Chapter Two: Metal heads, Pets, and Artifacts!

Hey thanks to those of you who reviewed the first chapter. I really appreciate it!

The following morning, Daxter gripped his scattergun tightly as he stood beside Sig at the mouth of a cave twenty-some odd miles away from Spargus. "A-are you sure about this big guy?" Daxter looked to his left at Sig.

That morning after Daxter's ear dressing had been changed and his hair had been cut Sig wasted no time in beginning teaching Daxter the way of the wastelander. Before teaching him however he gave him new clothes that were better fit for action. The clothes consisted of a white t-shirt, orange pants with yellow stripes on each side, red boots, and a blue handkerchief/scarf. After thirty minutes spent teaching Daxter how to use the scattergun the duo set out into the desert to destroy a metal head nest rumored to be in the very cave they stood before.

A light breeze blew by stirring up some sand and Daxter's now short hair. Sig looked down at Daxter and smiled "of course chili! We're rolling with the peacemaker so you have nothing to fear!" Sig raised his own morph gun slightly to show the metal head-like attachment to it.

Daxter nodded "if you say so big guy but shouldn't I get a stronger weapon just incase?"

Sig chuckled and clapped Daxter on the shoulder nearly causing his knees to buckle beneath him. "Nope! How else are you going to learn how to defend yourself? You see Daxter there may come a time when you don't have a weapon to defend yourself with and what are you going to do then if you become too dependent on them?"

Daxter glanced down at the weapon before looking back up at Sig. "I'll think about it when it comes to that."

Sig looked behind him to see that the sun was still high in the sky. "Alright we have plenty of time to get ready of these bad boys so let's get cooking!" he then walked into the cave leaving Daxter standing at the entrance staring at his back in confusion.

Sig stopped partly in the shadows and turned back to face Daxter. "Are you going to stand there all day or are you going to come on?"

Daxter glanced beside him at the golden sand before he turned back around and ran to catch up with Sig. "So what exactly are we going to be doing big guy?"

Sig looked around them before responding "I'm going to use the peacemaker here to destroy the eggs but this bad boy take a while to charge so while it's charging I want you to watch my six. You understand?"

Daxter scratched the top of his head with his left hand while giving Sig a confused expression. "No. What's your six? There's only two of us."

Sig chuckled and began to walk forward again "my six is my back. Boy you weren't kidding when you said you weren't from around here."

Sig stopped suddenly and held out a arm to stop Daxter too. When Daxter opened his mouth to say something Sig placed a finger over his own mouth to signal Daxter to keep quiet. He then pantomimed put on goggles and tying a scarf are his mouth. When Daxter just stared at him in confusion he pulled his own scarf up over his mouth.

Realization dawned on Daxter's face and he quickly pulled down his goggles from the top of his head and pulled the scarf around his neck up to cover his mouth and nose before giving Sig two thumbs up.

Sig nodded before making a v sign with his right hand and pointing to his eyes then pointing ahead.

Daxter tilted his head slightly to the left before nodding and turning to look at where Sig had pointed. A few feet ahead of them was a cluster of black rods protruding from a puddle of dark eco and on the ends of the rods were round translucent green metal head eggs. The air around the eggs had a yellowish tint to it.

"Alright, Daxter watch my six while I charge up the peacemaker" Sig crouched low to the ground and a low buzzing sound filled the air as a blue ball of energy began to form at the tip of the peacemaker.

A couple of scorpion-like metal heads emerged from the ground around them and began to make their way to Sig.

Daxter aimed his scattergun at the scorpion closest to him and pulled the trigger. A wave of red eco shot out of the gun and hit the scorpion. The scorpion released a high pitched squeal before it literally exploded. "Cool!" Daxter looked from the scattergun to the dead metal head with a grin.

A hissing sound followed by a curse made him turn back to see Sig shoot a couple of scorpions that got too close to him. "Damnit Daxter! Pay attention!"

Daxter nodded "Right!" he then shot a few more scorpions that were making their way to Sig. "Man Sig when will the peacemaker be ready?" he asked as he shot another scorpion.

Sig stood up and aimed the peacemaker at the metal head eggs. "Right now. Stand back chili pepper. This could get messy." The ball of energy at the tip of the peacemaker was now the size of a softball. Sig released the trigger and the ball of energy surged through the air towards the metal head eggs. There was a crackling sound followed by a splattered sound as the ball met its intended target.

Greenish slime splattered onto the walls of the cave and Daxter. "Oh gross!" Daxter shook his arms to rid them of the slime. He froze and his eyes grew wide as he felt something climb up his leg. Whatever was climbing on him stopped on his left shoulder and made a soft chirping sound. "Aughh! Get it off!" He screamed and flailed his arms about as he ran in circles around Sig who was highly amused by the situation. "Sig! Get it off!" Daxter commanded as he ran past Sig for the umpteenth time.

Sig calmly reached out and plucked the creature off of Daxter's shoulder. "You really need to loosen up chili pepper."

Daxter stopped in front of Sig and hunched over with his hands resting on his knees as his breaths came out in wheezes. He nearly fainted when he noticed what was in Sig's hands. "W-what is that?"

Sig looked down at the little critter and lifted it up slightly so both he and Daxter could see it better. "This is a hedgeilla (hedgehog/chinchilla). It's just a baby too. These little critters borrow into the ground and I think this little fellow has taken a liking to you." The hedgeilla was a small marsupial with dirty blondish colored fur. It's back was covered in sharp frosted looking spines. It had a fluffy tail too which was wrapped around Sig's left wrist. The animal's large green eyes peered up at Daxter curiously.

Sig placed the animal onto Daxter right shoulder "come on rookie. We still need to get those artifacts for Damas." He then turned and walked out of the cave.

Daxter took the small animal off his shoulder and put it on the ground before running of the where he had dropped his gun. He picked up the gun and placed it in the holster strapped to his back and ran out of the cave to the Gila Stomper and Sig. "Alright let's go!" He jumped with a yelp when he felt an added weight in his lap and he looked down to see the hedgechilla sitting in his lap and looking up at him.

Sig chuckled as he started up the engine of the enormous vehicle. "It looks like you've made a friend, rookie."

Daxter frowned and folded his arms across his chest while looking away from Sig. "What if I don't want a friend?!" as he said this he looked down at the animal out of the corner of his eyes. His gaze softened somewhat. "Well, it is kinda cute" he admitted as he reached down and pet the animal on the head.

Sig smiled as the vehicle began to move, "since I'm driving I want you to pick up the artifacts when we get to them. Okay?"

Daxter nodded, "right! Let's do this!" He readjusted his goggles and mentally prepared himself for his task. Actually getting the artifacts was easy but when the duo or rather trio got closer to the city they spotted a large dinosaur-like metal head heading straight toward the city. "What's that thing?"

Sig pointed at a yellowish-green glowing gem on the creature's forehead. "That is a metal head. All metal heads have those skull gems. We have to kill it before it gets too close to the city. I'll get us closer to it and I want you to control the gun."

Daxter nodded and prepared to use the gun attached to the vehicle to kill the metal head. He aimed the gun at the creature and began to shoot it. Bullets flew out of the turret in rapid succession. The metal head released a thunderous roar and swung its tail at the Gila Stomper. "Hang on!" Sig shouted as he pushed his foot down on the accelerator and drove the vehicle out of reach of the metal head's tail.

Daxter kept shooting at the metal head even as the vehicle was moving. Little bullet holes covered the monster but did nothing to stop it. "Sig! Why isn't it dying?!" he shouted over the roar of the engine of the Gila Stomper and the gun turret.

"Aim for it's head! That's it's most vulnerable spot!" Sig shout back as he swerved to avoid the metal head's tail. Sand sprayed into the air from beneath the spinning tires. Sig drove the vehicle to a stop between the monster and the city gates. "Do it now Daxter!"

Daxter's tongue poked out of the right corner of his mouth as he concentrated on his target. He pulled the trigger again and shot at the glowing skull gem on the metal head's forehead. The skull gem cracked and the metal head collapsed to the ground sending a wave of sand up as it landed.

Sig let out a low whistle as a he turned around to look at the dead animal. "Now that is one dead metal head. Good job doughboy! Let's go back into the city and bring these artifacts to Damas."

Daxter tilted his head to the left and dug a finger in his ear as he tried to get sand out of it. "What was that big guy?"

Sig chuckled and shook his head before driving through the city gates. The gates were two large black circular doors that lifted up in opposite directions to admit wastelanders into the city.

After Daxter and Sig gave Damas the artifacts, Daxter was allowed to go take a shower and he tried very hard to ignore the little mammal sitting on his left shoulder but found it to by very hard since the animal stunk really bad. When he arrived in the bathroom adjoining his room he took the animal off his should and set it down on the counter beside the sink.

"I guess you need a bath too huh?" the animal only wagged its tail in response. After Daxter bathed the animal he was surprised to find that not only was it a she, but she was also almost completely white aside from her small brown nose and green eyes. "If I'm going to keep you I guess I'd better name you" Daxter commented as he dried the animal off with a small beige colored towel.

TBC

Daxter has found a new friend or rather the friend found him. I seriously can't think of a name myself for it. Well what did you think? I'm sorry it's short but ah well maybe next chapter will be longer. Oh yeah! Next chapter we'll find out what Jak is up to… maybe. Haha. 'til next time.