Jak and Pinkie were allowed an hour of relaxation in the Naughty Ottsel, listening to Torn give orders to specific members of the Freedom League, though they were pleased to hear that neither of them, nor Daxter and Raven, were even required at the moment. They had to rest from their efforts to stop the assault from the KG robots and the Metal Heads, though since they had burned through a good portion of their energy they had to replenish their stores before they departed from the building. When they started to leave the building, however, Jak did ask Torn if there was anything else they could do be they left, to which Torn simply told them to get going on the other end of their plans... to which jak and Pinkie climbed onto the transport that was in the port and headed back to the Wasteland.
It took them an hour or two to reach the Wasteland, where the transport landed some distance away from where the main gate of Spargus was located, to which they approached the gate and walked through it... where they found Sig tending to one of the buggies, before he turned to them the moment he heard them coming.
"Another storm is really churning the sand! Scanners show a few new artifact sightings." Sig commented, while at the same time indirectly telling them that they actually had a new mission they could do, "You two up for some rough riding?"
"Of course." Jak replied, though while he stood beside the Sand Shark, however, Pinkie stood on the opposite side of him, indicating that she was ready as well, "We can race with the best of them."
"Good. Take the Sand Shark and bring us back some booty." Sig stated, though at the same time the gate opened and revealed that they had beaten the storm, because it was starting to appear around Spargus now, "You know the drill; get to the artifacts first and they're yours to claim, Wastelander rights! Go get them!"
Jak nodded and gunned the engine, to which the Sand Shark burst out of the garage and he immediately followed the path that was in front of him, allowing Pinkie to fire on the enemies that tried to hurt them, where she used the newer mods they had acquired to launch grenades into the air. Jak had to wonder what else Pinkie had put into the Red Eco Plasmite grenades, because their explosions were much stronger than what they had seen back in Haven when they tested the new mod out. The detonations caused one vehicle's wheel to explode and cause the rider to accidentally drive into one of his friends, taking both of them out as Jak followed the path and gunned down whoever was in front of him.
He once again counted his blessings that these buggies came equipped with a device that detected where the artifacts were located, allowing them to maneuver around the area they were lead to before circling back to Spargus... though at the very end of the trek, however, they discovered a unique artifact, which was a cube of some sort.
"I'm sure that Keira will recognize this artifact if we send her message describing it," Pinkie commented, though when Jak nodded his head Pinkie opened up the communicator and sent a brief message to Keira, where they got a reply before they even passed through the gates of Spargus.
"Jak, Pinkie, you guys found the Holo Cube!" Keira told them, to which Jak and Pinkie grinned as they parked the buggy, though the fact that the artifact was a named one told them that it was definitely important, "That's one of the items we need for the forest, good work! Keep looking for the other four artifacts."
The siblings climbed out of the Sand Shark and made their way towards the metal gate that separated the garage from Spargus, but before they reached the gate, however, their communicator sprung back to life and floated around them, indicating that there was someone else that wanted to chat with them. The signature indicated that it was Sig who wanted a word with them, to which they held off on heading into the city and waited to see what Sig wanted to tell them.
"Jak, this is Sig." came Sig's voice, though both Jak and Pinkie heard an eager tone behind their friend's voice, "I heard that you and Pinkie were in the market for Eco Crystals. I know where one is, but it won't be a cakewalk. In other words, we got some serious Metal Head hunting to do. I'll meet you in the Metal Head desert nest. I'm counting on you."
Jak and Pinkie glanced at each other for a few seconds, as if they were debating what to do, but instead of heading out into the Wasteland, and taking all of the artifacts they had recovered with them, he decided to take them all to his father and see what he had to say about the Holo Cube. As it turned out Damas had heard of the ancient stories that Samos had told them about, those that revealed the pillars they discovered in the forest and the five artifacts necessary to awaken whatever secrets it held. Damas was more than happy to let Jak and Pinkie hold onto the Holo Cube, especially since he told them that they were likely going to come across the other four on their own anyway, to which Jak thanked his father before he and Pinkie returned to the garage.
Once they were back in the garage they climbed into the Sand Shark again and headed out into the Wasteland, where they made their way to the ruined city that was sitting near the Metal Head hive... where they found Sig sitting on his buggy, waiting for them to arrive.
"There you are." Sig commented, though at the same time Jak brought the Sand Shark to a stop, where he and Pinkie climbed onto the larger buggy that Sig had brought, "I was beginning to think you'd chickened out."
"We received your transmission as we finished gathering the artifacts," Pinkie explained, though as she spoke Jak powered up the buggy and made sure that everything was working like the last time he had used this particular model, "besides, we took the artifacts to Damas and he's very pleased about what we brought him."
"Anyway, I saw an Eco Crystal in this place and it's yours if you want it." Sig said, though that was when he smiled, as if he remembered something as he glanced at the entire group, "Trouble is, Metal Heads have been spotted here en masse. But we wouldn't want those nasty boys to just move back in here without a welcoming party, would we? Let's go give 'em a big surprise!"
Jak maneuvered the buggy through the tunnel that was in front of them, crushing the small bug like enemies under the wheels, before they returned to the main cavern that they had been in when Damas sent them to clear the place out. It turned out that their enemies this time around were the large Metal-pedes that they had encountered in the Underport when they were searching for Sig. As it turned out their opponents were equipped with lasers, as they fired a beam at them every couple of seconds, but the combined firepower of everyone on the buggy managed to bring the first one down in a minute. Jak then rode around the nest until a second one showed up, though this time around Raven had his fun as he transformed into his dragon form and crushed the Metal-pede... while at the same time causing Sig to gag a little when he started tearing apart the Metal Head and ate several of the pieces.
Jak and Pinkie assured Sig that Raven was on their side, despite the fact that he was a Metal Head, and spent the rest of their time in the nest rapidly explaining the Neo Metal Heads to their friend and that Raven was actually their leader... who could transform into his true form whenever he wanted, which Sig was still getting used to. Since they were busy explaining everything to Sig, however, Raven took the opportunity to slaughter every Metal Head that dared to challenge him, cutting down on the number of enemies that could threaten Spargus in the future while at the same time filling his stomach on the flesh of his enemies.
After some time Raven returned to them and shifted back into his ottsel form, to which he landed on the back of the buggy where Daxter was standing... though as the group departed from the nest, however, Raven handed Pinkie a Light Eco Crystal, something that he had picked up from the last Metal-pede he had torn apart.
"Yeah, baby! I love the smell of burnt Metal Head!" Sig said, though at the same time they exited the tunnel and returned to the ruined city, where Pinkie climbed out and grabbed the Sand Shark before following after them, "This is good practice for when the spit hits the fan. And trust me, it's coming."
"So, what was my father looking for in Haven City?" Jak asked, though even as he asked the question he already knew that one of the answers had to be him, but he was interested in hearing if there was anything else that his father might have asked Sig to search for.
"Obviously he was searching for you," Sig replied, not even caring if Damas might be annoyed with him, because he figured that at this point that mission was done with and buried in the past, "he also wanted me to keep an eye on Krew, the Baron, the Underground, and anything else that was unusual. Damas wanted to be sure that his old city wasn't falling apart and, if the Baron succeeded in tearing the place apart, he intended to swoop back in and stop him before something drastic happened. Unfortunately I was too busy fighting in the Underport, so I couldn't call in the reinforcements, but now its all about survival... and both of us have the feeling that you and Pinkie are the ones to bet on."
Jak was glad to hear that his father was putting so much faith in both his abilities and the abilities that Pinkie was demonstrating, especially if some of those abilities broke the rules of reality at times. With that knowledge tucked away Jak focused on the journey back to Spargus, where he considered asking Kleiver about any rare artifacts he might have encountered... to which he sighed and decided that it might not hurt to ask the man if he knew anything about what he was searching for.
When they returned to the garage, and Pinkie parked the Sand Shark in its designated location, the group approached Kleiver, who happened to be standing near one of the walls and was glaring at all of them, which caused Raven to growl at him for a moment.
"Kleiver, we need to find some very special Precursor artifacts, but I'm afraid that we're running out of time." Jak said, though at the same time he hoped that the man was quick enough to understand what he was saying.
"Wait a tic. I just traded a very rare artifact indeed, to a nice band of Metal Heads." Kleiver replied, though he acted like he had no idea what Jak was talking about for a few seconds, before deciding to give the group the information they wanted, "It was an ugly piece of hardware, looked like a dog's breakfast to me. But those toothers paid handsomely. They seemed nice enough. Good ivories they had, you know, if you dig fangs and claws. I bet if you crank up that donk, you and the offsider just might be able to catch 'em."
"I'll drive." Sig stated, to which Jak and Pinkie nodded, because he knew the Wasteland better than they did and likely knew a few locations they could search for the band of Metal Heads, "Jak, you get on the gun! Daxter, you should join him and point out where our enemies are. Pinkie... well, I have the feeling that you'll come up with something."
Once everyone was sitting down Sig took them outside the gates and started driving forward, though after a few seconds the large Metal Heads, like the ones that Raven had taken out to show Damas what he could do, moved into the area and started running near them as they fired grenades at them. Jak, controlling the gun, caused the grenades to blow apart while gunning down the enemies that were running along side them, while Daxter and Pinkie kept their eyes open for any additional opponents. After a minute or two a decent amount of flying Metal Heads, easily half the size of Raven's dragon form, flew into the air and prepared to fire at them... though the one thing they didn't think about was the fact that Raven was on the buggy.
Raven leapt into the air and transformed into his true form, to which he flew around the area and started attacking the flying Metal Heads, intending to keep them distracted while his friends hunted down the target that was holding the artifact they were after. Pinkie, seeing all of this happen, materialized her scythe and flashed through the air until she was on Raven's back, to which she used her new height to target the enemies that were the furthest away from Raven. Her first unfortunate enemy had one of its wings cut right off, causing it to dive towards the ground, before she put it out of its misery and flashed towards another target.
Thanks to the teamwork that the group displayed, between Sig's driving, Jak's skills with the gun, Daxter's ability to call out where their enemies were, Raven's dragon form, and Pinkie's unusual abilities, they were about to route every enemy they came across... and acquire the artifact they had been looking for, which looked like a bowl attached to something that resembled a small box.
"You got another item for the forest!" their communicator spoke up after they collected the artifact, though since the voice belonged to Pecker, however, Jak and Pinkie knew that he had been told to contact them at this time by Onin, "That is called a Quantum Reflector. What it does, I don't know, but Onin and Keira said you needed it."
Sig took them back to Spargus and dropped them off, indicating that he had more missions to do before he reported to Damas, to which Jak and Pinkie wished him well as he drove away from the garage... though they waited a few moments for Raven to land, and revert to his ottsel form, before they headed back into the city and made their way to Damas' chambers. There they found the king sitting on the steps in front of his throne, indicating that he was thinking about something, though he was pleased to see them return to him intact.
"Keeping people alive out here," Damas commented, waving a hand towards the window, indicating that he was talking about Spargus and its people, keeping them full of hope, it can be daunting."
"Dad, I'd say that you have made a good life out here." Jak replied, to which he sat down near his father, who actually seemed rather happy to hear that Jak approved of all the hard work he had put into making Spargus.
"You, too, must make a life, Jak." Damas said, as if he was remembering something from his past, back when he was still the king of Haven City, before he turned to both Jak and Pinkie, "I know that neither of you asked to be heroes, but even though that has been forced upon you, and you have risen to its call, it is up to you to take your destinies into your own hands. Look: sand cannot keep a shape by itself, but add water, and it becomes malleable. Fate can be such, if you add the right element..."
"Eco!" Jak, Pinkie, Daxter, and Raven exclaimed at the same time, causing all four of them to look at each other for a few seconds before they chuckled, though they could tell that Damas was pleased with them.
"Our minds really are alike." Damas stated, knowing that it made sense considering who Jak was, though he was pleased to find that Pinkie was the same way, even if she shared no connection with him, "Seem and his monks used to say that the world was coming to an end, but now Seem says that there is a way to survive what is coming our way. Despite what fate has thrown at you, all four of you have endured and survived to this day... and, believe it or not, the four of you are shaping up to be some of my greatest warriors yet."
"Don't worry, we won't let you, or Spargus, down!" Daxter declared, surprising his friends for a moment, because they weren't expecting him to actually say anything like that.
"That is good to hear, but there is something I wanted to tell all four of you," Damas said, to which he pulled out a device, one that apparently kept track of what the marauders were doing around the area that Damas controlled, "We've been having serious trouble with marauders lately, with them attacking everyone that tries to do anything outside the city. Our latest scans show that a large force of their warriors and vehicles are making their way towards our location as we speak, meaning that they are intending to lay siege to Spargus. Since they are so eager to attack us, without doing any real recon of their own, I'd say its only fair if we fight back when they arrive. Go, and make war your own!"
Jak and Pinkie grinned as they imagined the battle that was about to unfold before them, but even so they knew that this was the perfect time to show these marauders that they shouldn't mess with Spargus... by unleashing the dragon that their enemies knew nothing about.