The Dangers of Tomorrow Chapter 3: The Moment Everything Changed, a jak and daxter fanfic

-AUTHOR'S NOTES-

Heh. Looks like we're coming close to the end already. I never thought we'd end up this close. XD

Looking on at this, this final part basically shows the crucial final battle against those Metal Heads, and a few little twists in the tale. O.O Believe me, you'll need to keep on your feet if you want to see what happens. I take my time to say thanks to everyone who managed to read it through no matter how much – whether it be a word, a paragraph, a chapter, or even the whole thing, you did great.

Be sure to enjoy the conclusion. ;)

Peace out,

-Rexy-

---

A mere 25 minutes passed since Sig managed to make the order for a Krimzon Guard air train to land near the docks. Within the time, both Torn and Ashelin looked onto the waters of the port, waiting patiently for the vehicle to arrive.

And arrive it did – it flew over the Eastern walls, and made its landing upon a dock near the entrance to the Hip Hog. Both youngsters looked on at the vehicle with delight, and jumped onto the decks together.

From nearby, Sig managed to bring his way outside, looking on at the vehicle. Already seeing the two youths inside the vehicle, he instantly made to a jump and managed to jump his way inside the vehicle.

The doors were soon closed, leaving it to start hovering its way above the ground once again. As soon as it reached a high enough height, it started to leave the city in a South West direction, leaving behind a trail of smoke.

Back at the Hip Hog, Krew managed to notice the vehicle, and that left him to try and stand up from his seat and chase after them, but… after a few footsteps, his feet gave way, leaving him to trip up upon the ground.

Instantly being out of breath because of that run, he looked around him. The seat that Sig was previously working on was still unfinished, leaving him only to bring out one of his ring-packed fists, and slam it upon the ground in rage.

---

A brief hour managed to pass since the departure, and within that time, the ship managed to make its way over towards the plains that the Krimzon Guard started to trail on foot, proven by the Air Train they left behind.

The vehicle itself managed to bring itself down to the ground, parking itself upon the dusty surface in an instant. The doors opened up, leaving all three of the riders to make their way out into the deathly barrens.

They started to follow a trail of light footprints through the path and around the high walls of the nest. The horror of the moaning wind, the dark eco flow and the cold air left Ashelin to shake her hands and take cover behind Sig.

"This place looks empty", she whispered. "Any idea where he is?"

"There's only one way to find out, and that's to keep walking", Torn responded with a growl in his throat.

Torn continued to walk among the scenery, leaving them to take a lengthy trail around the side of the walls. Sig managed to follow him, with a staff in one hand and Ashelin's arm being held tightly within another.

They soon reached the crack in the walls caused by the giant centipede-like Metal Head from before. And as soon as they got there, a light cackle was being heard from a distance – a familiar voice that caused Ashelin's ears to prick up.

"DAD!!!" she screamed.

"It's ok, chili peppers" said Sig with confidence. "We can just follow the path towards him! There's no time to waste!"

With a rash response, he and Torn started to rush their way among the pathway, following the footsteps if need be. Ashelin tried to follow them as fast as she can, but the best she could do was almost trip and slide down almost every hill possible.

While that occurred, the Krimzon Guard and their battle against the Metal Head leader managed to bring itself into full swing. Most of the guards were seen charging around the beast, trying to shoot various parts of its body to detect a weak spot.

One of the guards in particular ended up shooting the monster upon the tentacles hanging itself upon the ceiling, leaving it to lose its balance slightly. It ended up swinging one of its giant arms towards the Baron, his eyes showing an eager stance about them.

"Eat this!"

He sent his blade forward, managing to seep its way through the flesh of the monster's paw. Both of them remained as still as statues for five seconds, and that was until the Baron pulled out the blade, seeing it instantly covered in green sap.

The monster looked on at its paw, almost wincing in pain at the sight of it. It brought it back towards the back of his body, still showing enough determination to fight the guard with its remaining limbs. Speaking of whom, Erol was seen jumping in the air at the sight of the blade attack.

"Nice launch!" he beamed. "He wouldn't know what hit him!"

Crista looked back at him and scowled. "Heh, I take you ain't doing much just standing here!"

Erol's face suddenly showed an expression of panic, before he looked on at Crista and her more annoyed stance. In a split second, she brought out her hands and pulled her partner's gun from his pockets, before forcing it into his hands.

Her actions left Erol to just growl at her with rage on his face. Following on from there, several moments of silence came between the two of them, before Crista instantly edged closer towards him, her hair looking more frizzy to fit with her anger.

"Fire your buggered thing, NOW!!!"

Erol gave off a light nod, and aimed his gun towards the Metal Head leader's mane. He then pulled back the trigger… only to see that his shaking arms caused the shot to miss and pierce a hole through the bottom of Praxis's raincoat.

"YEOUCH!!!" he exclaimed with a jump. "Not me, aim for the beast's jaw!"

"Eh…" Erol started to blush. "Sorry sir!"

From behind him, Crista gave him a harsh slap on his neck, leaving him to start panicking as he reloaded his gun. Following on from there, he started to head around the Metal Head itself, trying to fire as close as he can go.

He caused a dent in his armor plates, a sharp piercing in the flesh on the back of its neck, and its tentacles holding it to the ceiling slowly being cut and weakened. He was about to fire closer towards the beast's neck, but… that was until he noticed the Baron climbing his way onto the monster's back via its injured arm.

"Quick, drop from there!" Erol warned him. "I'm about to fire!"

"Be steady!" shouted Crista from nearby.

With hesitation showing on her face, Crista brought out her arm and brought it tightly around Erol's grasp on his gun. She pulled it down slightly, leaving Erol to send his fire onto a piece of flesh upon the beast's stomach.

It turned around, and instantly lunged itself towards Erol, with slime starting to ooze down its sharp teeth. All that Erol could do was slowly back away from its monstrous stance, his gun pointing at its face.

"RRRROAAAAAAAARRR!!!" it screeched harshly towards him.

"Don't even think about it!" came a voice from behind the beast.

It was there that the Baron jumped onto the top of the Metal Head's forehead, and brought his blade straight through the middle of its skull gem. It gave off a growl, and backed away from Erol, giving him room to run away from the scene.

During that time, Praxis managed to jump his way off the head as the beast continued to shake with pain. But… what came unexpected of him, was that the gem managed to glow an eerie white color as soon as he landed on the ground on both feet.

The gem itself managed to reform itself back to its original state, with the beast starting to look relieved and stronger than before. It brought out its paw, and suddenly started to hack its way towards the Baron, whom instantly jumped out of the way upon first swipe.

"Guards, get around this thing", he commanded the soldiers. "It's starting to overpower us!"

The rest of the Guard looked on at the scenario, and brought out their weapons before they all started to surround the monster together. It was there that they knew that they would face a tougher ride than the usual.

Back at the ruined wall near the nest, Sig, Torn and Ashelin were seen continuing to run their way towards the nest itself. By then, the sound of the gunfire and growls from the beast started to become clearer towards their ears.

They soon managed to zoom past the wall and up the spine leading their way towards the top of the wall. As soon as they walked on it, they saw that some parts of the bridge started to crumble away under their feet.

"How far do you think we could be from him?" Ashelin asked Sig.

"I don't know, but judging by the gradient of the slope ahead of us we can be pretty close."

He pointed towards the top of the spine bridge, leaving them to run their way towards the mound. They looked down, and saw a steep slope leading their way down towards the heart of the Metal Head nest itself.

"Be steady, Ash", said Torn in a silent tone. "We can just tell we're almost there."

Torn brought his hand close to Ashelin's arm, and it was by then that her expression started to show a more shaky expression than before. They went down the slope hand in hand, with Sig following them, being cautious not to fall down the steep gradient.

Back with the monster, it continued to hurl its claws towards the nearest guard member it could reach. And with every swipe, they fought back by a gunfire counterattack. During that process, Crista jumped up onto the beast's tail, and aimed her handgun towards the back of its head.

"DIE!!!"

She pulled the trigger, allowing a bright yellow gunshot to bring its way towards a small piece of flesh hanging out at the back of its neck. The monster growled at the instant, leaving it to start swinging its head in her direction.

She jumped off the tail and pulled the triggers hard enough to try and inflict damage to the inside of the beast's mouth, leaving it to start moaning at the sight. She couldn't help but give off a light giggle at the action.

During that time, the Baron managed to climb his way onto the beast's head, and took a hold of its mane, but before he could cut it down the beast hovered its way up and tried to shake him off. That was before Erol came nearby and shot the tip of its tail, leaving it to start shaking once more.

"Nice shooting!" smiled Praxis from his position. "Now how about you send the guards to help me down?"

Erol looked at Crista, whom showed a confident expression upon her. She then gave out a whistle, leaving the guards to form a light pyramid under the Baron. From there, he dropped down safely, lucky not to harm the guards as he ran his way down towards the ground level.

During that time, Crista looked on at the beast with a more confident look, and as soon as she felt the time was right, she dashed her way up the beast's back. From near her, Erol started to show concern for her.

"Careful, Crista!" he shouted with panic. "You can only get yourself hurt from here!"

"I can tell the mouth's his weak spot – he's almost gone for sure!"

She gave off an honest smile, aiming her gun towards the mouth of the beast. She tried to fire, but… there was no bullets left in her gun. That left her to start hesitating as she tried to reload her gun, but…

"Look out!!!" the Baron shouted with warning.

The sound of the shout caused her to look on at the beast's mouth, which started to growl a light blue color. She instantly screamed at the very sight of its actions. And then, it sent out a beam, launching it straight towards her.

She jumped out of the way, leaving the beam to inflict damage upon the monster itself. She tried to land upon the beast itself, but… it swerved to the side, leaving her to start falling further down than once thought.

She gave off a flip in the air, allowing her to see what was brought underneath her. And then, she started to fall down the bottomless pit underneath the monster, but… that was until she brought out her hands to try and hold onto its walls.

"CRISTA!!!" Erol gasped.

The sight of her action left Erol to try and crawl under the beast and reach towards the bottomless pit. And it was there that he saw Crista struggling to hold onto the walls. She tried to pull herself out, but by then her strength was dying out.

The edge of the walls soon crumbled away, leaving her to slide down by two meters. Erol tried to bring himself closer towards her, but his grasp was too short to be able to reach her. By that time, the Baron managed to notice his actions.

"Let me get in and reach for her!" he ordered.

"No, don't!" Erol responded back with a shakier tone. "You'll only get yourself trapped!"

It was too late – Praxis dashed to the scene and tried to bring himself as close as she can to Crista, but… by that time, a bright purple energy source started to form itself upon its mouth. It then launched itself straight at the bottomless pit, causing a bright light to engulf itself around the three guards.

The light soon faded out, seeing the results as thus – Erol managed to roll out of the way, looking almost breathless at the sight of the attack. The walls at the pit were decayed, leaving Crista's screams to echo as she fell to an instant demise. And as for the Baron, he was being towed into the air, a bubble filled with black energy surrounding him and draining all matter of consciousness from his mind.

"I finally have your soul under my control", said the Metal Head leader with a bitter, deep and icy tone. "Be sure to be inflicted with the pain…!"

The monster growled deeper than before, and it was there that several energy shocks managed to make their way towards Praxis's body, leaving his senses to slowly die down to a more soulless state.

During that time, several black shadows made their way towards the room, looking on at the scene. One of the smaller ones started to show a sign of shock, and managed to take a step back at the horrific sight.

Back down on the surface, Erol looked on at the draining from his position on the ground, the light effects from the black orb reflecting upon his wood brown eyes. It wasn't long until his facial expression started to become more fearful than the usual.

"Oh great, what's a trainee guard gonna do at a time like this? Eh…" He shook his hands with fear, before running towards the soldiers. "Guards! Help our Baron out of this mess!"

The rest of the Krimzon Guard looked on at Erol, and knowing about the sudden loss of Crista, they followed Erol's orders and started to surround the beast, with their weapons out, set to aim straight towards the monster.

They then started to fire all at once, trying to penetrate the beast's armor and flesh, but it seemed to be no use – with every shot fired, the beast brought down one of its tentacles and brought them down. But… the three shadows that showed themselves at the entrance to the cavern started to come closer.

"Look out!!!" one of the Guards warned the others.

One of the smaller shadows started to take a step back, before it was brought into a running stance, holding something within its small hands. It then brought back its arm, and hurled something straight at the Metal Head leader.

It soon showed itself into the light, forming itself as a massacre of rocks and pebbles heading straight for the beast's eyes. Some of which struck the black orb surrounding the Baron, but the others managed to continue their way towards their prime target.

And strike they did, right in the beast's eyes. The dust left behind from the ambush managed to seep straight into the beast's eyes, leaving it to growl with pain at the very touch of them. At that time, the three shadows showed themselves into the light, revealing themselves… as Sig, Torn, and the hurler of the stones – Ashelin.

"My eyes…!" the monster screeched. "My eyes, they're stinging! I can't cope with this pain any longer!"

"Hah!" Torn laughed with a successful tone. "Well done Ash! You owned him real good!"

Ashelin showed a light smile upon her face, only to see it being wiped clean from her face as she turned back towards the monster, its stable nature starting to deteriorate. Eventually, the beam that took a grasp upon the black orb surrounding Praxis deteriorated, leaving his body to fall to the floor.

"You can tell that this pain won't be around for long", the monster scowled upon its opponents. "We'll meet again…"

It growled towards their opponents, and it was there that a purple mass of energy started to surround it. They soon covered the whole of the monster, leaving it to disappear within the smoke.

The sight of the action left Erol stunned at the sight. He then ran towards the original site of the monster, a few feet away from the bottomless pit, and continued to look upon the scene with a pair of widened eyes.

"He just… vanished?"

"Least you managed to try your best, and that's all that matters", smiled Torn.

"What do you mean?" Erol responded with his eyes widening. "We came here to exterminate the source of the rise in the Metal Head population, and THIS happens?!?"

His expression soon turned to anger, and it wasn't long until he turned towards Torn, his fists starting to shake. He then reached him, picked him up by his shirt, and brought his face towards his, his eyes pulsing from brown to red.

"I don't understand what your problem is, but we've faced a real nervous breakdown before you arrived", he shouted with his tone becoming more bitter as time went on. "We've lost the Krimzon Guard's captain, and we could have almost lost Baron Praxis too if it wasn't for your… your…"

He came to a pause, trying to find the right word to finish off his sentence. But… during that time, his expression suddenly changed into sorrow and pity. He released the grasp from Torn's shirt, leaving him to fall to the floor.

"I know how it feels like, sir", said Ashelin in a sympathetic voice. "I can understand that my father has had a close bond with the captain, and seeing her gone can probably result in a serious deterioration of the guard."

"Come to think of it, how can we fight onwards from here?" he asked her.

Erol gave out a light sigh, and started to cautiously walk around the area, his mind showing a more upset stance around him. During that time, Sig managed to climb down, and place his hand upon his shoulder.

"Maybe a new captain could be in order", he said with a soothing expression. "I would have thought that this would be a bit dreary to think of, but it has to be required if you want to eliminate the Metal Heads, for captain Crista Tasai, and everyone else who has been fed to Metal Heads big and small."

Erol then looked up towards Sig with a smile. "You're right. I know how shaky I am, but I can sense that she's taught me a lot of things. Maybe I should stand up there and show the guards what they are."

He looked on at Sig, and he gave off an honest smile. And then he turned to the guards, all of which showing a mixture of panicked expressions and hopeless looks around their faces. One of the guards managed to step forward, showing a more worried expression than the others.

"But you can barely aim a gun without her help!"

Erol forced a devious smile. "I don't need guns for guard patrol, do I?"

The guard looked on at the others, and saw the reactions to its fellow comrades. Most of which ended up giving out shrugs towards him, while the others remained silent. During that time, Sig managed to reach Praxis's level and carry his body over his shoulder, the light breathing being graced down Sig's back showing that there's still life in him.

"You know what this means, cherries – back to the city, and it looks like we have a lot of explaining to do."

They all looked at Sig and his determined expressions, and understood what he got across to them. They then started to make their walk back the way they came, on a dark and treacherous route back towards the Air Trains they started at.

By then, the skies were almost pitch black, making seeing the path ahead of them very difficult. All that they could rely on was a combination of the light from Sig's staff-like weapon – a Peacemaker – and from a small torch tucked away in Erol's clothing.

Twenty-seven minutes later, they managed to reach the Air Trains, and that was where the group disbanded into the separate ones. Sig, still taking a hold onto the Baron, came onto one with Torn and Ashelin, and Erol brought the rest of the Krimzon Guard onto another. From there, both trains left the nest, glad to see that the failed ordeal into the storming of the nest was over.

---

Several days managed to pass, and the weather around the city seemed to get better, but not fully. There was a cloudless sky being shown through the Palace's windows, yet outside the exterior temperature felt colder than the usual.

During that time, Ashelin was seen walking her way through the palace, her face showing a more dreary expression. The events of the storming left her worried for what would happen when/if she next meets the Metal Head leader.

She managed to pass the doors to the chapel room in the palace, which were seen slightly open with a stream of blue light shining down upon the carpet. As soon as she stepped into the light, a familiar voice spoke from inside the chapel.

"Ashelin, come here – I'd like to talk to you."

She blinked, and looked on inside the chapel, and it was there that she saw her father standing near the windows. He looked like he was fully recovered from the battle, give or take a bandage being brought around his right hand and a pair of casts surrounding his feet.

She took a step into the chapel, the long carpet trail leading towards the windows showing themselves to be more distant than once thought. She soon reached the Baron, and came to a stop a few inches away from him.

"Ash, I'm sorry if I underestimated you to begin with", he started with a sympathetic tone. "I just felt worried for your safety."

"There was no need to be. I could just tell that you needed a bit of help."

The innocent voice from her mouth caused the Baron to turn around to face her, and it was there that he looked onto a confident young expression upon his daughter. Her eyes were soon brought onto his feet, and it was there that she crouched down and lightly poked his casts.

"I must admit, I felt sorry about what the Metal Head leader managed to do to your feet. Feels sorry that you can't wriggle your toes anymore, eh?"

Praxis gave out a light shrug. "I'm just happy as long as I can still run."

She brought her head back up, and looked on at her father's remaining optimism. She gave off a light smile back while she managed to stand back up as firmly as possible, but the sight of the smile left the Baron's face to drop slightly.

"But in the end, I can tell just how upset I am with the loss of one of my strongest guards in the squadron."

"You mean Miss Tasai?" she asked with a higher pitch.

"Yes, Ashelin. I know how much of a loss I faced with Crista, and I was shocked to an extent to see that she managed to save my life last year, yet…" he sighed, "I failed to save her in return."

He looked on at the windows once more, and lightly brought his hands upon the glass panels, his head bringing itself down with a disappointed expression. From behind him, Ashelin came near him and placed her hand lightly onto his back.

"It's okay, be happy with what you managed to do with her", she smiled. "She felt content with her time, and at least that managed to give a real edge towards the team."

"But what can we do without her?" he asked her.

He brought his focus towards his own daughter, her eyes showing a widened, mysterious glance brought right upon them. She then gave out a light smile and came closer towards him, her looks starting to show more determination than before.

"Hey, if there's a way to make up for the loss, I'll be more than set to join the guard myself!"

The Baron's remaining eye widened at the remark. "Now, Ash, I know what you did to me back in the Metal Head nest, but isn't this getting a bit too far?"

She lightly jumped on her toes. "Trust me, dad – once the guard grows strong enough to face off against the Metal Head nest again, we'll be able to settle the differences once again, for Crista, for mom, for…" she paused, "for everyone who got beaten by those creatures."

Those words took a while to get absorbed within the Baron's memory, but he could instantly tell by her surprising looks that she may be able to do some good for the city. He then sighed lightly and stepped back, maintaining a straight posture.

"Right, I'll let you win this argument. If you want to join the guard, then there'll be someone waiting outside ready to take you to the Fortress."

"Yes sir!" she chuckled back.

She saluted straight at her father, and it was there that she rushed towards him and hugged him right upon his chest area. He gave off a light, reassuring smile in return, thinking that he might have done the right thing.

And then, she soon released her grip and started to run down the red carpet panel leading itself out towards the corridors of the palace. As soon as she disappeared, Praxis's expression soon became a more curious one.

"Yes sir?" he lightly blinked. "Pfft… she's too young to understand."

And it was there that he turned back towards the window, curious over his decisions. Although he knew that the guard could end up growing stronger by his method, his urge to reach the Metal Head leader once again suddenly started to grow to a wider extent.

At the same time, Ashelin managed to reach the lifts, and rode them straight down towards the Palace's ground level. As she descended, she thought carefully about her decisions, wondering about what would happen as soon as she joined the guard.

The lift soon reached the ground level, leaving her to dash her way towards the front door, where the front doors instantly opened up, leaving her to be reunited with a similar face from the previous week.

"TORN!!!" she screamed.

"Hi there, Ash. Want me to take you on a tour around the Krimzon Guard entrance procedure?"

He brought out his hand, leaving Ashelin to look on at his greeting with a pair of shaky eyes upon her. The memories of Torn's actions from the night of the storming came back to her, leaving her to be filled with more confidence than before.

With a gentle smile forming on her, she brought out her hand and took a hold upon his. They both went their way towards a nearby KG zoomer, which showed itself to be as wide as a manta ray yet with a strong plate of armor around it.

"Come on", he winked. "We can be sure to go through all this together."

"Heck, I don't see why not!"

They both boarded the zoomer together, and it was there that the guard that was in possession of the vehicle's cockpit turned its ignition on, leaving it to zoom its way around the palace, before heading its way in the direction of the Eastern bazaar.

As they edged closer towards the fortress themselves, both Torn and Ashelin brought their heads into the air, leaving their dreadlocks to start blowing in the wind. They both gave out confident smiles, knowing that their future could be coming closer and closer.

With the temperature gradually getting warmer as time went on, they knew that they would both end up with a permanent relationship, with thoughts that they'll be able to help one another, as long as they're in the Guard together.

---

Seven years passed, and the scenery around Haven City slowly started to change. During the time gone by, Krew's health also deteriorated for the worse, leaving him to resort to Sig's "hovering chair" project for the only way to maneuver around the city. And alongside with that, Ashelin managed to find her way to follow in her father's footsteps as a governor for the city, with Torn continuing to side with her as time went on.

It was then that they saw minutes, or maybe hours before, that Erol was shown as a missing person after crashing his own hover bike into a stack of Dark Eco barrels, Krew faced a painful demise being caught in a bomb explosion far from the city, the Metal Heads broke through the city walls, Baron Praxis tried to fight back against the ordeal but got instantly killed as a result, and the Metal Head leader itself was finally brought down by a renegade cast down upon the city two years before.

By then, the city showed itself as a more peaceful form, with cherry blossoms blowing itself down upon a patch of grass near the Palace. And it was within there that a furry shadow started to make its way towards the scenery for itself.

It stepped close towards the lawn for itself, and looked upon what was implemented upon there – a small statue of the Baron, with a gold plaque attached onto the bottom of it, revealing how long he managed to live for.

The furry creature came closer towards the statue, and brought out a Celtic cross made out of rose and blossom petals. It placed it near the statue, and looked on at it with a peaceful look upon there.

After five minutes of standing, the creature gave out a light tear, before it turned around and started to make its way away from the patch. As it went closer into the light, it showed itself as an ottsel – a blonde ottsel, with tiger-like markings upon its face, a wrecked red and silver hat upon its head, and fur that went down its back.

It looked back upon the wreath, and gave off a light smile at it before it continued to make its way back the way it came. It was there that it knew that whoever approached the Cross would see the small paper tag that was shown right at the bottom of the decoration.

"To our late Baron,

Thank you very much for what you provided for me during your time here. I would have come back to the city to see you sooner, but alas, time was just too short for us. You've managed to provide a lot of great things for the city, from the good things to the bad, yet you've managed to stand up as a strong leader during your reign.

May the Precursors guide you as safely as the Krimzon Guard did so during your time.

Yours faithfully,

-Crista Tasai-"

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