Well it's about time, huh? Sorry for waiting so long to update this. It's pretty long this time so will that count as a peace offering?

Pain and a little Downtime

Fire within clenched fists.

Screams of pain echo within the sounds of cruel laughter.

She smiles. Her cold eyes of pure poison cut me to the core.

Eyes blurred by tears. Hot metal burns my skin.

I scream. And I scream. And I scream.

No one comes to the rescue.

I woke up the next morning brutally and painfully.

The hardwood floor of my makeshift backroom bedroom rushed up to meet the back of my head as I went sprawling out of my hammock. The ceiling swam and my skull throbbed painfully. I rolled onto my side, groaning and holding the spot like that could make the burst of stars go away. You know how in cartoons people see the whirly-birds around their heads after getting head damage? Yeah. Not true. Not true at all.

I was still groaning and rolling on the floor by the time the door opened, and Keira stuck her head into the room with a look of concern in her eyes. My fingers left my skull and I stared up at her blankly. Dull concern morphed into shocked surprise, and she suddenly ducked out of the room without a word. I blinked. Well, okay then. 'Oh yeah, I'm fine, no worries!'

No sooner had the thoughts flitted past my mind that the blue and green haired girl returned, carrying with her a small rag and what looked like a little clay pot. She set them both on the floor beside me then knelt, gently helping me to sit up again. "Easy," The mechanic whispered. "Don't move so fast."

I nodded but that just made the room swirl again so I stopped quickly. Keira frowned then reached for the jar. She took off the top and I spotted the familiar green smoke of eco out the corner of my eye before she moved behind me. She asked me to hold up my hair and I did so. Her cold fingers touched the bare skin of my neck for a small moment, then the green eco was whisping down my shoulders and into my skin. I sighed in satisfaction, the pain gone instantly and with it went my sore sleepy body. I cracked my neck and stretched my arms, turning to give the mechanic a grin of gratitude.

However, when I faced her full on I realized she had the rag in her hand and was suddenly wiping it across my eyes and down my cheeks. The rag was damp and warm, refreshing on my clammy skin. Now that I thought about it, my eyes kind of ached too.

The green eco still coursing through my blood stream made quick work of that, however.

Whatever Keira was doing to my face though she finished quickly, folding the rag and replacing the lid on the jar. She stood up and held out her hand to help me do the same. "Feel better?" She asked. I nodded.

"Much, yes. Thanks."

Keira smiled softly and nodded. "Good. Hurry and get dressed, my father has some breakfast ready for you upstairs."

She left to give me privacy and I went to grab my pants. It was nice to have a moment alone for a few minutes. I loved Amanda and everyone here was quickly growing on me, but silence was a sweet escape even if just for the moment.

I grabbed for my jeans and pulled them on, scowling at the feel of the dirty denim on my legs. They'd have to be washed soon.

I touched the back of my neck where I hit the floor thoughtfully. So much happening so soon after I woke up locked the memories of my nightmare out of my thoughts, but I think that was more blessing than curse. I was shaking while just standing there, and Sandover wasn't exactly cold. It was like my last nightmare. I remembered the impression, but no details. Nothing but foggy mists of colors behind my eyelids.

Unthinkingly, I reached for my collarbone, where a necklace usually hung. For a moment it startled me that it wasn't there, but I guess I shouldn't have been surprised. Much like with Amanda and her hair extensions and my glasses, my necklace wasn't something I could hold onto after being washed up on the beach. It was still odd though. So many things were still odd. How could a necklace usually tied in a tight knot around the back of my neck have just fallen off so easily? How could we have washed up on Sentinel Beach? Hell, how could all of this be happening in the first place?

I pinched my shoulder. Hard. "Ow," I muttered, scolding myself. Idiot.

This was a video game. A video game I was now stuck in, but a video game none the less. None of this should be possible. Eco. Precursors. The world, the village. The characters turned people. My god damn ears!

I grabbed the appendages and pulled them downward in a sharp yank. I wasn't expecting it to hurt though, so I yelped in pain and let go.

Okay. Yeah. Stupid. Very stupid. Mental note: don't yank your own ears you idiot!

I shook my head and frowned at how just plain odd it felt to hear the wind rush past them, but I forced the thought away and turned for the door. The last thing I needed was Keira coming back and giving me a look like she thought I was actually trying to hurt myself on purpose. Which I wasn't. I was just clumsy.

I paused with my hand on the doorknob. What had Daxter said? His one to my three? It was four now, wasn't it? Ugh.

I pushed my thoughts away again and walked out of the room. Keira was kneeling beside the A Grav-Zoomer with a blowtorch in one hand and the other holding down a welder's mask. I don't think she saw me, so I avoided saying hello to instead climb the ramps up to Samos's research room. Amanda was leaning against the railing when I got there, a bowl of various colored fruits in her hands. I eyed it. Nothing in there even looked remotely like anything I'd heard of, let alone eaten. I made a face.

"What is all that?" I asked.

Amanda shrugged, popping a chunk of purple fruit into her mouth. "I have no idea. But these banapple things aren't half bad!"

I looked at the fruit again, then at her. "I'm not hungry."

She shrugged like 'suit yourself!' and went back to eating. Over my shoulder, I heard Samos call my name and come floating out onto the balcony. "Good morning, Ashleigh." He bowed his head to me and I nodded back. "I trust you slept well?"

I nodded. "Well enough," I lied through my teeth. Samos believed it though, because he nodded in acceptance and turned to look over the village while the sun climbed the sky above us.

"I'm glad. The boys have already gone out to see if any of the villagers have any Power Cells they could afford to miss." He informed me easily. "I was just in the middle of telling Amanda this when I figured she was in the mood for breakfast."

"Blame my stomach," She whined from behind me. I rolled my eyes in amusement.

Samos gave me a close look. "Are you hungry too, girl? You look a bit on the pale side."

"Hm?" I blinked, touching my cheek. "Oh, no, I'm good, really. I just took a nasty skydive out of my bed, that's all!" I added a laugh at the end of my sentence to try and play it off as nothing. "I'm never really hungry when I first wake up anyway. I'll just eat later."

"Alright then." Samos shrugged. "Last I heard from the boys they said they'd like to try and look across Sentinel Beach for Power Cells. Some villagers will trade Power Cells for Precursor Orbs as well." He lifted off the ground and started to float away, before he stopped in mid-air and came back quickly. "Oh yes, by the way. Will you two do me a favor while you're out? Find those idiots and tell them to make themselves useful. My darn green eco collectors on the far side of the beach have clogged up again. Head on over and clear them out, hm? Follow the lamps along the beach, they'll take you right there."

"Sure," Amanda and I answered in unison, and she handed him her bowl of fruit. He bid us good bye and we left, heading back down the wooden ramps and past the open room where Keira was still working. She saw us and waved, seeing us off with a cheerful warning to be safe and come back soon.

Despite the rude awakening, the sunshine on my skin had the strange effect of chasing off all my dull mood. I hummed while we walked into the village, and Amanda pulled something out of her waistband I hadn't noticed before. She saw my curious glance and held it up for me to see. It was little, and wooden, and curved, and it took me a second to realize it was a hairbrush. "Keira gave you that?"

Amanda nodded and started to go about the whole business of trying to brush out the tangle of her hair. "Yep! I was starting to think these things didn't even exist in this hell-hole." She winced when the brush yanked one of her knots. "You know, I think I was wrong about Keira." She mused. "She may have been kinda flat when we were playing the game, but she's not half bad now."

"This isn't hell." I said, thinking back to how Keira had given me the green eco that morning to heal what might have escalated into a concussion. She wiped my face free of . . . something, and I could remember seeing a faint trace of maternal care in her green eyes. It may have been a weird moment in retrospect, but the memory was more sweet than awkward if you asked me.

I looked up at the cliffs surrounding the village as a small group of children ran past us with the ball we'd seen Jak and Daxter playing with the other day. They ignored us entirely, minds set on nothing but their little game. Not the two strangers walking past them, not the lurkers that were taking over the beach, not even the fact that behind those high cliffs rested the lethal lava of Fire Canyon. I never really thought about it when playing the game, but one little avalanche could have very easily destroyed the whole village. When I used to play this game, it was irritatingly hard for my impatient six-year-old self to get all the way through the canyon. That was why I used to restart it all the time. Anything beyond Sentinel Beach and the Forbidden Jungle were beyond me.

What if we had to go through it before Samos found a way to get me and Amanda home?

I had no idea what was beyond that volcanic strip. Well, a vague idea, yes, thanks to the 'map' that came with the game in it's case, but names didn't give me much in the ways of knowing what was coming.

The beach, on the other hand, was my playground.

Jak and Daxter were standing on the edge of the village, almost literally. Jak seemed to be hovering at the very place where the grass and soil gave way into sand and water. They were having a pretty deep discussion about something- or, at least, Daxter was. Jak was just standing there looking annoyed at the little orange pest. He looked up when we got close and the beginnings of a smile quickly tipped the corners of his mouth. Daxter followed his gaze and sat up on Jak's shoulder plate.

"Hey lazybones!" He greeted us, waving. "We were wondering when you were gonna get up!"

I huffed and crossed my arms. "Don't judge me because I like to sleep." I complained.

Daxter shook his head and held up his hands, chuckling. "Hey hey, I didn't say I did. Honestly, I like you better lazy. Active people are deranged in the head."

Amanda and I shared a look then at the orange furry creature we were talking to. "And we aren't?" We chorused.

Daxter blinked and a flash of humor crossed Jak's eyes. "How do you do that?" Dax asked.

We shrugged. "No idea."

"Argh! Stop that!"

"Why?" This was funny and weird at the same time.

"That's just effin' freaky!"

Jak patted his friend on the head in a motion that was oddly patronizing, then waved us toward the beach as he started walking. He pointed toward a small ball of blue eco not too far away then looked back at us. Anyone wanna-

"I'll do it!" Amanda volunteered before I could finish mentally giving Jak dialogue. He made an 'after you' gesture that sent the girl forward with a mad cackle. She let the eco burst and envelope her, then a second later she was out of sight. I followed her until she vanished then gave the boys a deadpan look.

"And the monster returns." I remarked dryly.

Jak shrugged. Oh well!

I laughed. "We should probably go after her before she hurts herself . . . or something else," I suggested. Jak nodded in agreement and Daxter hunkered down on his shoulder as the blond started off at a gentle jog after our psychotic friend. Well, I guess getting addicted to eco was better than getting addicted to anything else.

I followed Jak and Amanda's trail of broken boxes, catching up just in time for Amanda to spin kick a lurker crab and have it burst into green and dark eco. We nabbed several Precursor Orbs and stowed them away in Jak's hyperspace backpack, then followed him and Daxter up one of the rickety wagon-wheel platform thingies. At the top of the cliff we found some more orbs and Jak pwned a lurker dog in the face before it could attack any of us. He also opened the first Scout Fly on the beach, which was also stuffed into his backpack.

The area of cliff above the beach didn't go all the way around it, but we walked across it to get out of the way of the cannon tower. There were lurkers at the top, and we could hear them going BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! as they tried to shoot us with the bombs. Jak seemed to be especially miffed about the lurkers on the tower. Every so often I'd catch him sending them a dirty look over his shoulder. He didn't like the fact they were there. It never occurred to me until then that the cannon tower might have just been the only primary defense Sandover had. Realistically speaking, if a threat ever happened to sail in from the sea, their only means of protecting themselves would have been the cannon's bombs.

Unthinkingly, I felt my fingertips brushing Jak's shoulder when he sent them a glare for the third or fifth time. He looked at me and I looked back. I hoped he saw what I was trying to say, using his own form of sign language. We'll get rid of them. Somehow.

He must have understood, because he offered me a small grin and a nod in response.

"Look!" Daxter called, a few yards ahead with Amanda as his perch for the moment. "There's a Power Cell down there!"

Jak rushed forward and I huffed, struggling to keep up. Sure enough, there was a Power Cell directly below us in a small valley between the cliffs. Jak smirked triumphantly and surged forward without warning. He dropped off over the side and landed firmly in the sand, glancing up at us with a raised eyebrow. Well? You guys coming or what?

I shared a look with Amanda. It was a look of 'we're crazy just for considering it!' Daxter, on the other hand, was tugging on the sleeve of Amanda's teddy bear shirt to try and get her to move forward. "Aw c'mon! It's not that far down!" He smirked. "I'll be wit'cha the whooooollle way!"

His response was a deadpan glare from Amanda. She let out a sigh and reached up to hold our ottsel in place before taking two steps forward and letting herself fall. She landed with a grunt and fell onto her side, but Jak helped her up and once she was on two feet she didn't look at all worse for wear. Then they all looked at me.

Have you ever suffered from a small episode of vertigo? I can't exactly say I have, but that moment then had to have been pretty damn close. The cliff I was standing on couldn't have been more than ten feet above the sand, but suddenly it felt about a hundred yards below. My eyesight swam for a short moment and I felt dizzy. "Ah- I'm happy . . . up here."

"Don't be a baby." Amanda didn't miss a beat, rolling her eyes. "We did it, right?"

I blinked. "Uhh . . . "

"Por favor?" She probed, pouting.

"Je ne parle espagnol." I replied.

"Still don't speak French." Amanda huffed.

"Well, I still don't speak Spanish."

"Just get down here, already!"

I swallowed thickly and shuffled forward. Okay, maybe I was a baby. But I really, really, really did not want to jump down. What if I landed wrong? What if I twisted something too seriously for even Green Eco to fix? What- what if-

"Ash."

I blinked and focused on Amanda again. She was grinning. Gently.

"It's okay."

I gulped one more time then nodded shakily. I took a deep breath, one step forward, and jumped.

Air rushed past my ears and I hit the ground with my knees. I hissed when pain rushed up from my legs to my spine and sat there for a few seconds to let it pass. When I looked up, Amanda was kneeling next to me and Jak was standing not too far away. She smirked at me. "See?" She chuckled, rising and holding out a hand. I took it and she helped me up. "Was that so bad?"

I frowned. "Maybe." I muttered, shifting my weight as Daxter leaped onto my shoulder so he wouldn't fall off. He nuzzled the side of my face before finally getting comfortable.

"Aw, you're just over-reacting," He chuckled. "Hey, I know what'll make you feel better."

"What?"

He pointed to the Power Cell that was literally only a few feet away, still floating and swirling innocently through the air. "Nab dat Power Cell!"

I did, but I decided against the dance, and let Jak pocket it. We took three steps before a lurker snake surged out of the sand, snapping at us but unable to get any closer. It was kind of pitiful, actually. We were so close, but still so far . . . Needless to say, Jak dealt with it and the next without any fuss or trouble.

The beach opened up for us as the lurkers on the cannon tower kept shooting. Their aim was so bad there was nothing to worry about. Still, it wasn't a smart idea to stand in one place for too long. I spotted the next Power Cell at the top of a nearby dune and pointed it out. Amanda ran toward it, but just like in the game the bitch pelican swooped in and stole it before she could touch it. "HEY!" She shouted after it, chasing for a moment but giving up soon after.

"That pelican just snatched a Power Cell!" Daxter seethed. "Let's head over there and kick some big bird butt!"

I patted him on the head. "Let it alone, Dax," I sighed. "I'm sure there's gotta be more around here somewhere. One isn't going to make much a difference."

The ottsel huffed, crossing his arms. He did refuse to argue the point further, so I counted that a win in this discussion. Jak led us toward the ridges that closely resembled steps and we scaled them back up the cliff while he collected the Precursor Orbs. At the top, a lurker dog spotted us and snarled its warning before it charged. Jak moved in front of us as always, but for some reason I was struck with an odd urge to try and fight too. I pryed Daxter off my shoulder and handed him off to Amanda. Running ahead, I passed Jak in his defensive stance and went after the lurker dog head on. I kicked it when it was close enough, getting the skull and thankfully not the jaws. The creature yelped and whimpered like a wounded puppy, recoiling from the hit.

I grinned. Yes! Score one for me!

That grin melted when the lurker dog simply picked itself up again, shaking its head in confusion. It's yellow eyes turned on me and they went rabid. Another snarl burst forth and it was suddenly racing back to my stunned and still form. I squeaked, because I didn't have enough time to scream. It was all I could do to hold up a hand to protect myself as it lunged.

FIGHT!

The word hit me like a gunshot and I gasped, falling to my knees. Dark eco swirled then vanished, and my skin absorbed the green eco. The stiffness in my knees from landing on them went with it. I closed my eyes as the world swam, and I struggled to focus. Amanda knelt beside me. "Are you alright?" She asked. I nodded but it made me dizzy all over again.

"What was that?" Daxter said, back on his usual perch on Jak's shoulder. I used Amanda as leverage to stand and glanced at them.

"What was what?" I repeated. Jak was giving me an odd look, and it was slowly but surely gnawing away at my confidence. I wrapped my arms around myself and tried to rub away a sudden chill. He and I stared at each other for a few more moments before he turned to Daxter and pointedly shook his head. It was a silent message to drop the issue, and I was grateful. I looked around myself, frowning. What had happened anyway? One second the lurker was almost on top of me, and the next it was dissipating into the air. No transition. Just point A to point B with nothing in between. Weird.

I shook off the event as a side effect of my near-concussion from this morning, grateful that Jak had been so good at convincing Daxter to leave me alone. Amanda gave me a side-long look, one that was equal question and suspicion, before she shrugged and dropped the matter. Naturally, I'd be hearing about it in the morning.

The four of us continued through the grassed area around the corner toward the waterfall. As we walked, I stared up at the stone Precursor statues and wondered just how long it took to get them there. They looked ten times- no, at least a hundred times more mysterious in person than they were in the game. I could easily see why Samos had been so hard-pressed to try and figure out just who and/or what the Precursors were.

Around the corner and behind a little hut thing that may or may have not been some kind of 'watch' area before the beach was taken by lurkers, a pack of two sniffed us out and barked before charging. I stiffened but no more voices came, and Jak took them both out easily. Amanda smashed open the boxes and collected the green eco. It vanished within our bodies like usually but it didn't seem to have an effect. We must have been at 'full health' then. I only wished the eco could fix my eyes. I was seriously missing my glasses.

More Precursor Orbs were added to Jak's backpack, and we were walking over the stone bridge thing when I noticed what must have been Samos's green eco collectors. Okay, so maybe I stood under the spray of the waterfall for several seconds too many, but I was right there with everyone when we approached. They were like big, gray, paper balloons. Hung up at least ten feet off the ground by carved wooden sticks, they sat there looking pitiful, empty, and deflated. Underneath were the eco vents. Those were made of the same bronze-colored metal like the blue eco vent, but the vents themselves were clogged up just like Samos said. There were rocks and sticks, chunks of grass and god knows what else smashed in there. I counted five, just like I remembered, and a lurker dog not too far away. It didn't look like it had noticed us yet, so we left it alone.

I was the first to move, going to the closest one and pulling off a layer of dirt and grass and weeds. Instantly, the green mist began to ghost up and around me like a cloud. I smiled softly, because it was warm, and gentle, and suddenly the threat of nightmares didn't deter my thought for a small nap . . .

I stepped out of the cloud and the haze cleared. With it went my small and short sense of calm and security. Jak's lips were tweaked upwards again like he was expecting this, but I said nothing to him. Instead, we clear the rest of the harvesters and wouldn't you know it? A Power Cell flies out of the last one, right into Daxter's waiting hands- er, paws.

"Well," Snorted Samos from the green radio. "I see you lot have finally decided to unblock my collectors. I would offer my congratulations, but you've got soo much to do, well, I couldn't ever just waste your time." He sounded so condescending that it was almost laughable. "By the way," He added as an afterthought. "If things don't work out, Daxter could always get a job controlling the village rat problem!" The old sage's voice cuts off into a string of laughter that I almost joined in on, but Amanda shot me a look and I know I shouldn't, because that would be mean. Daxter was glaring at the little radio even as it flew back to Jak's hand, it's message done.

"One of these days," He growled to himself. "I'm gonna be that old fart's only hope. And I'm not gonna help him."

Amanda cooed gently, scratching him behind the ears and all the fury in that fuzzy body melts into her touch. I shook my head at her shamelessness, but that was just to be expected. Queen of Fuzzies.

We turned and Jak moved to the head of the group to take out the lurker dog before it could so much as bark to show it knew we were there. I wasn't surprised by this. Whatever little . . . scene . . . I had a little while ago seemed to have stuck with him, because every time a lurker came close he was the one who ended it. Daxter, from his vantage point on Amanda's shoulder, pointed out that there were several Precursor Orbs above a ledge high over our heads. Amanda immediately deemed this a lost cause, but Jak waved her off like this was nothing and effortlessly did his little crouch-jump to catch the edge. He collected the orbs and even a Scout Fly, which rounded our total to about three in this area. He came back down and we moved to the end of the cliff area, and looked down at the beach below. This was the area where the stone temples, ones that were most likely newer stone imitations of the Precursor ones made from metal. Or maybe they were older. The game never expanded on this, so I was free to ponder.

The ricketing of the wagon wheel was still untrustworthy, but I liked it better than jumping off the edge. Jak went first, of course, since he was the 'big macho dude-in-charge-gotta-protect-the-chicks' guy, then me, then Amanda and Dax. Two of the lumbering lurkers, like the ones from Misty Island, spot us instantly and are rushing across the sand in their clumsy but effective gait. I was suddenly reminded of how they stood on the island, their bodies hunched over, heaving slightly with every large breath they took. Staring with rapt attention as Gol and Maia appeared from the very air around them in a burst of dark eco mist.

Gol. With his rasp of a voice and his rancid breath, in my face and into my lungs as I gagged. Maia smirking.

She's different . . .

" . . . igh?"

"What?" I look up.

The two lurkers are gone and so has a lurker crab. I look around us but there are no more threats for the moment, just a flock of gulls roosting on the stone temple floors. Amanda's the closest and her eyebrows had furrowed. Definitely not getting out of it now. I space out, sure, but this is just ridiculous. "Are you alright?"

I nodded, but the motion felt fake even to myself. "I think . . . lack of sleep?" It's the same excuse I used yesterday but she accepted it.

"You have been pretty restless," She said, with a faint note of skepticism in her tone. I laughed and brushed the whole thing off. Again.

"Ah, it's probably just the climate. And the sleeping in new places. I'm just not used to it yet. Hey Dax!"

The ottsel perks up on Amanda's shoulder.

"Wanna chase seagulls with me?"

His little round face split into a grin so large I briefly wondered if he was about to sever himself in two. Regardless, he abandoned Amanda's shoulder in favor of mine and together we go tearing across the temple laughing like idiots while seagulls squawk and hurry to escape the two cackling lunatics behind them.

"Ye-ah-ha-ha!" He shouted, wavering on my shoulder in his giddiness. "Let's do that again!"

"In a minute," I giggled, and we go up the steps to the top to find the fourth Scout Fly. I returned to Jak and Amanda on the beach, and from the looks on their faces I knew they were talking. Or, well, Amanda was talking and Jak was making expressions to respond with, but that was besides the point. I did my best to ignore their faces when I gave Jak the Scout Fly, and also tried to ignore the feeling of oddness that had started to fester below my ribcage. Jak had only known me for a couple days, a week at best, give or take how long Amanda and I had been unconscious since they found us. So why did he have the same amount of concern for me in his eyes that Amanda had in hers? It didn't make sense. But in this place, nothing made sense.

I took Daxter to the next temple structure but this time it wasn't as fun to chase the gulls, even though he was estatic again. We went to the stop and we found a Power Cell, and Daxter did the robot to celebrate. I laughed, because his anticts were funny and maybe he did them to cheer me up, but that sparked another question. How did he know I needed it?

The third structure had less birds, but Daxter chased them anyway and that was his entertainment. He shouted out "Whoo-hoo!" at the top of his lungs. After that, I knew it was coming but the following rumble and crumbling still made me jump from the sheer volume of it. We snapped our attention back to the waterfall, with the two sentry statues sat embedded in the rockface as the boulders surrounding them collapsed. One boulder bounced along the ledges then smashed into the cliff hard enough to stick it there, and another, smaller rock fell with it. It bounced too, but daintier, and landed without much fuss or theatrics. I squinted. There was something weird about that rock. What was it again?

"Wa-hoh!" Daxter cried, latching onto the back of my shirt with his claws. "Those seagulls caused an avalanche! Let's go check it out!"

This sparked something in Jak's eyes. I notice him look my way but he turned his head away again so quickly, I wondered if I imagined it. Then he went to Amanda and tapped her shoulder, then pointed at me. No, at Daxter.

I had pretty much been under the impression that I was the only one who really got Jak's body language, but that was pretty arrogant of me to think so. Daxter had certainly been friends with the blond boy much longer than we were so that made him the expert, not me, but I was still a little surprised that Amanda nodded so easily like she knew exactly what he wanted. I set down Daxter and let him scamper off to see what his friend wanted, then I climbed the temple steps and collected the Precursor Orbs at the top.

Up here, you could see for miles. I watched the ocean as it trailed off into blue oblivion, sky and water and the occasional lurker shark fin as it crested the waves. I wasn't worried about it. Up so high, where was nothing, nothing at all to be worried about. The air was salty but still sweet. I loved this scent, even if I hated the beach back home. Back home, the beach was polluted. Covered in trash because people just didn't care anymore. Water, filthy from that same trash. The sun, beating down so hard on the stupid girls laying out to tan their bodies. For what? Did darker skin mean you were prettier?

I stared at my hand in comparison. Not tan, but reddening. Sunburn. Great. Eco should probably get rid of that no problem.

Here there was no pollution. No tittering girls just following their brainwashed orders from their fashion magazines. Here there was no music, and that did upset me a little, but it was better. No fake, human-made electronic sounds. Just seagulls. The waves. The wind.

Jak's fingers brushed my arm.

I handed him the orbs without a pause and we descended the steps together. Amanda and Daxter weren't far, but I got the impression that they had decided to split up while I was up there. This annoyed me for some reason. Why did I get put with Jak? Wouldn't it have made more sense to split by the amount of familiarity?

I glanced at Jak from the corner of my eye and caught the flash of his profile. Prominent nose but not too big. Firm, angular jaw and chin. Boyish cheekbones and laugh lines. Bronzed skin, and muscles. Okay, so maybe tan did look alright. Just a little bit.

I frowned and looked away with a red face when I remembered what Amanda had said the night before. "You liiiiiiiiiiikeeeee hiiiiimmmmm!"

I do not. I don't. He was just nice. Helpful and nice and the character in a video game that was probably just a hallucination in the first place. Ruggedly and boyishly handsome, yes, but he was still just a hallucination. I was just unconscious. Knocked out by a pillow. Yes. Amanda would be calling her mom and my mom and the ambulance and I'd wake up in the hospital soon enough.

In the meantime, I followed Jak toward the wagon wheel and we rode it back up the cliff together. Most of the lurkers had been taken care of by now, aside from the ones in the cannon tower and the odd lurker crab along the beach, so Jak relaxed himself somewhat. I chuckled at the action and he gave me a look. It wasn't harsh or irritated, but rather amused. But then the concern came back and I had to look away. I didn't like the feeling his worry gave me. It was bubbly, like the feeling when you drink too much soda pop and get on a roller coaster. When you feel like you're going to throw up but you know you won't.

Above the water and the sand and past Samos's eco collectors, we found that the smaller 'rock' had been another Power Cell. Of course it was. I remembered that now, now that the moment for that information had passed. "Eight." I said aloud to myself. Jak might have known I wasn't talking to him, but he nodded anyway. I watched him and he looked around in a circle, his blue eyes alert as always. I didn't know where the sudden subdued feeling had come from. Maybe it was the voices. Maybe it was me just reminding myself that all this wasn't real. Dreaming. I was just dreaming. That's all it was. A damn nice dream, but a dream regardless.

Jak nudged my shoulder and got my attention rather quickly. "Yeah?" He nodded his head toward the cliff, and I looked over my shoulder. "What about it?"

He pointed toward the collectors, and I followed his finger to the ramp leading up to another level. "Oh yeah." I forgot about that too. Up on that trail were blue eco clouds and I think a lurker dog or two, plus a Scout Fly box, a lot of orbs, and the egg. The egg tickled my brain for a minute, but I knew I'd remember at some point. "You go. I'll hang out here and wait." When he looked hesitant, I chuckled. "Aw come on. I know you wanna play with the sparky stuff. Go. Explore. But leave that big blue thing over there alone, will ya? I don't know what it is, but I think you should stay away from it."

Jak was pleased, and he bounds off without any more pause. Tch. Boys. At least he'd leave the egg alone. There was something about it. It had to do with that weird lady in the village.

Jak came back not too long later, with a dozen Precursor Orbs in his bag and our fifth Scout Fly. He motioned that there wasn't anything else up there, so we went back to the beach to catch up with Amanda and Daxter. Between them, they had our sixth Scout Fly and quite a few more orbs Put together I knew we had a lot, I didn't feel like counting them. Amanda told Jak there were some that had sank into the water, and after a brief moment where Daxter likened our friend as a submarine when he swam out to get them, even more orbs were added to the collection.

The seventh Scout Fly was achieved by punching some wide logs into the air from where they were embedded into the ground. Jak used it as a ledge to get onto a higher ledge, where he found the last fly and our ninth Power Cell.

Then we were back on the beach, and it became apparent that Daxter's fight with the pelican was not over. Not in the slightest.