“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.