As the months rolled by, Shining Armor pushed himself hard, trying to get back to his old skill and ability levels. While his body recovered readily enough, he had a year and a half of atrophy to overcome, and whoever had held him had apparently taken his Eco jump boots. He was going to have to figure out a way to work around that later. Still, it wasn't long before he was able to move about on his own without difficulty, and was once again working to tone his body.
His magic was another story. Due to the Dark Eco toxicity lingering in his body, he was no longer able to generate magical fields at the same strength as before. While he could perform the same short range teleport he used to get to the rafters, experimentation led to the discovery that he couldn't use it to just go anywhere. If he tried to lock onto specific spatial coordinates related to him, the magic would grow in his horn, the Dark Eco in his veins would surge in response, and he'd end up doubled over. If, however, he locked onto Daxter - or Misha, or anyone else he'd been introduced to and gotten to know well - he had no trouble weaving the teleportation spell to get to them, no matter how far away they were, as long as he could see them clearly and identify them.
Shield spells were also more difficult. His original spherical shield was no longer available, as trying to put that much magic through his horn triggered the Dark Eco reaction. The same was true of a dome shield that stopped at ground level. Spot shields crafted at specific points around him weren't too difficult, as long as they were no larger than a standard buckler and he conjured no more than two at a time, and they were within five feet of him.
His telekinesis had grown easier with time, and he could now grip three objects in his magical aura at a time. Given the violent nature of the environment, Shining had decided to focus on weapons. In addition to two Red Eco blades - ordinary metal swords equipped with Red Eco mods that surrounded the blade with energy that let it sheer through just about anything if they were swung hard enough - Daxter had gotten Shining a Morph Gun with a Red Mod, the Scatter Gun variant. While it was effective at dealing damage, Shining had trouble holding onto it due to the recoil. He hoped he'd be able to get a Yellow Mod. The Blaster mode for long range looked to be more controllable with a magic grip.
Unfortunately, funds were tight. Daxter had sprung the tail end of their Precursor Orbs for one last piece of equipment for Shining: a set of saddle mounted Eco Rocket launchers. The connected headset would let him lock onto targets with eye blinks, and he could fire the rockets by depressing a button on the bottom of the saddle strap under his belly, whether with magic, hoof, or by falling flat to the ground. He didn't use it too much, as reloading the rockets was a great deal more expensive than reloading the Scatter Gun.
The local shooting gallery provided a good place for Shining to train with both guns and blades, especially since the membership Daxter had bought him not only included replacement ammo but also included credit prizes for setting records or performing various impressive feats. This made it ideal for practice, as he not only trained up to combat readiness but could earn food money in the process.
Meanwhile, Daxter kept his ears open for any details regarding Jak, Keira, or Samos. Unfortunately, at the current time, no sign of any of them could be found. Jak, presumably, was still in lockup, beyond Daxter or Shining's reach. Samos and Keira had vanished when the Rift Rider - Daxter's name for the vehicle they'd ridden into the gate - had exploded mid travel. On top of that, the Guard were on the lookout for Daxter for some reason, so he had to be very discreet.
It was towards the end of the sixth month Shining had been active - the end of the second year in Haven City, according to Daxter - that the little ottsel had good news. "Shining!" he called, rushing into the apartment they'd gotten for themselves once the unicorn had fully recovered. "I've found Jak!"
"You have?" Shining asked eagerly. "Where is he?"
"Locked up in the palace somewhere," Daxter replied. "That's where they're performing the Dark Eco infusion experiments. He's still undergoing it!"
"But how are we supposed to find him?" Shining demanded angrily. "Or even get into the palace?"
"Already taken care of it!" Daxter replied. "I have a cunning plan!"
"And now I'm worried," Shining quipped. "Let's hear it."
"Well, you know that exterminator's job I got? Well, I've made a few contacts through that which will get me into the palace so I can sneak around, swipe some blueprints, and find where Jak is locked up!" Daxter preened proudly. "All in a day's work for a hero like me."
"And how does that get me in?" Shining asked grumpily. "I don't have that job, and I'm rather distinctive. If I try to walk in there, they'll recognize me for sure."
"That's where the cunning part comes in!" Daxter replied, putting on a headset. "Open your communications channel."
Confused, Shining nodded. Blinking his eyes, his headset opened a communications channel. A tiny window appeared on his viewscreen, and he found himself looking at...himself. "Eh?"
"My headset's sending a transmission of what I'm seeing to your headset," Daxter explained. "I want to test something." Turning, he walked into the bathroom, out of Shining's sight. In the little window, Shining tracked Daxter's movements from his perspective, crawling up the wall to leap onto the sink, before staring at his own reflection in the mirror. "Try teleporting to me now!" he called out.
"But I can't see-" Shining paused, staring at the tiny window and the distinct image of Daxter. He began to see the ottsel's plan. If it worked...
A flash of light later, and Shining appeared in the sink. "...if I weren't stuck, I'd be very unsteady right now," he explained as he carefully extracted himself.
"But it worked!" Daxter proclaimed. "I can act as a lock on point for you anywhere, as long as my comms signal can reach you with video!"
"Might want to save it for infiltration, though," Shining grunted, his face a little green. "It took more magic than normal. The...the Dark Eco reacted a bit."
"Right," Daxter replied, helping Shining back to the floor. "I'll make sure I'm somewhere safe before I send the signal."
Shining nodded, then grinned. "But we have a plan..."