Author: Samuel Vinton

Everyone returned to Beyond City in grand style. The TARDIS arrived the instant the Transformers exited the rift and Health and Death were the first ones out. “Lady Health, welcome!” greeted Megumi. “I’m Megumi Hishikawa, head of the Feudal Nerd Society!”

“A pleasure to meet a friendly face,” said Health. “And a welcome change from having to deal with the Daleks.”

“Daleks?” asked Megumi. “What happened?”

“I think,” called the Doctor, “you’re in for quite a story.”

“In the meantime,” said Death, “I need to reacquaint Health with our sisters and introduce her to Lacey.”

“You go ahead,” replied Megumi. “And after the story, Doctor, could you PLEASE convince my husband his project needs a lot of work!”

“…Project?” asked the Doctor with trepidation.

---

Death and Health arrived at the Horsemen’s mansion. Health took a deep breath, then released it slowly. “…Home, sweet home,” she sighed happily.

“All that’s left is Order,” said Death, “then the sisterhood is reunited!”

“Minus Chaos,” remarked Health.

“Minus the original Chaos, yes, but there’s a new Chaos.”

“There is?!” Health opened the door. She almost crashed into Pestilence.

“Hey, easy there, la-!” Pestilence stopped when she saw her opposite. “HEALTH!” By now, everyone heard her voice.

“Health, welcome back!” said Bounty.

“Great to have you back!” greeted Life.

“It’s great to BE back, girls!” replied Health. She then saw Lacey. “…A human?”

“FORMER human,” said Lacey. “I’m Lacey Thanatos Atmadja, the new Chaos.”

“You’ve clearly adjusted well to being the new Chaos!”

“It took some training, but I used to come from The Simpsons and-.”

“That world with mustard yellow people with overbites?” asked Health. “The chaos there must have helped you adjust.”

“Never really liked my old home,” remarked Lacey, “and was raised by an asshole dad, so it wasn’t that big of a decision to leave my old life.”

“Ah, that makes sense. …So, why the Indonesian surname?”

“That would be because I’m married to a Mobian Komodo Dragon, Dr. Agus Atmadja.”

“…And…he’s okay with you not being a normal-?” Health stopped her question abruptly when she saw Famine trying to stealthily accept something. Everyone else turned to see that Famine was still getting pasta dishes! Once Famine shut the door, she turned and realized everyone saw the whole thing.

“What?!” she protested as she tried to hide the comically tall stack of pasta dishes behind her.

“‘What?’” Death repeated mockingly. “Got a boyfriend delivering it all to you?!”

“How many has she had?” asked Health.

“20 dozen stacks that tall, so far,” muttered Lacey. “We’re gonna go bankrupt at this rate!”

---

“Richard, this looks like it was built by Ogrons!” The Doctor said once she examined the Spectacular. Batman, Gandalf, and Wyldstyle were standing next to Megumi’s Legacy.

“Oh, come on!” protested Richard. “I thought you of all people would appreciate it!”

“Because of the jury-rigs she used to fix the TARDIS on numerous occasions?” snarked Batman. “At least they work until she can make proper repairs!”

“Yeah, there’s no way this thing should move at all!” agreed the Doctor.

“Your assessment, Doctor?” asked Megumi when she joined the group.

“Well-,” said the Doctor. Richard didn’t let her finish.

“While the Doctor found a few minor issues,” he said, “she agreed that if I were to put the Spectacular into production, I would make a fortune!”

“…Doctor?” asked Megumi incredulously.

“No, I didn’t say that,” replied the Doctor.

“Look, I did the math!” protested Richard. “The Grand Caravan was 2,500 studs, the Chrysler Pacifica was 3,000, the Tesla was 60,000, and the work was 70,000, that’s 135,500 studs in total. I could sell this thing for 500,000 a pop.”

“No, you couldn’t,” muttered Wyldstyle.

“I could!” insisted Richard.

“I must agree with Wyldstyle,” remarked Gandalf. “You couldn’t.”

“Yes, I could! A 2023 Phantom sells for almost 500,000 studs here!”

“A 2023 Phantom,” argued Batman, “is a proper car built by Rolls-Royce!”

“Exactly! What you have, Richard,” said the Doctor, “is three scrap cars glued together by a Muppet with no engineering know-how!”

“Look, the van isn’t designed for people like you!” snapped Richard.

“What, people with eyes?” asked Megumi.

“People who dress themselves in the morning?” asked the Doctor.

“I’ll tell you exactly who’ll buy this!” declared Richard.

“Orcs from Núrn?” asked Gandalf.

“No, baseball players!”

“No, they won’t!” protested Wyldstyle.

“Baseball players like Fords and Chevies!” agreed Batman. “Especially their respective lines of pick-up trucks! Not that hunk of junk!”

“What’s going on here?” asked a voice. A Jaguar Mark X then arrived, and Michael stepped out of the driver’s side.

“See, THAT’S a proper car!” said Batman.

“Ah, discussing the Spectacular, hm?” guessed Michael. “Oh, good lord, and you brought the Doctor.”

“Didn’t exactly give it a ringing endorsement,” remarked the Doctor. “…Now, your Jaguar…” Michael smiled and opened the hood (excuse me, bonnet) so the Doctor could see what’s underneath. “Is that a bi-radial catalyst engine?!” she asked, clearly impressed.

“It IS a bi-radial catalyst engine!” replied Michael. “I took some design ideas from your car, Bessie.”

“And you paid homage to her really well!” said the Doctor. “Though that engine’s not a cheap one.”

“No, building my Jag wasn’t cheap. But it wasn’t as expensive as I thought. In all, it took me about 385,000 studs.”

“What?!” yelped Megumi and Richard.

“I know! That’s a lot of car for only 38 and a half purple studs! Look at the size of it!”

“Michael, that’s about 150,000…” Richard rechecked his math. “No, 250,000 studs more than I paid to get the Spectacular built!”

“That people carrier you cobbled together,” replied Michael, “is your embarrassing attempt to reinvent the wheel, the classic pitfall of American technology! My Jag is definitive, your van…is derivative!”

“Michael, not to give Richard any leeway here,” said Megumi, “but a Jaguar, especially a Mark X, that’s something a Bond Villain would drive.”

“Well, I got the goatee and the dark clothing,” replied Michael, “so why not indulge in a bit of that feeling?”

“…Your car, your attitude, I guess,” muttered the Doctor.

Gol and Maia were taken to prison for their crimes. The Doctor managed to figure out how they knew it was Jak. “It turns out,” she said, “that during their time in stasis, their minds were flooded with data linked through all the Precursor Robots. It fed them all the information about the Metal Head Wars, the attack from the Dark Makers, and the Eco shortage, and they couldn’t do anything about it.”

“To be stuck in the same position for 300 years, knowing that the world is going on without you,” muttered Layla, “that’s just…maddening!”

“Kids, you were very brave to go on this adventure with us,” said Jak. “…Though, I have to admit, that was more death than you should have been exposed to.”

“Unfortunately, the Daleks are like that,” sighed Death. “They always bring out the worst in us.”

“…Guys,” said Layla, “can I…have my fur back?”

“Allow me, little one,” said Drebber. He raised his staff and dark energy was seeping out of Layla. After a minute, she changed and shrunk into an Ottsel like Daxter.

“I’M FUZZY AGAIN!” she cheered.

“Now, Layla,” said Daxter. “Step 1: listen to your dad this time. Step 2: …NEVER THINK ABOUT DOING SOMETHING LIKE THAT AGAIN!”

“That goes for you too, Markus!” said Jak.

“Okay! Okay! We won’t go to places that are forbidden!” replied Markus. He then spotted Megatron looking at the wall behind the elevator. “…Mr. Megatron, sir?” he asked.

“I just remembered something,” replied Megatron. “Jak, Daxter, a rift gate was right there, yes?”

“…Yeah?” asked Jak.

“…Perhaps there’s another one that could use 100 power cells,” mused Megatron.

“NO!” shouted Jak and Daxter together.

“I am NOT going through all that again!” snarled Jak. “Metal Heads were coming out of both ends of the rift gate!”

“BOTH ENDS!” agreed Daxter.

“The Forbidden Jungle’s still got Metal Head remnants harassing the Lurkers there!” shuddered Markus. “Dad showed me last year!”

“…Well, I guess that’s that,” remarked Galvatron.

“Death, see if Health’s ready to go,” said Farmee.

“No need for that,” called Health as she arrived with her Source in her hands. “I’m all set!”

“Then this is goodbye,” Farmee said to Jak, Daxter, and their friends and family. “Everyone, it was a pleasure seeing your world. I hope we can meet again under better circumstances.”

“Just a moment!” called a Haven Guard. He stormed up to Farmee. “Top secret military project, huh?!” he snarled. Farmee blinked. His eyes then widened in recognition.

“Oh! Y-You’re the…the Port Authority Commander!” he gulped.

“Yeah! Make a moncaw out of me, huh?!”

“Commander, stand down!” snapped Torn. “Did you bring that box?”

“Yes, Sir! Box is currently right behind us!” gulped the commander as he pointed at the TARDIS.

“There she is!” said the Doctor. She then seemed to consider something. “…Eh, why not?” she said. She opened the TARDIS doors and looked to Jak and Daxter. “Want a peek?”

“It’s a blue box,” remarked Jak as he and Daxter headed inside. “What’s so…?” Jak blinked when he saw what was inside the TARDIS.

“…Did I get hit on the head?!” asked Daxter. Jak stepped outside and circled the TARDIS.

“…H…How-?! It’s…bigger on the inside?!” yelped Jak.

“Is it?” asked Farmee with a wry grin.

“I had no idea!” chuckled the Doctor. Health took a look inside and gasped.

“…Is this a Type 40?!” she asked. “Tell me it’s a Type 40!”

“Good eye!” praised the Doctor.

“Now THAT’S a TARDIS type with proper character!” said Health. “And more user-friendly than those Type 70’s or Type 190’s or Type Infinity’s or whatever the Time Lords cooked up! Bells and whistles are nothing without proper character!”

“Exactly what I always say!” agreed the Doctor. “All right, everyone! Back home we go!” As the more human-sized people entered the TARDIS, Galvatron called Beyond City.

“Galvatron to Command,” he said, “rift for three Transformers.” The TARDIS then dematerialized as the rift opened. Galvatron, Megatron, and Hot Rod then jumped through the rift.

---

Deep within the bowels of the Imperium, Khan met with Intrag, Metaltron, and the Supreme Dalek. “A massacre, that’s all it was!” Metaltron snapped at Intrag. “Only one survivor and the rest are either normal or warped corpses!”

“Your Daleks brought no victory!” roared Intrag. “They were too scared to sacrifice their so-called genetic purity for a greater cause!”

“There is no greater cause than maintaining the purity of the Daleks!” barked the Supreme.

“The fault lies with the guy that assigned you that mission,” grunted Khan. Everyone looked at him.

“…That was you, my lord,” remarked Metaltron.

“Like I said, the fault lies with me,” said Khan. “Sending Daleks, tampering with Dark Eco, I must have been desperate! …Metaltron, do you have any Combatmen skilled in Ninjutsu?”

“As a matter of fact, yes,” replied Metaltron. “…And if I may say, my lord, you should have assigned Benny and Captain Don Shinobi to Universe T-M-N-T.”

“Well, let’s hope that I didn’t mess up so badly on that front. …And that woman, Dalek Supreme, are you sure she introduced herself as THE Doctor?”

“Correct!” confirmed the Dalek Supreme.

“I think we need to confirm that.”

“My Time Controller is outside the room,” said Metaltron.

“Bring him in,” ordered Khan. “Supreme, feed the information to him when he gets in here.” The door opened and a Dalek with a longer neck and rings intersecting one another entered the room.

“Time Controller receiving,” it said. The tone was…humanish, for lack of a better word. That unnerved Khan for reasons he never disclosed. The Time Controller then projected images from its eyestalk. It started with the Doctor as she looked now, then reverted to a short, Asian woman, then a portly, black woman, then a freakishly tall blonde man…then a blonde woman in a grey coat with a rainbow across the chest of her shirt, then an fierce looking old man with attack eyebrows, then a man with delicate eyebrows and a bow tie, then a skinny man with a long, brown coat, then a man with huge ears. Metaltron backed up when she saw that man. She KNEW that man! The Time Controller then switched the images off. “Identity confirmed,” it said. “That woman is our greatest enemy! The Time Lord! The Doctor!”

“SHE MUST BE EXTERMINATED!” shouted the Supreme.

“NO!” countered Metaltron.

“No?!” argued Intrag. “If this woman IS this Doctor you Daleks have a particular hatred for, then she must die!”

“There are spatio-temporal imperatives we must obey,” said the Time Controller. “Any deviation would mean the failure of our mission.”

“But the Doctor-!”

“Her presence in that universe,” the Time Controller interrupted, “was not foreseen. We do not know what her purpose is among our enemies. We cannot risk destabilizing events at this stage of the conflict! Our imperatives are to claim the Sources and the 3V2R prizes belonging to Megumi Hishikawa, Optimus Prime, and Arsha Royana!”

“But the Doctor will attempt to impede our progress!” argues the Dalek Supreme.

“The Doctor is resourceful,” mused Khan. “We must use that resourcefulness. For now, Metaltron is right. She must be kept alive.”

“…Very well,” said Intrag.

“In the meantime, Intrag, I need you and your forces to begin searching the Mushroom Kingdom for the Source of Pestilence.”

“At once, Author.” Intrag bowed and he, Metaltron, and the two Daleks left. Metaltron…had a smirk on her face.

“All according to plan,” she muttered to herself.

“…Welp, the Acherons aren’t serving our enemies,” remarked Galvatron.

“How did they-?!” spluttered Megatron. “I mean, they made Lurkers by putting Green Eco into Dark Eco, but making Lurkers out of Daleks?”

“They’re acting crazier than the test subject,” observed Jak as he looked through his goggles.

“…I think I have an idea,” mused the Doctor. “If I can somehow get a good source of Dark Eco’s direct opposite…”

“Light Eco!” said Jak. “But it can only be made when Red, Yellow, Green, and Blue are equally combined!”

“Or if you have a Light Eco Sage!” called Murda. “Doctor, what do you need me to do?”

“I need Light Eco shunted into the robot’s head,” explained the Doctor. “If I can use its camera eyes, I should be able to trigger a widespread counteraction effect all Dark Eco affected people should be vulnerable to.”

“Light Eco can stave off the effects of Dark Eco, but the powers will still be a part of you, Doctor,” said Murda. “Just ask Jak. He has Light Eco running through his veins to counteract the experiments he suffered.”

“She’s right,” said Jak.

“The thing is, you have an innate sense of good,” replied the Doctor. “Those that just seek power don’t understand right from wrong.”

“So it’s going to specifically target those without morals?” asked Murda.

“That’s the idea,” confirmed the Doctor. “But I need to get closer.”

“Megatron, Galvatron,” called Farmee, “take me, the Doctor, Murda, Jak, and Daxter. We’ll hold off the Daleks and their Lurker counterparts while the Doctor does her thing. Everyone else, keep the enemy off our backs!”

“Let’s go!” said Galvatron as he and Megatron transformed. The team jumped into their cockpits and they took off to the silo. Their arrival was not unnoticed.

“Cybertronian energy signatures detected!” barked a Dalek.

“Intercept and exterminate! Exterminate!” ordered the Supreme. Daleks then fired on the two Decepticon Lords as they took to the air.

“Covering fire for the Doctor and Murda!” called Farmee as he fired lightning. His target was Intrag’s back!

“WHO DARES STRIKE ME FROM BEHIND LIKE A COWARD?!” roared Intrag.

“It’s that Blender over there!” called Scorpo.

“Scorpo, yes?” asked Farmee. “You were supposed to be the Titan of Air before my parents upset that little apple cart, yes?”

“Your parents?” asked Scorpo. He then realized something. “Of course. You’re one of Arsha’s kids. Not by blood, obviously. You’re too white for that.”

“True, my blood parents are Falnii and Foresna Royana, but I have just enough of Arsha’s ideals…and Malnar’s.”

“So my latest descendant forsook the Emboramii name!” hissed Intrag.

“I don’t know, I’d say Mama Malnar’s still a bit of a firebrand,” remarked Farmee.

“She failed miserably! And taught you how to fight like a coward!”

“You’re undeserving of an honorable battle!” At that declaration, Intrag charged at Farmee, distracting the tyrant from the Doctor. Murda kept the Lurker Daleks at bay.

“Doctor, whenever you’re ready!” hissed Murda.

“I’ve got to set the head so the Light Eco wave covers the breadth of the Citadel!” replied the Doctor.

“Well, hurry it up!”

“I AM hurrying!”

“DO NOT MOVE!” barked a normal Dalek as it fired on the Lurker Daleks. “You will cease all activity and surrender! You are my prisoner!”

“Oh, for the love of-! Here we go again!” groaned the Doctor. “Always with the barking orders! Always exterminating through your gunstick or forced labor!”

“That is the fate of all Non-Daleks!” replied the Dalek.

“It really isn’t! I’ve seen it before!” snapped the Doctor. “Whenever you suppress a populace, you galvanize others into being stronger than you lot!”

“Nothing is stronger than the Daleks!”

“The Thals beg to differ.”

“The Thals are weak! They shall perish and so will their human allies!”

“You couldn’t make them perish! I’ve seen it happen! They last long until the collapse of the universe! You fail in exterminating them! That’s a future worth fighting for!”

“That is no future! That is Hell! Hell shall be avoided! You and your kind will be exterminated!”

“Do you have any idea how often Gallifrey has come back? About as many times as Skaro!” The Dalek twitched at the mention of Gallifrey.

“…Why invoke Gallifrey’s name? Who are you?! IDENTIFY!”

“Have a scan! And know that I am Ka Faraq Gatri!” The Dalek ran several scans as its eyestalk went up and down. It then stared directly at the Doctor.

“You…cannot be!” it practically begged.

“Oh, but I am! I’m the Doctor!” The Dalek backed up in fear. It then sent the information to the nearby Daleks, attracting their attention. Even the Lurker Daleks caught wind of the Doctor’s presence.

“EXTERMINATE!” shouted one Dalek. All the nearby Daleks and Lurker Daleks fired! The Doctor rolled out of the way, trying to get the Daleks to not shoot at the robot’s head.

“THE DOCTOR IS AN ENEMY OF ALL DALEKS! EXTERMINATE!” shrieked a Lurker Dalek, remembering old instincts.

“NO! IDIOTS! NEVER MIND THAT WOMAN!” shouted Gol as he and Maia dueled Jak.

“Hey, ugly!” called Daxter. He yanked on Gol’s ears and snapped them back, causing the former Dark Eco Sage to stumble into Maia.

“MURDA!” called Jak. Murda then channeled white energy into Jak. Jak drew on the Light Eco and performed his usual Jump Dive, creating a shockwave that knocked Gol and Maia to the floor, unconscious. The Doctor took advantage of the distraction and finished her work.

“NOW, MURDA!” she called. Murda fired a stream of Light Eco into the robot’s head and the Doctor set the controls. She then leapt out of the head. “EVERYONE DOWN!” The robot head created a shockwave that covered the whole area. The Daleks were caught up in the shockwave and lost control.

“ALERT! ALERT! ENERGY WAVE DISRUPTING CASING! FUNCTION IMPARED! WEAPONS NON-RESPONSIVE! GRAVITATIONAL FLUCTUATORS OFFLINE! IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYEEEEEEEEEE!” Gravity caught up with the Daleks and Lurker Daleks as they started dropping like flies, crashing into the trees below and dying upon impact. Intrag looked around, there was only his team and the Dalek Supreme.

“RRRRGGGH! THIS MISSION IS A FAILURE!” he shouted. “WE HAVE TOO FEW FORCES TO RETRIEVE HEALTH! RETREAT!” His team and the Dalek Supreme vanished, then a rift opened for the Scorpion. It flew into the rift as it closed behind them.

“…That’ll give them something to chew on,” muttered the Doctor.

“Well, that’s that,” said Farmee. He then looked to Gol and Maia. “Now what to do about them?”

“Leave them to me and Dax,” replied Jak as he cracked his knuckles. “It’s time for them to get acquainted with this era!”

Health was stunned when she heard the entire story. She held onto the warp gate to steady herself. “…Th…The Tome? …My Source?” she mumbled.

“That’s why we’re here,” said Farmee, “to keep you and your Source out of enemy hands. …But we can’t exactly leave this universe to the Daleks.”

“…Jak,” Health said.

“Yes?” asked Jak.

“You do realize the Dark Eco Silo isn’t just full of Dark Eco, yes? There’s…something else?”

“That robot Gol and Maia used, yeah.”

“What about it?” asked Daxter. “Jak turned that thing to scrap and those two drowned in the silo.”

“The Acheron siblings are not dead,” replied Health.

“WHAT?!” yelped Jak, Daxter, and Kiera.

“That’s why Drebber and I have been keeping Health’s appearances so scarce,” explained Murda. “Somehow, the Dark Eco has kept them in a state of suspended animation.”

“And that kind of isolation for roughly 300 years, well…” Drebber left the answer up to everyone’s imagination.

“How dangerous could they be?” asked Torn. “They obviously lost.”

“Torn,” replied Jak, “Gol and Maia managed to scavenge a Precursor robot, add their own bits to it, enslave all the Lurkers, and were almost successful in opening the Dark Eco Silo to flood the world with it to try and play God. Trust me, the sting of their defeat will make them crazier and more dangerous on top of being stuck in suspended animation.”

“And with Daleks involved,” sighed Health, “there will be untold amounts of havoc.”

“Well then,” said the Doctor, “…I can’t believe I’m being so cliched here, but Doctor in the house.”

“…Doctor?” asked Health. “…THE Doctor?”

“The Enemy of the Daleks herself!” confirmed Death.

“…Well, with her here,” chuckled Health, “we may actually have a shot! I’m not a fighter, but I’m the best healer in the multiverse!”

“If you could work with our medics,” said Drebber, “I think we’ll be able to see this through!”

“And once the Daleks and their ‘masters’ are taken care of, I’m gonna have to take my Source and leave this world.”

“…Leave?” asked Murda.

“It’s not safe for me to stay here, Murda. I’ll have to go,” said Health.

“…Very well,” sighed Murda.

“In the meantime, we better get ready,” said Jak. He then saw a cluster of yellow energy. “…You know, I’m feeling nostalgic!” he said.

“Yellow Eco?” guessed Farmee.

“The Eco of long-range strength itself!” replied Jak. “There’s probably Daleks on the other side of the door.”

“I’ll lead the way,” said Farmee. “When I get charged up with the Yellow Eco, open that door and storm the place, guns blazing. Healers stay at the back. We need you alive. Jak, Megatron, you’re my guides. Riders, armor up.”

“Understood,” replied Megatron. Adam, Brendan, Death, Henry, Jandro, Joshua, Liam, and Sam brought out their belts. Adam and Sam then pressed a button on their crystal spheres.

“DEVIL!” announced Sam’s Crystal Sphere.

“ARCHITECT!” said Adam’s Crystal Sphere.

“HENSHIN!” shouted all the Riders. Their armor appeared and they summoned their weapons.

“Whoa!” gasped Markus. “That looks…!”

“So cool!” finished Layla.

“All right,” said Farmee. “Here we go! Touching the Eco…NOW!” Farmee touched the Yellow Eco and became charged with energy. The doors opened and everyone fired! Farmee’s punches fired energy shots that struck various Daleks.

“ALERT! ALERT! ENEMY FORCES DETECTED!” warned a Dalek before it was destroyed by Jak’s Morph Gun in its sniper-rifle Blaster mode.

“They must not reach the silo!” barked the Dalek Supreme. “EXTERMINATE!”

“The elevator’s still working!” called Jak. “It’ll take us to the roof!”

“From there, there’s a platform that goes from the roof to the silo!” elaborated Megatron as he fired on the Daleks. Unfortunately, the Daleks regained enough of their wits to start firing!

“They taking two hits!” called a Babak Lurker. “We no-!” The Babak screamed as a Dalek shot it. One could see the skeleton as the shot hit the Lurker, scrambling his insides.

“Aim for the eyestalk!” called Jack as he fired at his Dalek’s eyestalk.

“VISION IMPARED! I CANNOT SEE!” The now-blinded Dalek started firing wildly.

“Path to the elevator’s clear!” announced a Haven Guard. “Go! Go! Go!”

“Jak, you lead everyone up to the roof! I’ll cover you!” said Torn.

“You’ll get killed by them!” protested Jak.

“I’m no hero! I’ll come back!” insisted Torn. “Now GO!” Jak didn’t really want to, but with all the Daleks inside the citadel regrouping, he didn’t have much choice. The team went into the elevator and went straight for the roof. Once up top…everyone saw the Scorpion with a Dalek saucer near the giant silo, both trying to blast the locked roof doors off.

“A command saucer,” muttered the Doctor. “We’ll have a hard time of it.”

“Guys, we better step on it! They’re almost through!” warned Daxter.

“…That door is NOT being broken into,” said Jak.

“Jak’s right, the door is curved upwards,” remarked Galvatron. “Which means…”

“Something’s coming out!” gulped Layla. And something DID come out. It looked like a Precursor robot’s head, but its right eye looked like multiple yellow-lensed cameras were grafted into the socket!

“How’s that thing flying?!” asked Daxter.

“Hold up, the eye’s opening!” said Megatron.

---

The Precursor robot’s eye opened and out jumped what looked like Ottsel/human hybrids with navy blue fur and glowing Lurker eyes. They looked around and cheered. “THREE HUNDRED YEARS OF IMPRISONMENT!” called the male. “AND NOW WE’RE FREE!”

“THIS WORLD IS OURS FOR THE TAKING!” cheered the female. “ALL SHALL BOW TO US!”

“Gol and Maia Acheron?” asked a voice. Intrag and his team approached them with a squad of Daleks.

“That would be us,” replied the male, the former Sage of Dark Eco, Gol Acheron.

“Who are you?” asked his sister, Maia.

“I am Intrag Emboramii, King of the Under-realm,” Intrag introduced. “And my people have need of you.”

“We serve no one!” snapped Gol.

“Oh, but you do,” chuckled Intrag. “Daleks, prepare them for the experiment. Perhaps THEY will do.”

“We obey!” barked the Daleks.

“Oh, look!” chuckled Maia. “New Lurkers!”

“…Erm, no, Daleks,” replied Intrag, confused. “Not Lurkers.”

“They WILL be!” laughed Gol! He fired a stream of Dark Eco energy at the Daleks.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!” yelped Scorpo.

“ALERT! ALERT! MENTAL STABILITY AT RISK! I! I! IIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHA!” The Dalek that spoke then changed! A pair of Lurker eyes opened just under the dome lights with the eyestalk in the middle, the neck section gained a set of Lurker tusks, the travel skirt became warty tentacles, and a mouth formed where the tusks grew! The Dalekanium casing was now as flexible as flesh and so were the limbs and eyestalk! This happened to all the Daleks in the squad and they laughed maniacally once the mutation was complete.

“WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” demanded Intrag.

“DESTROY THESE INTERLOPERS!” Gol ordered the Lurker Daleks. They trained their gunsticks on their former master and comrades and fired!

Dark Jak continued stabbing the Dalek creature, seemingly unaware of Daxter being free. “Dad! DAD!” called Markus as Layla checked on Daxter. Dark Jak glared at Markus. “Dad, Uncle Daxter’s okay! …You ARE okay, right, Uncle Daxter?”

“Listen to your kid, Jak,” said Daxter. “I’m fine now.” Dark Jak saw that Daxter was okay, then he took deep breaths to calm down as he returned to his normal self. He was taking deep breaths to calm down.

“…Haven’t gone dark since the kids were born,” said Jak. “Didn’t wanna harm them.”

“Is that why you kept taking deep breaths whenever you got mad at me?” asked Markus.

“…Yes. Markus, you know how much of a short temper I have. I can’t afford to lose it or Dark Jak would hurt you. …I can’t have that on my conscience. …But that anger is born from fear.”

“Fear?” asked Layla.

“We don’t wanna lose you,” explained Daxter.

“So, I have to keep a lid on my temper, otherwise…otherwise I’d make that nightmare come true by hurting you,” said Jak. Markus then gave his father a hug.

“Layla and I were being stupid,” he said. “I’m sorry.”

“No, I’m sorry,” said Jak. “I threw you headfirst into this adventure.”

“No, Uncle Jak, we took those steps,” replied Layla. “And now…well, I paid the price.”

“…How about we skip the grounding and just get my kid cured and toss the Daleks out of our homes?” suggested Daxter.

“Sounds like a plan,” agreed Jak.

---

As the scene unfolded before the group, Megatron smiled. Galvatron looked to his father. “…If I did something like this-?” he asked.

“I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t have been grounded so many times, my boy,” replied Megatron.

“Doctor, I thought Jak’s shot would have killed that thing immediately,” said Farmee as he, Jack, and the Doctor examined the now truly dead Dalek. Death swung her scythe and severed the Dalek’s soul from its mortal frame.

“It must have been the Dark Eco that kept it alive,” replied the Doctor. She started working on the casing’s internal systems. “Let’s see, if I attach that wire here, engage the holographic display like so…aha! Here we are!”

“What?” asked Jack.

“Archived monitor data relating to the experiment!” explained the Doctor. She got the eyestalk to move upwards and project a hologram of Intrag and a few Daleks at the site.

“All equipment prepared!” barked the Dalek Supreme.

“Then let’s see how well a Dalek can handle Dark Eco,” replied Intrag.

“Warning!” called a scientist Dalek. “Direct injection of Dark Eco is likely to cause unwanted mutations! Mental stability of test subject at risk! Haven City’s Dark Warrior is necessary to successfully filter out all ill effects.”

“We can’t afford to delay!” snarled Intrag. “Begin the experiment!”

“I obey!” replied the scientist Dalek. It linked the test subject to the machine. “Connections established! Eco Injectors online!”

“Dark Eco from smaller silo above now being injected into Dalek organism through casing nutrient feed!” reported the assistant Dalek.

“Dark Eco levels rising!” called a third Dalek.

“Alert! Alert!” warned the first scientist Dalek. “Energy levels climbing to unsafe levels!”

“Disengage test subject!” ordered the Dalek Supreme.

“Unable to regain control!” replied the scientist Dalek. “Dark Eco now mutating organism! Mental stability at risk!” The Dalek test subject started screaming!

“Alert! Alert! Move away from the test subject!” warned the Dalek Supreme. “Arm weapons!”

“Belay that!” ordered Intrag. “The test subject must stay alive!”

“Mutations accelerating!” warned the scientist Dalek. “Arming weapons! Targeting creature!” It aimed its gunstick at the test subject.

“That’s one of your kind!” protested Intrag. “We can’t afford to-!”

“No! No!” replied the Dalek Supreme. “That creature is no longer a Dalek! There must be no genetic impurities! Exterminate the creature!” The test subject broke free.

“Creature is freed!” called a Dalek. “Exterminate! EXTERMINATE!” It fired on the test subject, but nothing happened.

“Creature’s shielding altered!” warned the scientist Dalek. “Recalibra-!” The test subject then fired a stream of purple light from its gunstick, ripping a hole into the scientist Dalek. It then fired on the other Daleks and the equipment.

“This facility is lost!” shouted Intrag. “All survivors, evacuate to the Acheron Citadel! Intrag to Scorpion! One to return!” The Dalek Supreme and two other survivors then flew into the air and abandoned Misty Island while Intrag vanished. The Doctor then switched the feed off.

“I rather think we have all we need,” she muttered.

“We’ll have to get to this Acheron Citadel,” said Farmee.

“The best way would be to warp directly to the Yellow Eco Sage’s lab,” replied Jak. “That’s where Drebber lives.”

“…Drebber lives in Gol and Maia’s old citadel?” muttered Megatron.

---

Everyone returned to the mainland and explained the situation. “I’ll see if I can have Torn spare the Haven Guard,” said Jak.

“And I’ll have my citadel guards on standby when they arrive,” said Drebber. “I better tell Murda too.”

“Murda?” asked Farmee.

“My wife, a Robber Lurker from the old Precursor Basin. She’s the Sage of Light Eco and works with the monks outside Spargus sometimes.”

“A Lurker studying Light Eco?” asked Megatron. “Interesting.” Jak and Drebber made their calls.

“Thanks, Torn,” said Jak when he finished. He turned to the team. “The Haven Guard’s gonna be joining us.”

“And Murda’s been made aware of what’s going on,” said Drebber. “She and Health will meet us all in the Yellow Sage’s Lab.”

“We’ll follow the Haven Guard in alt-mode,” said Galvatron. “You guys go through the warp gate.”

“Good luck,” said Farmee. “Everyone, let’s get going.” Kiera set the warp gate to the Yellow Sage’s lab and everyone human-sized and smaller went through. Megatron, Galvatron, and Hot Rod transformed and sped off, leading the Haven Guard to the north. First they went over the Fire Canyon now that roads with heat shields were established, then they went through Rock Village, then over another bridge over lava, then through the mountain pass, then across the roads surrounding the volcanic crater the Red Eco Sage made his home in, then through the Lava Tube to the Yellow Sage’s lab, meeting with everyone there. A female Robber Lurker in white robes then hugged Drebber. As they discussed the situation, Farmee saw a woman in a purple dress with purple skin. He approached the woman.

“Lady Health, I presume?” he asked.

“…You presume correctly,” replied the woman. She then saw Death. “My sister!”

“Hello again, Health,” said Death as she hugged Health.

“Death, what’s going on?” asked Health. “What are those people at the silo and what are they doing with the Daleks?”

“…Lady Health,” said Farmee, “you may want to sit down.”

“Why would the Daleks abandon their test subject?” pondered Sam.

“Maybe a direct Dark Eco injection proved to be too maddening for all parties concerned,” mused Farmee.

“That’s very likely,” said the Doctor, “but we’ll need to examine it to confirm it.”

“Wait a minute,” said Megatron, concern detected in his voice, “you want us to take a speedboat to Misty Island to try and undertake a scientific examination of a Dalek that is potentially high on Dark Eco and is, in all probability, more murder-happy than the usual Dalek?”

“No, of course not,” replied the Doctor. Just as Megatron was about to relax, the Doctor continued. “You and Galvatron are gonna fly me, Farmee, Jack, Frenzy, and Death to Misty Island to try and undertake a scientific examination of a Dalek that is potentially high on Dark Eco and is, in all probability, more murder-happy than the usual Dalek.”

“Me, Dax, and the kids will follow behind in the speedboat,” said Jak. “This should be enough time to make sure my Morph Gun’s up to scratch.”

“Doctor, this is lunacy!” hissed Galvatron.

“Anything involving the Daleks is lunacy,” replied the Doctor.

“…We better get going,” declared Farmee. “We need as much intel as possible before we can stop the Daleks and keep Health out of the line of fire.”

“…All right, then,” sighed Megatron as he and Galvatron assumed their alt-modes. Farmee, Death, and Jack jumped into Galvatron’s cockpit while the Doctor and Frenzy jumped into Megatron’s. The two Decepticon Lords then took off to Misty Island with their passengers.

“…You want us to come with you, Dad?” asked Markus.

“You kids seem ready for adventure,” replied Jak. “Besides, Uncle Daxter and I did the same thing when we were your age.”

---

The two Decepticon Lords arrived at the rather bleak shores of Misty Island. They let their passengers off before they assumed Robot Mode. “Misty Island, what a dump,” muttered Megatron.

“Lives up to the name,” remarked Farmee. “Megatron, which way should we go? You’re the guide here since Jak’s still on the mainland.”

“The quickest way to the silo’s through there,” said Megatron as he pointed out several rocky outcroppings with mist surrounding them. “Some of the ledges are unstable, so be careful.”

“So, on top of obscuring mist, we’ve got ledges that can vanish beneath our feet?”

“The joys of an open-world platformer.”

“Well, we can’t stand around talking all day. Come on.” Farmee led the way with everyone double-jumping occasionally. Then…a misstep! Galvatron saw the walls of bronze colored metal with runes lining the top with a circular door on the next outcropping.

“Hey! Guys! Check it-!” Galvatron then slipped! “HELP!” he yelped before grabbing the ledge to the door. His feet stayed on the ledge behind. “…Hey, what do you know?! A third mode as a bridge!” he chuckled. “All right, everyone! Don’t look down!” The smaller people crossed Galvatron’s back. Megatron opted to jump to the door. His feet landed on Galvatron’s hand! “ARGH! DAD! YOUR-!” Megatron got off his hand and hoisted him up to the door. Galvatron rubbed his hand in pain. “Why don’t you watch where you’re jumping?! Your fat feet weigh as much as a planet!”

“Now see here-!” snarled Megatron. He was interrupted by cries of pain from the other side of the wall. They were harsh, grating, and metallic cries, but still pained ones. “…Let’s take a look,” he said. Everyone approached the door. It opened to reveal a Dalek gliding erratically at top speed!

“OUT OF CONTROL!” it wailed. “OUT OF CONTROL! ALERT! PAAAAAIIIIIIIIINNNNNN! ALERT! GYARGH!”

“By the Matrix!” breathed Galvatron. “What’s wrong with it?!”

“It must be the Dark Eco it was injected with,” guessed Farmee.

“Well, it looks like it’s too busy with its own problems,” muttered the Doctor.

“UNAUTHORIZED! LIFE FORMS! DETECTED!” wailed the Dalek as it turned to the door.

“Then again!”

“YOU WILL BE EXTERMINATED! GARGH! EXTERMINATE! ARGH! EEEEEEEEEEEEEXXXXXXXXXTERMINAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTTTTTTTEEEEEEEE!!!!!” The Dalek brought its gunstick to bear on everyone!

“SCATTER!” called Farmee. Everyone spread out as they ran into the walled, large Dark Eco Silo. The floor was clearly designed to open up if need be. The Dalek fired erratically, unable to focus on a single target. Megatron and Galvatron fired their weapons at the Dalek, but the shots were absorbed by its shields!

“Of course, its shields would be made stronger,” grumbled Galvatron. Electricity then crackled between Farmee’s fingers.

“Hit the deck!” he called. He then fired lightning at the Dalek. As the group fought, red energy clusters appeared.

“Red Eco!” called Megatron. “The Eco of Strength!”

“I got it!” called Farmee. He touched the Red Eco and spin-kicked the Dalek. This time, there was a dent in its casing!

“DAMAGE! TO CASING! SUPERFICIAL!” it cried. “TARGETING! ENHANCED! HUMAN!”

“I’m HALF human, thank you!” snarled Farmee. He fired another lightning bolt at the Dalek, then the aura from the Red Eco vanished. “Ah, crap!” he muttered. “Must have worn off like that Blue Eco!”

“GET DOWN!” called Jak’s voice. Everyone dove out of the way and a ball of electricity struck the Dalek.

“CASING! POWER LEVELS! SPIKING TO! UNACCEPTABLE! TOLERANCES! MOBILITY HAMPERED! VISION IMPARED! WEAPONS DEACTIVATED! I’M LOSING CONTROL! I’M LOSING CONTROL! I’M LOSing control! I’m losing control! I! I! Aye! Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyeeeeeeeeeee…” The Dalek’s limbs and eyestalk drooped as the light on the eye faded. Everyone looked to the door to see Jak with a gun of some sort with a metal skull at the barrel. He had Daxter and their kids with him.

“Cutting it a bit close with your Peace Maker, Jak!” hissed Megatron.

“It looked like you handled it up to when the Red Eco wore off,” snarked Daxter.

“So that’s the Dalek test subject?” asked Jak.

“You mean it WAS,” replied Galvatron.

“Let’s open it up and have a look,” said the Doctor as she pulled out her sonic screwdriver. She switched it on and it buzzed while she pointed it at the Dalek’s casing. She seemed to trace a division line in the casing. It then hissed and the mid-section and neck of the Dalek’s casing opened up to reveal the creature inside. While healthy Dalek creatures were green with a single eye, exposed brain, and smooth tentacles, this one had a purple tinge to it, three closed eyes, and dark purple warts along its ligaments and brain.

“By the Allspark!” gagged Megatron. “The Dark Eco warped its body!”

“It couldn’t handle the energy of the Eco,” said the Doctor. She tapped her chin. “…A bit gross, but I’m going to tap into its Pathweb connection to see-.”

“Doctor,” said Farmee, “I think one of its tentacles twitched.” Death checked her smartwatch.

“…It probably did,” she agreed. “Its life timer isn’t empty yet.”

“Let me see!” said Daxter. The Mutant Dalek creature’s eyes then opened and wrapped one of its tentacles around Daxter’s neck, throttling him!

“DADDY!” called Layla. Jak shouted and he began a rather terrifying transformation! His skin turned blue-gray, horns sprouted from his scalp, his hair became metallic gray, his eyes became black orbs, his teeth became fangs, his stance became more feral, and his fingernails became long, black, needle-like claws!

“Oh no!” gulped Markus. “Dad’s gone Dark Jak!” Dark Jak then stabbed the Dalek creature with his claws and continued stabbing, even after it released Daxter.

“Here we are, the Dalek communications hub,” said the Doctor. She began busying herself with working on the machine.

“Doctor, what are you looking for?” asked Sam.

“Archived monitor data,” replied the Doctor.

“…Come again?” asked Farmee.

“Black box, flight recorder,” elaborated the Doctor. “Every single bit of Dalek kit is linked to Pathweb somehow, so it always leaves behind a record of events.”

“…Is this…Pathweb a hive mind?”

“Of a sort. It’s more sort of their library, without all the annoyances of a local council library. No late fees, no…aha!”

“What is it?” asked Jak.

“I just found the recordings related to their plans! It looks like they went back in your universe’s time stream to about 13 years ago.

“13 years ago?” asked Daxter. “That’s about when me and Jak’s kids were born! What else does this thing-?”

“DON’T TOUCH IT!” barked the Doctor as she swatted Daxter’s hand away. “Dalek technology is dangerous for those unfamiliar with it!” As Daxter rubbed his hand in annoyance, the Doctor looked through the files. “…It looks like they had departed for this Misty Island you lot seemed insistent on your kids not visiting over a few days ago.”

“There’s a reason why,” replied Jak. “Misty Island is home to a group of Lurker extremists. Their reasons started out noble. They simply didn’t want to be enslaved again. But they started killing innocent people.”

“That’s the problem with extremists. They think killing and enslaving is necessary to achieve their goals.”

“Sadly, Megatron was such an extremist from what I heard from him,” said Farmee.

“Megatron still had some sense in realizing what he did and ending the cause right there. …Much better than a Dalek. As least his goals were noble.”

“Why? What are the Daleks’ supposed goals?”

“To exterminate all non-Daleks,” replied the Doctor. “They’re the mutated remains of a humanoid race from the planet Skaro called the Kaleds. The Kaleds were at war with the Thals, a very dirty nuclear war. The resulting mutations were then accelerated by the Kaled Chief Scientist, Davros. He removed all emotions from the new creatures except hatred for those that weren’t those creatures, then put them in war machines.”

“…You mean these Daleks were created to be nothing more than pitiless killers?” asked Jak.

“Man, woman, child, it doesn’t matter,” sighed the Doctor. “Unless you have a short-term use, you’re nothing more than a target to the Daleks. Ah, here we go!”

“What is it?” asked Jack.

“Footage from a mission briefing,” answered the Doctor. She pulled up the footage and presented it on the screen. There were six men talking to a Black Dalek and a Special Weapons Dalek.

“My Ones!” gasped Farmee. “I know two of them! From history! That’s…Scorpo and Intrag!”

“What’s their historical significance?” asked the Doctor.

“Scorpo is the Mechanica extension of Dr. Borg’s ship, the Scorpion,” explained Farmee. “And Intrag…well, his full name is Intrag Emboramii!”

“Emboramii?” asked Sam. “Isn’t that your mother Malnar’s maiden name?”

“Yes! He’s Mama Malnar’s first ancestor! A brutal tyrant, he was! He ruled the Under-realm with an iron fist! He died at the end of the War of the Realms, then came back in the final years of the Third Age of Unity as a wraith before he failed Oyed the Titan and was consigned to the Depths!”

“It looks like he’s set himself up as the commander of this mission,” muttered the Doctor. “That has to be chafing to the Dalek Supreme. The logs identify the others as Captain…Captain Don Shinobi? …Erm, Benjamin, Shefarn Borg, and the Mobian cat is…is Makeshift. That sounds like a Transformer’s name.”

“Green and Blue Eco now catalogued!” barked the Dalek Supreme to Intrag.

“Excellent,” replied Intrag. “We’ll catalogue Light, Red, and Yellow Eco later. For now, our biggest priority is the nearest silo of Dark Eco.”

“Is the Haven City Dark Warrior to be exterminated?” asked the Special Weapons Dalek.

“No way, see?!” snapped Captain Don Shinobi. “We need him alive to filter the Dark Eco into our test subjects!”

“We need to open the silo on Misty Island,” remarked Scorpo. “That kind of…unhealthy work will attract Health, then…well, she’ll be in our power.”

“Silo breaching equipment prepared and primed!” said the Dalek Supreme. “Are the local Lurkers to be captured for interrogation?”

“No,” replied Intrag. “They won’t be willing to give up the Dark Eco Silo. Just kill them all. Every man, woman, and child.”

“We obey!” replied the Dalek Supreme and the Special Weapons Dalek. The Doctor ended that video and checked another part of the data concerning that awful mission.

“…It looks like they succeeded in the Misty Island genocide,” she sighed as she teased out the data. “Misty Island is now under the complete control of the Daleks. …But, it looks like their breaching of the silo is slow going.”

“…You mean…my kid was lucky to only have a Dark Eco bath?” shuddered Daxter.

“I think we better get back,” said Jak. He headed to the Blue Eco Vent, got charged with Blue Eco, then rushed back to the door and used the Blue Eco to open it. Everyone headed through the door, across a small lake in the rock, and onto a floating platform that lowered them back to the warp gate. They then went through it.

---

The instant Jak and Daxter arrived back at the hut, they hugged their kids. “You kids were unbelievably lucky!” said Jak.

“D-Dad?” asked Markus.

“There weren’t any Lurkers on Misty Island, were there? Just a bunch of machine-looking things.”

“Y-Yeah,” confirmed Layla.

“Those things are more dangerous than we thought,” said Daxter. “They won’t hesitate to kill you guys just because you’re kids!”

“…You mean…we could have…died?!” gulped Markus.

“The Daleks are the ultimate in racial cleansing,” replied the Doctor.

“What did you find?” asked Megatron.

“The Daleks are planning to inject test subjects with Dark Eco,” summarized Farmee.

“Their own Dark Warrior project, eh?”

“Looks that way,” said Sam. “They intend to use Jak as a filter.”

“They’ll have to directly inject a Dalek with the substance,” guessed Galvatron. “Gotta have that control variable and all that.”

“Naturally,” agreed the Doctor. “I don’t think we want to know what it will do to a Dalek when unfiltered.”

“Megatron, can you see how much progress they made?” asked Farmee. Megatron looked out to Misty Island.

“…That’s odd,” he said. “It’s abandoned.”

“What?” asked Galvatron. He activated his own zoom function and looked. “…Yeah, the whole island’s…well, dead! There’s no Daleks, no Lurkers, nothing!”

“That means one of two things,” muttered the Doctor. “I certainly hope it’s just that they gave up, but the other is that-.”

“Hold on,” said Megatron. “I think I see…yep, a single, lone Dalek…but it’s…moving erratically.”

“They abandoned the control variable,” sighed the Doctor.

“So, what do we do in the meantime?” asked Galvatron.

“Collect some Power Cells, maybe?” suggested Megatron. “Fly through some Eco Rings in a race? Shoot targets?”

“…I think that island to the southeast might take you up on that,” said Hot Rod.

“Misty Island? Why do you say that?” asked Megatron.

“Because there’s some sort of repeated explosions happening there.” Hot Rod pointed to the island and Megatron activated his optics’ zoom function.

“…It’s another cannon, aimed at the large Dark Eco Silo below,” he said. “…But that’s not Lurker technology. I can’t make out the cannon operators. Maybe I can get a look at the shores.”

“Hang on,” said Kiera, “the warp gate’s activated again.” What came out of the warp gate wasn’t Jak and his group, but a purple, primate looking creature in dark colored robes. It had glowing yellow eyes, a large mane, and skin colored spurs along its jaw line. It wore a pair of glasses and thick gloves. Kiera smiled. “Drebber!” she said.

“My dear Kiera!” replied the creature, the current Dark Eco Sage, Drebber the Babak Lurker. “It’s so good to see you again!” He then saw the people with her and adjusted his glasses. “…I didn’t realize you were hosting a party.”

“It was quite impromptu for all parties,” said the Doctor.

“Ah, so you had business and it was happenstance that had you and your group cross paths?” guessed Drebber.

“Something like that,” replied Megatron.

“Well, I’m sorry to say that this isn’t a social call either,” sighed Drebber. “Recently, my home was contacted by a race of machines. They weren’t exactly KG-built nor was any Metal Head or Dark Maker technology detected, but they demanded access to the Dark Eco Silo. Naturally, I said no, but then they threatened to kill us if we didn’t comply.”

“Were they machines like us?” asked Galvatron.

“No, they were just a few inches shorter than Kiera. They seemed to have a plunger and an egg whisk for weapons, and they had lights on their dome that flashed on every syllable whenever they spoke. I think they called themselves-.”

“Daleks!” hissed the Doctor.

“Daleks? Wanting Dark Eco?” Megatron looked out to Misty Island again, reactivated his zoom function, and focused on the cannon. “…I knew I recognized the technology! It’s definitely Dalek built!”

“Mr. Drebber, you need to evacuate your home!” insisted the Doctor.

“What?!” protested Drebber.

“I don’t know what the Daleks want with the Dark Eco Silo, but it can’t be good and they will exterminate every single inhabitant of this planet to get their way!”

“Listen to her,” urged Megatron. “The Doctor has fought the Daleks for millennia!” As they talked, Jak and his team returned.

“All right, now that we’ve got that out of the way,” he said, “it’s time to…Drebber?”

“Ah, Mr. Jak! Excellent!” said Drebber.

“Jak, did you find anything on Geyser Rock?” asked the Doctor. “Anything at all?”

“…Now that you mention it, we DID find some sort of tech,” said Jak.

“It wasn’t Precursor tech OR Dark Maker crap,” supplied Daxter.

“Sam called it ‘Skarosian’,” said Farmee.

“It looked like a Dalek communications hub, Doctor,” explained Sam. He pulled out his phone and showed the Doctor the pictures he took.

“…I hate it when someone is right like that, especially concerning Daleks,” she sighed.

“Here’s something that confused me, though,” continued Sam. “The hub was abandoned. No Daleks whatsoever on Geyser Rock.”

“Oh?” asked the Doctor. She then stroked her chin. “…Well, no sense in letting this opportunity go to waste!”

“Doctor?” asked Farmee.

“Farmee, Sam, Jack, I think we better go to Geyser Rock and check out that communications hub,” declared the Doctor.

“Running interference, eh?” guessed Farmee.

“Always a good thing to do, concerning the Daleks. Come on!” The Doctor, Farmee, Sam, and Jack went in.

“Wait, you don’t-!” protested Jak. He rolled his eyes when they all went through. “For Precursors’ sake! Come on, Dax!”

“Wait a minute, we’re going back there?!” argued Daxter. Jak took Daxter through the warp gate.

---

Everyone arrived on an island with tall rock faces, geysers, and grass growing everywhere. “All right, whereabouts is the communications hub?” asked the Doctor.

“By an old Precursor door up the rocks,” replied Jak. “Just opposite of a Blue Eco Vent.”

“Blue Eco?”

“You’ll see along the way,” said Farmee. The team headed up the giant rock faces. Along the way, the Doctor saw the giant, insect-faced robots.

“Any clue as to where they came from?” she asked.

“The Precursor robots?” asked Jak. “They were initially created by the Precursors as a means of defense against their enemies, like the Dark Makers.”

“What ARE the Dark Makers?” asked Farmee.

“They’re basically Precursors, but evil,” replied Daxter. “Let me tell you, I kind of got a bit of Dark Maker in me, thanks to the Aeropans’ Dark Warrior program.”

“A more successful version of Haven City’s Dark Warrior program,” growled Daxter. “The idea is to pump a person full of Dark Eco to make the perfect warrior. I was the only one to survive the Haven City version and Duke Skyheed of Aeropa managed to turn everyone into people like me.” Jak then jumped and jumped again when his first jump reached its apex, making him go higher to reach the ledge he was aiming for!

“What the?!” yelped the Doctor.

“How did you-?!” spluttered Jack.

“It’s not limited to him,” said Farmee. “It’s called a double-jump. Watch.” Farmee then double-jumped to the ledge! The Doctor tapped her chin, then double-jumped to the ledge as well!

“Maybe the gravity’s lighter here,” mused Jack as he double-jumped to the ledge.

“It sure feels that way,” remarked the Doctor. “So that’s jumping, what about-?” She didn’t look where she was going and stepped onto a spike in a shallow pit! She yelped in pain.

“You okay?” asked Sam.

“Just a prick of the foot,” she replied, hopping on one foot.

“There’s a fix for that just up ahead,” said Daxter. He pointed to a few droplets of a green, glowing substance. “There it is! Sweet, sweet Green Eco!”

“Go on,” Jak instructed the Doctor. “Touch it.” The Doctor did so and…

“…It’s gone!” she said as she examined her foot. “My injury’s gone!”

“Green Eco is known as the Eco of Life,” explained Jak. “It can restore health, act as a limited cure to Dark Eco Corruption, and heal injuries.”

“Fascinating!” said the Doctor. “…But this doesn’t seem like an Eco Type the Daleks would care about.”

“Are these Daleks really that bad?” asked Daxter. “I can take them on by my-!”

“No, you can’t,” interrupted the Doctor. “The Daleks are ruthless, pitiless killers. All Non-Daleks, from children to adults, are exterminated. I’ve seen them wipe out entire galactic empires in their war against life. You’d be dead if you continued with that kind of false bravado, Daxter.”

“…Charming,” muttered Jak.

“Right, enough of that,” said the Doctor as her attention was grabbed by crackling, blue energy ahead. “What’s that over there?”

“Blue Eco, the Eco of movement,” explained Jak. “You touch that stuff and you’ll be able to move faster, jump higher, and open certain Precursor doors.”

“Why is it that blue is associated with speed?” mused the Doctor. She then went over and touched it, then her brain began thinking faster as her body moved faster! “Amazing!” she said. “And I’m feeling no ill effects!” She pretty much led the way to a door. On the right of the door was a bridge with some sort of fountain of Blue Eco. On the left…was the Dalek Communications Hub.