Jak reluctantly pulled himself out of Naruto's sleeping hold. As he slid on his boots he cast one last glance at the slumbering blond. Softly, the once hero brushed a few locks of hair that had fallen in his face. Jak bent down, about to kiss the top of his head goodbye when his com-link went off.
"Jak," Krew's voice filled the room. "I need to discuss some things with you." The green-blond sighed and pulled away from Naruto. Jak stood and went to leave, smiling as he heard Daxter scramble off the pillow and climb up onto his shoulder.
"You know I saw that." The ottsel said as the duo entered the icy Haven morning.
"I know." Jak said as he hotwired the forgotten single person Zoomer. Daxter grinned as they started to head for the Hip Hog Haven.
"Why didn't you-" His sentence was cut off by his own scream as the once Eco Hero nearly crashed into a wall. "Hey! Watch it Jak!" Daxter yelled, completely forgetting about asking his question as he hung on for dear life.
At the saloon Daxter went right up to bar and laid down in front of Tess. Jak shook his head as the blond started to pet him lovingly. The once hero took a seat at the bar waiting for Krew, where ever the crime lord is. The man in question suddenly floated down and looked at Tess irritably, remembering when she had been taken in by Krimzon Guards and after taking her back in she was slouching in her work.
"Hey! Back to work toots."
"She's working, beach ball!" Tess looked at Daxter in horror at the name. "Quit your yappin'!" Daxter said going back to looking at Tess. Krew got up close to the ottsel and poked him, a death glare in his red eye and blind one.
"Watch it! Or you'll be yet another trophy hung on these walls." Krew said mentioning to the large Metal Head heads on the walls. Daxter's eyes rolled in the back of his head and fell backwards. Tess worriedly started to fan him with her hand as Krew addressed Jak. "Jak, I want you to throw the championship race. Just let Errol win…"
"You bet against us?" Jak asked with a glare.
"Jak…Jak…it's just business. You've become a symbol to those townies. They'll bet everything on a glimmer of hope. What better time to make money? Waddaya say, my boy?" Jak turned his back on Krew looking at the wall in front of him.
"I'd say you're going to lose a lot of money. Because I'm going to race and I intend to win." Jak said, at the end turning to face a scowling Krew with a cocky smirk.
"Aggghh! You little…" Krew growled, flying up the ceiling of his saloon. "You're becoming more trouble than you're worth!" He floated back down having sedated his anger momentarily as Daxter woke up. "I wouldn't get too comfy, if I was you. Everyone's expendable!" As he said the last part Daxter passed out again. Tess brought her hands to her mouth then quickly started to fan the ottsel again.
As Krew floated away there was a rustle of leather and then footsteps. Jak's body went tense as he steeled himself. "In a hurry to die, boy?" Errol asked, suddenly right next to the once hero. Disgust built up inside Jak as the orange haired man got in his face, his breath too hot against the green-blond's skin. "Well, we don't have to wait for the big race. We can do this right now. One on one, through the city, using accelerator rings. Hit every ring from start to finish. Miss even one ring, and it's over. Keira already thinks you're a loser, and I'll prove it now, once and for all." Errol then turned to Jak, a cruel smile on his lips.
"And it's a pity that fox boy isn't here." Jak, Daxter, who finally woke up again, and Tess went tense at the mention of Naruto. Their eyes looked at Krew, who had his back to them high up in the saloon. It was hard to see if he had heard or not. "He seems so fond of you. I'd of loved for him to be here to see you loose, and then drag his pathetic hide back to the Baron." Jak nearly growled as Daxter leaped onto his shoulder. The once hero pushed past Errol as he spoke.
"You're on."
Errol was a dirty cheat. Even though he had set up rules he broke every single one of them. He would skip rings and run people over, not caring if it was a civilian or a member of the Krimzon Guard. Though Errol cheated it was still Jak who won.
He pulled the Zoomer into a stop outside the Stadium with a smug smile as Daxter jumped in the air and fell with a bow. Errol pulled up next to him, disbelief and anger was clearly visible in his eyes.
"Don't get too cocky, outlaw! Next time, we race for keeps! And your head will be my trophy!" The Commander yelled, slapping down his mask and driving away as if Hell's hounds were at his heels.
"Ahh, blow it out your ear! You were bottle fed, weren't you?" Daxter yelled after Errol's retreating back.
Naruto blinked as he sat at a table with Samos, both old and young, and Torn. His tail flicked nervously as there was a thick silence in the room, as if an argument happened just before he was called in to join them.
"Jak and Daxter have been sent to retrieve the Seed of Life in Dead Town. Naruto, I want you to escort my younger self to the Forest where you'll meet up with Jak." Old Samos said.
"I don't need an escort, old tree bark! I'm perfectly capable of getting to the Forest by myself!" Young Samos yelled. Torn groaned and rubbed his temples, it had been like this ever since both Sages got here. Naruto scratched the back of his head in thought as the two continued to bicker.
"WILL YOU TWO STOP! THIS IS SERIOUS! YOU BOTH SAID THAT SO START TREATING IT LIKE IT IS IMPORTANT!" Torn yelled. The room suddenly went so quiet Naruto could have sworn he even heard Quix in the garage humming to herself. Torn let out a deep breath. "Just because you can get to the Forest doesn't mean you don't need an escort. Naruto's going to be there in case KGs show up or Metal Heads have returned to the Forest."
Escorting Young Samos to the Forest was not an enjoyable experience. All he did was complain about Naruto driving skills, or lack of such skills. Five times they had to switch vehicles because the fox teen crashed into too many walls, it took him seventeen minuets to hotwire each Zoomer, and more than once they had to loose the Krimzon Guards.
They honestly overreacted to everything. The Zoomer was parked and one of the guards had walked into the Zoomer and suddenly Naruto and Samos are being chased by an entire army of red. The second time all he did was switch hover zones and accidentally hit a Hellcat while doing so. Naruto had never seen so many Hellcats and KG cruisers in one place. And the third, fourth, and fifth time…well…let's just say Young Samos did not like Naruto by then.
At Dead Town in Samos' Hut, Jak and Daxter walked in, the ottsel jumping off his shoulder and frowning at the state of their home. "I spent many a day cleaning up this place for Old Greenie." He said as Jak started to look around for the Life Seed. "That thing's bigger than me!" Daxter said as the green-blond pulled out a large seed that was not only taller than the ottsel but also fatter.
"Good work, Jak…and Daxter I suppose." Old Samos said over the com-link, Daxter mocking the last part of the sentence in a Samos impression. "Before we came through the rift long ago, I was nurturing that Life Seed from the Great Tree. It seems Metal Heads are attracted to its power. Take the seed to Onin now. She will prepare it for Samos."
"You mean you?" Daxter asked.
"No, the other me Daxter!" Samos yelled through the com-link. "My younger self needs the seed's power to become…sagely." Daxter's face took on a thoughtful expression.
"So…let me get this straight. It's fair to say that by bringing your younger self the Life Seed now, we helped you become the Sage you are today? We helped you get your powers in the first place. And you never thanked us?" Daxter yelled the last part so loud that even Metal Heads miles away could have heard it.
"Thank you Daxter." Samos said calmly before yelling. "Now go do it!" Daxter shook his head and climbed back on Jak's shoulder.
"One of these days…" He muttered as the duo headed out off the ruined hut back towards Haven.
The guards in Haven City overreacted to everything! All Jak did was switch hover zones and accidentally bump into a KG cruiser. Luckily, he was able to throw them off before getting to Onin's tent.
"Onin says what took you so long? We had to skip lunch, waiting for you two!" Pecker greeted as Jak and Daxter entered the tent with the Life Seed. Onin glared and clapped her hands, sending blue powder on Pecker, who was in front of her. "Okay…okay. She really says 'thank you for saving the Life Seed'. But I wouldn't say that if I was her." Pecker said as Jak walked past the moncaw towards Onin. The once hero placed the seed before Onin who started to cast some sort of spell on it. "Mmmmm…bird seed…" Pecker said, staring at the seed intently. Daxter glared at him.
"Back off, feather weight!"
"Listen tiny tail, I was leading my hundredth flock south before you had fur one between your legs! Not that your fur means anything."
"At least I'm not some over stuffed, over yappin' feather dusty mouthpiece for the world's oldest professional!" Daxter said then started to go around Pecker in a mocking the moncaw. "Jak says, 'have a nice day'. Jak says, 'I can't think on my own'. Jak says, go bite yourself!"
"That's it rat boy! Now you've really pissed me off!" Pecker yelled and soon the two took on fighting positions.
"Knock it off, both of you!" Jak said with a glare over his shoulder at the two.
"You're lucky I'm famished!" Pecker said poking Daxter in the chest. He then turned back to Onin. "She says take the energized Life Seed to Young Samos in Haven Forest. It will give Samos the power he needs to finally see the forest from the trees." As Pecker spoke Onin sent the seed back to Jak. As the duo left Pecker decided to try and hurry them along.
"Go, quickly!"
Naruto almost felt sad at seeing the chrysalis gone from the tree, but maybe it was for the best. He didn't want Young Samos to tell him to kill the 'Metal Head egg'. The fox teen sighed as he laid boredly in the grass as Samos sat in front of the tree. He sat up and stood as Jak and Daxter approached them with the Life Seed.
"Samos told me to…I mean you told me to…or…well…I mean your older version…ah…whatever. We heard you needed the Life Seed." Jak said as he tossed the seed to Young Samos.
"Yes. Its power will help me speak to the plants." Just then Naruto's ears twitched as the sound of exhaust filled the air. Both he and Jak turned just in time to see three Krimzon Guards flying at them with jetpacks.
"There he is!"
"Roger, we're en route!"
"I see 'em!" Followed by those three scouts were KG transport Zoomers.
"Jak, Naruto, protect me from these guards! I must ask the plants vital questions about our future!" Young Samos said before going into his meditative state. Jak pulled out his Vulcan Furry gun mod and Naruto flexed his claws as the braced themselves for the wave of Krimzon Guards.
It was horrible to watch life fade from someone's eyes but before he could put too much thought into it there was another three shooting at him. Both Jak and Naruto, and a few bullets had managed to clip Samos and Daxter, were wounded in the end. The fox teen panted as the transports left in a hasty retreat. He felt Jak place a hand on his back and, in order to assure the green-blond he was alright, smiled.
"The Life Seed gave me a terrible vision." Young Samos said gaining everyone's attention. "The Baron is planning to destroy the Precursor Stone! He aims to crack it open somehow. If he does this, the energy released will be beyond comprehension. It will destroy the world and more…ending all life! The plants are crying out for protection! You must stop the Baron! Stop him, however you can!"
After another panicked call from Vin the trio found themselves heading towards the Power Station. Daxter, as always, sought to give the teal-white haired Underground member a heart attack.
"Hey there sack a nerves!" The ottsel yelled causing Vin to nearly jump out of his skin. "How's the bzzzzzt stuff going?"
"I've got good news and bad news." Vin said, actually sounding calm as he used his metal machine to take him up to a high up computer screen. "The good news is Kor tells me we've got enough power on-line to keep the shield walls up. So, for now the city's safe. But I don't know how long the system can hold."
"And what's the bad news?" Naruto asked.
"We've detected a cluster of Metal Head eggs growing up at the Strip Mine site. Now, you've got to go back there and find a way to destroy those eggs before they turn into a whole new army of creatures!" Vin said coming back down, the stress returning to his voice.
"I noticed the crane was lifting a large metal container high off the ground. If we could jump onto the container, we could drop the crate from above onto the eggs." Jak said. Daxter's face morphed into a look of fear.
"High? Jump? Drop!" He yelled in Jak's ear and glared at him. "Why don't I like the sound of that?"
"Come on Dax," Naruto said. "We've done harder missions before." The ottsel sighed and looked the blond straight in the eye.
"If I die I'm coming back to haunt you."
It would be a lie to say that it was a hard mission. To Jak and Naruto it didn't seem all that life threatening, just a couple of complicated JET-board moves over endless chasms. The only one that made it seem difficult was Daxter screaming ceaselessly through the entire thing. It was only at the end did the fox teen and once hero thought they were going to die.
Daxter's scream filled Jak and Naruto's ears as he placed his paws over Jak's eyes. The once hero grabbed the cable connecting the cargo to the crane and spun down it, his foot hitting the release button. Naruto latched onto the cable on the other side, watching as the cargo fell to the pool of Dark Eco with the Metal Head eggs. There was a loud 'squish!' as the cargo smashed the eggs.
Suddenly the cable started to jerk and soon the trio found themselves dropping down towards the earth. It stopped and the jerked again, both Jak and Naruto falling off and Daxter tried desperately to climb the cable. It jerked to stop again causing Daxter to fall. The ottsel flapped his arms as if wings to fly but he fell anyway.
Jak held on tightly to the hook at the end of the cable, Naruto's arms around his waist and Daxter hanging off his shoe. The trio looked down to see the cargo just a foot from Daxter's head. The ottsel slowly lowered his foot down and then let go. Naruto released his grip on Jak and fell to the cargo top, followed by Jak. There was an awkward pause before they jumped off the cargo onto land and went through the Warp Gate.
Kor greeted them and he didn't look pleased at all. "I can't believe it! We were so close! The Baron stole the Precursor Stone right out from under us! And after all of our planning and hard work, Torn has betrayed the cause!" The old man said, looking like he was ready to tear Torn apart. Naruto sighed and then noticed the boy's Crocadog, but no kid. His ears twitched as he heard Jak speak as he walked over to the pet.
"Torn meant well. He was protecting one of our own." Jak said as Naruto bent down next to the Crocadog. All the pet did was whine and moved closer to the blond, sniffing his pants leg, as if trying to will his master's scent to be fleshly there, to assure him that his master was safe.
"We must get that stone back!"
"I'm working on it." Jak said.
"Yeah, we're working on it!" Daxter echoed, jumping down from Jak's shoulder between his friend and Kor.
"I've underestimated this Baron, and now it appears he has taken the boy as well." Kor said mention to the Crocadog resting his head on Naruto's leg, whining out to the blond for him to find his master. Naruto's sapphire eyes narrowed. That look in Kor's eyes told him that he was lying, that the Baron didn't take the boy. "Think. What will the Baron's next move be?"
"Well," Daxter said. "If I had the Precursor Stone, with all that power, I'd use it to build a giant palace. A palace with the biggest harem of women the world has even known, and there'd be a swimming pool filled to the brim with chocolate…slightly minty…yeah, yeah! A massive pool of gooey chocolate! Then the girls and I would jump in together-" Jak reached down and smacked the ottsel on the back of his head to make sure he kept his thoughts clean…or at least in his head.
"What?" Daxter asked innocently. Naruto shook his head and started to pet the Crocadog's short fur. The loneliness of his master making him seek out any comfort he could until the boy was fond.
"I want you to go out into the Drill Platform again." Kor said as if Daxter never interrupted. "If you can destroy the main control tower there, it should temporarily stop the Baron's use of Eco to harm us." Naruto nodded to Jak, telling him he would stay here. As the once hero and the ottsel entered the Warp Gate Naruto looked over at Kor. The old man was watching him closely, as if waiting for something or seeking out an answer and he would find it by looking at Naruto.
The hairs on the back of Naruto's neck rose and his tail twitched in irritation. His lips pulled back in a snarl at the man, sensing danger coming from Kor. The Crocadog, sensing the anger and tension also pulled back his lips, a growl escaping him. Kor simply chuckled and left the Power Station.
Torn always tired to time his meals so he didn't have to eat with anyone, but it seems as if the Precursors were against him today because it seemed everyone was having dinner at the same time. Quix's loud laughter filled the small dining area as she pointed at Rucah.
"And then he jumps in after it! You couldn't pay me enough Orbs to jump into sewer water after anything!" The silver-blond said, recalling one of her first missions with the Underground. Rucah mumbled something under his breath and looked away from Quix. Jewell smiled, her one eye crinkling as she watched her friends. The blond haired woman lifted her beer to her lips and took a long drink of it.
"I like, totally remember my first mission. I like, had to polish all the guns in the weaponry, totally took me like, all day." Crow said with a fond smile as he pointed his fork, which had a carrot on it, at Jak and Naruto before putting the fork in his mouth. Peter shook his head and took a sip of his water.
"Two days." The large elf corrected.
"I like, knew that." Crow said taking a stab at another carrot. Jak smiled as Naruto laughed at the very faint pink cross the redhead's cheeks in embarrassment. Daxter jumped on the table, his foot stepping on Jewell's fork, which had food on it and was placed on the edge of her plate. The room went silent as the mashed potatoes hit Torn in the face. Calmly, the second in command wiped the food off his face and glared at the ottsel.
"Ha-ha! You should see your face!" Daxter said, not bothering to hide his laughter even though everyone was trying to. Torn looked ready to strangle the ottsel. He stood to leave only to have Naruto's hand stop him.
"Come on Torn. It isn't like a little bit of potatoes is going to kill you." The fox teen said, his tail wagging slightly at the friendly atmosphere. Torn grumbled and sat back down as Daxter started to tell the story when he (and Jak) was surrounded by thirty Lurkers. He was obviously trying to hit on Quix and Jewell. Both girls knew this and decided to humor him through his entire tale.