After returning through the warp gate to the power station, the group dispersed to avoid drawing attention to themselves. Samos dragged his younger self off in one direction with young Ar-Mar, while Jak, Shining, and Daxter escorted Tess back to the salon. Jak and Shining both did their best to ignore how Tess was fawning over Daxter, making mental notes to tease him mercilessly about it later.
When they got there, they were relieved to find out that Krew was sleeping, meaning Tess could slip back into place as though nothing had happened. Sig was also there, but he seemed to have no interest in spilling the beans of Tess' situation to Krew. He had his own concerns.
"You boys are alright," Sig praised as they sat quietly in a corner. "And since the boss is out of it right now, I'm gonna give it to ya straight. I've been Krew's heavy for years, and I've done some things I'm not proud of. But this time, I think Krew's gotten himself, and us, into something really nasty. I'm thinking of getting out."
As Daxter started to get a little too excited, Krew woke up with yet another mission for Jak and his group, involving escorting some of his men through the sewers to investigate another possible secret the statue might hold.
Jak and Daxter happily moved to vacate the location as soon as possible. Shining, however, had one particular question for Sig in private, just to see if certain thoughts he'd been going over had any truth to them. "So, Sig," he asked casually, "how long after Praxus' coup did you come to work for Krew?"
He saw what he was looking for. Sig visibly hesitated as he lifted his glass to his lips. "Why do you ask about that date, specifically?" he wondered mildly, his other hand gripping his weapon under the table.
Shining's grin split his face. "Just wondering if any other Wastelanders you've met know any unicorns," he replied mildly before turning to leave. "Just a matter of interest."
He didn't let out the breath he was holding until he was out of the salon with no shots coming after him. He'd got what he wanted.
Damas was alive...somewhere. And Sig was his agent.
Thankfully, Jak had rode an elevator up from the area of the sewers the statue was in, and was available for Shining to go down with him, along with Krew's three demolition boys. They started to mouth off, plainly expecting to just do their own thing however they wanted regardless of what Jak and Shining tried to do. Jak established right out front that he would have none of it.
"Stay behind us," he ordered bluntly. "Stay together. Don't go wandering. If you see a Metalhead, get close to us so we can keep you alive." He primed his blaster before pointing it straight at the three. "Endanger the mission, and I'll shoot you myself."
"But...But Krew said you had to bring us back alive!" one of them complained.
Jak lowered his aim, making the group pale further. "I never said my shot would be lethal."
Once everyone understood each other, Jak led the way in. There was a new type of Metalhead - one shaped like a spider with a laser weapon - but it went down quickly to concentrated fire from Jak and Shining. Occasionally, the Metalheads tried to get them in a pincer attack by crawling over the walls and ceiling to behind the group, but they handled that by having Shining shift to guarding the rear.
At one point, they wound up surrounded in a large room as a full swarm of Metalheads covered the ceiling, but Shining grinned. Switching the payloads of his missile launchers to Blue Eco, he fired to specific locations within the swarm. When the missiles exploded, they released an electrical cloud that zapped all surrounding Metalheads into non-functionality.
"Worth every credit," Shining proclaimed, quite pleased with himself as the swarms numbers dropped from hundreds to 12. Jak easily dealt with the remaining while Shining waited for the launchers to cool down.
It wasn't long after that before the group reached the Statue of Mar. Before Jak or Shining could stop them, the three demolition boys had carried out their orders and demolished the statue...recovering a gem they called the 'Heart of Mar'.
The destruction they'd unwittingly participated in didn't sit well with any of the group...and their 'reward' of a Peacemaker Dark Eco modification for their Morph Guns didn't mitigate it all that much. Imagining what those mods could do to Krew helped a little.
Deciding to relax after that last mission, the group stopped by the garage to check in with Keira. However, when they got there, they only found Erol waiting for them. "Well...if it isn't the Dark Eco Freak," he snarled at Jak.
"Where's Keira?" Jak asked calmly.
"Don't worry," Erol replied, an oily tone to his voice. "I'm keeping a close eye on her."
Why do you think I'm worried? Jak grumbled silently to himself.
"You're the talk of the town, Jak," Erol continued, circling him. "You give the people hope. How pathetic. I would have enjoyed killing you in prison."
"I'd have enjoyed watching you try," Jak murmured, lifting one hand and letting it briefly shift to Dark form, seeming to admire the claws.
"It would be wise not to threaten a Captain of the Crimson Guard," Erol chided, though Shining could smell the fear pouring off of him. "Besides, it will be so much more satisfying to take you on the track, in front of the entire city! I can hear the roar of the crowd now...as everyone sees their hope die!"
Jak smirked softly. "I'm sure that would have been intimidating if you were at all...well...intimidating. But all I'm hearing is a spoiled lap dog pretending to be a fight dog, barking because some other dog got his favorite bone."
Erol lunged, reaching for his weapon, only to find an Eco Blade at his throat.
Jak grinned as he channeled his own Eco Energy along the blade. "Now be a good mutt and go back to widdling on Daddy's shoes."
Growling deep in his throat, Erol pulled back. "You won't be so confident on the track!" he proclaimed angrily as he stormed out.
As he left, Keira came in through another entrance, alongside Samos. "It's good to have you back, Daddy," she said happily, smiling down at him.
"Yes," Samos agreed, smiling back. "It's good to be free-" He froze as he saw Jak. "Jak! What are you doing with that sword?"
Jak chuckled. "Erol and I had a...disagreement. I put him in his place. It was rather...cathartic."
"He's still in one piece, right?" Keira asked worriedly. "There's pretty strict regulations about racers sabotaging each other before the races, and-"
"Don't worry," Daxter hastened to reassure her. "The only thing damaged was his pride."
"And possibly his undergarments!" Shining added jokingly.
Laughing, Jak headed out to win the Class 2 race, pausing long enough to exchange a chaste kiss with Keira.
"Now remember what we talked about," Samos warned chidingly.
"Please don't remind me," Keira groaned, refusing to meet Daxter or Shining's curious gaze.