Awakening Part 2
I hope you've been enjoying this story so far and will continue to enjoy it as it continues I'll let you get straight in…..As always I don't own Jak and Daxter but I do own Ortz.
The Shadow wandered the halls of the sleepy building, the wood on the base of his sandals cracked every time they impacted the floor. He had been feeling a new presence in the building for some time but tonight it felt different, like it had a purpose and wasn't just wandering aimlessly it was directed. His feet carried him around the complex into the mess hall where he spotted a woman's hair blowing in the breeze out on the decking just next to the hall.
His assumption was that it was Panacea, she had been pacing around the building for days now. He inhaled deeply expecting to have to be able to calm the girl down, 'heartbreak is the most tender thing,' he thought as he exhaled. However as he did he realised the scent from the woman outside it wasn't Panacea. In confusion he paced forwards out onto the decking, the woman was looking out over the slums she didn't acknowledge his presence and just kept staring.
He took several steps before she broke the silence, "Samos," She whispered as the wind blew past the Shadow.
The old man took a breath in as the woman turned to face him, he knew who she was he just couldn't believe that it was actually her, "I knew we Sages were good but resurrection," He paused as he shuffled forwards on his wooden sandals, "That is new to me." He grabbed the woman's hand and gently kissed it after which he pulled a long wooden stick from his waistcoat and inhaled through the end. He smoothly blew out the green smoke at the woman who turned slowly back to the same green essence that he had blown.
"You know as well as I that it is impossible Samos," The woman spoke again in an incredibly upper class accent as if she had come from the aristocracy of Haven.
The Shadow clasped hold of the railing keeping him from falling off the roof of the building, "What is it that you want? Epione."
"You, like I, must feel the presence which has made itself home in this place, there is a new great one."
The old man's face scrunched up into a scowl, "There is no such nonsense as a great one!"
"Please Samos, you must not be so cynical," The woman demanded to him as she began to glow in the most magnificent green.
"Cynicism is not the same as realism, you of all people should know who not to trust," The man ranted.
"No, I know you…" The woman began but was cut off by the old man.
"You know nothing of me," He shouted at the woman as he turned away from the woman.
"That is not true, you know that we are linked through the eco flowing through our veins," The woman exclaimed whilst she turned into a smoky green figure.
The old man sighed as he went to face the woman again but she had disappeared into thin air. He simply turned to walk back inside the building but as he did a rather teary Panacea came out onto the balcony, "Child are you okay?"
"Oh Samos, I didn't see you," She paused trying to wipe the tears from her eyes, she sniffled as the old man opened his arms, she collapsed into them. She held herself up against him for a few seconds before holding herself up by her own strength. "I don't understand where has he gone?" She asked him punching the wall of the building.
Samos did not reply he merely wandered towards the edge of the rooftop looking down at the busy street below, even in the dead of night Haven never slept. "Look at these people, they move but we do not know their intentions, we only know their inevitable end point." He turned to Panacea scooping up a handful of dust in the process, "However you like I have a gift for this type of thing," he rubbed his hands together creating a green aura before opening his hands exposing a fully formed flower, "Even the dust that swirls in the air carries the essence of existence, use it to your advantage." He smiled.
"What does that even mean?" She asked wiping the tears from the corner of her eyes.
"Why don't you sleep for now? In the morning I suggest you visit the forest, go there and feel the essence that passes through you, I think it's time," He told her as he held out her hand she reached out to grab it in doing so she fell into the deepest of sleeps the likes of which she never imagined that she could fall into.
elif rieht fo esruoc elohw eht dna, noitareneg fo edom rieht, snoitidnoc lanretxe rednu roivaheb rieht, ygolohprom rieht fo weiv fo tniop eht morf stnalp fo erutan lareneg eht dna sretcarahc evitcnitsid eht redisnoc tsum eW – sutsarhpeohT
A cough rang out through the room which was quickly followed up with a frantic gasping for breath, a set of purple glowing eyes pierced the darkness. A loud scream echoed through the air with streaks of lightening shooting around the room arcing off the metallic objects.
The coat of the person and their eyes lit up making them perfectly visible through the darkness, their metal eye glowing making them growl as they caught their image in the metal which lined one wall. Their sharpened teeth shot out of their mouth as they bit clean through a pipe sending steam shooting out everywhere or at least it looked like steam however as the lightening arced around the room the steam aligned with it.
Soon after an alarm rang out with a red flashing light, "Oxygen breach, security personnel respond," A loudspeaker bellowed in a robotic rerecorded voice. The person stood up clutching what was left of the pipe in their left hand, quickly the lightening stopped arcing. They corrected their long flowing jacket and brushed their hair behind their ears, followed by a swipe from their left hand ramming the pipe back into the hole that it had come out of, the metal sparked as it connected back with the other pipes as if it was being welded.
The figure sighed walking over to the intercom on the wall, "Kage, it's me, I've fixed the breach, how's he doing?" the familiar voice of Valetta spoke through the pitch black room.
"Which one? Preacher or the other one?" Kage replied in a gruff voice crackling through the ancient hardware.
"His name is Ortz and he is of the utmost importance, so yes. How is he?" She demanded trying to repress the darkness which was attempting to consume her vision.
"Yes ma'am," He stammered before finding himself again, "He's unconscious but stable, did you want to see him?"
"Of course I fucking do," She shouted before smashing her fist into the speaker and pulling the door across showering the area in light. She took a step out into the old steel lined corridor, with a few port holes which didn't look like they led anywhere along with pipes running the length of the ceiling.
There were not many people in the corridor which suited Valetta nicely; she covered her fake eye with a few strand of her hair making it almost invisible to those who did not look intently. She rounded a corner to what looked like an old hanger, its huge open space had a range of men working on some beat up old vehicles made merely of scaffolding with an engine and some sprockets bolted on.
A tall man stood out standing upon a platform overlooking the hanger, he had his right arm in a sling across his body covered slightly by a trench coat, he had a long running scar creeping down the side of his face glancing off his right eye as if he had experienced a blast of some sort.
"Where have you been?" The man spoke in a rough voice trying to overcome the rasp that had been delivered to him through the laceration on his throat.
"I don't answer to you," Valetta shouted at the man as she walked through the door beneath him.
The man inhaled deeply through his nose following Valetta jumping off the platform landing with a thud, "I asked you a question girl!" he said following her with a quickened pace, eventually grabbing her by the arm with his one good hand.
"Get off me!" She struggled trying to escape his vicelike grip.
"Tell me!" He growled sparking her wrist with his hand. She screamed in pain with smoke rising off of the wound that he had burnt into her skin. He chuckled, "It smells like burning flesh." He paused to admire his work before continuing to burn the wound, "Should I stop?"
She nodded wincing from the pain smelling the burning that was coming from her wrist. Continuing to wriggle she felt the feeling of consumption burn through her worse than the wound she had on her wrist. She felt more and more angry, her nails grew tenfold in length arcing as they grew, her hair turned a deep purple and her eyes became blacker than the darkest of pits.
"You really wanna know?" she grinned feeling the wound begin to seep with the black toxic goo, the fear crept across the man's face, "I've been secretly using your compound, and guess what?" She said calmly as she clenched her fist a split second later the man flew backwards across the room smashing him through the door back into the hanger, "I kinda like it." She clambered over the man grabbing him by the scruff of his neck lifting him off his feet, "You ever want to get hold of me again, I will end your pathetic life," She said throwing him towards the rear of the hanger, "Now get the fuck out and if you come back I will kill you!" Her small frame stood over the motionless man who lay sprawled out beneath her; he eyes pierced his soul like a flaming arrow burning a hole in his heart, "Open the damn door!" She exclaimed, her metal eye glowing a deep purple illuminating the man on the floors cowering face.
She dragged the man to his feet like a crying child he could not look her in the eye, his vision was fixed by the purple orb that glowed burning the arrow deep within him. The door opened on the large hanger. The light, sand and dust flowed into the hanger with a flesh tearing ferocity, the tall man stood in the centre of the colossal opening like a child on the cusp of birth.
"You pathetic waste of human remains," She spat at the man, pushing him from behind out into the winds, tearing his cape around his body, he quickly became one with the blend of white and tan that swirled in the endless silicon abyss.
Valetta watched as the man walked out into the dust, she could feel the dust cling to her skin engraining into the deep crevices like a rat hiding from the rabid dog. Her left hand raised to signal the closing of the door, she watched the last light from the outside world faded leaving only the darkened remains of the unnatural light from the great precursor beast.
"Is he ready to be unleased?" She asked a man clad in a faceless mask who was stood on a high platform behind her.
"Not yet but his exposure tolerance is formidable," He paused causing her to look over her shoulder her purple eye just about visible over the rad trench coat that draped over her frame, his pause was quickly brokered by a dipping of his head followed by a quiet whisper, "Ma'am."
"Good, maybe he will have some use," She grinned turned back towards the tunnel which led to Ortz' chamber.
.noinipo si else gnihtyreve: ecaps ytpme dna smota tpecxe stsixe gnihtoN – sutircomeD
The smell of the smog filled air of the cities air clung to the back of her lungs as she gracefully awoke, her eyes were crusted over with the particles which filled the air. She brushed back her hair removing most of the dust from her fair skin, forcing her eyes open they lit up a bright white with piercing green streaks flashing through her iris.
She sat up moving towards the edge of her bed feeling the fur of the small creature sniffing at the base of her bed, "Today's the day boy," she stroked him from head to tail, his spines had begun to sprout from his shoulders with a set upon set of large teeth like a shark with fur.
They spent minutes looking into each other's eyes connecting like a cable had been connected between two pylons. She stood up and grabbed her clothes sliding her trousers on her toned legs and then placing her blouse over her bra, placing each button carefully through its corresponding hole. After she was done she placed her boots on and grabbed her coat pulling the collar up and pulling the scarf which she had donned in the desert up around her face.
Opening the door carefully she stepped out into the empty corridor which lead into the main mess hall where a lone man sat, his back was draped in a red scarf almost like a cape. She tried to sneak across the room but his razor sharp hearing picked up on her as her boots squeaked on the polished floor.
"Where are you going?" He asked her in his gravelly voice, taking a deep breath in from his cigar and then blowing it over in the direction. She froze on the spot hoping that he would simply let her slide if she didn't reply but he just flicked the ash off the end of his cigar snuffing the thing out in the process. "Ah crap, well I'll finish that off later," he told himself as he walked over to the woman and looked her in the eyes. "Well?" He stood up straight attempting to look intimidating but it wasn't working on her, she tried to turn away but he grabbed her arm.
'Bad move' she thought as she swung her fist around connecting with the left side of his jaw, her ring colliding with him first before the force of her fist swung through knocking his weight off balance. This sudden jolt made him tumble sideways letting go of her arm and standing with his hands up in a fighting stance.
"Torn, if you don't let me leave, I'll tear your throat out," She told him not bothering to get herself into a stance to defend herself, instead choosing to turn and walk away.
"No, you're not leaving," He told her sternly standing in front of her path, "We lost four men whilst you were away with the new guy."
"His name is Ortz, now as I said get out of my way!" She shouted punching the man in the chest sending him flying away from her, before he could get up she closed the gap and stood over him with a glowing green ball in one hand. "I could take your life in a heartbeat right now but I'm not going to, think about it I just gave you a second chance."
A scoff rang through the room which drew the attention of the two combatants, "Will you two stop quarrelling," The green afroed man demanded looking over the two helping Torn to his feet, "Now you listen to me, she is not one of your regular grunts who will bend to your will, she is on a special mission for me, to the forest, I need to get some information on how the metal heads are getting closer to the city and how we can be better prepared for the baron's ineptitude."
Torn just nodded as the woman left the room and then the building but as she boarded a zoomer she felt a tugging at her boot, she looked down to see the pup tugging at her opened boot laces. She then turned her attention to the rear of the zoomer which had a several bags on. She examined the largest one redistributing the contents into the smaller bags and then placed the pup in the largest sack.
The small creature was silenced as the engines were fired up and the zoomer lifted into the air.
I hope you enjoyed this most recent chapter and will continue to support the story going forwards until the next time….PEACE!