Jak IV: The Avenging Angels
My computer is literally dying as I write this warning. So sorry about the delay folks. I'll try to have the next chapter done in three weeks. I'm not going to let this story stop or anything, I've just been busy with school and have had technical problems.
Also, I've started on a third story that's in its developmental phase. Can't say much yet except that it's a Pokémon fanfic.
Shoutout to my reviewers M5 (guest reviewer), Archangel Azrael, Ecofreakrsa17, StaticBomb324, Oblique Strategies, as well as three new reviewers known as evilanimegenius, MiaqTheLiar, and CrimsonWolf99. Thanks so much for the feedback and support!
Enjoy!
Chapter 13: An Unnecessary Redemption
Bathing Grotto:
Jak sank into the water with a sigh.
"Jeez, what's with you?" Daxter smirked.
Jak ignored the comment and let the warm water do its work. He was sore as hell from the last mission, and while the Light Regeneration healed all of his wounds, it didn't get rid of the soreness left behind by the battle.
It had been three days since his last mission, and he was feeling pretty good despite his soreness. His powers were still developing and he was becoming stronger, which would help him not only end the Metal Head threat, but to protect those he cared about.
Jak sank a little more into the warm water and closed his eyes when he heard a familiar voice call for him.
"Jak? Are you here?"
"Yeah Nightingale, I'm here" Jak said waving his arm carelessly behind him.
Nightingale smiled and walked over to Jak and sat down right next to him. She was geared up in her armor, shotgun on her back and two SMG's at her sides. There were also to strange green square devices on her legs as well. When Jak pointed them out, Nightingale grinned.
"That's my second armor enhancement. They're Green Eco Defibrillators, or GED's. I can use them to heal an injured teammate in the field" Nightingale explained.
"So, that's your second enhancement?" Jak asked.
Nightingale nodded.
"How many did you say you had?" Daxter asked.
Nightingale set her helmet on the ground and said "Three. I still have to decide on what my fourth will be"
"What're you thinking?" Jak asked.
"Some kind of new weapon would be nice…I like to experiment with weapons sometimes, so I'm curious as to what I can do with a new one…some kind of hybrid weapon maybe…" Nightingale said after thinking about it for a few moments.
"Such as?" Jak asked.
"I don't know! I have to think about it" Nightingale said, flushing pink.
"She does that an awful lot" Jak thought to himself.
"So, why did you come here? Trying to spy on Jak? Again…" Daxter muttered under his breath.
Nightingale's face went dark red and said rather loudly "No! I'm just here to tell Jak about his newest mission!"
"Already? Jeez…" Jak sighed as he sank up to his chin in the hot water.
"Also, you've got a Blue Eco Mod in your Morph Gun waiting for you in your room, as a result of your latest success" Nightingale said.
"How did it get into my room?" Jak asked.
"I may have had Arch let me in so I could drop it off" Nightingale said with a shy smile.
"Alright, alright, you've convinced me. What's the mission?" Jak asked.
"There's been reports of a large Metal Head in the sewers. It needs to be killed right away, because it's already killed several squads that have gone in to deal with it. Disten was going to send just me, but he knows how I feel about Haven City, and thought having you go with me would be a good idea" Nightingale said.
Jak and Daxter both saw the wisdom in that decision. Nightingale still had hard feelings towards Haven City, and the Leader of the Freedom League.
"I'll meet you at the Motor Pool in a bit" Jak said.
"OK" Nightingale said getting up and grabbing her helmet before walking away.
"I wonder why she hates Haven City so much. It can't be just Torn and her being under the Baron's rule. I mean, you were tortured by the guy and you've saved the city twice!" Daxter said.
"Not hate…it's like she's scared to go there. Something must've happened to make her that way, and it wasn't Torn" Jak said getting out of the water.
"OH JEEZ! Put a towel on!" Daxter yelled shielding his eyes.
Twenty Minutes Later…
Jak, Daxter, and Nightingale hopped into the transport and sat down in the back part of it.
"Ready!" Jak called to the pilot, who gave him a thumbs up from the small window in the front.
"So, back to Haven" Daxter said to Nightingale, who frowned.
"Hmm…"
"What're you thinking?" Jak asked.
Nightingale remained quiet, though her face darkened. Jak scooted closer to her and said "Hey. You OK?"
"I'll be fine. It's just…I don't want to talk about it" Nightingale murmured.
Jak shrugged, though he was still concerned about her. The trio made their way to Haven City, which was having its own problems…
Freedom League Temp. HQ:
"Over 100 causalities in the last attack. Damn them!" Torn growled angrily as the newest reports had come in.
They had been making progress in the fight against the Metal Heads, but they were still having trouble defeating the newest waves of Metal Heads, which were stronger and smarter. In addition to that, larger and deadlier Metal Heads were appearing, which seemed to be the leaders.
The fight for the city was getting harder and harder, and they had to rely on Spargus for supplies and even soldiers due to the casualties. Also, they didn't have Jak with them 24/7, so he couldn't send him into the fight like he used to.
Though hopefully, if this mission went well, they would be able to access the sewers again and retake a small portion of the city due to the underground network of pipes.
Jak walked into the HQ and said "So, how're you both holding up?"
"We're alive at least. I need you to go into the sewers, there's something big down there and we can't take any more chances when I send my troops through there to get to the east side of the city. The crew I sent down earlier got slaughtered, so be careful" Torn said.
"I'm always careful" Jak said.
"Yeah, like when you brought down that tower when retrieving the Baron's flag?" Ashelin asked humorously.
Jak shrugged and walked out of the HQ. Nightingale was leaning against the side of the building.
"Come on, I know the way into the sewers" Jak said walking over to a one person Zoomer.
Sewer Entrance:
"Thank the Precursor's for our helmet's filters" Nightingale said as the life doors opened, revealing a damp pipe with smelly water in it.
"Ugh, speak for yourself lady" Daxter scowled as he clamped his hands over his nose.
Jak and Nightingale made their way into the pipes, grateful for the lighting the sparse light bulbs. The two came at a small fork in the path where two pipes led to the left and to the right.
"Which way do you think they went?" Daxter asked Jak and Nightingale.
Nightingale tapped her helmet a few times and walked to the left tunnel and listened closely. She then walked over to the other tunnel and remained still.
"It's the one on the left" Nightingale muttered as she ducked into the tunnel.
Nightingale and Jak continued to make their way through the pipe, carefully listening for their target. Nightingale aimed her shotgun down the length of the tunnel.
"What's up?" Jak asked.
"Something is coming…hide!" Nightingale said grabbing Jak by the arm and pulling him into a small hole in the ground.
A huge thing rushed by the trio and went through another tunnel nearby. The sound was deafening and once the creature passed, it took them a few seconds to recover.
"That was loud!" Jak said loudly.
"Stop yelling" Nightingale laughed.
"WHAT IS SHE TLKING ABOUT!?" Daxter practically yelled at the top of his lungs.
"SHUT UP DAX!" Nightingale and Jak yelled.
"Jeez, for former mutes you two both are loud" Daxter said in his regular speaking voice.
Jak and Nightingale realized that Daxter was screwing with them, and they both smacked him in the back of the head. The trio made their way out of the hole and continued to stalk their prey.
Jak and Nightingale activated their night-vision visors and began to make their way deeper into the sewers. Nightingale drew her knife and Jak pulled out his Morph Gun and attached the new Blue Eco mod to it. As the trio reached the end of the first tunnel, Nightingale crouched down and muttered "There's movement ahead"
Jak strained his ears, but heard nothing.
"How do you know?" Daxter asked.
"I'll explain later" Nightingale muttered.
Nightingale and Jak crept through the sewers, keeping an eye out for any enemies nearby. And then they heard a voice.
"Take out the pipes too. That'll show these fools"
A deep grunt echoed through the tunnel and Nightingale reloaded her shotgun. Jak pulled out the Vulcan Fury and aimed it towards the end of the tunnel.
Nightingale tapped her helmet and said "There's only two of them"
"How can you tell?" Jak asked again.
Nightingale sighed in an annoyed way and was about to speak when something clattered down the tunnel and landed next them, blinking red.
Jak reacted first and tackled Nightingale out of the way, right before the grenade exploded. Nightingale rolled off of Jak and pulled out her SMG, firing a few shots towards the figure at the end of the tunnel. The figure yelled out as his shoulder got hit and ducked back down the tunnel.
"Come on" Jak said getting to his feet and chasing after the figure.
"Jak! Wait!" Nightingale whispered loudly, and Jak stopped.
"What?"
"Five figures, which are probably Metal Heads, are coming right down the tunnel" Nightingale said.
Jak smiled and walked right to the end of the tunnel, holding the Vulcan Fury. Five large metal heads, with sword-arms, black armor-like skin, glowing red eyes, were charging at them. Jak laughed and began to fire nonstop at the group. The armor they had seemed to be very strong, but it wasn't indestructible, for after a solid 20 seconds of firing the bullets pierced the armor and the Metal Heads collapsed onto the ground.
"Those things are tough" Daxter said.
"That's weird" Nightingale murmured to herself.
"What is?" Jak asked.
"Those Metal Heads. I've never seen anything like them before" Nightingale murmured.
"Really?" Jak said in surprise.
"In my line of work, I've come across many Metal Heads, and that's the first I've seen of their kind" Nightingale said as she tapped her helmet.
Jak could distinctly hear a beeping sound as Nightingale messed with her helmet.
"The large figure is down here" Nightingale said walking down the pipe. Jak followed her.
The duo came across a large gap. And Nightingale laughed and flew across it with ease. Jak scowled in his helmet. The gap was too far even for him to roll jump.
"If I could only walk on walls…actually, that'd be helpful fighting too" Jak realized as he transformed into Light Jak and flew across the gap.
The duo finally emerged in a large cavernous room with several large pipes, leading to other areas of the sewers. Jak felt as though something watching them.
"Jak. Do you trust me?" Nightingale quietly.
"Yes" Jak said.
"Then duck!" Nightingale said whirling around and throwing a grenade at Jak, who ducked.
A huge serpent-like Metal Head shot towards Jak from the shadows but the grenade latched onto its face and exploded, sending Jak flying into Nightingale, but saving him from the Metal Head, which flew into the wall.
"Sorry" Jak grunted as he got up and helped Nightingale to her feet.
"I heard it coming from behind, are you all right?" Nightingale asked as she pulled out her shotgun.
"I'm fine. Let's get this thing" Jak said pulling out his Vulcan Fury and reloading it.
"Leave this place!" the Metal Head hissed as the fives eyes on it's head narrowed dangerously.
A Hunter Agent appeared from the shadows and said "Kill them both!"
"With pleasure!" the Metal Head roared as it lunged towards them.
Jak activated his Light Barrier after transforming into Light Jak and the Metal Head slammed headfirst into the barrier. The Metal Head roared in pain and began to bleed from the contact of the light Eco. Nightingale flew into the air and up to the Metal Head's open mouth and fired five shots from her shotgun into the Metal Head's mouth. The Metal Head snapped it head to one side, sending Nightingale soaring across the room. Jak opened fire on the Metal Head, which roared in pain as the Blue Eco bullets slammed into its flesh. The Metal Head roared again and whirled around, bring its tail down where Jak had been seconds before if he hadn't rolled out of the way.
"Come on! I've seen Kangarats that are scarier than you!" Jak laughed.
The Metal Head did not appreciate the insult.
"I'LL DEVOUR YOU WHOLE!" the Metal Head snarled as Jak transformed into Dark Jak.
"NOW NIGHT!" Dark Jak yelled as he went invisible.
Nightingale soared towards the serpent-like Metal Head and opened fired on it with her twin SMG's, further enraging the beast and causing it to open its mouth to roar at her.
Nightingale pulled out a grenade and hurled it into the beast's open mouth. The creature swallowed it and roared as an explosion ripped through it. Dark Jak let the darkness inside of him come forth even more and he jumped into the air and slammed his fist into the Metal Head's skull, releasing a Dark Bomb on its skull. The Metal Head crashed onto the ground, fresh black blood oozing from it's from the force of the blow. Dark Jak landed on the ground and grinned at Nightingale, who felt a shiver run down her spine.
"Come on, we need to find that Hunter Agent" Nightingale said quietly as Jak reverted to normal and put his helmet back on.
"You two are scary when you work together" Daxter said, causing Nightingale to blush in her helmet.
The two continued to search for the Hunter and eventually came upon a strange room. It was filled with different flowing pipes of water, yet they were made of Precursor Metal. Jak and Nightingale glanced at each other and nodded, tightening the grip on their weapons.
Jak saw a strange square switch on a platform about ten feet ahead. Jak turned to Nightingale and said "Keep a lookout"
"I'm looking for him. I don't know where he could've gone…" Nightingale said looking towards a strange rock formation at the end of the room.
Jak walked around the strange looking square, making note of it.
Suddenly a light-blue burst of energy flew from the ceiling and slammed into Nightingale's back, causing her to yell out as he armor shut down momentarily.
"EMP Burst!" Nightingale yelled out as she fell to her knees as her armor shut down and tried to get back online.
Jak ran towards Nightingale and stepped onto the strange square and heard a clicking sound. A large red turret appeared behind Nightingale. Jak felt a thrill of horror go through him as the turret activated and aimed itself at Nightingale, who was still stunned from the EMP burst.
"Nightingale!" Jak yelled pushing her out of the way.
The turret fired at Jak, who yelled out as the bullets tore through him. Nightingale fell onto the ground and after a few moments she was finally able to gather her senses and her armor reactivated. Nightingale let out a scream of fear when she looked at Jak and ran to Jak's side.
"NO! Jak! Are you OK!?" Nightingale yelled as she quickly activated her GED's.
"I've been better" Jak gasped as the blood gushed from his chest.
"Please, just…don't move" Nightingale said quietly as she pressed the GED's on his chest.
"Come on Jak! You've gone through entire strongholds without getting a scratch on ya! You must be losing your touch" Daxter said jokingly, hiding his worry behind his words.
Jak grunted as the Green Eco was injected into the wound and began to heal it. It didn't heal the entire thing, but it shrank slightly. Jak transformed into Light Jak and began to heal the wound, but realized he was very low on Light Eco, so he succeeded in cauterizing the wound so it wouldn't bleed anymore.
"Stay here" Nightingale said tensely as she pulled out her SMG.
Nightingale tapped her helmet a few times and swore softly.
"He's gone. Come on, we need to get you back to the Sanctuary" Nightingale said pulling Jak over her shoulder.
Nightingale activated her jet-boots and flew back to the entrance, unaware that the Hunter Agent was watching them the entire time.
"Good. Now I can get back to looking for it" said in a low voice as he sank back into the shadows.
Haven City:
Nightingale helped Jak into the back of the transport and said softly "Don't move. You'll be fine as long as you don't move"
"Got it" Jak grunted.
"Make sure he doesn't move" Nightingale ordered Daxter, who gave her a salute.
"There's room up front. He'll be fine" the female pilot said.
Nightingale got out of the transport and hopped into the seat of the Raven-Ship, and saw a familiar face looking at her from the driver's seat. She had long red hair and a pretty face, and she was wearing a black pair of glasses.
"Well, hey there. Strap in, I'll be flying low and fast to get back to the Sanctuary" Nymph said with a smirk as she revved the engines.
Nightingale strapped in and looked out the window as the ship flew into the air and shot towards the desert. Nightingale and Nymph sat there awkwardly for a few minutes. Nightingale cursed herself for not being more socially adaptable. Nymph finally broke the silence.
"So, how did he get hurt?" Nymph asked.
"He activated a sentry gun and shoved me out of the line of fire. We healed most of the wound, though he'll still need to go the Infirmary" Nightingale replied.
"Ah…so…this is kinda awkward, but uh…no hard feelings?" Nymph asked with a nervous chuckle.
Nightingale smiled and said "I was going to ask you that"
Nymph shook her head and said "Nah, I needed that actually. I shouldn't hold a grudge. It's not healthy"
Nightingale smiled inwardly, Jak would've said the same about her grudge with Torn.
"So, we're…cool?" Nightingale asked cautiously.
"Yeah, I'm not crossing you again. If that was you holding back, there's no way in hell I'm pissing you off again. Better to just be a friend" Nymph laughed, turning west a little bit.
"I didn't hurt you that bad, did I?" Nightingale asked.
"Nah, just some bruises. I honestly expected worse, after the way I treated you. But…if you can let things go like that…then I can stop being so petty and childish. Blade set me straight after you left…I'm sorry, by the way. I really am" Nymph said looking at Nightingale, who nodded.
"Apology accepted" Nightingale said with a smile.
"But…can I ask a question?" Nymph asked.
"Yeah, sure" Nightingale said.
"What was his name and what did he do to you?" Nymph asked.
"What?"
"What was the name of the guy that made you this way?" Nymph asked again.
"How…how do you-" Nightingale asked in amazement.
"Most of the time when a woman acts a certain way, it's because a guy did something to her to make her that way" Nymph said knowingly, and Nightingale hesitated before answering.
"His name was Jakob…" Nightingale began.
9 Years Ago:
Marauder Prison:
"Ahrah!"
"Is that the best you've got!?"
"AAAAHH!"
Thump!
"Agh…"
A Marauder burst into the jail cell and hurled a beaten up man onto the floor and shut the door. The man slowly got on all fours and coughed up blood.
"Agh…hey…you there kid?" the man choked out.
"Jakob! Are you OK?"
A small girl walked into sight, and kneeled down next to the injured man. She had bright green eyes and had long black hair. She helped the man get to the wall where he leaned against it. The girl sat down next to him and said "How was it?"
"Worse than yesterday…but I'll be fine…how's the weapon?" Jakob asked.
The girl smiled and walked over to a rock. She heaved it to the side with surprising strength and revealed a long sword-like object, It looked like a mishmash of steel, iron, and other metal alloys, heated together haphazardly from the heat coming from the room next to them, which may have been exposed to lava. But given the situation, it was beyond anything he could've dreamed.
Jakob grinned painfully and said "That's my girl. Nice job Iris"
The girl smiled and said "Thanks!"
Jakob sighed and closed his eyes and said "One hour. One hour, and we'll both be free"
"Freedom…" Iris whispered excitedly.
"Freedom…" Jakob breathed with a smile.
"Jakob…what're you going to do once we're out?" Iris asked Jakob, who smiled painfully.
"Well, when we escape…I haven't gotten that far, to be honest. When I got captured…I was going to Spargus to see the Arena fights and to get away from the corruption for a while, but it seems as though the Baron won't let anyone get to Spargus…what about you?" Jakob asked.
Iris frowned and looked away.
"I don't know…mommy's gone…daddy's gone…Josseph's gone…I'm…I'm all alone" Iris said with tears starting to form in her eyes.
Jakob's bruised and bloodied face softened and he wrapped the upset child in a one-armed hug, and said "There there, it'll be fine. You're not alone. You're never alone. As long as we stick together, we'll be just fine"
"Really?" Iris whispered.
"Of course. As long as we stick together, we'll get out of this. You won't ever be alone, OK?" Jakob said quietly.
Iris nodded and said "You promise?"
Jakob nodded and said "We'll either escape together, or die together. You won't ever be alone again. I promise"
Iris nodded and wiped her eyes.
"Now, we need to go over the plan, one more time" Jakob said softly, and Iris nodded.
End Flashback:
Nightingale stopped herself, and said "I…I don't want to talk about it anymore"
Nymph nodded and said "Fair enough…it sounds like he cared about you though"
"He lied to me. He knocked me out when we escaped that cell and saved himself, and left me to die" Nightingale whispered furiously.
Nymph looked at Nightingale with sympathy in her eyes. With one hand on the wheel, she put a comforting hand on Nightingale's shoulder and said "Hey, you're a tough chick, OK? You'll get through this"
Nightingale looked at Nymph and sighed.
"Thanks…I needed that" Nightingale said with a small smile.
Nymph smiled and said "We're nearly there. Arch, is the Medical Crew here yet?"
"Yes Agent Nymph. Medical Crew is standing by" the A.I. replied.
"Good. By the way, did you finish analyzing that text for Royal yet?" Nymph asked.
"I'm analyzing it now. The language is of a strange dialect. It will take some time to fully translate the text" Arch responded.
"OK. Let me know the second it's translated, OK?" Nymph said.
"Of course"
The Raven-Ship descended into the Docking Bay and there were several medics waiting for them. They went into the back part of the transport and carried Jak out on a stretcher. Daxter walked out of the transport, looking worried.
"He'll be alright Dax" Nightingale said.
"I know that! I mean, he's taken way worse than some turret" Daxter said half-heartedly.
"You should go report in to Disten" Nymph said as she turned off the Raven-Ship and hopped out of the transport.
"Yeah…"
"Hey" Nymph said to Nightingale.
Nightingale turned around and saw Nymph walking over to her.
"He'll be fine" Nymph said reassuringly as she went into one of the many hallways.
Nightingale sighed. Then after a moment she felt a surge of anger course through her and she growled angrily, ripped off her helmet, and hurled it onto the ground. Nightingale stormed down one of the other hallways, leaving Daxter looking bewildered.
"What the hell is her problem?" Daxter said picking up the helmet up off of the ground.
The Next Day:
Jak's eyes slowly opened and he found himself in the Infirmary. Rune walked up to him and said "Good, you're awake"
"How long was I out?" Jak asked.
"A few hours. You lost a lot of blood, though Nightingale was able to keep you from bleeding out" Phoenix said from her bed next to him.
Jak tried sitting up but Rune pushed him back down.
"Rest. You need it" Rune said sternly.
Jak rolled his eyes and lay back in his bed. Phoenix chuckled and said "You should've seen Night when they brought you in here"
"She was standing right there while they patched you up. She blames herself of course" Rune said.
"Why? I activated the turret while Nightingale was dealing with that EMP burst" Jak said.
Both sisters shrugged and said "Who knows?"
Phoenix and Rune did exchange a smile.
Rune had caught her sister up on the current events, as well as Nightingale's crush on Jak. Phoenix also knew that Jak was completely unaware of his not so secret admirer.
"Where is she now?" Jak asked.
"She asked Disten for another mission, even though she just came back from one. I guess she's doing it to redeem herself for you getting hurt" Phoenix said.
"She's stubborn sometimes" Jak said with a scowl.
"What's the mission again?" Rune asked Phoenix.
"King Sig asked the Chief if he could have someone track down someone who's been stalking this family in Spargus. Disten was going to send Rune, but Nightingale was persistent" Phoenix said with a smile.
"She wants to redeem herself to you for letting you get hurt" Rune added with a grin.
Jak shook his head and said "It wasn't her fault though. There was no reason to do that"
"It's Nightingale. Up until you came here, we didn't know what her voice sounded like. She'll be a mystery for a while. We're used to the mysteries anyway"
Phoenix tried to sit up but ended up sinking back into bed with a gasp of pain. Jak got himself out of bed with a grunt and limped over to Phoenix.
"Hold still, I can help heal your wounds" Jak said to the Agent, who raised an eye at that.
"OK, how?" Phoenix asked.
Jak let the small amount of Light Eco he had left and transformed into Light Jak, causing Phoenix to yell out in fear.
"WHAT THE F*%#!?" Phoenix screamed.
"Relax…" Light Jak said softly as he placed a hand on Phoenix's hurt leg.
Light Jak let Light Eco flow into the wound, and while it began to heal the wound, Phoenix began to groan and hiss in pain.
"Stop! Just stop!"Phoenix screamed, and Jak ceased his efforts.
Phoenix's eyes were now pure white, and she was holding her head tightly.
"What did you do to her!?" Rune yelled at Jak.
"I'm…I'm fine…" Phoenix muttered as he eyes reverted to their normal color.
"Are you OK?" Jak asked.
"Y-yeah…Light Eco…" Phoenix shivered.
"Why did it do that to her? I never had any problems healing Nightingale" Jak muttered.
Rune frowned, regaining her composure and said "Well, when you healed my legs after your first official mission, it was a small injury, requiring a small amount of Light Eco. These injuries are much more severe and require greater amounts of Light Eco."
"What about Nightingale then, how come I was able to heal most of her injuries?" Jak asked.
"No clue. But Light Eco acts similar to Dark Eco when it comes to the human body. Too much of it causes medical problems" Rune said.
"Except for you and Nightingale. Both of you have no problems with Light Eco" Phoenix grunted as she laid back down on her pillow.
"Are you OK?" Rune asked.
"Yeah, it helped the pain a little. But I feel a little weird…I'm going to sleep now" Phoenix said.
And she fell asleep on the spot.
Rune sighed and said "You've got to be careful with your powers Jak"
"Hey, I healed Nightingale no problem. I don't know why Nightingale was able to handle the Light Eco so easily and your sister can't" Jak replied angrily.
Rune scowled and said "Some people just have the good fortune of being able to handle Eco better than others"
"Like the Hunters?" Jak said.
Rune nodded and said "Why they can have that much Dark Eco in their bodies at once, I'll never know. In fact, you've never explained why you can transform and do all those things anyway"
Jak hesitated, but then relented and said "You may as well sit down. This'll take a while"
Spargus:
Nightingale wandered the streets of Spargus, keeping to the side streets to avoid drawing attention. She bought an apple from one of vending stands after an hour of search. Nightingale removed her helmet and brushed her hair out of her face. She then heard a man yelling, his voice being carried by the wind.
"Come back here you runt!"
A little girl's voice then reached Nightingale's ears, saying "Someone! Please help!"
Nightingale tossed the apple to the woman, apologizing quietly, and put her helmet on. She ran towards the sound of the yelling and saw an odd scene unfolding before her.
There was a man in grey and black full body armor with a black flex suit, similar to hers. He had glittering black crystals in his armor like Skull did, and was armed to the teeth. He was yelling at a little girl in a tree, trying to get her to come down.
The little girl looked about ten years old, with long black hair and green eyes. She wore an amulet around her neck that seemed to be made of a strange bronze color.
"GET DOWN FROM THERE YOU BRAT!" the man bellowed.
"No! Leave me alone!" the girl said shaking her head.
"HEY!"
The man and girl looked at Nightingale, who pulled out her shotgun and aimed it at the man.
"Angel!" the man snarled.
"Hunter!" Nightingale shot back, cocking her shotgun.
"I'm going to enjoy this" the man laughed as he pulled out a SMG and opened fire at Nightingale and the ground behind her.
"RUN FOR IT!" Nightingale yelled at the crowd as she sprinted away from the crowd and into the alleyway.
"You can't escape me little angel!" the Hunter yelled with glee as chased Nightingale down the street, SMG firing all the while.
And then he lost sight of her.
"Where…did she go?" the man whispered to himself.
A black blur rushed him from above and slammed him into the ground. Nightingale pressed the tip of the shotgun into the man's neck and said "Who are you, and why are you after that girl?"
"Her and that amulet! We need it!" the man yelled as he struggled underneath Nightingale.
"Stop struggling!" Nightingale growled angrily.
All of a sudden Nightingale was hurled backwards and into the open streets again. The Hunter was now glowing dark purple, and Nightingale knew what that meant.
"Dark Eco" Nightingale whispered as she tightened he grip on her shotgun.
The Hunter Agent walked out from the alleyway, radiating darkness.
"My name is Shade" the man said fearlessly as he pulled out his SMG again.
"Nightingale" the Avenging Angels Agent replied.
"Pleasure to meet your acquaintance. NOW DIE!" Shade yelled as he opened fire on Nightingale.
Nightingale kicked off of the ground and flipped in the air using her jet-boots, avoiding the gunfire. She kicked the SMG out of Shade's hands and fired a shotgun blast at him, hitting him in the shoulder and drawing blood.
Shade snarled angrily and threw a Dark Eco charged fist at Nightingale, who countered by ducking under it and shooting the Hunter Agent in the neck with her shotgun before bashing him in the face with it.
The man recovered and fired a burst of Dark Eco at Nightingale, causing her to yell out in pain as she was hurled backwards. Nightingale fell onto the ground and rolled to her feet, only to be punched into the gut by Shade with a Dark-Eco charged fist. Nightingale slapped Shade in the head and flew backwards with her jet-boots, clutching her stomach.
The man chuckled before he realized that there was a blinking light on the side of his head, and it was beeping.
BOOOOM!
Nightingale landed on the ground, clutching her stomach as the Hunter Agent became engulfed in a fiery explosion. She grabbed her GED's and injected an amount of Green Eco into her stomach, stopping the pain. And Nightingale put the GED back onto her leg, she saw the girl running over to her.
"Are you OK?" Nightingale asked.
The girl nodded and said "That bad man has been chasing me all day"
"You'll be OK now" Nightingale assured the girl.
A shot rang out a Nightingale grabbed the girl and dragged her over to a nearby rock.
"Stay here" Nightingale said quietly while putting her shotgun on her back.
Nightingale slowly crept out from the rock and pulled out a knife from her thigh sheath.
Out of nowhere the Hunter swung a knife at her and Nightingale rolled out of the way to avoid it. Shade rushed at Nightingale with his knife again and Nightingale ducked under the Hunter Agent's slash and kicked him in the skull. She flew back and pulled out her SMG and opened fire. The Hunter took cover behind a rock, yelling out "Give us the kid!"
"Don't worry. I'll protect you" Nightingale promised the scared girl, who nodded.
Nightingale soared into the air fired at the Hunter, who jumped to the side and threw something into the air. Nightingale dodged it, but the device sent out a wave of electrical energy that caused her jet-boots to fail momentarily. Nightingale crashed onto the ground, but was able to roll to weaken the fall. Nightingale hopped to her feet and began to trade blows with the Hunter.
"You can't win! I have the Dark Blessing on my side!" the Hunter laughed as Dark Eco shot from his hands.
Nightingale flew into the air again, avoiding the attack and threw a grenade at Shade, who punched the grenade and sent it flying back to Nightingale. Nightingale twirled in the air and dodged it, and then fired the rest of her clip at Shade, who took cover behind a rock again.
Nightingale landed on the ground and reloaded her SMG. The Hunter Agent walked out from behind the rock, radiating Dark Eco.
"DARK OVERLOAD!" Shade bellowed as the Dark Eco supercharged around him and began to seep into the ground.
"Only got one shot at this" Nightingale murmured as she pulled out a knife with a glowing white blade and hilt.
Nightingale flew at the Agent and using her momentum, whirled around and hurled the knife. Shade laughed as the Dark Eco began to expand and charge around him. Shade thrust out his hands towards Nightingale, was flying away.
"What the-!?" Shade yelled out before the white knife slammed into his chest.
Pain beyond pain ripped through Shade as the white blade discharged Light Eco into him, attacking the Dark Eco inside of him. Shade exploded violently, again, as Nightingale landed again.
"That was awesome!" the girl said cheerfully.
The girl walked out from behind the rock and said "You're tough, aren't you?"
"Hey, get back behind that rock. It's still not-" Nightingale began to say before three blue bolts of energy came flying from the smoke cloud that Shade was in and slammed into her.
Nightingale yelled out as her armor seized up again, shorting out her jet-boots and other enhancements. Shade came walking out of the smoke, drenched in blood and still having the white knife stuck in his chest. Shade chuckled darkly and said "You're the best fight I've had in years"
Shade shot towards Nightingale with a burst of Dark Eco. Nightingale ducked under a dark charged fist and judo kicked the man five times before punching him in the head. Nightingale pulled out two long daggers and charged at the man, who unsheathed a longsword off of his back and charged at her and swung the sword downward. Nightingale held up one of her daggers, which was able to block the slash easily.
"What the-!?"
"Nothing can beat these knives!" Nightingale whispered furiously as she stabbed the man in the chest with her other knife, sending him stumbling backwards.
Nightingale flipped the dagger in her hand and hurled it towards the Hunter who was caught in the heart and fell to the ground.
"There…we're done here…I think" Nightingale sighed as her armor reactivated and her jet-boots came back online.
"Is…is the bad man gone?" the little girl asked as she peeked her head out from behind the rock.
Nightingale walked over to the man and aimed her SMG at him.
"Hey, can you look away for a second? I don't want you to see this part" Nightingale said to the girl, who nodded and looked away.
Nightingale turned around and faced the body of the Hunter Agent, which was now gone.
"What the-?" Nightingale said before a shot rang out a clipped her in the shoulder.
Nightingale gasped in pain and turned around to the Hunter holding the girl in his arm in a chokehold.
"Heh…holographic projection. Easiest trick in the book" the Hunter said.
Nightingale scowled and fell onto the ground and activated her jet-boots, and began to spin around in a circle, kicking up a wicked dust storm around the three.
"What the heck!? I can't see!" the Hunter Agent growled.
"But I can!" Nightingale whispered as she activated her third armor enhancement.
"Please…let me go…you're…hurting me" the girl gasped.
"Shut it!" the Hunter snarled.
Suddenly a black figure came from nowhere and kicked the Hunter in the face, causing him to drop the girl. The Hunter Agent spun around and fired several shots into the storm, but couldn't see anything.
"You can't see me…but I can see you!"
A knife flew from the sand around the Hunter and slammed into his chest. The Hunter coughed up a globule of blood and fell to one knee. He yanked all of the knives out of himself and hurled them where the voice had come from.
"Thanks. I like having a full set of knives. Makes it easier to kill scum like you" Nightingale's voice said chillingly in the dust-storm.
"Grrr…this is a waste of time! I'm out of here!" the Hunter growled as he ran through the dust storm, which began to fade.
"Are you OK?" Nightingale asked the girl softly as she reappeared next to her, and she nodded.
"Is he…gone?" the girl asked.
Nightingale saw the retreating figure of the man jumping into the ocean. She wanted to follow him, but she knew that she needed to get this girl to safety. Nightingale pulled out one of her GED's and applied it to her injured shoulder, healing it.
"Yes. Now, where're your parents?" Nightingale asked.
"I'll show you! Their house is over here!" the young girl said cheerfully.
"So what's your name?" Nightingale asked.
"I'm Suzan! How about you?" the girl asked.
"You can call me Nightingale"
"Like the legend about the bird?" Suzan asked.
Nightingale nodded.
"That's a great nickname" Suzan grinned.
Nightingale smiled. This girl reminded her a lot of herself when she was younger. She even looked a lot like Nightingale.
"Have you ever heard the story of the Nightingale?" the Avenging Angels Agent asked the girl, who shook her head.
"An old friend…well, someone I knew once, told me about it, a very long time ago" Nightingale began.
Flashback
"What's a Nightingale?" Iris asked Jakob, who smiled.
"I've already told you that story kiddo" Jakob said with a smirk.
"I know, but I like hearing it" Iris said with a smile.
Jakob sighed, but obliged.
"The Nightingale is a song bird, Iris. It used to live everywhere, and make incredible sounds. It's music used to fill the air years and years ago" Jakob began.
"What did it look like?" Iris asked curiously.
"It was very small if the legends about it were true. It could come in all sorts of different colors, mainly red and brown. Despite its size, its voice carried great distances and could calm the fire in any warrior's heart" Jakob said.
"You mean like me?" Iris asked.
Jakob thought about it and said "Yeah, like you"
"Yes! I'm a nightingale!" Iris said cheerfully.
"Anyway, they were incredible flyers and could sing incredible songs, that could even tame the most wild of animals"
"What happened to them?" Iris asked.
"The Metal Heads happened"
Torn scowled and said "They destroyed everything. Entire species just…vanished"
"Oh…" Iris said softly.
"But there's an old legend about them, saying that a nightingale one day will sing civilization back into the light" Jakob said.
"A bird? How can a bird do that?" Iris asked.
"No clue kiddo. It's a legend. That's all there is to it" Jakob said shifting into a more comfortable position.
Iris grinned and said "OK, then it's settled!"
"What's settled?" Jakob asked confused.
Nightingale then begin to sing. Jakob listened as Nightingale began to sing one of her beautiful songs. He could never understand them because she sang in a strange language, but it seemed to never fail to make him more hopeful, and even made the sores and bruises on him a little less painful.
"I'm going to be a nightingale!" Iris proclaimed cheerfully.
"Nightingale? It suits you" Jakob said with a grin.
"Well then Nightingale, are you ready to go?" Jakob said getting to his feet and picking up the weapon that she had made.
Present:
"Wow, so that's how you got your nickname?" Suzan asked as Nightingale finished her tale.
"Yes. Because of that legend" Nightingale said with a smile.
"Wow, that's cool!" Suzan said excitedly.
"Is it the one on the left?" Nightingale asked as the neared a group of houses.
"Yeah, it's this one!" Suzan said running up to a nearby house and knocking on the door.
Nightingale finally put away her weapon with a sigh of relief. She could report in to Sig and she could go back home. What she didn't count on was a familiar face being on the other end of the door.
It was a man with thinning black hair, but had bright green eyes and a good-natured face. He was garbed in Wastelander gear, and regarded the two girls in surprise.
"Suzzy, who's your friend?" the man asked as he put his hand on a pistol in his side pouch, though Nightingale already had her hand on her knife, ready to draw it if need be. Nightingale then recognized the man with surprise.
"Uncle Stann? Is that you!?" Nightingale asked in amazement.
"What the…Iris? Is…is that you?" the man asked.
"Yeah…by the Precursors…when did you move to Spargus?" Nightingale asked in amazement.
Her Uncle had lived in Haven City. Though one day, before she and her family tried to escape Haven City, they had moved mysteriously without a trace.
"Years ago, before your parents died…Iris…we thought you were dead all these years. Where have you been?" Stann asked embracing his niece.
"It's a long story. I just saved Suzan here from a Hunter Agent. He wanted her for some reason, as well as that amulet around her neck" Nightingale said after a few moments of hugging her long lost uncle.
"I see…well, thank you for saving her. We owe you debt of gratitude" Stann said warmly as his daughter hugged him.
"Do you know why they might have wanted her?" Nightingale asked.
"I…have a theory…come inside. I'll tell you everything" Stann said welcoming his long lost niece inside his home.
As the trio entered the house, Shade watched them from a rooftop.
"Come in. This is Shade. I failed the objective. Returning to base now" Shade muttered into his helmet radio.
"No. Don't" a woman said from the other end.
"Repeat that Commander Shadow" Shade said.
"I said no. Go to Haven. The preparations for the attack will begin shortly. We need every able-bodied agent at Haven City" Shadow replied.
"Ah, retribution for what they did to Skull" Shade said quietly.
"Yes. Now get back here as soon as you can" Shadow said.
"What about the amulet and the girl?" Shade asked.
"Later. Arranst says that's the wrong girl anyway. As for the amulet, we'll return for it later" Shadow said.
"Roger that. Shade out" Shade replied ending the transmission.
The Hunter looked at the house that Nightingale had gone into and said "I'll see you again, little Angel. And next time, you won't get so lucky"
And with that he vanished in a burst of darkness.
End of Chapter:
Anyway, what kind of secrets will Nightingale find? And what is this attack on Haven that Shade mentioned? Stayed tuned, and tell me your thoughts by leaving a review!
Until next time, FlygonN out!