(Emerges from the shadows, robes having seen better days

Hello to you all once again, and I hope you've been having a great week. As for myself, school has started back (sarcastic 'Yaaaayyy') and it looks like this latter semester is going to be a little rough…

At any rate, I want to once again extend my thanks to all of you who reviewed, and those I could not directly reply to, please leave your e-mail addresses so I can respond on a more personal level, since the administrators here apparently deiced to go and ban simply posting replies in the chapters…

Okay, this chapter is fairly long, though I fear it is hopelessly clichéd (beats self over head) and for those of you wondering about the title, assuming that my Latin skills haven't completely deserted me, it translates into "We who are about to die salute you" the age old gladiator cry, which I felt was appropriate considering the nature of this chapter.

Lawyers: I hereby swear upon my immortal soul that I own nothing save the ideas and characters that have sprung up in my demented mind, all other characters belong to ND, and all powers not of my own design belong to their respective creators, so bugger off!

That said, here's chapter fourteen.

&

Morituri te Salutant

His legs crossed and his palms folded on top of each other in his lap, Jak Mar sat in a room within the Spargus Palace, meditating quietly. Even though he was not in a combat situation, he still wore the armor that Tarath had given him, finding that the gentle humming of the HUD systems was surprisingly calming. It was a strange, paradoxical irony that was not lost upon him, that he could be brought to peace by the humming and pulsing of a set of equipment designed for the sole purpose of enhancing his already formidable abilities and turning him into an even more dangerous killing machine.

Off to his right, Daxter slept, curled up as he always was, a faint smile upon his furry visage and an occasional muttered word that left him little doubt as to what his compadre was dreaming about.

In about an hour, it would be time for his third and final confrontation within the arena, one that if he succeeded in, would make him a full citizen of the desert city, to be looked upon as an equal. The thought of finding acceptance, after all this time, warmed his heart.

Some time passed, and then he heard it faintly, the scuffling of feet upon stone, the movements of someone who did not wish to be detected.

He opened his reptilian eyes and glanced over his HUD screens, all the while giving no outward indication of the change of his state of awareness.

From his rear view HUD screen, he saw the intruder come around the corner, and much to his irritation, discovered it to be Seem. It was all he could do to suppress a groan, as he really didn't need to put up with her right now.

"What do you want, Seem?" he growled, not turning around to face her.

"How did you know it was me?" she inquired, surprise and shock manifested upon her tattooed face.

"You might say I've got eyes in the back of my head now." He told her, a smirk upon his visage, as he finally rose and turned around to face her. "Now, tell me what you wanted to say and get lost, I'm not in the mood to put up with you today."

"I wished to ask you about the armor you desecrate by wearing." She began.

'Oh, not this again…' Kage groaned, slapping his forehead with one hand while balling the other up into a fist.

"What is it with you and hating things associated with Dark Eco?" Jak growled, taking two steps towards her, looking down upon her. "For the love of Gaia, you're supposed to be spending your whole life researching the Precursors, don't you know that there were some of them that used Dark Eco in battle?" the dark elf paused for a moment, breathing deeply, before he continued. "And why do you think that Mar's Armor reacts to me like it does? Why do you think Kitetsu obeys me and me alone?" he exclaimed as loudly as he dared, fearing to wake Daxter. "It was because Mar himself was an Ascended Channeler aligned with Dark Eco!"

"Shut up!" Seem shouted at him, closing her burgundy eyes, letting memories wash over her, memories of people screaming, people dying. "They would never have used such evil!" she said, trying to convince herself that she was not denying the truth, that he was attempting to deceive her.

She opened her crimson eyes back up, and Jak and Kage were both startled to find unshed tears glistening in them, her questions forgotten. Without another word, the monk bolted, leaving the Ascended Channeler and his alter ego in a state of genuine confusion.

'That was…unexpected.' The oni stated, rubbing his chin in a perplexed manner.

'You're telling me.' His host concurred, cocking his head in bewilderment.

Both simply stood there for a time, wondering what this could have meant, and for the first time, wondering if there wasn't something that had happened to Seem that had made her as prejudiced as she was.

Off in another area of the palace, another person sat, lost within his own thoughts and sorrows.

The desert elf known as Valthos sighed to himself, lowering his head as his mind drifted back through times that were past, of a life that was no longer his. He thought of Haven City, of the time when he had once ruled there, when he had had a loving wife whom he cared for with all of his heart, and a young boy who was the sum of all his hopes and dreams.

One was dead, murdered at the hands of her own brother, and the other the gods only knew where, though he feared that the child was now with his mother, as despite years of searching, Sig had never managed to find him.

And it was all because of him, because of his own inability, his own failure.

His mind drifted, as it always did, to the attack upon the Metal Head nest, of the disaster that had set the whole tragedy in motion. How many other families had lost people to that catastrophe that had been his doing? He could still hear the screaming, the cries of men and women that were dying, lying in pools of their own blood. He could recall with absolute clarity the images that haunted him day and night, the wounded carrying each other, hobbling together back to a drop ship, of Hellcats and Scorpions being destroyed around him as the men and women under his command, the people who trusted their lives to him, died for an attack that was supposed to forever free them of the Hora-quan menace, and instead only wound up causing the deaths of thousands for nothing.

Lives wasted on a fool's dream.

He had stayed behind, tried to hold off the attack, and had succeeded for some time. However, he knew in his heart that he would not live out the day, and perhaps that would be the best, that he would die in payment for the folly that was his and his alone, atonement for those who had fallen needlessly.

But, by some twist of fate, his torment would not end there. The Metal Heads had swarmed him, and he had fallen, bleeding from scores of wounds to his face, sides, and anywhere that the Armor of Mar had not covered. They had left him for dead, thinking that someone as ripped and torn as he could not possibly live through such wounds. Yet somehow, he had survived, and had managed to wander out of the hell that he had foolishly attacked.

He couldn't recall much after that, just endless miles of sand and dust and of blistering heat. He'd collapsed shortly thereafter, his vision growing dark for what he'd hoped would be the final time.

Sig had found him, and in an act of mercy and compassion, had taken him back to Spargus, where the monks had managed to save his life.

He removed the cloth that covered his face as he thought about it, rubbing his hand over the many scars that covered his visage, still thinking about what had led up to these present moments.

Time had passed, and he had proven himself worthy of the Wastelanders' mercy and come to accept his new role, until the day had come when their previous king, an elf by the name of Corrick, had challenged him to combat in the arena. The reasoning of the old monarch had been simple, he was growing old, and he knew he would not be able to lead his people for much longer. As such, he had desired a worthy successor, and knowing full well who and what Damas had been, he knew that such a man would be a wise choice.

Damas hadn't discovered what Corrick's plan had been until the old king lay upon his knees, his head bowed before his blade. He hadn't wanted to do that, but the law of the arena was absolute.

That had been almost three years ago, nearly five since the disastrous attack. In those five years, he felt as though he had aged more than five decades as the stress and guilt and memories piled up upon his shoulders. Now, he sensed that time had come again.

Jak, he was everything that the Sand King could have hoped for in a successor. The boy was powerful, he had proven that much at least, he was cunning, able to think swiftly upon his feet, and he had also been cast out of the city of Haven, meaning it would be unlikely for him to have other plans, so to speak.

There was also the 'minor' fact of the young elf being in possession of both Mar's Armor and the royal blade, Kitetsu, his own former weapon. That the dark katana obeyed only him and that the armor, as he had learned through careful poking and prodding, had been given to him by its original creators, was proof enough that he was fit to lead the Wastelanders on to a better future than Damas ever could.

Besides, he longed for death, and its sweet release from the hell that his life had become.

His eyes hardened suddenly, and he walked over to his gunblade, smiling to himself as he began to prepare himself for what would hopefully be one last, grand fight before his life came to a close, as it should have years ago.

The gates of the desert city opened with a loud groaning sound as the massive dune buggy that Sig drove roared through them and into the courtyard. He carefully maneuvered over to the garage and then parked it, before hopping out and stretching as he jumped out. On the other side of the vehicle, Keira also leapt down, and those few others who happened to be in the garage took a moment to stare as they saw the armored soldier cracking her back. They were curious, as they had never seen the like of Katarn Mark II battle armor in their humble city before, and some might have actually been a little intimidated by the combination of the gray plate armor, the blue, T shaped visor, the two guns and the grenade bandolier that the tech head had in her possession at the moment.

"Glad that ride's over with." She muttered, and the Wastelanders present were actually surprised to find that it was a female encased within that stuff.

The trip had lasted the better part of twenty hours, and she marveled at the fact that Sig had even been able to make the journey in a dune buggy. Apparently, extra fuel tanks went a long way out in this gods forsaken desert.

Now, she simply had to find Jak, and she quickly asked Sig if he had any idea where the dark elf might be.

"Not really sure, been a while since I was here." The burly Wastelander replied with a shrug. "Just ask around though, I'm sure someone like him already has quite a reputation around these parts. As for me, there's someone I gotta go pay a visit to."

And with that, the Wastelander walked out of the garage, saying hello to the odd person as he went about. Keira simply stared about, not entirely sure where she should begin, and so she decided that she would simply ask the first person that she saw as to the whereabouts of her soul mate. After all, how many other Ascended Channelers could there be in this place?

That also made her wonder how she was going to break the news to her husband as to what exactly had happened to her.

His beloved Peace Maker slung over his shoulder, Sig had a smile upon his face as he entered the Monastery. Many would likely have found this particular smile strange for him, for it was not the one that he wore when he went out to send some Metal Heads back to whatever foul maker had created them. This one was warm, inviting, and there was a strange glow in his real eye that few had ever seen.

He reached a particular door, and knocked a couple of times before entering.

The reason for him being so upbeat was to be found inside these doors.

Unfortunately, his smile faded as soon as he laid eyes upon her.

Seem was lying there upon a simple, cot like bed, curled up into a ball, whimpering faintly.

Quietly, he shut the door behind him, and walked over to the other elf, a frown of concern replacing his smile as he reached her. He reached out gently, and shook her a little bit on the shoulder. Immediately, she bolted to full consciousness, and gasped. However, as soon as she recognized exactly who it was that had startled her, she promptly threw her arms around him, and a bone crushing hug ensued.

"Sig!" she exclaimed, a note of undeniable joy in her usually harsh and reserved tone.

"Sis, please, I need air!" the enforcer exclaimed, gasping playfully as he returned the gesture of affection.

A few seconds passed before they finally parted, and he smiled again as he laid eyes upon her.

She and he went way back, and he couldn't help but let his mind drift to when he had first found her.

He had been just a rookie Wastelander then, barely into adulthood, when he'd been out in the desert, scrounging around for artifacts. It was then that the most peculiar thing had happened. He'd been scanning through some macro-binoculars, searching for any signs of something out of the ordinary, like light reflecting off a piece of metal or crystal, when he'd spotted what appeared to be a moving figure off in the distance.

Being a newbie, he'd yet to learn to temper his zeal to prove himself to his fellows with common sense, and he'd immediately sped off to investigate what this could be. In this case, his rashness would prove to be the salvation of someone.

As he'd drawn closer, he'd discovered that it had indeed been a person, but he didn't think that it was a Marauder. After all, vicious and cunning as they could be sometimes, they normally didn't go parading around in the heat of the day with clothing that was rather ill-suited for this environment and would have been more at home in an upper class neighborhood. Furthermore, he'd realized that it was actually two elves, not one, and to his knowledge, there weren't a whole lot of children present within the Marauder ranks.

As luck would have it, it had been a mother and a child, what they were doing out here he could only guess at the time, but he wasn't about to leave them out here to die, which wouldn't be long in coming, as both appeared to be practically within Death's icy grip as it was.

Unfortunately, those his return was speedy indeed, the mother had already passed beyond the point of no return, and none of their healing arts could save her. The child was another story however, showing a surprising resilience to the Wasteland's killing heat. Perhaps it was guilt that they had been unable to save her mother, or it could have been that underneath this rough talking, Hora-quan slaughtering exterior of his, he was just a big softy, but he had taken her in, and they were now siblings, both of them allowing their emotional masks to slip when in the presence of the other.

Pulling himself back to reality, Sig stared down into Seem's eyes, and noticed that they were bloodshot, and it looked almost as if he had been weeping.

"What's wrong?" he asked, going into protective elder sibling mode.

Seem looked down at the floor suddenly, unsure of how she should confess what was troubling her. After all, Jak was constantly upon her mind. His very image, his every motion, brought back foul memories of her early childhood, and of a tyrant that had taken everything from her. She was confused about him, torn between her vendetta against those who used the darkness to aid them, and the truth that countless texts had bored into her.

Then the words began to spill forth in a torrent, and she found herself unable to stop as she told her older brother all that had happened since the exile had first been plucked out of the desert

Sig listened to it all, a faint smile slowly beginning to replace the frown as he heard her tale…

"Let me be the first to tell you, Sis," the burly Wastelander said with a low chuckle as her tale came to a close, "Jak's an okay kinda guy. He's got some anger issues, but so long as you don't get on his bad side, you shouldn't have any problems with him." He paused then, and took both of her hands, and she looked up into his eyes, both real and cybernetic. "Listen to me, Seem," he told her in a gentle tone of voice that few ever heard him use, "Jak is not like Nadeen, he's not out to conquer or destroy everything in sight."

"What should I do then?" the monk inquired, her tone one of a person who was lost.

"For starters, apologize to him." Sig told her, his tone slightly scolding. "I owe him my life a few times over, and Haven City itself is only standing right now because of him and that little split personality of his."

The monk paused, and seemed to look into herself, pondering her next potential course of action. After a time, she decided that she would heed her brother's words, and confront the Dark One, offering him her sincerest apologies after his third trial in the arena this day.

About thirty minutes had passed since the Wastelander and his sister had had their little chat with each other, and now they made their way to the arena, Sig confident in his friend's abilities to outperform any Marauder that might be sent in against him, while Seem swore in her heart she would do her best to try and look past the Ascended Channeler's unusual skills and see him for what he really was.

They had not been traveling together for very long when Seem stopped short, seeing something that she had never before observed. Sig however, merely cupped a hand to his mouth, and called out the name of the individual in question, who was currently running an armored hand through her aqua hair.

"Yo, Keira!" he called out, and the girl quickly whirled around at the sound of the familiar voice, something that was most welcome at this time.

"Hey Sig." She called back, before running over to where the duo was. "I can't find Jak anywhere, and everyone I've talked to just said something about an arena battle."

"You know the Dark One?" Seem inquired, curious about this female elf, whose green eyes seemed to almost glow.

"Seem, I'd like to introduce you to Keira Hagai, Jak's wife." Sig stated, a smile splitting his face almost in half. "Keira, meet Seem, my little sister."

"I didn't know you had any family." The aqua haired elf muttered, extending her hand towards the monk, who accepted it, shame scorching her on the inside.

"She's sort of adopted, you might say." was the Wastelander's reply to her. "As for Jak, follow us and you'll get to see him in action." He then set off for the arena stands.

"What do you mean?" Keira asked, cocking her head as she fell into step beside the enforcer.

"Our leader, King Valthos, managed to haul your hubby out of the desert thanks to a tracking beacon that I had Ashelin give him." Sig explained, noting the silent 'thank you' look that Keira gave to him. "But because of that, Jak owes Spargus a debt, one that he's gotta pay out by proving himself worthy of the mercy dealt to him. The arena is how an outsider earns citizenship within our humble community."

"And what exactly will he be going up against?" the tech head asked, a little bit of uncertainty in her tone.

"Probably just some Marauders we've captured." Sig told her with a shrug. "Besides, from what Seem's told me, Jak's been through it twice already, and he's made fillet's and the like out of the last two groups, and from what I understand, he didn't even go all out on em." He looked down towards her out of the corner of his eye. "Don't worry about a thing, he'll be fine."

"I know he will," the girl told him, "it's just, I don't want to risk losing him now that I've just found him again."

"You will not have to worry about that." Seem stated, her voice quiet as she recalled her own memories of the last two arena battles. "Your soul mate is more powerful than anything I have ever before seen. A hundred Marauders could not hope to best him in battle."

"And from what I've been told, he's picked up a nifty little gadget since he's arrived out here." Sig said, before proceeding to tell her exactly what said gadget was.

However, little did they know that it would not be Marauders that would be challenging the dark elf this time around, but a foe of an entirely different nature.

"Citizens of fair Spargus." Valthos called out, speaking for himself this time around as opposed to Pecker, his voice amplified by the acoustics of the arena. "For the third time, we have come to watch an exile try to earn his place among us, to try and find a home amongst the wastes." He paused then, waiting for the chamber on the far side of the arena to open and reveal the Ascended Channeler, and for the cheering to die down. "We have watched and heard, seen and been told of his exploits, and we all know him well."

Jak stepped onto the platform that would lead him to the arena, which seemed to have been constructed differently from his previous battles. Now, instead of a flat, football field type structure, there were columns place at regular intervals on it, and what almost looked like riot barriers in place at some locations.

He then turned his gaze back to the Sand King, who proceeded to speak some more.

"He who has slain Marauders." a brief note of cheering followed this, and Valthos raised his voice to be heard above it. "He who has slain Torresques." The cheering grew even louder, to where the ruler of Spargus had to scream to make himself heard. "He who has slain Kor, the leader of the Metal Heads himself!"

It was a wonder that Kerrog, Errol, and the rest of the Fallen Precursors didn't hear the noise of the Wastelander crowd all the way back on the Day Star.

The Sand King then held up his hands to call for silence, and after a few moments, the Wastelander's did so.

"And now, my people, we shall see if he can handle a new type of foe." Valthos said, before stepping forward onto a platform that had been next to his seating area.

There was a hush even greater than before as the platform brought the ruler of Spargus down to where the exile was, whose bewilderment was apparent even though he was encased in Vibrium armor.

'What in Mar's name?' Kage muttered from within his mind, quickly figuring out what was going on, but still wondering why.

"What are you doing?" Jak growled as Valthos stepped off the platform and approached him.

"Isn't it obvious, Jak?" The Sand King inquired, cocking his head to the side. "I'm going to test your mettle myself." His voice was quiet, so no one but the two of them could hear what it was that he said. "Best me if you wish to continue to live."

It was then that the dark elf noticed something upon the king that he never had seen before. There was a strange belt upon his waist, which looked like an ammo bandolier. The ruler of Spargus pressed on of them, and a handful of blue tinted containers fell into his hand, where he promptly crushed them. A glow of a similar hue surrounded him, and he suddenly leapt backwards, going up and coming down more than thirty feet away.

Both Jak and Kage's eyes widened simultaneously as they realized exactly what it was that they were up against here. Still, even as Valthos drew his gunblade, the dark elf unsheathed Kitetsu and readied himself for the first attack. Tense and ready, he was well prepared for when the Sand King leveled his weapon and his finger shot down to the trigger.

There was a loud bang that filled the arena, and the Ascended Channeler ducked down and twisted to the left, feeling the distortions in the air as a bullet whizzed past him. He then pushed off of the ground and pulled himself into a back flip as his foe continued to fire upon him. He twisted about while still in the middle of his jump, and he saw the white hot bits of metal fly past his various HUD screens as the Channeler down in the arena floor continued to shoot at him.

Coming down, he immediately threw himself behind one of the barricades that were now scattered around the arena, trying to formulate a plan of attack.

'Well, we could try to keep dodging for a while,' Kage growled in a manner that left his host unsure as to whether or not he was being sarcastic or not, 'after all, he's got to run out of ammunition some time.'

'How bout we just give him a taste of his own medicine?' was the reply of the dark elf, as he suddenly leapt up from behind his cover, and caught Valthos attempting to reload his weapon.

He called upon his powers, and his hand shot out, unleashing a blast of dark lightning streaking from them towards where his foe was. Any normal opponent would have been caught in the blast and more than likely killed or put in the emergency room. However, the Sand King was far from a normal adversary, and as he was still under the effect of the Blue Eco coursing through his system, and he was a blur of movement as he dashed out of the way.

The dark elf growled in an irritated manner, and he realized that it had been far too long since he had battled a foe of this nature. Even in his sparring with Tarath, the Precursor Praetor had been limited to a single type of Eco, and as a result had not had quiet so many potential tricks up his sleeve.

The ruler of Spargus raced behind one of the columns that dominated the arena, and Jak quickly realized that he was probably finishing the process of reloading his weapon. It didn't take nearly as long as Jak had anticipated, as he came blasting around the edge of the metal column a few seconds later, his weapon cocked back in a position that Jak recognized as the Ataru fighting style.

The Ascended Channeler quickly summoned a phantom blade from Kitetsu, and as they met upon the arena floor, matched his foe blade for blade.

Valthos snapped his gunblade up from the left side, aiming a wicked strike for Jak's unarmored ribs. His weapon was a blur as it moved, but amazingly, Jak got Kitetsu down in time for the dark katana to intercept his weapon, slapping it harmlessly aside, while thrusting forward with the shadowy copy of the Blade of Mar, a blow that would have run the Sand King through if it had connected with him.

However, the ruler of Spargus had apparently anticipated such an attack, and ducked underneath the strike. He then brought his fist forward in a lightning fast strike at the dark elf's chest before he could readjust himself from his own attack. But he had failed to truly understand the powers that a master of the Juyo fighting style possessed, and while not quiet so fast as a Channeler using Blue Eco, Jak was still very fleet of foot, and Valthos found himself having to yank his hand back in order to keep it attached to his respective wrist as Kitetsu flipped in towards him.

His gunblade still held dagger style, Valthos dropped to the ground, before using his augmented speed to roll around behind the Ascended Channeler, thinking to take him by surprise.

But Jak saw the attack coming upon the rear view screen of his HUD, and the phantom blade was there waiting for the attack, swatting it harmlessly aside. Another strike came in, and this time, the dark katana itself would deflect the blow. Twice more Valthos tried to cut down his adversary from behind, and twice more the dark elf blocked his strikes.

Outwardly, he let out a growl of frustration, inwardly, the Sand King smiled as he began to fully grasp what Jak was capable of. Given time, he had little doubt that the boy would be a mighty and long remembered ruler when he had taken his place.

But he still wanted this last battle of his to be one for the ages, and so he stepped back suddenly, and leveled his gunblade, firing one handed. The Ascended Channeler saw the attack coming, and ducked, spinning around to face his adversary as he did so, before throwing his shadow blade at the ruler of Spargus. Valthos leapt over the attack, and kept firing, keeping his opponent on the defensive for as long as he could manage.

But as he ducked underneath the returning phantom weapon, he watched Jak blast towards him, reaching up and grabbing the airborne katana, before coming in with both blades slashing in. With impossible speed, Valthos managed to deflect both strikes, slapping them away with the flat of his gunblade. But before he could make a move for his own, the dark elf that was his adversary sent the two swords in towards him again, Kitetsu coming down from above in an attempt to hack his left arm off at the shoulder while the copy of it came in from the side in an attack that was aimed at the Sand King's right hip.

The ruler of Spargus barely managed to block Kitetsu with his gunblade and step out of the way of the phantom blade's attack. However, as Kitetsu bit into the length of his weapon, he could feel the strength that the dark elf had put into his blow, and knew that one successful strike would be all that it took to be the end of him. However, he could hardly pause to dwell upon that, as Jak decided to let his momentum from the side attack carry through, and he spun around, bringing both of his swords in from the right side, one aimed at Valthos' neck, the other one just below his ribs.

Valthos got his gunblade over in time, and used the greater length of his weapon to block the strikes, his muscles bulging as he struggled to hold back the power behind the blows, and he didn't miss the nice little cuts that the two blades had made in his own weapon. However, keeping all of his attention focused on stopping those attacks had left him unprepared for what happened next, as the dark elf, still keeping his two katanas locked up, leapt and planted both of his armored feet into the Sand King's chest. Valthos staggered backwards, expecting the killing blow to fall at any second as he realized how exposed he was.

Much to his surprise, the Ascended Channeler merely stood where he was, as if he was waiting for the ruler of Spargus to return to the fight. Mistakenly thinking that the dark elf was mocking him, Valthos felt his rage suddenly begin to boil in his blood. However, he was wise enough that even though their melee fight had lasted less than a minute, even with his speed enhanced with Blue Eco that he had absorbed, he knew that he was no match for Jak, with his whirling blades and perfect coordination. Thus, he decided that it was time for an alternate strategy. Depressing another one of the containers on his belt, the Wastelander ruler caught the vials with ease, and crushed them.

At the same time, Jak was holding a mental conversation with his alter ego.

'What in the nine hells does he think that he is doing?' the oni snarled confused and feeling betrayed, as he had little doubt that those attacks that Valthos had attempted had been for real.

'I'm not sure.' Jak responded mentally, just as baffled as the Dark Eco demon over the current situation, and no less pleased.

Their conversation was interrupted by a battle cry coming from Valthos' throat, and both refocused their attention just in time to duck a beam of Yellow Eco that had been sent flying their way. His reptilian eyes narrowed menacingly behind his helmet as he looked back up, the dark elf grit his teeth, and promptly announced his retaliation in the form of a thrown shadow blade, followed swiftly by a dark bolt attack. The three small orbs raced out of his extended hand, and Valthos' own eyes widened as he saw them streaking right in towards himself.

Growling, he threw himself to one side and barely managed to get behind one of the barricades before the attack passed through the area that he had occupied mere moments before.

Pressing the attack, Jak rushed towards the Sand King, leaping up at the last moment and changing his direction as he passed over the barricade that his opponent was hiding behind. Another beam of Yellow Eco crackled through the area that he would have passed through, but Valthos was quick to realize his error, and turned to face his adversary.

Only to find himself swearing and diving to one side as Jak pushed off of a column and came blasting back at him, a small storm of Dark Eco lightning leading the way in front of him.

Up in the stands, Seem, Sig, and Keira all watch the unfolding battle with mixtures of confusion and fear. Daxter, Pecker, and Kleiver were also present but on the opposite side of the arena, and being so absorbed in the fight down below, that they did not notice who else might be in the audience.

"What is going on, Sig?" Keira exclaimed, her glowing eyes wide as she forced the burly Wastelander to look at her. "You said he would just be facing Marauders!"

"Oh dear gods," was all the armored elf could mutter, "I was afraid he was going to do this soon."

"Wha?" was all she had to say to that, and it fell to Seem to explain what was going on.

"King Valthos has long been weary of his life upon this world." She stated, his voice quiet and somber. "He has long sought release from the guilt that haunts him every day. However, he has refrained from ending it all because of his responsibilities to us. It would seem as though he has found someone he believes is capable of shouldering the burden in his place."

"What do you mean?" Kiera asked, cocking her head slightly.

"I have seen both your soul mate and his majesty battle." The monk replied, turning to face her fully. "The Dark One is far beyond what King Valthos is capable of matching. This battle he has arranged between them is a glorified suicide, and he knows it. He seeks one last battle before he meets his ancestors."

Keira's look of disbelief was all that was necessary for them to understand that she wanted to deny such a barbaric act.

"Two parties enter." Sig said, his voice very much subdued. "One party leaves. Such is the law of the arena."

Over on the other side of the stands, Daxter was having a very similar reaction.

"Say that again?" he screeched, his eyes bugged out as he looked up at Kleiver.

"Only one of them is going to live to see the end of the day. "The quartermaster replied with a helpless shrug. "And my money says it's going to be your mate, after all that I've seen him do."

"And you just let oh high and might King Valthos walk out there to face him!" The ottsel responded, his voice one of disbelief.

"It was his choice, rodent," Kleiver. stated in a weary tone, leaning back against the wall as another Eco based explosion occurred down in the arena, toppling one of the columns to the ground. "He wants to make certain that his people are looked after, and he seems to think that Jak's the man for the job. I don't like it, but it's our way." he said, before giving a humorless laugh. "Besides, what could I do to stop him?"

Daxter simply gave a disgusted sigh, and returned his attention to the battle down below.

Jak leap backwards into the air to avoid another ranged attack from his foe, before performing a flip maneuver, and then calling upon his powers once again. Staring at where Valthos was, he focused his powers, and an orb of darkness formed in his left hand. He then hurled the dark bomb at the Sand King, which he easily avoided via a sideways leap. However, what the ruler of Spargus hadn't anticipated was that Jak, while still coming down from his leap, would calculate his approximate landing area, and then hurl a second dark bomb attack right there.

Too late, Valthos saw his error, and he couldn't stop his momentum in time to prevent himself from going right into the Dark Eco.

He screamed in pain as he felt the substance eat into, and in his heart, he knew that if it were not for the mixed blessing of his heritage, that he would have been very, very dead. As it was, he was simply in a lot of agony, but he was not yet finished. He was quickly able to find cover, and then he dispensed a few vials of Green Eco, which he quickly used to heal himself. Thus renewed, he stepped out to continue to the fight.

However, there were complications hindering his fighting efforts. For starters, he was out of Blue Eco, and the last of his Yellow had been used up in his ranged fight, which Jak had again proven himself to be superior in. Not to mention that most of his first aid kit had just effectively been used up. This left him really with only Red Eco left to use against his opponent, and he knew that strength alone would never even come close to making him a match against an adversary as deadly as Jak was.

Valthos was outgunned by the dark elf and everyone else sensed it, and waited with an almost palpable sense of anxiousness for the last blow to come. However, the Sand King had wanted this fight to be one for the annals of history, and he was determined to die a warrior, so he assimilated the last of his Eco into himself, before charging at his opponent, his blade cocked back.

Jak was quick to create a second weapon, and met the ruler of the Wastelanders blow for blow, his hidden face twisted into a mask of concentration as he parried and riptosed the gunblade. While he had little doubt that the Armor of Mar would stand up to the weapon that Valthos was using, the Ascended Channeler and his alter ego were both very much aware that with his strength enhanced as it was, even if the armor stopped the attack, the force of the strike alone would be giving him a broken bone. While his enhanced healing factor would quickly take care of that, he would leave Jak open and vulnerable for a few critical seconds, something he did not desire in the slightest.

His foe thrust his blade forward, roaring and pulling the trigger of the weapon as he did so. Fortunately, the slug pinged off of the Virbrium armor plates with little more than a tiny dent to show for the hit, and the gunblade itself was forced down towards the ground as both of Jak's weapons caught it. The dark elf then thrust his left leg through the area between Kitetsu and his shadow blade, lashing out and catching Valthos square in the face. Both heard the crunching noise that came when the armored boot crushed the Sand King's nose in, but to his credit, the Spargian elf managed to remain on his feet and focused enough to yank his weapon back and make a vicious swipe at Jak's feet.

The Ascended Channeler leaped over the blade, and continued upward, flipping around as he came over Valthos' head. Normally, such a brash move would have resulted in the person in mid leap being cut down by his adversary, but as the Sand King brought his weapon around to try and perform such a maneuver, he found that Jak had both of his katanas waiting for him, and they locked around his weapon from opposite sides, keeping him from being able to perform any sort of action. With a seemingly impossible amount of flexibility, the dark elf twisted about in midair, and landed on his feet.

Valthos had no time to react as he saw Jak duck down and begin to spin around, his left foot stuck out in front of him. The sweep kick connected, and knocked the ruler of Spargus' feet out from underneath him. With a grunt, the Wastelander crashed to the ground, and he knew that the match was over even as Kitetsu and its shadowy twin were knocking his blade away and being placed against his throat.

The crowd was deathly quiet, knowing what was to come next.

"I have lost." Valthos growled in a tone that was so quiet only Jak could hear him. "Just make it quick, that's all I ask for."

"What do you mean?" Jak inquired in a similar volume, cocking his head quietly.

"Finish the job, exile." He breathed from his prone position. "Kill me and take my place."

'What?' Kage roared from within the dark elf's mind, his hellfire eyes bulging outwards as both he and his host realized what was being asked of them.

"Why do you hesitate?" the Sand King growled, clenching a fist in anger. "Do you wish to humiliate me further, Jak? Is the torment that I suffer every day that I live not enough?" he looked up into that emotionless visor that the Ascended Channeler wore. "End my pain, I beg you."

"You wanted me to do this, didn't you." Jak snarled quietly, anger and confusion rising within him as he realized that he'd deliberately been placed in this position.

"Yes, exile, I planned this to happen. I think I've known ever since we found you in the desert, those months ago, that you would be the right person for the job." He paused, and the Ascended Channeler knew that he was smiling behind his cloth facemask. "You are a leader, whether you believe it or not. You have what it takes. You are strong, brave, cunning, and I've come to understand that you have the most importantly quality of all: you care about those around you."

"I won't kill a man who saved my life." The dark elf said, removing his blades from Valthos' throat, but still keeping a tight grip upon him. "It's not right."

"This has always been our way, Jak." Valthos said, his tone calm, one of a man who was ready to die. "A king grows old, and he challenges the person he wants as his successor to a battle."

'I think it is time for the local law code to have some revisions.' Kage snarled, his honor code screaming about just how wrong this situation was.

It was a remark that Jak would give voice to a moment later.

Murmuring was beginning to break out up in the stands as the Wastelanders whispered amongst themselves, unsure of what was going on and what to make of it. Keira held her breath, praying with all with soul that her husband didn't go through with this. Unknown to her, Sig was doing the exact same thing, pleading to any celestial being with a conscience that Jak didn't do what the law of Spargus demanded that he do.

After all, he knew the true identities of both people down there, and he could think of no greater tragedy that could befall either of his friends should the killing blow fall.

Daxter was biting his nails again, unsure of what would happen. He felt that Jak wouldn't go through with this, as he had known the dark elf since childhood, and knew that even during his darkest moments, that he wasn't a cold blooded killer. On the other hand, Valthos had just attacked and tried to kill him…

"You're still the king, Valthos." Jak said, dispelling the shadow blade in his left hand a taking a few steps back away from the prone elf. "I'm not a leader, and I don't intend to stay out here one second more than I have to. I'm needed elsewhere."

"And what of my people?" the Sand King retorted, a hint of bitterness in his voice. "Would you leave them alone, leaderless? I have been bested; they will no longer follow me even if I did desire to lead them!" He looked up into the dark elf's visor once again, his eyes, which looked so old and weary all of a sudden, pleading with him. "Release me from this torment, I'm begging you."

There was a pause, and Kitetsu was raised upward for a second. The Wastelanders in the arena held their breath, expecting the end to come. However, they were in for a shock, when the dark elf suddenly flipped the weapon around and sheathed it, before turning his back to his defeated adversary.

'I cannot help but wonder, Kage mused to within Jak's mind, 'why he would put himself in such a position. Can people truly become so weighed down by their sorrows that death is what they seek?'

'Yeah, we can, Kage.' His host responded as he continued to walk away, paying no heed to the gasps and roars of the crowd as this unprecedented event took place. 'I suppose after these years of being by himself, he just wants to be with his family again…'

Up in the crowds, amongst the confused Wastelanders, there were three individuals who breathed heartfelt sighs of relief at the choice that the dark elf had taken.

Daxter upon his shoulder, Jak made his way through the tunnels underneath Spargus, lost in thought. Thus, he was very much surprised when a familiar voice called him out of his thoughts and back to reality.

"Hello, chili peppers." Sig said to them, waving slightly as he leaned against one of the rock walls.

"Sig, what are you doing here?" Jak asked, startled and a little confused.

"Oh, I was in the neighborhood, figured I'd drop by and say hello." He replied with a smile, before it quickly faded from his face as he stepped up to the dark elf and placed his hand upon the shoulder that was not occupied by a certain orange ottsel. "I want to thank you for what you did out there in the arena, sparing Valthos' life." He told him, his voice somber and sincere.

"How can you call yourself civilized when you have a practice like that?" Daxter remarked, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

"It's always been the way we get ruler." Sig replied with a shrug, before lowering both his voice and his head. "Still, I've always wondered if we haven't been just a little too stuck in our ways."

There was a moment of silence then, in which all three regarded each other, before the burly Wastelander straightened back up and turned around.

"Oh yeah, I brought a little something from Haven with me that you guys might want to see." He remarked, a smile upon his features once again.

"What do you mean?" Daxter asked, scathing underneath his pilot goggles.

"Just a little someone who's been wanting to lay eyes on you again for a long time." Sig responded with a tone that indicated he was part of an inside joke.

Jak was about to tell the enforcer to stop playing games, when something he would never have expected occurred. From around a far corner stepped another elf. Though armored covered the person, the aqua colored hair and the cherubic smile gave the person's identity away in an instant.

Daxter's eyes bulged outward, and he suddenly found himself caught between two bodies as Jak and Keira shared a bone crushing embrace between themselves.

Sig simply smiled once more, happy to see the two soul mates reunited, and he saw his adoptive sister staring out of the corner of his eye, watching the unfolding event with keen interest.

For nearly a minute, the two elves merely held each other in their arms, holding each other close as if they feared that if something should part them, that they would never again see each other.

After all, Count Veger had done his damndest to try and make that the case.

When they finally pulled away from each other, Jak was quick to remove his helmet and stare into the eyes of his wife, noting how her own emerald orbs seem to glow with a light that was all their own now. Without a care in the world for who might have been watching or what those people might have thought, they leaned in close once more, and shared a soft and passionate kiss.

Indeed, it did have an effect upon one person who was present, though watching from a fairly discreet distance. Behind her facial tattoos, Seem felt her skin heat up as another wave of shame came over her. She finally felt that she was beginning to see the true nature of the exiled elf as she watched the two soul mates hold each other close and reaffirm how much they loved each other.

He was no monster, he was simply different, just as Sig had told her. Then there were also his actions in the arena. Never before had she observed a single Wastelander show mercy to an enemy before, regardless of the circumstances. Jak had just set a precedent that she would never have thought possible out here in this place, and his dark nature only drove the point home even more.

"I see Sig wasn't kidding when he said you'd found something pretty nifty." Keira said, a note of musical laughter present within her voice as she finally broke away from the kiss she had been sharing with Jak.

"Tarath gave it to me." The dark elf told her, a suddenly distant look in his eyes as he thought about the Precursor warrior. He then looked over to Sig, and with a genuine smile upon his face, nodded his head towards the burly Wastelander. "Thank you, Sig, you don't know how much this means to us."

"Don't be all like that, cherry." the enforcer responded with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I figured you needed some news from home, and she seemed like the right person to deliver it."

"What's going on?" Jak asked Keira, suddenly very concerned over the fate of his home city.

"Things have gotten really bad." she stated with a shake of her head. "Veger had us launch an attack on the Industrial District and the West Side that turned into catastrophic ambushes." She paused, trying to sum the disaster up as best she could. "Torn, Jinx, and Tess are pinned down with about five or six thousand soldiers in the Harbor Sector, and I don't know what happened in the other places, because someone or something initiated a Lockdown and that put us on the fritz with Ashelin and the others back at command."

"Things are that bad?" Daxter asked, his eyes wide with disbelief.

"Let me put it to you this way," the aqua haired elf responded. "I really don't think that there would be much objection to Jak coming back right now."

There was a moment of stunned silence as the ottsel and the Ascended Channeler tried to wrap their minds around what Keira had just told them.

'The situation must truly be grave if that is the case.' Kage responded, his tone matching the news that they had just been given.

"Come on," Jak told her as he walked off. "I've got a little place that the Wastelanders have been kind enough to give me, we'll talk about it there."

"Just as well." Keira told her soul mate. "There's something that I've got to show you later, and I'd rather not do it right out here in the middle of a tunnel."

"You cherries just have fun," Sig told the two of them, before placing his index and middle fingers against his forehead and beginning to take his leave, "as for me, I've got to have a chat with a certain somebody, so I'll catch you later."

With that, the elves went their separate ways, while Seem was left to ponder what she had just seen.

Sig grumbled as he loaded up the Gila Stomper. As luck would have it, Valthos had grabbed some supplies and got the heck out of dodge, so to speak. However, though his old friend had taken a Sidewinder, Sig felt confident that he could catch up after a few hours. Besides, thus far, the desert had been pretty calm, and a Sidewinder would leave a trail that he would be able to follow with relative ease.

Thus he quickly left the city behind, determined to help one of his oldest friends.

&

Okay, going to put a stop to it right there, and I will once again apologize for the hackneyed 'father and son duel' that just happened. My problem was I couldn't think of a logical way to get Sig down in the arena so quickly (and be able to pull it off very well) considering that Sig would likely protest considering that he knows who Jak really is. Also, one thing bugged me throughout the whole of Jak 3, and that was that you never get to see Damas fight. As such, I hope that I was able to do the Sand King justice.

Also, I apologize if Sig was OOC in this chapter, as I fear I might have made him so (fidgets nervously) and as for Seem's past, she will explain herself to Jak and company in a few chapters, so I am sorry for just leaving it hanging there like that.

That said, I have to go, as my parents are calling me, and they are using my middle name, which is never a good thing.

So in closing, if you have any comments, constructive criticism, ideas, or things of that nature, please let me know, and be sure to have a great week, and I'll see you here next time.