A/N: OH SNAP. I managed to update! And I almost have another chapter ready so it won't be another year and a half of waiting! WHO AM I? - Salek

Maia leaned against a bar table and looked around the loud noisy bar at the unsuspecting humans all here to have a good time or drink their sorrows away. She could kill them yes, but she was specifically told by her brother not to do anything stupid. Where was the fun in that? She rolled her eyes and mused as she sauntered up to the bar. Maybe she could have a little fun in this bar after Gol decided to kill Jak. It would be a fun bloodbath.

Sitting down at the corner of the bar, Maia watched Tess walk across the bar to introduce herself. "New face! Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel. What can I get you?"

"A beer - please. Whatever kind you recommend." Maia managed to eek out manners somehow before watching Tess maneuver through the hands and drinks on the bar to the beer tap.

Tess returned struggling with a foaming mug and dropped it in front of Maia, taking the credits Maia had stolen off a drunk sleeping in a booth she'd passed earlier. "This is our house best. Made right here in the bar. It's called Haven's Ice. " Tess offered her information before turning to put the credits in the register.

"Do you happen to know a man named Jak?" Maia asked innocently, calmly sipping the beer, waiting for the Ottsel's answer.

Tess shot Maia one of her famous beaming smiles, delighted to be able to have a conversation about her long time friend. "Yes I do! Are you a friend of his?"

"Yes," Maia airly replied, rubbing a finger around the rim of her beverage. "Jak and I go way back. My brother and I wanted to ahh, catch up with him and Daxter."

Tess nodded, claw on her hip, she shook her head sadly, "They aren't in town at the moment. That man never rests. Jak's either working or stressing out about Aiden."

The girl outside of the bar...So she was his daughter. Maia smiled sweetly at her. "Aiden?"

Tess nodded. "His daughter. They're all in Spargus with my daughter, Dee. Aiden is doing extra academic training for the military academy, but not my Dee. She's probably there to get in trouble." Tess rolled her eyes. She grabbed a rag and began wiping the counter down. "Sometimes I wonder why I let that girl get away with so much." Tess continued rambling about her child, not taking notice in Maia's delighted expression. A moment later, Tess finally looked up at Maia, smiling at the woman. "Well, I'll tell Jak you dropped in." Tess grabbed a tablet. "What's your name?"

"Maia." Maia replied. "Just let him know we will be expecting to see him very soon." She ended the conversation with a nod and returned her attention to her drink, sipping it slowly. The other patrons at the bar leered hungrily at her, but she ignored them in favor of Gol's request for silence and obedience. Her eyes fluttered to the aging maps tacked to the wall behind the bar. There a map of Spargus and Haven overlapped and below the city maps, an area of unfamiliar territory she'd never seen before called The Wastelands.

She glanced at the patron sitting next to her. He appeared to be engrossed in his communicator, the strange etching of blue marks settled on his face. She knew from the marks that he was a guard. Maia noted that Tess was on the other side of the bar, her attention elsewhere before turning to the guard sitting next to her. "How long does it take to cross the wastelands?"

He looked up in surprised confusion. "You talking to me?"

Maia nodded slowly, a sly grin creeping on her face. She leaned forward, encouraging him for an answer by crossing her arms under her chest. "I've never traveled outside the city before. I'd love to take a trip. Spargus sounds - exotic. I'd love to lay on the beach and get a much needed tan."

"Never left the city?" The man blew out a puff of air in thought, looking up at the ceiling to avoid staring directly at her breasts. "Well, by foot it's probably three days' travel. I wouldn't recommend it though. The heat, sandstorms, and marauders would eat you alive. If you catch a trade caravan or a sand buggy, you're looking at 4-5 hours of travel time. That's if you don't get caught in a sand storm."

"Can I acquire a buggy to rent?"

"Yeah. If you stop down at the market, you can rent one. There's a guy there named Shiek. He does all of these weird historical tours about Mar and the metal head wars, and rents out buggies and zoomers for the self-guided tours."

"Lovely. That will be all." Maia spoke with a finality and returned to her drink, examining the maps carefully on the wall.

"Uhh you're welcome?" The confused guard shook his head and returned to his drink and communicator.

When Tess disappeared into the back rooms Maia stood up, her beer barely touched before walking out of the bar. She grinned in anticipation as she walked out into the streets. These people were giving her more information than she expected them to. Too open to strangers . Maia tsked. They all were bound to get killed sometime soon. Spargus city? It was finally time for their little field trip.

Rayne opened an eye and groaned in pain, lifting herself up with great difficulty. Her arms shook from the effort as she managed to drag herself to the tunnel wall to sit up. She gasped and cringed, breathing heavily from the pain pulsing through her head and body. Blinking slowly, her vision swimming as she looked around to find the room completely empty.

"Impossible." She muttered to herself, followed by a moan filtering to the surface as she spoke out loud to no one. The pain bursting through her skull was unbearable to think through. She rubbed at her jaw remembering the bitch, Maia, shoving her face into the dirt with her foot. The last thing she remembered before being knocked out was the twins discussing finding Jak and Dax's children.

"Shit." Tears burned in Rayne's eyes knowing exactly what they were trying to do. "Shit. Shit. Shit. SHIT!" She punched the wall behind her and sobbed brokenly, her cries echoing through the chambers. She didn't know how long she had passed out, but she knew she couldn't wait around and just let the dark eco abominations kill innocent children. She could only hope she wasn't too late. I gotta get out of here. I need to find Jak now. Even though her entire body screamed at her, she willed herself to stand and began limping her way back to Haven City through the damp dirt halls.

"Well? Where are they?" Keira asked. Scanning the slums slowly as she walked through them when Ashelin. "Didn't the guard say they'd be by the gate?"

"I'm still trying to figure that out." Ashelin muttered, waving a hand dismissively at Keira, face shoved into her communicator. They had received a call that a woman, beaten up and crying, had flagged down a patrolling guard and begged him to contact Ashelin. It was apparently a dire enough emergency for the woman to beg on her hands and knees for the guard to jump his communication channels and contact Ashelin directly, and so Keira and Ashelin were on a hurried search for them.

"How long are patrols supposed to last? Maybe the guard took this mysterious woman to the hospital, or the barracks?"

"Keira." Ashelin growled threateningly.

"Sorry, grump." Keira stopped talking, instead continuing to scan the area around them. She then noticed a curious sight ahead of her. "Ashelin." Keira pointed at a woman limping toward the duo, an exasperated guard following close behind. "Look at that woman. I think she's found us. Ashelin, look out!"

Ashelin looked up from her communicator, caught off guard when the woman in question collapsed right into her. Ashelin grunted from the impact, immediately lifting the woman off her, grasping her by the wrists. Rayn was barely recognizable with her face half swollen. "Rayn? Is that you? What the-"

All Ashelin could see was fear crossing Rayn's face as she tried clutching at Ashelin's arms. She sobbed. "Ashelin? Oh, my Precursors, help me please. I've made a terrible mistake."

Keira laughed, "What else is new, Rayne? Accidentally kill someone you love? Slip too much hemo into someone's veins?"

"Shut up, Keira." Ashelin snarled. She looked up at the approaching guard. " Thank you for your help. Continue your rounds, I'll deal with her." She turned around, Rayn's wrist still caught in her grasp as she walked into the alley way they had just come from. She pulled her against the wall. "Alright spill. What the fuck are you doing here? Torn radioed days ago saying you were missing."

It all came out so fast that it was almost hard for Ashelin to process her story. "I know who Jak is. I know about him being a time traveler. I know how he saved Sandover village hundreds of years ago. And I knew about the dark Eco sage being trapped in the silo... I went and looked for the silo."

Ashelin shared a look of disbelief with Keira. "Who's telling you these things?" Keira asked, stepping closer.

"A book... Written by an Eco sage. My father had somehow acquired it, and it fell into my possession. I took it from the museum the night Jak and Daxter both tried to stop me.

Keira shook her head. "Jak searched the catacombs below the city looking for the Acheron twins and their mech decades ago. The silo is gone. You're up to something, and I don't like it."

"But I found it. It was outside the city limits. You must believe me, please! I- I let them out..." Rayn looked away, shame racking at her features, sobbing as she spoke, her voice pitching. "They are looking for your daughter now."

"Who did you let out? Who is after my daughter?" Ashelin tightly gripped her at the shoulders, panic filtering through her voice. She demanded Rayne look her in the eyes with her commands.

Rayne shamefully stared at her feet, tears falling onto the concrete. "Gol and Maia Acheron."

Keira gasped and stepped back, her hand to her mouth in fear and surprise. "Impossible."

"No." Rayne glared up at the mechanic. "Not impossible. They are going to hurt Aiden and Delilah, and it's all my fault. I'm sorry, Ashelin. They are probably already on their way to Spargus."

Before Ashelin could convince herself to stop, she slapped Rayne on the cheek eliciting a whimper of pain from the already downtrodden woman. "You selfish bitch . What have you done?!"

"Ashelin!" Keira exclaimed, pulling Ashelin back from Rayne. "That's not helping."

"How do they know about Aiden?" Ashelin stepped closer, demanding and ignoring Keira's protests as she glared daggers at Rayne.

Rane backed herself against the wall away from Ashelin's wrath, gingerly touching her already bruised cheek. She couldn't blame the mother for her anger. "They've been following Jak for weeks. They kept me trapped in the catacombs to - to torture information out of me. They said they were going to the Naughty Ottsel before I was knocked out. I don't know when that was. I don't even know what day or time it is."

It was then that Ashelin finally took notice of Rayn's appearance. The swollen and multicolored bruises on her face - she could barely open one eye and the other was swollen shut. There were also eco burns and lacerations on her face and wrists, and she was gaunt from starvation. Her hair was starting to fall out in patches, her clothes torn and dirty. Ashelin reached into her pack and handed Rayn a canteen of water. Rayne took it, grateful for the soothing liquid on her parched lips. She finished the bottle before continuing. "I really thought they would kill me before they left, but I think they did this on purpose so I would find you and tell you. To drag Jak into whatever game they are playing. You need to hurry. Contact Jak and save your daughter."

"Come with me." Ashelin demanded. She stepped into the street in front of a zoomer. The driver slammed on his brakes just as Ashelin rolled around to his door. "Out." She demanded and pushed him out the other side.

"Hey!" The driver barked.

"City emergency. I'll make sure you're compensated. Contact my secretary, thank you.

Ashelin turned to Keira and Rayne. "Get in, we're wasting time." The women jumped into the vehicle; Keira sheepishly apologizing to the owner as she closed the door behind her. Ashelin took off, racing through the crowds, switching altitudes and lanes to weave through slow traffic. "Keira, are these people as bad as Rayne is saying?" She shouted over the wind.

Keira's complexion was sheet white as she gripped tightly to the dash of the zoomer; her hair whipped around her face. "Yes." She simply replied. "I just can't believe they're back. I watched Jak defeat them with my own eyes. They were trapped in an entire silo of eco. I am talking millions of tons. They should have drowned in it, if not have been crushed by the weight."

"You're a time traveler too?" Rayne's eyes went wide, she sat back in the seat watching Keira as the mechanic pulled out her communicator to contact Jak. "Your newly resurrected friends survived off the dark eco they were trapped in, and bat rats. Bat Rats - for centuries! I watched them turn from horrific skeletons with creepy intelligent eyes into thriving young elves in seconds. The psychotic woman murdered guards with the crush of her hand, they've been leaving you bodies for weeks and you somehow didn't manage to put two and two together. They are strong and they are dangerous. I can't imagine what Jak and Daxter had to do to fight these abominations."

"And yet you peddle dark eco as a drug to every corner of the world." Ashelin mocked.

"I am not here to discuss my business ventures." Rayne snapped back.

"Then why are you here, Rayne?" Keira turned to glare at the woman, comm still ringing in her hand. "There has never been a day you're not looking to score something and it's never for free. Are you telling us these things so you can quietly take the silo of dark eco while we work to rescue our family from Gol and Maia?"

"No." Rayne clipped back. She held her chin up, trying not to cry as the weight of the past few weeks hit her. She was exhausted. Her mind and body were drained, and she had no desire to argue. She wanted to go home, she hoped Finn was alive, and Fae hadn't walked away from her. She just wanted what symbolism of family she even had back. She would figure out the rest later.

"My original goal was to drain the silo without you idiots even having the faintest idea, but those creatures have drastically changed my plans. Keep your filthy tainted eco. I want them dead and I want Jak and your daughter to be safe. I want to right some of my wrongs and protect children who didn't ask to be involved in this mess." Rayne's frown somehow deepened, a sob interrupted her. "They- they are going to use Aiden and Delilah against Jak and Daxter and from the way they were talking, it's not going to be pretty."

Dread ran down Ashelin's spine from Rayne's anguished words, her voice cracking as she spoke. "Keira, please get Jak on the phone. Now."

"I'm trying Ashelin, he's not answering."

Ashelin swore under her breath. She tossed her communicator at Keira. "Get Sig on the line then."

"Where are we going anyway?" Keira asked.

Rayne leaned forward to speak. "Go to the bar. They were talking about going there before they knocked me out. It might give us a clue as to how long it's been since they left."

Keira ended the call to Sig after the sixth ring. "I'll tell Samos to meet us there. We're going to need his input about this. Maybe we can get him to fix Rayne's wounds."

"It would be appreciated." Rayne replied."

Ten minutes passed before the group reached the bar. It was a busy afternoon, happy hour approaching, with crowds of people getting off work and heading home or to their favorite haunts. The women weaved through bodies to reach the bar where Tess and her bartender were preoccupied with filling drinks.

"Tess, a word?" Ashelin called to her tiny friend and pointed to the back room, moving toward it as she spoke.

"Yeah, I'll be there in a second." Tess replied not even looking up for the order she was taking.

They all crowded into the backroom as they had done countless times in the past during emergencies and waited for the Ottsel to walk in. Rayne sat in the corner away from the duo still attempting to reach Spargus.

"I swear. What is the point of communicators if they can't answer the goddamn call?" Ashelin thumped her hand onto the table.

"What's wrong?" Ashelin looked up to see Tess standing in the doorway. Her gaze hard and staring right at Rayne. "And what the hell is she doing here?"

"No time for that now Tess. I'll explain later." Keira spoke first, arms crossed as she stepped forward to engage before a fight started. "Did you meet anyone today that looked or spoke oddly? Grayish colored skin, white hair? A man and woman?"

Tess's face fell at the description. "Yes, a woman. She came in this morning and got a beer. She said she was a friend of Jak and Daxter's. I- Precursors. Who was that?"

Samos ambled into the room, his staff tapping heavily on the floor. "Maia Acheron. The Acheron siblings have returned."

Tess' mouth dropped. "WHAT? The Maia?"

Samos nodded at Tess, his grim gaze found Keira's. She moved to her father to hug him.

"Daddy." Keira stepped back to look at her father, wiping away at the tears streaking down her face. "We're not sure if everyone is okay. No one will pick up the communicator. Rayne said that the twins are targeting Aiden."

Samos pat his daughter on her arm comfortingly. "Not to worry Keira. I have all the confidence in the world that the girls will be fine. Jak and Daxter will make sure of it. Aiden has come into her powers. They are uncontrollable at the moment, but there is no way Jak or that the dark side of Aiden's power will let Aiden or Delilah get hurt. That is the reason Jak went to Spargus in the first place - to train Aiden."

"That's news to me." Keira frowned. "I hope she's handling it well."

"We will soon find out." Samos nodded. His eyes drifted to Rayne and he made his way toward her. "If you don't mind, Miss Rayne, I will try to heal some of your wounds."

Tess scrambled up on to the table, wringing her hands. "Ashelin, please believe me when I say that I had no idea that she was Maia. I didn't even put two and two together."

"You shouldn't have had to. We all thought she was dead along with her brother judging from the stories that Jak, Daxter, Keira and Samos told us. This isn't your fault." Ashelin spoke up, her eyes still trained on the communicator. "Did she say if she was going anywhere? Ask any questions?"

"I-I rattled on like an idiot thinking she was a family friend. She sounded like she knew Jak and Daxter pretty well. I'm sorry. She knows where everyone is. Maia spoke to a guard sitting next to her asking how long it took to get through the wastelands to Spargus. She's going to Jak and Daxter isn't she?"

"They're probably already there." Rayne chimed in, her face grimacing as Samos began healing the deeper wounds beneath the surface of her skin. "Tick. Tock. And they are going for your children first. They said that targeting Aiden and Delilah would be the easiest way to get Jak and Daxter to do what they want."

Samos muttered out, "I warned Torn not to go through with this trip, and now here we are dealing with an enemy no one, but Jak can handle. It's a blessing that he's even in Spargus now. "

The communicator sitting on the table started beeping. Jak's comm number flashing across the screen. "Finally." Ashelin snarled, snatching up the communicator and hitting talk. "Jak, listen to me and listen well. This is going to be unbelievable, but it is true. Gol and Maia have returned and they are coming your way. They are targeting Aiden and Delilah. You need to find the girls if they aren't already with you."

Jak cursed on the other end. "Aiden is on patrol. I sent her out to look for Dax and Dee. Torn is with her, but there's no way that he can protect her… not against them at least. I'll call you back." The line went dead and the room deathly silent.

"Now what?" Tess finally asked. "How can we help?"

"I think I know a way we can trap them, or at least weaken them." Rayne spoke up. "Thank you Samos." Rayne stood up and walked to the table. "Gol mentioned to his sister that they needed to figure out where exactly Aiden was before they could leave their "lifeline". Multiple times they've talked about not being able to really leave the silo of dark eco for long periods of time."

"So you're saying we drain the eco from the chambers. That could take days if there is that much dark eco in the chamber as you say." Keira replied. "Even if it were possible, they are still quite capable of using their dark eco powers without the source, just as Jak can."

"Blow up the entrances to the silo then." Ashelin said. "It's probably far enough for the city to not be an issue... especially since we couldn't even find it. We'll deal with that chamber after the twins are taken care of. Rayne, can you take us to the chambers? Keira, contact Jinx and let's get to work."