Jak and Pinkie easily found one of the larger zoomers, the type that had two seats, sitting unattended near where they separated from Kor and the young children that he was with. Pinkie, being more familiar with the controls than her brother, offered to drive them around the city until Jak was more familiar with the controls, to which they climbed into their seats and she got them into the air. Both Daxter and Raven moved off of their shoulders and took up a better sitting position in their laps, which Jak immediately stated as being completely weird, but with the number of passengers it was either this or getting a second ride... though that made him retract his statement due to his unfamiliarity with the controls.
Once that problem had been taken care of Pinkie maneuvered them into the upper level of the hover zone and carefully made her way towards the location that Kor had told them about... while at the same time confirming the location with Daxter.
"So why are we going so slow?" Jak asked, as he noticed that they weren't going anywhere near the speeds they were used to when they were testing out Keira's zoomer.
"One, its rush hour at the moment," Pinkie stated, carefully maneuvering them around the corner and ignoring the glances that a Krimzon Guard shot at her from his cruiser, though due to his armor she had no idea if she actually knew him or not, "and two, if I wanted to go much faster I would have to move into the lower zone... which is a terrible idea considering how many guards are walking down there at the moment. If we hit one of them, even if it was an accidental tap, we could potentially have the entire Krimzon Guard on our tail until we're thrown into the prison we had just escaped from."
"I... I concede to your logic." Jak replied, letting out a sigh as he took in the sights around him, to which she stared at the buildings that were on either side of them, "This place needs to be fixed up or something... it seems like some of the buildings might be coming apart."
Pinkie had to agree with her brother, though at the same time she had to wonder how the Baron could let so many buildings fall into the state that they were in at the moment. She guessed that part of the reason was behind trying to take out the Underground, but considering that the resistance had been active for as long as she had been in the city, for four whole years, she had to wonder what it would take to bring peace back to Haven City. For a few minutes she followed the zoomers in front of her, carefully following Daxter's directions while comparing them to what she knew, before they reached the turn that they needed to take. She then brought them to the lower hover area and parked the zoomer near the entrance of a building, though as she and the others climbed out of it she noticed several Krimzon Guards looking in their direction... to which she and Jak moved the moment the guards weren't looking in their direction.
As they rounded the corner, and escaped the sight of the guards, they came to the dead end alleyway that Kor had told them about, where they found two people standing out in the open, as if they had been discussing something before they arrived. One of them was a blonde haired female with blue eyes that happened to be wearing a form fitting green jacket, a pair of blue shorts, an orange scarf around her neck, and brown boots. The other person was a male with brown hair and blue eyes, though he was wearing what looked like an old suit of Krimzon Guard armor that happened to be stripped of all insignia and identifying traits, as if he wanted no one to know who he was. The man also had blue lines over a good portion of his face, which looked similar to the markings that Pinkie had seen on Ashelin and Erol's afces when she first encountered them.
"We're looking for a guy named Torn. Kor sent us." Jak stated, though as he said the words the two people approached the group, to which Jak glanced at the man, as he sensed that he might be the person they were looking for, "You Torn?"
"New faces make me nervous," the man stated, his voice sounding dry for some reason, making Pinkie wonder if he was drinking enough water, while at the same time it seemed like he was trying to intimidate Jak, who wasn't buying the act.
"Really?" Raven asked, as if he was taking the man seriously for a moment, before he grinned at him and the woman for a few seconds, "We never would have guessed."
"Word is you three are out to join the fight for this city." the man continued, though at the same time he smirked at them, as if what Raven had said had actually impressed him or something, "You know, picking the wrong side could be... unhealthy."
"I can agree with that," Daxter said, though oddly enough he was mirroring Raven's grin, as if he was in the mood to boast about something they had done in the past, "only its unhealthy for whoever opposes us."
"We would like to join the Underground and help you fight the Baron." Jak stated, laying almost all of their cards on the table, though it was clear that he was preparing to place the final one as well, "Kor told us that we might have the opportunity to speak with the Shadow, provided that we help you guys out."
"Its unlikely that you will ever meet the Shadow," the man replied, though he actually chuckled for a few seconds, as if he thought that Jak had been serious about meeting the leader of the Underground, "If the two of you and your pets want to join something..."
Before the man could finish his sentence, and the others could make their retort to what he was saying, Raven launched himself over to the man, climbed onto his back, and yanked the curved dagger from its spot on the man's back, before taking up a position where the edge of the blade was placed near the man's neck.
"Let me make one thing clear; Daxter and I are not PETS!" Raven growled, though while everyone else was shocked by what was happening Pinkie could hear the dark ottsel's true nature for a second, as it had been contained in his growl before he reigned in his anger, "Now, either tell us what we need to do so we can join the Underground, which I would recommend you do, or we'll find someone whose willing to take us seriously."
"Maybe you do have what it takes." the man said, his gaze shifting between the blade that was held against his neck and his partner, who was standing by the wall and was making no move to help him, "But I need to know you aren't all talk."
"So you want Raven to kill you?" Daxter asked, trying to understand the logic behind what the man was saying, but when he looked at Pinkie and Jak he noticed that his normally happy best friend had a smirk on her face.
"No, he wants us to prove that we have what it takes to stand up to the Baron," Pinkie said, to which she beckoned to Raven for a moment, who returned the dagger to its container before hopping back over to her, which freed the man from the ottsel's grasp, "So tell me, what sort of test do you have in mind?"
"How about stealing the Baron's banner from the top of the Ruined Tower?" the man replied, rubbing his neck for a few seconds, though it was clear that he was grateful that Raven hadn't actually cut him with his own dagger, "If you bring it back in one piece I might consider letting the four of you join the Underground."
"Finally! Now we're making some progress!" Daxter said, though before anyone moved a thought seemed to cross his mind, to which he turned his attention back to the man they had been talking to the entire time, "Um, where is the Ruined Tower exactly?"
As it turned out the entrance to the location that the Ruined Tower was located in was through an air lock that brought them to Dead Town, which was basically a ruined area that looking like it could all come crumbling down without any effort... while at the same time sections of it appeared to be more stable than the rest of the area. Pinkie could tell that they were still inside the shield that was protecting the city, which meant that they wouldn't have to worry about running into any Metal Heads... or revealing Raven's secret so soon. The first enemy they encountered was a small green creature that had big eyes, though when it tried to bite them Jak slammed his fist into its face and sent it into the swampy looking water around them.
It was then that they discovered that the creature had been mutated, in a fashion, by Dark Eco, as both Jak and Pinkie collected a few bits of the Eco that came from the dead creature.
"Does this remind anyone of the experiments that Gol and Maia had planned on doing once they opened the silos?" Daxter asked, though at the same time Jak and Pinkie jumped over a small gap and took out a group of the green creatures that growled at them.
"Yes, though that means that we should be careful around them," Jak replied, though that was before he spotted a red orange coated creature, that happened to be walking on all four of its legs, walking near the piece of the ruins they needed to use to progress further.
It was easy to take the second new creature out, after discovering that it used its tongue to attack them and required two hits to take out, before they crossed the piece of the ruins that served as a bridge and allowed them to get closer to the tower. They then took out two more of the red creatures before they moved onto the rooftop above them, where they made their way towards the small group of green enemies. As they took the creatures out they noticed more walking towards them, to which they either pushed them off the walkway they were on or simply took them out like everything else they had dealt with so far. When all of the enemies had been taken care of, and they were sure that there weren't anymore for them to worry about, both Jak and Pinkie stood before the bridge that would take them to the Ruined Tower... which looked ready to collapse at any moment.
"I really don't like how cracked that bridge is," Raven commented, as he had noticed the state that the tower was in and had come to the conclusion that they might break the entire thing if they weren't careful.
"I agree, but we have to climb it anyway," Pinkie said, letting out a sigh as she and Jak stood side by side for a moment, "Come on Jak, let's show the Underground our skills."
Pinkie and Jak took a moment to gather themselves before they ran over the small bridge that was in front of them, which collapsed the moment the two of them were on the other side of it. With that part done they climbed up the steps that were in front of them, making sure to avoid staying on the crumbling ones for more than a few seconds, before they used a spin pole to reach a platform that came out of the side of the tower. They then jumped at the same time and landed on the platform in front of them, to which they moved for it crumpled beneath their feet and used another pole to get closer to their destination, though after a few more jumps they had reached stable ground once more.
Daxter looked up the stairs that were in front of them and noticed a flag that was moving in the wind, though while he was happy he had expected the flag to be resting much higher on the tower than it actually was. Jak and Pinkie carefully walked onto the platform that the flag was resting on, making sure that it could support their weight, before Jak wrapped his hand around the pole and pulled it free... which in turn caused the entire platform to become unstable. They fell through the air as the pieces of the platform fell with them, though as the stones fell into the water Jak, Pinkie, Daxter, and Raven landed on a fabric awning and launched themselves through the air. Jak and Pinkie were able to land on a rope and grind their way down to safety, though at the same time Daxter landed with the rope between his legs as Raven managed to regain his perch on Pinkie's shoulder.
Jak and Pinkie jumped off the rope a few seconds later and landed in front of the man they had been speaking to earlier, who apparently had come to watch their efforts, before Daxter landed on the ground next to them... to which they all turned back to watch the Ruined Tower collapse behind them.
"All that destruction... and all we did was remove a flag from its resting place." Raven commented, to which the group turned back towards the man as Daxter shook off the pain he was feeling, "So... did we pass you test?"
"Yeah, I would say that you did." the man replied, though there was a small smile on his face while he spoke, which Jak, Pinkie, and Raven returned a few seconds later, "Welcome to the Underground. My name is Torn."
"I'm Jak, and this is my friend Daxter," Jak said, while at the same time he picked his friend up and placed him back on his shoulder, before Pinkie stepped forward, "This is my sister Pinkie Pie and her friend Raven. So, what next?"
"Follow me back to our hideout and I'll tell you what our next move is," Torn replied, his smile never leaving his face for a moment, "I have the feeling that the four of you will be a great asset to the Underground."
As they followed Torn out of Dead Town, and bid farewell to the Ruined Tower, Pinkie still found it strange that she was even joining the people who openly opposed the Baron, but she hid her feelings regarding the matter away and followed her brother... wondering what missions the man had for them to do.
I like Raven a lot more than I originally did. He's basically like an aggressive/serious version of Daxter.
raven is best gummy
8168351 That he is... and I am eagerly awaiting the day Jak and Daxter discover his true form.
8168544 do you think they try to kill him, or simply see it as pinky being pinky and having tamed a metal head?
8168573 I think they might try something when he reveals his nature to them, but I have the feeling that they'll eventually decide that its Pinkie being her usual self... though I guess it depends on whether Raven uses his hybrid form first or is forced to access his true Metal Head form.
8168609 maybe a bit of both?
8168675 Oh, that sounds interesting... especially when we have no idea what the author has up his sleeves.
8168687 indeed. but, what if it's Erol that finds out first and he spreads word about it and Jak and Daxter could overher
8168721 Oooh, now that is an interesting idea... makes me wonder how he'd find the information. But still, its a neat idea that I hadn't even considered before.
8168724 hmm, maybe pinky and raven end up in a fight while jak races and erol could see or get reports of it
8168728 Sounds like something Erol would do... and I suspect that he might tell the Baron about it as well.
8168773 i think the baron would see it as a chance to make a weapon out of raven instead of seeing him as a threat though
8169755 True. He's going to see an obedient Metal Head, with such a powerful true form, and think about making a new weapon that could take down the Leader.
8170258 or replace the leader and gain control of both the metal heads and the city. meaning he can keep the war going and thus keep power
8170266 You know, Raven's head gem was blue colored... this might sound insane, but is it possible that the Leader and Raven are father and son? Like Raven was created to be an heir to the throne, in case something happened to the Leader?
8170278 that, is a good point
but, i find it unlikely s even kor himself have a normal metal head gem
8170278 i think it more likely he is some sort of crossbreed. like when daxter falls into the dark eco he became a otzel. maybe raven is what happens to a metal head
8170287 Hmm... like Raven found a pool of Light Eco and fell in? I doubt Dark Eco would have that much effect on a Metal Head.
8170302 well, you say that. but we don't actually know the limit of the effects of large amounts of dark eco could have on an already dark eco filled being, nor do we know how Kor came to be. so i propose that Kor came to be by being exposed to TOO MUCH dark eco than a normal metal head. so why not something similar with raven?
8170313 Huh... that's definitely a possibility I hadn't considered. I guess, following that logic, you would be able to create a 'Leader' category Metal Head if they were exposed to too much Dark Eco. That makes me wonder what happened between the Leader and Raven, considering that twenty smaller Metal Heads were trying to kill him, especially considering how much Eco had to have gone into allowing Raven to reach his current state.
8170324 hmm, well, maybe as kor seems to be the main, or at least only known example, of a truly intelligent metal head, when raven got to the point he is at, he saw what kor was doing as wrong and turned against him. maybe there will be some metal heads who are loyal to him around somewhere
8170332 Now that is an interesting idea, a smaller secondary hive of Metal Heads with blue headstones. You know, now that the thought is in my head, it would be interesting to see the blue Metal Heads attacking Kor's Metal heads... as in defending Haven City until they receive further orders from their own leader.
8170357 yeah XD *is now a fimfic conspiracy starter8 nyahahahaha
8170359 Ironically the author is likely thinking on our comments and incorporating them into his story. I know he had some sort of plan when he introduced Raven, but we've likely helped him add another layer or two to the pile.
8170363 maybe. but, do you think making pinky be adopted by praxis was pre-planned, or influenced by the comments/discussion?
8170380 I think that part was preplanned, but other parts are definitely influenced by comments. He does the same thing on his other crossover stories that are going at the moment, taking the comments into consideration as he writes.
8170384 he takes heed of the readers a lot more than some authors then
8170385 Indeed he does... especially when some of us can come up with some interesting theories and ideas.
8170400 like you
8170403 Hey, don't sell yourself short. Without you stating some interesting facts that I would have over looked, such as the Baron seeing a potential weapon in Raven, at least half of the ideas for this story would never have crossed my mind.
8170416 and yet without you to bounce ideas off of, they would have never come to mind anyway
I see Raven likes to live dangerously, taking Torn's dagger and threatening him with it.
8170421
8170416 From what I've been able to tell the author likes every idea that the two of you throw out... not that I'm complaining.
8170436 well, depends if they've had it all planned from the beginning and we just happen to have similar ideas or not
8170442 True, that is a fair statement. Though as the siren said, it seems that this particular author takes the comments into consideration when he/she is writing. Another interesting little piece I noticed is that Raven reacted towards a certain someone, yet that same someone didn't do anything in return.
8170450 indeed.
on that last bit tho. reacting to it would A, give him away to not being as he seems and B, he probably senses SOMETHING, but as he doesn't react to daxter either, he clearly doesn't know the form. thus surely, he either is powerful enough to resist the reaction, r he is incapable of sensing them.
and as he didn't react to daxter, then he has never seen a precursor in the flesh which brings into question if he was lying when he says he has fought the precursors at all, but i shall not elaborate on that as that is spoilers in and of itself and dives into game lore
8170460 Hmm... he could have felt the familiarity of Raven's presence (or whatever you want to call it), but Raven's unusual form might have saved them some trouble in the long run.
8170487 maybe. but yet, his form might somewhat mask his presence to metalheads
8170494 A part of me has to wonder why Raven took on the ottsel form. He clearly didn't know it, as when Ashelin informed him of his new form he seemed shocked, and yet when he changed he took on that shape like he had known about it.
8170507 well, metal heads ARE full of dark eco, and all eco has the genetic pattern of the precursors. so perhaps he took that form by some sort of lucky accident
8170517 I guess so. Raven seems to have lucked out when he took on the form, because now a certain someone can't tell where his enemy is lurking.
8170526 yeah. so, luck, or planned? but if planned, planned by who?
8170530 To Raven it would be a lucky occurrence... though to a certain group of beings it would be exactly as planned.
8170542 indeed