//------------------------------//
// Spargus: Dark Inside 
// Story: Sons of Damas 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	The leaper lizard was rather easy for Jak to ride, even with Shining sitting in front of him in the saddle.  Not only could it jump high and run fast, it had small wings that allowed it to hover at the peak of its jump for a short distance.  While hunting the kangarats Kleiver had sent them after proved difficult as they were hard to spot and track, it did give them a chance to see the whole city.

Unlike Haven, Spargus was built almost entirely of stone, and the houses were spread further apart even when they were blocked together.  Many houses were also raised above the sandy ground, likely for extra ventilation during the heat of the day.  Between that, large windows, and the expanse of sky visible above, Spargus felt a great deal like Sandover to the trio.  The people were also a lot tougher looking than those in Haven, male and female, even more reminiscent of the time in the past when everyone worked for every mouthful.

"So...I'm not the only one feeling seriously nostalgic here, right?" Daxter asked as the leaper lizard snatched and swallowed the first kangarat.  "I mean, add a few bridges between houses and water instead of sand, and this place is Sandover all over again."

"Know what you mean," Jak agreed.  "It feels like...coming home."

"I actually like the change to sand," Shining commented.  "There's a lot more room for me to run in, so I'll have an easier time keeping up with you two."

"I mean, even the fashion is like home!" Daxter proclaimed, gesturing to some of the women walking by, their wardrobe plainly chosen to minimize heat retention while maximizing defensive parameters.  "It's just so...relaxing and refreshing, ya know?"

Neither Jak nor Shining had anything to say in response to this, so they remained silent.  The silence continued as they hunted down the other kangarats.  As they caught the last one, they saw a large metal construct that appeared to have somehow embedded itself into the ground.  Several people in what looked like ceremonial clothes of some sort were gathered around the device, performing some sort of ritual.

"Well these guys are different," Daxter muttered.  "What do ya think they're up to?"

"We could ask," Jak suggested, dismounting the leaper lizard and approaching.

"The arena shows all, Dark One," the monk spoke in a reedy voice as Jak got close.  "Hate haunts your eyes, writhing in the darkness within."

"Yeah," Jak allowed.  "I'm handling it."

"It will destroy you," the monk warned.  "Just as these Precursors destroyed themselves."  She - presumably, since the male monks weren't wearing shirts - stated, gesturing to the construct.

"That...doesn't look Precursor," Shining muttered.

"These artifacts are an abomination," she continued.  "One fell on the great volcano.  We sent an expedition to the mountain, but my monks never returned."

"If we're ever in the area, we'll see if we can find them and bring them - or word of their fate - back to you," Jak offered readily.

The monk turned to stare at him.  "...it seems the Arena does not reveal all as I thought," she murmured.  "Your rage and hate is great...but it is balanced inside of you.  You are its master, not its slave.  Perhaps...the remaking of the world can indeed be postponed."

"...how?" Jak asked.  "What is this?"  He gestured to the device.

Dark Eco energy leapt from his hand to the construct, and an interface port extended.  Drawn to it, he focused his energy into the device, slowly but steadily disabling its security program.  The monk tried to disturb him, but Shining held her back.  When he finished, the device reconfigured itself, presenting an Eco Crystal.

"Don't touch it!" the monk warned.  "Dark Eco!"

Undeterred, Jak removed the Dark Eco Crystal, undeterred by its energies as his body freely accepted them.

"Impressed now, aren't ya?" Daxter teased the monk.  "Go ahead, give him his props."

"Those are solid Eco Crystals," the monk murmured, amazed.  "It has been passed down through time that they power the greatest of Precursor technologies."  She paused, seeing the interface screen had returned, now displaying text of some sort.  "Strange...it speaks an ancient dialect.  The earliest Precursor forms.  Something about...reclaiming this unfinished world..."

"Those look like coordinates," Jak murmured.  "Like on the Time Ring..."

"It is picking up a very powerful signal..." the monk murmured worriedly.

Shining's eyes widened as he felt a tingle along his horn.  "Everyone get back!" he shouted, quickly backing away.

The construct leapt into the air, slowly seeming to swim upward before it exploded.

The monk turned to glare at Jak.  "Darkness cannot save us from darkness, hero.  You had best keep your distance from our efforts, for all our sakes."

"Hey!" Daxter complained.  "We've got more than just darkness!"  Another burst of Light Eco erupted from his palms.  "Well, assuming I can learn to control it any time soon."

The monk stared at Daxter for a time.  "Uncontrolled, the powers of our creators are more dangerous than those of our destroyers."  Saying no more, she left with the other monks.

Jak, Shining, and Daxter glanced at each other.  "Any idea what that was about?" Daxter asked worriedly.

"No clue," Jak countered.

"Me neither," Shining agreed.

After a time, Jak shrugged his shoulders and headed for the Leaper Lizard.  "Let's go see Kleiver about that ride he promised us," he offered.

Daxter and Shining quickly joined him as they raced for the city exit.





At the exit, they found Kleiver watching over several sand buggies of various size.  "Well, if it isn't the newbies," he greeted them blandly.

"Nice rides," Jak muttered, glancing over them.

"You like what you see?" Kleiver asked.  "We use these babies to make runs into the deep desert to retrieve Precursor artifacts.  Tough wheels for tough work."

Shining whistled appreciatively.  "Impressive."

"So which do we get to ride?" Daxter asked eagerly.

"Those are for the big boys," Kleiver sneered disparagingly.  "You can use that one."  He gestured to a much smaller vehicle, little more than a seat with wheels, an engine, and an empty frame.

"What a runt!" Daxter complained.

"Seems to fit you," Kleiver taunted.

"Never mind," Jak told Daxter before he could get too riled up.  "It's all we need."

"You seem confident," Kleiver murmured wickedly.  "Care to wager on a race?  Ya win, I'll let ya keep that vehicle for as long as you live."

"We, uh, don't have anything to wager," Shining pointed out.

"I'd say that rodent of yours is a bit bony," Kleiver pointed out, "but skinned and buttered he'd-"

Before Kleiver could finish talking, he found himself embedded in the inside of the city's outside wall, a severe pain in his sternum his only clue that he'd been hit.  Dark Jak then slammed into him, glowing blue and red as his claws stopped millimeters from Kleiver's eyes.

"So much as look at Daxter or Shining in a way I don't like again," Jak growled out, "and I'll hang you from the battlements by your own intestines!"

"Jak!" Shining called out worriedly.  "Remember what the monk said about controlling your anger!"

"I haven't gutted him yet!" Jak countered.

"Y-you wouldn't dare!" Kleiver barked out, struggling and failing to extract himself from the wall.  "Damas would cast you out-"

"I wouldn't bet on that," Jak growled back.  "After all...if I can kill you so easily, that means I'm strong and you're weak, doesn't it?  And the rule of Spargus...strength and survival is everything."  Jak leaned in close.  "And what does it say about your survival instincts if you cross me like that again, when you know what I'll do to you?"

Kleiver swallowed nervously, seeing no mercy or hesitation in the black pools that were Dark Jak's eyes.

"I'm glad we understand each other," Jak agreed, hopping down and yanking Kleiver from the wall before tossing him aside.  Reverting to normal, he walked over to continue checking out the buggy.