//------------------------------// // Brink: Da Boo Dee Da Boo Dai // Story: Sons of Damas // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// The bar brawl proved exceptionally therapeutic for Jak, letting him vent a lot of built up stress and strain in a situation where his life wasn't actually in danger and nothing serious hung on the outcome, where it genuinely didn't matter if he won or lost. While he did win, the effect was so obvious that Barter stated flat out that he'd arrange for future such brawls any time Jak stopped by needing it, and even offer prizes for the winners. Jak was rather grateful for the offer, and made a mental note to avail himself of it if time permitted and he felt the need. It was amazing how much better he felt just from smashing a chair over someone's head. With the supplies in hand, the group returned to the ship to head to wherever the coordinates indicated. However, due to a shortage of Light Eco within the Eco Seeker, they were forced to change course elsewhere to an abandoned research rig of the Aeropans, in the hopes some Light Eco could be found there in liquid or solid form, as infusion in energy state from Daxter was ruled out due to the excess of Dark Eco in the environment. As Jak flew the Hellcat towards the rig once the Ship came to a halt, Keira had something to say over the comm, having left to examine the rig before them. "It's fascinating," she murmured. "There's an excavation here that goes deep into the planet. I wonder if-Yikes!" The communication cut off in static. "Keira!" Jak yelled out, gunning the engines to get to the rig. Once inside, Shining and Daxter had to physically restrain Jak as he started to charge forward, signs of change flowing over his body as he struggled. "Easy there, Jak!" Daxter warned. "You don't want to change and explode or anything!" "But...Keira!" Jak called out worriedly. "She's bound to be fine!" Shining snapped back. "She probably just-" "Jak, you there?" Keira called through the comms. "Sorry about before. I accidentally triggered the controls to an elevator, and it dropped down the shaft faster than I expected before shutting off. It caught me off guard and I dropped my communicator...which fell a good way after me. Took me a bit to repair it." Jak managed to relax, breathing a sigh of relief. "Don't scare me like that," he gasped out. "I thought you'd...never mind. Where are you? We'll come get you." "I'm not sure where, exactly, and my own path back has been blocked off," Keira countered. "But if we keep going deeper, we should meet up somewhere near the bottom, right?" "Hopefully," Shining spoke up, deciding to cut off Jak's worries. "Keep the comm open, okay? Don't want Jak going nutso cause he's worried about you." "Hey!" Jak complained. "I do not go nutso!" Keira giggled softly. "Whatever you say guys. I'm going to see what I can find." As Jak and the others made their way in, the facility echoed with the sounds of their steps. The corridors were wide, high, and vaulted, consoles lining the walls when the path was solid, equipment when they were forced to leap across suspended containers over the few deep pits. Before long, they reached a wide, round chamber with a large button in the center of the floor, a sealed gate at the opposite end, and a Precursor Totem off to the side. "That button's wired to the gate," Daxter mused softly as he approached it, "but...it's not Aeropan tech. It's definitely Precursor." Despite revelations, the term 'Precursor' was still used to refer to the things built by those who'd constructed the world. It was just more comfortable that way. "New Totem," Jak pointed out as he approached it. "New power," Shining agreed. Blue Eco surged out of the Totem, through Shining, through Jak, and then swirled between the two of them. When it passed, Shining put his hoof to his horn. "That was...tingly," he mused softly. "G-guys!" Daxter called out from his place on the button in the center of the room. "Company!" Two large monkey-mutants - similar to those they'd faced at Far Drop, but showing more crystalline formations on their bodies - burst out of vents to charge at the group. Before the others could react, light flared around Jak...and all three of them were on the other side of the open door, the door closing behind them, sealing the creatures in. "Did...did you just teleport us?" Shining asked in confusion. "I...I think so," Jak answered carefully, feeling the shape of the new power inside him. "I...I don't think that's how the technique originally worked, but...it interacted with your natural teleportation ability, and..." He shrugged. "Now...not sure how it works." "We'll figure it out," Daxter promised. "Though...I wanna try something." He stepped back a bit. "It seemed to trigger in response to danger..." Without warning, he scooped up a sharp pointed chunk of masonry and hurled it at Jak's face. Just before it hit, Jak vanished, appearing behind Daxter and clutching him around the neck. Jak quickly dropped his friend. "What just happened?" Shining's eyes lit up. "Jak, the new ability must have interacted with the Time Freeze power of your Light Form and my teleportation spell to create a combat fast-warp skill, letting you warp out of the way of an incoming strike as long as you have enough Blue Eco stored to do so! Like what you do in your Shadow form!" Daxter coughed a few times as he rubbed his neck. "That's awesome! Do it again! Only with less throat grabbing this time!" Chuckling, Jak focused on the new ability and looked up at a point nearby, before warping the three of them there.