Sigh. Fight scenes again. And I feel extra pressure to make this one particularly good. Darn, the pressure. Okay, let's do this! (This chapter got so much editing. So much.)

Chapter 22: A Fine Specimen

What had begun as a simple stroll with his dear sister down the ever chill hallways of the temple's lower passageways, with the intent of reaching their labs for supplies, including something for cleaning up the residue left behind from the explosion of the crystal (a corrosive substance that the Sage had the painful misfortune of finding out was dangerous even to them), had resulted in Gol being left behind, as his pace had slowed, weighed down as he was due to the amount of thoughts currently occupying his mind, including a damaged robot and a war they needed to return to, to name a few. And she, never having the patience to stay with him in his times of deep contemplation, had gone on ahead, which was not entirely unexpected. What was unexpected was when he heard her voice calling to him from around the bend she had just recently disappeared around. With no idea in his mind as to what this could possibly be about, he rushed to join her. When he turned the corner, what he saw stopped him in his tracks.

What in Precursors' name… Standing there on the other end of the large hall was none other than the boy that had destroyed their original robot and doomed them to centuries trapped in the silo. He clearly looked older, holding a gun that would have looked out-of-place in the hands of his younger self, with the loud-mouthed orange weasel on his shoulder, just as it had been on that fateful day, with the sole difference being a ridiculous pair of pants it now wore.

Gol grabbed his chest and forced in a breath and then stepped forward to stand beside his sister. "If it isn't the mute boy and his ferret," he said, forcing his voice into a composure he didn't feel. How was this possible? Those two should have died three hundred years ago! Fate really did despise them!

Maia began to float into the air and Gol followed suit, watching the pair with half-lidded eyes, now a growing distance below them.

"You two are harder to kill than cockroaches," Maia said, looking down her nose at their unwelcome visitors.

"I could say the same about you." A cocky grin replaced any signs of shock that may have been present on the boy's face seconds ago.

"He speaks!"

"The boy has finally learned to talk, dear brother. Let's hope the weasel has lost that ability."

The creature in question put his hands on his hips, standing up tall, if that was possible for one of such a small stature. "Hey, I'm sick of everyone callin' me 'fleabag' and 'weasel' and 'rat'! I'm an ottsel! Remember it!"

The Sage grasped one hand in the other and turned to Maia. "At least they were courteous enough to come to us, dear sister."

"It is quite convenient, dear brother."

"Maybe you two haven't figured it out yet, but I didn't come here to chat. I came here to settle the score with anyone who tries to mess with Haven City."

Gol turned back to the source of the comment, still with that infuriating smirk plastered on his face. That fool had no reason to be so confident. He had no Sages to help him this time.

"No, I suppose you didn't," Maia said, "But you must understand where we're coming from. You so callously ruined what we worked so hard for all those years ago. We're just continuing from where we left off."

"Don't expect an apology."

Gol frowned. Such an insolent boy! About time he was taught a lesson! The Dark Sage started to raise a hand. "You do realize I'm going to have to kill you, boy."

"You can try."

The Sage narrowed his eyes at the grin that grew even wider on the boy's face. He would be sure to kill him slowly. Gol sent a stream of electricity at him, who promptly dodged just before the sparks hit where he had been standing, striking with such force that it split the stone floor and sent up an explosion of dust and small bits of rock. His intended target knelt down nearby and shot at him. Snarling, he brought up a shield in front of Maia and himself with a flick of one hand.

"If you would be so kind, dear sister, I'll take the boy, and once I'm through with him, you can skin the rat," Gol said, his hand clenched into a fist.

"Sounds good to me, dear brother," she said, crossing her arms and floating up to hover a safe distance above them.

Gol shot balls of Dark Eco at the pair down on the floor, sending off one after another, but the stupid boy kept getting out of the way, moving with the speed of one who seemed far too accustomed to this sort of thing. To add to his frustration, the Sage's aim was hindered by having to avoid the shots from his gun.

"Is that the best you got?" the boy asked.

"Stand still, boy! You're only prolonging the inevitable!" Gol charged up a large ball of Eco, crackling with energy, and flung it at him. It zipped around and struck a pillar, causing it to snap in half, the pieces toppling and pulling down with them chunks of the ancient, decaying ceiling. Surely that would crush the boy. Let's see him avoid me when he's pinned to the floor. The Sage grinned as the pair was lost from sight amidst the dust and debris and then gasped and clutched his right shoulder in response to a sharp pain. Eyes wide, he peeled his fingers away to see dark blood staining his hand. That was the last straw.

The two who should surely be dead, or at least, seriously maimed by now, emerged from the settling dust, coated with the stuff, but appearing unharmed. Gol growled and disappeared, reappearing behind them, the boy spinning around just in time to merely have his arm grazed by another ball of Dark Eco.

"Too slow, boy!" The Sage came in low, pushing the other into a corner. "I have you now!"

The boy made a quick adjustment to his gun before sending a bright ball speeding erratically at him. Gol's eyes widened, and before he could teleport, it struck him squarely in the chest, sending him flying backwards across the room. He hit the wall and slid down it, the air knocked out of him. He sat stunned against the wall and heard Maia cry something just before sending out Dark Eco electricity of her own.

Mouth open, trying to force air into his lungs, he raised an arm and aimed more electricity at the distracted boy. Only the rat was fast enough, who jumped off the other's shoulder with a shriek as his companion was enveloped in electricity. The boy yelled and convulsed, and Gol intensified the lightning, causing him to simply cry out louder. Why wouldn't he just die already? The boy screamed louder still, his back arching, and began to turn pale. His nails turned black and grew several inches long, and horns pushed their way out of his head through now white hair. What was this?

Gol let up, and the boy fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily, now in a most bizarre state. A familiar feeling had emanated from him when the Sage had first set eyes on their most unexpected of guests, but he hadn't any idea at the time what it could be. Now he thought he might be starting to understand…. But, how…

The boy's head lifted, directing black eyes at the Sage. His white lips twisted into a snarl, and he launched himself at him with a roar. Gol sent lightning at him again, just as Maia did, and they caught him in mid-air, though he twisted about for release, the electricity no longer having the same effect on him. This boy had been blessed by Dark Eco as they had been, but his exposure was obviously much different. He could only guess based on past theories of his that the boy had been exposed to the substance over a much shorter amount of time, at a much higher intensity. As using human test subjects other than themselves would no doubt have been the last straw in a village full of people that already feared them, Gol had never seen a human in such a state, as much as he would have liked to confirm the effects of more intense Dark Eco exposure on a person. He would be a most interesting specimen.

A large smile spread across the Sage's face. "I want to keep him, dear sister."

She laughed. "I was thinking the same thing. But, what about that skinned rat you promised me?"

He looked back to find no signs of the weasel, who had no doubt fled the scene as soon as he no longer had his companion to protect him. Such a coward he was, that he would leave his own friend behind. "Well, when we're through with the boy, dear sister, you can do with him as you please."

"Oh, we'll have so much fun with him, dear brother."

Jak's entire body ached, as if he had pulled every muscle and then been tossed off a building. He tried to move, but was unable, too sore and taxed his body was. At least, he could open his eyes. He was in a small room, barely lit by light coming in through a slanted slit along one edge of the ceiling. It seemed to be early morning, judging by how dimly the room was lit. It wasn't sunset already, was it?

He forced his head to turn, teeth clenched as pain shot up his neck. There was a sturdy looking wooden door to his left. From the low angle and the hard surface against his back, he was obviously laying on the floor.

Slowly, he moved one arm and then the other and raised himself up onto his elbows. As he had expected, the room was empty. He pushed himself into a sitting position and looked around. His gun was gone, and a dark burn was on his left arm, but that was all. So why was he so sore? Last he remembered, he was enveloped in electricity, and then…a blur of events and then nothing.

Something chuckled from inside him.

He needed out of here. He tried to stand, leaning heavily against the wall, and worked on pulling himself up. He rested his cheek against the cool stone, panting from the effort. He then pushed himself away from the wall, took a few steps towards the door, and staggered, banging into it. Well, he had made it to the door. Step one, done. But, when he raised his hand and grabbed hold of the doorknob, he found the door to be locked. Figures. What could they possibly want with him, though? His heart fell. And Daxter. What had happened to him?

Jak closed his eyes. His energy was still drained, and there was nothing else he could do right now. It wasn't long before he fell asleep again.

Jak was woken up when his head hit the floor. He grunted at the pain and opened his eyes to see Maia staring down at him. The door was open! He rushed to get up, but before he could even get his head more than a few inches off the ground, Maia was zapping him with electricity again. He tried not to scream and so replaced any signs of pain with profanities directed at her. She stopped and grabbed him by the shoulders, throwing him back into the room. She was a lot stronger than she should be, for one with such scrawny arms.

Unable to catch his balance, Jak hit the floor, then, sprung back up, but she raised her hand again, and he stayed where he was.

"So, I guess your brother's too afraid to face me, huh?"

She walked towards him, expression indecipherable, then, slapped him across the face. After a moment of shock, his cheek stinging, he raised his fist, but she had her face right in his. "Do it. I dare you."

He narrowed his eyes and met her gaze, but did nothing else.

She turned and walked a short distance away, then returned to facing him. With hands on her hips, she looked him up and down, then, smiled. "You sure have grown, haven't you?"

"I see you've aged quite a bit yourself," he said.

Her smile disappeared, and she electrocuted him again. He screamed and fell back against the wall once she released him.

"Anything else to say?"

He heaved a deep breath, then, said, "Tell your brother I'll be waiting for whenever he wants me to finish him off."

He braced himself for the pain he knew would come, but none did. She simply stared at him a moment longer, and then her smile returned, bigger than ever.

"I'll have so much fun breaking you." And she turned and left.

I enjoyed using some quotes from "Jak 1" in the battle. I also liked writing some of Jak's dialogue towards the end. Please review.