Jak, Daxter, Ben, and the Mane 6 were all somewhat down as they returned to the city after protecting the 'Sacred Site'. Another thought had come to Jak which was very sobering. There was no guarantee that the Samos they knew from their own time made it to this one alive...or that he was still alive after having made it here.
"Hey, cheer up, guys!" Hilda said, trying to reassure the others. "You're gonna get to see the Shadow!"
Sadly, despite her best efforts, the encouragement fell on unheeding ears. And thus, it was a grim faced group that returned to the Underground headquarters.
"The Shadow has decided it's time to meet you," Torn said.
"Why is that place in the old ruins so important to you?" Jak asked curiously.
"There's a powerful energy force at the old house. The Metal Heads are drawn to it." Torn explained.
"No kidding? We...used to know the guy that lived there." Ben said, a somber look on his face.
"So, you're the new recruits who keep getting into trouble."
Jak, Daxter, Ben, and the Mane 6's eyes all widened as they heard the familiar voice before turning to see who it was.
"No way! You?!" Daxter shouted out.
It was Samos...just not the one the gang knew. Whereas the Samos they knew favored green garb, this figure was dressed in dark reds and russet browns. His white facial hair and sideburns were much shorter, and the log held above his head was covered with thick growth that was a mix of plant life and hair.
"Welcome to our humble Underground movement. I am known as the Shadow, but you may call me Samos. And you are?"
"SAMOS!"
The old man was quite surprised when the Mane 6 all rushed to hug him, followed by Jak, Ben, and even Daxter.
"Uh...what?" The Shadow asked, confused. "I don't think I like such close contact with strangers-"
"We just wanted to say sorry for all the trouble we're going to give you raising us," Jak Twilight quickly before everyone let go.
"Hmmph. So Ashelin wasn't kidding." The Shadow noted before brushing himself off. "No more, young ones. I can't stand Spoilers."
"Yeah, it'll ruin the plot." Eddy snarked.
"Right now, we've got a Baron to overthrow, a child heir to protect, an invasion of Metal Heads to stop, and a city to save." The Shadow said. "So right now, I say our schedule is pretty full."
"I'm confused," Daxter began.
"This is Samos from this time," Twilight explained quickly. "The one who's going to go back in time with little Jak to raise him."
"Oooh!" Daxter allowed. "So...anything I do to him-"
"Is probably why Samos had such issues with you growing up," Applejack interrupted.
"Then what's the point of time travel, anyway?" Daxter demanded, throwing his paws in the air in frustration.
"What did I say about Spoilers?" The Shadow snapped. "Right now I need you to go to Haven Forest and root out a few Metal Heads. That forest is my source of power, but I can't protect it much longer. Chase down and destroy all the Metal Head scouts you find there. Good luck, and welcome to the fight!"
"Wow, Samos wishing us luck..." Rainbow muttered. "I...don't know how to feel about this."
"I dunno, I kinda like this one better." Daxter snarked.
"Sheesh, I really grow to be a crotchety old stump, don't I?" The Shadow noted.
"Yeah, but you also care!" Pinkie smiled.
As the gang left, Twilight decided to speak up about a very obvious concern.
"So...we going to tell Keira about this?"
"Not unless we have to. As worried as she's bound to be about her father, his younger self who doesn't know her...that would not be good for her." Jak said.
Ben sucked his teeth. "Yeah, that's a good point.
"Thanks for the concern, but you know I can hear everything now that I've got your comm signal, right?" Keira asked from the comm device.
"Ooooh! That's awkward for sure!" Eddy snickered.
"Busted!" Ed laughed.
"I've left the Jet Board at the city exit, you're going to need it. And I've known about the Shadow for the past two years..that's when I met him."
"Keira..."
"Don't, Jak. I know there's no guarantee Dad made it through the rift to this side. I've...come to terms with it. If he is dead, I'll just have to be strong enough to keep moving." She managed a chuckle. "And if not, I don't want to give him anything else to lecture me about when you find him."
Jak smiled softly. "And I thought we were the tough ones."
With Jet Board in hand, the gang made their way into the forest, taking a floating platform to a new segment they hadn't seen before. The Metal Head scouts turned out to be winged reptilians, able to both run and fly quite fast. Jak focused on chasing them around on the Jet Board, while the others watched their course before carefully positioning themselves. Either Jak would catch them as they ran, or they'd run into the rest of the gang's ambush, and meet their end at their Morph Guns, magic, and Eco Blades.
"Awwww yeah!" Rainbow cheered. "Thanks for making these Eco Blades for us, Twi!"
Twilight smiled. "It took a bit to get it just right, but it's a good thing the Krimzon Guard have spares on standby."
Once the fifth scout was defeated, the Shadow contacted them remotely.
"Excellent work, kids! Come on back to the hideout, I have another task for you."
"He could stand to be a bit more snarky with us...just for old time's sake," Ben said wistfully.
"I don't think he'd like that." Rarity noted. "But oh well, he'll grow into it."
As the trio made their way back to the Underground hideout, they got an unexpected communication from Krew.
"This is Krew, I just talked to my racing client, and she told me you were pretty good with that JET-Board of hers. My sources say a shipment of Krimzon Guard listening equipment just arrived in the Port. None of us, including the Underground, want those devices up and running. It's not good for business. Ride the JET-Board out into the Port and destroy every Krimzon Guard crate you find. There's sure to be a defense perimeter, so watch out, eh?"
"Wrecking stuff? Sounds like a heck of a good time!" Rainbow smirked.
Krew chuckled. "You're certainly eager, eh? I look forward to good results."
"Why'd you agree so fast, Dashie?" Daxter asked once the communication was cut off.
"Even someone like me can tell this is part of Keira's plan if she told Krew about Jak's super awesome board riding skills!"
"Wow, something smart from Rainbow Dash...duly noted for signs of the end of times," Twilight muttered.
"I HEARD THAT!"
"I think it's best I handle this solo, you guys," Jak said.
"And what should we do while you're doing that?" Hilda asked.
"Yeah, because we're not sitting on our fuzzy butts and waiting around for a whole lotta nothing!" Eddy huffed with his arms crossed.
"I got a message from Ashelin. Something's going down in the Bazaar." Keira spoke up on the comms.
"Guess the rest of us are off to see your old baby sitter!" Daxter chimed in. "Let's go!"
"Meet back up at Underground HQ!" Jak directed as they went their separate ways.
"Good luck, Bro!" Ben called out.
When the rest of the gang minus Jak entered the Bazaar, they couldn't avoid noticing where Ashelin was, surrounded by several heavy-set Krimzon Guard troops.
"Oh my...Um...you're friends won't try to arrest us, will they?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
"We've got an Eco Tanker coming in from the Wasteland, but the clearance transmission sounded fishy. The driver was scared for some reason." Ashelin explained. "We're going to check it out, just in case."
"How can we help?" Ben asked.
Before Ashelin could respond, the tanker in question crashed into the Bazaar, turning on its side as it screeched to a halt. The smaller tanks bounced around amidst the flames and smoke, knocking most of the Krimzon Guard aside, though Ashelin was able to evade. The largest part opened up...and a new type of Metal Head hopped out, this one bipedal and wielding a rifle of some sort.
Daxter screamed. "A Metal Head sneak attack!
"Thanks for stating the obvious!" Twilight shouted back as she lowered her headset, locking onto targets. "How many credits can we spare?"
"Quite a bit, why?" Hilda asked, confused.
"Pinkie...fire on my signal!"
Giggling impishly, Pinkie drew out her mounted Eco Party Cannon. Red Eco missiles launched, one smashing into the Metal Head that had leaped out of the large tank, the rest shooting down the opening of the tank, exploding on the Metal Heads that had yet to leap out.
"Quick thinking," Ashelin complimented, leaning against a stray tank as she got her adrenaline under control. "The Metal Heads are getting bolder every day. It's almost like they're testing our defenses, like probing attacks."
"They do have a leader. That may very well be exactly what they are." Ben pointed out.
Ashelin frowned in concern. "I've got a bad feeling about this...thanks for the assist."
With that, she turned and left.
"You're welcome!" Pinkie beamed as she waved her goodbye.
Hilda waved for everyone to follow her. "Come on, let's go meet back up with Jak."
After meeting back up with Jak, the gang made their way back to the HQ, where they found the Shadow waiting for them outside it, along with Mar and a large Croca Dog, a large green canine with a reptilian jaw, facial structure, and tail, which seemed overly fond of Fluttershy in particular.
"I want you kids to escort the young one over to Kor at the power station. He promised to look out for him, and I'm just too busy to babysit right now." The Shadow explained. "Oh, and take the kid's Croca Dog with you."
"Awwww, he's so cute!" Fluttershy cooed as she gave the creature chin scratches. "What's his name?"
"I don't believe he has one."
"I got a name!" Pinkie excitedly said. "I'm gonna call him Gummy!"
Hilda snorted. "That is the cutest name ever."
Chuckling, Jak took his younger self's hand.
"Come on, let's get moving."
"Huh...knowing that's his past self, I don't know whether to find this cute or weird," Rainbow noted.
Applejack shrugged. "Let's go with Cuweird."
Double-D pinched his forehead. "I'll let that violation of vocabulary slide since I can't come up with a better word either."
"Can we get ice cream?" Mar asked hopefully.
"I don't know if there are any ice cream places here." Pinkie frowned before chining up. "That just means I have to make my own!"
As they walked out into the city proper with the youngsters in tow, the Krimzon Guard began to approach.
"Any ideas?" Jak asked as they homed in on them.
"Just one..." Ben said as he stepped forward before reaching deep inside himself and then hunching over as Dark Eco veins coursed through him.
"Ben?!" Hilda gasped as she reached out to help, only to gasp at what happened next.
Countless Dark Eco tendrils erupted out of Ben's body in all directions, seeking out and impaling every Krimzon Guard in the vicinity. Double-D fainted in shock as Hilda quickly averted Fluttershy's eyes, who did the same for Young Mar.
The guards all screamed as they felt their lifeblood drained from them and into Ben. However, he stopped himself before he could kill any of them, leaving the guards writhing on the floor in barely-alive heaps.
"...We should scram." Eddy said.
The group did just that and soon reached the Power Station, where they found Kor waiting there for them with no one else present. He was pleasantly surprised to see them.
"Samos told us to bring the kid to you!" Daxter shouted out.
"Thank you," Kor replied warmly, resting a hand on Mar's shoulder as the boy ran up to him. "I'll be sure to keep him close."
At that point, Gummy growled at Kor, who sneered back.
"How sweet."
Giggling, Pinkie knelt down and scratched Gummy's spine, making him sit back happily with his tongue lolling out.
"Interesting... That insufferable mutt never liked anyone but the boy before." Kor noted.
"Pinkie and Fluttershy are pretty good with animals." Rainbow smiled.
"I hope we have enough Eco to keep the Metal Heads at bay." Kor said worriedly. "During my travels in the deep wasteland, I saw some of the bigger ones; awesome creatures."
"We saw a big one coming out of a rift once. He was ugly!" Daxter said.
"Hmph," Kor muttered, turning away and changing the subject.
Twilight stepped back, frowning. There was something...off about Kor's reaction, but she wasn't certain what. Looking over to Ben, she could sense he was feeling the same way.
"Mar?" The Alicorn girl spoke to the young boy. "Be careful around Kor. He's hiding something."
Mar nodded. "Will do!"
Kor was busy speaking with the others to hear this. "The Baron is conducting an excavation at the dig; he is still looking for that ridiculous tomb. Frankly, I don't believe it exists, but you might as well go out there and disrupt his operation just in case. Knock down all the scaffolding at the site. That should set him back. Here is an air train pass to get you out there.
"Blowing stuff up? Sounds like my kinda job!" Daxter grinned.
The Air Train turned out to be just a red A-Grav transport car, and the ride itself proved uneventful. The area it brought them to was rather lush, though more rocky than forested, unlike the forest area to the north of the city. The excavation site itself was inside a cave system not far from the Air Train landing pad.
The Krimzon Guard were heavy in their presence, but unfortunately for them were no better armed. Jak, Ben, Twilight, and Hilda were easily able to mow through them. Even the new grenadiers weren't very effective, as the bombs they threw were easily spotted and evaded well before they exploded.
Once inside the main dig site, Jak used the jet board to sever support cables while the others focused on taking out the enemy troops. Once all the cables were cut, the drill the Guard had been using spun out of control and exploded.
"Nice!" Daxter crowed. "Anything else we can destroy?"
"Let's get back to the city and find out," Jak suggested.
Back in the city, they received a distress signal from Vin, summoning them to the Power Station. When they got there, they found him in a state of panic.
"Everyone, we've still got trouble at the strip mine. I think the Baron set me up. Actually... uh, uh, I think everybody's trying to kill me!"
Fluttershy quickly brought a bag up to Vin's face, making him breathe in and out of it for a time.
"Calm down and explain. What's gone wrong, and how do we fix it?" The pegasus girl gently asked.
Once Vin was calm, he explained. "The Baron has no intention of piping the Eco from the wells I drilled into the city. Open Eco Wells attract Metal Heads. You need to seal them off with these plasmite bombs I've prepared for you. Just drop them into the well after arming them-"
"Plasmite, huh? Cool!" Daxter noted while playing with one of the bombs in question. "How does it work?"
"Daxter, bombs are not for playing until after we're on the mission," Jak chided, swiping the bomb out of the Ottsel's hand.
"Especially after what happened the last time!" Eddy snapped. "Remember the Exterminator job?"
"Please don't remind me..." Double-D shuddered.
As there weren't any Metal Heads or Krimzon Guard at the mining site, there were no obstacles in their way to demolish the open wells. Six bombs dropped from the jet board later, and they were safely on their way back to the city...only to be sent right back out again to the drill platform to take out a tanker ship the Baron was sending out, full of Eco.
As a mobile gunnery platform was provided for the task, this proved to be yet another relatively easy task. Twilight and Rarity used their magic shields to protect the platform from attacking Krimzon Guard fliers, while Jak and Hilda held the controls to blast them apart.
The ship itself was somewhat more of a challenge, as it was heavily armored to the point the platform's bullets bounced right off. However, whoever was in charge must have taken issue with the noise or something similar, as the ship deployed various turrets to try and take the group out. The turrets weren't as heavily armored, and each destroyed turret damaged the tanker. With all turrets destroyed, the tanker went down, allowing the gang to return to the city.
"Thank goodness you blew up those wells. I sure don't want any more Metal Heads coming around here! Good work, guys! I owe you one." Vin said gratefully from the comms.
Ben smirked. "Mission accomplished."
Next chapter will have a surprise guest character! You might be surprised (or probably not) at who they are.