Chapter 14
Strange Tidings

Despite his decision, Alexander was already having second thoughts on their way to the transition between the Slums and North Town.

He had a direct invitation from the Baron's daughter to go into the Palace peacefully. And if what Ashelin had to say about the Heartless, Metal Heads, and Krimzon Guard was true, then... against all reason, taking that invitation was probably the most responsible thing to do.

But he had his doubts. That's what he kept telling himself.

"So, this is supposed to be what we do next, right?" Jak asked. They had reached one of the Palace's support towers, and had parked next to the security door at the base of the structure.

As they disembarked from their two respective Zoomers, Alexander said, "We're skipping a few missions, so we might actually be doing this a little early."

He looked toward the sky. The golden sunset was fading away, leaving only the purple and dark blues of the impending twilight.

"Or not," Alex added lamely.

Jak and Daxter led the way up the ramp to the thick steel security door, which slowly opened for them. Inside was a single elevator shaft, wide enough to take up most of the interior of the tower's space. A large cargo lift lowered down to their level as the door closed behind them, and the trio stepped on.

Then the elevator platform slammed upward, speeding up through the shaft at an insane pace, the walls whooshing past them, before coming to a rest at the very top. The group caught a little air as they took longer to decelerate than the elevator.

Alex quickly got off the platform and rested his hands on his knees. "HATE those elevators. How does anyone...?"

But Jak and Daxter weren't paying attention to the erratic elevator. They were looking out directly ahead.

Another security door had opened up in front of them. Hanging directly beneath the door was a massive metal cable stretching from the tower to the Palace. There were a few such cables and towers keeping the top-heavy Palace from falling over into the city. It was the sort of stylized architecture you'd expect from a video game, but in reality it was just ridiculous.

Unfortunately, this cable was their one bridge onto the upper level of the Palace. Flat platforms surrounded the cable on the tops and sides for maintenance access, but it was also guarded by spinning electric blades, electrified panels, rotating blocks that had spikes on half their sides, and the occasional security turret. Not to mention that there were gaps in the platforms and no guard rails to speak of, making a skyscraper-high drop unpleasantly likely.

"THIS WAS YOUR PLAN?" Daxter shouted.

Alex winced. The front door was starting to look like a better idea...

He shook his head. They weren't going to do that. He looked at Daxter and said, "What, you want to turn back now? After all the trouble I went through to make this possible?"

Daxter folded his arms and scowled at the Interference. "You probably totally enjoyed it!"

"I'm not turning back," Jak interrupted. "This is our chance to get at the Baron, and I'm taking it."

Daxter put a palm over his face, then proceeded to hang on tightly to Jak's shoulder-pad. This was going to be a rough journey.

Alexander mentally steeled himself, too. Heights didn't outright terrify him so much as they did during his first adventure, but it was still a dangerous drop.

Ashelin looked up at where her father sat on the throne of Haven City. "I told him, but I don't think he's going to go for it. Not right away."

Baron Praxis didn't like that news. Slamming his fist onto an armrest, he shouted, "You were supposed to convince him to join our side, Ashelin!"

Ashelin folded her arms. "Right. How was I going to do that? After what you and Even did to him in the Fortress?"

Praxis stood up. "That was necessary for the good of the city! Without the plan, Jak and Alexander are the best weapons we have!"

"Alexander is not a weapon," Ashelin insisted. "I know he'll see it, but he needs some time."

"He'd better," Praxis muttered. "Or else there's no hope for anyone in this world."

Ashelin was silent for a moment. "I'll do what I can." When Praxis just nodded, Ashelin turned around and walked out of the throne room.

The doors opened automatically, revealing Erol and a lanky nobleman in a blue trenchcoat. The latter smiled at Ashelin in a condescending way. "Milady," he said with a bow.

Ashelin narrowed her eyes and stepped through the door. "Count Veger," she replied flatly. These were not exactly people she was keen on seeing today, especially not together. She didn't even look at Erol as she walked past them.

Erol continued into the throne room, but Veger turned to follow Ashelin. "I understand Alexander has not yet arrived to join our cause," he said smoothly.

Ashelin stopped in the hallway and faced the Count. "He'll come around, Veger. Don't jump the gun on this."

"He's a pawn of the darkness, my dear," Veger replied, gesturing with his ruby cane. "The only thing separating him from Even is his flesh and blood."

"And his intentions!" Ashelin countered. "His heart is in the right place."

Veger's sneer didn't falter. He looked away slyly and muttered, "There's a saying about good intentions..."

Ashelin stepped closer. "Believe what you want. But if you do something to screw this up, it'll be the last thing you do."

The noble's face changed from a smile to a look of disappointment. "As if I want anything to do with the Baron's dark plans that are doomed to fail. No, while you follow Alexander into the depths, I'll be looking for the real solution."

Ashelin didn't want to hear the Count's latest crazy scheme, but she feared it would be more dangerous to be unaware. "What are you planning?"

Veger's grin returned. "You tell me. What would be the opposite to Alexander's Lockshield, light to his darkness?"

The Baron's daughter quirked an eyebrow.

"A Keyblade, of course," Veger said, answering his own question. "Once we have that weapon of light, we will no longer be dependent on Alexander and his power." With that, he turned his back to Ashelin and walked in the other direction.

The Baron's daughter wasn't sure how to respond to that. "You really think you'll just stumble across this... Keyblade?" Ashelin asked incredulously.

"I'm closer than you think," Veger replied, not looking back.

"I don't know-"

Alexander jumped onto one of the rotating hexagonal... things just as a flat surface appeared (as opposed to one covered in spikes). Just ahead of him were panels charged with high-voltage electricity, so he couldn't go straight forward. But off to the right, barely visible, was a maintenance platform situated below the level of the support cable. So he had to make a leap of faith forward and a little to the right just as the rotating thing shuddered and turned again.

"...how you DO THIS!"

Alex thankfully landed on his feet, a little behind Jak and Daxter. They were looking back at him with smug expressions. "What," Daxter challenged, "never done any platforming before?"

"No," Alexander answered honestly. "It was all just... fighting." He thought, the high winds filling the silence for a moment. "I mean, I've had to fight in some very tall places, but..." He glared back at the previous three-quarters of the support cable. "I haven't had to deal with swinging across poles, dodging turrets, avoiding electrified plates, and crossing drop-away platforms all at the same time!"

Jak rolled his eyes. "You've been cheating the whole thing anyway. What are you worried about?"

Alex grimaced. If he didn't have High Jump and Aerial Dodge, he'd have plummeted – possibly to his death – several times over by now. Naturally, that thought didn't bolster his confidence. "W-Whatever. We're almost there."

The palace's upper levels were nearly in sight. Only one stretch of platforms separated them from reaching their goal. Unfortunately, as they climbed back up to it, a couple of turrets at the very end of the cable began to fire constant streams of shots. They were situated on a rotating ring, so their red Eco shots passed across the length of the platforms in regular intervals.

Jak watched them rotate and fire for a while, sitting safely out of range for the moment. The last turrets had only fired in bursts, making them relatively easy to avoid and destroy. These weren't going to be so easy. "Alright, if we jump over the shots at the right times..."

"Oh, heck no," Alex muttered. He placed his hand on Jak's shoulder and muttered, "Chronos Break."

There was a massive ripple in time and space. For Jak, Daxter, and Alexander, all color disappeared from the world, and everything fell silent.

Jak and Daxter were bewildered, but Alexander dragged them up the platforms. "Come on," he spoke, his voice suddenly loud in the complete silence. "This only lasts a little while. Get going!"

As they passed over the final length of the support cable, they could see the Eco shots of the turret frozen along the sides of the cable. There were even small droplets of water hanging in midair. The turrets themselves didn't move an inch.

Then, as they passed over the turret ring and reached the final platform up against the Palace walls, the effect stopped. The dark reds and blues of the Palace under the night sky returned. The background noises of the city started again. The turrets continued firing for a few seconds, then powered down. The rain resumed its slow, gradual drizzle.

Jak shot Alex a look. "Was that... what I think that was?"

Alexander took a deep breath. "...Yep. That was... pretty much a time stop."

Daxter went wide-eyed and pointed. "Hax! That is totally O.P.!"

"No, no..." the Interference muttered. He had to put his hands on his knees for a moment. "It takes, like, half of my magic power to do, only for a short time, and... Yeah. It's been a while since I last did that."

Jak looked up to the Palace walls. The nearest platform they could reach was a little ways above them. Only a few independent square platforms jutting out of the wall made getting up there possible. "Think you can manage getting up a few more platforms?"

Alex looked up and sighed. "Yeah, just give me a sec."

Jak and Daxter went ahead and climbed up the platforms. As they reached the top, Alexander used a couple of High Jumps to get to their level.

At last, they were at the Palace. They weren't really inside, and the rain was starting to come down in force, but at least they had made it across safely.

The tower went up a few stories higher, but they were atop the bulkiest part of the Palace: that which housed the living quarters and royal chambers. At least, that's what Alexander assumed was underneath their feet.

At any rate, Alex knew that the most important part of this visit was right in front of them. A great glass ceiling overlooked the throne room. Alexander walked up to it and beckoned Jak and Daxter to follow him.

The glass ceiling started with an upward diagonal side and then flattened out. Once they climbed up to that point, they had a perfect bird's-eye view down into the throne room. They could see Baron Praxis and Erol near the throne, and a large, bright projection of a Metal Head in the middle of the room. Despite listening through the glass, they could fairly clearly hear the conversation playing out below.

"I won't be ready to move until the end of the next day, at the latest," Baron Praxis said to the projection in a calm, controlled tone.

"In the meantime," the Metal Head Leader's hologram growled, "WE will be fighting a losing battle, and every death adds one more to their horde! Time is growing short, Baron. Get him on our side immediately, or you will know what it means to lose your heart to the darkness."

With those morbid parting words, the hologram deactivated and disappeared.

Alexander did a take. That was definitely not the conversation from the game. What the heck was going on around here? He listened very carefully to what was said afterward.

As soon as the Metal Head Leader was gone, the Baron turned away and chose to stare out one of the rain-slicked windows. Erol snarled and spat, "This is our chance! We can wipe out the Metal Heads once and for all!"

"Then we will be alone against the Heartless," Praxis calmly replied, not looking away from his view of the city. "No, we can't simply exchange one foe for another. Like it or not, Commander, this is an enemy we can't fight alone."

"So we fight them, and THEN what will become of us?" Erol demanded. "What happens when this flimsy alliance comes to an end?"

"Then…" The Baron finally faced his subordinate. "…we move forward with the plan. Tell Ashelin to up her patrols. I want that Tomb found!"

Erol seemed to drop his issue, albeit grudgingly. He wasn't terribly confident, though. "But your daughter has not been… agreeable."

"She knows how dire the situation is," Praxis argued. "Ashelin won't be a problem."

Up on the roof, Jak glanced at Alex. "The Baron has a daughter?" he whispered.

Alex put his palm to his face. Of course Jak wouldn't know about Ashelin, since he himself had gone to meet her instead… He just nodded and focused back on the throne room.

"And find that child!" the Baron shouted. "If you spent half as much time looking for that little brat instead of flirting with that mechanic girl, we would've pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago!"

Alexander tuned out of the conversation at this point, since it was now reflecting the normal one from the game. Clearly, the arrival of the Heartless had affected things in the world… But the last time they'd checked, Even was one of the Baron's allies. Had something changed?

While Alex was lost in thought, Daxter sneezed, spitting a great green ball of snot and mucus onto the glass ceiling.

Below, Erol pulled out his pistol and looked straight up. "What was that?"

Jak and Alexander laid flat against the steel supports, Jak's hand on Daxter's mouth. Hopefully they were hidden from sight, but… Alexander knew better. They were in for a boss fight for sure.

Erol sheathed his pistol and turned toward the doors. "Intruders. I'll go deal with them."

The Baron held a hand up. "If these are the people we think they are, then we don't want to attack them. We still need Alexander as an ally."

Nothing more was said, as the warping sound of a dark portal filled the air, and a black whirling mass appeared in the center of the throne room. From it, a man in a black and silver coat emerged with a frustrated look on his face.

"I'm in the middle of an important experiment," Even muttered, "Alexander has chosen to sneak onto the roof, and so far I haven't seen anyone doing anything about it! Do I have to do everything around here?"

Erol rolled his eyes. "I was just about to-"

"No matter!" Even interrupted him. "I've already sent my assistant to deal with the problem. And this time..." He settled a deadly serious look onto Erol and the Baron. "...he won't miraculously survive."

"You're being awfully quiet," Daxter said to Alexander as the group made its way across the Palace rooftop.

Alex didn't say anything, but put a hand to his forehead. Now that they knew about the Interference phenomenon, the dynamic duo was acting much more suspicious than usual. Ironically, they'd been more trusting when they hadn't known his true background.

"So what exactly was that about?" Jak asked, apparently deciding that now was a good time to interrogate the Interference. Alex didn't answer right away, so the hero continued. "It sounded like something's got the Guard and the Metal Heads-"

"I don't know!" Alex shouted very suddenly, whipping around to face Jak. "This is... This is all messed up! Not how it's supposed to go in the game!" Alex let out a sigh.

Jak and Daxter glanced at each other. "Wait, so things are different?" Jak inquired.

Alexander just nodded, his expression and vocal tone becoming more frustrated by the second. "Rrrgh... That's the whole point of the Interference. Everything starts out the same, but then we just end up changing things. ...Even if we don't mean to."

Daxter seemed to get it. "But Even's new too. So HE'S been changing stuff at the same time you're changing stuff."

"But that's what I don't get," Alex said, finally turning around and walking forward. "I thought Even had joined forces with them. But now it seems like... like... Well, I don't even want to think about it."

They were now standing in a large open area, next to a ledge overlooking the long drop down into the city below. Alex signaled Jak and Daxter to stop. This was where their first boss battle would be taking place, against one of the Baron's battle mechs. All they had to do was wait.

And wait.

While nothing happened.

"Uh, what's up?" Jak wondered.

"We're kind of trespassing, buddy," Daxter pointed out. "Hanging around, waitin' for the guards to show up is a SLIGHTLY terrible idea."

"...This doesn't make any sense," Alex said, his voice barely above a whisper. "...Baron definitely saw us, so why wouldn't he attack us?"

"Because I was sent instead."

To their right, two Tesla-coil-like structures powered up, creating a wall of electricity between them that sealed off the way forward around the rooftop. Alex looked around wildly for the voice that had come out of nowhere. Jak immediately reached for his Morph Gun. "That voice..."

Finally, Alexander found the source: A dark portal across the clearing, tall enough for a person to enter through. And enter through someone did – a figure slightly shorter than Alexander, wearing a full suit of green armor and a similarly armored helmet that covered the entire face.

And this figure was carrying a Lockshield in its right hand.

"...the HELL?" Alexander shouted, visibly recoiling from the figure.

Jak pointed his Scatter Gun at the figure, while Daxter groaned, "Not this guy again..."

Alexander looked between the figure and Jak very rapidly. "You... know this thing?"

The figure sighed with a voice that sounded very much like a younger version of Alexander. "'That thing'... C'mon, buddy. After all this time, you should at least be able to pick me out of a crowd. Not to mention out in the open, in the rain, on a high rooftop."

Alex could barely believe what he was hearing. "JOUMAE?"

The stranger threw his hands up in celebration. "And we have a winner!" He put his hands on his helmet and lifted, and the helmet faded away in a cloud of black smoke. Underneath was a mess of spiky green hair, striking green eyes, and a face that looked exactly like Alexander's from two years ago.

Jak kept his gun on Joumae, but his glare turned into a grimace. "Alex, explain!"

"He's...!" Alex started, but faltered. "This doesn't make any sense..."

"It didn't make any sense to BEGIN with, Alex. Stop kidding yourself," Joumae teased him. Looking to Jak, he said, "Let's just say I had humble beginnings in this guy's head, as a mental construct of his inner darkness." He shrugged. "Kingdom Hearts is weird like that."

"You said..." Alexander growled, "you said the Dark Eco Treatments were going to wipe you out!"

It was Daxter's turn to hold his head in frustration. "I don't even..."

"Whatever I said, it turned out differently," Joumae said calmly. "That Even managed to get a little darkness out of you during his experiments. Turned out to be me! He was kind enough to give me a form of my own. So... you can imagine what kind of debt I owe him." Joumae smirked evilly. "And as perks go, taking you down a notch isn't so bad either."

"Alex," Jak interrupted, "this guy attacked us at the Stadium. He was going to try and kidnap Keira."

Alexander's eyes went wide. "So that's how it is." He summoned the Lockshield and got into a fighting stance.

Joumae grinned even wider. "Ha! You have no idea what you're up against, do you? You've been waving that shield around for two years, with me in your head, and you still haven't Mastered it!"

"Want to find out?" Alex challenged him.

"You don't get it, do you?" Joumae shouted. He lifted his Lockshield up, the Kingdom Copy. "You... don't... DESERVE IT!"

In a flash, Joumae's face was an inch from Alexander's own, and the Kingdom Copy's front was pressed against Alex's chest.

"Unlock."

There was a burst of light, and Alexander was thrown to the ground. He groaned and clutched at his chest, right above his heart. "What... What the hell?"

Jak looked between Alex and Joumae, momentarily confused. Joumae did nothing; he just stood back and watched Alexander, grinning.

Alexander got to his feet and held out his hand, which became covered in an inky black smoke. But, to Alex's surprise, the smoke never solidified into the Lockshield. And no matter what he did, he couldn't seem to dispel it.

Instead, the darkness started crawling up his arm.

Joumae cackled. "You should see the look on your face!"

Everywhere the darkness touched became cold and numb. A terrible sensation of despair and hatred, from the cesspool of all the negative emotions he'd been bottling up, began creeping into his mind. "What... What did you DO?" Alexander managed to shout.

"Opened the floodgates," Joumae replied simply, still grinning. "It's not MY fault you can't control your darkness once you REALLY let it loose!"

The darkness was up to his shoulder, tendrils reached across his chest and neck. Alexander willed the Lockshield to appear as hard as he could, but all he could find was raw darkness. Through the haze of despair, Alex managed to focus on one thing: Rage against Joumae. The Lockshield might be out, but that didn't mean he was without power!

His right arm was almost completely numb, but his left arm was still free. He held it up and prepared the Flame Alchemist's glove he was wearing. He found it difficult to focus on concentrating the oxygen in the air to create an explosion, but he did his best... and snapped his fingers.

There was a fiery explosion, alright. But nowhere near Joumae.

If this wasn't a video game universe – if Alexander wasn't wearing magical garments that kept him behaving like a video game character – his arm would've been blown off.

For the second time, Alexander crashed to the ground. This time, he stayed there while the darkness enveloped his body. The Flame Alchemist's glove was completely shredded.

Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder while the hero kept his gun trained on Joumae. The Ottsel stopped a few inches away from Alex's side, unsure of whether he should try to help while the darkness was still spreading. It was covering his whole head and most of his upper body now.

Finally, Jak stepped towards Joumae, putting the business end of the Scatter Gun in Joumae's face. "Whatever you did, undo it."

Joumae grinned even wider. "Too late now, pal. Alexander's as good as dead. Even worse than dead – he's gonna become a Heartless."

Reluctantly, Jak peered back over his shoulder to look at Alex.

Alexander's body was no longer visible, completely enveloped in the pitch-black wisps. A few moments afterward, a purple-pink light began to shine from where Alex's chest was, becoming brighter and brighter as his dark body lifted into the air...

Then a scream pierced the silence and the rain. Violet energy lit up Alexander's body, sparking from every fiber of his being. The purple-pink light disappeared, along with all of the darkness covering his body, and Alexander dropped back down to the ground. The violet sparks slowed to a crawl, then stopped entirely.

There was silence for a little while longer. Then...

"You have GOT to be kidding me," Joumae deadpanned. "Even's not gonna be happy about this."

Jak looked away from Alex and focused back down the Morph Gun's barrel.

"Well, he can't use any of his powers," Joumae muttered to himself, as if Jak wasn't there. "Shouldn't be too hard to finish him off, but the boss specifically wanted his heart..."

He was interrupted with a red blast to the face.

Joumae was thrown back, but managed to stay on his feet. "Oh, come on!" the younger Alex-copy shouted. "I'm doing you a favor! Now you can get back in the spotlight again!"

Jak just pumped back the forestock of the Scatter Gun. Daxter ran up to him and jumped onto his shoulder.

Joumae quirked an eyebrow at them. "I was just gonna go back and report to Even, but if you really have a death wish..."

"Hey, jerkwad!" Daxter finally shouted. "No one messes with a friend of ours and gets away with it!" He hesitated and glanced at Jak. "Alex is our friend, right?"

Jak smirked. "I guess so."

Joumae grinned back. "You do realize that I have the exact same magics and abilities Mr. Karsath had over there? It shouldn't take me too long to kick your-"

Another blast to the face.

"That's it!" The armored enigma brandished the Kingdom Copy Lockshield and charged at Jak.

Jak ducked under a high sweeping slash and jumped back from another slash at his midsection. When Joumae pointed the face of his shield directly at Jak and said, "Blizzaga," Jak jumped high to barely avoid the wave of icy projectiles. While Joumae was occupied with the recoil from his spell, Jak fired another Scatter Gun blast.

Joumae went stumbling back for a moment, then dashed forward. Jak fired again, but Joumae weaved out of the blast and ran far, far past Jak to the other side of the enclosure.

Daxter smacked Jak's shoulder pad. "Jak! Don't let him play keep-away!"

The armored youth turned and stood, silhouetted by the electric gate behind him, and raised his shield. "Thundaga," he muttered darkly.

Jak dodged to the side, lightning striking down where he'd been standing just a moment ago. The lightning charged the immediate area with electricity, meaning that Jak still got a hefty shock from the spell.

Joumae cast the spell again. This time, Jak jumped up and to the side, staying off the ground just long enough to avoid getting too badly shocked. He switched to the Blaster mod and started firing at Joumae, but the opponent alternated between casting his magic and blocking the blasts with the shield. A few shots got through, but for the most part Joumae was unharmed.

Then the lightning volley stopped, and the enemy intoned, "Curaga." Green light washed over the armored young man, healing whatever damage he'd sustained so far.

Daxter pointed at Joumae. "That's it! He must be out of magic! Go go go!"

Jak started running towards his opponent. Joumae grinned. "Oh yeah, furball?" The Kingdom Copy switched to a replica of Alexander's Crimson Catalyst Lockshield. The face of the shield glowed with the outline of a transmutation circle, and Joumae pressed it against the ground.

The hero dodged to the side as a row of stone spikes suddenly jutted out from the ground, barely avoiding getting impaled. Jak closed in, switched to the Scatter Gun again, and fired.

Joumae brought his shield back up just in time. The force from the Scatter Gun hit the shield and dissipated somewhat, pushing Joumae a little but dealing no significant damage. Joumae tried to go for a counterattack, but Jak had already reloaded and fired again, forcing Joumae to keep his shield up.

Jak kept shooting and shooting. Joumae managed to find a steady stance and hold his ground against the attacks, but Jak's constant firing at close range made it difficult to do anything else.

Finally, Joumae switched the Crimson Catalyst to a copy of the Time Fracture. "Lightning!"

The duo tried to dodge again, but the spell was too strong. A powerful bolt of Lightning crashed from the sky, shocking Jak for a significant amount of damage and stunning him.

Joumae took the opportunity to bring back the Lockshield for a swing. Unfortunately for him, Daxter chose that precise moment to leap across the distance between them and pounce on Joumae's spiky head.

"Gah! You... get off!" Joumae shouted. He tried to grab the Ottsel and throw him off, but Daxter was too fast as he climbed all over Joumae's head.

"Never!" Daxter snarled, chewing on one of Joumae's hair-spikes.

"Now!" Jak yelled.

"...Until now!" Daxter amended, and leaped back onto Jak's shoulder. Joumae looked up to find the Scatter Gun's business end in his face... again.

"Oh cr-"

The blast sent him flying back. It was only then Joumae realized that all this time, Jak and Daxter had been pushing him into a corner. Right up against the electric fence.

Joumae landed right between the two spires, in the middle of the wall of energy. The air was filled with his screams and the buzzing of the electricity as the high-powered barrier shocked him for all he was worth. Eventually, Joumae managed to drag himself back out of the trap, but another Scatter Gun shot forced him back in again.

Jak stepped back and switched to the Peace Maker mod. He charged up an electric singularity and fired it directly at Joumae while he was in the energy wall.

The extra, violent energy surged through the system and overloaded the spires, causing them to explode in a bright burst of electricity. Jak and Daxter shielded themselves as Joumae was caught in the middle of the explosion, consumed by the discharge of energy.

The light eventually died down, and the dust settled a little while after. Joumae lay flat on the ground, his spiky hair singed and his armor severely burnt. The spires of the electric gate were in shattered pieces around him.

Jak took a couple of steps forward, intending to check whether Joumae was alive or not. But when the armored young man groaned and reached to push himself up, Jak decided he didn't need to get any closer.

Daxter's eyes went wide. "He survived that?"

Joumae coughed and looked up at Jak weakly. The hero kept the laser sight of the Peace Maker trained on Joumae's forehead. The Alexander look-alike said, "I'm 0 for 2, aren't I?"

Jak said nothing.

The doppelganger chuckled. "Well, against you. On Alex I'm now 1 and 0. ...Or one-half and 0. The other half will be when..." He coughed and wheezed, trying to catch his breath. "...when the darkness takes over. When there's no more Dark Eco left to keep it at bay. So, I guess... mission accomplished, sorta."

A pool of darkness formed underneath Joumae – a Dark Corridor that slowly sucked him in through the floor. Joumae kept grinning as he sank into the darkness.

"Have fun for now," Joumae said. "None of you have much time left."

And then he was gone. The dark portal closed, leaving Jak, Daxter, and Alexander alone on the rain-slicked rooftop.

Jak put his gun away while Daxter just shook his head. "Magical pain in the butt," the Ottsel growled. "And we're probably gonna have to face him AGAIN, aren't we?"

"Let's worry about that later," Jak replied. He ran back to where Alexander's prone body lay. "For now, let's get out before another problem shows up."

"I hear that," Daxter agreed.

Jak nudged Alex to see if he could be roused to consciousness. Alex stirred a little and rolled onto his side away from Jak, curling his body inward a little.

"Alex," Jak called to him. "Alex, we gotta go."

Alexander groaned a little and muttered something under his breath.

"Can you walk?" Jak asked. Without waiting for an answer, Jak grabbed Alex's arm and slung it over his other shoulder. With an effort, Jak pulled Alex unsteadily to his feet. Alex's eyes were closed, his feet dragged along the ground, and the only thing keeping him up was Jak's support.

Alex moaned from the effort. "Just... Just let me..."

"C'mon," Jak interrupted him. "Stay with me. We'll get you out of this. We'll-"

Jak stopped as he heard the sounds of heavy footsteps and weapons cocking. Daxter grimaced. "Uh... Jak, we've got trouble."

Slowly, the heroes turned around to see a platoon of Krimzon Guards, led by Baron Praxis, surrounding the entire group on all sides. Every trooper had their rifles aimed at Jak, while the Baron stood in the middle of them and simply glared at Jak.

Jak hefted Alex up to support him with one arm, and reached for his Morph Gun with the other. In a moment, Jak had the Scatter Gun pointed right back at the Krimzon Guards.

There was a long, awkward silence while the rain poured down on all of them. Then the Baron let out a deep breath. "That boy needs Dark Eco, now," he said calmly but firmly. "If you come with us, we can save his life."

"And why would you be concerned with anyone's life?" Jak spat back. "You're running a war just to stay in power."

"Jak, it doesn't matter what we want anymore!" the Baron shouted. "You want revenge. I want your head on a pike. But your new friend has created a problem much bigger than the two of us, and he's the only one with the power to solve it. So I'll only say this one more time: Give. Me. The. Boy."

Jak kept his gun up. "No," he replied simply. "What you're going to do is get us a vehicle and let us go."

"If he doesn't get a Dark Eco Treatment in the next hour, he's DEAD!" the Baron yelled.

"I'll get him that Eco," Jak said. "And then we'll figure out how to fix this. But we're NOT going with you. So, if you'd get us a vehicle..."

The Baron took another deep breath. "...Fine. Do what you want. It's Alexander I need to speak to, anyway. Just bring him back in one piece."

One of the Krimzon Guards spoke into his radio. A large KG Hellcat Zoomer that had apparently been waiting nearby floated up to the edge of the roof. The Krimzon Guard driving it disembarked, and Jak climbed on. The hero deposited Alex's mostly lifeless body into the other seat and took the controls himself.

"Bring him back ALIVE!" Praxis shouted again as Jak flew down into the city.

Jak flew down into the Water Slums. It was a tight fit, driving the over-wide vehicle through the crowded, rickety paths, but Jak managed as quickly as he could. At his side, Alexander's breathing became more pained and rapid.

They finally touched down next to the Precursor Oracle's hut. Jak had to pull Alexander out of his seat and drag him inside.

The gold statue took notice of them immediately. "What is the meaning of this?"

"Somethin' happened to Al here," Daxter explained quickly. "He needs a shot of the dark stuff for some reason, or else he's gonna turn into a Heartless... we think."

The Oracle was quiet for a moment. "Place the young one in front of me."

Jak slowly lowered Alex onto his knees in front of the Oracle, then stepped back. He watched as a bolt of Dark Eco shot out from the statue and into Alex's chest, lifting him up into the air.

"It is through twisted good fortune that you still live, traveler," the Oracle said as Alex writhed in midair. "The Dark Eco, possessed of its own will, has claimed you. It will never surrender your body, even the power of darkness itself, so long as its power courses through your veins."

Alex dropped back to the ground, Dark Eco sparking around his body. His Anti Form didn't appear, but he appeared relatively normal.

"But this power to survive will not last forever," the Oracle continued. "The darkness in your heart will grow stronger each passing hour until it consumes you completely, if you don't find a way to stop it."

Daxter glanced down at Alex. He seemed to be unconscious again. "Okay, bright-eyes, how's he supposed to stop this stuff if he can't use his powers?"

"His power is rooted in the very darkness that now threatens his heart," the Oracle said. "...It is Alexander's trial to overcome."

Jak folded his arms thoughtfully. "So Joumae turned Alex's powers against him..."

Daxter grimaced. "...and it's Alex's problem to fix. If he ever wakes up."

"Leave him to rest, for now," the Precursor Oracle advised. Alexander seemed to be completely out cold.

The duo left Alexander to rest on the floor and went out into the Water Slums. As the door closed behind them, Daxter shook his head. "Crazy night, huh?" The sky was starting to brighten up with the first light of dawn. "Y'know, for what it's worth, I could use a drink and a nap myself."

Before Jak could comment, a loud rumbling shook the city. Out of nowhere, a colorful, fiery meteor soared through the air and landed far to the south, causing a bright explosion somewhere in South Town that could still be seen from the Water Slums.

The city-wide alert started up immediately. People around them started to panic, the Krimzon Guards mobilized, and smoke rose from the impact point. Then, a few seconds later, more flashes of color fell from the sky and into the city, apparently having been thrown in all directions from the explosion.

A few of the strange objects landed in the Water Slums. Some fell in the water, but one landed on the Oracle-hut's roof and bounced down to the walkway where Jak stood. It was a bright blue cube. Jak picked it up – it was soft to the touch but retained its shape perfectly, like some kind of rubber.

Jak pocketed the strange object. "Looks like it's going to be a crazy day, too."

Daxter sighed in resignation. "Might as well get started."

The dynamic duo climbed back into the Hellcat Zoomer and lifted off, heading straight for the source of the disturbance. The Krimzon Guard had a head start on them, but they'd be on the scene before too long. With Alex out of commission and Haven's entire political balance now a mystery, it was up to Jak and Daxter to figure out what was going on.

Again.