//------------------------------// // Spargus: Darkness Rising // Story: Sons of Damas // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Surprisingly enough, the portal dropped the trio right in the middle of the command center, practically on top of Samos, Ashelin, Onin, and Pecker. "Talk about lucky," Shining mumbled, letting Jak and Daxter off his back. To his surprise, Jak was still holding Errol's detached arm, and a Light Crystal fell out of it when he dropped it. "Convenient," he murmured, adding it to their stash. "Not as lucky as you think," Samos spoke up. "As soon as the Factory started to explode, Keira and Vin redirected any active portal activity in the area to here, on the off chance that's how you were going to get out in time." "...can always count on her..." Jak managed to say as he struggled to pull himself up. Samos promptly pushed Jak back down. "I don't care how small an amount of time we seem to have," he grumbled as he gathered his Green Eco. "Stop pushing yourself this hard! There are ways to handle these things without killing yourself in the process!" Jak nodded helplessly as Daxter gave the others the report of what happened. Once the discussion concluded, Jak was able to get to his feet. "So...now we need to get to the bottom of the Catacombs," he grumbled as he stabilized himself. "Before Errol manages to awaken the Dark Maker ship." Onin began waving her hands about, and Pecker translated. "Onin says that we are moving faster than time predicted, and we have more time to work with. The Dark Maker ship is not yet in position to make a move against this world...so we might just make it." "Which means you can take it easier!" Samos instructed Jak as Ashelin handed Jak and Shining Mass Inverter modifiers for their Peacemakers. "Rely a bit more on your weapons and a bit less on your body, alright? Save your strength!" "Will do," Jak promised, uncertain if he'd be able to keep it. As the trio made their way out of the command center, they received an emergency communication. "Jak, please help us!" Seem's voice echoed. "Errol is attacking the monk temple. He wants the secrets we have kept regarding the Dark Makers. Please hurry! If he learns what he seeks, he could undo this world." As the communication cut, Jak chuckled. "So much for taking it easy. I guess we know where we're going next." After a relaxing ride out to the desert in a carrier, the trio jumped into the Dune Hopper and made their way to the monk's temple, where they'd gone to reach the Precursor Statue that had granted Jak his previous two Light Jak abilities. As soon as they arrived, new enemies warped in. They were roughly humanoid in shape, covered entirely in green and black armor. Jak and the others immediately prepared for battle, only to discover that the new foes were able to generate shields and hurl Dark Eco projectiles the same way Jak could in his other forms, making them incredibly frustrating to deal with, especially four on three. By sheer luck, Shining discovered that the enemy shields - unlike Jak's - darkened towards red after taking several hits before shattering, causing the one generating the shield to become momentarily disoriented. With that tidbit, the strategy changed. The trio focused on gathering the enemies into a tight group, at which point Jak and Shining fired their Beam Reflexors into the middle, the shots ricocheting back and forth between the targets until the shields broke. The trio then charged in with their blades while the enemies were disoriented. The first group went down rapidly from that strategy, though more and more were found as the trio made their way deeper into the temple. Thankfully, Beam Reflexor's efficiency increased dramatically in the narrower passages where the strategy they'd used before weren't viable, making the new foes much easier to take down there, if more frightening when they leapt out without warning. Partway through, Daxter hesitated in front of a wall panel. "Hmm..." Approaching it, he knocked on it a few times. "Yo, Jak! I think it's hollow behind here! Think you can spare a Dark Blast to knock it down?" Jak took a few deep breaths to steady himself. "I think so..." he murmured. Focusing, he shifted his body to Dark mode before gathering the energy, then firing off the blast. It shattered the panel and kept going, revealing a new passageway. Jak immediately reverted back to normal. "Samos wasn't kidding..." he muttered, leaning on his gun. "We'll hold here for a time," Shining insisted firmly, watching Jak worriedly. After a few minutes, Jak straightened. "Alright. Let's go." The group continued deeper into the Temple, finding more such passages as they hunted down the groups of new enemies, pausing each time Jak needed to recover from firing off a Dark Blast. Each time, the break was shorter, showing Jak was starting to recover from what he'd put himself through. The Mass Inverter proved useful on occasion, as it altered gravity in the area, causing the enemy troopers to float in the air, unable to fight back. After a long, hard trek, the trio reached a new platform before the Precursor Statue, this one glowing with energy. "Guess that's another trial we cleared," Jak grumbled, stepping up to the platform. "You guess correctly, brave one," the statue's voice echoed as Shining stepped up beside him. "Once again, your heroism shall be rewarded. You show progress beyond expectations...but the strain upon your body from your efforts is plain to me. I shall repair the harm you have done to yourself once more, and grant you a new Light Power." Light Eco shot down, infusing both Jak and Shining. "This will help you to reach new places..." As the light faded, Jak found himself in Light form...with wings made of tendrils of Light spreading from his back. "...places only in your dreams." Jak stared at his wings for a time. "...whoa..." "You can say that again!" Daxter agreed. "Whoa..." Shining added, awed. Unable to resist the urge, Jak spread his wings wide and leapt to the air, exploring the parts of the Temple he couldn't reach before while the overflow of Light Eco from the Statue filled him. Following the path this presented, he found his way to where Seem had been hiding up in the rafters. Shining and Daxter teleported to his side as he approached. Seem, however, did not look entirely happy to see them. "Errol has learned to connect to the Dark Maker Ship," Seem stated, head hanging as they clutched an artifact. "If he can awaken its terrible cargo, he will unleash horrors beyond our deepest nightmares." "...I'm sorry," Jak apologized. "We came as soon as we got your communication-" "It is not your fault," Seem interrupted. "My own arrogance is to blame. I thought we could handle his assault, to better conserve your energies for the coming battles...by the time I sent the communications, he had already gotten what he wanted. Take no blame for yourselves." Seem lifted their head with a soft smile. "Besides, all is not yet lost. I hid the most important artifact from Errol." Seem released the artifact into the air, where it revealed itself to be a Time-Space map, like what had been installed in the vessel that took Jak to and from Sandover so long ago. "You three will save us..." Severely weakened, Seem collapsed backward. When Jak moved to help, they waved him off. "It's alright," Seem insisted. "Take the portal...I will be along in time..." Nodding, Jak turned, leading Shining and Daxter through the portal.