Jak and Daxter: Children of Eco

by Blackdrag-rose

Exile: Making War Your Own

"I may not have seen that look for a long time, but I recognize it," Damas commented, stopping Jak and Pinkie before they could use the lift to head back down to the streets of Spargus and make their way to the garage, "Tell me, what sort of plan do you have in mind for our uninvited guests?"

"We unleash Raven on those marauders!" Daxter exclaimed, though since Jak and Pinkie made no move to slap him or anything, which they usually did when he did something like this, he knew that he was fine for the moment.

"Really?" Damas inquired, though when the siblings nodded their heads, however, he couldn't help but smile at the image that had sprung into his mind, to which he got up from his seat and walked up to the group, "Since your battle against those Metal Heads was so entertaining, and shocking since I hadn't seen your true form, I'm interested in seeing how you fare this time around. And, for good measure, I think that I'll invite Kleiver along so he can watch the battle as well... so he can understand why messing with you is a bad idea."

Jak and Pinkie grinned as Damas joined them, to which they rode down to the streets of Spargus and made their way towards the garage, though when they arrived they found Kleiver working on one of the buggies, more specifically the one that Sig had been driving earlier. Kleiver seemed shocked that Damas was out here, but the King of Spargus beckoned for his Quartermaster to join them as they made their way up to the top of the gate that separated the city from the desert, where a walkway rested at the top. Damas explained that this was where sentries usually stood when the marauders were more active, so since they had settled down to a more manageable level he had allowed them some time off... but he would look into changing some things a little more.

Once that was done the group watched as the sky got darker, indicating the change from afternoon to evening, though not a few moments later they watched as a faint line of vehicles appeared in the distance, indicating that the marauders were coming... and they were definitely bringing their siege vehicles as well, though they stopped some distance away.

"I'm no genius when it comes to sieges," Daxter said, taking in the scene that was resting before them, and the large number of enemies that were in front of the city gates, "but even I can tell that they aren't within the required range for their siege weapons to be useful in harming anything... expect maybe the land in front of the gate. So what are they planning on doing?"

"Their leader likes to intimidate his enemies by showing them a large number of soldiers and vehicles," Damas replied, though at the same time he spotted someone climbing out of the medium sized vehicle in the middle of the army, someone that he recognized almost immediately, "He calls himself Gorath the Black Hand, though no one knows what he truly looks like because he's always wearing his armor at all times, no doubt to make himself look more intimidating than he really is."

Jak and Pinkie watched as the leader of the marauders climbed out of the vehicle he had been riding in, stepped onto the desert floor, and turn until he was facing the city gate, giving them the chance to take in his full form. Gorath was a large imposing person, wearing a complete set of black armor all over his body that prevented everyone seeing his true form, while at the same time he was carrying a large black hammer of some kind. Several marauders backed away when their master looked at them, indicating that they were definitely scared of him, before he stared back at the gate... and, more importantly, the people standing on the top of it.

"King Damas of Spargus," the man called out, proving that despite the distance between them the group could hear his foul voice as if he was standing before the gate, though they knew that the man was ready for a fight, "I, Gorath the Black Hand, have come to lay siege to your city and destroy everything that you hold dear. Whether you fight or surrender matters little to me at this point, as you will all die soon enough."

"It seems that I was correct in assuming that an attack was coming," Damas said, to which he turned towards Pinkie, though at the same time he turned his gaze on Raven, who seemed eager to get to the action, "Are you ready to face the marauders and take their leader down?"

"Of course." Raven replied, though the moment he said that Pinkie descended towards the ground and set her friend on the floor, before heading up to the walkway once more.

"We're putting our lives in the handle of a weasel?" Kleiver asked, to which he shook his head and stared out over the enemy forces, knowing that they would soon be fighting in the streets to save themselves for the invaders, "I can only imagine that the marauders will be laughing at us once they see Raven."

Damas glared at Kleiver for a moment, knowing that the Quartermaster would be silently questioning his decision, before he turned his gaze back over to their enemies, who were amassing their forces as they waited for Gorath's command to begin the assault. Raven, on the other hand, watched as the gates opened a tiny bit, allowing him to walk out of the garage, though once he had reached a safe distance the gates closed behind him. He could already tell that the marauders were chuckling at him, meaning that they believed that they would win this 'fight' and destroy the gates without any resistance... to which he smiled as the Dark Eco Mist surrounded his body as he walked forward.

Raven moaned a little bit as his bones cracked and his body expanded, though when the transformation was complete he burst out of the mist, crashed his front claws on the ground, and roared at the marauders... causing some of them to step backwards for a few seconds, before the gaze of their master made them step forward again.

"BY THE PRECURSORS!" Kleiver exclaimed, though at the same time he staggered backwards in shock, causing Pinkie to grab onto his arm to prevent him from falling off the edge and hurting himself, before she pulled him back to the group, "Th... that's a dragon. Since when did we have a DRAGON?!"

"Since we found Jak and Pinkie," Damas replied, though at the same time he kept his eyes on the battle that was about to unfold, because this was going to be most interesting, "though it appears that Raven will be making his move soon."

Raven growled as he charged towards the enemy forces, where the vehicles started moving towards the gates that rested behind him and the siege vehicles tried firing their flaming boulders at the same time, though he moved out of the way before the boulders could reach where he was standing. The smaller vehicles were the first ones to reach him, as they were faster than the siege vehicles, though once they arrived Raven sucked him his breath and blew out a wave of fire on the enemies in front of him. Sure enough the fire melted the tires of the vehicles that were approaching them and even charred some of the lesser protected ones, allowing him to focus his attention on the targets that posed the most danger to Spargus.

Raven spotted a siege vehicle trying to pass the area where he was standing, so the rider could get a clear shot at the gates, to which Raven charged at the vehicle and slammed his arms down on one that was blocking his way... where he used the momentum he created to flip forward, to which he used his tail to cut into the vehicle. Once the enemies knew that he meant business, and he had captured his prey, he grabbed onto the vehicle and spun it around, where he tossed it at another large siege vehicle and caused the two of them to explode upon impact. It was at that point that several of the marauders thought that it would be a good idea to attack him while he was distracted, to which Raven grinned as he flared his wings, pushed some of them backwards, and crushed them with either his claws or his tail.

A few moments later he heard Gorath calling for more of his soldiers to charge into the battle, to take him down most likely, to which Raven responded by gathering his flames and blasted another siege vehicle with a fireball, one that put the vehicle out of commission.

The battle continued like that for a few more minutes, where Raven would charge towards a group of marauders and crush them with his claws, break their vehicles with either his tail or his fireballs, and sometimes toss a vehicle around like it was a toy. This was one of the reasons that Jak and Pinkie didn't bring an army with them when they faced his father's forces, as the Metal Heads, especially the larger ones like him for example, were specifically built to battle entire armies on their own. It was also why Jak and Pinkie didn't give him any aid during his fight with his father, because if two of the larger Metal Heads actually fought each other one of them was going to come out on top... though even as that thought came to mind Raven roared with all his might as he smashed a vehicle, a siege one, under the weight of his body.

It was at that point, when all of his forces had been slaughtered and his vehicles were smouldering wrecks on the desert floor, that Gorath decided to step up and face him, to which Raven growled as his opponent approached him. When the two of them were closer to each other, however, Gorath swung his mace at Raven, who moved his body out of the way to avoid taking any damage. In return Raven slammed the edge of his tail into the side of his enemy and knocked him backwards, where he discovered that Gorath withstood his blow and picked himself up so he could continue to fight. Raven was impressed that the warrior could stand up after taking such a blow and wanted to continue the fight, despite the fact that he was clearly going to lose... though at the same time Raven was determined to give the warrior a death that any warrior would be proud to have.

What also impressed Raven was the fact that Gorath was able to actually wound him several times during the course of their battle, while he dealt some to his opponent in turn, but in the end Raven was able to cut down Gorath with his claws, giving the mighty warrior the joy of falling in battle... before he let out a roar to indicate his triumph over the attacking marauders.

"That was a fine battle," Damas commented, to which Raven turned around and found Jak, Pinkie, Damas, and Kleiver approaching him, while at the same time each of them noticed something different, "though it appears that you might need to sit a battle or two out to recover from your wounds."

"Actually, I think I have a solution," Pinkie said, to which her Light Eco sprung to life and she channeled it towards the cuts that had been made on Raven's body, where the group watched as she used the Precursor given ability to heal every wound that Raven possessed, "There, you're as good as new."

"My thanks," Raven replied, though at the same time he watched as Kleiver looked at all of the destruction that was resting around them, where he smiled a bit when he noticed how terrified the man was.

"Fortunately this means that the marauders will think twice about attacking the city again," Damas said, calling attention to him once more, though at the same time he stared at the ruined vehicles and the scattered metal that rested everywhere, "while at the same time, however, this means that they'll be attacking the caravans and other transports we send out in the future... meaning that we might need to take the fight to their base before they do something else."

"We'll hit them in the morning, after we've had a break from all this running around," Jak said, knowing that the marauders might actually try something in the near future, especially after everything that Raven tore apart, but then he smiled as he looked at the scattered metal, "Are there any smiths in Spargus?"

"Aye, there are two or three inside the city," Kleiver answered, as he thought about saying nothing and only spoke because of the glances that both Damas and Raven gave him, "Why do you ask?"

"The people of Spargus likely just saw what happened, and witnessed Raven's true form in action," Jak replied, though he followed that up with another smile, one that made Damas proud when he saw it, before he beckoned to the piles of metal that was resting everywhere, "We already know that the marauders will attack at some point in the future, the near future I might add, so we should meet them with something they fear. We should see if the smiths would be willing to transform all of this metal into a suit of armor for Raven, just to give him an extra level of protection and made him look more intimidating than he already is."

"I'm going to be a dragon rider?" Pinkie asked, to which she started jumping around with a look of joy on her face, while at the same time the group looked at her with a look on confusion on their faces, before they sighed and decided not to bother questioning her.

---

The smiths of Spargus, eager to get to work on making a set of armor for someone like Raven, especially after they realized that he was the one that had slain the leader of the marauders, spent the entire night and some hours into the next day reshaping the metal that was scattered around the desert floor. It took some time, and constant checking with the measurements of Raven's dragon form, but eventually the smiths managed to forge a set of armor for him, complete with a chest piece, plating for his arms and legs, armored pieces for his tail, and a menacing head piece that made him even more terrifying than he already was. The smiths, with the help of some of the other professionals, also made a saddle for someone to ride on, as they understood that Raven and Pinkie were a pair like Jak and Daxter.

While he was searching the wreckage for bits of metal, to aid the smiths, Jak had discovered another artifact that was one of the five they needed for the forest pillars, a Beam Generator from what Keira and Samos told him, though he made sure it was safe and unharmed for the future.

Once the entire set was complete, however, the smiths discovered that the armor might not fit on Raven's ottsel form, though he surprised them by transforming into his smaller form and allowing them to see that his new armor had shrunk and changed shape to match his smaller form. The saddle, on the other hand, transformed into some sort of small belt, surprising the smiths and other professionals by how Raven was able to transform his gear into a new shape that depended on his chosen form. Pinkie, on the other hand, simply said that he was like her, that they both did crazy things though couldn't be explained, to which she made them nod their heads in agreement... though that was before she and Jak, with both Daxter and Raven, made their way towards the garage.

As they walked into the garage, however, their communicator sprung to life once more, to which they glanced at each other and wondered what mission they were going to be given this time.

"This is Seem." a voice said, to which the group briefly wondered when they gave Seem the code for their private communicator, though in the end they agreed that Damas must have given it to her in the off chance that she needed their assistance for something, "Marauders have attacked one of our artifact digs and have stolen a very important item. My monks and I believe they may have taken it to their stronghold... and we would be most grateful if you find their outpost and retrieved the artifact."

Jak nodded, which was what he did when someone gave him and Pinkie a mission, before he turned to his sister, who smiled as Raven transformed back into his true form... which many of the citizens of Spargus insisted on witnessing once they heard that he was leaving. Their plan was simple; Pinkie and Raven would fly ahead and find out where the stronghold was located, do some scouting without being caught, and then report what they saw to Jak over another communicator. This would give Jak the time to pick which vehicle was best for whatever defenses, or lack of defenses, that the marauders had, giving them the best advantage they could ask for... and he was pleased to find that Pinkie, Raven, and Daxter agreed with his plan.

Not a few moments later Raven, with Pinkie sitting in her new saddle, opened his wings and took to the sky, leaving the garage behind as the pair flew out to scout the Wasteland for the location of the marauder stronghold... though what Jak didn't expect was to hear from them within the next five minutes, indicating that they had found the stronghold already. From what Pinkie discovered the bets vehicle for the job, to get over the missing sections of the bridge that she noticed, as the Dune Hopper, to which Jak and Daxter climbed into the vehicle and made their way towards the point on the radar that Pinkie's communicator was coming from. It took him some time to reach the destination, mainly because he didn't have a dragon to ride on like his sister did, though at the same time he noticed that the stronghold rested in the middle of a lake... but both he and Daxter smelled a trap waiting for them.

Without wasting any time Jak used the Dune Hopper's high jump ability to cross over the sections of the bridge that were out, allowing them to cross without anything terrible happening to them... though when he entered the stronghold, however, the gates closed around him and the remaining marauders charged at him.

As he fought off the waves of enemies that wanted him dead, and Daxter sat in the Dune Hopper, he noticed flaming boulders raining down on the stronghold, as if the marauders wanted to burn him and their own soldiers alive, but Jak had to smile when he noticed Raven flying through the air. It appeared that Raven and Pinkie were dealing with the siege vehicles that hadn't been brought to the assault on Spargus' gates, where they were smashing them and tossing them aside like they were toys. With that situation under control Jak focused his efforts on the enemies in front of him, though when the last one had fallen the gates opened and four more marauder vehicles raced towards the exit... though Jak knew that one of them had the artifact, to which he climbed into the Dune Hopper and followed after them.

Fortunately Jak didn't actually have to chase them down and recover the artifact, as Raven burst out of the air and slammed into the furthest marauder, causing all of them to collide with each other... though once the smoke cleared he sifted through the wreckage and discovered where the prism shaped artifact was hiding.

"Hey Seem, this is Jak," Jak said, opening the communication line between them and the leader of the monks, though at the same time he smiled at Pinkie as she climbed off of Raven's back, "We've discovered the location of the marauder stronghold and have recovered the artifact that they have stolen. Where should we meet to return it?"

"It is good to hear for you, Jak. My monks and I are grateful for your help in recovering the artifact," Seem replied, though at the same time all four members of the group could tell that Seem was happy, "That artifact is called the Precursor Prism, and I have seen that it will be of use to you in the future. Please, keep it as a sign of our gratitude... and know that I am glad that this planet has you and your sister, as well as your friends Daxter and Raven, to protect it from danger."

Jak was a little shocked that Seem would contact them about recovering an artifact that was stolen from them, only to hand it over to him and Pinkie once they had retrieved the artifact and had taken care of a problem... but at the same time he was pleased with what happened. Before he and Pinkie could head back to Spargus, however, the communicator remained where it was floating, indicating that someone else was on the line.

"Jak, this is Samos." the communicator said, to which Daxter let out a small moan of his own, while the others patiently waited to hear what information the Sage had to give them, "I see that you and Pinkie have found yet another artifact for the forest ruins, but we are still missing the most important piece of the puzzle. Bring back the artifacts you have found so far, and we will try to find where the last piece is hidden. We must find out what that Day Star really is, and we believe the forest ruins may hold the answers."

Jak and Pinkie glanced at each other, because it appeared that they were going back to Haven this time around, which meant that they would also be fighting more KG robots and Metal Heads that wanted them dead... and this time they had something that neither of their enemies would expect them to have.

Comments

[Crescent Glaive]

Raven and Pinkie are the best

[HeartfireFirebrand]

What also impressed Raven was the fact that Gorath was able to actually wound him several times during the course of their battle, while he dealt some to his opponent in turn, but in the end Raven was able to cut down Gorath with his claws, giving the mighty warrior the joy of falling in battle... before he let out a roar to indicate his triumph over the attacking marauders.

A tough enemy to till the end.

[Midnight Moon]

Raven and Pinkie OP, please buff further.