Authors Note: Sorry for the update delay people! I was really busy last weekend, so I didn't get the chance to work on this. I seem to have lost a few of my reviewers though; that makes me sad, lol. Anyways, I'm back with another chapter now! And to my two reviewers:
Light-Eco-Freak: Lol, nope, it's not, but a lot of people probably swear in Haven city. And she's always had blue eco powers, just never used em cause they used to be so weak. I agree, I missed the eco in the other games as well. Awesome! I'll have to check your fic out! Thanks for the review!
xoxReneeOrionxox: I'm glad you liked it! Lol, thanks, I thought it was funny XD Thanks for the review!
And now, on with the chapter! Which reveals some stuffs and… ah just go read!
Through Another's Eyes: Book Two
Chapter Eight: The Shadow
The next morning, the trio woke up and got ready as usual, heading off towards the hideout. Jak once more hijacked a zoomer first, leaving Tera to grumble about it the entire way there. They reached it without any incidents for once, as Jak didn't feel like crashing into KG's this morning. Heading down into the meeting room when they reached it, they approached the table, Torn looking up at them seriously.
"Scouts report movement in Dead Town," his voice was quieter then normal, "Creatures moving towards the Sacred Site. Just as before."
The three frowned, Daxter voicing their question, "What happened… ah, before?"
"Metal Heads broke through the old city wall. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled back," Torn's voice was filled with hate now, "leaving everyone outside the 'new barrier' to die. Only the Shadow stayed, and somehow stopped the attack."
"And now you expect us to go out there again?" Jak questioned, frowning.
"You catch on fast!" Torn smirked, "If you prevent the Metal Heads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be… most grateful. He might even ask to see you."
Daxter turned to walk out, Tera and Jak glancing at each other before moving to follow him.
"Hey," Torn's voice stopped them, "I'm probably wasting this," he slid a gun mod across the table to Jak, "but here's a Vulcan Barrel for that pea shooter of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need it."
Jak loaded the mod onto his gun, aiming it towards a wall and grinning at the power he held. Torn shook his head with a sigh, Tera rolling her eyes and leading her now smirking friend out of the hideout, grabbing a zoomer while he was occupied and speeding off once he was on.
"What's the whole story behind the Sacred Site?" he questioned as they rushed towards the entrance to the area, Tera shrugging briefly.
"I don't know!" she admitted, "I've never thought to ask because I've never been sent there before."
They fell into silence as they flew, soon arriving at the access gate to Dead Town as it wasn't very far from the hideout. Both teens drew their guns as the doors hissed and opened, Jak sticking with his blaster for the moment. Entering, they immediately took down the wave of stingers that sprung up from the ground, moving forwards when they were all gone.
Jak shot down the Grunt standing on the island ahead of them, the three continuing forwards quickly, not liking the creepy feel of the area. The three grunts up top went down easily, the trio moving on again. Tera motioned for Jak to pause again, motioning towards the upright standing Metal Head on the Island ahead of them.
"That's a Slinger, we're lucky it hasn't noticed us," she grinned slightly, switching her own guns to their blue mod's, "Want to see what a Vulcan can do?"
Jak nodded, and Tera turned, flipping down her goggles and pinpointing her aim on the Slinger. A sudden wave of bullets tore from each of her guns, ripping through the creature and knocking it out in a matter of seconds, the Grunt following as it turned to come after them. The girl grinned again at Jak's dumbfounded look, jumping down to the island and heading towards a set of small wooden platforms, "Hurry up! I want to get out of here as soon as we can."
Jak agreed mentally, quickly following after his friend. They paused on the next island, each taking out one of the Slingers that waited ahead of them before moving on, both switching to their Blaster mods to take out the second wave of Stingers that jumped at them.
They jumped up the small hill in front of them, climbing onto the wall and shooting down the two grunts that waited there before moving on, following the wall around to the next ledge. Here they took down more Stingers, Jak quickly switching to his Vulcan Mod to take out the Grunt Gunner that appeared from around a corner. Four more Grunts and two more Grunt Gunners fell as they moved around another corner, heading up a set up steps to a slightly higher area.
One more pack of Grunts waited for them in the next area, but they made quick work of them with their blasters, rushing onwards and taking care of the final Stingers and Slingers that stood around yet another corner of the dilapidated building. Sighing in relief when all fell quiet around them, they moved forwards and around the corner.
The three froze momentarily, staring in horror at the 'Sacred Site'.
"Is that… is that… no, it couldn't be… that's not…"
"It's… Samos' Hut…" Jak cut the ottsel off, voice disbelieving.
"No… it can't be…" Tera breathed, shaking her head in denial as she stared at the now wrecked hut, the place she'd grown up in. The girl put a hand on Jak's shoulder to hold herself up, suddenly feeling weak at this sight.
"But… what? How? When? Where?! Why?!?!"
"We're in the future…" Jak breathed, "This… horrible place… is… our world!"
"This is Sandover…" Tera whispered, looking around at the destroyed area surrounding them, "this is where we grew up… Sentinal Beach, Forbidden Jungle, Rock Village… everything! They're all gone… what could've happened to lead to this?"
"I don't know Ter," Jak frowned, "I really don't know. But we need to get out of here before any more Metal Heads come back."
The girl nodded silently, letting him lead her back towards the exit. Luckily, no creatures had reappeared, and they were able to make it back safely. Jak grabbed a zoomer and sped off towards the hideout, slightly worried about his companion when she didn't gripe about his driving at all. Seeing her old home so torn up had really gotten to her.
"Good job, Jak," Torn's voice came from his comm. as it popped up, "The Shadow wants to meet you all, come on back to the hideout."
"Maybe we can get some answers now," he muttered, accelerating quickly. They reached the hideout in a matter of minutes, heading down. Torn stood just inside the entrance, smirking, his arms crossed as he blocked the view of whatever was behind him.
"The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you," he stated simply.
"Why is that place in the old ruins so important to you?" Jak questioned, hands resting on his hips. Tera still remained silent.
"There's a powerful energy force at the old house. The Metal Heads are drawn to it," he explained simply.
Daxter pushed himself up as far as he could, trying to look over Torn's shoulder at the small man standing at the table as Jak continued, "No kidding. We used to know the guy that lived there."
"Sooo," the man began to speak as Torn moved to the side, the trio moving forwards but freezing in shock when they spotted him, "you're the new recruits who keep getting into trouble."
"Oh no, not you!" Daxter exclaimed, shaking his head in disbelief.
The younger looking Samos continued, not paying attention to Daxter, "Welcome to our humble Underground movement. I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?"
"Sheesh Jak!" Daxter exclaimed, jumping to the ground and approaching the older man, "we went through all that to meet his holiness, ol' log on the head, grandpa green?!"
Tera had looked up by now, but she still stayed behind Jak, "Father…"
"Don't you know who we are?" Jak questioned, Samos shaking his head.
"Sorry kid, never seen you before. And I never forget a face, especially one that ugly," he pointed to Daxter, the ottsel sighing.
"So it begins…"
"How is this possible?" Jak started, putting a hand on his forehead, "We came through the rift gate with you… into the future… right?"
"Yeah!" Daxter cut the sage off when he went to talk, "You used to look older then dirt and uglier then a knotted stump. What gives? Did you get a little nip and tuck while we were gone?"
"Listen you three," Samos put his hands on his hips, "I don't know what kind of twigs you've been chewing on, but I don't have time for this," he turned, moving back to the table again, "We've got a Baron to overthrow, a child heir to protect, an invasion of Metal Heads to stop, and a city to save. I'd say the schedule's pretty full! Besides, I haven't gone through any rifts. I hate teleporting!"
"Sure sounds like the ol' Samos," Daxter muttered. Tera had fallen silent again, though Jak could tell that his lack of recognition got to her.
"Right now I need you to go to Haven Forest and root out a few Metal Heads," the Underground leader continued as though nothing weird had been said, "That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer. Chase down and destroy all the Metal Head scouts you find there. Good luck, and welcome to the fight!"
The ride over to the forest was completely silent, as none of them knew just what to say. It was Samos, yet… not. On the way, Jak's comm. once more popped up, the voice of Krew's racing client coming from it, "I left my Jet board at the air lock to the city exit, since you'll be needing it. Since you're helping the Underground, you can even keep it."
Silence resumed as soon as the comm. had floated back into his pouch, the three hopping off when they reached the entrance to the city exit. The Jet board was waiting inside the air lock, as promised.
"Woot! The Jet board's ours! I call shotgun!" Daxter cheered as Jak grabbed the board, converting it to its compact form before attaching it to his back 'pack'. The three then continued inside, taking the warp gate back up to the entrance to the Mountain Temple. A different platform was illuminated this time, and they stepped onto it, waiting while it took them through a Precursor tunnel in the mountain and out to a vast area of green.
"You gonna wait here while I get the Metal Heads?" he questioned, looking to Tera. The girl nodded, flopping down backwards on the grass of the entrance and waving him off.
"Yah, go have fun," Jak rolled his eyes, pulling out the Jet Board and taking off into the forest, Daxter going along with him and thus leaving the girl by herself.
Tera took the alone time to think; so they had found a Samos… but it apparently wasn't their Samos. It made no sense to her, but not much was making any sense these days. Haven was Sandover's future; how their small, peaceful world had become such a big place filled with hate she didn't know, and wasn't sure she wanted to.
They also had yet to find Keira, which made her worry even just slightly. Even though they didn't really get alone, the teal haired girl was still her sister. Tera had all but died of boredom by the time Jak got back, smirking as he jumped off the Jet board and put it back on his back. They left the forest quickly, the sun just barely beginning to set as they headed back into the city.
Just as they entered the farming section, Jak's comm. went off again, Krew's voice making Tera wince slightly.
"I have another job for you, Jak," came the heaving voice, "I need you to go down to the port and get rid of some new Listening Devices that the Krimzon Guard has put into place. You'll have to use that Jet board of yours, eh?"
The comm. floated back down, Jak punching their hijacked zoomer in the direction of the port. Yet again, Jak took care of the mission, as Tera hadn't had any practice with the Jet Board and her friend didn't want her going anywhere near mines until she had. Once he had taken them all out and returned to where Tera was waiting, his comm. popped out again, Krew once more speaking through it.
"Good work my boy. Ah, it seems not everyone can be bought out, ah well, come back to the Hip Hog will you…" the voice trailed off again.
Tera sighed, "Here we go again."