Ch 7: An Unwelcome Call

As the day started to turn into night, the Metal Heads seemed to go into a kind of comatose state. This was new, even for me, since I'd seen Metal Heads awake all the time and I never saw one that slept. Even Daxter's yells and Viridi's shouts couldn't rouse them one bit. What was even more strange was the fact that their skin had become untouchable, encased in a shell that was a combination of dark and red eco. Nothing could penetrate it, not even Sig's Peace Maker. "So what do we do now?" asked Viridi, wheezing a bit from yelling for over an hour. "If they become immortal when they sleep, the only way to attack them is when they're awake," I deduced.

Only a little later did we arrive back at the Naughty Ottsel. There I was introduced to a strange new member of Pit's world that seemed to not only float in the air but also wore incredibly racy clothes. "I'm Pandora," she said, her voice surprisingly soft. "This isn't like you, Pandora,"Viridi suddenly blurted out. "Where's your usual flirtatious voice? You couldn't possibly have been faking that as well?" Pandora's eyes closed and her frown was imminent. "You obviously don't know me at all, oh Inadequate Goddess of Tantrums."

Viridi's voice then got very loud at the rude comment. "What is THAT supposed to mean?!" she wailed louder than a foghorn. "I am the goddess of calamity and trickery,Viridi," Pandora rebutted, "And that includes my cocky attitude. I was never that evil, nor was I at all a show-boater. What I really am is-" Suddenly, the face of Hades came on the communication device. "An ultra-shy, amazon-bodied pile of underwhelming appeal!" said the dark-faced god of the underworld, or at least that's what Pit called him.

"H-Hades!" Pandora stuttered, surprised at his sudden appearance. "I sense a presence about you, one even fouler than... certain enemies of our past..." said Seem, cryptic as ever. Being cloaked in face paint, precursor armor, and an overall mysterious atmosphere, Seem was a monk from the wasteland that, like Samos, spent his entire life searching for the truth about the Precursors. The beings that he referred to were the dark makers, foul pure blood precursors that were turned monstrous and evil by their exposure to dark eco, whom we swore never to talk about again. Since Daxter and Tess were both once humans, they were able to turn into Dark Dax and Dark Tess, though Tess never ever wanted to transform since her first and last time only a few days ago.

"Are you referring to the Dark Makers?" Hades asked, surprising all of us. "No need to look so surprised. But no need for surprise, since my powers surprisingly have no effect on those guys at all." Many of us exhaled a sigh of relief. "Now Pandora," Hades directed his attention towards the girl in blue. "You know better than I do that your powers are best used against enemies such as humans and annoying angels, right?" Pandora's face showed her unease. "You killed humans before?" Ashlynn asked angrily. "She was a great asset to me during my three year tyranny in our world. Sadly, she was only useful for replicating my minions. She could very well come back and join me anytime she wishes. Right, Pandy?"

Suddenly, Pandora's eyes furrowed and her teeth gritted. "What did you just call me?" she growled angrily. Everyone was surprised, but not Viridi and Hades. Seeing something we couldn't, she backed away and hid behind Sig and Kiera, Tess also joining in, hopping on her shoulder. "I called you Pandy. What's wrong? Don't you like that nickname anymore?" Following Hades's second question, Pandora started her yell fest, her voice even louder than Viridi's and Daxter's combined. She not only cussed him out, gave him the finger, and insulted him thoroughly, but also waved her hands after she was done. "Wha- What have you done?!" Hades exclaimed, surprised about something. "Did you not know that I was the one that gave you your massive frame?" she asked. "You will all suffer!" Hades yelled, cutting the transmission.

That left the whole lot of us in shock and awe, except for Viridi, who still hid behind Kiera and Sig. "Was he telling the truth?" asked Sig, keeping his distance. "It's not like I wanted to kill anyone," she exhaled, dropping her body down to the ground. "Hades is an extremely powerful being no matter what size he is. Should I have not killed anything for him, he would have just killed me for sport. I have little to no power against his." No one moved a muscle except Seem and Pecker, who went towards her and sat on the ground with her. "I can see your life is a long one, filled with sorrow, fear, and hatred..." Seem sighed, the first time anyone ever heard him do so. "No matter what you may have done in fear, it was that fear that caused you to do so." "So in order for you to be free, the fear must be disposed of first." Pecker said softly. "We need all the help we can get against Hades," Pandora sniffled, "and I won't hesitate to lend a hand."