than six to one and come out completely unscathed. No way of realizing that they faced the same elf who had destroyed one of the most powerful creatures to have ever existed. Fortunately for them, Death would be mercifully swift in his arrival.

The first one to reach melee range with him brought his sword down at an angle from the right, and found Kitetsu waiting for it. The dark katana scored a deep gouge in the Marauder's own weapon before the larger elf pulled the blade back to try again. As he did so, Jak spun about, his sword still held as if it were a knife. The two blades clanged harshly against one another once again, except that this time, Kitetsu proved just how bad its bite was, slicing through the other sword before doing the same thing to its wielder. The elf fell apart, cut in half at his sternum as Jak rolled out of the way of a lunge from one of his comrades. The Ascended Channeler followed the move through by coming up and spinning about again, making that particular Marauder shorter by a head.

He looked back over to the four remaining Marauders, who were exchanging glances with each other, trying to avoid being sucked in by Jak's otherworldly eyes, while at the same time attempting to figure out how to get out of this mess alive.

As they were doing that, the dark elf went on the offensive, leaping towards them with a vault that carried him forward by a good twenty five feet. He landed right in front of one of them, burying Kitetsu into the Marauder's heart, before yanking the dark katana out and spinning around, blocking one attack with the Kitetsu's sheath while simultaneously twirling the blade and vertically bisecting the foe closest to his right.

With just the two of them against their army of one type foe, the remaining Marauder's never had half a chance, and the first one got the Ascended Channeler's blade right through his helmet. As he pulled the dark katana back out, Jak noticed the last one charging at him, his double handed sword held up high above his head, screaming like a man possessed. However, the dark elf was far from intimidated by the battle cry, and with a look of bored contempt, lashed out as soon as his foe was in striking range.

The Marauder paused, his eyes widening in confusion for a moment, his blade still held high in the air.

Jak, standing in front of him, backed away for a second or two, as if admiring the job he had just done. Apparently satisfied, he began to sheath his weapon. However, he paused for a brief instant just as he was about to finish. He waiting there like that for about half a second, before letting it slide home with a 'chink' at the same time that the Marauder finally fell to the ground, cut in half a the waist.

An awed hush fell over the crowd for a few seconds, before a single clapping broke out amongst the stands, which rapidly snowballed into thundering applause.

"Holy hell…" Kleiver remarked in his Aussie accent, his eyes wide. "I'd say he's a keeper."

Valthos remained silent, staring hard at Jak as he watched the elf step onto the platform that would lead him back up to him.

Jak's attention was suddenly focused upon something else as well. Off to the right of the box in which the Sand King was sitting, he noticed another elf. She, at least, he assumed it was a she, was covered from head to toe in some rather strange clothing and what appeared to be bronze colored armor. Even more bizarre was her face, tattooed in a strange pattern of white, yellow, and orange. These colors helped to accent her strange eyes, which almost appeared to be a burgundy type color, and they were currently glaring at him with a look of loathing.

'What's her problem?' Kage growled, something about her putting him on edge.

'Not sure, but she certainly doesn't seem to like us all that much.' Jak replied, before another accusing voice yanked them both back to reality.

"Something about yourself that you forget to mention, exile?" Valthos said, getting him a confused look from the dark elf. "You missed a spot." he said, pointing to his left cheek.

Jak put his hand up to that particular region, and felt it, Dark Eco slowly making its way down his cheek from a wound he had received but had totally forgotten about. The cut itself had healed already, but his Eco infused blood remained where it was, a sign for the entire world to see that he was not all that he seemed.

"He has been infused with Dark Eco, my liege." Pecker stated, a rare note of humility present in his voice.

"And how did he survive that?" the ruler of Spargus inquired, crossing his arms over his chest as he looked down at the monkeet.

"Because I'm a Channeler." Jak growled, wiping the blood from his cheek and throwing his hood back up over his head.

"Yeah, and he gets really big and nasty if you piss him off," Daxter added, smirking up at the Wastelanders, "so make sure ya don't get on his bad side. Word to the wise."

"Well…" Valthos mused, rubbing his chin through his mask, wondering why Sig had neglected to mention something like that. "A Channeler, eh? So, you're dangerous then…which means you can be of use to us."

"I'll warn you here and now," the dark elf said, his voice cold enough to turn fire into ice, "I've been used in the past, and I don't take kindly to it. I also wouldn't advise you to do something to make yourself my enemy."

"You're rather sure of yourself." Seth stated abruptly, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got reason to be." Jak said, one edge of his mouth turning up slightly. "I've had a lot of enemies in my short life, and there isn't one alive right now to tell you how big of a mistake it is to become one."

"We'll keep that in mind." Valthos said, before pulling something from his cloak. "As for your performance in the arena, your skill and bravery have earned you your first battle amulet. Win twice more against similar challenges, and you will be considered a citizen of our fair city."

"So what are we now?" Daxter asked, a slight grumble present in his voice.

"People living off of our charity." the Sand King remarked, before turning and heading out the back door. "Seth," he called as he looked back over his shoulder briefly, "show them to their quarters, and let them rest up, they start out with us first thing tomorrow morning."

"Yes, sire." the lanky Wastelander replied, before motioning for Jak and Daxter to follow him.

"One last thing." Valthos stated abruptly, causing them to halt momentarily. "As another award for your accomplishment here today, I'll let you keep that blade," he motioned towards Kitetsu, "it seems to have a liking for you at any rate."

Daxter was curled up into a ball, sleeping on the small bedspread that had been provided for him. Jak, however, was still awake, staring out into the chilling night of the Wasteland, his slitted eyes piercing to the heavens.

His left hand was absentmindedly fiddling with the gold band he had on his right, twisting it back and forth as his thoughts drifted to his soul mate, back in Haven.

Keira, what was she doing now? Was she staring at the few pictures they had of each other? Was she perhaps pulling another all nighter in her workshop, trying to devote herself totally to creating another gizmo that might turn the tide of the war, determined to fight on in his absence? The possibility also entered his head that she might have been devising some sort of elaborate and painful revenge upon Veger, never mind that she'd already mangled him rather thoroughly. After all, such a thing would be well within her abilities, and Jak couldn't say that he would exactly be sorry to see the arrogant noble sent packing.

But whatever she was doing, he just wished that he was there with her, helping her, holding her…

'We will see her again.' Kage said in a calm and gentle voice, smiling slightly, before letting poison slip into his tone. 'And I promise you now, if that thrice be damned councilman interferes, I'll deal with him…slowly.'

'I won't try to stop you.' Jak told his guardian devil, a glare coming to his eyes as he thought of the man that had turned his life into a living hell just to throw the blame for everything on him.

Even Praxis, for all of his sins, had turned him into a weapon in the hopes of winning a war and saving countless lives. For all that his uncle had done to him, in the end, Kor would have triumphed had he not put him through the Dark Warrior Program.

Shaking his head abruptly, he let his mind drift back to more pleasant things, such as his wife.

Keira stared at the ceiling of her apartment, her hands behind her head and her own thoughts drifting.

Jak, gods above, she worried for him, prayed to whoever might have been listening that he would be safe. They'd been through too much to let something happen to them now, now that things had finally been starting to go their way. After Gol and Maia, all that time alone in Haven, fighting for her own survival amongst the dregs of society, and the sick torture that Errol had put him through, and nearly her as well, and the whole deal with Kor, it looked as if they were finally going to be able to settle down and resume a fairly normal life.

They'd even been planning on when they might start a family, granted, they figured they'd wait about a two or three years before that happened, but they were still thinking about it. That was one reason why she'd gone ballistic on Veger, his remark had hit a little close to home.

But then the Count and his cronies on the Grand Council had found themselves in need of a scapegoat, and had used the fact that her husband had worked for Krew during a few points of his service with the Underground as sufficient reason to have him exiled to what they were certain would be his death.

But they didn't know him like she did, didn't know the strength that lay within him, the sheer will to live that he possessed.

But that didn't ease the pain in her heart that she felt. Shifting about again, she stared over to a framed photograph, one of only about a dozen that they had. They were in the forest that surrounded Haven City, holding each other close and beaming ear to ear. Recalling that image, and desperately holding onto it, Keira shut her eyes, and tried to fall asleep, knowing that tomorrow would be another long day, and there was a war to fight.

But sleep eluded both elves for some time, as they tried to curl up and let oblivion take them. Despite the wrappings they covered themselves in, both were cold, and each missed the warmth that only the other soul mate could provide.

&

And yes, I know the romance was sappy beyond all belief, and therefore needs lots and lots of work. If anyone has any advice on how I might improve please let me know.

Also, let me know what you thought of the chapter, be it in the form of a comment, constructive criticism, or even a flame, and be certain to have yourselves a nice day.

I'll see you next week, hopefully, provided we don't get blown off of the map over here.