At first, the trip was uneventful, aside from the Eco Ore slowly losing energy, but then the group came across a Krimzon Guard roadblock, which opened fire on them. Rather than back off, Jak gunned the engine to plow through while Twilight fired back.
"Heads up!" Ben said as Dark Eco tentacles burst from his back and formed a spiked shield to turn the Zoomer he, Hilda, and The Eds were riding in into a makeshift battering ram.
Once past the roadblock, the gang was able to maneuver through the twisting streets and lose pursuit, before coming in to land at the Hip Hog Saloon. Stepping inside, they found the saloon rather pleasantly decorated and dimly lit, a nice atmosphere for drinking.
"Just a heads up, Krew is my Mom's boss. The brewery we own is an extension of this place." Hilda informed everyone.
Let me handle this, guys. Watch my finesse and style." Daxter said as he approached a heavily-armored dark-skinned man carrying some kind of rifle. "Hey, big guy!"
"Uh, Dax..." Ben spoke up. "I don't think that's Krew."
"That would be me."
The one who spoke was a morbidly obese man whose folds of fat overflowed to the point he looked like a massive slug who could only get around by a hoverchair and had a diamond false eye.
"Hey, Krew..." Hilda said, folding her blubbery but firm arms.
"Ah, Hilda. Haven't seen you in a good while, eh?" Krew greeted in an oily voice. "You're looking much more well-fed these days."
"Blame the cute little pony girls standing beside me."
Krew smirked. "And is my delivery intact?"
"Yup, in primo condition!" Eddy said.
"That's good eh, because a cargo of rare Eco Ore is worth more than ten of your lives!"
Jak growled. "We did you a favor, now it's your turn. Why is the Baron giving Eco to Metal Heads?"
"Questions like that could get a person killed, eh!" Krew warned.
"The Baron already did his best. Jak and I are still here." Ben said.
"Yeah, you won't find anyone more awesome than us!" Rainbow added.
Krew smirked at that as he turned to the heavily armored man.
"Sig! Be a good fellow and give the little ones their bonus."
Stepping forward, Sig handed Jak a Morph Gun with Red Eco Mod, a Scatter Gun like Hilda and Applejack's.
"If you want to see what that baby can do, try the gun course outside," Krew suggested. "Show me some skill with that hardware, and I'll hire you for a job or two, eh?"
"I got a good idea from watching my sister and my brother's new girlfriend work," Jak smirked.
"Girlfriend?!" Ben and Hilda exclaimed, both blushing. "Now wait just a minute-!"
Rainbow, Daxter, and Eddy couldn't help but laugh at that while Ed, Fluttershy, and Pinkie cooed in adoration. Double-D just gave a playful smile and a knowing nod to Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack.
Once at the shooting range and getting over her embarrassment, Hilda gave Jak a few pointers about the Scatter Gun, and how to aim and use it.
"Be careful. The widespread fire makes it a bad idea when mixed with friendly targets. In a large group of unfriendlies, however, it's an ideal weapon. Give it a try on the course."
Jak started to walk towards the door, but paused when he noticed something.
"Why is your name at the top of the record score list?"
"How did you think I got so good with the thing?" Hilda countered with a smirk.
"She is the undefeated champion!" Ed declared as he stood tall on Hilda's shoulder and pointed a finger to the sky.
"I'll just have to beat your score, then," Jak teased back with a wide grin.
"Good luck!" Eddy shouted back.
It took Jak more than a few tries but he eventually managed to perfectly match Hilda's score, making the fat girl whistle in amazement as she gave him a fistbump.
"Nice shooting. Something tells me they'll write up your name right next to mine."
Jak chuckled. "I'm honored."
The group decided to stop back at the bar for a drink before checking in with Torn. Pinkie hopped up onto the bar to get a milkshake while Applejack and Rainbow both wondered if the bar served cider.
"Excellent shooting, Jak, and quite the determination. I didn't think anybody would be able to so much as match dear little Hilda's score." Krew praised as he hovered over. "Have you and your little friends ever thought about being Wastelanders, hmmm?"
"A...what, now?" Applejack asked.
Jak shrugged. "Can't say that we have."
"Wastelanders find items for me outside the city walls, eh? Any artifact or weapon worth having comes through my hands." Krew explained. "Work for me and I'll throw you some of the sweeter items your way, hmm?"
"Mom always told me not to fall in with Krew..." Hilda sighed. "But if we want any chance of stopping the Baron, we gotta bite the bullet."
"And the jobs Krew had us do back then were already filthy enough..." Double-D said, shivering at the memories.
"Kill Metal Heads, get toys?" Jak asked, smirking. "Sounds like old times. I'm in."
Slow down, Jak and the fat man. You two had better run that by me again. 'Cause there's no way-" Daxter began.
"Outvoted!" Pinkie giggled.
"Besides, we don't see you doing much fighting to begin with." Ben snarked as he ruffled Daxter's head.
"Yet!"
"Hey, we're in the same boat as you, Dax!" Eddy said, patting his fellow Ottsel on the back.
"Sig will show you the ropes," Krew said as he hovered off.
The silver-armored warrior stepped forward. "So you wanna be Wastelanders, huh doughboys? Well, we'll see what you're made of when we get out into the thick of it. Krew wants some new trophies to put butts in chairs at the Hip Hog, so I'm gonna bag him five nasty Metal Heads at the pumping station."
"Hey, I'm good for it, Sig. You already know me." Hilda chuckled.
"I know, I'm talking to your new friends."
"Only five?" Twilight asked.
"That's not even a challenge!" Rainbow laughed. "We'll get it done in ten seconds flat!"
"Confident, huh? I like it!" Sig smirked down at them. "Meet me at the pumping station...and don't leave me hanging."
Jak grinned. "Let's do it."
"I'm primed and pumped to kill..." Ben growled out with a vicious smile.
It wasn't that hard for the group to make their way to the pumping station, as they remembered the way from when they were last there. Sig was waiting for them.
"Hello, cherries! Didn't keep me waiting long."
"Uh, of course not! We're the fastest things alive!" Rainbow boasted.
Sig nodded. "Good. Ready to hunt a few Metal Heads?"
"I was born ready," Jak growled out.
"This is gonna be fun!" Hilda grinned.
"PREPARE TO MEET YOUR MAKERS!" Ed shouted out to the Metal Heads.
"Naughty Dog?" One Metal Head asked before being blown to kingdom come.
A new type of Metal Head was present, a bipedal variant that wielded a weapon of its own. However, it did not appear to be what Sig was after, as he just kept going. He also blasted clear a new path with a charged shot from his staff-shaped weapon, which he referred to as his Peace Maker.
After a time, Sig pointed out the first target, which was a large crab-like Metal Head. The gang watched Sig's back while he charged up his Peace Maker for a big enough shot to take it out. As it was only the local wildlife that came after him, it was simplicity in itself to protect him until he shot the beast down.
This was repeated with four more large Metal Heads, although some of the weapon-wielding ones showed up for some of them.
Boom! Home team: five, Metal Heads: nothing! That was the last one." Sig cheered after the lost one was taken out. "Tell Krew we got 'em all cooked and canned. I'm gonna clean Peace Maker and pick up the trophies. You did good, rookies."
"No problem, Boss." Eddy said with a salute.
"You kids are turning out to be quite useful, eh?" Krew noted after the group returned to report their success. "Hmm, I have another task for you. The sewers used to be a fabulous smuggling route for me before the Baron installed security devices."
"And before those late-night snack runs kept you from fitting out the front door." Daxter snarkily jabbed.
Krew scowled and clenched his fist briefly while Hilda, Ed, Eddy, and even Double-D did their best to hold in their laughter.
"I bet you've hatched another brilliant plan in that hungry little brain of yours." Rainbow snarked. "So... who or what do we have to shake down, knock out, or blow up?"
"Or torn apart?" Ben asked with a growl in his voice.
"Well, I need someone to go down and shoot every sentry gun in the sewers. And, I'll give you a sweet weapon upgrade if you succeed." Krew said.
Let me guess. Dank, murky water? Reeks worse than your breath at an oyster fest? Fuller o' metal heads than your plate at a one-pass buffet? And of course, weapons more lethal than your ever so tighty-whities on a hot summer day?" Daxter snarkily asked. "Look, donut hole, why don't we float around here looking hot and heavy, and you go roto-root the pipes?"
This time, Hilda and The Eds couldn't hold it in and burst out into peels of laughter. Krew, on the other hand, was far from amused at Daxter's choice of words.
"Daxter's got a point, though. We're not doing anything until you tell us why Metal Heads are trading with the Baron's forces!" Twilight said.
"I should have had you all kneecapped, eh!" Krew snarled as he got up into the 10-year-old alicorn girl's face.
Jak quickly pushed Krew back, his eyes turning black as Dark Eco briefly flickered off of him.
"Leave my LSBFF alone, fat man."
Krew composed himself before turning around.
"All I know is that the Baron cut a desperate deal with the Metal Head leader. Metal Heads need Eco, so the Baron supplies them with regular shipments. In return, the Metal Heads agreed to attack the city just enough to satisfy the Baron's continued rule."
"That rattlesnake!" Applejack gasped.
"He is the one who experimented on both Jak and me with Dark Eco," Ben pointed out.
"Well, the Baron is running short on Eco, eh? And the Metal Heads are short on patience!" Krew said. "Baron Praxis needs this war to keep in power. Otherwise, the city would put the true ruler on the throne, wherever that little brat is."
"Young Mar..." Twilight realized as she turned to Jak. "Jak...you're a Prince!"
"For all the good it does..." Jak grumbled.
"Alright, we'll clean up your sewers. But you better keep your end of the bargain." Ben said to Krew.
"Onward to the stinky sewers like the Back Area Blob in 'I Was A Teenage Sludge Hippie'!" Ed declared.
Double-D frowned. "This is so terribly risky and...unsanitary, to say the least."
"I feel your pain..." Rarity said to the sock-hatted Ottsel with sympathy.
The sewers proved to be just as dank, dark, smelly, and dangerous as the group expected, swarming with amphibious wildlife and Metal Heads swarming the tunnels and raw sewage filling the channels. In addition to that, some sections were shrouded in darkness until the right switch was stepped on to illuminate them.
The turrets themselves were simple automated systems that locked onto a target of a specific size and fired two to four shots at a time, with a brief pause to reload before firing again. Much to the group's amusement, however, the turret was not programmed to fire at something Daxter or the Eds' size. As such, the four Ottsels would run up to behind a turret, Twilight would teleport to their location, and then blast it apart with a single shot of her magic.
This worked flawlessly on each of the four turrets, and even a new type of Metal Head, gorilla-shaped ones that lumbered towards them, didn't slow them down much. Though the Metal Heads always attacked in large numbers, the Scatter Gun was designed for groups, and three could blast them apart easily.
"Fe Fi Fo Fum, I smell cheese and onion buns!" Ed said.
On the way back from the sewers, Jak found himself wandering away from the others, drawn to a hut in the south part of town, where he found a Precursor Oracle like the ones back in Sandover Village.
"Greetings Great Warrior. I sense there is a dark rage burning within you, and in time it will destroy you with its madness. The Dark has poisoned your brother as well, but its influence upon him is limited as he was born to accept it. He will survive unaided until the last power of the Precursors can be given to both of you to save you. But for now, in exchange for the skull gems of the ones you call Metal Heads, I will teach you ways to control the power you now have."
"Uh...Thanks?" Jak offered, confused.
"Destiny weighs heavy upon your shoulders..."
Deciding to investigate further later, he went to catch up with the rest of the gang.
"What happened?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
"It's nothing," Jak said calmly.
"We won't question it, don't worry," Ben said gently. "Lord knows you're still dealing with things."
Jak smiled. "Thanks, Bro."
"Jeez, way to leave me out of the mushy stuff, you guys..." Daxter snarked playfully.
In the next chapter, we finally get to see Tess, the apple of Daxter's eye. Lord knows I'll have fun with her after she turns into an Ottsel at the end of Jak 3.
Because come on, it would have been cool to see her and Keira having a dynamic similar to Jak and Daxter's!