Chapter 30
Upon returning to Spargus, we came across the monk again and she was next to a couple of Leaper Lizards, her looking at us with a frown.
"I see you came back," she said, me nodding at that.
"Yeah, we thought we'd take a break from that sand storm and catch some rays," I said, the monk frowning at that.
"This isn't a game!" she said, me and Dax looking at Sasha and Errol and them simply smiling.
"You know, we never got your name, miss. So what is it?" Sasha asked.
"I am Seem. We monks are sworn to protect the last sacred relics of the Precursors. These Leaper Lizards allow us to traverse where you cannot," the monk said, Sasha looking at the lizard with a smile.
"These things look kinda cute, to be honest. So what do they eat?" Sasha asked. But then the Leaper Lizard grabbed a hold of Daxter and tried to eat him, me being shocked at that and Kiki immediately beginning to wrestle with the lizard to get Daxter out of its mouth!
"That's your answer," I smiled.
"I fear for what may become of you if you wish to be foolish enough to traverse the great volcano... I have an idea. If your female friends can beat me and my monks in a Leaper Lizard race, I'll give you a Light Eco crystal as proof that you can be able to traverse the volcano and its dangers," Seem said as I saw that Kiki was still wrestling the lizard for Daxter. "Siem com tamma!" Seem said, the lizard immediately letting go of Daxter soon after, Kiki breathing a sigh of relief afterwards. "Baroosh baroosh..."
"Okay, just show us where the starting line is and we'll prove how fast us girls are, right Kiki?" Sasha smirked, Kiki nodding at that as I looked at Errol and Dax, who was covered with spit.
"So... what do we do now?" I asked, Errol frowning at that and staying silent. We then got a call from Kliever, since he gave me his number after he gave us the job of cleaning out the kangarats.
"Oi, ya buggers! I got a job for ya at the garage. It's time to see if ya can handle another one o' me toys," Kliever said, me smirking at that.
"You want to join, mister upside-down smile?" Daxter asked, Errol frowning at that again.
"I'd prefer to stay behind and get some food," Errol said, me frowning at that as he then grabbed a lizard of his own and proceeded forward into the city. Even though he did say he owed a life debt to Sasha, he was still insisting to be a jerk to me and Dax all the time, despite learning from Sasha that I was actually the prince of Haven. If anything, I think that pretty much made him even more spiteful of me.
"I think my first exchange with him is as true as ever. I said 'have a good day' when I went to kill some bugs at the Palace and find out your cell number, and his response was 'I never do.' It's like he's programmed to be a jerk or something," Daxter frowned.
"Gotta admit, that exchange sounds funny," I smirked before Dax and I then proceeded to the garage to meet up with Kliever, him looking at our duo with a frown.
"You boys ready to prove yerselves? Scopes show that there's a group of Metal Heads not far from here. I don't like Metal Heads almost as I don't like you and you've got some provin' to do," Kliever said with a frown. "Intercept those bad boys with the Sand Shark 'ere and give 'em hell. Who knows, you may even get some toys for yer effort."
"Why does it sound like you're leaving out the dangerous parts?" Daxter asked.
"Who cares? A few Metal Heads never let us down before," I smirked.
"You ever seen a Wasteland Metal Head?" Kliever asked.
"Do Metal Mantises and Metal Mammoths count?" I asked.
"Naw, they don't. The Metal Heads around here are bigger and badder than any of the ones anywhere else. You'll see what I mean when ya fight 'em. Only a vehicle can get through their thick hides. Good luck, blighters," Kliever chuckled as I got into the car that Kliever told and I then proceeded out towards the area where the radar detected the Metal Heads. And when I saw them, I was pretty impressed. They looked like gigantic dinosaurs with cannons on their backs!
"This is gonna be fun! Let me at one of them with my green gun! I wanna see what it does!" Daxter smirked as I then got into a good position with the Sand Shark and Daxter then shot a green eco laser through the skull of the first one we got and I was surprised at how the laser actually burnt through the thick hide and out the other side!
"Sweet! Keira does it again!" I smirked widely as the Metal Head was down and we still had three to go. We proceeded to do the same thing for the others and we actually got a Dark Eco crystal from the last of them... but then something happened from a small device that also fell alongside it.
"Metal Head Commander, come in! I said come in! If you lost that cargo and you're still alive, I'll kill you myself!" said a very oddly familiar female voice. One that had reverb to it. "I want every last Dark Eco crystal you can find! Are you even listening to me?!" the voice asked as I then looked at the face... I had to admit, it was a bit fuzzy, but I knew I'd seen it before. But I walked up to the communicator and got the attention of the one on the other end. "Wait... not you! AARGH!" she exclaimed as I slammed my foot down on the communicator and I smiled.
"I don't like the tone of your voice," I frowned.
"Hah! You sure kicked sand in her face!" Daxter smiled, me giving him a fist bump at that.
"Hey, you don't think that voice sounded familiar, do you?... Not like a familiar voice from this world, but from when we knew... Muse?" I asked, Daxter looking at me with confusion.
"You're thinking that lady was from the past? Who would still be alive from all that time back then?" Dax asked.
"Only two people I can think of... that we defeated shortly before finding the Rift Ring," I said, Daxter looking at me and then gulping shortly after.
"You mean... Gol and Maia?" he asked.
"I think so," I frowned.
"Well, just like I said before. Bring 'em on, we can take 'em again! Especially with our new upgrades!" Daxter smirked widely.
"Yeah, you're right, Dax. Now let's get back to the city. It's starting to get dark out," I smiled, me and Dax doing just that and seeing Errol at the front gate, him just as moody as ever. "Hey," I said.
"Sasha requested I show you to the place we're going to be staying at. Follow me," Errol said as I could feel the animosity with every word he spoke, me deciding I'd have to have a small chat with Sasha in private about Errol's constant moodiness. He then showed us to the house in question, it being next to the ocean and me seeing that it was very quaint on the inside. The only downside was the space, which was just big enough for all of us and only if we shared beds.
"Hey, boys! Time for you to pay up," Sasha smirked as she threw something at me. Her dirty clothes, them all smelling very bad from the sweat. "And make sure you get all the nooks and crannies," she giggled as Errol immediately got on the only single cot and crashed hard. Once I heard him snoring, I decided to pop the question to Sasha while he was sleeping.
"Hey, Sasha? How come Errol's been very moody towards me and Daxter lately? No matter what we do, he never treats us with any bit of kindness," I asked her with a hushed voice.
"He's just been in a pissy mood since being banished by the citizens. And keep in mind, he was ordered to find the kid version of you at any cost. I have no doubt in my mind that he's also angry because he learned you were that kid, meaning you were the heir to Haven before Praxis overthrew the king... by the way, I'm sure you know who that king is... as well as his wife?" Sasha asked me, changing the subject to something that was a bit touchy for me.
"Yeah... I didn't expect my father and mother were in the Wasteland... and that my mom is a glowing squirrel that can turn into a genie... I wonder if that's why my younger version was considered as pure?" I asked in confusion.
"Well, I was going to ask you if I could speak to Muse tomorrow at some point, since you two knew each other from the past. She might be more willing to believe the truth than Damas, after all," Sasha suggested, me smirking at that.
"It'd be appreciated, but don't be surprised if she doesn't believe a word," I said with a small chuckle as I finally managed to wash Sasha's stinky clothes and I then put them out to dry on a small clothesline in the bathroom.
"Oh, and be careful not to waste too much water. The only water we get is from that ocean nearby, so we have to boil it to get the salt out of it before we can drink it safely," Kiki said, me nodding at that.
"Got it," I smiled as I then looked at the remaining two beds and Sasha then nudged her fingers underneath my chin.
"How about we sleep together while Dax and Kiki do the same? I want to cuddle," Sasha smirked, me blushing at that and having no idea why.
"Um... sure, I guess," I said, Sasha giggling at that.
"You're so cute when you're bashful," she smiled as she then got me on the bed and we pulled the covers over us to go to sleep while Daxter slept next to Kiki, who was actually a small night light with her glowing skull gem. It still felt so surreal that this was going to be our life now, but we just had to learn to accept it at some point.