//------------------------------// // Spargus: Dark Under Control // Story: Sons of Damas // by Tatsurou //------------------------------// As the trio entered the city, they found Seem waiting for them alongside a Leaper Lizard. "Damas delivered my message?" they asked calmly. "Yeah," Jak confirmed. "He told us about you, and what your order does." "Good," Seem agreed. "That Dark Eco Crystal in your possession is dangerous. I would prefer that it not fall into the wrong hands." "Pretty sure it's safe with us," Daxter pointed out, rubbing his bracers, only to accidentally release another burst of Light Eco. "Why do these things keep going off when I don't want them to?" "I understand that's a problem with many young males," Seem chided. "I personally think it's a lack of discipline." "Hey!" Daxter snapped back angrily as Shining burst into chuckles. "I still feel he's right," Jak added. "Perhaps the crystal is safe in your hands," Seem allowed. "But are you safe with it in your hands? With the darkness inside you, the crystal may make your other form harder to control." "Maybe," Jak allowed. "But I wouldn't feel right about letting it out of my sight, either." "I believe I have a solution," Seem offered. "Race my monks on Leaper Lizards. I will wager a Light Eco Crystal against your Dark one. If you win, the Light Crystal in your possession will balance the influence of the Dark. If you lose, I will have both under control. Either way, the problem is solved, and skill determines the outcome." Shining smirked widely. "Get ready to lose that Crystal, Seem. No one beats my brother in a race." "We shall see," Seem replied. The race course proved to be running from ring of light to ring of light throughout Spargus, a style of racing Jak was quite familiar with. Given the practice he'd had earlier in controlling a Leaper Lizard, he had no problems in easily keeping up with the three racing monks at first, and then pulling ahead of them towards the end of the race. Seem seemed moderately impressed. "Not bad, hero. The crystal is yours." They handed over a Light Eco crystal, pulsing with its energies. "The two types combine to form great energies." "So put them together if we want to blow something up," Shining noted, getting a giggle from Daxter. "This is no game!" Seem snapped angrily. Shining glanced to the side, momentarily certain he'd spotted a pink head of hair laughing about something. The sensation passed quickly.(1) "Be careful with those crystals," Seem chided. "And when you die, see to it they come back to us." "Don't count on us dying," Jak commented firmly. "Why such a grim outlook, anyway?" Daxter demanded. "Because of that!" Seem proclaimed, pointing into the sky where a bright pink star could be seen, nearly as large as the sun from their perspective. "The Day Star approaches, and every day it grows brighter! This planet's final trial is coming." Shining nodded. "So we should-" "If you say 'blow up the Day Star', you will regret it," Seem snapped. "They know us too well!" Daxter whispered conspiratorially to Shining. After resting for a time, the group wandered around Spargus until eventually finding their way back to the buggies. Kleiver was waiting for them there. "You guys looking for a bit of action?" he asked, somewhat cordially. "What makes you say that?" Jak asked curiously. "Word on the street is you lot like blowing things up," Kleiver replied. "Can't deny that," Shining confirmed. "The scope shows a group of Metalheads moving through the desert not too far from here," Kleiver explained. "Give us a buggy with guns, and we'll bring you their heads!" Daxter replied readily. "Nah, no value in their heads," Kleiver countered. "Just their skull gems, but you can keep those. Say...you three ever seen a Wasteland Metalhead?" Jak scratched his chin. "...can't say we have." "Why?" Daxter demanded intensely. "Oh, no reason," Kleiver replied, amusement dripping in his voice. "Go get 'em heroes." The buggy Kleiver provided was lower to the ground than the previous one, with two machine guns mounted on the front. Following the scope, the trio were able to track down the Metalhead group in question...and quickly saw the source of Kleiver's amusement. "That thing's huge!" Daxter gasped out as the Metalhead came into sight, looking like a giant two-legged turtle with a huge cannon on its back, shooting at them with Dark Eco even as they swerved into sight and racing quickly across the desert sands. "The bigger they are, the harder they fall," Jak growled. "Shining, you've got the guns. Daxter, back it up with your Light Eco. I'll drive!" The battle with just the first of the four Metalheads on the scope proved nearly too much for the trio. Despite their best efforts, the beast could take a lot of damage, and quite a few times a blast would land near or the Metalhead would ram into the buggy, sending it flying. Thankfully, the buggy had excellent suspension and could take a lot of damage, so these few impacts were more frustrating than frightening at first. Daxter's Light Eco blasts proved more useful at shooting the Metalhead's own shots out of the air, especially when multiple targets converged on them unexpectedly. After a great deal of effort, the first Metalhead finally went down for the count. "One down..." Jak muttered, relieved. "Three more to go," Shining replied, indicating the scope. Daxter groaned, putting his face in his hands. "We better get something worth it for all this..." When the last Metalhead went down, a Dark Eco Crystal and a strange device the trio didn't recognize fell from its back. Jak retrieved the crystal before moving to examine the device. Before any of them could approach, the device shifted, projecting a holographic silhouette of a face that was somewhat familiar, and a voice that was as well, though they couldn't identify it. "Metalhead Commander, report!" the face shouted. "What's happening? If you lost that cargo and are still alive, I'll kill you myself! I want every Dark Eco Crystal you can find! Time is short! Did you hear me?" Jak slowly approached the device, and the face turned towards him. "Wait! Not you!" it proclaimed before screaming in frustration. Jak quickly brought his foot down on the device to make it stop working, before picking it up and stowing it in his bag. "We need to find some way of getting this to Keira," Jak muttered. "Maybe Dad can get Sig to deliver it?" Shining offered. "We can always ask," Daxter agreed as the group hopped back into the buggy, heading for Spargus. (1) For those who haven't played the game, when Seem says the above line to Jak and Daxter, they both glance at the player with expressions somewhere between confused and amused.