Raven and Jak drove in silence, while Daxter fiddled with one of Jak's gun barrels. Raven fidgeted in her seat," Look, about what you saw back there..."
Jak looked over," You don't have to explain."
Raven shook her head," No, I feel the need. I don't know how long I'll be here, so I want to get a few things about me out there."
Daxter climbed on Jaks shoulder," We're listening girly."
"Right... Well, I have the ability to leave my body. What you saw was my soul, it gives me the power to control objects, take control of others, and even see what they see."
"Wow, so that means you could take over anyones body?" asked Daxter.
"In a sense. But it takes a lot out of me. Whenever I use my powers, I leave a piece of myself behind in them."
"So a piece of you was left in that monster you destroyed?" Jak raised a brow.
"Yes. Happens all the time. Thats why I meditate. I need to repair the damages I do to myself, and help keep my powers under control."
"Yeesh, you got a lot of problems Raven." Daxter scratched his head.
"Well, you've never seen me transform either Raven. You're not the only one who can lose control sometimes. When I was captured, when I first came here, I had no control of the dark powers that were inside me."
"I could sense the darkness inside you when I first met you..."
Jak chuckled,"And I sensed yours."
Raven looked up, and she smiled," I guess we aren't so different..."
"We're here at Onins."
Raven looked around, and the surroundings had changed. There were more roads, and what seemed to be a bazaar type of area. Around all the small stores, there was a strange tent in a corner, and Raven felt her heart skip as she sensed the pure spirit inside.
"Onin?" Jak walked in.
"Ah, Jak it is good to see you again, Onin says." Pecker flew atop Onins hat.
"HEY! You left us back there with that metal head feather butt! Thanks for the help!" Daxter jumped down from Jaks shoulder and shook his fist at the bird monkey.
"Like you even lifted a finger rat boy!"
"At least I stayed and fought and didn't run away with my tail between my legs!"
Onin began to clap and wave her hands, strange colored lights and symbols lit up before her, and Pecker sighed," Okay okay. Onin says we need to stop this petty arguing that there are much more important matters to discuss."
Onin smiled at Jak and stared at Raven. Onin clapped and waved again, Pecker translated,"Onin wants to know who you are girl."
Raven put a lock of hair behind her ear," My name is Raven..."
"Onin says you are not from here are you?"
"No ma'am I'm not. I was brought here through a worm hole of sorts."
"Onin says she senses a dark presense inside you." Onins blind eyes seemed to peer deep inside Raven, and Raven shifted unfortably.
Onin smiled, and clapped again, more colorful lights bursting in front of her," Onin says you have nothing to be afraid of. She knows you are a good person, even though there is a darkness within you."
Onin turned towards Jak," There are metal heads everywhere again, and we have no idea how to deal with them. Vin says they're even trying to invade the security systems. We just came back from Spargus, and the place was nearly over run with metal heads. Even down below in the sewers."
"A green gas cloud was filling the entire area." Raven added.
"Onin doesn't know what is happening either, but she says if the security walls fall, it'll be the end of us all. Metal heads have gotten stronger the past two years, and there is a very very strong person leading them."
"Thats what I want to know. Who the hell would be controlling the metal heads?" Jak growled.
"There is another lost artifact in Haven forest. Onin says this artifact will interact with the artifact Vin is looking for."
"How did you know Vin was looking for an artifact?"
"Onin sent me out that way before I flew off to warn Sig of the metal head attack."
"ANOTHER artifact?!" Daxter rolled his eyes," How many of these darn things are there?"
"There are many. We might never find them all, but Onin has said that the ancient precursors left many artifacts behind and the ones we've found in the past, have only been a handful of what really lies out there in the world."
"So, in a forest you said?" Raven interjected.
"Yes, Onin says it should be somewhere in the forest, just outside Haven City. But be wary, the metal heads have been spotted down there as well."
"Ah, I remember that forest used to look so beautiful... Tess in her little bikini...ah..." Daxter smiled and the group looked at him awkwardly.
"It'd be best for you guys to get some rest. Its been a long day for all of us, and if you three are headed out to the forest tomorrow, you'll need your full strength."
"That might be for the best. I still need to meditate," Raven smiled.
"Good. So tomorrow, meet us back here and Onin will give you directions on where the artifact has been detected."
"Right. Thanks Onin." Jak smiled and they walked out of the tent.
Pecker looked at Onin," That girl, can she be trusted Onin?"
Onin smiled and made movements with her hands " She has a darkness like none I've ever seen before, but behind the dark energy inside, I see a sweet innocent young girl. I believe she can be trusted. Jaks energy and her energy seem to clash at one another. Her darkness activates his, but his light eco balances his darkness which helps calm her darkness down. Perhaps if the girl is exposed to some light eco as well, she can better control her darkness."
Pecker sighed," If you say so. I just hope you know what you're saying."
Raven sighed as she looked back up at the sky," I wonder how my friends are doing back home, and what time it is there."
"Hey, cheer up. I'm sure they're alright. Its getting late, and the bazaar area isn't exactly safe at night."
"Its not like I can't defend myself," Raven smirked," But you are right."
The communicator that belonged to Jak began to beep, and Keiras voice rang through,"Jak, this is Keira."
Daxter rolled his eyes,"No, really?"
"Knock that off Daxter!" Samos' voice echoed in the background.
"Whats wrong Keira?" Raven asked.
"There have been reports of metal heads out by the city walls down by the old slums."
"We know its getting late, but this is a matter we must look into before any of us settle in for the night. Torn and Ashelin are waiting for you three down there." added Samos.
"Why?" asked Jak.
"The reports stated that a man was seen with the metal head horde and the metal heads aren't your normal slow ones." Keira answered.
"A man controlling the metal heads?" Raven asked herself nervously. "Why am I so nervous right now? Its not like I'm behind all this..."
"We are unsure if he is indeed controlling them, they only stated he was seen with them."
"Raven, Dax, and I will head out there right now,"
"Becareful you guys! Daddy and I are still working on some method to reverse the gas down in the sewers, so you guys take care! Report back to us what you find!"
Raven put a lock behind her ear," How far away is the slum area?"
"Its about an hour if we walk, so we'll have to drive."
"Okay." Raven climbed into a car, as Jak set the key into ignition.
"So Jak, who do you thinks behind all this?" asked Daxter.
"No clue. We'll just have to wait and see until we catch the bastard".
Raven looked at Jak, whose face was stern and focused, determined. She saw someone who wouldn't back away from a challenge, and would fight until the very last ounce of strength was gone. She felt uneasy the closer they came to the slums, she glanced over and sighed," I've got a really bad feeling about the slums. I almost feel as if something is going to happen".
"Darn right somethings gonna happen! We're gonna kick some metal head butt!" Daxter shouted proudly.
Raven looked over at Daxter, slightly annoyed," No, not that. I can feel someone waiting for us there. I'm really worried about heading down that way."
Jak glanced at Raven," Nothing bad is going to happen. Trust me. Dax and I have fought our way out of many dangerous situations."
"Right... I just hope your right."
Ashelin crossed her arms," Where the hell are they?" She looked at her watch," They should have been here 30 minutes ago."
"We can't go in there alone without backup. You know that." Torn looked at her.
"I know." Ashelin sighed.
"Look, if anything goes wrong in there, I need you to leave me and run." Torn looked sullen.
"What? I'm not leaving a soldier behind. Espeically one that I'm in love with." She sat next to him.
Torn looked at her and smiled," I can't let anything happen to you."
Ashelin smiled and gave him a warm kiss that calmed Torns anxiety. A honk broke them apart and they both stood.
" Okay okay, break it up you two!" shouted Daxter
Torn rolled his eyes, as did Ashelin. Jak parked and hopped off, and Raven slid down. Ashelin sighed," Its about damn time you guys showed up. We've been waiting here for over an hour."
"Sorry, had some other business to take care of."
"Torn, Daxter and I will head in first. You, Ashelin and Raven stay close behind us."
Daxter laughed," HAH! I ain't going in there first buddy. My senses are telling me we're only looking for trouble in there!"
Raven shook her head," I'll go in first with you. Trust me, my team and I fought our way out of many dangerous situations." Raven mocked Jak, who offered a quick amused smile.
Jak raised his gun, and Ravens hands began to glow with her energy. As the door opened, a few carcasses of metal heads lay before the door, and Jak raised his brow,"Dead already?"
Ashelin pushed her way forward," They're ALL dead."
They looked up and hundreds of carcasses lay before them, spread out everywhere. Jak put his gun away, and scratched his head,"This makes no sense. There's so many of them."
Raven heard something fall a few feet away from them,"I heard something, over there!" Raven pointed to a crumbled wall as something red ran past it. "Hurry Jak! We gotta catch that thing!" shouted Daxter.
"You guys go that way, try and scare it towards us around the other side of that building." shouted Torn, as he and Ashelin ran the opposite direction. Jak nodded and ran towards the wall in the distance as Raven flew.
"I'm going to see if I can catch up, " Raven sped up.
"Hey wait for us!" shouted Daxter.
Raven knew she shouldn't go ahead, but she needed to find out who this mysterious man was. Something deep down told her it was Slade. Someone who knew so much about technology, how to manipulate large quantities of enemies, and was a master at hiding. "Don't be stupid Raven. How could Slade be here? He doesn't have control over magic, let alone the ability to leap across dimensions and worlds." She found herself at a dead end," What the?"
She heard shuffling above her, and large boulders began to fall from a delapidated building. She let out a startled scream and jumped back, as large masses of red fur came flying down. She felt teeth sink into her arm, and she screeched.
Torn and Ashlein heard her cries, and came running as fast as they could. While Jak sped over, shooting at the red beasts. Raven growled," GET OFF! Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Her dark energy blasted the creatures off, and she grabbed her bleeding arm. Jak stood in front of her," Are you okay?"
Daxter jumped off," We told you not to go ahead! Now you're hurt!"
Raven rolled her eyes," I'm fine. I'll heal it later."
Jak stopped firing," What the hell? Lurkers?!" The creatures bared their teeth and retreated.
"Why are Lurkers attacking us?! I thought they were on our side!"
Ashlein ran over," What happened? Why didn't you wait for back up!?"
"I'm fine. Besides, we have bigger problems to worry about." Raven looked up, and lurkers were everywhere, staring at them with glowing menacing eyes.
"Jak! Do something!" Shouted Torn.
"Stand back!" he put his gun away, and looked back at Raven. He leaned forward, and felt the dark eco rush through his veins. He popped his chest outwards, and the eco flooded outwards. His hair turned into a purple gray, his skin a darker gray, his eyes became pure black, and his hands bore long sharp claws. He leapt into the air, and slammed his fist into the ground, sending shockwaves of dark energy everywhere. The lurkers went flying backwards, and Jak felt his darkness subside. Raven was wide eyed, "So much darkness!"
Suddenly a slightly bigger lurker emerged," Jak! Why do you attack Brutters family?" he stared at Jak, with tears in his eyes.
"Brutter!? Its, its not what it looks like."
"Yeah, your family attacked US first!" shouted Daxter. "They even took a bite out of our friend!"
"Lurkers attack brother Jak?" Brutter shook his head," Brothers would not hurt you!"
One of the injured lurkers stood and walked towards Bruter, its head hanging low," Brutt, we sorry. We did attack. But metal headers were everywhere, we were scared. Did not know who was friend or enemies no more."
Brutter sighed," Brother, and newest sisters, please. Forgive lurkers, we not bad."
Jak smiled," We know. We just had to defend ourselves. No hard feelings."
A smaller lurker came towards Raven, who was still clutching her bleeding arm," Here. Try this ointment. Made from lurker herbs, will stop infections. Sorry we attack."
Raven grabbed the small bag of ointment,"Thank you. Sorry I snuck up on you. That wasn't the smartest thing to do."
"Brutter, why are all these Metal Heads here?" asked Jak.
"Lurkers live here now. We big family, and no one minds this place. This our home, but lately metal headers got in. They is looking for something. Jak! Becareful. Danger is everywhere."
"Have you got everything under control? We were sent here to investigate all these metal heads, but it seems as if you all beat us to it." asked Torn.
"All metal headers here, dead. We still not sure how they got in, but we are on high alert." Brutter looked at his family who nodded.
"Right. If you guys need any help, especially if the metal heads find a way in again, give us a call, and we can fight together." Jak smiled.
Brutter and his family waved them off," Jak, Torn and I are heading back to HQ. Its getting late. You three have some big missions tomorrow. Its best to get some rest," Ashelin turned towards Raven. "Keira and I have managed to locate a small apartment located closer to HQ. Hopefully we can get some more answers tomorrow." Torn waved them off, as they drove off.
Jak looked at Raven who rolled up her sleeve, and applied ointment. She winced, and looked up startled to see Jak staring so intensely at her," What?"
"You really shouldn't have ran ahead you know... you could have really been hurt."
"Sorry. I guess you just get used to rushing in head first into battle. Its what we were good at." She half smiled. "But, having four others with magic super powers, usually ends up ending well."
"Well next time we stick together!" smiled Daxter.
"Right" she nodded. "Jak, your darkness... its something else..." She looked up
"Yeah. We all have our inner demons." he smiled.
"Come on, lets find that apartment, and we can get some rest." Jak started up a nearby vehicle.
She half laughed," What is it with you, and stealing cars?"