The trio quickly made their way out of the palace. The Guard were conspicuously absent, giving them a clear run out. Once outside, they made their way to a back alley where they could talk unobserved. "Now what?" Daxter asked. "We got a good deal of information out of that...but what can we actually do with it? And what was the point of it, anyway? Keira's probably already got all that information!"
"That was the point," Jak explained. "It's part of Keira's plan...even Praxus catching us. He needs to know we know, but not realize that was the point of it."
Daxter stared up at his old friend. "...does that make any sense to you at all?"
"Nope," Jak replied. "But I trust Keira."
"Praxus' actions are a direct result of what he knows and what he can assume," Shining spoke up. "I think your choice to not fight him influenced events a great deal more than Keira expected. We can't go back to her right away though."
"Why is that so important?" Daxter demanded.
"Even in this day and age, the power of the Precursors is known and legend," Shining explained. "And Praxus now knows that they're weighing in on this conflict...on Jak's side."
Jak and Daxter both fell silent as they thought about that. "...we need to get that information to Keira as soon as possible-"
"Already got it," Keira's voice spoke up from their communicators. "Once I knew you three were back, it was easy enough to lock onto your comm signal. For now, you should report to Torn to move forward the Underground's agenda. And don't worry, Jak, you've actually moved up my schedule. The more Praxus needs you on his side, the easier it'll be to carry this out."
"Right," Jak agreed, glad to have Keira once more looking over his shoulder in terms of adventuring. It felt just a little bit more like old times.
As they arrived at the Underground, they found Kor, Ar-Mar, and Mar waiting for them. Torn looked livid. "The whole city's on high alert!" he proclaimed angrily. "What did you do?"
Jak decided it was about time Torn got a good idea of who was really in charge here. "We climbed up the palace, tripped a few alarms, had an interesting talk with the Baron."
"What?" Torn demanded. "I didn't authorize a strike on the Baron-"
"It wasn't a strike," Jak replied firmly. "Not a single shot fired from either side."
"Just who do you think you are to go over my head like that?" Torn demanded angrily, slamming his fists down on the table.
"Ask Ashelin," Jak stated bluntly. "Tell her you're authorized to know. In the meantime, you might like to know a bit about the Baron's double dealing...with the leader of the Metalheads."
"Double dealing?" Kor asked curiously. "Whatever do you mean?"
"The entire act of bribing is a ploy to buy time for some sort of super weapon!" Daxter barked out eagerly. "No idea what sort, but that's certainly of interest, right?"
Torn and Jak were still glaring each other down. Finally, Torn looked away. "Well, since you stirred this up, you get to move four of our agents to new safe houses-"
"Done," Jak replied. "Just tell us where they are and where to take them."
Torn continued to glower - much to Mar and Ar-Mar's amusement - but handed over the information.
In order to make the job go faster to maximize the safety of the agents, Jak, Shining, and Daxter each took their own vehicles to get the agents to the specified safe locations. Jak proved to be the fastest, and delivered the fourth agent to the designated safe house. With the three of them moving about at once, the Crimson Guard were forced to divide their forces, and weren't able to effectively deter any of them.
With all four agents safely moved, they returned to the Underground HQ for another mission. When they got there, Torn was alone...and he looked up at them with a good deal more respect than before, and almost a hint of deference. "Scouts report activity in Dead Town," he stated calmly. "Creatures moving towards the sacred site. Just like...before."
"What happened...before?" Daxter asked.
"Metalheads broke through the city wall," Torn explained. "We fought them, but then the Baron pulled us back...leaving everyone outside the range of the Eco Shield to die. Only the Shadow stayed...and somehow stopped the attack."
"And now you want us to protect the sacred site from the Metalheads?" Jak asked.
"If you're up to it," Torn replied easily. "It's up to you, though...isn't it?"
Shining smirked. "Ashelin talked to you, did she?"
"Yes," Torn replied. "But the Shadow would be...most appreciative if you did what you could. He might even ask to see you."
The trio glanced at each other. "We'll do it," Jak finally stated.
"Here," Torn replied, sliding two Vulcan barrels - modifications for their Morph Guns, using Blue Eco for a new type of blast - across to them. "Don't want you getting wasted out there."
Nodding, Jak turned to lead the way to Dead Town.
Once outside the city proper, the trio made their way to Dead Town, blasting their way through several different types of Metalheads they'd encountered before. As expected of a place called Dead Town, the terrain was inhospitable. Ruined buildings, swamps replacing roads, only brief spots of dry ground to jump between. Here and there, a plant attempted to grow, giving a sign of the life that might once have thrived there. It was overall a depressing place.
The new Vulcan Fury mode for the Morph Guns proved most effective for a great many of the Metalheads they encountered, inflicting a great deal of damage rapidly.
The Sacred Site, however, was far too easy for them to recognize. It was the ruined remnants of Samos' hut. The trio stood, staring at it. What Praxus had said about Gol and Maia's journals had told them they were in the distant future relative to their memory of Sandover...but it was one thing to know intellectually. Seeing the place they'd grown up in in ruins...hit them at an emotional level.
They couldn't deny it anymore. This was what their world became...