We're coming up to parts of the fic that I've had written for...literal years. I'm very excited.
Happy reading!
Seem was ready.
She stood tall, back straight, Precursor armor a little too big for her young body. Two gourds of green eco strapped around her waist, though no weapons. She had no dark eco.
She wouldn't need it where she was going.
With everything ready, Seem stared into the darkness ahead of her. She had only ever teleported short distances: a few feet here and there, across a room, down a flight of stairs. But this time…
She didn't even know where she was going, exactly. But she knew that she could use her dark eco to teleport, and she could almost…feel that the eco wanted to help her. It would guide her where she needed to be.
She hoped.
She inhaled slowly, trying to visualize the spot she'd seen in her vision. A cave, with dark eco littering the ground, the feeling of death surrounding her in a shroud.
With an exhale, she stepped forward. The familiar spinning, floaty feeling came over her; she felt like she was falling into an abyss. She kept her mind focused on the cave, ignoring the unsteady feeling.
Finally, her feet hit solid ground.
She glanced around. She wasn't in a cave, but she could feel the pressure of dark eco all around her. Crystalline dark eco spreading along the ground, pools of it in between the rocks. It seemed to hang in the very air itself, seeping into her bones and making her feel uneasy.
As Seem leapt over the rocks, her feet deft and solid, she felt her heart pounding in her chest. The metalhead nest was crawling with dozens of monsters, their claws and teeth ready to destroy anything that dared challenge them.
She could sense Ionna's energy, deep within some caves. A normally incandescent light, now dim and flickering.
But it was there.
Fighting would not do well for Seem; as much as she might wish she could, she didn't have the kind of power Ionna did, to pull the eco and use it as a weapon, raw and powerful. Instead, she chose a different method.
Seem let the dark eco spark over her skin, the familiar tingle settling in, staring at her hands until she could see through them.
Stealth and secrecy would always be her way. It was the way of dark eco, a deep and powerful shadow. She crept over the rough terrain and followed the feeling of light eco.
The beasts did not notice her. Occasionally, her foot would dislodge a rock, causing the metalheads nearby to look up in alarm or curiousity. However, they could not sense her; to them, Seem was just another monster made of dark eco.
Finally, Seem reached the cave where she'd sensed light. There, slumped against the rocks, was Ionna, her eyes closed. She was covered with blood and dark eco, her breathing labored. Seem could see some gashes across her torso and a nasty bite mark on her forearm.
"Ionna? Ionna, it's me." Seem reached down and pulled off one of the gourds. She uncapped it and poured it into a cloth. She shook her friend, hoping it would wake her. "Ionna!"
"S-Seem?" Her eyes opened, blue pools of light trying to focus. "Wh-where are you…?"
"Oh, right." Seem let the dark eco slide off of her skin, as easily as slipping a jacket off. "I'm here, Ionna. I brought green eco, to heal you."
Seem pulled her forward and brought the green eco to her pale skin. Ionna's injuries started to knit themselves back together, though the green eco only did so much. Deeper gashes still oozed blood, and there were still bruises everywhere.
"What happened?" Seem asked urgently. Ionna coughed a bit, then gripped Seem's shoulder. "Ionna?"
"...We were losing." Her voice was raspy and rough. "I told them all to retreat and then…I got the metalheads away."
Seem's eyes widened. "They abandoned you here?"
"No, I…" Ionna winced as she struggled to stand. Seem hooked Ionna's arm around her shoulders. "I made them leave. I didn't want anyone to die."
Seem gave her another bit of green eco, and she sounded stronger. "Ugh…Did Damas make it back to the city?"
"Don't worry about him," Seem said harshly. "You're injured, we need to get you back to the Temple."
"N-no." Ionna shook her head. "Take me to the palace."
Seem hesitated. "...We'll decide when we get out of here," she said finally. "I have to get closer to the city walls, I think, to teleport us both."
Seem pulled Ionna closer and tugged on the dark eco again. It was easier than usual, she realized, to make herself and Ionna invisible. She handed Ionna the bottle of green eco.
"Keep healing yourself," she whispered. "I'll get us out of here."
Ionna gave a weak chuckle. "I worked so hard to keep you in that temple," she said. "I never would have imagined that you left it on your own."
Seem didn't know how to respond, but it didn't matter. Ionna was applying the green eco again, and this time it seemed to help more. Seem led her out of the cave and along the path.
With every step, Ionna gained a little bit more strength.
And with every step, Seem absorbed a little bit more dark eco.
The minute the boys left the palace, Damas knew they were going into the desert.
He wasn't foolish. He knew disobedience like the back of his hand. He'd been a father once.
Once.
The thought slammed into his heart, like a knife twisting deep. No, he mentally corrected himself, he had not been a father once. He was still a father.
He paced along the throne room windows, his eyes flickering across the Wasteland. He could see most of the desert from up here, and he felt a rush of anxiety. He hadn't seen a vehicle leave the garage; had he been wrong about Jak and Daxter? Had he simply missed them?
The elevator behind him rumbled to life. With surprisingly soft footsteps, Sig came up beside him. "Enjoying the view?" he asked.
"...I'm keeping an eye out for Jak." Damas tilted his chin up. "I fear he and Daxter may have gone looking for trouble again."
"That sounds about right." Sig folded his arms and squinted out into the desert. "You want me to go out and get 'em?"
Damas hummed thoughtfully. "We'll wait. There is the remote possibility that Jak decided to actually listen to my words this time." He put his hands behind his back. "Kleiver says all the buggies are accounted for."
"I wouldn't put it past him to go walkin' around the desert," Sig commented. "Damn fool doesn't know when to quit. 'Course, that's why he's the hero, I guess."
Damas' lips quirked up. "As always, take the good with the bad." His expression sobered as he paced along the pool of water. "Which reminds me. What state is Haven City in right now?"
"A terrible one." Sig leaned against the water wheel. "There's some kind of power struggle going on. But while the big bosses are fightin' over who gets to run the place, everybody and their mother is trying to tear it down." He raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care? Thought you wanted to stay the hell away from the city."
They'd talked about it at one of the council meetings, right after Praxis was killed. Kleiver had pointed out that Damas was the rightful heir to Haven's throne, to which the king had made it clear: he had no desire to rule Haven again. And that was that.
"Hmph, trust me," Damas snorted, "I do. But once we get the Eco Sphere, we'll have to go down into the catacombs. I'd like to know what the fight will be like."
Sig nodded in understanding. "Well, it's not gonna be easy, I can tell you that. The catacombs are under the palace, which is currently fallen and it ain't gettin' back up. There's a metalhead nest forming in the agricultural district—"
Damas' eyes widened. "Inside the city?" he interrupted.
"Yep. They took over the farmland in the western side." Damas gave him an incredulous look, so he added, "I guess they never managed to get the shield wall back up after Kor brought it down. Left them as sitting ducks."
Damas closed his eyes and shook his head. "Absurd. They should have…well. I suppose it doesn't matter now." He opened his eyes and nodded. "What else?"
"Still some KG bots floating around," Sig continued. "But they're easy enough to take care of. And who knows what the hell you'll find if you go down into the catacombs." He snorted. "Probably a lot of Precursor garbage. Uh, don't tell my mama I said that."
Damas rubbed his chin, thinking. "...Jak is insistent that he be the one who goes down there. I'm not sure I like that idea, if only because he is a newcomer and so young."
"I think you're underestimating Jak," Sig said slowly. "He is the one who took out Kor, after all."
A fact that both bolstered Damas' confidence and wounded his pride. "I'm aware. But this isn't just about protecting the city. It's about the entire planet."
They lapsed into silence, before Sig shrugged. "Well, you're fighting a losing battle trying to keep Jak out of the fray. The smart thing to do would be to send some folks with him." He grinned and clenched his fist. "Hell, send me! I'm always up for a run with those kids."
Damas smiled slightly. "I'll think about it. I was thinking…I could also—"
His musings were cut off by a purple streak falling across the sky. Both he and Sig immediately went to the window, eyes scanning the desert.
"It landed somewhere over there," Sig said, pointing. It wasn't far from the city; near the first range of volcanic mountains. "You see anything?"
Damas narrowed his eyes. All he could see was the ship that had crashed onto the sand, nothing but a purple dot.
"There's another one!" Sig exclaimed, gesturing towards the sky.
Damas looked up. It was heading straight for the same place, and there was a third behind it. Sig whistled. "Damn."
Damas couldn't see much, but all three of those ships were landing in the same area. Whatever they were doing, it was intentional. These were not just random scouts.
His chest tightened. There was no way that was a coincidence. He knew, he just knew, that Jak and Daxter were somewhere in that flood of Dark Makers.
Sig seemed to have the same idea, because he quickly said, "What do we do?"
Damas exhaled. "What do you think we do? We go after them."
"That's it! We're not friends anymore!"
Jak rolled his eyes and then fired his scattergun again. These Dark Makers took a lot more bullets than metalheads, and already there were five or so surrounding them.
"I mean it!" Daxter shrieked, continuing his rant in Jak's ear. "Our friendship is over! We are now mortal enemies!"
Jak ducked behind a rock and switched to the grenade launcher. He fired at one of the Dark Makers. The explosion shattered the creature's shield, but did no actual damage. Jak swore.
"You're not gonna be the best man at my wedding, you're not gonna be the godfather of my kids, you're not gonna be a cosigner on any of my loans! And no more taggin' along on any of my adventures, got it?!"
"Dax, you said the same thing the last time we played poker together." Jak switched to the blaster, hoping it would do a bit more damage. No such luck, since all it did was chip away at the shield again. "And every time we go through the sewers, and when we used to collect shells on Sentinel Beach."
"That was my conch shell, you jerk! I saw it first!" Daxter let out a loud yelp. "Behind you!"
Jak quickly ducked and shot behind him, running forward. He didn't bother to worry about whether his shot had connected or not.
"You just had to go visit Mount Prays-A-Lot, didn't you?!" Daxter didn't even slow down in his complaints. "We coulda been taking a nap, or swimming, or drinking, but now we're going to die out here!"
"Would it help if I said I was sorry?" Jak shouted irritably.
"No, not really!"
Jak switched to the vulcan barrel as he ran. The Peacemaker could take these guys out for sure, but with such limited ammo, it was better to save that for last.
Jak took aim and shot at one of the Dark Makers. The rapid-fire bullets shattered the shield and took out the monster. It evaporated into dark eco, quickly zooming into Jak's body. "Oh, yeah! The vulcan's the winner."
Daxter scoffed. "Yeah, until you run outta ammo!"
Dax had a point. Rapid-fire was great, but it came at a cost. He definitely didn't have enough bullets to take out all the Dark Makers. And the five that had been surrounding them had quickly ballooned to two dozen.
Jak shot another one, feeling the zing of dark eco as it fell and dissipated. He shuddered at the feeling, raw and powerful, but kept shooting. Another Dark Maker down, another round of dark eco.
The Vulcan clicked empty. So much for saving the Peacemaker for last.
Jak spun around and, with a thundering boom, the Peacemaker blasted into one of the Dark Makers. It destroyed that one, and the arc of the lightning spread to two other ones.
More dark eco sliding over Jak's skin.
He emptied the Peacemaker, taking out two or three with each shot. By the time he was out of Peacemaker ammo, he thought there had to be only a few left over.
He was wrong.
"Really?!" Daxter shrieked. "How many of these guys are there?"
By Jak's estimate, there were now about 10 left. He glanced down at his morph gun and then flipped it to put it away.
Time to put his training into action.
Jak exhaled slowly and reached inside himself for some light eco. He clapped his hands and changed.
The eco sparked inside of his chest, warm and fuzzy, and he reached for a thread of yellow eco. It crackled up his arm and burst out of his fingertips. The blast disintegrated the shield and the Dark Maker it hit.
Daxter cheered, but Jak didn't waste his time celebrating. Shooting took a lot of eco; he would run out long before they destroyed all the Dark Makers. He glanced behind him and bit his lip.
"Dax. You should use the JetBoard and go back to the city." He shot another one of the Dark Makers and winced as he absorbed the dark eco. Daxter frowned at him.
"Puh-lease. Like you'd ever survive without me." His claws gripped Jak's shoulder tighter. "Let's get 'em, partner!"
Jak nodded and cracked his knuckles. "Alright. Let's do this!"
He pulled on red eco this time, letting it pulse through his muscles. He flung himself at the nearest Dark Maker, shattering the shield with a single punch and slamming the creature aside with a kick. It dissipated with a shriek, and Jak moved onto the next one, dark eco blobs trailing after him.
He took another one out the same way, watching its body go flying across the sand. He shot a blast of eco at the next one. He growled, a sharp pain shooting up his side.
Well, Ionna had warned him not to overdue it. He should've learned by now.
Instead of stopping, Jak slammed his fist into yet another Dark Maker. The shield cracked, but by now, there wasn't enough eco to strengthen his hit. Jak spun around and ducked behind another rock, breathing heavily.
Time's up, he thought. Daxter glanced down at him worriedly. "Got any brilliant ideas?" he asked nervously. "'Cause, uh, we could use one of those right about now."
"I…I don't know, Dax." Jak shot the blaster from behind the rock, but he knew it wouldn't do any damage. "Maybe we should run for it."
Not that it would do any good. Those things could outrun him, even on the JetBoard. But with no ammo, and no light eco, the only option would be to use dark eco.
It wouldn't work. Those things were made of dark eco; they were resistant to it. Jak could tell it wouldn't be enough to take them all out. He debated turning invisible, like he had before, but he got the feeling they'd figure out the ruse. They'd already seen him; it was too late for that.
The loud roar of an engine interrupted his thoughts. "Damas," he breathed, letting his head fall back in relief. Daxter whooped.
"The Sand King comes through again! If only the folks in Haven were this reliable."
The Slam Dozer skidded to a stop, spraying sand up into the air. An electric blast from Sig's Peacemaker crackled above Jak's head and slammed into three of the Dark Makers. Jak ran for the buggy, the dark eco from their bodies right on his tail.
"Hey there, chili pepper," Sig greeted, firing another round. "You seemed like you were in a tough spot."
"Take the gun," Damas ordered shortly. Jak and Daxter both grimaced at his tone of voice. Clearly, he was not happy that they'd decided to go against his orders. "Now."
Jak didn't argue, instead just hopping up into the back and taking the controls for the gun. He shot down the rest of the Dark Makers, while Damas hit the gas. They spun around and headed back towards Spargus.
"Man, did you guys show up at the right time!" Daxter leaned forward on Jak's shoulder. "Our boy here got us into a nasty spot. You know how he is."
"Yes," Damas replied tersely, jerking the wheel, "I do."
With the Dark Makers no longer chasing them, Damas hit the brakes. Sig swayed forward with the force, while both Jak and Daxter went toppling over. The king got out and beckoned them to do the same.
"Oh, boy," Sig muttered. "You're in for it now, cherries."
Seem tried to convince Ionna to head back to the Mountain Temple, but Ionna insisted on heading for the palace.
"I have to check in with Damas," she explained. She was still exhausted, but definitely better than she had been an hour ago. "That battle was… rough."
"That's why you should go home and rest," Seem argued, but Ionna would hear none of it. She went to the palace, still gripping Seem's shoulder for support. The elevator rattled to life as it took them up.
The palace was unusually empty. No guards or soldiers, no servants or citizens. Just empty halls. The pair went to the throne room, despite the air of unease that surrounded the place.
Damas was sitting slumped on the throne, staring ahead with unseeing eyes. He wasn't wearing his armor anymore; instead, he was wearing the simple tunic that he wore underneath. His crown sat lopsided on his head, and he had made no attempt to straighten it.
Ionna stepped forward, her bloody boots squeaking against the stone floor. Seem followed, though she was much quieter.
"Ionna…?" Damas jolted up in his throne, astounded. "Ionna! You're alive!"
"Of course I'm alive," she replied with a weak smile. "I'm made of stern stuff, Damas."
Before she could say anything else, he had launched himself across the room and engulfed her in a bear hug. "I'm so glad you're okay," he said. "You have no idea...Yasir's gone, we almost lost Praxis...I thought you were dead, too."
"Damas," she gasped, "that's very sweet, but I can't breathe."
"Sorry." He let her go, stepping back and beaming. "How did you…?"
"Seem." Ionna gestured behind her, where the smaller monk was standing, her hands at her sides and looking at her shoes. "Praxis wasn't kidding, Seem's powers are something else."
Damas went to Seem and put his hands on her shoulders. "Seem, I can't believe—ugh!"
Before he could even say a full sentence, Seem's hand shot out and gripped his neck. He gave a raspy gasp of air as she squeezed, her fingers burning his skin with dark eco. She was glaring at him, teeth bared, eyes a violent red. Her voice rang out, clear and dark, guilt personified.
"You left her there to die."
She squeezed his windpipe even harder, cutting off his air. He grabbed at her wrist to pry her off of him, but she was strong. Unnaturally so.
With a single movement, she threw him across the room, into the wall opposite them. He slammed into the wall and landed on the floor in a heap. He rolled over and started to stand up, but Seem was quick. She dove for him, and he felt the crackle of dark eco swirl around her.
She pinned him to the floor, eco at her fingertips, and Damas just barely managed to seize her wrists and keep her away. But he wouldn't be able to hold her off for long.
Her eyes were dark and empty, reflecting his face back at him. He swallowed as he struggled to keep Seem away, trying to avoid looking into his own eyes.
He'd left her there to die.
He'd left them all there to die. Could he really blame Seem, when he had hurt so many people?
Why should he survive, when so many others hadn't?
Damas was spared having to make the decision on whether or not to fight back. A blast of light hit Seem from behind and sent her toppling over Damas' head. He sat up, blinking away the brightness.
Ionna was panting, leaning heavily against a pillar. As Seem stood up, Ionna said, "Go back to the Temple. Siphon off the eco and then go rest."
Seem blinked at her, and her eyes were back to their normal red. "I…I…"
"Say nothing," Ionna said firmly. She reached out and gripped Seem's bicep. She led the girl to the exit of the throne room. "It's no one's fault, no apologies are needed, but you must go back to the Temple. Quickly."
Seem nodded shakily. Ionna watched as she headed through the empty corridors, hurrying out to the city. Ionna gripped the door frame and sighed.
There was a sudden, metallic clatter. She turned around to see that Damas had torn the crown from his head and hurled it across the room. He buried his face in his hands, leaving the crown lying abandoned on the floor.
"What did you think you were doing?"
There was something in the tone of voice that Damas used that made both Jak and Daxter flinch. Practiced from a lifetime of ruling and a short time as a father, he supposed. At least he hadn't lost his touch.
"What did I tell you earlier? Sometimes, you have to wait, or you'll never win the fight." He eyed them up, as if trying to decide how best to punish them. "You were explicitly told to remain in Spargus. Disobeying an order can have devastating consequences."
"Dax and I are fine." Jak straightened his back defiantly. "I told you, you don't need to worry about us."
"It seems that's all I ever do regarding you two," Damas snapped back. "You were told to stay put, you should have stayed put!"
"I'm not an animal," Jak shot back. "You can't just set me down somewhere and tell me to stay."
"Listen, kid," Sig began, but Damas held up his hand, silencing him. The king glared at them.
"You were nearly killed." Sometimes, foolish children needed a stark reminder of what was at stake. "If Sig and I had not arrived when we did, you would be nothing more than corpses in the desert."
Jak rolled his eyes. "We can take care of ourselves. We've been doing it our whole lives."
"You are no longer just yourselves." Damas folded his arms imperiously. "I thought I made this clear! You are a Wastelander, one under the protection of Spargus. Out here, we do what we must to watch out for those in our care. And we do not put others in danger with our actions." He gestured towards Sig, who looked very much like he didn't want to be involved. "What if Sig or myself had been injured? Or what if your foolish actions had gotten Daxter hurt?"
Jak's face blanched and he swallowed. "...I…I'd never hurt Daxter…"
Damas had hit a nerve, and like any good warrior, he recognized that fact. "Oh? Are you so sure? I recall a bet between yourself and Kleiver that had your friend as stakes. Be honest with yourself."
Jak's fists clenched and he looked away. "That was…"
"Hey!" Daxter grabbed Jak's scarf and swung forward so that he was inches away from Damas' face. He pointed a furry finger at the king. "Don't talk about stuff you don't know about, you hear?! Jak's my best pal, and he'd never, ever hurt me!"
Damas blinked in surprise. Daxter almost seemed angry, actually angry, something he'd never seen before. He recovered quickly from his shock. "Really? He's never put you in situations that are dangerous? He's never tried to—?!"
"Damas," Sig said tersely, "shut the hell up."
Damas stopped. Sig was looking directly at Jak.
Jak, who was shaking, fists clenched, eyes on the ground.
Jak, who seemed to be radiating dark eco.
The boy looked up and Damas saw his eyes. Dark and empty, nothing left of the blue he knew.
Burning fingers wrapped around his throat, blank eyes still filled with hatred.
Automatically, Damas stepped back, eyes wide.
"Jak." Sig gently gripped the boy's shoulder and squeezed. "You okay, Jak?"
"Jaaak!" Daxter completely forgot about Damas and jumped down to the ground to look up at his friend. "Aw, c'mon, buddy, we're all friends here! Right? Of course right!"
Jak blinked, and the darkness was gone. He stared, horrified, at Damas. For a single, tense moment, they just watched each other, waiting for the first move. Damas opened his mouth to ask if he was alright, all arguments forgotten.
And before Damas could speak, Jak turned around and bolted.
"Jak, wait!" He was off into the desert so quickly that Damas' words disappeared into the sands. "Jak!"
Daxter groaned. "Aw, c'mon!" he complained. "Now I gotta go out and get 'im!"
"No," Damas ordered severely. Daxter opened his mouth to argue back, but the king shook his head, his tone softening. "Please. I'll go get him, we just…we don't need anyone else in danger. You and Sig need to get back to Spargus, before more of the Dark Makers appear."
Daxter gave him a glare that was so very human-like, Damas almost commented on it. "Fine," Daxter snapped. "Only 'cause you know I hate the desert. And if anything happens to Jak, I'm taking it out on you!"
"Unless you plan on killing me, don't make such threats." Damas eyed Daxter carefully. "...Are you planning on killing me?"
"You'll wish you were so lucky," Daxter grumbled, climbing up to Sig's shoulder. "You'll live a nice, long life, Mr. Sand King, with me on your shoulder for every second of it. So you better bring Jak back safe, you hear?!"
Damas set his jaw. "You have my word," he said firmly. With that, and a nod at Sig, he turned and headed to find Jak.