Behold chapter 1, which includes my attempt to make the sentence "They wandered around." into a full chapter. According to the extras in this great "Jak 3" guide, Gol and Maia apparently ended up in the Catacombs, and so that is exactly what this chapter is about. Why they don't simply teleport out whenever they become trapped places is beyond me. They could have been out of the silo in a second….

Chapter 1: The Labyrinthine Prison

The tunnels went on forever. At least, they appeared to. The twins wandered and wandered, and their earlier delight at having escaped their previous prison melted eventually into frustration at a nagging realization that perhaps they weren't free after all, but had only wandered into a larger, but equally inescapable, cage.

They attempted to teleport out, but as with the robot, they were unable. Too much to go through, and they could very well end up within a wall, and that would be even worse than their current predicament.

To add further to the confusion, the tunnels branched off in all directions, which made keeping track of them all but impossible. The river of Dark Eco also branched off like the limitless necks of a hydra, and they followed it for a time for little reason else but to keep their bearings. But, they eventually realized the Dark Eco would either lead back to the silos or farther into the planet's depths. With no small amount of apprehension, the pair decided it would be best to leave the canals and take a path that seemed to travel upward at a shallow angle.

After days or even weeks of this, they didn't know, they managed to find dead end after another, but no exit. At the umpteenth caved-in passageway, Maia broke down. With a scream, she charged at the wall and beat her fists against it.

"I can't stand it in here any longer! Maybe these tunnels don't even lead outside! We're trapped all over again!" She rested her head on the wall, breathing heavily.

Gol came up beside her and brushed her hair out of her face. "Now, now, dear sister, don't fret. We're bound to find a way out eventually."

"That's what you said about the robot."

"And we did, did we not?" He gestured around them.

She turned around and leaned her back against the wall, arms crossed. "The way our luck's been going, I wouldn't be surprised if these tunnels just lead into another maze."

"There has to be a way back to the outside world. There are signs the Precursors were here long ago." Indeed, there was ancient Precursor writing on the walls in places, in a dialect so old, even the Sage couldn't translate it. "Surely they couldn't have resided in a place inaccessible to the world above."

Maia sniffed. "Maybe that's why they disappeared." Gol watched as she brushed past him. "Come on, then, let's keep going."

And that's exactly what they did, as there was nothing else that could be done. At first, their hopes were periodically dashed as they managed to arrive back at the canal time and time again, but they finally got the hang of the tunnels until it was some time since they last saw the river of Dark Eco. Surely that could only mean they were making progress.

In addition to being a largely featureless place, aside from the lights, some of which had gone out, and the old Precursor writing, it was a rather eerie place to be trapped in. It was silent except for the echoing of their footsteps and the sound of Gol's labored breathing and Maia's complaints. It was also cold, not freezing, but enough to make one shiver and rub their arms for warmth every now and then. Gol was at least grateful for the dim lights. Without them, this place would no doubt be their graves.

Maia stopped and yelled. "I hate this place!" Moments later, her words echoed back at them. "Let's just take a break. I'm sick of these tunnels."

She plopped down beside the wall and huffed. Gol sat next to her, and before he could, she grabbed his arm and put it around her. He pulled her closer.

"You're ice cold," she said, before snuggling closer to him. It wasn't long before she was asleep. Gol had no idea how his sister could fall asleep in the strangest of places. Their long trek had made him weary, but he couldn't sleep. These endless tunnels were unsettling. And as he sat there, he could almost swear he heard sounds off in the distance, made more obvious now that there was no sound from their footsteps to drown it out. He knew nothing else could be out there. His mind must be playing tricks on him. But, he thought he heard something, nonetheless. Far off and nearly indistinguishable, but there. He grabbed his chest and drew a breath, as if that sound would provide some relief from the noise, if only for a second. He listened again, his ears now straining involuntarily for the sound, but it had stopped. Definitely his imagination. He rested his head on top of Maia's.

Gol was awoken by his sister squirming out of his grasp. "I'm surprised I fell asleep. All I could hear was your wheezing."

"I'm sorry if my poor state of health annoys you, dear sister," he said. He didn't even realize he had fallen asleep.

After struggling to his feet, thoroughly sore, they continued on their way, Maia's spirits temporarily up from her nap, only to be brought crashing down hours later when they arrived at a tunnel that was pitch black.

"Not that I'm afraid of the dark or anything, but I'm not going in there."

Gol sniffed the air. It didn't seem quite as stale here. And he could almost feel…a breeze. "This might be our way out, dear sister."

"Really? How can you tell?"

"Just trust me." He summoned sparks of Dark Eco to his hand. They danced about his fingertips, throwing out a small radius of flickering light, as he started forward, treading slowly. Maia followed close behind.

"I hope you're right, dear brother. I certainly wouldn't want to get lost in here."

"Neither would I. But, do you feel that, dear sister?"

"What?"

"A breeze. Just a slight one, but it's there. I feel it." They had to be close. There was no wind underground. Of that he was certain, or he wasn't the Dark Eco Sage.

Ahead, he caught a sliver of light. Maia had, too. "Daylight!" she said. In her excitement, she gave up walking to fly over to it. "Just a little bit peeking through these big rocks. But…they're all blocking the exit!" She hit the rocks with a fist.

Gol caught up to her and looked through the small crevice, then withdrew. The bright sunlight hurt his eyes. They were at an exit, all right, but they weren't squeezing through that gap in the rocks. Neither of them were that thin.

Maia rested her chin on her fist. "I think I have an idea, dear brother."

"What is it?"

"An explosion." She retreated a ways, then thrust one arm out to the side, a purple ball growing inches from her hand. "Join me."

"We must be careful, dear sister."

"Come on. You want out of here, don't you?"

He went beside her and raised his hand, joining his power with hers. Before long, they had created a ball of Dark Eco several feet across, crackling with energy, bathing the tunnel and themselves purple.

"Ready, dear brother?"

"I am."

They sent the ball flying. It struck the wall, disintegrating the boulders and spraying them with dust.

"We did…" Maia started, coughing into her arm, but the tunnel began to shake and pebbles started to fall from the ceiling.

"Maia…" Before he could go to her, he felt a pain as something struck him on the head and everything went black.

Please review. I've just baked fresh cookies. And chapter 2 will be up soon.