We wasted at least 80 different Metal Heads on the route to the Sacred Site, and only then did Maia sniff the air and frown.
"I sense no more Metal Heads around the vicinity... but what even is this Sacred-" she was about to ask before we turned the corner... and saw it. "Site..."
"Is that?... Is THAT?!... No it couldn't be! That's not-" Daxter said in concern.
"It's... Samos's hut!" Jak gawked.
"Who's hut again? You know something about it?" Tess asked in confusion.
"Uh... y-yeah," I said, trying to be fake surprised. "We saw it back in its prime... hundreds of years ago," I said, which made Jak gawk.
"This... horrible place... is... our world!" Jak gawked as I saw a couple of his nails lengthen to claws, before he retracted them soon after.
"You uh... You guys okay? Because you're talking about time travel and that you've seen this place before... what am I missing?" Tess asked.
"We went through a Rift Portal in a very lush village called Sandover... and at the same time, we were in a Rift Rider that blew up during the travels through it... but we also saw a whole slew of freaky things coming through to... oh god... d-d-did we bring them here?" Maia asked, me frowning at that.
"I don't know, and we can't rule anything out, but for now, we need to focus. We secured the area and now we need to tell Torn the good news," I said as I then called him up. "Hey, Torn? We secured the site and there are over 80 dead Metal Heads in our wake," I smirked at him.
"Good work! I'll pass the word to the Shadow immediately. Come back to the hideout and he'll be here," Torn said, me then giving the thumbs-up to my allies as we then went back to the door and I then spoke up.
"So... about that thing with Samos's hut, Tess? We need to find a guy who's got a log in his head, tons of white hair, giant wooden clogs, and skin that's a lime green color. That's the guy who used to live there and my teacher in combat and eco channeling," I explained, which Tess nodded at.
"You're asking if I can try and find him, aren't you?" she asked.
"That sounds... off," said Taryn as she looked at us from the security door, where we saw she got at least 10 Metal Heads in her area, them now being strung up across her back. "I saw that old guy myself. He's able to use Green Eco like it's nobody's business, but I haven't seen him since we got released. He might be in meditation someplace," she said, me nodding at her.
"Okay... are you needing to meet the Shadow as well, Taryn?" Daxter asked her.
"No, I already met him in person. Took a lot of work to get there. Why do you ask?" she asked.
"Well, how about you go try and find Samos for us? If he's in meditation, I'll bet you 5 Precursor Orbs that he's at the Oracle's house," I said, Taryn smirking at that.
"Hah, okay, I'm game for that bet," she smirked as she then went to the area in question as our group headed towards the Underground, me looking at my phone's time in the process and seeing that we still had half an hour in order to get to the mountains so I could assist Errol in hunting the scouts. And when we entered the room, Torn spoke.
"The Shadow has decided it's finally time to meet you all," Torn said as Jak then spoke up.
"Why is that Site so important?" he asked.
"There's some kind of thing that attracts the Metal Heads to it. What it is, however, is unknown," Torn said.
"No kidding. We know the guy who used to lived there," Jak spoke as we then went through the site of who was in front of us.
"Ah, so you're the four troublemakers that I keep hearing so much about," said the Shadow, which made Daxter groan.
"Oh no, this can't be..." he groaned in annoyance. And why wouldn't he? He now knew that there were two Samos's and one was at least 20 years younger.
"Welcome to our humble Underground movement! I am known as the Shadow. But you may call me Samos. And you are?" he asked, me then holding Dax's mouth shut as I spoke.
"Our names are Jak, Daxter, Maia, Tess, and me, Dora," I explained as I then spoke up. "Listen, this may sound crazy, but there's some freaky stuff going on here... I saw an older version of you that was at the Fortress... and I managed to convince Praxis to release all the unjust arrests, and the name of the guy who was falsely arrested was ALSO Samos," I said, which he looked at me in confusion.
"That sounds quite intriguing... is there any way to prove this?" he asked. And then we got our answer as the door opened again and Taryn came through with the old man in question.
"I owe you 5 orbs, so here ya go," she said as old Samos then looked at our group with shock.
"There you are! I've grown 5 rings just waiting to see you kids again!" Samos said to us as he then looked at Jak. "Great Yakow Horns! What happened to you, Jak?! I sense tons of Dark Eco in you!" he said in shock.
"It appears I have an elder time twin... great grass grubs! I can't believe what a cranky old log I become!" the Shadow groaned.
"Two Samos the Sages?! AAAH! Dory, help! T-They're multiplying!" Daxter said in concern as I then interrupted by playing at least 4 seconds of the Crazy Bus theme, which the group then looked at me in annoyance.
"At ease, we need to focus on something else. We now know that there is some kind of timey-wimey bullcrap going on right now, so we need to decide if old Samos will be staying here or if we can get him some protection. Because I can sense he doesn't have as much greenery in him as when we last met," I said, him groaning at that.
"It's because of there being much less plantlife in this city than when we used to be... but nevermind that, I need to find my daughter," he complained.
"You mean Keira Hagai? I could help you over there if you want. I need to talk to her regardless," Tess smiled, which I nodded at.
"Remember, not a word of what we spoke of," I winked at her, which she nodded at as the duo then left and the Shadow then spoke up.
"Right now, I need you to investigate Haven Forest, as I've detected some Metal Head Scouts in the area. That forest is the source of my power and I can't protect it for much longer. I need your help. Welcome to the fight," he said, me nodding at him as we then left and I then decided to go the opposite direction that Jak and Dax went, as they went via the Industrial Sector and I went through Maintown... before then deciding to do the daring and go out of bounds with the Zoomer, me seeing that nobody thought to stop me... and when I cut over everything, I eventually made it to the gate that led to the mountains and Errol was there waiting for me.
"Early again? Impressive," he smirked. "I forgot to give you these when I gave you the promotion, so better late than never," he smiled as he gave me the Vulcan barrel for the pistol I had, which I saw basically turned it into a long-rang, super deadly sniper rifle! "This gun is able to pierce through the skulls of even a Metalpede if you aim in the right place. By the way, how goes the eco collection?" Errol asked, me smirking as I proceeded to show him my stash from my backpack, which he was completely baffled at how much it was able to store.
"I managed to net 10 gallons of Dark Eco already as well as 5 each of blue, green, and yellow. Only 1 for red, since the fires around here are a bit too small to get that much out of them. Lava would be the best bet for that type," I explained before packing them all up and us then entering the security doors... at the same time as Jak and Daxter. And the three looked at each other in animosity once again.
"Ahem," I frowned, them then frowning and Jak taking his hand off of his backside, where he stored his gun.
"What are you two doing here?" Errol frowned at them.
"Not that it's any of your business, but the leader of the Underground wants us to take out some Metal Head Scouts. And look, that's the ticket to chasing them," Jak smiled as he got the jet board that was stashed at the doors leading to the temple, which Errol frowned at.
"I see... fine, but chasing after them isn't going to be the smartest move. They're runners, not fighters. The best way to take out a Scout is from long range with a sniping shot," Errol explained as we then finally went through the warping portal and then all of us proceeded to ride on the precursor platform (there were 2 in total this time) and we then entered the forest... where I felt some kind of sharp ping in my head... almost as if it were reacting to some kind of electric pulse...
"The darkness is nearby... allow me to show you where it is," said the Dark side of me, which I growled at.
"Fine, but one wrong move to any of my friends, and I'm going to end both of me," I said, me then getting into my dark side as I held my lengthened, clawed hangs onto my gun and saw that, even looking through a scope, I was seeing all heat signatures. And I saw that there was... more than just the scouts in the area.
"Big trouble, guys. It's not just Scouts. There are also invisible beasties out there," I frowned.
"Not Camoheads! What are those freaks doing out here? They're only used for tactical battles," Errol asked in a hushed manner of upsetness.
"We'll need to work together to take out the groups one by one. Jak, do you also have heat vision in dark form?" I asked, him nodding. "Then let's snipe from afar. Start with the scouts, then take out the footsoldiers," I explained. "Errol, you're in charge of the Jet Board. Bait them into our scopes," I said, him smirking at that.
"You're lucky I'm the former gold record of Jet Board skills," Errol smirked.
"And Jak's the current," Daxter smirked, getting a glare from Errol in the process, but he still assisted in getting on the board, but only after we took out 2 different Scouts first and then, right after, we then saw that the Camoheads were much better with accuracy than in the game, them getting very close to hitting Errol more than once, but with our group working together, we shot right through their heads in the sweet spots numerous times, those being the Squishy Skull Gems! And the current location had at least 30 of the camoheads, meaning all of them were in the same spot... and as for the Scouts? We still had three more to handle, according to the dark side of me.
"There's still three scouts in this forest. Time to start the hunt," I smirked widely. We then rushed out as I used the pinging in my ears and head to find the annoying Scouts, which is when I learned that they were using it like a form of radio signal with echolocation... almost as if they were bringing information to the others from a long range. And they looked to be freaking out at how they weren't getting any messages. But before they could get wise any further, we shot them through their gems and got all the threats handled in the same location!
"HAHA! Well done! That's all of them handled!" Errol smirked before then looking at Jak and regaining the trademark frown. "You two... did good, too. But tell me, why does the Shadow want this place freed of Metal Heads, specifically?" Errol frowned angrily. Jak looked at me and I sighed.
"Best guess, Jak, he's not gonna take no for an answer," I frowned, Jak nodding at me, though he wasn't happy.
"He said that this forest is the source of his power. But given that it's also the most heavily forested area in the city, I don't think that burning it to the ground is going to get anyone anywhere," Jak frowned.
"I may be at war with both the Metal Heads and the Underground, but I'm not stupid. This forest needs to stay alive. It's the only thing that can get rid of the constant pollution in Haven," he frowned.
"What would you care about Haven City?" Jak asked, which got Errol to glare at him. "You treat everyone like garbage if they aren't in the KG, pluck random people off the streets just to torture them to death, and you're second in command to that asshole Baron. So why do you care about a city when you hate everyone in it?"
And Jak's words made Errol scowl, but he then breathed in and out when I gave him a bit of green eco from the plants and the clean air, him calming down after.
"Thanks," he growled at me as he then frowned at Jak. "I do care about Haven City. I was just following orders. Praxis says jump, I say how high... at least, it used to be that way," Errol said, shocking the three of us, me included. "Not a word to anyone about this, especially your Underground cronies. I plan to stop Praxis myself. I know you two were watching over us in that deal with the Metal Head Leader. We both know this, so just know this, too. When Praxis least expects it, I plan on backstabbing him. He's gone too far in this war, and he can only keep digging a deeper hole. He wants the Precursor Stone, and no doubt plans to crack it to destroy the Metal Heads... I'm not going to let that happen. As far as I'm concerned, Dory and you are the only two with the strength to stop both of them," Errol said before then walking off back towards the precursor platforms.
"Um... have a good day," Daxter said.
"I never do-... wait... that was YOU that day?" Errol frowned.
"Uh, duh. Who else do you know that's 2 feet tall?" Daxter asked in annoyance, which Errol sigh-growled and walked off.
"Watch your backs, before the Metal Heads start chewing on them," Errol spoke grimly before finally getting out of eyesight.
"Well... he's pissed now," Jak frowned.
"Uh huh, but we should probably honor his request and not tell the Shadow or anyone at all? If he's willing to tell YOU that stuff, considering your history together, then maybe he's starting to warm up to you?" I asked, Jak frowning at me.
"Not a chance. I don't trust him as far as I could throw him. And if I had the chance to use red eco again, I could throw him very very far away," Jak frowned.
"Still, the fact he hasn't killed us yet is still surprising. You'd think that he'd shoot us dead at any moment if Dory weren't around," Daxter frowned. We then proceeded to simply go back to the city and, when we did so, we saw that the sky was getting dark, meaning it was time for bed... before we left the forest, I managed to get the last of the green eco for the deal as well as about 8 for yellow eco and 9 for Blue. And the blood of the Metal Heads we spilled? I got at least 12 total gallons of Dark Eco now at this time.
We then got some missions from different people, with one being from Ashelin for me and the other being from the Shadow fro Jak.
"I need an experienced fighter to intercept a fishy communication. The location is in the eastern Bazaars. Can I count on you, Adora?" Ashelin asked.
"Da bears, Ah'm dere," I smirked at her in a super stereotype of Chicago accent as I then split off from Jak and Dax and proceeded to fly to the location, making sure to place my armor on my body before I got there. And when I finally did, Ashelin was there and she was joined by at least 4 other KG members.
"Agent Adora reportin' fer duty," I said, which Ashelin nodded at.
"Good, here's the update. A tanker filled with eco is supposed to be arriving at this location, but the transmission sounded fishy. In case of anything happening, we've siphoned the area off until it arrives," Ashelin said as I then looked up in the sky and gawked.
"EVERYONE DUCK!" I shouted in my accent, which made the guards immediately do so, with the cruiser smashing into the ground and for the barrels of eco to roll off and some of them to leak Dark Eco. I immediately gathered this eco and saw that it was worth 3 gallons worth, but all the other barrels were empty. The tanker's lid then opened up and I saw that it was filled with Metal Heads!
"Attack!" Ashelin shouted as we then proceeded to shoot all the Metal Heads dead, it being a bit touch and go because of the citizens being nearby and them freaking out, but we managed to get them all without a single casualty!
"Nice shooting... those bastards are getting sneakier by the day! It's like they're toying with us!" Ashelin frowned in annoyance. I then spoke up after.
"Ya'd think they'd be less willin' to do dese attacks wit all da damage we do to deir forces, but nope," I frowned, which Ashelin nodded at.
"Thanks for the help, Adora. You saved a lot of lives. Here, take this," she said as she gave me 10 Precursor Orbs as well as a gun upgrade to get my ammo count doubled for my weapons. Which was always a bonus!... But then we noticed something... in the tanker, I heard some kind of crying sound. I then went up to it and looked inside... and saw something that made me concerned. It looked to be something that I'd never seen before!
"Uh... Ashelin?" I asked, losing the accent as the other guards disbanded at this time.
"What is it, Adora?" she asked.
"We have something in here... but I have no clue what it is," I said as I then lifted it out of the thing... as for what it looked like? It looked almost like it were a human with short ears... for the upper half, that is. But for the lower half? It looked to have a bunch of tentacles, almost like a squid! And whatever it was, it looked to be a toddler
"Oh... my god..." she gawked as she looked at it. She then inspected it in her arms and frowned. "Is this... what in God's name are those Metal Heads doing?" she asked.
"I need an explanation here, it's kind of important?" I frowned.
"This is... hard to describe... it seems to be a hybrid of Metal Head... and elvine... but what strange ears... I've never seen any that small since... you..." she said, me frowning at that as I then looked at the toddler and he looked at me just as much.
"Um... can you talk, little guy?" I asked, him then speaking after.
"Baba... me want baba," he said, me looking at him with a frown.
"I think that's talk for 'I want food'. What in the world do I give him, though?" I asked.
"Poipa juish," he said, me looking at him in concern. "Me want poiple juish!"
"Okay... you mean Dark Eco?"
"Yaya!"
"It might be a bad idea... but if he's a hybrid, he might be able to handle it," Ashelin said, me relenting and giving him some of the Dark Eco from the Metal Head's blood and putting it into a nearby sippy bottle... that was also in the eco tanker. I then fed the stuff to him and he started to coo at the taste.
"Um... so... what do we do about this?" Ashelin asked, me frowning at this.
"I want you to tell both the Underground and your dad about this... about how, during a sneak attack of Metal Heads at the bazaar, that we found a strange hybrid of elvine and Metal Head that was held captive inside of it, and emphasize that he's a toddler. And tell them that I'm the one that is going to try and raise him for the side of good and to defeat the Metal Heads... but for the love of God, do not tell Praxis who I really am, okay? Just tell him that a recruit in the KG is raising a hybrid child, but don't tell him who it is. And if he pesters you about it, tell him that it needs to remain as secret as possible. Last thing he needs in this war is for the Metal Heads to learn we might have another weapon against them," I said, Ashelin nodding at me.
"You're being quite strategic... fine, I'll do that. Just be careful, who knows if he's also a weapon against us from the Metal Heads," she said, me nodding at her as she then went off in a nearby zoomer and I looked at the little guy with a smile.
"So... what do I call you?" I asked.
"Diego," he said, me looking at him in surprise. "Me Diego... do you know where mommy is?" he asked, me wondering at that... my mom named me Dora... and my dad prevented mom from naming Jilly the horribly insulting name of Boots (because mom thought we'd love Dora the Explorer. We did not)... so if that were the case... and my mom were in this world?...
"Is your mommy's name Lola?" I asked him.
"Yaya! Do you know her?" he asked, me gawking before then giving him a hug, which surprised him.
"I can't believe it... not only do I now have a little brother... but he's also half Metal Head... maybe I should ask Vin if he happens to have any technology that can hide that part of you?" I asked.
"No, I like my tenties," he frowned.
"They wouldn't be missing, it'd just make others thing you had legs. It's kind of like a magic trick," I smirked.
"Oh?... Okay, if you pwomise," Diego smirked, me smiling at him as I then proceeded to hide part of him in my shirt... I'd definitely need to get something to carry him with in the future. And it was at this time that I got a message on my phone from Vin!
"I need you at the Power Station for something urgent! Can you come here asap?" Vin asked.
"I was already on my way. I have a bit of a unique case to show you... as well as need to know if you happen to have cloaking technology?" I asked.
"Oh, sure, it's something super easy to come across, especially for costume parties!... Wait, why do you need that?" he asked.
"I'll explain when I get there," I smiled.