Jak IV: The Avenging Angels

by FlygonNick

As the war with the Metal Heads escalates further, Jak allies himself with a group of Metal Head hunters known as the Avenging Angels, where makes new friends and creates new bonds. Join Jak as he realizes the final Prophecy of the Precursors, finds love and loss, and uncovers the identity of the true evil that destroyed the Precursors so long ago. Cover art by TaquetoCagy.

9. Meeting Old Friends

Jak IV: The Avenging Angels

ANA (Author Notes of Awesomeness):

Please note, I have absolutely no clue whether or not Seem is male or female, and apparently no else does either. So, for the sake of the story, Seem will be male. If this upsets you, I'm sorry, it's just I have to decide on it for the sake of the story. Also, special thanks to the usual three who review my story, JakMartheDarkWarrior, Oblique Strategies, and Ecofreakras17. Also, special thanks to the guest reviewer "Hi There", who told me that 4 in roman numerals was IV, not IIII. I think I correctly changed the title and everything, but I could have messed up. Let me know in the reviews if it seems OK to you all. It may take a little while for the changes to take affect. Anyway, I messed up, and I admit it. My bad everyone.

Another bit of bad news, I may have to stop working on this story for a bit, simply because I may not have enough time to continue working on two stories and co-writing another one. As of now, I'm still working on this story, but when I get a job and start school again, I may have to stop on it for short periods of time. I'll still update, it'll just take much longer. I'm really sorry about this, but I just don't have the time anymore.

Also, if anyone's curious, I've figured out that every name in the Jak series is made up, and not an actual name. So I'll do the same thing for names I make. It's really not that hard.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter.

Chapter 9: Meeting Old Friends

Flashback:

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Jak screamed as Dark eco was forcibly injected into him. Erol stood nearby with a sick smirk, enjoying every second of Jak's suffering while Baron Praxis stood nearby, looking impatient.

"DARK ECO INJECTIONS ARE NOW COMPLETE, BIO-READINGS NOMINAL AND UNCHANGED." a computerized voice said as the Dark Eco stopped and Jak began panting heavily, trying to recover from the torture he been subjected to.

"Blegh…nothing! I was informed that this one might be different!" Praxis snarled at Erol, who frowned.

"He is surprisingly resistant to your experiments, Baron Praxis. I feel that the Dark Warrior Program has failed" Erol replied, causing the Baron to roar in anger.

The Baron whirled around and grabbed Jak, still weak and disoriented from his torture, and growled "You should at least be dead with all the Dark Eco I've pumped into you!"

"What now? The Metal Head Armies are pressing their attacks. Without a new weapon, my men cannot hold them off forever" Erol said as Praxis walked away to the other side of the platform.

"I will NOT be remembered as the man who lost this city to those vile creatures!" Praxis bellowed at Erol.

The Baron took a few steps towards Erol, who quickly backed up as the Baron snarled "Move forward with the final plan!"

The Baron then looked at Jak with a disgusted expression and said "And finish off this…thing, tonight"

"As you wish" Erol said quietly as the Baron stormed away.

"I'll be back later" Erol said grabbing Jak by the collar and directing his words to the semi-conscious warrior.

Erol walked out of the room, following the sinister Baron. Jak winced as the all too familiar sensation of Dark Eco burning his insides. He felt like something was changing…something…dark was inside of him. Begging for release. He felt a wave of nausea come over him and at first, he heard a voice he could have sworn was a Dark Eco induced hallucination. It wouldn't have been the first time.

"Ding ding! Third floor! Party chains, roach food, torture devices!" Daxter said as he rode a small transport into the room and jumped onto Jak's stomach.

Jak weakly blinked, was this real?

"Hey buddy, you seen any heroes around here?" Daxter asked.

Jak didn't respond, the Dark Eco experiment had left him too drained.

"WOAH! What'd they do to you?" Daxter asked looking at Jak's tortured and battered frame.

When Jak didn't respond again, Daxter became worried. What if they had broken him? His best buddy?

"Jak…it's me! Daxter!" Daxter said, and Jak weakly lifted his head and looked at him he went limp again.

"Well that's a fine hello" Daxter said sarcastically.

"I've been crawling around in this place, risking my tail" Daxter grabbed his tail, which was missing a few hairs at the tip, "literally, to save you! I've been looking for you for two years! Say something, just this once!" Daxter begged.

Then the anger came forth.

The pain from the torture had become insignificant compared to the torrent of pure anger Jak felt coursing through his body. So, he decided to break his long silence with a statement that summed up every single thought he had thought of ever since his imprisonment two years ago.

"I'M GOING TO KILL PRAXIS!" Jak roared.

Daxter quickly put a hand over Jak's mouth and said "SHHHH! Right now we've got to get you outta here"

Daxter scurried over to one of the restraints on Jak's arm, not noticing the change that was coming over his best friend. Jak began to breathe heavily, and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Jak's skin began to change into a grey color and razor-sharp claws shot out of his hands. Jak began to growl and groan as the Dark Eco began to morph him…into an unstoppable force.

"Just let me figure out how to open the security locks on your chair so I can-" Daxter began to say.

"ROAAAAAAAH!" Jak bellowed as he tore off the restraints effortlessly.

"Or uh…you could do it" Daxter said timidly as Jak got out of the chair with a murderous gleam in his eyes.

Jak leapt out of the chair with an animalistic grunt, purplish lightning radiating off of him. Jak turned his gaze to a cowering Daxter, who seemed to realize that his friend wasn't in his right state of mind.

"Jak…easy now. Easy buddy. It's-it's your old pal Daxter, remember?" Daxter pleaded as Jak took a few steps closer.

Jak brought his arm back, ready to strike when he felt the Dark Eco receding.

"Daxter?" Jak said weakly as he returned to normal.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT!?" Daxter yelled as Jak stumbled around weakly.

"Sheesh…remind me not to piss you off" Daxter commented as Jak found his balance.

"Come on tall, dark, and gruesome, we're outta here" Daxter said jumping back onto his old perch, Jak's shoulder.

End Flashback:

"And that was how I bravely saved Jak, stealthily evading thousands of Crimson Guards" Daxter said dramatically.

"Sure, next thing you'll be telling me that you're a Precursor" Chill laughed.

Daxter glared at Jak, who shook his head slightly.

"It is what happened though. Right Jak?" Daxter asked.

Jak nodded.

"So how did you all escape the Baron's Palace?" Nightingale asked, still held spellbound by the tale.

"Well, it was an exciting tale, filled with death, danger, and destiny!" Daxter said intensely.

"Actually, his not far off" Jak chuckled.

Jak described how he and Daxter fought his way out of the Baron's Prison, overcoming several waves of guards. The others listened intently and were amazed that one person could defeat so many soldiers with ease.

"Wow, that's amazing" Nightingale said, fascinated as Jak told her of how he finally escaped the Baron's Palace and met up with Kor.

"Yeah, you're a pretty cool guy Jak" Chill said.

"Yeah, Jak's alright but he isn't…Orange Lightning!" Daxter said doing a pose.

"Give it a rest" Blade said.

"Hello everyone, am I late?" Chief Disten said walking into the room.

"Well, Jak told us how he broke out of the Baron's Prison with Daxter's help" Blade said to the Chief, who nodded.

"Good story" Beast growled.

"Thanks Beast" Jak replied.

" What's up, sir?" Blade asked.

"I have a mission for you and Jak. We need you two to go to Spargus and meet up with an old contact of ours, and new King of Spargus, Sig. I'm assuming you knew him?" Disten said.

"Oh yeah, we've watched Sig's back loads of times" Daxter bragged.

"Good. He called to ask you about something important, couldn't say what it was. I'm sending Blade because he has an old acquaintance in Spargus and he requested to be put on this mission. Both of you leave as soon as you can get your gear ready" Disten said.

"Sir yes sir!" Jak and Blade yelled.

"Oh well, I guess you'll have to finish telling us about your Haven City adventures some other time" Nightingale said, sounding disappointed.

"Don't worry, we'll wrap up this mission quickly and head back here so we can finish it at dinner. Deal?" Jak said to Nightingale.

"Deal!" Nightingale laughed.

As Jak, Daxter, and Blade walked out of the room, Chill, Beast, Rune, and Sharpshooter looked at Nightingale and laughed.

"You guys are so cute" Chill laughed.

"So, are you ever going to ask him how he feels about you, or not?" Sharpshooter asked curiously.

"I can't. He's still grieving over his friend that he liked. It wouldn't be right" Nightingale said without thinking.

"AHA!" Chill yelled.

"Eeep!" Nightingale said clamping her hands over her mouth, blushing dark red as she did.

"Ha! I KNEW IT!" Chill yelled triumphantly.

"Leave her alone" Beast growled.

"What's your deal?" Chill asked.

"We all knew it, so leave her alone about it" Beast growled.

"Guy's got a point. Leave the kid alone" Sharpshooter chuckled.

"I'm not a kid! I'm 20 years old!" Nightingale grunted.

"You're the youngest one of us, and you're a little sheltered, so you're like a kid" Chill said soothingly, and Nightingale calmed down.

"So, when ARE you going to tell him?" Rune asked.

"Umm…I don't know. You said it'd be good to wait until he gets over the death of his friend, but I…I've never felt like this about someone before" Nightingale said softly.

"Don't worry; everyone feels that way at some point. He'll get over it eventually and then he'll be all yours" Chill smirked.

"I hope so" Nightingale murmured to herself.

Wasteland:

"WOOOO!" Daxter yelled as Jak drove off of a cliff and landed roughly on a dune.

"You're a pretty good driver" Blade laughed as Jak did a power turn avoiding another large rock.

"I was the Haven City Racing Champ this year" Jak said.

"Really? You beat that idiot, Erol? Good for you man" Blade said with a laugh.

"So, why do we need to meet Sig?" Jak asked.

"I've got no clue. Maybe he'd just like to catch up" Blade suggested.

"Maybe. We'll find out when we get there" Jak said.

The trio headed towards the desert settlement known as Spargus. It had been rebuilt after the attack by the Dark Makers. Jak drove up to the huge steel door and honked the Retaliator's horn twice. The door's slowly opened back up, and Jak drove the car inside.

The group saw a familiar face, adding a small turret on the Tough puppy, because that car sucks. Period. He looked up as the Retaliator drove in and said "Well, well, well, look who we have here"

"Well, well, well, look who's been hitting the buffet 8 times a day!" Daxter yelled.

"Shut yer mouth, or I'll pound ya!" Kleiver snarled back, though he was used to Daxter's comments, he still wasn't about to be insulted by a rodent.

Jak took off his helmet and said "Hey Kleiver. How are things around here?"

"Hey there Ankle Biter. Things haven't really changed that much. Dem Monks are hangin round here now though, and we've added a few new defenses on the city's outer walls" Kleiver said with a grunt.

"Monks? You mean Seem and the others?" Jak asked.

Kleiver nodded and said "If you're looking for the big bloke with the giant gun, he's up at the Arena. The "King" and a few of the others found some stranglers near death in the desert, so we're seeing if they're worth keeping alive. And for some reason, he said that you two had joined them Avenging Angels"

"We have, in case the armor didn't tip you off there" Daxter replied.

Kleiver growled and said "Get out of here, I've got things to do and you've got places to be"

"All right" Jak said with a shrug as he parked the Retaliator and hopped out.

The trio waited for the other unnecessarily large door to open and walk into the desert city of Spargus, where people made the most of what they had and survival of the fittest was the law of the land. Little had changed since Jak and Daxter had left for Haven City to help finish off the Metal Heads. The repair efforts had been long since finished. It seemed like there were a few new stone houses by the ocean and there were a few more venders then last time, but otherwise, all was normal. Jak led Blade to the Arena, where the roar of the crowd could be heard from hundreds of yards away.

Jak, Daxter, and Blade went up the also unnecessarily long staircase and down the hallway, where the Arena was. They looked down as five fighters, the ones Kleiver had mentioned, fought for their lives in the Arena. The people who had rescued by the Wastelanders, and were now fighting for a chance at a new life.

They fired their weapons against waves of the blood-thirsty Marauders. The group was able to eliminate about forty of them, and crowd roared as the last Marauder flew into the boiling lava below.

"Well done. The five of you have proven your worth this time around. The next Arena challenge will take place three days from now. Please ride the lift to receive your first Battle Amulet" a soft voice called out from where Damas used to sit.

Jak, Daxter, and Blade walked along the path to see Sig, sitting in Damas's old chair. His pride and joy, the mighty Peace Maker, was resting on his lap. To Jak and Daxter's surprise, Seem was sitting in a small chair next to Sig, and it had been his voice who had been talking to the new Wastelanders, who received their first battle amulet part. The group walked by, conversing that their luck was changing and that they were looking forward to fighting in the desert and becoming Wastelanders.

The trio walked over to Sig, who blinked in surprise and said in his booming voice "Jak! Daxter! Welcome back cherries!"

"Hey Sig. How's being King of Spargus?" Jak asked.

"Pretty good. I get to kill as many Metal Heads as I want, and I have no reason to go to Haven City anymore, because of the stuff I've got to do here. Who's that you have with you?" Sig asked.

Blade took off his helmet and said "Agent Blade. Me and Agent Chiaroscuro represent the Avenging Angels."

"So you really fell in with them?" Sig asked Jak quietly.

"The Metal Heads killed Keira, and I decided it's time to cut the head of the snake, once and for all" Jak said darkly.

"That's a shame. I liked that girl, pretty damn good mechanic. That's life I guess..." Sig sighed and they had a moment of silence for their fallen friend. After an appropriate amount of time had passed, Sig spoke again.

" I was hoping to have you up here, after the dust settled, and what with you being Ma-" Sig began to say before Daxter started shaking his head wildly, gesturing at Blade.

Sig caught on and said "I mean, with you being Damas's son. But since you're with the AA now, I'll just cut to the chase. There's a few Metal-Saurs out in the Wasteland, very close to here. They're attacking anybody who comes out of the Garage. We haven't been able to send anyone out there to deal with them because the second we get out there, all of them attack us. We need you, Daxter, and Blade to go distract them long enough for us to get our own men out there. Together, we can kill these scumbags, and I'll have a new trophy for my throne room"

"Seem, what do you think?" Jak asked the monk.

"Much has happened since the Precursors left. You have in set in motion events that cannot be stopped. A force equal to your own is coming for you, and you will need to evolve your powers to combat this new foe, and the one who is truly behind these events" Seem said mysteriously.

"Someone equal to Jak in power? That's crazy! Have you SEEN him turn into Dark Jak?!" Daxter yelled.

"Something dark is coming for us. Something worse than everything we've seen so far. The only way for you to combat these forces, is to become stronger from both without, and within" Seem said quietly, and Jak nodded.

"And how do I do that?" Jak asked.

"You must find the Door of Light, one of the greatest Precursor mysteries. There is a bloodline, in this land, that has long since been able to open this door. You must find a person of this bloodline, and use them to open the door. Light and Darkness together will save us from this new trial" Seem replied.

"What about the Metal-Saurs, any words of wisdom there?" Daxter asked.

"Yes…their presence here is no coincidence. The Aimperditor are back, and they've ordered their soldiers to block the only out of the city. They must be looking for something, something they do not want to be interrupted searching for" Seem said quietly.

"I think we've got an idea of what it may be" Blade said, and Jak and Daxter nodded.

"Listen, all we need you to do is draw them off long enough for us to get some of the boys out there. Then we work together to kill them. Sound good?" Sig said.

The group nodded and Sig said "OK boys, time to move out"

Spargus Garage:

"OK Ankle Biters. There's twenty of dem things out there stompin about, all nasty-like. Think you can get their attention and hold it til we get out there?" Kleiver asked Blade, Jak, and Daxter.

"We've got this handled. You should worry about yourself" Blade said with a hidden grin.

"What was that!?" Kleiver asked angrily.

"Come on. We don't have time to waste" Sig said to Kleiver, who grunted.

"All right, Jak, I'll drive. You provide additional fire with your Morph Gun" Blade said.

"Got it" Jak said, reloading his Blaster Mod ammo from a clip on his belt.

"All right then Chili peppers, let's roll!" Sig said as he got into the shotgun seat of the Slam Dozer.

"They'll be on us the second we leave. We've got to get all of their attention, and keep it" Blade said to Jak and Daxter, who looked at each other and nodded.

"I've got an idea" Jak said with a laugh and Daxter cracked his fingers and cleared his throat loudly.

"If I'm right, then those Metal-Saurs better watch out" Blade laughed as he revved up the engines.

"All right, let's see what you runts got!" Kleiver yelled with a grin as he opened the doors and the Retaliator shot out of the Garage and back into the harsh Wasteland.

Jak let out a loud yell and promptly shot at each of the Metal-Saurs, drawing their attention. Daxter took a deep breath and yelled "COME AND GET US, SCALE FACES!"

Each one of the twenty Metal-Saurs had the mental capacity to understand that they were getting dissed by a furry otter-weasel hybrid thing. With a loud roar, each of them charged at the Retaliator.

"Punch it!" Jak yelled at Blade, who floored it.

Jak pressed the red button on the dashboard a bomb flew out of the back of the Retaliator and into the face of one of the Metal-Saurs, who roared in pain and fired a mortar at the trio. Blade swerved to the left to avoid the projectile and spun the car around so that they were facing the closest Metal-Saur.

Blade opened fire with the Retaliator's twin machine guns and the lead Metal-Saur roared in pain as the bullets slammed into its face and chest.

"Now, let me know if you feel a slight tickle, when I'm shooting you in the face!" Blade said calmly, and Jak and Daxter let out a laugh as he spun the car back around.

With this distraction, the Wastelanders were able to get their cars out of the Garage and into the desert. Sig rode in the shotgun seat while Kleiver drove. Sig stood up and began charging up his Peacemaker.

"Jak! Lead those sorry suckers over here!" Sig yelled.

"Can do!" Daxter yelled.

"No backseat driving!" Blade yelled as he revved the engines loudly.

Blade swerved again and avoided a Metal-Saur charging at them and drove towards the Spargus Garage, where thirty Wastelanders were ready to fight the Metal-Saurs.

"All right boys, let show them how a Wastelander cleans house!" Sig yelled as Kleiver revved the Slam Dozer forward.

The cars opened fire on the dinosaur Metal Heads and Jak, Daxter, and Blade joined the fray. Jak provided support from the shotgun seat by firing his Morph Gun's blaster at the Metal-Saurs when they were within range, and Daxter helped by launching bombs from the rear of the vehicle whenever a Metal-Saur was behind them.

Suddenly a ball of blue energy shot past them and slammed into the Metal-Saur next to them. The creature roared in agony as it was electrocuted to death. The Metal-Saur flailed around for a few moments before collapsing onto the ground, dead.

"Wam bam, super slam!" Sig yelled out.

"That's not fair. Why does Sig get all the fun?" Daxter asked.

"Good question. Blade, floor it!" Jak yelled.

"On it!" Blade replied, slamming his foot on the accelerator.

As the car shot forward, Jak unbuckled his seat belt and stood up.

"What are you doing!?" Blade yelled.

"Jak!" Daxter yelled as Jak jumped out of the Retaliator and transformed into Light Jak and ripped off his helmet.

"Hit the brakes!" Light Jak yelled as wings shot from his back, and Blade obliged by slamming on the brakes for a moment, sending Jak out of the car. The moment Jak was airborne, Blade slammed on the accelerator.

With the momentum of the car, Jak soared straight at the rampaging Metal-Saur. Jak grinned and transformed into Dark Jak as he flew at the Metal-Saur. Dark Jak drew back his fist and charged it up with Dark Eco as he could muster and punched the huge Metal-Saur in the skull, breaking its thick neck and sending it crashing onto the ground, dead. Dark Jak landed onto the dune lightly and looked back at its latest victim.

"WHOA!" Blade said, nearly stopping the car in surprise.

"Yep…that's my boy Jak...I taught him that move" Daxter said with a cocky grin.

"Yeah, right, next thing you'll be telling me is that you're a Precursor or something" Blade snorted.

"You know, I'm getting really sick of keeping quiet about that" Daxter muttered.

"What was that?" Blade asked.

"Nothing, I'll-WATCH OUT!" Daxter yelled as he pointed to another Metal-Saur charging at them.

"Daxter, take the wheel!" Blade yelled as he unbuckled his seatbelt too, hitting turbo on the Retaliator's controls as he did so.

"WHAT!?" Daxter yelled.

Suddenly Blade's seat shot forward, ejecting him from the car and towards the Metal-Saur. Daxter jumped into the driver's seat and yanked the steering wheel with all his might, somehow turning the car away from the rampaging Metal-Saur.

"WHAT IS WITH EVERYONE JUMPING OUT OF THIS THING!?" Daxter yelled.

Blade flew right as the Metal-Saur, pulling out his twin Laser Swords. The Agent soared through the air like a bullet, even as the dinosaur Metal-Head opened its mouth and roared loudly as it stomped towards him. Blade spun in midair and hurled one of his Laser Sword at the Metal-Saur. The sword hurtled through the air and right into the Metal-Saur's open mouth.

The Metal-Saur's roared in pain as the blade sliced clean through its internal organs and it began thrashing in pain. Blade tightened his grip on his Laser Sword and as he flew at the Metal-Saur, he sank his second Laser Sword into its neck. The Metal-Saur thrashed and roared, trying to throw the Number 2 ranked Agent off.

Blade held on though, and pulled a third sword out from a sheath on his armor. This sword had a green blade and a yellow hilt. Blade twirled the sword quickly as the Metal-Saur thrashed around and sank it into the dinosaur Metal-Head's skin.

Suddenly green lightning began shooting out of the sword and the Metal-Saur began to roar in pain. Blade clung onto the two swords for dear life as the Metal-Saur roared and flailed as electricity coursed through its body. Eventually, the Metal-Saur let out one, final roar of pain and collapsed onto the ground, convulsing slightly.

Blade ripped his swords free and waited for Daxter to drive by in the Retaliator.

"You both are idiots…crazy…insane…IDIOTS!" Daxter yelled.

"Just get in the passenger seat and shut it fur-ball" Blade replied, tearing both of his swords free and sheathing them in his armor.

"RAAAH!" Kleiver yelled as he hit the turbo button on the Slam Dozer, crashing into a Metal-Saur head-on.

"TAKE THAT YA UGLY SON OF A-" Kleiver yelled before Sig, who had been charging up his Peace Maker, fired at the Metal-Saur from point-blank range.

The Metal-Saur roared in pain and was sent hurtling backwards twenty feet, where it lay dead. Sig blew at the steaming tip of his Peace Maker and said "Boom"

"Eh, look at Jak over there" Kleiver said pointing to Jak, who was now facing down a trio of Metal-Saurs, circling him.

Dark Jak laughed and yelled "TIME FOR SOME FUN!"

One of the Metal-Saurs broke out of the circle and charged at him. Dark Jak suddenly went invisible and the Metal-Saur slowed down and looked around, uncertainly. Suddenly it twitched its neck, which all of a sudden snapped. The Metal-Saur went limp and crashed onto the ground.

Suddenly Dark Jak reappeared next to the Metal-Saur's head. He cracked his neck and knuckles and said "Who's next?"

Both of the remaining Metal-Saurs fired their mortars at Dark Jak, who smiled evilly and snatched both of the mortar rounds as they flew at him. Without stopping, Dark Jak hurled the mortar rounds at their owners, who roared in pain as they were engulfed in an explosion. Dark Jak sprinted at one of the Metal-Saurs as it was distracted and leapt high into the air above the Metal-Saur and unleashed the Dark Strike on it.

The Metal-Saur roared in agony as the powerful Dark attack slammed into it from above. Dark Jak landed on the back of the Metal Head's back and yelled triumphantly.

"Kleiver!" Sig yelled.

"On it mate!" Kleiver yelled as he hit the turbo button and sped towards the writhing Metal-Saur.

The Slam Dozer crashed into the Metal-Saur, which roared one final time before crashing onto the ground dead. The final Metal-Saur was growling angrily, but turned around and fled.

"Oh no you don't!" Dark Jak snarled as he charged up a second Dark Strike.

All of a sudden Dark Jak heard a gunshot and felt a sharp pain in his shoulder which began to bleed. Dark Jak looked to the left, where he had heard the gunfire, and saw two Hunter Agents, watching him. The one to the left, armed with a sniper rifle, was aiming right at him.

Sig looked off to the side and saw the two Hunter Agents attacking Jak. Sig was about to tell Kleiver to help them when he noticed the final Metal-Saur getting away.

"Step on it!" Sig yelled.

Kleiver nodded and boosted twice in an effort to catch the quick moving dinosaur Metal Head. Sig brought up his Peace Maker one last time and as it charged up Sig smiled and said "Gotcha"

The blue ball of energy forming at the tip of the Peace Maker shot off in the distance and smashed into the Metal-Saur's skull. The creature was dead before it hit the ground.

"Hey, circle around and help Jak" Sig said to Kleiver.

"On it mate, you know-" Kleiver began to say before a car shot out of the dunes and rammed into them.

"Blade!" Dark Jak snarled, glaring at the two Agents.

"On it!" Blade replied, speeding towards the two Agents.

"Violet!" the one with the sniper rifle, who was male, yelled.

"On it!" Violet replied, stepping in front of him.

Violet calmly stood there and waited for the Retaliator to run her over.

Or so it seemed.

"What is she doing?" Blade muttered.

Violet then raised one of her arms and a fired a blue pulse out of her hand. Blade swerved out of the way and fired a few shots at the two Hunter's who jumped out of the way of the Retaliator's gunfire.

"Stay still!" Violet yelled as she fired another blue pulse.

This one hit home. The Retaliator was engulfed in a blue electrical discharge. Then, the car began to slow down and it eventually stopped.

"That was an E.M.P! It shorted out the Retaliator!" Blade growled as he hopped out of the car and pulled out his Laser Sword and activated it.

Violet pulled out a Laser sword of her own, it being crimson and Blade's being orange and dashed towards Blade.

"YOU! Why are you here?" Dark Jak growled at the male, who he recognized as Skull.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Skull chuckled as he aimed his rifle at Dark Jak.

Skull fired again, by this time Dark Jak was ready and sidestepped the bullet and ran at the Hunter Agent. Dark Jak changed back into regular Jak, who pulled out a pistol and began firing Skull. Skull jumped to the side and growled angrily.

"So, lost your edge? Shame, I've still got plenty left in the tank!" Skull yelled as his neck twitched suddenly and he fell to all fours.

"Blade! Watch out! He's transforming" Jak yelled as he prepared himself to combat the new threat.

Violet swung her Laser Sword at Blade's head, but this was dodged by Blade, who ducked under the slash and jabbed Violet three times with his open fist. Blade then swung around and hit her in the back with a backhanded blow with his sword hilt.

"Not bad!" Violet grunted as she flipped back onto her feet.

"But I'm…much better" Violet said as blue lightning discharged from her hands.

Blade jumped to the side to avoid the first bolt of lightning, but was hurled backwards when the second one caught him in the chest. Blade crashed into the dune and pulled out a pistol and without aiming it, fired. Somehow the bullet soared towards Violet, who ducked to avoid it.

"Ha! You missed" Violet laughed.

"Wasn't aiming at you" Blade said as he got back to his feet.

Violet turned around and saw that, miraculously, the bullet had found their vehicle's gas tank and-

BOOOM!

Violet was hurled forward from the explosion and crashed onto the ground groaning.

"VIOLET!" Skull yelled as he finished his transformation.

"I've got no Dark Eco left and only a minute's worth of Light Eco left" Jak muttered, readying his Morph Gun.

"Time for Round Two!" Skull laughed as he slowly walked over to Jak.

Jak ran at him and began firing his Morph Gun. The blasts hit Skull head-on, but he still keep walking. Blade ran over and joined the fray, throwing a hunting knife at Skull, who caught the knife and ran at Jak with it.

Jak pulled out Nightingale's knife and blocked the downward slash from Skull and grabbed his pistol with his other hand and fired into Skull's chest. Skull grunted in pain, but repaid Jak by kicking punching him in the stomach and sending him flying ten feet, coughing.

Skull laughed and took a step towards Jak when all of sudden a green blade emerged from Skull's chest. Skull rolled forward and flipped Blade over on his back. Green lightning was shooting out of the sword, which Skull yanked out and hurled at Blade, who caught it and spun it expertly in his hands.

"Heal!" Skull grunted as he touched the hole in his chest, which stopped spewing blood and began to seal up.

"What the…what are you?" Blade asked in amazement as Jak got to his feet.

Jak heard a sound of something swishing in the air and instinctively ducked. The knife that had been flying towards him soared at Skull, who snatched it out of the air and tossed both of the knives he had at Jak, who rolled to dodge both of them. Jak picked up his fallen Morph Gun and fired three shots, each of them expertly hitting Skull in the chest. Skull shook it off and pulled out a strange looking pistol, pure black with a red crosshair on it.

"Bye-bye!" Skull said with a deep laugh as he fired a shot at Jak.

The bullet was pure black, but Jak knew that he mustn't let it touch him. Jak rolled to the side and fired his pistol three times.

"GET OFF!" Kleiver bellowed as he rammed into the Hunter Agent's armored car.

"Get them off our tail!" Sig yelled as he charged up his Peace Maker.

"I'm tryin' mate!" Kleiver yelled as he slammed on the brakes and boosted, slamming into the other car.

"To hell with this!" Sig yelled as he aimed his Peace Maker and he fired at the car.

The two Hunter Agents in the car bailed from the car, which burst into flames as the Peace Maker effectively made it burst into flames.

"Next time, don't mess with the Wastelanders!" Sig yelled as the two Hunter Agents got to their feet and shook their fists in anger at them.

Jak rolled to the side to avoid the shots and Jak fired a shot from his Morph Gun, blasting the pistol out of his hands. Jak ran at Skull and tackled him to the ground, dropping his Morph Gun into the sand as he did.

Jak balled up his fist and punched Skull in the face as hard as he could. The Hunter Agent yelled out in pain and responded by elbowing Jak in the face, sending him sprawling off of him. Both warriors got to their feet. Jak noticed Violet had recovered and was now fighting Blade, who was evenly matched with the Hunter Agent.

"This needs to end" Daxter muttered Jak's ear.

"Then let's end it" Jak growled.

"I agree" Skull said digging in his bag and pulling out a Dark Eco crystal and a Light Eco crystal out of his bag.

Both of these crystals gave off huge waves of energy. And Jak knew nothing good would come of Skull having those. Skull chuckled darkly and held both of the crystal's high in the air.

"You're done!" Skull laughed.

Suddenly both of the crystals were blasted out of his hands and landed on the ground next to Jak. Skull looked to his right, where Kleiver and Sig were aiming their guns at them. Kleiver was aiming his smoking gun-staff at Skull, who was growling in displeasure. Sig had a Peace Maker shot charging up, and looked ready to fight.

Jak scooped up each of the crystals and absorbed their Eco. Jak transformed into Light Jak and flew the air. Skull fired three shots at Jak, who flew around the shots and dodged it. Light Jak spun around in midair and kicked Skull in the face, disorienting him. Kleiver and Sig added a few shots from their guns and hit Skull expertly.

Skull seemed to realize that he was severely outnumbered, with Sig and Kleiver joining the fight and with Violet still fighting Blade, who had gained the upper hand on the Hunter Agent. Blade disarmed Violet with a swipe of his Shock Sword and held the sword tip at her neck.

"Do it. Finish me" Violet panted.

"No" Blade stated before whirling around and slashing her deeply in the chest.

Violet gasped in pain and fell to the ground, staining the sand with her blood. Blade knew the strike wouldn't kill her at the moment, as he purposely missed her vitals, but he had a feeling that she'd end up getting that wound healed anyway.

Skull growled at seeing his teammate downed and tossed a small ball into the air. A massive flash that was emitted from the ball blinded everyone , and when the flash faded, the group saw Blade putting Violet into a third Hunter vehicle. This vehicle had picked up the other Hunter Agents, and quickly sped away once all Agents were safely inside.

"Well, we didn't get the Hunter Agents, but we got the Metal-Saurs" Jak said to Sig, who nodded.

"Good job boys. It was good to see you haven't lost a step. As for you, Blade was it? You'd make good Wastelander" Sig said extending a hand towards Blade, who shook it.

"Thanks. I've never seen someone put down Metal-Saurs so effortlessly. I can tell Spargus is in good hands with you in charge" Blade said.

"You sound familiar, I can't place my finger on it" Kleiver said to Blade.

"My sister Helan lives here in Spargus. Me and her are twins. I was also a Wastelander, you just don't see me around here anymore" Blade replied.

"Helan eh? She's a good Wastelander. Must run in the family then. And yeah, I remember you now, you're a damn good driver if I say so meself" Kleiver said, indicating a level of respect towards the Avenging Angels Agent.

"Well, you can tell Chief Disten that if you guys need anything let us know. We're all in the same boat, and we've got to keep an eye out" Sig said.

"All right, we'll keep that in mind" Blade said as Sig and the others walked back to their vehicles.

"Hey Jak, you don't mind if we swing by my sisters place, do you? I don't usually get missions to Spargus, and I've been meaning to stop by" Blade asked.

"Not at all. Come on" Jak said hopping in the Retaliator.

The two Agents plus Daxter drove back to the Spargus Garage and exited through the very unnecessarily large door. Blade led them to a small house by the turret and walked up the stone stairway.

Blade took off his helmet and knocked on the door. The door opened, revealing a woman about as tall as Blade, with the same good-natured face. She was rather pretty, though she was dressed in the same sort of clothes as a Wastelander would wear and had a gun-staff on her back. She smiled and said "So, back from your latest mission?"

"The Metal –Saurs are dead now. You can exit the city whenever you need to" Blade responded with a grin.

Helan hugged her brother and said "Good to see your safe. Kaylaa's been worried about her uncle, mainly because you're fighting Metal Heads so big that the only way to kill them with one shot is from a Peace Maker"

Blade chuckled and said "Helan, this is Agent Chiaroscuro, our newest recruit"

"Nice to meet you. Kaylaa! Uncle Russal is here!" Helan called.

"Yaaay!" a small blond haired girl ran into the room and hugged Blade around the legs.

"I missed you! Did you get the big Metal-Heads outside the city?" the little girl asked excitedly.

"Hey there kiddo! You've gotten so big since I saw you last!" Blade said cheerfully.

"We should go outside" Daxter muttered, and Jak nodded.

Jak and Daxter stood outside for twenty minutes before Blade walked outside, looking tired yet happy.

"Sorry about that. I'm kinda like a father-figure to little Kaylaa" Blade said before putting his helmet back on. Jak did the same and the trio made their way back to the Spargus Garage.

"You're a father-figure to her?" Daxter asked.

"Yeah…her father, and my best friend, was killed in a vicious Metal-Head attack in the Wasteland almost 7 years ago this month. He was like a brother to me, and he was my sister's husband. She and him were a perfect match, and I thought that everything would work out fine when they were married" Blade said softly.

"But things have a way of turning out the way you don't want them too. He and some friends were attacked on a routine patrol in the Wasteland. When I found out, I was…furious and burning with a desire for revenge. I knocked out Kleiver and stole a vehicle, not caring of the consequences. When I slaughtered the Metal Heads who had killed him, Chief Disten met me shortly afterward, and recruited me. I've been killing Metal Heads for the AA ever since"

"Didn't you get in trouble for stealing a vehicle?" Daxter asked.

"No, Damas was very forgiving. He said that he was touched by the display of loyalty to my fallen brother. He said that I could still return to Spargus whenever I needed to, and that my sister and her daughter would be safe within Spargus's walls" Blade explained.

"Do you ever regret joining the AA?" Jak asked.

Blade shook his head and said "Yes and No. Yes, because I don't get to see my sister and my niece as often as I'd like to. But on the other hand, I've found a new family of sorts here. Not a family related by blood, but through our sufferings and our wounds. We're all in the same boat Jak. All we've really got to depend on is each other" Blade said as he hopped into the Retaliator.

Jak and Daxter felt an increase in respect for Blade as he started the car. He was right. He had found somewhat of a family already in the AA. He realized that he cared greatly for these individuals. Nightingale, Rune, Chill, Beast, Blade, and some of the others. Chief Disten was like a father figure himself, watching over them all. They were all in it together, against the Metal Heads and the Hunters.

"And together, we'll crush them in the end" Jak thought to himself as they sped back to the Sanctuary.

Sanctuary Motor Pool:

Nightingale was sitting in an thick armored jeep when they pulled up, dressed in a dirty tank top and a pair of torn cargo pants. Jak was briefly reminded of Keira when he saw her at that moment, and he sighed. She grinned and waved a wrench at them in welcome.

"Jak, Daxter, Blade! How was Spargus?" Nightingale asked.

"Peachy" Blade commented tiredly.

"It wasn't bad. What are you doing?" Jak asked.

"Vehicle Maintenance. Tech was busy, and I figured I'd lend him a hand. Besides, it's much easier when you're not always wearing full body armor" Nightingale laughed as she hopped out of the jeep and tossed the wrench back into the tool box.

Jak ripped off his helmet and said "I guess so"

"Jak. I'll give our report to Disten" Blade said to Jak, who nodded.

"So, anything new?" Jak asked Nightingale, who shrugged.

"Well, now that Havoc is gone, Phoenix moved up to the Top Seven. But that's not saying much since she's never here" Nightingale said.

"Phoenix?" Daxter asked.

"Oh! I forgot, you're still new to things around here. Agent Phoenix, she's the new Number 7 on the Leaderboard. The reason you haven't seen her is…well, she's not always here" Nightingale said.

"What do you mean?" Jak asked.

"Well, she's usually not at the Sanctuary. She has her own little house in Haven City. She stays there and Chief Disten radios her for missions. She's a little bit like me come to think of it. She talks though, and is pretty sociable when she is here. She's a really good Agent though, she'd probably be higher up if she lived here instead of wherever her missions take her" Nightingale explained.

"So, no chance of meeting her anytime soon?" Daxter said.

Nightingale shook her head and said "No"

"Oh well. Well, I'll leave you two alone. I've got a date with an open bar" Daxter grinned as he scampered off.

"I sense a budding alcoholic in him" Nightingale said.

Jak laughed and said "Probably. Come on, I guess I can continue with the story now"

"Really?" Nightingale said with a smile.

"Sure. Let me get out of this suit and get something to eat and I'll tell you all about it" Jak said grabbing her by the shoulder and walking out with her.

Two Days Later:

Jak and Daxter woke up in their room, well rested and ready to go for a run into the desert. Chief Disten was requesting Agents go into the desert at their initiative to look for more artifacts. Jak opened his door and saw Rune walking by.

"Rune" Jak called, and the Agent turned her head and smiled.

"Oh, hey there you two. I was actually trying to find you. I heard there was a large Metal Head attack in Haven" Rune said.

"Really? What happened?" Jak asked.

"Don't know. Though I hear Disten's got a mission for you and Nightingale. Maybe that's the mission" Rune said.

"OK. Thanks Rune" Jak said.

The duo walked to the Chief's office were the found Nightingale sitting against the wall, fast asleep. She looked strangely peaceful, even though she was dressed in a some training gear. She had her head propped up against the wall and she was breathing softly.

"Night…Night wake up…Nightingale" Jak said shaking her slightly.

"Erh, huh?" Nightingale mumbled sleepily.

"Nightingale, wake up" Jak said rousing her.

"Oh. Mornin' Jak and Daxter…" Nightingale murmured with a sleepy smile as her eyes flickered open.

"You OK?" Jak asked.

Nightingale nodded and shook her head a few times to gather her senses. After a few moments Nightingale then realized what had happened and blushed dark red.

"Oh my…this is so embarrassing! I must've fell asleep waiting for you. I got here an hour and a half ago because I was so excited" Nightingale said softly with an embarrassed grin.

"Excited about your first mission since your injury?" Daxter asked.

Nightingale grinned and said "Maybe"

"Let's go then. Disten is waiting for us" Jak said as he helped Nightingale get to her feet.

Jak knocked on the large iron door and the door opened up by itself.

Disten looked up from his journal and smiled as the two Agents and Daxter walked in. Nightingale and Jak glanced at each other before Disten cleared his throat before speaking.

"It seems the two of you know about the mission already, so I'll cut to the chase" Disten said with some amusement in his voice.

"You're next mission is in Haven City. Torn has requested your help regaining the Bazaar section of Haven from the Metal Heads, which have attacked the area recently. Because of your friendship, and because of her miraculous recovery, you will paired up with Nightingale" Disten said.

Nightingale flushed pink, though she looked very nervous and said "B-but…I've haven't been on a mission to Haven since…" she trailed off, and Disten nodded, understandingly.

"I know, Night, but you must try to put that behind you" Disten said.

"You went there when you helped us fight that Metal-Pede" Jak said to the black-haired Agent, who blushed red. She had broken Disten's direct order and was scolded shortly after she got back. She wasn't going to forget the talking to she had anytime soon.

"I stowed away on your ship. I hopped right back on it when I saw the last wall fall down. I couldn't walk any more anyway. I was only in the city for a few hours, and I was watching you all the whole time." Nightingale said shaking her head.

"I know you're a little apprehensive Night, but everything will be fine. I have the utmost faith in you and Jak" Disten said comfortingly. Jak put a hand on her shoulder and smiled at her reassuringly, and she sighed.

"I…I…OK, I'll go" Nightingale said, giving in with a reluctant smile.

"OK. I want the both of you suited up and ready to go in an hour. You're dismissed" Disten said with a small smile.

Jak and Nightingale walked outside of the room and as Jak shut the door, laughing under his breath, Nightingale smiled with reluctant amusement and said "Well…a mission together at last"

"I guess so. I'll meet you in the Docking Bay in a bit" Jak said to the Number 1 Agent, who nodded and walked off to prepare.

An hour later, Jak was sitting next to the transport with Daxter on his shoulders. Both of them were waiting for Nightingale, who was still getting ready.

"Jeeeeez, she's taking forever!" Daxter complained.

"Come on Dax, it'll be nice to be back in Haven. Besides, I think I know why Nightingale is so nervous to be back in Haven City" Jak said.

"Well, from what you've told me, she's only been there once or twice for a few minutes, since she left the place as a kid. She's probably just not used to everything that's changed since her imprisonment in the Marauder Fortress" Daxter said, and Jak nodded.

"OK…I'm r-ready. S-sorry I'm late Jak" Nightingale's voice said from the left hallway.

Jak got to his feet and turned around, and blinked in surprise. Nightingale was walking towards them, with her helmet tucked under her arm and her long hair tied up in a ponytail. But what surprised him were the changes to her armor.

Nightingale's armor had undergone several changes. It seemed less…intimidating than before. The color scheme was still black and red, but the trimming was a much lighter shade of red, not blood-red like before and black wasn't as dark, it was the color of the night sky now.

Also, her armor seemed to have more protection around her legs, but still allowed her the same amount of movement as before. The most notable two changes were on her helmet, which was more streamlined than the old helmet she had. Also, she had a white wing design on the side of her helmet, as well as on her shoulder pads.

"So, I see you've changed your armor" Daxter said raising an eyebrow at Nightingale.

"I figured it was time for a change" Nightingale said shyly, looking at Jak.

"I like it" Jak said with an approving nod, and Nightingale blushed pink.

"Thanks" Nightingale said with a grin.

"Come on, the pilot's ready to go. He said he'll drop us off and then return to the Sanctuary, and then when we're ready to go he'll back around and get us" Jak said.

"Yeah, let's go" Nightingale said hopping into the back of the transport with Jak.

"All right, hold on back there. There's a storm brewing over Haven, and I'd rather not drive through it, so I'm going to beat it there" the pilot said gruffly, yet cheerfully, over the radio.

"Got it!" Daxter yelled through the small hall, where the Pilot was visible.

The transport they were in was unlike the others. It was a sleek ship, capable of going at much faster speeds and equipped for heavy attacks. This was a Raven, the assault air-ships of the Avenging Angels.

The Raven's engines fired up and in less than a minute, the trio was on their way back to Haven City, trying to outrace the storm clouds that were heading towards the city.

Haven City:

"So, how does it feel, being back in Haven?" Jak asked Nightingale.

"…odd. So much has changed. Though at least the Krimzon Guard has finally made itself useful" Nightingale said dryly.

Jak chuckled and said "Come on, let's head toward the HQ"

Nightingale nodded and put her helmet on, and walked out from the awning they were under. It was now storming in Haven City, but that didn't stop the two AA Agents, who were protecting by the cold downpour by their armor, which kept the water out and the heat in. Nightingale looked at the storm in wonder.

"It's been so long since I've been here…I forgot what it was like to hear a storm" Nightingale said in her musical voice.

"Well, it doesn't rain much in the desert" Daxter pointed out.

Nightingale laughed and said "No…I forgot how…gorgeous a storm is. The rain…it's so amazing…the-"

Nightingale abruptly stopped and a terrified expression replaced her happy one. Nightingale grabbed Jak's arm and whispered "L-let's get to the Freedom League HQ. Quickly"

"What's wrong?" Jak asked.

"Nothing, just…I just remembered the main reason I never went back to Haven City…it's not because of my past…it's because…well…I'd rather not talk about it" Nightingale said softly.

"OK. Come on. It's this way" Jak said walking quickly down an alley.

The rain began to come down harder, and the two decided to pick up the pace. Nightingale was now running alongside Jak, Daxter was wearing a permanent scowl. He hated getting his fur wet.

"HURRY UP!" Daxter yelled at Jak and Nightingale, who nodded and added a burst of speed.

The two arrived at the Freedom League temporary HQ, and took a moment to rest. Nightingale looked up at the storm reluctantly, and said "OK…go in without me…I'll be in there in a second"

"You sure?" Jak asked.

"Yeah…"

Jak shrugged and walked inside, leaving Nightingale standing in the rain.

"Damn!…I can't believe I showed that kind of weakness in front of Jak…but I can't help it. Not after what happened to Agent Rush in that storm. That's why I never went back to Haven…" Nightingale whispered, with self-loathing in every syllable.

Jak walked inside and saw Torn standing over a map, held in place by four daggers. Torn looked up and saw Jak standing there, and said "Good. You're here"

"No, we're not here, we're their ghosts. We actually died last week, we just decided that until our demands have been met, we're going to haunt-" Daxter began to say before Jak gave him a look.

"Oh fine, killjoy" Daxter grumbled as he shook his body, sending sprays of water onto Torn's table.

"HEY! Those are blueprints of the city!" Torn growled, attempting to dry the map.

"Hehe…sorry" Daxter said sheepishly.

"Is it just you?" Torn asked.

"No, my partner's outside. She'll be inside in a minute" Jak said.

"All right here's the situation. We've got movement in the Bazaar, something big. We need you three to assist the troops already there and help them regain the Bazaar" Torn began to say before Nightingale walked in, her helmet tucked underneath her arm and her hair coming free.

"Sorry about that Jak, I was just…" Nightingale trailed off as she observed the scene before her.

"No…" Nightingale said in hoarse whisper, looking at Torn.

"Night, what's wrong?" Jak asked, concerned.

"You…you…look just…just like him…"" Nightingale whispered in horror.

"Jak, what's up with this chick?" Torn asked.

Nightingale gasped and said "It…it is you…I know that voice…I'd recognize that voice anywhere!"

"Nightingale, what's wrong?" Jak asked.

Nightingale was starring at Torn though, with an expression of anger, pain, and sadness.

"Jakob…" Nightingale whispered as a tear rolled down her face.

End of Chapter:

Told you it'd be good, well, I hope it was good anyway. I hope you liked the chapter, I think the action scenes were all right. Why is Nightingale calling Torn, Jakob? Why is she so freaked out by the storm? Why am I asking questions I already know the answer too? Hell if I know, just review and stayed tuned! FlygonN out!"