Jak and Daxter: Children of Eco

by Blackdrag-rose


Renegade: First Tasks

Torn had an eager look on his face as he guided Jak, Daxter, Pinkie, and Raven back to the hideout, which was understandable considering that the group had retrieved the flag as he ordered and had broken the tower at the same time. Pinkie would have suspected that the man would have been annoyed about the destruction of the old tower, as it meant that he needed some other test for potential new recruits, but he didn't seem phased by that fact at all. As they made their way through the city district they were in Pinkie noticed that the water systems seemed to be offline at the moment, as there was no water coming through any of the pipes that were above ground... making her wonder if something had happened to the man pump.

None of them talked as they crossed the distance between Dead Town and the hideout, though once they had arrived at their destination, and entered the secret entrance, Raven decided to address something that he had thought about during the ride.

"You put the banner at the top of the tower, didn't you?" Raven asked, while at the same time Torn moved behind the desk that was in the middle of the room as Jak and Pinkie stood on the opposite side of the table, "I only inquire because it seems doubtful that the Baron would care about that ruined section of the city... otherwise he would have made an attempt to remain it by now."

"Considering what you did earlier, I'm not surprised that you figured out my little secret." Torn replied, rubbing his neck for a second, which was where Raven could have cut him earlier, "The four of you were the first ones to run that particular test, though now that the tower has been destroyed I'll have to come up with a new test for whoever else comes asking in the future. However, since you have proven how capable you are, there are a few tasks you four can do to further our goals."

"Really?" Jak said, to which he actually smiled for a few seconds, telling everyone that he was already imagining the damage they could do to the Baron's forces, "What sort of tasks do you have in mind?"

Before Torn could say anything Daxter proclaimed that being a hero made people thirsty, to which he walked over to a pipe and pulled the lever, where he received a swift wave of gunk that made him switch it off and spit everything out before glaring back at Torn, as if he blamed the man for not saying anything.

"That actually brings up the first task I have for the lot of you," Torn stated, to which he placed a finger on the map so the group would know where to go once he was finished talking, "The Baron's turned off all water to the Slums, since he's somehow figured out that we're based in this district of the city. He's willing to sacrifice innocent lives, just to stop us."

"And where is the valve that would turn the water back on?" Daxter inquired, his mood ruined by what he had nearly consumed from the pipe, though that didn't stop the rest of his group shaking their heads at him.

"My friend in the Guard tells me that the valve to turn the water back on is located outside the city, at the pumping station." Torn replied, which was when Jak noticed the exact location he had been pointing to was where the valve was located, "There's a large drain pipe in the north wall, which will allow you to reach the pumping station... though you'll need this passkey to go outside the Eco Dome."

"This friend of yours," Jak commented, accepting the passkey that was in Torn's hand as Daxter climbed back onto his shoulder, "are you sure that they can be trusted?"

"Yes, I'm sure she can be trusted," Torn replied, though his tone indicated that he couldn't fault Jak for asking that question, especially when the Baron already knew the district that the Underground was hiding in, "When all of you come back, after turning the pipe that is, I should have another task for you to do... one that will really test your skills."

"We'll be back soon," Jak said, to which he and Pinkie, along with their ottsels, left the hideout and climbed into the zoomer they had used to reach the location of the hideout.

A few moments later they started up the zoomer and were on their way towards the pumping station, all while wondering what dangers would await them at their new destination.


Despite the speed they were going they managed to reach the drain pipe in question without anything happening to them, where they discovered that the passkey worked as they crossed through the Eco Dome. When they walked into area that was called the pumping station they discovered a trio of Metal Heads standing in their way, which allowed Jak to have his first glance of the creatures that had made the Baron turn him into a Dark Eco Warrior. Pinkie recognized these Metal Heads as the variety that walked on four legs and used their front claws to attack them, but between her and Jak they were able to put the trio down with some ease. As the enemies died Jak noticed that the glowing gems in their foreheads were left behind, to which he collected them with the belief that he might find a use for them in the future.

Once the entrance of the pumping station was cleared of enemies they jumped on the platforms and went up to the upper area, where they took care of the green creatures that were walking around up there. They then jumped over to a natural ledge that was in their path before crossing to the next pipe that was hanging in front of them, where Raven pointed out that more enemies were on the cliff ahead of them. The red creatures from Dead Town were waiting for them when they climbed up to the cliff, though they were easy to deal with and soon Jak and Pinkie were moving across a rotating platform, where they discovered another walking Metal Head standing guard.

When that opponent was taken care of they jumped over a moving electric fence, took out the enemies that were in front of them, and rode up the moving pistons that allowed them to jump over to another cliff that brought them to the backside of the island. The creatures that apparently called the pumping station home constantly came at them, along with several Metal Heads, but thanks to Raven called out enemies that were coming from behind they weren't too distracted by their enemies. They jumped over several more gaps that were in their way, and avoided falling into the water in case there was something lurking beneath them, until they reached a ramp that brought them to the valve they had been searching for.

As they approached the valve, and made sure that there weren't additional enemies in the area, Daxter hopped off Jak's shoulder and walked up to the objective that Torn had given them.

"Ah, the valve," Daxter said, a grin appearing on his face as he separated himself from the group for a moment, while at the same time he rubbed his hands together, "Allow me."

Unfortunately when Daxter tried to turn the valve he found that he was unable to do so, no matter how many times he tried, though when Jak hit the valve with his fist it started spinning... as well as opening the suction pipe that Daxter was under, which sucked him into the pipe and send him all over the island. It took Jak and Pinkie some time to trace the pipe back to the entrance of the station, where they heard Daxter calling for help, to which Jak turned the second valve and loosed a stream of water for a few seconds... one that contained his friend.

"Next time Jak," Daxter groaned, gently picking himself up and shaking off the water that was clinging to his fur, while at the same time glaring at Raven and Pinkie, who were chuckling at his misfortune, "you turn the valve."

With the task complete, and they were sure that the water was running back into the city, the group returned to the pipe they had passed through and reentered the city, where they found that their zoomer was still sitting nearby and started the journey back to the hideout so they could tell Torn the good news.


When they returned to the hideout, and made sure that the Krimzon Guards had no idea that they had slipped into the alleyway, they found Torn walking around the table with a smile on his face.

"The water is running again in the Slums," Torn confirmed, noticing the looks that the group was giving him, but they all smiled a bit in return, "I'd love to see the heads roll when the Baron finds out."

"What about that other task you mentioned earlier?" Jak inquired, though he could only smile when he thought about the additional damage they could case, "Is it one that will upset the Baron more than turning the water back on?"

"Indeed it will," Torn said, to which he beckoned them to the map on the table and pointed at a large red square, which reminded Jak of the building he had been held in for the last two years, "We've identified an ammo dump in the Fortress, and I'd like the four of you to take care of it."

"Oh, then this will be fun," Jak replied, to which he cracked his knuckles as he made his way out of the hideout, while Daxter jumped onto his shoulder and Pinkie followed behind him.

This time Jak and Pinkie decided to fly close to the Fortress and then park outside the area around it, where they carefully made their way around to the main entrance of the building and passed by the guards, who ignored them completely. When they walked into the building they noticed that a large tank was sitting in the middle of the room that had walked into, one that Pinkie was sure she had never seen before. They carefully observed their surroundings before noticing that the only way forward was through the passage on the left of the main entrance, though all four of them agreed that the tank was associated with the opening.

As they passed through the opening the tank became active and came at them, to which both Daxter and Raven turned themselves around so they could tell Jak and Pinkie where the tank was aiming. As the tank shot at them, and missed thanks to the efforts of the ottsels, it also smashed through every security wall that had been installed along the path that they had to follow. The turrets that were set along the path were easy to avoid, especially when a few stray shots from the tank actually destroyed two of them in the process, though that was before Jak and Pinkie reached a box with a pole sticking out above it... where they moved out of the tanks reach for the moment.

They took a few seconds to catch their breath before jumping onto some rotating platforms and smashing the blowing blue bulbs that were in the middle of the platforms, which opened the way forward so they could get away from the tank for real.

Once they had managed to separate themselves from the tank they carefully made their way across a number of moving platforms and took out the Krimzon Guards that happened to be in their way. They continued to carefully make their way through the Fortress, jumping from the platforms to the walkways until they encountered more guards, where they repeated the process until they came to a grate that they smashed through. After breaking through the grate they jumped up several more crates until they came to a door, one that lead them to a room that had several barrels of Eco sitting around the entrance... one that had a surprise waiting for them.

"Cool! That's a security pass." Daxter said, looking at the coloration of it for a moment as Jak picked it up, where he discovered that it was a red one, "We need those to get through city checkpoints."

Jak seemed like he wanted to say something about the security pass, about how one happened to be laying out in the open, but then he heard something in the grate that was in front of them, to which he signaled for everyone to be silent as they laid down to see what was happening on the level below them. There they found a pair of Krimzon Guards standing in front of a pair of Metal Heads, though to the right of the guards was a pile of Eco barrels, while behind the Metal Heads was an open pipe that had to lead outside the city.

"These barrels are the latest shipment of Eco." one of the Krimzon Guards said, his gaze seemingly locked on the Metal Head that was apparently the leader of the group, "The Baron says take them and get out!"

As the Metal Head growled the guards shifted their guns to face them, as if making sure that they took the Eco that was being given to them and got out without causing a panic. As Jak questioned why Metal Heads were in the city, and the guards happened to be giving them Eco, Pinkie found it hard to believe that the Baron could be betraying the people of Haven City like this. She had thought that the Baron was trying to stop the Metal Heads, but right now the first piece of evidence was pointing a finger at the exact opposite of what she had originally been thinking.

Before she and Jak could talk about what they were seeing, and try to understand what was happening beneath them, they heard a sound as another tank became active, to which they moved towards the massive ammunition pile that was in the room. Jak and Pinkie separated, forcing the tank to target one of them at a time, to which they maneuvered themselves around the area and forced the tank to obliterate the pieces of the cooling system that was keeping the ammunition stable. Once the four pieces of the cooling system were taken care of the door on the opposite side of the room opened, to which the four of them charged out of the building... where they barely made it out before the ammunition detonated and exploded.

When they landed on the ground, and recovered from the shock of the explosion, Daxter announced that Haven City had too much excitement and that they needed to head someplace similar to Sandover Village. As the group made their way away from the Fortress, and relaxed from what had just happened, Pinkie controlled her confusion as she wondered what the Baron was doing by giving Eco to the Metal Heads... though she had the feeling that she wasn't going to like any answers that she might uncover.