//------------------------------// // Interlude: Recovery // Story: Sons of Damas // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// Jak awoke slowly, his senses gradually returning bit by bit. The first thing he became aware of was a sensation of floating, and a light in his eyes. He groaned softly, blinking as he glanced back and forth without moving his head, which was too painful to do. His eyes caught sight of a blurry figure, small, fuzzy, and orangeish. "D...Dax...?" A familiar chuckle emanated from the figure. "Not quite, son, though he'll be nearly as happy as I am to hear your voice again." Jak's vision began to clear, and he saw the other colors of his father's fuzzy form, and his staff. "D-dad?" he gasped out. He tried to move, but his muscles refused to respond. "Don't," Damas chided quickly. "You're in no condition to move yet." He scampered a bit closer, to the edge of the pool of water Jak floated in, letting Jak see that he was back in Damas' tower in Spargus...though he didn't remember the pool having a faint green glow. "Well, I see you pushed yourself to your body's limits...again, from what I hear. When are you going to learn to pace yourself and get some rest?" "When it isn't...the difference between salvation and death..." Jak groaned out. Damas shook his head as he laughed ruefully. "Yes, you're my son alright. As if I had any reason to doubt before." He looked back into Jak's eyes. "It's good to know you did wake up, though. We weren't entirely sure you would." "How long...was I out?" Jak managed to ask. "A whole week," Damas explained. "It was touch and go for a while at the beginning. It took all the healing power Elder, Daxter, myself, Samos, and Keira could bring to bear just to keep your body and soul together." "Keira?" Jak asked, confused. "She has the Green Sage's gift too, after all," Damas explained. "Samos and Elder had to guide her through it, but she had a good amount of power to spare. You don't have to worry about her, though. She's doing just fine." Jak smiled as he relaxed back into the water, trying to gather his thoughts. "...the world...?" "Safe, thanks to you," Damas confirmed. "When Errol was destroyed, all the Metalheads and KG robots all dropped at the same time. From the looks of things, when he took control of them with the help of the Dark Makers, he installed a control code to make himself indispensable, and they all shut down with his death." "So...peace?" Jak managed to get out. "Yes," Damas confirmed. He glanced out a window in the direction of Jak's feet. "If you can, lift your head and look. Managing to focus his energy somewhat, Jak lifted his head and stared out into the desert...and gasped. In the distance, Haven construction engines could be seen working on something in the desert, with Spargus' buggies parked alongside. "Is...that...?" "Haven engineers and Spargus Wastelanders," Damas explained. "Working under Daxter and Shining's direction and using purified Metalhead exoskeleton...to construct an aqueduct to bring fresh water into the desert...and into Spargus. Soon, the sandy roads will be replaced by rivers flowing into the sea, and life will return to the desert. As Daxter said, this city will become the new Sandover..." Jak smiled as he let his head sink back. "That's...nice..." he managed, still struggling with the words. "...purified?" "Elder taught us how," Damas explained. "Metalhead exoskeleton is incredibly durable, but more easily reshaped than Precursor metal. Once purified of any Dark Eco taint, it's a very useful resource." "The world...rebuilds..." Jak murmured as he relaxed into the water. "Thanks to your efforts, son," Damas praised. "Not mine..." Jak countered. "Everyone..." "If not for you, there wouldn't be a world left to rebuild," Damas countered. "And the forces that gathered and made that possible...you led them. You brought them together." Jak sighed, unwilling - and somewhat unable - to argue. "...brigands?" "With Haven and Spargus forces working together, and no Metalheads or KG robots in the way, there's more than enough force to capture and contain the brigands," Damas explained. "Your other mission objective is a success. Haven and Spargus are allies...again, because of you." "Not just me..." "Actually, in this case it is," Damas countered. "When you came down in that giant form alongside that Dark Terraformer, it wasn't just the Wastelanders of Spargus that rushed to the site and bore witness to the battle...and your proclamation during it. Haven's forces also arrived...and when Shining caught you as you fell, people from both cities rushed to help you, and they nearly fought over whose leader you were until Daxter reminded them you spoke of the will of your peoples, plural." "But...you..." Jak began. "Yes, I know, your goal was to put me on the throne of the united cities," Damas agreed. "But seriously, do you really think you could get them to follow this?" He gestured to his ottsel body. "There's a reason Elder and the others work through Oracle statues and holograms. How much attention would the average human pay those 'ancient mystics' if they knew they were really fuzzy rodents?" "But..." "What can I say, son?" Damas joked. "You did your job just a little too well." Seeing the growing panicked look on Jak's face, Damas chuckled. "Don't worry, son," he hastened to assure him. "We're in no rush to put you on the throne. The Wastelanders of Spargus still accept me, even like this...and the people of Haven, thanks to your work, accept Baron Praxis. Until you're ready to take the throne - and the world doesn't need you to run around as a hero anymore - I guess I'll just have a shoulder to ride on." Noticing Jak's surprised look, Damas grinned. "We've been talking again. With the Dark Eco purged from his mind, he is his old self again, and our friendship is returning. He's even softened the outsides of the shoulder pads of his armor to give me more comfortable seats when the time comes." Jak groaned softly. "...Daxter will want..." "He's already drawing up designs," Damas teased. Jak sighed as his senses returned further...and he felt something warm pressed against him. Glancing to the side, his eyes widened. "K-Keira?" "Shh," Damas whispered. "She hasn't been sleeping well, putting everything she had in trying to bring you around. Let her sleep awhile longer." Swallowing convulsively, Jak glanced down at himself through the glowing green water, and his face paled. "I...I'm naked." "According to Elder, it was the best way to maximize Eco absorption to keep you stable," Damas explained. Jak's eyes took in something else, and his face flushed. "...she's naked..." "Elder's advice again," Damas replied, grinning wickedly. "In her untrained state, being naked in the water was the easiest way for her to release her Eco stores for you to absorb." Noticing Jak's embarrassment, he chuckled. "I have to say, I've seen my share of naked ladies in my time - your mother far from the least among them - and I must say, Jak...you are one lucky dog to have snagged her." "She's...holding me rather tight..." "That was all her," Damas teased wickedly. "She was afraid if she let go of you as she slept beside you, she'd lose her grip on your life force and you'd fade. That's why her arms - and legs - are wrapped so tightly around you, much to Samos' disquiet." Jak's face flushed even brighter. "I...I can't move enough to pull out..." His eyes popped open. "Didn't mean that the way it sounded..." "I didn't think you did, Jak," Damas teased. "Either way, that sounds like a personal problem...and I'll leave you to your recovery." Turning with a wicked grin, Damas left a recovering Jak alone in the water with the girl who loved him, both of them naked, and her likely to wake up at any moment and demonstrate to a Jak who couldn't move enough to stop her just how overjoyed she was that he was finally awake. Damas really wanted grandchildren already.