Jak and Daxter: Heirs of Mar

by Blackdrag-rose

Spargus: Back to the Temple

While Jak drove back to Spargus, and his sisters focused on making sure none of the Marauders were able to hit them with their bullets, Sig explained the situation in Haven City in greater detail, that it wasn't long after they lost contact with their transport that the war started, meaning that Veger had to be involved since he went out of his way to make sure they were stuck out here, and he revealed that the Baron and the others were trying their hardest to protect the city, but based on all the things Sig had seen it was like both sides had been waiting for Jak and his sisters to be disposed before launching their attack, so getting them back to Haven would turn the tide in no time.

Jak... this is Ashelin. a voice said, where the siblings found that it came from the Communicator that they carried with them at all times, just in case someone happened to give them a mission while one or more of them happened to be out in the field, or the Wasteland in this instance, though this meant that Ashelin was trying to make contact with all of them, be it from Haven City, since it seemed like there might be some interference, though there was a chance that she was near the Wasteland and her location had some problems, Due to the situation in Haven, I sent Sig out to make sure you guys made it to your destination and gave him a device to press if he found you... listen, I've got to see you immediately, and by the time you get this communication I should be landing outside the Oasis... please, come find us.

"Wait, 'us'? She must be referring to Keira," Jak commented, something that caused his sisters to nod their heads, as they knew that if Ashelin was planning on coming out to the Wasteland, to check on them and likely tell them what in the world was happening to Haven City right now, it was highly likely that Keira would have joined her in her mission and wouldn't take no for an answer, something that caused him to chuckle for a moment as he realized that he would be reuniting with his girlfriend a lot sooner than they had originally planned.

Sig, understanding that he was going to be dropped off in Spargus, said nothing as Jak returned to the garage of Spargus, allowing him to park the tank vehicle before he climbed into the Sand Shark while his sisters floated in the air nearby, so once he was ready to leave, and Sig headed into the city to speak with Damas about any potential training he could do to improve his abilities, Jak headed outside and made his way towards the area that the Oasis was located in, where Twilight told him it was near where she had found the slain Wastelander. Of course, thanks to the storm that had been forming at the time, she didn't have a lot of time to actually check out the Oasis she had spotted, even though Midnight had done in all of the enemies that had been in the area at the time, but Jak was fine with that since he was sure that it was just a few trees and a pool of drinkable water, something that made him wonder if more places like that could be added to the rest of the Wasteland, before deciding that he would think about it later, once they found Ashelin. Sure enough they found all sorts of Marauders between them and the area that Ashelin planned on landing in, something that caused Cozy to fall out of the air and smash her targets right into some of the rocks that were around them or just crush them into the ground, all while Twilight continued to gather the fallen bits of metal, for whatever she and Midnight were up to, even though Jak was of the opinion that this was just a way to keep Midnight distracted until Twilight needed her help, though he decided not to question it as he focused on moving through the Wasteland. Other than that there was nothing out here to stop the group from reaching the area that was their destination, as despite their lack of real knowledge on the landscape of this section of the Wasteland, again due to the storm that had covered part of this area, they were following Twilight as she flew above them, even though Starlight and Cozy were close to Jak and Daxter in case some additional Marauders bothered them, and she could see everything around them as she retraced the path they took when they departed from this area, after finding the last Wastelander and his Dark Eco Crystal.

Thanks to her efforts they were able to find the area that Ashelin had mentioned, a decent sized pool of water that had a mountain range protecting part of it, which had a number of palm trees around the outer edge of it, though what Jak and his sisters were interested in was the fact that there was a cruiser resting near it, a blue one that reflected the colors of the Freedom League, where they found Ashelin standing nearby and Keira happened to be sitting in the right seat, since they knew that the left seat was reserved for the pilot, where Jak came to a stop near them as his sisters landed and walked up to the Oasis.

"Keira!" Jak said, his tone revealing that he was excited to see her again, even though they weren't planning on this event happening in the first place, while at the same time his sisters were happy to see both Keira and Ashelin again, since it let them gain some information on what was happening in Haven City, as in more than what Sig had told them earlier, though after he climbed out of the Sand Shark he ran up to the cruiser as Keira climbed out of it, something that lead to the pair embracing without delay.

"She insisted on coming along, once she heard that we needed to talk," Ashelin stated, something that caused Twilight and her sisters to nod her heads in agreement, as Jak and Keira were definitely in love and it was hard for them not to show it whenever they were near each other, and this was just proof of that, though at the same time they glanced at her for a few seconds and waited for her to inform them of whatever was happening in Haven City, "I'll be brief: Veger is trying to take down both the Council and my father, to steal the power of our military for his own purposes, and he has denied our past attempts to send a transport out to find you guys... makes me glad that Damas keeps taps on the old beacons, though you would have survived even if he didn't come across the four of you. My father and I are doing everything in our power to make sure everything remains how you left it, but with Veger butting into everything our forces are suffering under, well, a divided house, as my father called it..."

"We heard that the Palace was taken out, though we did overhear Veger talking not that long ago and he mentioned that he blew up our transport to strand us here," Twilight remarked, though what Ashelin told them meant that Veger was just a pain in everyone's back and that he needed to be removed at some point in time, before she glanced up at the sky for a few seconds and knew that Ashelin was following her gaze, no doubt wondering what in the world she was looking at right now, to which she sighed, "oh, and apparently something called the Day Star is closing in on our planet, a threat that we'll be fighting at some point in the near future, so the Precursors..."

In that moment, before Twilight had a chance to finish her statement, they found a number of Marauder vehicles heading towards the Oasis and the Sand Shark, meaning they must have intercepted the message Ashelin had sent them and knew where to head, to see what sort of loot they could acquire from someone who was coming from Haven, though this was a mistake on their end as the siblings stepped forward to deal with them. Cozy happened to be the first one to step forward as she crossed the distance between them and their enemies, where she smashed her fist into one of the vehicles, stalling it in the process, before she lifted it up into the air a few seconds later and swung it into another buggy, smashing both of them to pieces as her siblings found that a number of Marauders were rushing at them on foot, either because they had seen her actions or this was how they wanted to attack them. Of course she knew that such a thing was still a wrong move in the grand scheme of things, as those who dared to approach Ashelin and Keira were stopped by Jak, who pulled out his sword as he popped a few Blue Eco bullets, downing the contents to empower himself before he rushed towards his own enemies and discovered that none of them were expecting him to do such a thing, allowing him to swing his sword and knock them out in due time, as he managed to bypass their defenses and downed each of his foes. Starlight raised a hand and crushed one of the buggies that was coming their way, while at the same time using a bit of magic to make sure none of the bullets reached where she was standing, though one Marauder dared to swing his blade at her and she parried it with her new staff, something that allowed her to flip the warrior up onto his back and knocked the wind out of him with a quick swing of the weapon in question. Twilight, however, just stood near the pair that came from Haven City and used a barrier to make sure neither of them were harmed over the course of this battle, even though she suspected that this was a waste of her magic since she could see that none of the Marauders were even getting close to where they were standing at the moment, to which she sighed as Midnight stepped out and focused on gathering the metallic pieces that Jak and their sisters left behind as they tore their enemies apart.

In the end Jak and his sisters succeeded in clearing out the Marauders, something Twilight verified by taking to the air not a few moments later and noticed that no more buggies were coming their way, though once that was done they gathered around where Ashelin and Keira were standing, who were shocked by everything they had just seen and knew that what had happened to the siblings, being stranded in the Wasteland, had actually been a good thing for them, since it would let them do good things when they returned to Haven City.

"Well, its good to see that your brief time in the Wasteland hasn't dulled your skills," Ashelin commented, though she had a smile on her face while she said that, because she knew that Jak and his sisters had been skilled before they left to seek out their father and his city, but after seeing three of them in action, while thinking about what Twilight might be capable of, she knew that they were far stronger than they had been previously and this told her that allowing them to head out for their expedition had been a good thing for those in Haven City, "so, when can I expect the four of you to return to the city, now that you've met your father?"

"Soon. First, we'll tell Damas about the situation in Haven, then we'll head to a nearby Precursor temple, as it might have something we can use to get back to Haven without Veger figuring our plans out," Jak replied, something that caused his sisters to nod their heads for a moment, as they agreed with his decision and knew that informing Damas would mean he would be able to provide some sort of interference for the rest of Spargus, at least until they were back in the city and had a chance to set up a new transport to ferry them between Haven and the Wasteland.

"I'll hold you to it... oh, and before I forget, I have something for you," Keira said, to which she turned around and leaned into the cruiser that was behind her and Ashelin, showing that she was searching for something specific, though it didn't take her long to pull herself out of the vehicle again as she turned to face them, producing the JET-Board in all its glory, a device that Jak had missed since it had been quite useful during their previous adventure, so he didn't have to rely on the magical powers of his sisters to get from place to place, "I made a few modifications while you guys were gone, as now it is capable of storing energy to perform a higher jump, almost like a jump pad, which can also be used to release small waves of power that should knock enemies to the side, or take them out if they're small enough."

"Don't worry Keira, Jak will be putting it to good use." Twilight stated, as that was the truth of the matter, that Jak would no doubt use the newly modified JET-Board while they were traveling from place to place, likely to get as much information on it as he could, just in case he found a flaw and needed to tell Keira about it, though her brother nodded his head not a few seconds later and slipped the shrunken version of the device into the space he had kept it in earlier, though with three items he was going to need to come up with a new system in the very near future.

Keira smiled as she heard that and embraced Jak once more, as she clearly missed him and didn't want to leave, but that was followed by her and Ashelin climbing into the cruiser and departing from the Wasteland, heading back to Haven so they could rejoin the defense and make sure everything was fine, though as that happened Jak and his sisters headed back towards Spargus, Jak using the Sand Shark while his sisters remained in the air, but one thing they discovered was that all of the remaining Marauders who were out there stayed away from them. They were fine with this turn of events, since the dangerous warriors had to be terrified of them by this point in time, given that all four of them smashed their way through all of the enemies without even slowing down, meaning they were able to get back to Spargus without having to pause for any foes who might want a piece of them, allowing Jak to park the Sand Shark in the space Kleiver reserved for it before all of them headed through the gate and headed into the city. Sure enough they found that all of the Wastelanders were busy doing whatever it was that all of them did, before Jak and his sisters arrived in the city, though since no one seemed to be remotely interested in them they headed for the lift and traveled up to the Palace so they could speak with their father, all so he understood what was going on right now, though based on the time of day Jak felt that it might be best if they took a bit of time to rest and then head out early in the morning. Not a few moments later they found that Damas was, in fact, in his throne room, meaning Jak had been correct to assume that their father would be here, though at the same time they found that Seem was standing nearby, meaning that they must have walked in on a progress report of some kind, which did look like it might be close to being over based on what all four of them were seeing at the moment.

"Jak, I was expecting you and your sisters to return with Sig," Damas commented, where both he and Seem noticed their return to the throne room, though neither of them seemed very annoyed by what was going on, meaning that they must have finished whatever meeting they were having just as the four of them came to a stop after using the left to reach this point in the Palace, but it was followed by their father tilting his head as Pecker flew over to them, "though it looks like you might have discovered something. Tell me, what have you discovered?"

"We received word that someone from Haven landed near the Oasis, to speak with us, and we've learned that the war for the city has started," Jak stated, as while he and his sisters were sure that Sig had told their father this piece of information earlier, given that he had returned to the city while they headed outside to speak with Ashelin, though by telling him what they knew Damas would be able to make some decisions for the future, especially since if they aided Haven, the city that all of them had called home at one point in time, it might mend the rift between them, "while we would like to continue aiding Spargus, and taking down the threats that are lurking around this massive desert, Ashelin and the others wish for us to return... so, after some rest, we're planning on heading back to the Precursor temple and hope that there is a hidden tunnel or Warp Gate connecting the two locations together."

"I can confirm that there is a connection of sorts between the Wasteland and Haven, but it is up to you to find it and pass the trials associated with it," Seem spoke up, something that caused Jak and his sisters to pause for a moment, since they weren't expecting the monk to actually speak up and say what was on their mind, or even talk with them in general since they liked to talk about the Day Star and the dangers of Dark Eco, making Twilight wonder if they had spent some time with Gol and Maia, who she and her siblings hadn't found yet, "I can, however, confirm that you have the key needed to open the way... that is all I can say on the matter."

"Even if this is the only thing you can tell us, the help is appreciated anyway," Twilight said, as that was the truth, they did appreciate Seem actually helping them in understanding that there was a path that connected Haven City to the massive Wasteland that Spargus rested in, though even as that thought crossed her mind, however, she considered something she and her siblings had learned before heading to the temple for the first time, and she could see that Jak agreed with what she was thinking at the moment, "oh, that reminds me, we found the monks you sent to the volcano earlier, so you could find and recover the Dark Satellite that fell on it... don't worry about the artifact, Midnight and I stored it inside our storage realm... but, well, all of your monks are dead."

Seem let out a sigh, like they had suspected that such a thing had been the reality of the situation, before nodding their head as they thanked Jak and his sisters for sharing the information with them, even though they made no mention of the fact that another Dark Artifact had fallen into the hands of the siblings, despite the fact that it was in the hands of Twilight and Midnight, before bidding Damas farewell for now as they left the Palace. With that done Damas and his children took some time to talk about things, as he wanted the full story and not just the notes on what was happening in his old city, or at least what they could tell him from the two conversations they had so far, but he seemed to agree that they should take some time and head back to Haven City, but with Veger in the way it was unlikely that they would be able to use the more official channels, like Sig might have done to get back out here. As such they would need to use whatever method rested in the depths of the Precursor temple, where Jak had a feeling that the seal that had been his attached to his younger self's necklace, which was in his possession again, was the key Seem had mentioned before Twilight spoke up, though he knew that they would figure out if that was true or not once he and his sisters returned to the temple and made their way down to the area that he knew the other door rested in. Damas also informed Pecker that he would be joining them for a time, as in being his eyes and ears for when they eventually returned to Haven City, as there were things he could learn while Jak and his sisters were busy, since some people talked around him like he was just another animal and had no idea he could repeat what he learned to others, causing the siblings to nod their heads in agreement, as they felt it was a good idea and would allow him to make whatever preparations he needed for the future.

Other than talking about things, and having something to eat before heading to bed, the siblings just rested for the rest of the day, though when the early hours of the morning arrived in the Wasteland Damas wished them well as Jak climbed into the Dune Hopper and headed through the main gate as his sisters flew in the air above him, where they made their way over to where the Precursor temple rested and found that they were able to make great time in their journey, since all of the Marauders were either asleep or were terrified of them, before Jak stopped outside the temple.

Once they had reached their destination Jak headed inside as his sisters landed behind him, where they headed across the floor that was right in front of them and made their way over to the main door, finding that the Light Eye that had been guarding it hadn't reappeared, meaning the security measures likely recognized them and knew not to worry about using that particular defense mechanism against them. As such they were able to walk over to the door in question and watched as it opened not a few seconds later, though as they walked down into the downwards passage on the other side they did find a couple of flying Metal Heads waiting for intruders, the Wasp type to be exact, though a single blast from their base guns were more than enough to bring them down so Jak and his sisters could continue into the depths. Not a couple of moments later they arrived at the chamber that was their main destination and quickly discovered that the path they had used not that long ago had been sealed off, to which they turned towards the circular door as Jak pulled out his seal for a few seconds, where he presented it to the door and watched as the door unlocked before their eyes, revealing another tunnel that lead to another section of this temple, to which he smiled as he pocketed the seal and started moving as his sisters followed after him. The passage in question brought them to a chamber that looked like it was partly flooded, due to all of the water that was between them and the other side of the area in question, though due to the existence of a few floating orbs in the air, which appeared to reflect the twin nature of Dark and Light Eco, Jak realized what he needed to do as he pulled out the JET-Board and headed out, as this seemed like a test of some kind and using Keira's modified device would allow them to get through this place with ease. Such a thing allowed Twilight, Starlight, and Cozy to observe as he moved all over this particular chamber, riding on top of the water, heading down some of the hidden passages, and even used the grind function to move across the metallic rails that were near the ceiling, meaning Keira had done a good job in her alterations and Jak was showing that his skills hadn't diminished at all, though with him passing through the couple of glowing symbols the door on the other side seemed to open, presenting them with a way forward.

It wasn't long before Jak finished collecting the symbols that were in the chamber and the door opened so they could head deeper into the temple, though once he was standing on the other side of the area his sisters flew after him and landed a few steps behind him as he started to move into the new passage, one that brought them right to one of the other sides of the massive statue they had seen earlier, when Veger and Seem were talking to each other, something that caused the four of them to stop on the platform in front of this side of the statue.

We meet again great warriors, but sadly your coming may be too late. the statue stated, where Twilight was sure that the statues here were basically Oracles, modified ones to fit the chamber that they were currently standing in, but she said nothing as she and her siblings remained standing there, waiting to hear what else the statue had to tell them and what sort of information it had for them, You will soon meet the seed of our downfall. It approaches quickly, and I fear we no longer have the power to resist, but through you four, we might have a chance... as such, we offer what power we have to you... behold, the pure power of light!

Jak and his sisters paused for a few moments as a wave of light washed over them, a new Light Eco power awakening in all four of them, where Twilight was excited to see what it was since she was sure that the first one was a healing power, even if she and her siblings hadn't used it yet, though that happened to be when Jak gathered this new power, causing his skin to blow with a light blue hue, before he clapped his hands and loosed a burst of energy that seemed to slow down time, as he could see that the fast moving platforms that were nearby had slowed way down. As such he rushed over to the first of the set, of which there were three of them, and jumped over to it, allowing him to make his way over the other two before he came to a stop on the edge of a path that had to lead them to the path Seem had mentioned, though as that happened he found that time resumed as he turned back and glanced at his sisters. Of course Twilight was grinning, likely figuring out what sort of power the Precursors had just given them, before she and Cozy placed their hands on Starlight's back for a moment as she snapped her right fingers, causing time to slow down like what happened when Jak tried the power, only he wasn't surprised to find that her power was far stronger since she could pull others into her Time Bubble and allowed all of them to make their way over the platforms, and once all three of them were by him again they turned their attention to the tunnel that was behind them. The tunnel brought them to another rail that was far above all of the others that Jak had used the JET-Board on earlier, so he used the device to cross the gap as his sisters used their powers to cross it, even if it brought all of them to a passage with holes in parts of the floor and another rail, but that was when they found an area that had a number of spinning blades and seemed to be another trial for the Time Freeze, the new power they had been given earlier, as that was Twilight's name for it.

With that information in hand Jak recharged his Light Eco before stopping time and caused the blades to slow down so he could move across the first set, where Twilight noticed that they happened to be standing above the chamber that had all of the poles they had spun on to reach the first side of the massive statue, and when Jak came to a stop on the other side she and her sisters started to move across it as well, after Cozy tried the new power out, showing that all three of them had also gained the power to slow time down. Once all four of them were back together Twilight summoned the power as well, while making sure that her siblings placed a hand on her back, before slowing time as well as they headed across the second rotating walkway in turns, avoiding the new blades like they were nothing and reach the other end in no time, only they came to a stop and used the Light Eco Vent to recharge their powers for a few seconds. The moment they were done Jak froze time again before heading over the third and final spinning walkway that was in front of them, where it took next to no time for his sisters to replicate what he had done as they caught up with him, though once that was done the four of them headed through the opening that was nearby and found a stone bridge that was connected to an area that held one of the circular doors. That told them everything they needed to know, they had found the way forward and this had to lead to whatever path Seem knew about, though Twilight caused the others to pause for a moment as she noticed that parts of the stone walkway appeared to be close to breaking, meaning that they had to be careful as they used it, to which Pecker, who had been silent and following behind them, flew over to the other end and came to a stop near the door that served as their final destination for the time being. As such Jak prepared himself as his sisters took to the air, as none of them had to worry about doing what he had to do, though once everyone was ready Jak gathered his power and froze time again, to which he found his sisters frozen in the air as well, or at least it seemed like it since they were stronger than him and might be messing with him, before he headed across the bridge and found that the stones started to collapse as he rushed over all of them.

Of course Jak was never in any danger, since Twilight and her sisters were watching over him, though once he reached the end of the bridge, and it had collapsed with the pieces falling into the open area below all of them, the door opened not a few seconds later before revealing a circular platform on the other side, one that they stepped onto and let it descend to the area it was connected to, meaning that they were going to find the path back to Haven City and they were eager to see what sort of tests awaited them.

Comments

[badninja]

Yea they just made what was supposed to be a challenge a cake walk. Hopefully there will not be that many drawbacks with them abusing this power.