[center][h3][color=sandybrown]Jak &[/color] [color=darkorange]Daxter[/color] and [color=lightslategray]Mag Launcher[/color][/h3]
[b]Level 6[/b] - (15/60) (+1), [b]Level 1[/b] - (5/10)
[b]Location:[/b] Smash City -> Dead Zone (Argent Tower)
[b]Word Count:[/b] 805[/center]

Jak and Daxter surprisingly didn’t have a whole lot to do while they waited for the big meeting of everyone at Smash City. They wandered around and took in the sights, and Jak definitely wanted in on a little combat, but there wasn’t much opportunity for it. Besides, after that dragon fight some rest was in order and Dax was more than a smidge hesitant. Once everyone was called to order and the large crowd of Smash City all seemed to “wake up” in one fell swoop, signups began and Jak knew [i]exactly[/i] where they were going.

[color=darkorange]”PLEASE tell me you’re not taking us back there, Jak! I’m still digging out splinters in my fur.”[/color] As if to emphasize his point, Daxter flicked away a little piece of wood.

[color=sandybrown]”We gotta, Dax. I don’t trust that V guy. His eyes are the same mine was after Praxis… Besides, maybe we’ll see Ratchet and Clank again?”[/color] he mused. Daxter shrugged, clearly defeated. There was no way he’d be able to change his friend’s mind and he knew it. So when the time came…

[hr]

Jak wasn’t expecting Argent Tower to be the safe haven they left it, so he went into the teleporter prepared with his morph gun out and ready in scattergun mode. He was right. The Flood were invading in massive force, and luckily he had chosen the perfect mode for maximum damage against clustered groups. The large area of effect caused great harm to the bodies the alien parasites had infected, even if the slow rate of fire caused a problem. 

Mag Launcher had seen a lot of run down places in his adventures. After all, exploring ruins was his job! But this place, it was unlike anything he’d ever seen before. Parasites weren’t something he was unfamiliar with however, so he knew the best way to fight these things was to keep his distance and let the airacomet crush them into paste. Small infectors ran around the ground in an attempt to latch into him, but he jumped back while his bionic hand slammed down open palmed like a giant fly swatter. [i]Squish![/i] An infected attempted to rush him with a pipe and he backhanded it from a distance, sending the host body flying. A problem was quickly arising though, and that was the sheer numbers. He couldn’t keep up with this many attackers!

Running low on red eco, Jak switched to the vulcan fury and unloaded an incredibly fast volley of blue eco penetrating shots while his red eco recharged. Each shot wasn’t the most damaging on its own, but ten shots a second piercing through every target until they hit a wall, it still chewed through enemies like nobody’s business. 

Then a hooded figure appeared and froze some of the creatures in a flash of light. Like they were… Frozen in time. Jak narrowed his eyes at the newcomer, black hood and all. This felt too familiar and it gave him a bad feeling. [color=darkorange]”Another member of the Black Hood Cult? How many of these bozos are there?!”[/color] Daxter exclaimed.

[color=lightslategray]”Reinforcements? Very cool.”[/color] Mag said as he grabbed a Flood infected brute and hurled it into the wall.

The battle raged on with neither side giving an inch. The Flood just kept coming, and killing the infectors didn’t seem to stop them. As long as the bodies were intact, another would just hop in like a car with the keys left in the ignition, and destroying the bodies still left the parasites themselves. Mag was going to get tired sooner rather than later, and Jak could only swap between gun modes for so long before having to abandon the battle altogether.

[color=darkorange]”Listen everyone!”[/color] Daxter called out as Jak spin-kicked a Flood’s head clean off then blasted the body with the scattergun. [color=darkorange]”We’ve gotta prune that giant tree by uprooting it! Look for the big roots stickin’ outta the ground like one of Samos’s bunyons!”[/color]

Ignoring that nobody but Jak would know who Samos was or find that remotely funny, Mag began to direct everyone toward an exit. That’s when the hooded figure dropped their hood and Jak locked eyes with the man as he went running by. Daxter’s jaw dropped and he tried to calm his friend down, but it was to no avail. [color=purple]”You!”[/color] Jak growled, losing his temper. Dark eco rippled through his body and his eyes turned pure black. [color=purple]”I’m gonna kill you!”[/color]

[color=lightslategray]”We don’t have time for this, tactical retreat now!”[/color] Mag grabbed Jak’s shirt collar from afar and yanked the duo away from the hooded man, through the hole made by the crashed truck.