Meeting with the Hora-Quan
From the music shop, it only took twenty minutes to get to the Deadtown gate. A nearby speaker warned him that he was going outside the protection of the city walls and he might not survive. He rolled his eyes and pulled out the amulet.
Daxter looked at the glowing yellow orb sitting in its brass ring. "Jak, you didn't bring your gun. Wasn't that stupid?"
"If there were going to be Krimzon Guards, yes, but I need to gain their trust. Kor said to show this to them. I'm guessing it'll give us safe passage. We have to trust him. Dax…." he examined the orb himself. "I'd understand if you wanted to go back. I can't guarantee it's not a trap." He didn't know which he'd prefer Daxter do. He didn't want to do this alone but he'd never be able to handle it if Daxter was killed because he wanted to try and make their enemy into an ally.
The ottsell shook his head. "Nah, I trust you, Jak." He was quaking inwardly but he had abandoned Jak once. Two years ago and the guilt had been terrible. Jak had never once abandoned him. Even when everyone else in their village called him a waste of air. If Jak believed in this plan then he believed in Jak.
They braced themselves as the gate opened to the ruined sector of the city. They had been there once before, on a mission to obtain a flag from the top of a stone tower. The trek had left the tower destroyed and the remnants formed a new path through the gloomy ghost town.
Stepping out into the ruins, a centipede with a gold gem on its forehead popped out. It ran at Jak until the young man held up the amulet. Jak didn't know what would happen and braced himself for the worst but the centipede stopped it's advance and he lowered the amulet so it could smell it and his hand.
"Hi, I'm Jak and this is my friend, Daxter. We're friends with Kor." He said the name and the centipede sniffed his hand all over before sneezing.
It made a grating, trilling noise and several more of the creatures popped out of the sand. They seemed to talk to one another before the first centipede chittered at him and jerked its head in forward motion.
Daxter pointed. "I think it wants us to follow, Jak."
Jak nodded. "I think you're right." They followed the small army of centipedes until they reached a bulky metal head grunt that looked much like a man wearing a football uniform. He offered the amulet again. "Kor gave me this. He's a friend."
The grunt took the amulet and examined it, smelling it and watching Jak intently. Suddenly, it righted itself and spoke in a low, gravelly voice. "Follow me." He glared. "But know this, I will not hesitate to kill you if this is a trick."
The young man nodded. "I've come unarmed. My name is Jak. My best friend here is Daxter." He hadn't expected the metal head to be able to talk.
"Hmm, I am Lieutenant Kaipo. I've heard of you. You have killed many of us already. I don't know why I haven't killed you for that yet." He growled darkly.
Jak nodded. "I didn't want to but they attacked me
first. But that's neither here nor there. I don't want to kill anyone else."
Kaipo eyed him and led him over the rocky path. Each time they met another member, Jak had to show them the amulet and they all joined him until they reached a rifle-carrying bipedal and almost human-like metal head. He and Daxter were completely surrounded. The message was clear. There was no going back.
"Capt, this havenite says Father sent him," he stepped back and let the metal head get right up in Jak's face.
Jak's eyes crossed as he was forced to step back just a bit. He offered the amulet again. The metal head snatched it from him and sniffed. The gold gem flashed and a hologram of human Kor appeared.
"My dear children, this young man is Jak and the rat is Daxter. I have seen him defend the people of Haven and he has no love for Baron Praxis. The man has tormented him for two years, pumping him with dark eco. He says that he wants to help us. Bring him to the nest near the Sacred Site. I'll meet you there."
Jak's eyes opened wide. "Nest? Near the Sacred Site? Is that why you've gathered here?" He asked.
The Captain handed back the amulet. "I am Captain Kritten. Come with me. One wrong move." He warned Jak again. "The rest of you! Back to your posts, you maggots!"
The other metal heads, including Lieutenant Kaipo, dispersed back to their posts. Jak looked at him. "The Shadow believes you want the Sacred Site for some reason."
Kritten glowered. "The Havenites think we give a shit about their so-called sacred sites? That's arrogance at its finest. All we care about is our people! Your people attacked us first! They invaded our nests so they could take our gems. Greedy humans!" He screeched.
Daxter whistled. "Hey, guy, that wasn't us! Jak is the least greedy person I know! If he says he wants to help, then he means it." He stood up for his friend, earning him a rare smile from the blue-eyes. "He won't even spend the gems he collected."
Kritten eyed him and Jak nodded. "I still have all of them. I didn't know their significance but I kept them," he opened his bag to show them to the rifleman. "I will give them to Kor so they can be honored properly."
The metal head nodded briefly. "You're a strange one. This way." He led Jak through tattered tapestry shielding an entrance.
He looked up. "Wow! Daxter! Is that?" He asked. He pointed up at a dilapidated hut sitting on a narrow cliff.
Daxter gasped. "That's Samos' hut. What does that mean? Why is his hut here and why does it look so ruined. If that's his hut where are the other huts? What happened to our village? Our home?" He asked, trembling.
Kritten turned and looked at him. "That is the Sacred Site they think we want. It is a hut. But near it… the ruins cut perfectly to create…" Just past the hut was a cave of debris. And fixed to the debris were dozens of golden orbs held together by a black substance.
"Your eggs. You guys are just trying to have your eggs. To live." Jak gasped and shook his head. "Wow!"
"Yes, Jak, that's right…" Kor appeared from behind a stone pillar. "These are my eggs." He caressed them tenderly.
Daxter jumped down off of Jak's shoulder and dashed to a cluster. He put his hands on a gold egg. "They're warm, Jak." He jumped as the egg he was touching began to crack. "Whoa!" He backed away as a small, light green scorpion came out of the egg. It rolled out of the egg and onto the ground on its back. Daxter drew near and looked down into a set of eight glowing yellow eyes. The creature squeaked and flipped itself over. Daxter started to back away again but the little scorpion simply chased after him. "What's it doing?" He asked.
Kor chuckled. "Classic mistaken identity. He thinks you're his progenitor as you're the first one he saw." He watched as the scorpion finally caught Daxter and began rubbing up against the ottsell.
"Ack! First the FlutFlut bird now this! I'm nobody's mom!" He lamented.
Jak laughed at his friend's misfortune. "What can I say, Dax, you have a way with babies." He looked at Kor. "They're all yours. Does that mean… the ones I… on the Drill Platform… I'm sorry."
Kor shook his head. "Oh no, those weren't mine. They would not have survived there anyway. I did not lay those eggs. That was my rival, Kaeden. He sought to use his spawn to drain the Baron's energy, a nasty sort and he's dead now. But these are mine. There are many such nests in and underneath Haven." He explained. "We've been here for eons and would have been happy to stay hidden until someone from the little town of Sandover discovered eco ore. They dug into the land and into our home. And Mar used precursor technology to run us out. Many of my eggs and my children, my family…. were killed in the invasion." He said, clenching his fists and tears trickling from his eyes as he recalled the siege.
Jak put a hand on his shoulder. "I'm sorry. I didn't know. The way it's described, the metal head armies invaded first and for no reason. It must have been after I was pulled here. My teacher would never have let them dig for eco ore. Not at the expense of an entire civilization."
The old man pulled away. "But you can see. This is why we must fight. Fighting is the only way to protect my children."
"I still disagree. Fighting like this only confirms their biases. The people of Haven were not the ones who invaded your nest. When you attack people who had nothing to do with it, they can only defend themselves," Jak explained. "And they only grow to hate you even more. It's not right or fair to anyone. Especially not to your kids. You need the people of Haven on your side. And they need you. You are the only ones with the power to fight the Baron. He calls himself the Grand Protector of Haven City. He's using your desire to avenge your people against you. If you were no longer a threat to his people, he'd have no further claim to the throne. They could put the rightful heir on the throne instead. If only we could find him."
Kor sneered. "Why, I know exactly where he is. My boy would be king. And he's so young, he'd need a regent or steward." He reasoned.
Jak nodded. "Someone much older, wiser, who can show the people of Haven what it means to be a leader." He explained. "But it can only work if you are the ones who cease fighting first. You have to come to their rescue. Be the heroes, not the monsters Praxis claims you are."
The old man looked around at the nest. The rifleman snorted. "Father, the people of Haven would never accept our help. As soon as we stepped in, they'd attack us for our gems. This is foolish. We should kill the boy and his rat before he can tell them about the nest."
Kor shook his head. "No, Kritten. This boy is a good lad. He won't tell anyone. Jak, I see what you're trying to say. But the captain is right. Even Torn would never accept us."
Jak nodded. "If you told Torn your side of the story? I'm willing to bet he would understand. I'm willing to bet that he would accept you. Everyone in Haven would understand. Give me a chance!" He begged. All around him, he heard eggs cracking. Metal heads of all varieties were being born around him. "Don't let your children grow up in a war zone if they don't have to. How many deaths will it take until we know that too many people have died?"
The man grew quiet and sat as the babies gathered him. "I do want my youngest to grow up in peace if they can. But I don't want to watch them die again either." He put a hand on his chest. "If you can prove to me that you can get the people to accept us, then I will try it your way. And the boy is mine. I'm the one who saved his life, you said it. He is mine, one of my children." Kor hissed.
Jak nodded. "Yes, he is yours. I won't take him from you. You'd be the regent I was referring to. You would be the one in power." He promised. Jak saw his eyes narrow. "No one could harm your people again." Why was Kor concerned about the Kid being taken from him? Who else would care for the Kid? He was obviously an orphan. He didn't care if Kor was really some monster. The man had a real love for his people. He cared more for his people than Praxis cared for Haven. "I'm on your side."
Kor sighed. "I just don't know why. What's in it for you?" He asked. "What do you want in return?"
Jak rolled his eyes. No one in Haven did anything for anyone without an angle. "I'm sorry. That you've become so accustomed to greedy humans. But there are good humans out there. If you need something…. It's the only way I can keep the dark monster inside me from taking over. Every day, I was just getting angrier, picturing ripping Praxis limb from limb for what he did to me. I would slip out at night and go to the water slums, without Daxter. I found comfort in the precursor idol there. They would sometimes speak to me." He looked at his best friend as more of the baby metal heads attached themselves to him. Daxter broke free and dashed over onto Jak's shoulder.
"Buddy, why didn't you ever tell me any of this?" He couldn't process how his best friend couldn't trust him with this.
Jak looked away. "I was afraid. Every time I thought of what Praxis did, thinking of our missing friends. Missing our peaceful Sandover. Keira, Samos, Uncle. The Bird Lady, the Sculptor, even the Mayor." He knew it might not be wise to expose such weakness to the metal heads but Kor had trusted him with his grief. "And each time, I had to fight against the dark eco inside me. I could have killed you that first time Dax. And I only barely stopped myself. I couldn't handle it if I hurt you."
He trembled. "The statue told me the best way to keep the darkness from winning would be to try and make an enemy into an ally." He shrugged. "That's my angle. Sorry if that makes me selfish but I don't want to be dark. I don't want to lose control over myself just because I've absorbed too much dark eco. I hate being able to channel eco sometimes."
The old man listened to Jak's grief and sighed. "You are different from your Haven friends. Very well, I'll give you a chance. One chance. What would you like me to do?"
"You need to make a formal offer to the underground." Jak jumped back in. "Start with a letter from the leader of the Hora-Quan, the metal heads. You can write it, you can give it to Torn yourself as the old man he thinks you are. Then give them a chance to consider the possibilities. And I'll try to turn Krew's attentions to more lucrative ventures than metal head trophies." He rolled his eyes. "There's gotta be something else. I bet I can at least convince him that hunting metal heads has too much cost versus profit."
Kor massaged his temples. "I have too much to lose if this goes wrong. These are my children." He explained.
Daxter shrugged. "Seems to me, they're in more danger your way. Your way means people will never stop hunting metal heads and they'll especially go after nests." He waggled his finger
at the many eggs that still had yet to hatch. "At least try the letter. Torn won't know who the leader is so you'll get to see an honest reaction."
Jak appreciated Daxter's smart alecky, crass bluntness. His best friend often got himself in trouble with his mouth but Kor seemed to appreciate bluntness too. "He's right. Try the letter and if the reaction isn't good then we can try something else. But try the letter."
Kritten grunted. "Naive fool! Father, he will get us all killed!" He aimed his rifle. "Let me take him out before he can betray us."
A flash of light burst from Kor's hand, knocking Kritten into the muck. "Captain Kritten! You forget your place! I am your father and you will not attack without my command. I trust Jak. It can't hurt to try the letter." He waved his hand and a piece of parchment appeared, text filling the body before it rolled up. A golden ribbon tied a neat bow with their symbol on the ends. He put the letter into a thick leather tube. "This will serve as your test, Jak. Take it and give it back to me at the hideout. We must of course arrive separately."
Jak grinned and looked at Kritten. "Before I go…" He turned to Kor. "So you can honor them properly. I'm sorry…" he offered his bag. "I didn't want to harm them."
Kor accepted it and looked inside. If it had been anyone else, he might have seen it as taunting. But he understood Jak's intentions. "Thank you. You're a good lad. Regardless of how this turns out, you have earned your life. You too, Daxter." He couldn't stop a small laugh when one of the babies pounced on the ottsell playfully.
Daxter carefully extricated himself from the swarm and ran back to Jak. "Go back to your dad, kids." He waved them off as they started to cry. "Don't worry, I'll come back. Let's go Jak."
Jak left the nest, ignoring Kritten's growling and snarling. "Well, Dax, I did not expect that. No wonder they hate Haven." They made their way through the ruins and back through the city gates.
Daxter nodded. "Yeah, absolutely crazy. Do you really think Torn'll accept their help?" He asked once they were back in their hovercar.
Driving through the desolate, dingy slums, Jak shook his head. "I'm not sure but we have to try. Torn hates the Baron as much as Kor does. As much as all the metal heads do. Krew is going to be the hardest nut to crack, I think. He loves his trophies."
Daxter laughed. "Ehh, he won't be so tough. The man would sell his own mother for a buck. And if not, well, we tried to save his dumbass. If the Hip Hog was busier, I bet he wouldn't have time to think about trophy hunting."
Jak nodded. "Keeping him too busy might be the plan there. But let's keep thinking about it." He looked straight ahead as they arrived at the hideout.
AN: The good thing about greed is it makes people easy to manipulate. Maybe Jak can work with that.