A/N: Attention all loyal readers, and followers. I apologize for the long wait on this chapter. I've just been so incredibly busy with work and now school! But I haven't forgotten you all! I'm back! Enjoy!
Torn slammed his fist into the table," What the hell is going on around here?"
Ashelin sighed," Calm down, we need to find a way to re enter those sewers without exposing them to that poisonous gas."
Keira crossed her arms," I could try and build some gas masks that would convert the gases into breathable oxygen. That should be able to buy Jak and that girl more time to find the source of the problem."
"That's my girl! Hop to it Keira." Samos smiled, always proud of his smart young daughter. It was only a matter of time before he could start training her in the ways of a Sage.
Jak and Raven walked in, and everybody stopped what they were doing and held their noses," My word, what is that awful smell!?" Samos yelled.
Ashelin waved the air," I take it you two had a nice swim?"
Raven rolled her eyes," Wasn't like we had a choice. There was a collapse in one of the exit ways down in the sewers. The sudden blast of the rocks sent Jak and I into the muck."
"It was almost like someone detonated that passage. I've been down that way a million times, and not once did it look like it could give way. All the bricks were secure with no cracks in the mortar or anything."
"So someone is trying to sabotage the city..." Torn growled and looked towards Raven," You sure you're not hiding anything?"
Raven sighed," I've said again and again, I've nothing to do with any of these attacks. I'm beginning to feel unwelcome here. If you all wish me to be gone, than I'll take my departure." Raven was about to walk out when Torn grabbed her arm," You aren't going anywhere. Not until we find who is behind all this shit."
Raven yanked her arm out of Torns grip," Fine. Can you people at least treat me like a friend instead of the enemy?"
"Raven's right. She did save our lives back in the sewers. If it weren't for her, Dax and I might not be here right now." Jak offered a small smile towards Raven, hoping the girl would get the hint that he was trying to make friends.
Raven got the hint and nodded towards Jak, her hood still obscuring her face. Ashelin sighed," Where do we start looking?"
"Jak and I were thinking of heading over to old Vin's place and see if the nut job has any information, see if the security walls have been hacked." said Daxter who was still picking at the bits of grime imbedded in his fur.
"Sounds like a good idea. After visiting with Vin, head out into the desert. We need Sig's help, see if any suspicious activity has been taking place in the deserts." Torn said his hands behind his back.
"First, can we at least have a shower? I already stand out with my ears, I don't want to stand out even more smelling like this." Raven said lifting her robe, and grimacing at the slime still stuck on there.
Ashelin looked at Keira, and Keira smiled," Sure no problem. I can lend you some clothes I have, or I can buy some for you. You do seem to stand out a little."
"Shoes shouldn't be a problem either," Ashelin walked over," I know a small shop that sells them by the tons. I'll drop them off at Jaks apartment. What size do you wear?"
Raven felt a little taken aback by the sudden girls interest in her, it reminded her of Starfire, and how she loved to get into detail with clothing" Uh, 6 1/2"
Torn shook his head as the girls walked Raven out the door, discussing what size Raven was, and Raven hesitating on her size, seeing as she wore her leotard her whole life. The only time she wore pants was when they had that mission in Russia, in the snow. But they were one size fits all sweats, so she still wasn't sure what her size was.
Torn shouted after them," HEY! Don't forget about the mission! Meet Jak outside The Naughty Otsel!"
Jak scratched his head," I need a shower too. Mind if I use the ones in the back?"
Torn sighed," Sorry man, those busted down a while ago. Might as well head home while the girls get that Raven chick some new threads."
"She's gonna be at the apartment though." Jak crossed his arms.
"So. Get your ass back there first, and change. Wait outside the -"
"Yeah yeah, we got it tough guy. Sheesh. Lets go Jak." Daxter said interrupting Torn.
Samos walked up to Torn," This young ladies power is quite interesting. Although it isn't eco based, I sense a strong energy coming from her. I'm not quite sure what it is."
Torn looked at Samos," Think she's evil?"
"I cannot say, but all I know is the girl is immensely powerful, and shouldn't be taken lightly. For now, I believe it is best to keep a close eye on her."
Jak had hopped through a warp gate, and was just outside his apartment when Tess came flying down the stairs knocking Daxter off of Jak's shoulders.
"Where have you been Daxter?! I've been worried sick about you! Why do you smell so terrible?!"
"Hey easy Tess baby. Jak and I got a little side tracked. Turns out we were surrounded by metal heads and Jak and I were cornered, and I looked at Jak and said ' Buddy watch the Daxinator at work!' Than -"
Tess cut him off by pressing a finger to his lips," Shh.. tell me in the bathtub..." She winked and pulled Daxter back up stairs.
Luckily for Jak, he owned a two bedroom apartment that came with two bathrooms. Jak owned the masters, and Daxter, the guest. Jak shook his head and headed up to his own room. He locked the door just in case, and started his shower. 10 minutes later, he was cleaned up, and had a new pair of clothes on. He headed out his bedroom door and out the front when Raven opened the door. They both jumped back startled," Oh I'm sorry. I wasn't sure if this was your apartment. Keira and Ashelin dropped me off and didn't bother to tell me which was yours. I was about to assume this one, since there are bits of orange "otsel" fur in your welcome mat."
Jak chuckled," Oh its fine. Your pretty observant."
Raven blushed and once more was thankful for her hood," Yeah... can I come in?"
"Yeah, sorry. The bathroom is all the way in the back."
Raven began walking, and was about to open Daxters, when Jak rushed over," Uh, no not this one. Daxter and his girlfriend are in there."
"He has a girlfriend?! And he flirts with every female he sees?" Raven eyes were wide with humor and shock.
"Ah...yeah... he's bound to fu-...mess up one day." Jak chuckled nervously. " Here, use mine. There's soap and shampoo. You can lock the door, and I'll meet you down at The Naughty Otsel."
"Wait, I don't even know where that is.." Raven set her bags on Jaks mattress.
"Oh it isn't that hard to find, its just outside this area. The vehicles are set with a GPS system, and you can find your way there pretty easily."
Raven stopped him," I think it would be easier if you just wait for me. I won't take long." Raven picked up her bags and locked Jaks door.
Raven locked it and started the shower. She quickly threw off her clothes and let the hot water run down her body and she stood there for 10 minutes, silently meditating while standing. When she opened her eyes, she began to lather up her body with some soap that smelled like lavender, which Keira stuffed into her own shopping cart, telling Raven that she didn't want her to smell like a boy.
They had had Raven sit in the hellcat while they ran inside the store to buy her some necessities. She scrubbed her body twice, and used the shampoo Ashelin got her, that smelled like coconut. She washed her hair twice too. For another 5 minutes she stood in the water and meditated one last time before shutting the water off. She climbed out of the shower, and dried herself off. She opened the first bag which contained socks and undergarments. The next she opened was a bag that had dark beige pants that were a size 6, and they fit her nice and perfect. Next, she found Keira had thrown in a black long sleeved shirt, and that fit her nicely too. Ashelin had gotten her standard silver boots, similar to Keiras and Jaks, and she looked at her self in the mirror. "If it weren't for the ears, I'd look like I belong here." She shook her head," Stop it Raven. You gotta find a way home." She ran out the bathroom and down the stairs where Jak was looking up at the ceiling.
"Sorry!"
"I thought you said you wouldn't take long?" Jak teased. He was a little shocked at how beautiful she really was.
"I had to meditate for a little while. I'm feeling a little better now. Is... Daxter out?" She grimaced knowing that the little furry man was screwing around.
"Not yet, he'll be fine. Come on, we're running behind, the longer we wait, the more metal heads could come in the city."
"Isn't Daxter your partner?"
"Yeah, but I figure he could use some time off." Jak said as he opened the door and waited for Raven to walk out.
"I see. Where are we headed first?" she asked.
"We're going to see Vin, he knows everything about the security walls inside and out of the city. After that, we're supposed to meet Torn and the others outside the Naughty Otsel, and from there, we'll probably head out into the desert to visit an old friend." explained Jak.
"Lead the way then." Raven waited.
As they drove towards Vins, they felt the awkward silence build up between them. Raven wondered why this silence felt so strange. Usually when she was quiet around her friends, the silence felt normal, nothing out of the ordinary, but when she was quiet around Jak, she felt strange. Like her heart was skipping beats, but she couldn't figure out why. It wasn't like she was in love or crushing on this man she just met, but almost as if his energy was making her uncomfortable.
Jak himself felt the tension between the two building up, and he shuddered inwardly. When he was quiet, it was normal. Jak wasn't always the conversationalist, but when spoken to, or had an idea, he would voice his opinion. Even when he was angered he would speak, or when he felt excited he would joke around with Daxter or whom ever happened to be around him, but when he was around this girl he just met, it felt strange. He couldn't find a single thing to mention, and it didn't help that Daxter wasn't with him. He was usually the one keeping the awkward silence out of the boat, and Jak would usually speak to cover up Daxters rude jokes or questions. But now, it was just plain quiet, besides the engine of the vehicle he was driving or the sounds of the engines around him. He felt the dark eco jolt in his veins, and felt the light eco quickly counteract.
Raven sighed," I wonder how my friends are doing."
Jak felt relieved he wasn't the one to break the silence," I'm sure they're fine. You said you got the metal heads out of your city right?"
"Yes, but there was a portal. Who ever opened it in the first place could always open another one, and drown the city with those creatures. Without my magic, and reversing spells, they could be over run or killed."
"Easy, I'm sure they're fine."
"You can't be sure of that. My communicator doesn't even work in this world, so I can't contact them, and if I can't contact them, they can't locate my signal..." Raven frowned.
"You always such a worry wort?" Jak looked over.
Raven blushed and looked away a little irritated that such a small comment made her embarrassed," Usually..."
Jak laughed, glad he made the girl blush. Even if they had barely met, she was kind of cute," Don't be. You have to have confidence in your friends. You said you guys are heroes, so I'm sure they can handle themselves."
"You're probably right..."
"Hey, ya left without me!" screamed the floating communicator, startling Jak, who had to hard turn to avoid crashing into a car.
Raven leaned over," What the heck is that?"
"Ah, a communicator of our own..." Jak smiled nervously, a little embarrassed that he almost crashed,
" Well you took your sweet time meeting us in the living room."
"Didn't mean you had to leave with out me! Why didn't you stop him Raven?" whined Daxter.
"It isn't my business."
"Look, if you wanna help us out, hitch a ride over to the Otsel, Raven and I are gonna hit up Vin, see if he knows anything."
"Hitch a ride!? From who!? I might as well just take the warp gate."
"Than go and do it. Take Tess, buy her a drink."
"Eh... she don't like going out much since she turned furry." Daxter hesitated.
"Make her comfortable than. Look, I gotta go, I'm almost at Vins."
"Fine..." Daxter hung up.
"Does he always complain that much?" asked Raven.
"Always, and he probably always will. Its just who he is."
"Reminds me of someone back home" Raven rolled her eyes, thinking of Beastboy.
Jak parked the vehicle in a corner and hopped off. Raven slid off the seat, and looked around again at her surroundings. Jak smiled," Don't worry, you'll get used to the place."
Raven nodded but silently answered back, ' If I even stick around that long...' They walked up the ramp, and Raven tried hard not to notice the citizens staring at her ears. A mother had to wrap her hand around her childs mouth," Mommy look at that girls ears!"
Raven frowned," God, I miss my robe..."
"Is that why you wear it? To hide yourself?"
Raven didn't answer.
Jak stopped in front of Vins door, and it slid open, the place still neat and brightly lit. Raven looked around astonished at the room," Cyborg would love to see all this..."
"Hey Vin, you here?" shouted Jak.
"What? What? Who's there?" said a voice.
"Its me Jak."
"Jak! Heh, sorry. I'd love to pop out and say hello, but the wire for the visual stimuli came unhooked, and well, since I'm stuck in here, can't exactly show myself." explained Vin.
"Where is the cord located?" asked Raven.
"AH! Who's that? An unfamilar voice!" Vin shouted.
Raven raised a brow, and Jak shook his head," A new friend. Where's the cord?"
"Oh, another friendly. Thank the Precursors. Lately a voice has been flooding into the central system, and its been driving me mad. I've been trying to locate the source so I can block the incoming transmissions but no such luck yet. The cord is behind those two towers, see it?"
Raven looked around," Towers?"
"Yes, right over there before the warp gate."
"Alright, I see it." Jak walked over and plugged the unhooked cord.
Within seconds Vin's large head popped out from the screen, startling Raven, who jumped back wide eyed,"Finally! Hey its great to see you again Jak!" Vin smiled.
Jak shook his head and smiled," Great to see you to Vin. This is Raven."
Raven nodded as a greeting and Vins large floating head observed her, and Raven glared," What?"
"Your ears aren't like everyone elses. Are you sure she's a friendly Jak?"
Raven sighed," Yes I'm friendly. It's a long story, but I'm not from here, I'm from another world, but I don't mean any harm."
Vin laughed nervously," Heh, thats what they all say sister. Anyway, Jak, I've been getting a lot of computer alerts, there's someone trying to hack their way in to the City's main defensive system. Its taking all I can to hold it off."
"Can you pinpoint the location of the hacking source? There's metal heads back in the city, and right now the sewers are off limits, some strange gas cloud is in the area, and its deadly."
Vin shook his head," Not good at all! First it was enough to worry about all the attempts at hacking and this weird voice, but now I gotta worry about METAL HEADS again! Oy, can a guy catch a break?"
Jak crossed his arms," Tell me about it."
Vin began mumbling to himself, than smiled," I think I found one last precursor artifact that should be able to boost up the defensive systems, but it's outside the city, in the desert. You're gonna need that artifact Jak, it'll help me pinpoint the location of the source and block those annoying voices."
"What voice are you talking about?" asked Raven.
"I'm not sure, its all digitalized, so I can't put a type of voice on it, like a man or womans, but all I know is it keeps trying to give me malicious thoughts to shut off the defensive system, and all this mumbo jumbo about what'd be in it for me."
Jak growled," What the hell is going on in this damn city?"
Vin frowned," Wish I knew pal. Meet me back here when you two pick up that artifact. Sig should be able to help you guys find it, he knows those deserts pretty well."
Jak nodded," See you soon Vin."
Raven looked at Jak who was driving," You don't think I'm behind all this do you?"
"Gotta admit, it is a little strange that the second you came here, more and more crap has been going on around the city, but no, I don't think you're behind it."
Raven sighed," Thank you. I don't know why all this is happening in your city, but I can't help but worry if my friends are in danger back home... If all this chaos is going on here, I can't imagine what may be going on in Jump."
Jak offered a comforting smile," Don't worry so much. If your friends really are heroes, than I'm sure they can handle themselves. Right now, we have to focus on whats happening here, and after all this is over, Vin can take a look at your communicator you keep clutching to."
Raven looked over surprised," I didn't realize I was holding this... I really don't do to well under stress."
"It'll be alright. Trust me."
She felt her heart glow warmly and Raven finally managed to smile," Alright." And put her communicator back into her pocket. There was something about Jak that made Raven felt warm, and it was the best feeling she ever felt. When they arrived at the Naughty Otsel, Daxter came flying out," About time! Let's get goin!"
"Why are you in such a hurry Dax?"
"Jak, the world is in danger, I don't think this is the time to have drinks!" Daxter huffed.
"DAXTER COME BACK!" screamed Tess.
"Did you piss her off again?" Jak shook his head.
"Long story short, yes. Lets go!"
"What did you do exactly?" asked Raven.
"Nothin worth mentioning..."
"Daxter! This isn't over! I'll be waiting back at the apartment you jerk!" cried out Tess.
Jak stepped on the gas lightly and headed off towards the center Island to take the Hellcat Carrier to the desert," You flirted with another girl didn't you?"
"You've got to control those actions. You have a girlfriend who loves you, you really shouldn't be flirting." added Raven
"ESPECIALLY when she's in the same room Dax" Jak rolled his eyes.
"Hey whose side are you guys on? Can we just drop it. Sheesh." Daxter crawled on Ravens shoulder.
Jak parked the vehicle and hopped off, as did Raven. Jak happened to glance over as Daxter popped off a joke about Jak, and Raven laughed a bit," You know, you're much funnier than Beastboy. He could afford to learn a joke or two from you."
Jak smiled a bit, something about this girl made him feel at peace inside. He shook his head feeling like a moron,'I just met this chick, so what the hell is this feeling?' He stopped in front of the large vehicle and tapped the side," This thing will take us to the desert. There's a city out there, our friend Sig runs the place. He should have some information on the artifact we need, and we can ask him if he's had any metal head problems lately."
"Why are there even city walls?" asked Raven as she stepped aboard the large vehicle.
"Well, a long time ago, Metal Heads ran rampant, with no real control over them. In order to protect the city, the Baron built these walls to keep them out. While he was in control, this city was more of a prison than a safe haven. Now, they stay up because Metal Heads still roam out there, some so huge they're as big as buildings. Plus, the desert storms are pretty bad." Jak smiled as he felt the hellcat lunge forward with gas.
"What an exciting life." Raven said with true sincerity. But Jak raised a brow," Hows Jump?"
"Just...average I suppose. With the occasional bad guy here and there. Our worst enemy was a man named Slade. He tormented our leader for a few years, than he met his demise. Twice. But, he's still around somewhere."
"How can someone die twice and still be around?" Daxter questioned.
"I'd rather not go into detail about that..." Raven put her head down.
Jak shrugged,'She's a mystery...I wish she'd open up more.'
The hellcats engine began to whirl as it set itself to land. The large door opened slowly and the two jumped off. The wind in the desert was pretty strong and sand was blowing into Raven's eyes.
"So, wheres this city at?" yelled Raven, over the roar of the hellcat the hiss of the wind.
Jak pointed to a large wall about 20 feet away from them," There it is. Let's go"
Raven used her powers to create a small wall in front of them while they walked, and Jak pulled out his hoverboard, in a boyish manner deep inside him, he wanted to impress this dark girl. He set the board down and Daxter shook his head, immediately knowing Jaks intention. He winked," This will get us there faster."
Raven rolled her eyes, and grabbed Jaks outstretched hand, and he bravely pulled her towards him, and Raven felt her face burn scarlet red. Jak leaned forward as the jet booster kicked in, for the desert terrain. Raven felt her emotions run wild, and she managed a laugh. No one ever made her truly laugh and feel giddy, except Malchior, or Rorek, which ever, she mused, but Jak had this ability to make her smile. Jak felt her body against his and he grinned widely.
They stopped in front of another large door, and Jak released Raven, who was smiling softly," That was pretty fun." She blinked her cheeks still pink.
Jak grinned as the jet board shrank, and Jak strapped it back on," Yeah, I love that thing."
Daxter hopped off Jaks shoulder," Hey! Why hasn't this stupid door opened?!"
Jak crossed his arms," You're right, they never took this long to open the door."
Raven felt negative energy coming from the door," There's something happening!"
Jak looked at her, all playfulness gone," What do you mean?"
"I, I'm not sure. But I can sense something behind these doors."
"Metal Heads?" Daxter looked at Jak.
"Has to be. We've gotta get inside."
Raven stepped back,"Leave that to me."
"Are you sure you can handle it?" Jak looked worried, already aware that this girl who has repeated several times she needs daily meditation, hasn't had a chance. "What about -"
"Trust me. This will be the fastest way." Raven focused," Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"
Her dark energy surrounded them, and Jak felt his stomach churn. In a flash, they were inside Spargus' walls. Raven lowered them and she landed.
Jak gasped and looked around," No..."