Chapter 28: Weapons of Mass Destruction
Music: You Know What They Do To Guys Like Us in Prison by My Chemical Romance
'In the middle of a gun fight
In the centre of a restaurant,
they say,
come with your arms raised high.
Well you're never gunna catch me,
Like a bullet through a flock of doves'
Mood: Tired
Disclaimer: Writers lie, just like your parents.
Vin had sent Jak and Daxter off to the Strip Mine to complete the mission while he and I finished checking the computers. We even managed to re-set up some old Eco systems to help reserve Eco for the shield.
When Jak and Daxter came back through the Teleporter, I dropped what I was doing, trusting that Vin would be able to do it himself. Daxter went up to Vin, half gushing about the mission, half messing with the computers.
"You can program computers?" Jak asked me after we finished, umm, 'reconnecting'.
I just shrugged, "I can now." He looked at me quizzically. "I don't know. I just kind of walked in and new what to do." I explained.
"Okay." He said before turning around. "Dax, let's go!" The rat hopped away from Vin gratefully.
"Whoa! What a sack of nerves!" He exclaimed when we were finally out the door.
Before either of us could respond, the communicator popped up. "It's Samos." Which one? "I need you to go out to the ruins in Dead Town and visit my old hut." Old Samos, then. "It's now time to retrieve something that I hid there long ago. Good luck." The comm started to go away, but Samos decided he had more to say. "And Daxter! Clean up the place while you're out there!" The Sage barked, actually going away this time. I rolled my eyes, getting on my JET board after Jak.
Dead Town looked exactly the same as it did last time. I don't know why I was expecting any different, though.
We JET boarded over the poisonous muck in the lakes there, going off to the right where there was a big mech.
Samos came out of the communicator again, but this time younger. "We only had time to get one Titan Suit working, the second one is still in the shop, so, for this, one of you is going to have to stay behind." He went away just as fast as he came out.
I curtsied at Jak, fluttering my hand in front of me telling him to go. "I'll follow behind on the JET board." He nodded and got into the suit. I smirked because he looked really uncomfortable.
Once Jak gained his bearings, he used the suit to smash a wall in front of us. I JET boarded around him and skated the perimeter of the room, taking out a few stray Metal Heads.
There was another wall that Jak busted through, and a really big stone cube. I shot at it, and nothing happened, so I knew it wasn't just a Metal Head in disguise. Jak used the suit to push the cube, grabbing it and moving it down to the front of a tall ledge.
I got off the board and hopped up the steps, walking along the ledge in front of the Titan Suit. There were two shooter Metal Heads around the corner, and I took them out with a Peace Maker Bomb, just because I could.
I glided around the corner, feeling the stomps of Jak in the mech behind me resonate through the shaky buildings, stopping when I came to a wall.
A few seconds later Jak and Daxter made it around the corner and busted through the wall and we all continued into the next area where there was another cube and another ledge.
Up and along the edge was a small square building with another block and two shooter Metal Heads that I took out before Jak could get there.
He pushed the cube around and to the ledge where I jumped up to it and killed yet another shooter Metal Head.
The next area was on another level, and there was a cube, but no ledges to push it to. I searched around as Jak made his was over to where I was standing, spotting the crumbling wall across the way, and the falling down pillar that would work well as a bridge.
I gestured to Jak and to the pillar when he made his way over, not knowing if he could hear at all while he was in the suit. He got the message and smacked at the bottom of the pillar, where it collapsed, creating a bridge, just like I thought it would.
I pointed to the smallish cube that was sitting around the bend, and he went to pick it up. Coming back, he threw it at the wall past the pillar and we continued along.
There was another pillar bridge to make a way across and another cube to throw before we finally reached the old hut.
I stood in silence, still feeling the shock that we were in the future. It just didn't seem plausible.
Jak busted the last pillar the fell over and landed on the crumbled island that led to the hut. He and Dax got out of the suit, staring at the building in sadness. I knew this wasn't my place to be sad; they had both grown up at that place and practically lived there, so I grabbed Jak's hand and pulled hima long up the steps, trying to be the strong one for once.
The inside was just as depressing as the outside, possible more. "I spent many a day cleaning up this place for old greenie." Daxter said sarcastically. Leave it to him to find humour in this.
A green seed, the only source of light in the decrepit hut, started to float down from a crevice in the top of the hut. It glided down and I reached out to grab it, staring at the beautiful form of light in the otherwise drab world.
"Good work you two!" Old Samos praised. "And... Daxter, I suppose." He said begrudgingly before continuing. "Before we came through the rift long ago, I was nurturing that Life Seed from the Great Tree. It seems the Metal Heads are attracted to its power. Take the seed to Onin now. She will prepare it for Samos." Why did Samos need it?
"You mean you?" Daxter asked skeptically.
"No, the other me, Daxter!" The Sage barked "My younger self needs the seed's power to
become... sagely." He finished. Wait… that's how he became a Sage? So…
"Let me get this straight." Daxter said incredulously, obviously putting together what I had. "It's fair to say that by bringing your younger self the life seed now, we helped you become the sage you are today? We helped you get your powers in the first place. And you never thanked us?!" The Otzel yelled dubiously.
"Thank you Daxter..." Old Samos said, with an air of someone dealing with a child. "Now go do it!" He snapped, shutting of the communication.
We went straight to Onin's tent, but were still met with an angry Pecker upon entrance Onin says what took you so long?! We had to skip lunch waiting for you two!"
I looked at him. "I doubt she really said that, Pecker."Just as I said that, Onin emitted a poof of blue sparks that rained around the monkey-bird.
" Okay... okay... She really says 'Thank you for saving the Life Seed'. But I wouldn't say that if I were her! Give Onin the seed, and she will prepare it for Samos." We were actually willingly letting Samos turn into the Sage that we knew without even trying to stop it… What had this world come to…?
I gave Onin the seed I was still cradling to me anyways, watching as she began to light it up with blue auras, swirling her hands around it.
"Mmmmmm... bird seed..." Pecker said, staring at the Life Seed hungrily.
"Back off, feather weight!" Daxter snapped from where he had been sitting on my shoulder, jumping down in front of my legs to face Pecker.
"Listen tiny tail, I was leading my hundredth flock south before you had fur one between your legs! Not that your fur means anything!" The bird insulted. Both animals were walking closer to each in front of me as I watched with amusement sitting cross legged on the ground so I was height with the animals, keeping an eye on the two like they were toddlers getting into a fight, as Jak watched the Life Seed.
"At least I'm not some over-stuffed, over yappin', feather dusty mouthpiece for the world's oldest professional!" Daxter bounced around, fluttering his arms about in a mock of the bird. "Jak says, 'have a nice day.' Jak says, 'I can't think on my own.' Jak says 'Go bite yourself!'" He glared at the bird.
"That's it, rat boy! Now you've really pissed me off!" Pecker made a karate move that Daxter mimicked, both making strange noises. I figured that was time to stop them.
"Maddy says shut the hell up," I cut in, sticking my bow in between the two who kept growling at each other.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Jak snapped at the angry animals when I stood up next to him.
"You're lucky I'm famished!" Pecker poked Daxter's chest before turning to us with an innocent but irritated smile. "Onin says take the energized Life Seed to young Samos in Haven Forest. It will give Samos the power he needs to finally see the forest from the trees! Go. Quickly." We were already walking out the door, tucking the seed in Jak's backpack because there was more room.
xMx
The young almost-Sage was meditating in Haven Forest, over in a large meadow on a wooden dam like contraption.
"Samos told us to..." Jak stared, pulling out the seed.
"He means you told us to." I cut in helpfully, scrunching up my face when the sentence didn't come out the way I had wanted it to.
"I mean your older version... ah... whatever." Jak gave up, shaking his head in irritation.
"We heard you needed the Life Seed." I said, getting to the point, taking the seed from Jak and giving it to the floating man.
"Yes. Its power will help me speak to the plants." Samos said quietly. Precursors he sounded just like the old one.
"There he is!" I heard. I pricked my ears up, listening intently and tugging on Jak's sleeve to get his attention.
"Roger. We're en route!" A slightly different voice said. Aw man. KGs.
"I see 'em!" A third one said, zoning in on us. I looked up to see three KGs flying at us in Mech suits, leading two Air Trains behind them.
Jak, Maddy, protect me from these guards!" Young Samos said frantically. "I must ask the plants vital questions about our future!" Why couldn't he wait till afterwards?
I sighed, pulling out my bow and heading to the left as Jak went to the right, waiting to defend the Sage.
The first wave of Guards was on Jak's side, so stood on a ledge and sniped from a distance as Jak took out most of them, waiting to defend my side and keeping an eye on the young Sage to make sure no KGs got him.
The second wave consisted of more KGs on foot, and a few in the air. Like always, I took the ones in the air as Jak stayed on the ground. Our system had never failed us before.
Once I took out the three in mech suits, I made my way to where Samos was floating, talking to the plants. Some of the guards were getting dangerously close to him, so I abandoned my post for a second to defend him.
Once those were out, I resumed my spot to wait for more KGs.
More came, this time solely coming from my side, so I started taking those out, throwing off what I was used to to defend myself and the Sage.
Jak moved over to Samos, shooting at the KGs from a reasonable distance.
There was only one more round after that, which consisted almost solely of flying KGs, but we took those out too.
"The Life Seed gave me a terrible vision! The Baron is planning to destroy the Precursor Stone!" I felt my eyes widen. Even the Baron couldn't be that stupid. That Stone would create a mass bomb, turning everything in even a hundred mile radius to dust. "He aims to crack it open somehow! If he does this, the energy released will be beyond comprehension! It will destroy the world and more... ending all life! The plants are crying out for protection!" I sighed. Of course he was worrying about the plants. Like old like young. "You must stop the Baron! Stop him, however you can!" Samos ordered in distress, hovering away, opening up the communicator.
"Well then…" Jak said, staring after the Sage.
A/N: I have nothing to say….
xMonster