Jak IV: The Avenging Angels
I'M BACK!
After a month of rest, I am back and ready to keep going! I'm sorry about the wait; it's just that I had to think about what I wanted to do for these next ten chapters. And now that I'm all set and ready to go, onto the next part of the story. I've actually decided on the names for the next 20 or so chapters, which is actually what helps me figure out what I want to do with the story, it helps give me a path to follow...or something like that.
But anyway!
Shoutout to my two new reviewers, Ceamonks890 and StaticBomb324, as well as amazing my regular reviewers JakMartheDarkWarrior, Ecofreakrsa17, Oblique Strategies, as well as another new guest reviewer known as "Archangel Azrael". Loving the tons of reviews and feedback from last chapter, thanks a ton for the support. Seriously.
Also, special shoutout to StaticBomb324, who is my first double reviewer, meaning that he's read and reviewed both my Jak story and my Black Ops story, "Apocalypse: Dawn of the Dead". If you like how I write and you're into Zombies, check it out. If you're not into Zombies, then check it out anyway if you want. Or do neither! Whichever works for you!
Disclaimer: Don't own anything except my own characters; everything else belongs to Naughty Dog.
Enjoy!
Chapter 11: Birds of a Feather
Five Hours Later:
Hunter Outpost 51:
Within the depths of the Wasteland, a cloaked and hidden base stood, unseen by the few creatures that passed by this area. In its uncloaked state, one would've seen a large fortress hidden in the dunes with several cars driving in and out at regular intervals. A man in all black armor with a green and blue strip running down the side stood outside of the base, as though looking for something. After a few moments he muttered "Guess he's not going to show"
"Looking for someone?" a female voice asked.
Suddenly a figure stepped out of the shadows and pinned the solider to the wall with a grip of iron. She pulled out a knife and held it to his throat, drawing blood, while kicking in the man's leg, hyper-extending it and causing it to snap.
She was dressed in orange biomechanical body armor like the Hunter Agent, with red trimming and a swirl of gold and yellow here and there. Her helmet had a few bright red feathers on it as well, as did parts of gauntlets and boots. The armor itself though looked heavily damaged though, with parts of it either barely attached to the main part or torn to the point where her bare skin underneath was visible.
"Who the hell are you!?" the man demanded, gritting his teeth in agony.
"I'm going to ask you some questions. You're going to give me answers. I don't like the answers, and then we've got a problem. And if we've got a problem, you've got a problem. We clear!?" the woman whispered fiercely.
"Yeah, yeah, we're clear!" the Hunter Agent gasped.
"OK. First. Where are we?" the woman asked softly.
"Hunter Outpost 51, in the northern part of the Wasteland. We're cloaked and untraceable, so no one can find us" the Hunter grunted.
"Who's in charge of this outpost?" the woman asked.
"Captain Shadow. She's the best of the Hunters, and she's about to receive the Blessing" the Hunter said.
"I know…who Shadow is...What do you mean by 'Blessing'?" the woman asked.
"I can't tell you. They'd kill me for giving information to the enemy" the Hunter muttered.
"What if I kill you?" the woman whispered.
"Then you're not getting any more info? Are you?" the Hunter sneered, despite the situation.
The woman then jammed the knife into the soldier's hand, pinning it to the wall. She then kicked him in between the fork in the legs and pulled out a pistol and put it to his forehead.
"AAH!" the Hunter yelled out.
The woman punched the Hunter in the skull and said "Quiet!"
"Agh…you…you're one of t-them aren't you?" the Hunter asked panted through the pain.
"I'm the one asking questions. Now, where can I get a ride out of the dessert?" the woman asked.
"M-motor pool. Two hallways d-down. It's lightly guarded, though you c-could probably get by them. Do that and steal a car, and you should be good" the Hunter gasped in pain.
"Good. What's the fastest vehicle you've got?" the woman asked.
"Viper. White and light brown car. Two machines guns on the front. Has a snake symbol on it, middle of the motor pool. Can't miss it" the Hunter groaned.
"Thanks" the woman said before grabbing the Hunter Agent by the back of the head and slamming his head into the thick steel wall as hard she could, knocking him out. She grabbed his Battle Rifle and yanked the knife out of his hand and sheathed it. The woman began to limp away from the man, putting as little weight as possible on her right knee.
"It's more than you deserve" the woman replied as she went inside of the building.
"I've got to get out of here!" the woman thought as went through the hallways.
The woman saw another Hunter Agent walking out of a hallway and look at her. He pulled out a shotgun and aimed it at her.
"Freeze!" the Hunter said.
The woman quickly yanked out her knife and flipped it in the air and threw it at the Hunter. The knife flipped end over end in the air and slammed into the Hunter Agent's throat, who grasped at the knife feebly and then crumpled to the ground in a heap as blood gushed from the wound.
"What can I say? Payback's a biatch…" the woman said as she grabbed two pistols from the corpse and clipped one of them onto her leg. She put the Battle Rifle on her back and aimed the other pistol down the hallway.
The woman quietly crept down the hallway and looked into the next room. It was the Motor Pool, and there were three guards patrolling it. They weren't Hunter Agents; they seemed to be mercenaries for hire. They were armed to the teeth though and had regular steel-plated armor, similar to those the Wastelanders wore.
"They don't have enough Hunters to watch their bases, so they have to hire soldiers to make sure no one breaks in" the woman murmured as she placed her pistol on the ground.
The woman pulled out a tiny pistol with a white wing insignia on it and fired it at one of the soldiers, who seemed to be sleeping. The woman fired it, though it made no sound, and a small speck flew the end of it and landed behind the back of the soldier's head, which was unarmored.
"Hey, where's the key for the Viper?" a voice asked the soldier.
"On the table. Silver one's for the Viper" the soldier said sleepily.
"Thanks" the voice replied.
The woman then pressed a button on the pistol and deactivated the small device stuck to the soldiers' head, which burst into flames. The solider yelled and began freaking out, drawing the attention of the other soldiers. The woman quickly limped over to the table and grabbed the keys to the Viper and crept over to the car. She hopped into the Viper and started the engines.
"Hey, what's going on over there?" one of the soldiers' said looking over at the Viper.
"Who's that!?" another soldier said drawing their weapon.
"It's the prisoner! She's escaped!" the one who had the burned hair said.
The Viper shot out of the Motor Pool, but not before the soldiers opened fire onto the car, hitting the woman twice in the shoulder. She gasped into pain before flooring it, flying into the desert. Blood seeped from the wound and she panted in pain.
"Come on…nearly there…" the woman said as she pressed a button on her armor.
"Ah…" the woman groaned as she slumped forward and passed out in the seat from blood loss and the car slowed to a halt. A small beeping alarm began to emit from the woman's armor, faint but clearly audible.
"Captain Shadow!" a Hunter Agent called, standing at the edge of the base looking at the trail of dust in the distance. A female Hunter Agent walked up beside the other Hunter and looked out in the distance.
"I know. She escaped…" Shadow said.
"She is wounded though. Two confirmed shots to her shoulder" the Hunter Agent said to Shadow, who smiled.
"She'll have bled out before she gets halfway there" Shadow said with a hidden smile.
"Ma'am, aren't you supposed to be down in the Chamber with Havoc?" the Hunter asked.
Shadow nodded and said "I'll be there momentarily, keep a close watch on the horizon, got it?"
"Yes Ma'am!"
Sanctuary HQ:
That Morning:
Jak opened his eyes and yawned loudly. He had actually had a pretty good night's sleep last night. Jak glanced over at Daxter, who was still sleeping in the comfy chair against the wall. He felt something move slightly next to him, and Jak was surprised to see Nightingale sleeping next to him, cuddled up against Jak's chest. Jak smiled at the sight, she looked so peaceful and at ease.
If he wanted to be honest with himself, she really was beautiful. Even if her hair was messed up and she was only in sweatpants and a tank top. Nightingale also apparently moved from the edge of the bed to practically lying on top of Jak, curled up against his side. Nightingale murmured something in her sleep and then smiled.
"I'll give her a few minutes" Jak thought with a smile as Nightingale stirred and moved her face closer to Jak's.
Jak quietly laid there while Nightingale slept, dozing off again himself. After about 30 minutes after he woke up again, Nightingale began to stir. Nightingale's green eyes flickered open slightly and she nuzzled Jak's neck sleepily. Jak chuckled and said "Good morning"
"Hmmm?" Nightingale mumbled sleepily.
"Nightingale, did you have any nightmares?" Jak asked.
Nightingale giggled sleepily and said "Of course not. I'm having a dream right now. And it's a really, really nice dream…"
Nightingale moved closer to Jak and sighed happily. Jak and Daxter looked at each other and grinned. Though they didn't want to burst her bubble, it'd be funny as hell to watch her reaction to the news.
"This isn't a dream Nightingale" Jak said with a grin as he sat up and stretched.
Nightingale's head hit the mattress, as she had had her head resting on Jak, and she slowly realized that he was right. Nightingale flushed dark red and scrambled backwards out of Jak's bed with a yell and fell onto the floor, upside-down, on her head.
"The Number 1 Agent in the Avenging Angels. Nightingale!" Daxter said loudly as Nightingale rolled right side up.
Nightingale brushed her hair out of her face, still blushing bright pink, and said "Why was I sleeping with you!?"
"I I recall, you said you wanted to sleep with me last night" Jak said.
Nightingale flushed even darker red and said "Was I drunk?"
"Yeah" Jak replied.
"Then I can't be held responsible for what I said and did!" Nightingale snapped as she got to her feet.
"True, but you still said it." Jak shrugged.
Nightingale looked in the mirror and fixed her hair and said "Why don't I have a headache?"
"What?" Daxter asked.
"I…got drunk last night…so why how come I don't have a headache?" Nightingale asked.
Jak pulled out a small bottle and tossed it to her. It was the same stuff that Rune had given her when she had drank because of Nymph, the stuff that had gotten rid of her drunkenness and hangover. Nightingale realized that Jak must have given her the liquid while she was drunk last night and she smiled.
"Thanks Jak" Nightingale said before walking out of the room, a smile on her face.
Jak stretched and put a T-shirt on and said "Come on Dax, let's get some grub"
Daxter jumped on Jak's shoulder and two friends went to go eat breakfast. Surprisingly it was just Royal and Beast eating in the Mess Hall today.
"How come it's only certain Agents who eat here?" Jak asked Beast.
The Agent shrugged and grunted "3 other Mess Halls. Some eat here, some don't"
"Well said" Royal said with a chuckle as he sipped a cup of coffee.
The group ate breakfast, but was slightly concerned that no one else came in. Usually at least two or three people came in and ate breakfast, but it was just Beast and Royal.
"Where is everyone?" Daxter asked.
"Well…something happened last night" Royal said.
"Big news" Beast growled.
"What happened?" Jak asked curiously.
"We found a distress signal in the middle of the desert. Disten sent Crash there and he found Agent Phoenix, wounded badly and barely alive. She's in critical condition right now in the Infirmary" Royal said.
"Phoenix? I heard that she doesn't usually stay here and that she gets missions in Haven" Jak said.
"She does. She's been unconscious since Crash got her back here last night. She lost an ample amount of blood, almost as much as Nightingale did when Havoc attacked her" Royal said.
"Yes…but that's not the really worrying part" Royal said.
"What is then?" Jak asked.
"Well, I had been thinking. Phoenix hasn't reported in to the Chief in over a month. We thought she was just procrastinating on reporting in…but it seems things were much more serious" Royal said.
"It seems she was captured by the Hunters while on a mission. We don't have the details, but it's obvious she was injured when she escaped" Royal explained.
"Wow…escaping from those lunatic Hunters, that's pretty impressive" Daxter admitted.
"Never been done. Phoenix is the first" Beast grunted.
Nightingale burst into the room and said "She's stable. She's still in the infirmary, but she'll make it"
Beast and Royal let out a sigh of relief while Jak got up and walked over to her.
"You were down in the infirmary?" Jak asked.
Nightingale nodded and said "Yes. Rune told me about what happened to Phoenix. She was always kind to me when she came here, so I went to check on her. They say she'll wake up later on today, and she'll be able to tell us what happened"
"So, what are we doing today while we wait for her to wake up and tell us whatever?" Jak asked.
"Desert run" Nightingale said with a grin.
1 Hour Later:
"And that's why Sig never lets me use the Peace Maker" Daxter concluded.
"Wow…just…WOW…" Nightingale said in amazement as she took off her helmet and let her hair down.
"It really was bad as he made it sound" Jak said with a grin, also with his helmet off.
"I can't even do that kind of damage on purpose" Nightingale said approvingly.
"Yeah well…I'm pretty great" Daxter said.
Jak chuckled and said "Come on let's focus, there's bound to be artifacts hidden in the sand around here"
"There was a huge sandstorm in this area last night, so some artifacts have to have been uncovered by the shifting sands" Nightingale replied as Jak floored the car.
Jax drove the car off of a rock face and boosted, sending them flying high into the air. Nightingale unbuckled her seatbelt and jumped out of the seat, flying even higher into the air. As Jak landed the Retaliator, Nightingale was doing several back-flips in the air. Jak drove towards her and Nightingale activated her jet-boots right before she hit the ground.
"Bet you can't beat me!" Nightingale laughed as she flew across the sand.
"You're on!" Jak yelled with a grin, flooring it.
The two Agents sped down the dunes. Nightingale was laughing the entire time, even when she fell slightly behind. Jak slowed down the car slightly and unbuckled the seat belt.
"Dax, take the wheel" Jak muttered to the Ottsel, who sighed.
"Why I am friends with the biggest psychopath around here?" Daxter asked.
Jak waited until Nightingale was neck and neck with the Retaliator again before Jak jumped out of the car and tackled Nightingale in midair, sending them both crashing into a dune. Nightingale was so surprised by this that she deactivated by her jet-boots and fell to the ground with Jak. The two rolled down the dune together and when they came to a stop, Nightingale was pinned to the ground by her arms by Jak, but was laughing her head off.
"I win" Jak grinned.
"That's cheating!" Nightingale laughed.
"Its strategy" Jak corrected her and he got to his feet.
"Cheater" Nightingale giggled as Jak helped her get to her feet.
Daxter drove the car around and stopped it. Daxter jumped onto the hood and stood there, tapping his foot impatiently.
"Come on, come on, we don't have all day!" Daxter complained.
Jak and Nightingale, still laughing, hopped into the car and Daxter hopped onto Jak's shoulder. As Jak drove away, he noticed a small glint in the sands. Jak drove towards it, and Nightingale snatched it from the sands. It was just a small chuck of Precursor Metal, though it was always good to find something in the Wasteland.
"We should head back. Phoenix should've woken up by now" Nightingale said after about two more hours of searching this area of the Wasteland for artifacts, and finding nothing except a few buried Precursor Orbs.
"Yeah, let's go" Jak said turning the car around and driving towards the AA Sanctuary's hidden ground entrance.
Ten minutes later, the trio was getting out of the Retaliator and walking down the hallway to the Mess Hall for lunch. Nightingale was telling Jak about one of her past missions against the Hunters, and Jak listened with interest. Nightingale was still somewhat quieter and somewhat more socially awkward than a regular person, but she had opened up to everyone and since she and Jak became friends. She was a constant companion for him and Daxter as of late. Jak found that the painful feeling he felt when he thought of Keira slowly being lessened.
He wondered why that was.
Jak and Nightingale had lunch and were heading towards the Bathing Grotto to relax in the water, due to neither of them having missions at the moment, when they saw Rune running past them.
"Hey, where's the fire?" Daxter asked.
"Michelle's woken up! I have to go!" Rune replied, not stopping her run.
"Who?" Jak asked.
"Phoenix. I forgot to mention, Phoenix is Rune's twin sister" Nightingale said.
"She has a twin?" Jak asked.
Nightingale nodded and said "Yeah, their kinda opposites in personality though sometimes. Whereas Rune is kinda sarcastic yet kind, Phoenix is more serious and…she's a little scary when she's mad"
"Scary?" Daxter asked.
Nightingale nodded and said "She's nice once you get to know her though. Come on, I'll introduce you"
"Jak" a voice called out to him, so he turned around to see a familiar face.
Chief Disten walked down the hallway and approached Jak and Nightingale. He looked at Jak and said "I have an assignment for you"
"What is it?" Jak said.
"We've been getting strange signals from the Power Station, and certain parts of city are losing power periodically. Torn has asked me to send you to Haven City, to go see what's wrong" Disten said.
"Why can't he do it?" Daxter asked.
"He's tried. He said he can't do anything about it. He's asked to see if you two can figure something out" Disten said.
Jak looked at Nightingale and said "Well, I'll meet Phoenix later"
"I'll wait for you. You two go to Haven City and…help…Jakob" Nightingale said oddly.
Nightingale turned and walked down the hallway. Disten sighed as the black-haired agent walked away and said "She's still not taking it well, is she?"
"That'd be an understatement" Daxter replied.
"She's not sure how to take this news. She's assumed that "Jakob" has been dead for years now, and to see him suddenly turn up like that. I'm not surprised she reacted the way she did. That said she's not going to forgive him anytime soon. There's too much hurt in her heart" Disten said.
"He's not who he was back then" Jak said.
"I know that Jak. But she was just a child when she was betrayed like that by the only person she trusted at the time. That kind of event would be devastating to anyone, but it's even worse to a child" Disten said with a heavy sigh.
"Yeah, I can see your point" Daxter said.
"Yes. And if that wasn't bad enough, she spent five whole years dwelling on Jakob-I mean Torn's- betrayal…she's had a rough life Jak. It's only through kindness and understanding, that her wounds will heal…is that clear?" Disten said.
Jak realized that Disten was, indirectly, asking him to help Nightingale get over this. Jak nodded and said "Yeah, we're clear"
"All right then. Suit up and head over to Haven City. The Power Station is vital to the survival of Haven City Jak. You know how important this is" Disten said walking away.
"Come on Dax, let's move" Jak said walking to the docking station.
Jak began walking down the hallway before someone called Jak's name. Jak turned around and saw Tech walking towards him.
"Hey, do you have a minute?" Tech asked.
"I've got to get to Haven City for a mission, but it can wait a sec" Jak replied.
"I don't know if you've noticed or not, but you're ranking on the Leaderboard has risen again, you're now ranked number 25. I wanted to let you know that if you can get to rank 20, you can have a second enhancement on your armor" Tech said.
"So, what kinda stuff could you add?" Daxter asked.
"I've added everything from under-mounted flamethrowers to jet-boots to high-tech shields, you name it. Some Agents use their enhancements frequently in the field, some don't. If I had to say which Agent out of all of us is most reliant on their enhancements to their armor, I'd have to say it's Agent Chill" Tech said.
"What's her enhancement?" Daxter asked.
"It's one of my best works. It's-" Tech began to say before a familiar voice said "Ahem!"
Chill walked out from another hallway and said "Don't ruin the fun Tech, let him find out on his own. As for you…Jak and Daxter, I'm sure we'll be put on a mission together soon enough, and then you can see what I can do"
Chill walked away with a smile and Tech chuckled softly. Daxter looked at the two of them and said "You do know she likes Blade, right?"
"Of course. I'm spoken for anyway" Tech admitted.
"Really!?" Daxter said a little too loudly.
Tech looked at him and "Are you surprised?"
"Very" Daxter said, earning a slap in the head from Jak.
"Hey!"
"Come on Dax, let's go" Jak said.
"I'll walk with you to the Docking Station" Tech offered.
The trio walked into the Docking Station, where a few of the so-called Raven-Ships were idling, ready to take Agents to their mission destinations. Jak heard raised voices coming from somewhere in the Docking Station, even over the sound of the several waterfalls crashing down around them. The trio eventually found Agent Crash yelling at a terminal with a large blinking blue light in the middle.
"Come on Arch, hurry up and get it done!" Crash complained at a terminal.
A small blue flickering light appeared in front of Crash and small figure materialized. It was a woman made of blue light. She had long flowing hair and had her arms crossed, looking annoyed.
"I go as fast as feel like going. And for the record, the next time you yell at me, I'm locking you out of your room for a week" the figure said.
"Hey Arch!" Tech said walking over to the small blue figure and Crash.
The A.I. smiled and said "Agent Tech. Please explain to Agent Crash that analyzing Metal Head skull gems takes time"
"Crash, give her some time to analyze the gems, you can't rush these things" Tech said.
Crash growled in annoyance and stormed off. Arch sighed and said "This job never gets any easier. I wish Disten could make me an assistant or something…"
"Why? Don't you run everything in this place?" Daxter asked.
"Yes, that's just it. At first it was rather easy, but there's too much to maintain. I never get any time offline anymore, its 24 hours a day seven days a week nonstop" Arch said tiredly, if A.I's could get tired, which is debatable.
"We'll figure out something" Tech said cheerfully.
"I hope so. So what do you need?" Arch asked.
"We've gotten strange readings from the Power Station, could you look into it?" Tech asked.
"You can tell us stuff about the Power Station from all the way out here?" Daxter asked.
"If we had the access, we could control power to half of Haven if we needed to. Thankfully, it hasn't come to that yet" Tech said.
"It seems as though the Power Station is experiencing mass power fluctuations. If I recall, there's someone there that oversees the Power Station" Arch said looking at Jak and Daxter.
"Yeah, his name's Vin" Jak said.
"I would recommend going to find him, he may know what's behind it" Arch said.
"All right. We're heading out then. Are there any pilots that can take us to Haven?" Jak asked.
"Let's see…Raven-ship 29 is ready to go right now. Speak to the pilot" Arch said.
"Thanks" Jak said, and the A.I smiled and vanished in a flash of light.
Jak and Daxter said bye to Tech and went to the Raven-Ship, and the pilot told them to get in the back and she'd get there in an hour.
Haven City:
"This shouldn't take long, can you wait for me?" Jak asked the pilot, who waved her hand, shooing him away.
Jak and Daxter started walking towards the temporary Freedom League HQ. Jak knocked on the door and Ashelin opened the door and welcomed Jak in. Torn was standing over a map, like always. Torn looked up and saw Jak walking in.
"Jak, we've got a situation" Torn said.
"I know. I'm going to head to Power Station and talk to Vin" Jak said.
"Good to hear. He's been acting weird lately" Torn commented.
"Before I go, I need to talk to you" Jak said.
"About?" Torn asked.
"Nightingale" Jak replied.
Torn scowled and said "I should've known"
"I just find it hard to belief that someone who became a leader in the Underground, and is now the leader of the Freedom League…would be such a gutless coward" Jak replied with a frown.
"Torn, what is he talking about?" Ashelin asked, confused.
"I'll tell you later. Jak, I told you, and I told her. It was a spur of the moment decision, and I've regretted it for years. Plus, you don't know the whole story" Torn replied angrily.
"Then tell me the whole story" Jak replied.
"I don't have time for this! We've suffered serious casualties today and to top it off, the power to certain areas of the city keeps going on and off. Go talk some sense into Vin" Torn snapped.
"Fine, but you're going to have to deal with this soon" Jak replied before turning around and walking out of the room.
"Think you were too hard on him?" Daxter asked.
"No. He needs to answer for what he did to Nightingale" Jak replied before hopping on a Zoomer, revving it loudly, and shooting off towards the Power Station.
Ten minutes later, the duo stopped outside of the Power Station. Jak jumped off of the Zoomer and left it parked haphazardly in the middle of the walkway, with smoke coming from the hood and small flames leaping out of the engine.
"You really need to work on your parking" Daxter commented.
"That's the first time anyone's ever spoken up about that. I can literally park a Zoomer on top of another person's Zoomer and blow both of them up with the Peace Maker, and no one cares" Jak replied.
"Huh, pretty big game flaw" Daxter said.
"What?" Jak asked.
"Never mind"
"Hey Vin!" Jak called as he walked into the Power Station, which for some reason had all of its lights turned off.
"Who's there!?"
"It's Jak and Daxter" Jak called.
"Easily the best game on the PS2" Daxter commented.
"Dax, what're you talking about?" Jak asked.
"Well, it's the only one of the first three with my name on the title!" Daxter replied.
Suddenly a giant blue head appeared in the room and said in a rather forlorn tone "Oh…it's you guys"
"Hey, what's with the power surges?" Jak asked.
"Oh…I didn't really notice…" Vin said in a depressed tone.
"What's with you?" Jak asked.
"Jak, look at me for a moment" Vin said quietly.
Jak and Daxter starred at Vin and said "OK…?"
"I'm a shell of my former self. My existence means literally, nothing. I'm a mish-mash of data living out the remainder of my pitiful life inside of an abandoned Power Station by myself…what's the point anymore?" Vin asked.
"Is that's what wrong? You're having a midlife crisis?" Daxter said.
"My life has no meaning! All I'm good for is giving you guy's access to certain areas of the city and supplying power to some partsof the city, which anyone with access to the codes could do!" Vin yelled.
"Vin, there's a war going on. We need you to keep the power going" Jak said.
"What's the point? It's us against all those Metal Heads, and you're off with the Avenging Angels now. Face the facts, we're doomed" Vin said dejectedly.
"Vin, you've got to pull yourself together. We need you" Jak said.
"Then how come you haven't come to see me in months?" Vin asked sadly, and Jak and Daxter flinched.
"We've been busy" Daxter said sheepishly.
"It's bad enough that I had to convert myself into an Artificial Intelligence to save myself, but it's even worse that the Metal Heads could barge in here at any time and destroy the place" Vin said hopelessly.
"We'll figure out some way to help you, but for now, we need you to keep maintaining power to the city" Jak said.
"Sure…" Vin said, turning all of the lights on in the room.
"Hey, is it possible to transfer you to jump drive or something?" Jak asked.
"Maybe, but why?" Vin asked.
"Hmm…I may have an idea. I'll get back to you on that. Until then, keep the power coming, alright?" Jak said.
"Yeah, yeah…" Vin said as Jak and Daxter walked out of the Power Station. Jak called Torn on his built-in communicator in his helmet and told him power had been restored, and of Vin's current condition.
"He's lonely?" Torn asked.
"Yeah, that's a word for it!" Daxter replied by yelling into Jak's ear.
"AH! Stop screaming into the damn communicator you rodent!" Torn yelled into Jak's ear.
"STOP SCREAMING IN MY EARS!" Jak bellowed at the two of them.
"Oh…my bad Jak. Anyway, thanks for getting the power on Jak, you helped a lot of people" Torn said.
Jak didn't respond, but Daxter said "So, can we go now?"
"Yeah, and thanks again" Torn said.
"You haven't gotten out of giving Nightingale an explanation. We want the full story" Jak replied.
"Why do you care so much?" Torn asked.
"Because…I've seen what lies underneath that tough, silent attitude she had for so long. It's someone who trusted someone deeply, had that trust shattered, and lost the ability to trust others. You're going to find a way to make things up to her, or you can get someone else to fight your battles for you" Jak replied before ending the transmission.
"Think that was a little harsh?" Daxter asked.
Jak took off his helmet and looked at Daxter, who nodded after a moment. Jak put his helmet back on and walked to another parked Zoomer and drove back to the Raven-ship, which would take him back to the Sanctuary.
About an hour later, Jak and Daxter were walking down one of the many hallways of the Sanctuary. Jak eventually found her, unsurprisingly, in the Bathing Grotto. She was sitting down on a rock with her armor on, though her helmet was off. She had her eyes closed and seemed to be listening to the sound of the waterfalls crashing down around her. Jak and Daxter glanced at each other and Jak walked over to her and sat down.
"You OK?" Jak asked, and Nightingale opened her eyes.
Nightingale nodded and said "How was the trip?"
Jak shrugged and said "Vin's been alone in that Power Station for too long. He's given up faith that we'll win this thing"
Nightingale nodded, but didn't say anything. Instead she sighed and laid down on the ground and said "Do you think we can?"
"Of course. Do you?" Jak replied.
"Hmm…we'll have to see" Nightingale said quietly.
"So, what did you do today?" Daxter asked.
"I was up in the MCC, we've been trying to find the base that Phoenix was at, but we've had no luck" Nightingale explained.
"She might know where it is" Daxter said.
"That's a thought…" Nightingale muttered, though she continued to lay there.
Jak scowled and said "Nightingale…"
"Yeah?"
"Do you want to talk about it?" Jak asked.
"No...it won't change anything…let's go see Phoenix" Nightingale said sitting up.
Jak sighed, but didn't object. He got to his feet and helped Nightingale up. Nightingale and Jak grabbed their helmets off of the ground and the trio walked towards the Infirmary.
Infirmary:
"Please sedate her" one of the medics said.
"I'M FINE!"
"Are you sure? You seem very…agitated" the medic asked.
"Really? No kidding…thanks for the update, genius"
Rune walked into the room and said "Well, someone's feeling better"
Rune walked up to her younger sister, who was lying down on a bed wrapped in blankets and bandages to the point where only her head was visible. Rune looked at the medic and said "Could you…give us a moment?"
"Of course Agent Rune. Take your time" the medic said with a smile.
The medic left the room and Rune sat down on a small chair next to the bed. Rune looked her sister in the eyes and said softly "It's good to see you"
"Yeah well…I missed you too sis" the injured Agent said with a grunt as she tried to sit up.
"What happened…please…how did they hurt you?" Rune asked her sister, who's faced darkened.
"I'm…I'm not ready to talk about it…not yet" Phoenix whispered.
"Give me the water-downed version then…please" Rune said quietly.
"…OK" Phoenix said softly.
Jak, Daxter, and Nightingale all stood outside the doors of the Infirmary, speaking with the medic.
"She regained consciousness about five hours ago. Her injuries were rather…similar to yours, Agent Nightingale" the medic said to the two Agents and Ottsel.
"How so?" Nightingale asked softly.
"Her injuries, like yours, were much more severe than they looked. The worst injuries were the two gunshot wounds to her left shoulder, which caused her to nearly bleed out. But the thing is…there was an injury on her though seemed…frighteningly similar to yours" the medic said.
"How'd she get hurt?" Daxter asked
The medic pulled out an electronic clipboard and pulled up a page of notes on it.
"Large bruises on her arms and chest, burn marks on her fingers, feet, and back. She had her right kneecap broken. The list goes on and on. The worst of these injuries were a series of slashes on her back, caused by…a laser-sword" the medic said nervously.
"Havoc…" Nightingale whispered.
"He's with the Hunters then. It makes sense" Jak muttered.
"Agent Phoenix will be in the infirmary for a few weeks. Though she isn't telling us the details, one thing is painfully obvious" the medic said with a sigh.
"She was tortured" the medic said after a moment.
Jak and Nightingale both felt a surge of anger towards Havoc, and Jak had to hold back the Dark Eco that was surging with his anger.
Rune walked out of the room and said "I thought I heard you two. Come on in"
Jak, Daxter, and Nightingale walked into the infirmary and they heard someone say "And who the hell are they?"
Agent Phoenix looked very much like her sister. She had short blond hair and had the same face and build as her older sister. However, her blond hair was a riot of color. Red, orange, and yellow highlights were running through it, and she had rings around her eyes that were from exhaustion. The highlights that were in her hair looked faded, as though they had been done a very long time ago.
"Michelle, I'd like to introduce you to Agent Chiaroscuro, our newest recruit, and his friend, Daxter" Rune said.
"Call me Jak" Jak said.
"Call me Phoenix" the injured Agent replied.
"And what about her?" Phoenix asked.
Nightingale smiled and said "It's me, Nightingale"
Phoenix's eyes went wide and the heart monitors surged momentarily and began beeping loudly.
"You're Nightingale!?" Phoenix asked in amazement.
Nightingale nodded and Phoenix grinned.
"Well, good to see that you've finally opened up and can talk again. You're much younger than I thought you'd be" Phoenix said after a moment.
Nightingale sighed and said muttered "Why does everyone say that!?"
"Say what?" Phoenix asked.
"Never mind…" Nightingale scowled, and Jak and Daxter snickered quietly.
"So, how're you feeling?" Nightingale asked.
"I've been better. I'm just glad to out of that awful place…" Phoenix said with a groan.
"What happened? Where were you all this time?" Nightingale asked.
"I…I don't want to talk about it" Phoenix said quietly.
"Why not?" Daxter asked.
"Because I don't want to" Phoenix snapped.
"OK, don't tell us. Instead, tell us what the location of the base is" Nightingale said.
"No! You're not going to that place!" Phoenix said weakly.
"Please stop upsetting the patient, or I'll have to ask you to leave" the medic warned the group.
"It's OK…they just want to help" Rune said softly, and Phoenix sighed.
"I don't want anyone getting hurt…just because I slipped up and got captured" Phoenix said in a low voice.
"How do you know we'll get hurt?" Jak asked.
Phoenix glared at Jak and said "There are trained mercenaries placed at every entrance of the base, and patrolling almost every room. All armed to the teeth. Over 10 Hunter Agents are in this one facility, including one of the three commanders of the Hunters. Oh, and did I mention that Havoc apparently defected to the Hunters, and that he's a Dark Eco spewing monster?"
"Sounds rough" Daxter said quietly.
"And the worst of it…is that I thought Havoc had broke in to help me…I was so happy to see a familiar face…but…he…tortured me…he made my life hell in that prison cell" Phoenix whispered with raw pain in her voice.
"Hey, could you give me a minute with Phoenix?" Nightingale asked the others.
"Sure" Rune said after a moment.
"Yeah, OK" Jak said, walking out of the room with Rune and Daxter.
Nightingale sat down and said "Phoenix, we need to know where that base is. Where did you escape from?"
"Nightingale, please stop, I'm not telling you" Phoenix said.
"We need to find Havoc, we need to get to the bottom of this Phoenix, and you're the only one who can help" Nightingale pleaded.
"I'm not letting any get hurt because I got captured!" Phoenix snapped.
"It's not like that; they'll end up killing all of is eventually! We need to know where they're base is Phoenix" Nightingale urged her.
Phoenix looked at her in the eyes and said "Why should I tell you?"
Nightingale sighed and began to remove her chest plate and lowered it to the ground. Phoenix gave Nightingale an odd look as she removed all of her upper armor and she unzipped the upper part of the black leather suit of her armor. Phoenix saw her bare skin, but gasped in horror when Nightingale turned around.
"Nightingale…what…what happened to you?" Phoenix whispered in horror.
Jak had healed the worst of Nightingale's injuries, though the jagged scars still remained clearly visible. Jagged lines zigzagged across Nightingale's back, a dark red color. Phoenix saw the scars that had healed up as well, from the beatings she got as a prisoner.
Nightingale ran a finger down her bare back until she came across and slight bump and said "This was where Havoc stabbed me with a laser-sword, during a training match. He broke both of my legs and attacked me with a laser sword. The long scars are from his laser-sword"
Phoenix's eyes softened and she said "And the other scars?"
"Have you ever wondered why I was so distant? Why I never spoke or showed my face?" Nightingale said softly.
"Every time I saw you. I knew there was a reason, but I figured it was best to give you your space" Phoenix said.
"I was betrayed by someone I cared about while I was imprisoned and tortured…in a Marauder fortress dungeon" Nightingale said.
"You were imprisoned by those savages and lived!?" Phoenix yelled out in amazement.
"For five years…I don't like talking about it. Just like you. That's why you should tell me where that base is. Because I've been through the same thing as you. And so has Jak" Nightingale said seriously.
Phoenix looked away, but after a few moments she quietly said "39, 42, 57, and 91."
Nightingale zipped her suit back up and put her armor back on. After making sure it was secure, she looked at Phoenix and said "Thanks…you can come in now!"
Rune, Jak, and Daxter walked back into the room and Nightingale turned to them and said "I've got the coordinates from her"
"Thank you Nightingale" Rune said sitting back down by her sister's side.
"I'll bring this info to Disten. We'll organize a team at once" Nightingale said as she walked out of the room.
"All right, we'll see you two later" Jak said walking out of the room.
"Jak!"
Jak turned around and saw Phoenix looking at him, a spark in her eyes now.
"Don't leave a single one of them alive" Phoenix said with a twisted smile.
"I don't plan on it" Jak replied as he walked out of the room.
End of Chapter:
Post Author's Note: Just so you all know, I posted this around midnight on 10/09/12, not the date that it says. I waited all day to update this chapter, and I'm annoyed as heck that it did that to me! I wanted to update on the day that I told you all...this makes me feel annoyed.
Anyway, it's good to be back. I know what I want to do now and I'm raring to go. Chapter 12 should be up in a few weeks, and I've even started on 13. I still think I have a faster update frequency than a lot of other fanfic writers, even though three weeks may become the reg. update frequency for me. Anyway, tons of action next chapter, secrets revealed, and all that good stuff. Review and tell me what you think! Until next time, FlygonN out!