Jak and Daxter: Heirs of Mar

by Blackdrag-rose

Renegade: Sewer Work and Racing

While Jak and Twilight focused on dealing with whatever Torn or Samos and the Shadow threw at them, Starlight and Cozy used their zoomer to travel back to the Port, as it was about time for them to check in with Krew and see if the fat man had any new missions for them to do, though while they quickly made their way through the Industrial Section of Haven City the pair knew that their siblings would be able to overcome anything and everything that was placed in their path, so it allowed them to focus on what they were doing right now and whatever mission might be waiting for them. Truth be told Cozy said nothing as they headed to the Port, as she was still thinking about freeing their allies and the fact that it reminded her of her time inside one of the Fortress' prison cells, a time she would rather forget and found that it was quite hard to do so due to the fact that the Baron and Errol had been involved in her torment, which also meant it would be hard for her to forgive Jak's new ally, no matter how much he turned the war in their favor, something that caused her to growl for a few seconds, as part of her wanted to kill Praxis, regardless of which side he was on. She knew it was her darker side, the beast that shared her body and had been born from the result of all the time she spent as one of the Baron's forgotten victims, though as the darkness stirred for a moment she could feel her fingers starting to shift into her deadly claws and some of her teeth were in the early stages of becoming sharper, something that caused her to sigh for a moment as she focused on preventing the rest of the transformation from overtaking her, as now wasn't the time or place for it. A few seconds later, while Starlight paused to make sure she was feeling okay, Cozy simply nodded and found that her body was, for the time being, back to its normal state, but that event reminded her of how easy it was for her to slip into a dark rage and transform into her Dark Form, one that was different from Jak's Dark Form and Midnight, and if she was being honest she would have picked having someone like Midnight in her head, and possibly the power that came with such a thing, instead of a silent beast who held a vast and endless rage for Praxis.

Her thoughts were, thankfully, interrupted as they reached the part of the Port that the Hip Hog Saloon rested in, where Starlight parked their zoomer near the structure in question so she and Cozy could climb out of it, though when both of them entered the Hip Hog they found that Sig was sitting at one of the tables and happened to have a drink in front of him right now, which was odd since he never sat at a table or drank while he was on the job, and it quickly became apparent as to why he was doing it, as Krew was floating around part of the large room and it looked like he was asleep, to which they slipped into the seats that were opposite Sig, and Starlight made sure to use a faint barrier to prevent anything that might be said from reaching Krew, while allowing them to hear any of his movements.

"Starlight, you and your siblings are all right in my book, and since the boss is sleeping right now, which gives me a rare opportunity to take a break, I'm going to give it to you straight," Sig commented, apparently appreciating the company of the pair that were in front of him, not counting Simon and Theodore, who were keeping an eye on Krew so Starlight could lower her barrier just before he woke up, though it was clear that he wasn't drunk and that his breaks usually only let him have a light drink, so he could perform whatever tasks were asked of him, before he focused on them again as he readied himself for what he was about to say, "Listen, I've been Krew's heavy for a number of years, and to be honest there are a number of things that I have done that I'm not proud of, sins that I don't feel comfortable telling anyone about, but this time I think Krew's gotten himself, and all of us by association, into something really nasty... to be honest, I think its about time that I got out and returned to the Wasteland, before whatever he's planning rears its ugly head on us and the rest of Haven City, and I was hoping that some of you might join me."

"You're going to abandon the city, just like that?" Cozy asked, because that seemed slightly out of character to her, that Sig would just walk out on Torn, Vin, and everyone else that could use someone like him to take down the Metal Heads who were waiting on the other side of the Shield Wall, though at the same time it was interesting to hear that he was thinking of taking the four of them, as in her, Starlight, Jak, and Twilight with him, to the Wasteland, to become Wastelanders and join whatever group was lurking in the massive desert that was a fair distance from Haven City, and she could see that she wasn't the only one surprised by Sig's statement.

"Listen, Haven City has never been kind to me... in fact, they cast me out years ago, for things that I will never tell you and your siblings about, but I'm not going to leave the city yet," Sig replied, indicating that something was stopping him from abandoning Haven City and heading back out into his true home, even though it was interesting to learn that someone in the city, likely the Baron given his track record, had exiled him from this place and that it was likely due to Krew that he was able to reenter the city, before he sighed for a moment and leaned back in his seat, "but once I find what I'm looking for, well, then I'll be saying goodbye to Haven City for a long time... hopefully by the time that happens you two and both of your siblings will join me in leaving this place behind, as I know someone who might be able to help you out, in terms of keeping your Dark Eco powers in check."

Starlight had to wonder who Sig was talking about, since this was the first time she was hearing this information, but just as she was about to say something, while Cozy was about to open her mouth as well since she wanted to figure out what Sig knew, Theodore noticed Krew was stirring and that caused them to switch to another topic as Starlight dismissed her barrier without delay, where it didn't take the fat man long to wake up and glance around the room that they were in for a few seconds, before he focused on the fact that Starlight and Cozy were sitting nearby.

"Ah, good, some of you have returned... I was wondering if you had abandoned me to the Baron's whims!" Krew said, as if he was accusing them of shirking their duties or something, even though they had been busy dealing with the Baron and all of the Metal Heads that were bothering the city, though as he glanced at another part of the room, noticing that Tess was cleaning the counter as she waited for customers to enter the Hip Hog, Starlight and Cozy saw Sig shake his head for a moment while Krew wasn't looking their way, before the fat man focused on the task at hand and glanced back at them as he prepared to give them another job, "Anyway, I have another job for you and your siblings, though two should be more than enough for it: I need you to escort three of my boys through the Sewers and bring them to where you found that old statue of Mar, because I've heard stories that it might hold another secret, besides the Ruby Key, and I want my boys to... investigate it... to see if the tales are true, and I'll even reward you with the last weapon mod I have, if you get them to the statue and make sure they survive being down there."

Starlight and Cozy glanced at each other for a moment, as neither of them wanted to go down into the Sewer again, since twice was more than enough, but since it was Krew, and they wanted to be on his good side until Jak was ready to take him down, they decided that they might as well agree to his job and got up from where they were sitting, which Sig did after he finished off the rest of his drink, before they headed outside and returned to the zoomer they had used to get here, since it was time to head back into the Industrial Section. Neither of them were sure what sort of tales Krew was referring to, as there were a number of tales about Mar and the artifacts he collected, some of which they had encountered and had used to recover the Precursor Stone, though Starlight was sure that the only relic Krew might be interested in was one called the 'Heart of Mar', as it was rumored that Mar made the relic himself and hide it without revealing its purpose to anyone, so it was more of a collector's item at this point in time, but she was sure that if he knew they had Mar's sword, his actual blade, he would try to get his hands on it as well. Despite that fact, however, she also remembered that Krew thought that Mar's weapon had been a staff, something that had annoyed Twilight when they heard it since every story about the legendary figure mentioned that he carried a sword into battle, so even if Jak approached the fat man with the blade on his back she had the feeling Krew would either ignore it or deem it a fake of some kind, so she decided not to worry about what might happen when they spoke to Krew and Jak was with them. Even with her thinking about that, and Cozy focused on the fact that they were heading back to the Sewers, it didn't take her that long to get them back to where the entrance rested and park outside it, allowing her and Cozy to climb off the zoomer and start to head down the path in question, where both of them waited for the elevator door to open before heading down into the depths, even though they were hoping that the men they were told about would be present when they arrived, to get this mission started without delay. What they found a few seconds later was that there were three individuals standing near the end of the first tunnel of the Sewers, where it was easy to see that one had brown hair that was combed backwards, one had a blue helmet on and it covered most of his face, and the third one had a modified Krimzon Guard helmet on that covered his face as well, and given the scarf the first one was wearing it was clear that all of them were hiding their identities for the most part.

"Quiet, here comes pretty... boy...?" one of the men said, though he paused as he turned and stared at the sisters as they stepped through the opening so they could approach the three of them, even though they found that it was the first man who had spoken, who seemed more ready for shady work than his companions were, despite what appeared to be some explosives on their backs, meaning they might have been tasked with blowing up any debris that might be in their way, as there had to be some clogging the pipes or tunnels that were down in this foul place.

"Listen up: Krew said that we have to escort you to Mar's statue, so let us do the fighting and you can open the way when we're sure an area is clear," Starlight stated, as she could see that the men were caught off guard by the fact that the two of them were girls, meaning they were likely expecting Jak to show up and also informed them that all three of them had to know about them and their various skills, or at least the ones Krew knew about, though her statement basically meant that she and Cozy were taking the lead and that she fully expected the men to stay behind them, and she was pleased to find all three of them nodding as they stared at them, "Good, now let's get going."

The first thing they did was come to a stop at the edge of the tunnel they were starting in, as there happened to be a small elevator platform that allowed them to move down into a lower passage that had been covered by water, back when this place was flooded, though it didn't take all of them long to get down where as Starlight and Cozy stood at the front of the pack, both with their weapons out, despite the fact that Cozy could call on her Dark Form if they found too many enemies in an area, something she was waiting to see before acting. As they walked through the passage, however, they found a new type of Metal Head that happened to be walking on the ground, with four legs and moved like a spider based on what they were seeing, though the weirdest thing about it was that there seemed to be a gun attached to its head, one that was more than capable of firing at them when it noticed them approaching the area it was in, something Starlight blocked with a small shield so she could blast it and let Cozy collect the Skull Gem. Simon informed her that this type of Metal Head was known as a Hosehead, another type that happened to have a bad name, which was around the time that she noticed that there were a few more of them further head and that they seemed to be focusing on Cozy, who was avoiding them thanks to her Dark Form's innate powers, even if she wasn't in her other form and meant that she must be learning new ways to use whatever powers she had access to, and found that a Hosehead fired a beam of blue energy at her, even though the attack missed as her sister took care of it and another one that was nearby. Once she understood what sort of enemies were coming at them, likely a sneak attack by the Metal Head Leader from some unguarded section of the city, which they just so happened to be encountering at the same time as this mission unfolded, reaching a decent sized room that had a blocked tunnel on the other side from where their tunnel was located, so as she and Cozy focused on the Hoseheads that were crawling down some of the walls they made sure the men rushed at the blockage and primed some explosives to clear the way forward. Sure enough it didn't take the sisters long to make sure all of the Hoseheads were taken care of, an easy feat since there were only three or four more for them to take care of, though once all of their foes fell to the ground Starlight used a barrier to protect all of them from the explosion that opened the tunnel that would lead them deeper into the Sewers, but she suspected that the other lift they used, after finding the statue the first time around, might be locked into place, hence the roundabout path to get there.

Once the tunnel was cleared the sisters headed through it and found a path, which was on top of some pipes that lead in the direction of the ground and changed course a few seconds later, that lead to another lift for them to use, but as they walked along it Starlight found some Hoseheads in front of them and Cozy spotted a few coming up behind them, like a pincer attack of some kind, to which they separated from each other for a few moments and focused on the Hoseheads that were coming towards them, blasting and kicking them into the ground before collecting their Skull Gems, since they might come in handy helping Jak and Cozy master their Dark Forms. At the end of the path Starlight, Cozy, and Krew's men stepped onto the lift and let it take them downward for a few moments, where each of them stared out at the area as they waited to see if any Metal Heads tried to assault this section of the Sewers, only to find that no one was around and was followed by them walking off the lift once it came to a stop, allowing them to head to their left and head deeper into this place, all while the men kept their eyes and ears open as they followed behind the sisters. Of course the moment they got to a certain point of the larger passage two Hoseheads dropped down in front of Cozy with the intent of blasting her into the ground, to which she switched her weapon for her Dark Eco claws as she grasped the heads of her enemies and forced both of them into the stonework that was below them, crushing both of them in seconds as Starlight focused on the few Hoseheads that tried to attack them from behind, even though she also collected the Skull Gems that were freed as all of Krew's men stared at Cozy in shock, meaning there was a chance they hadn't been told anything about her. After those foes had been taken care of they found another area that had a few Hoseheads guarding it, which looked like they were in the middle of guarding the area from intruders or something, to which Starlight made sure the men stayed behind, which meant they would be staying with Cozy for a time, as she headed out and used her magical steps to get above the enemies that were in this area, allowing her to blast some of them with magic and others with her Scatter or Blaster mods, before she reached what appeared to be the end of this area, another blocked off section, so she doubled back to where Cozy and the men were waiting, collecting all of the Skull Gems as she did so.

Not a few moments later they reached the blockage that Starlight had found and the men set a few explosives up inside the human-sized tunnel, but when the explosion blasted the debris out of the way Cozy head something and focused her gaze on the ceiling for a moment, where she found a number of Hoseheads starting to make their way towards where they were standing, to which she beckoned for Starlight to get the men to the statue as she slipped her weapon into its holster and transformed into her Dark Form, allowing her to burst into the air and punch one of the Metal Heads in the head, also into the wall, before launching an all out assault on the enemies.

"Cozy should be able to take care of those enemies and make sure we're safe, so we should be able to find the statue and see if it has some sort of hidden secret," Starlight commented, as while she was happy to see Cozy using her Dark Form, in a way that made it seem like she was in control, she was still worried that there might come a time where she went feral again and just attacked everyone that happened to be around her, just like she had done when they freed her and Jak at the start of their adventure in Haven City, before she turned towards the statue and found that the men were walking off towards the exit path, with their explosives attached to the statue, "What are you..."

Before she even had a chance to ignite her magic and remove the explosives, as she started to do it the moment she took notice of what the men were doing, the leader of the group detonated their payload and the statue was torn to pieces in a matter of seconds, fragments being scattered around this chamber as Mar's head slide to a stop near where the tunnel she was standing near, though that was when she spotted a Precursor artifact, one that resembled the button that Jak had pressed all those years ago when they used the Rift Rider and the Rift Gate to come to Haven City, which the leader called the Heart of Mar gem and snatched it, before leaving and claiming that they would deliver it to Krew, causing her to growl for a moment as she watched that happen.

"Where are the men?" a rough voice asked, which was when she found Dark Cozy standing behind her, though she just so happened to be carrying a number of Skull Gems to add to their collection, before her sister focused on the ruined statue and the fact that no one else happened to be in this chamber, something that caused her to frown as she noticed that the statue of Mar, a stolen relic of the city, had been destroyed by the men and it made her dislike them, which was when she glanced at her sister again, "The men... they blew it up, didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did... and they found the Heart of Mar artifact, which Krew will be holding for now," Starlight replied, though at the same time she noticed that their Communicator had a message for them and it appeared that Krew had delivered on his end of the bargain, as he revealed the location of the final weapon mod, which just so happened to be inside the very building he used to deliver the Blaster Mods to them, to which they sighed as she stored the Skull Gems with the rest of them and she waited for Cozy to revert back to her normal form before heading outside, to claim the weapon mod before regrouping with Jak and Twilight.

It didn't take them all that long to return to the surface level of Haven City, especially since the Sewers had been cleared of enemies for the time being, where they climbed into their zoomer and headed for the Port once again, where it took them a few minutes to reach the Gun Course and parked outside it, finding another crate in the middle of the room that all of the courses were connected to, one that just so happened to have four Peace Maker heads inside it, meaning they were, in fact, getting the last weapon mod for their weapons.

"You know, I was worried that he might be lying, since these are the most powerful mod a Morph Gun can have," Simon said, where he and Theodore watched as the sisters picked up two of the four components and connected them to their guns without delay, making them similar to what Sig carried with him at all times, though once that was done Starlight just picked up the other two and stuffed them inside her pack for the time being, since Jak and Twilight needed their mods as well, though his words and expression told the others that he was happy that Krew hadn't cheated them, as this meant all of them would be that much deadlier for whatever the future held for them.

With the Peace Keeper mods in hand, something the sisters would wait to use since they were in a more peaceful area of Haven City, the pair headed outside without delay and returned to their zoomer, where Starlight took off and headed for the area that rested near the Stadium, as it seemed like a good place to look for Jak and Twilight, and if they weren't there it would be a simple matter to ask Keira if she knew where their siblings might be located... though when the sisters came to a stop outside the massive building, however, they found that the Class Two Race had started, meaning Jak had to be in the middle of a race and that Twilight was watching him, and sure enough they found Twilight standing at the end of the tunnel that connected the inside to the outside.

"If you're looking for Jak, he and Daxter are currently racing right now," Alvin said, speaking to the sisters as they, Alvin, and Theodore approached the area that Twilight was standing in, where they noticed that the ring had a different look to it this time around, meaning it would be unknown to any of the contestants, giving everyone an equal advantage while Errol just watched all of them before the final race, though from what all of them could see it was clear that Jak was in the lead and that none of his opponents looked like they were going to overtake him anytime soon.

"Krew had us escort some of his men into the Sewers, while you did whatever the Underground wanted you to do, but the men, well... how do I put this..." Starlight replied, speaking the moment they stopped beside Twilight, even though they did keep their voices low so no one else figured out what they were talking about, but she was stalling for now since she had no idea how Twilight, or even Midnight for that matter, would react once she revealed that the statue of Mar had been destroyed by the men they had escorted through the Sewers, "the men blew it up, snatching an artifact that the founder of the city must have placed in there for someone else to find, and now the artifact is in Krew's hands... we were also given four Peace Keeper mods as a reward for completing the mission."

"We'll recover the artifact in due time, so we can focus on other things for now," Twilight stated, though it was easy for her sisters and their Ottsels to figure out that she was annoyed that Krew had one of Mar's artifacts now, even if it wasn't one that he carried into battle or anything, but that didn't stop Starlight from pulling out one of the Peace Keeper mods out a few seconds later and handed it over to her, where she studied the device for a second before her Eco powers devoured it and added a dark purple gemstone to the bracelet Midnight had crafted for her, just like she had done to the other mods they had gotten since this adventure started, before she focused on the race as a smile appeared on her face, "but it looks like Jak is going to win the race, just like Keira and I predicted he would."

Sure enough Jak won the Class Two Race and claimed the reward, a trophy that recognized he had won the race, even if it would be added to Keira's shelves in her workshop, since he was racing for her team and everything, though once he and those that had been behind him, the second and third place holders, had their awards, or participation trophies for those he had beaten, before they regrouped in Keira's part of the Stadium and the sisters congratulated Jak on a job well done, as well as made sure he was given his Peace Keeper mod for later. Once all of them were outfitted with the last weapon mod that was available, not counting anything like ammunition capacity or rate of fire, Jak headed outside and his sisters did the same thing not a few seconds later, where they made sure to find their zoomers and checked the map of the city for a few seconds, before deciding to head back to the Hip hog and see if Krew had anything else he wanted them to do, even though he was hoping to head back to the Underground once that was done, since helping Torn and the Shadow was more important in his eyes. Once more they noticed that there were a number of yellow armored guards patrolling parts of the city, in addition to the red guards who usually wandered around and made sure the citizens were safe, or as safe as they could be since some people had been threatened by the guards the first time they left the Fortress, but, as Jak and his sisters discovered, none of the Krimzon Guards seemed to care about them and allowed them to make their way down to the Port again, even though each of them were curious as to what sort of mission Krew might have for them this time, or maybe he would have nothing and chase all of them away for the time being. Regardless of what Krew might have in store for them, after what happened with the men in the Sewers, an action that annoyed Twilight when she thought about it, they focused on making their way down towards their destination and discovered something interesting as they came to a stop outside the Hip Hog, there was another zoomer, one of the single seaters to be exact, which Twilight noticed had to belong to Errol, meaning he was likely somewhere inside the Hip Hog, enjoying some time off or waiting to ambush one of them when they checked in with Krew, to which they parked outside the building and headed inside.

When the siblings entered the Hip Hog they found Tess working at the counter, cleaning it since it looked like no one had come since Starlight and Cozy had been here, to which they stopped near her and ordered a few drinks, mostly juice since they needed a clear head for what was going to happen next, and while they did that Daxter took a moment to stand near Tess, who smiled and rubbed his chin for a few seconds, once more showing that the pair seemed into each other, despite the fact that one was an Ottsel and the other was a Human.

"Hey, back to work toots!" Krew stated, where the group mentally sighed for a moment as he moved down from the ceiling for a few seconds, as he must have noticed that Tess was taking a small break to scratch Daxter's chin, not that taking a small break was a bad thing since there was next to no one in the Hip Hog right now, even though Cozy did notice Errol in one of the booths and let out a small growl as she saw him, where she had to stop herself from lashing out at one of the men who had tormented her for three long years.

"Hey, beach ball, she is working... we're paying customers this time, see?" Daxter remarked, gesturing to the drinks and all of the credits that had been transferred to pay for them, though he knew that it came from Starlight since she was really the only one among their number who actually had a paying job before she and Twilight freed Cozy and Jak from the dark experiments the Baron and Errol had conducted on the two of them, but even then he tried to limit how much he said to Krew, since the fat man annoyed him and was likely pissing off the siblings.

"I'd watch your tone, before I decide to add a unique trophy to one of the Hip Hog's walls," Krew replied, where it was clear that he was basically threatening Daxter for no real reason, as he was annoyed at Tess for taking a small break while she worked, especially since the four of them were paying customers this time around, though as he turned away from where Daxter was resting, however, all four of the Ottsels glared at him and three of them were likely thinking about eating the fat man, before Krew focused on the siblings, "Jak, I want you to throw the championship race... just let Errol win and give the crowd a good show before he crosses the finish line."

"Sorry, but that's one thing I'm not about to do," Jak stated, where he took a sip from his drink and then set it down on the counter as he turned to face Krew, though Twilight and Starlight silently had their magic at the ready, in case a fight broke out between the far man and their brother, while Errol seemed somewhat interested in the conversation, or there was a chance that he was drunk or something, which would be funny if it were true, "Look, I understand why you would bet on him and not on us, you know he's a good racer and has won multiple championships over the years, plus if he wins you'll get all the money from those who bet on me winning... in your eyes, Errol is a win-win situation with no hope of losing at all, especially not to a newcomer whose only one the first two races needed to qualify for the big race. However, I'm going to race him in the championship, that much I know, and I intend to win it with my skills... but hey, if Errol wins it will be a good show for everyone else in the city."

Twilight knew that Jak had to be annoyed, as he loved racing and was one of the best racers she and her sisters had seen, though having someone like Krew tell him that he needed to throw the race was a step too far, as he'd rather win with his skills or lose to a racer that was better than him, that was why he was willing to face Errol in the championship, despite all of the stories that Keira had told him about the races Errol had been in, though the look on Krew's face told her that the fat man was annoyed at all of them talking back and not accepting his orders.

"You in a hurry to die?" Errol asked, his tone revealing that he was more than willing to fulfill such a thing, since it would, in his eyes, take out both an enemy on the track and remove a thorn in the side of the Krimzon Guard, despite the fact that the Baron was on their side at the moment, before he picked himself up and walked over to the counter so he could talk to Jak in a more personal manner and stare into his eyes for a few seconds, all while Jak's sisters focused on him and made sure he didn't try anything funny, "Well, we don't have to wait for the big race to see which of us is the better racer! We can do this right now, a one on one, through the city, using accelerator rings... Hit every ring from start to finish, but miss even one ring, and it's over! Keira thinks your a hotshot, but once I beat you she'll start to see that her thoughts were wrong and that I am the superior racer, and once I win the championship, assuming you even have the stomach to face me after this crushing defeat, she'll forget about you entirely."

Twilight, Starlight, and Cozy, plus all of their Ottsels, chuckled as Jak headed outside with Errol for a moment, where they could see a pair of zoomers had been readied by krew, as he must have known that such a thing would have happened as soon as he started to speak, and it wasn't long before the two of them raced off, leaving the Port and heading through the path that Errol had in mind as they headed back towards the Stadium... though not a few moments later they heard one of the Krimzon Guards outside telling another that their leader was upset over losing a 'practice race', causing Krew to frown as the sisters finished their drinks and headed out, as they knew it was best to reunite with Jak and Daxter before they did anything else.

Comments

[badninja]

Of course the moment they got to a certain point of the larger passage two Hoseheads dropped down in front of Cozy with the intent of blasting her into the ground, to which she switched her weapon for her Dark Eco claws as she grasped the heads of her enemies and forced both of them into the stonework that was below them, crushing both of them in seconds as Starlight focused on the few Hoseheads that tried to attack them from behind, even though she also collected the Skull Gems that were freed as all of Krew's men stared at Cozy in shock, meaning there was a chance they hadn't been told anything about here.

I think you wanted to use her.

I can’t wait until Krew is dead, although he will definitely screw with them at least a few more times.

[Blackdrag-rose]

10836514 You would be correct, I meant to use 'her' in that moment... not sure how the error was missed, but it has been fixed.

[PrismStrike]

have to agree with the metalmunk brothers, even though krew might taste like salty garbage