Making their way back to the Hip Hog Saloon, the gang saw Krew sniffing the air.
"What is that horrible smell?!"
Oh, great! We do your dirty work in the sewers and come back smelling worse than a wet hip hog in a warm barn." Daxter complained before sniffing himself and turning to Jak. "This could have a serious impact on the lady factor."
"No." Krew clarified before catching a belch in his mouth. "I think it was my lunch, actually."
"Sheesh, who'd have thought a guy fatter than me could have insecurities like that," Hilda whispered to Rarity.
"Nice work in the sewers, eh? I guess you're looking for that weapon upgrade, hmm." Krew said. "Well, there's a Blaster Mod stashed in some crates at the Port. Find it, and it's yours."
"Sheesh, thanks a lot," Eddy grumbled as the gang made their way to the Port, finding the crate with the Mods in question, which were powered by Yellow Eco.
"The Blaster is a good all-around choice with a nice rate of fire but requires more aiming ability," Sig instructed over the radio. "Why don't you kids see who can get the high score."
Jak, Hilda, and Applejack all grinned at each other as they went into the shooting range to see who could get the higher score.
After getting used to the new Blaster Mod, the gang returned to the Underground's hideout where Torn was waiting for them, and he didn't look happy.
"Sure took your sweet time with that job. I hope you have something worthwhile to show for it."
"Sorry, Torn. You know how Krew gets." Hilda apologized.
"The Baron is trading Eco to the Metal Heads to keep them out of Haven and also to ensure they attack just enough to justify him continuing to rule Haven," Jak explained.
Torn was silent for a time. "Alright, that's some good information. Let's see about spoking that deal."
"We're listening," Ben said.
"One of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the Metal Heads and the foreman is one of our best informants, part of the Baron's deal or not," Torn said. "His name is Vin, and he's just valuable enough to save. Find the warp gate at the power station, and use it to travel to the strip mine, so you can rescue Vin's pathetic hide."
"That's not very nice to say about him..." Fluttershy quietly spoke up.
"Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metal Heads, the city's Eco is almost gone, and his time is running out. If we don't get the kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend." Torn said grimly.
As the group headed out, Daxter glanced at the others.
"So...no plans on telling them Jak's the kid in question all grown up?"
"Who'd believe us?" Twilight indicated logically.
Daxter frowned. "Point made."
"I'm as cool as a cabbage, guys!" Ed laughed.
The Power Station, though a riot of electronics and delicate controls, was unguarded, as was the warp gate. Hopping through, the gang found themselves at a distant location, surrounded by heavy equipment and barren sand and stone, the only signs of life were the occasional shrub and the huge number of small Metal Heads.
"Well, this place seems homely," Ben said as he turned one of his arms into its Hammerfist form and smashed a Metal Head into a paste.
The path into the mine itself wound around tall hills bare of any vegetation and between several stacks of large crates. Though the Metal Heads swarmed the group, a balance of Scatter Gun blasts and Blaster shots were able to take them out before they could get close.
"Hot stuff!" Hilda said as she pressed her thumb to her hip and made a hissing noise.
After riding a basket full of stone along a line, the gang was able to clear the Metalheads away from a locked-down building. Assuming this would be where Vin was hiding, Jak pressed a large red button beside the door, causing it to open. They got the briefest glance of computer equipment before someone leaped up and started shooting at them.
"STAY BACK!"
Ben was hit by a few shots but the holes left on his body quickly began sealing themselves up with a mixture of Green and Dark Eco until there was no damage left behind.
"Are you Vin?" He calmly asked as he looked at the pale-skinned human with white hair, wearing a white coat, goggles, and a hood covering most of his head.
"You'll never take me alive!"
"Um, excuse me, sir, but we're not here to hurt you." Fluttershy gently said. "So could you please stop shooting now?"
Seeing Fluttershy's innocent face seemed to relax Vin somewhat as he put away his pistol.
"Oh, thank goodness! Wai... so... wh... where's the army?" He asked.
"We're the best you got so far. The Underground is still in the 'recruitment and sabotage' stage of rebellion." Hilda said. "I doubt if they actually have enough members for a full-scale revolt yet."
"Seriously? What do they think I'm worth?" Vin slumped. "Even if you do raise a very good point."
"Come on, let's just get the hay outta here," Rainbow said as everyone made their way through the nearby warp gate.
"Those Metalheads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of Eco," Vin explained at the power station, still a tad high-strung. "Readings show that there's a steady Eco drop at the drill platform. Any of you care to guess why?"
"Metal Head eggs?" Fluttershy offered. "If the Metalheads need Eco, maybe their eggs need it even more."
Vin looked at Fluttershy in surprise as Applejack rolled her eyes.
"Fluttershy is a bit of an animal expert, ya can say."
Vin shook his head. "Anyway, I've reprogrammed the warp gate to take you there, so you can destroy all the eggs before they suck us dry!"
"Can do, Chief!" Eddy said with a salute.
"Let's kick some Metal Head butt!" Rainbow cheered.
The drilling platform was suspended high up in a tower of machines, and the Metalhead Eggs were all plainly visible. However, they were too durable for the group's weapons. Luckily, three turrets were visible in plain sight positioned relatively close to the clusters of eggs.
"You thinking what I'm thinking?" Ben asked the others with a smirk.
"If I'm thinking what you're thinking and you're thinking what I'm thinking...what are we thinking about?" Pinkie asked.
"Daxter, Ed, Double-D, Eddy, can you guys operate those turrets?" Jak asked the four Ottsels, realizing what Ben was getting at.
Moving forward as a group, they reached the first turret and Daxter looked over the controls.
"Yeah, I can handle this. Not too big for me."
"Oh boy, time to pull out the big guns!" Eddy cackled.
"Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear..." Double-D gulped.
With help from Twilight, The Eds and Daxter all managed to man the three turrets. After getting into position, they opened fire. The Metal Heads couldn't adapt fast enough to the three-pronged assault to protect the eggs.
In the middle of it, Double-D had begun getting into the thrill and was cackling like a madman.
"Oh, I feel it! I FEEL THE ADRENALINE, EDDY-BABY!"
"Double-D, take it easy!" Eddy told his friend. "They're all dead now."
"Oh..." Double-D said, relaxing as he recomposed himself.
Torn looked perturbed when the gang arrived, Daxter and Eddy's chests puffed out proudly. Still, he laid out the next mission for them.
"One of my old Guard comrades was sent to the pumping station. There's been no word from the patrol, and after what you guys ran into out there..." Torn began.
"So who are we looking for, and how tactful do we need to be about the rescue?" Twilight asked.
"Her name is Ashelyn." Torn explained, giving Jak and Daxter dirty looks. "Don't even think about it. This friend of mine has helped the Underground many times before. Go back to the pumping station and take a look around. Render assistance if needed."
"Aye-Aye!" Pinkie and Ed saluted.
"We'll be back soon," Jak promised.
Back out by the pumping station, the gang was surprised to see more of the large Metal Heads that Sig had hunted prowling around. Each took several Blaster shots to take down, and were frequently backed up by both the small Metalheads and the ones carrying weapons.
"All these obstructions!" Twilight huffed as she grabbed a large Metal Head by the neck with her magic and twisted it enough to snap it.
Ben proved to be capable of taking on the Metal Heads, tearing them apart with his Dark Eco Claws and Hammerfists. Thanks to him, most of the danger was handled relatively easily with some added assistance from Twilight and Applejack.
"Eh, what the heck are we doing risking our lives to rescue some old Krimzon Guard hag anyway?" Daxter asked in annoyance. "She's probably got more facial hair than me and the Ed's combined!"
As if to prove Daxter's point, Ed was scratching his cheek with his leg like a dog would.
As Jak was busy inspecting a crashed vehicle, a red-haired woman with similar facial tattoos to Torn dropped from the trees and wrapped her arm around Jak's neck with a pistol in hand.
"Who the hell are you?"
"Time travelers," Rarity replied blithely.
"Try something a bit more believable," the woman growled out.
"Torn's new recruits?" Fluttershy nervously offered.
"Relax Ashelyn, they're with us," Hilda said, making her presence with The Eds known.
"Hilda?" The woman asked before poking the brunette's belly. "You certainly look...healthy."
"Thanks!"
"Mmm, I do love a woman in uniform!" Daxter smirked. "Wanna bark some orders at me? Woof woof! I'm your soldier on the front lines of love. Waiter, foxhole for two!"
"Keep talking and I'll raise your voice a couple of octaves," Ashelyn warned before turning to the others. "Okay, let's say you're time travelers. What are you doing out here?"
"Gathering allies to help put my younger self on the throne where he belongs?" Jak suggested facetiously.
"And maybe rip the Baron to pieces for doing this to me and Jak." Ben said, gesturing to himself.
The woman was silent for a time, glancing at Jak as if studying him...before calmly saluting.
"Ashelin Praxis reporting for duty, Your Highness."
"Whoa, that was easy," Rainbow whispered to Applejack.
Jak straightened himself. "Not that I'm complaining...but what makes you believe us?"
"Before my father, the Baron, staged his coup, I acted as your bodyguard under your father, King Damas," Ashelin explained. "My apologies for not being there to protect you during the coup. My father arranged for me to be assigned elsewhere at the time so I didn't end up dead. Torn then convinced me to act as a deep cover agent."
Daxter grinned widely. "Be sure to let Torn know who saved you next time you get a message to him."
"We aren't saved yet," Ashelin pointed out as several more Metal Heads converged on the location.
"Close your eyes!" Twilight barked out.
Without waiting to see if anyone responded, she closed her own and set off a blazing cascade of rainbow light. Many of the Metal Heads tumbled down the cliffs they were standing atop, and those that didn't were left easy pickings.
Everyone had covered their eyes when Twilight barked out her order, and they opened fire as soon as the light faded, Pinkie cackling as she used her Eco Party Cannon to blast Red Eco charges at the Metal Heads while Ben grabbed one of the larger ones and tore it in half with his bare hands.
"Sheesh, I think I got something in my eyes there." Daxter groaned as he rubbed his eyeballs.
Ashelin smirked. "Tell Torn the Baron's up to something big...and I think it has something to do with the Seal of the House of Mar. We're being sent out on suicide missions to locate artifacts from the time of his rule."
Before she took off, Ashelin tossed Jak her access security pass to the Bazaar and told the gang to seek out Onin the Soothsayer there.
"What a woman!" Daxter shouted out, letting out a playful growl.
"You realize she's technically my old babysitter, right?" Jak pointed out.
"She can sit me anytime!" Daxter countered, rubbing his paws together eagerly.
"Ugh, you're hopeless..." Twilight sighed with a roll of her eyes.
Following directions in the nearest vehicle's nav unit, they were able to find the Bazaar without trouble.
Onin herself was ancient and wizened, sitting in the center of her hut surrounded by hanging dead creatures. The most noticeable thing about her was her oversized hat, which looked not unlike a birdbath.
ear to the entrance, an orange, yellow, and blue bird-monkey-thing hung by its tail, apparently as dead as everything around it.
"Oh my, I've never seen a creature like this before," Fluttershy said with quiet excitement as she inspected the monkey-faced bird.
Suddenly, the creature's eyes opened, dropping from his perch and flying over to rest in the bird-bath-like hat Onin was wearing.
"I...am Pecker!" he proclaimed proudly, only to notice everyone except Fluttershy snickering and rolling his eyes. "Yes, yes, I know. My mother, she was...very vindictive. I am Onin's interpreter."
As he finished speaking, Onin opened her solid white eyes before bringing her hands together, Blue Eco sparking from her palms as she rubbed them together. She then began to make signs in the air with her hands.
"Onin welcomes you," Pecker translated, "blah blah blah, the usual boring salutations, she says it is good to see you again, Jak."
"But we've never met before." Jak began before catching himself. "Let me guess...she's met my younger self?"
"To a soothsayer, that question doesn't have much grounds. She doesn't really distinguish." Pecker explained.
"Oh! Let me have a try!" Daxter piped up. "Uh, she wants a, she wants a yakow bone! A yakow bladder? No, no! I got it! For many moons... she has... waited for... a juice pop? A jewel shop? Oh! Oh! I know, she's got a hairball?! A hair lip? A hairy chest?"
"Close... but no!" Pecker replied. "Onin says you seek answers about the Tomb of Mar."
"So what do we need to know?" Ben asked.
Light shaped in front of Onin in the shape of the Seal of Mar, two hawkeye symbols pressed together in an oval. Twilight let out a fascinated coo as she inspected the symbol closer.
"She's going on and on about mystical energy channels, evil curses, stupid "wooh" crap." Pecker said.
"Uh, can you shorten this please?" Rainbow said in a bored tone.
"There are three artifacts in the Precursor Mountain Temple that Onin wants you to retrieve," Pecker explained. "Not two, not four, but three."
"So five is right out?" Daxter joked.
"Hilarious," Pecker grated out in an irritated monotone. "The Warp Gate at the northwest side of the city will take you there. In the meantime, get out! It's time for my siesta!"
"Oh, do you think you could tell me more about you later?" Fluttershy asked Pecker in an earnest tone."
"Maybe later, dear. But for right now, I request my peace and quiet!"
The Forest Temple was a massive structure high up in the mountains, filled with floating platforms, twisting passages, and monkey-like Metal Heads. As the gang passed by a waterfall, Jak felt himself relaxing.
"Feels like old times. Like...the Forbidden Jungle..." He muttered.
"Yeah...brings back memories," Ben said with a small smile.
"Actually, these platforms look a bit like the things from Gol and Maia's Citadel," Twilight pointed out.
"Think it might actually be their place?" Applejack asked.
Before anyone could answer, a rhino Metal Head bashed through a stone wall to attack them. While it was large and heavy, it was also slow and had a habit of rearing up when it missed, exposing an unarmored underbelly, rendering it easy to kill.
"I think we should do less woolgathering and more relic gathering," Jak suggested.
The group carefully clambered their way to the top of the mountainous area to reach where the first relic was placed, this one shaped like a lens. With careful application of brute force and Twilight and Rarity's magic, they were able to get it out without anyone getting hurt, since Applejack had the sense to prevent Daxter from stepping into the intense beam of light focused beneath the lens, which would have cooked him.
The second relic could be seen from the location of the first, but there wasn't a direct way to it. The gear was situated inside a rotating device of some sort on another platform, near enough to see but just out of reach from the platform the group was on.
"I'll get it!" Rainbow said as she flew onto the platform and snatched the gear in question as she passed under the rotating device...which unfortunately collapsed behind her. "My bad!"
"Oh, Rainbow..." Twilight groaned as she facepalmed.
"Don't worry! No one will ever know we were here!" Daxter said unconvincingly.
The path to the final relic, however, passed over a pool of Dark Eco.
"Okay. Now I'm definitely certain this is part of Gol and Maia's Citadel!" Daxter said. "Are we certain this is a good idea at this point?"
"They were on our side at the end," Ben pointed out as they reached the final relic, a floating shard of crystal that was oddly enshrined. When collected, it was discovered that it was constantly humming and vibrating.
"Sheesh, that baby's got some vibration!" Eddy noted. "I bet it'll make some ladies REALLY happy."
"Eddy..." Double-D groaned in disgust.
"I can't believe you actually did this thing," Pecker said over the radio. "Onin says she will search the timelines for answers about these sacred relics. I will find you here.
"Whelp, no use staying here!" Hilda said as the gang headed back to town.
I know I promised Tess in the last chapter but I miscalculated, sorry. Oh well, at least we got Vin, Ashelin, Onin, and Pecker introduced.