Shinku basked in the warmth of the morning sun as he opened the curtains to marvel at the city's majestic view from the inn's window. It was his original plan to take a stroll around the city's streets after his sumptuous breakfast; however, the sudden unexpected turn of events made him decide to stay at his room to monitor his new acquaintances' movements.
The lustrous, cloudless sky had been painted with a rosy hue by the golden rays of the sun. Its placid expanse had been made more alive by zeppelins and dragons, scattered as far as the assassin's eyes can reach. The busy streets on the other hand, teemed with a crowd of humans, and a couple of the large grub-like mounts crawling about its concrete ground.
For a moment, Shinku decided to close his eyes, making the majestic view in front of him disappear into darkness, replaced by lights, projected by the spiritual energy of all the sentient beings around him. Out of those lights, Shinku followed the view of Slark's spiritual signature along with his rodent-like friend. Ever distrustful, the assassin couldn't help but think of the possibility of the duo's betrayal.
The long-eared warrior's spiritual light projection showed that he was still at the dining hall where Shinku ate earlier. The man's small friend still accompanied him very close by. He checked off any more acquaintances the duo might had but the activity of the other sentient beings from around them appeared to be separated from the two.
It wasn't that long when the taller among the two made his move away from the dining hall and outside the inn, with the small creature following shortly after. Both their movements were in a steady phase not having a hint of haste. Observing their vitals, both appeared to be having a simple stroll around the streets of the city whose name he later found out as Arak'tia.
Everything went smoothly until Shinku realized that the duo was about to step into a zone where his tracking would fade. Not wanting to lose the two, Shinku quickly snapped out of his trance and melded into his shadow. He appeared atop another building, concealing himself to prevent any unwanted attention. He went on warping in and out of the shadows, bringing himself closer to the location where he last felt the presence of Slark and his sidekick.
Satisfied of how far he got, Shinku stopped at the peak of what looked like a medieval tower built right at the center of a century old tree. Again, he closed his eyes and entered into a trance. It didn't take him that long to identify the spiritual signatures of his targets. They appeared to me merely a few meters from where the tower was standing. The phase of both his targets' movements did not change a bit, still indicating a normal stroll. Checking all the sentient beings around them no one seemed to share the same activity except a few beings that would approach and leave the two from time to time. Judging from the cheery aura of those that got close to the two, there appeared to be no shady events going on at the moment.
Shinku started to focus closely, the moment his targets stopped at a secluded area in the city. This time, no one else seemed to approach both his targets with the closest sentient being, appearing several meters far from the two. It wasn't that long from then, when Shinku's trance was disturbed by a ringing sound from the device that the eco warrior handed him earlier.
"You hear me?...." A distorted voice spoke from the other line appearing to be from Slark. ""You hear me? Me and Dax are near an old building just outside the city gates up north. Oh and I forgot to explain that you are to keep our client safe from some mobs. Her name is Shen'za by the way don't forget that. If you are ready, me and Apex are ready to hit the road."
"I see. I'll be right there." Shinku responded, disappearing into his shadow, and reappearing into a dark alley just a few meters away from the castle where he was in. He decided to take the normal route, walking towards the eco warrior in an attempt to appear normal to the two.
It did take Shinku a while before he could reach the place where he remembered tracking his target's presence a while ago. He approached the duo, seeing the small creature speaking with someone on a communication device.
"Hey." Shinku subtly announced his presence, with Slark nodding in response as the latter took the communication device from the small creature. Satisfied, the assassin walked towards a wall, leaning against it as he watched the eco warrior communicating with someone over the line. He crossed his arms, patiently waiting for what appears to be quite a long conversation.
"Shen'za?! It's Slark, what's up?" The long-eared warrior opened, the moment he got the communication device from Apex
With the eco warrior still on the phone, Shinku decided to immerse himself yet again into a deep trance. The assassin has always been distrustful of people around him, especially of strangers that tend to use him for anything. Making sure he wouldn't be doublecrossed, he used his shadow technique to make himself aware of every sentient presence around him. He searched behind walls, inside buildings, and on streets, as far as his senses can reach. He made sure to capture every movement, intent and the interaction of all those he can sense, including the duo that are just standing a few meters away from him.
His companions didn't seem to emit any malignant intent as he observed the aura they radiate. Moreover, there seemed to be no person hidden in close proximity around them. Most of the sentient beings he observed, were all distantly located, and going about their own activities. Still discontented, he stayed in his trance constantly observing every single living soul that he could see as glowing lights, and shaped depending on their species.
"You know where the slums are around here, Slark? You are actually closer than you think." A female voice answered from the other line.
Slark's face contorted to a more serious demeanor. "Wait, really?"
"Despite being on this planet for a year or so, you still don't know your way around, do you?" Shen'za responded followed by what sounded like a stifled laugh.
Jak groaned and sighed "Just get me to you and the race track."
"Alright, Alright. All business, no time for fun, I see. Now let's see take the road straight and the middle-class buildings should start looking a little dumpier and dirtier. Be careful of the seedier groups around this area, don't trust them. Now my racing garage should be the better looking grey building you see as you turn the corner. And shhh, keep the location secret. Can't risk the Arak'tia mobsters finding me."
Slark warrior lifted his head up from the phone conversation and closed the communicator upon its end.
"This Shen'za is a talker, I'll give her that. " Slark sighed and moved his head toward a solo vehicle that looked more like a wheel-less motorcyle.
Shinku decided to snap out of his trance the moment he noticed Slark making a move. With his eyes opened, the assassin of shadows caught a glimpse of the long-eared warrior's nod perhaps signaling the former that they were about to depart. Hesitant of his companion's signal, the assassin simply stood, observing the duo as they walked towards their ride that leaned on the wall at the far side of the alley. He followed the eco warrior's steps as the latter along with his sidekick, continued to converse along the way.
"I'm sure she's quite a good looking woman, Slark, you never know.." Apex chuckled as he climbed up the long-eared warrior's right shoulder.
Jak wanted to facepalm right there but instead rolled his eyes at Daxter "Oh shut up.."
Daxter crossed his arms "Oh yeah of course, you already have Keiga."
Slark however, simply ignored the rodent and instead faced Shinku. " Hey, we are leaving now. Keep following us and we should be there soonish, I hope." the long-eared warrior noted and hopped on his ride.
Shinku's assumption was reinforced the moment the eco warrior hopped on his vehicle. After revving the engine, the Slark asked the assassin of shadows to tail them towards their destination. Shinku was about to inform his companion that he had no ride of his own, when the eco warrior suddenly took off, leaving the assassin behind.
'Jeez, I hope the place isn't that far from here.' Left with no other choice, Shinku simply took a deep sigh, then disappeared into the shadow realm. He chose to warp back atop a tall building of the city so he can at least be closer to his companions. He jumped through his shadow art from one rooftop to another, trying his best to catch up with Slark's bike. He wanted to marvel at the view of the city from above but keeping track of his companions proved to be a tedious task as he needed to use his shadow art to both track the warrior's location and teleport himself towards their direction.
As his travel progressed, the once magical and majestic view of the city gradually faded into a shabby, dull slum almost resembling Kravien. As he continued his pursuit, the assassin noticed that most of the buildings in this part of town were old concrete structures, stained with molds and dirt. Oddly enough, the structures almost resembled abandoned buildings but were crowded with people. The beautifully decorated zeppelins and majestic flying creatures could no longer be seen on the skies above. The fresh air of the semi organic streets of Arak'tia had turned into the stench of a dreggy urban town.
The assassin of shadows continued to warp in and out of existence, making sure not to lose the long-eared warrior. His shadow pass allowed him to catch up with his companions while on land however, constantly using the skill proved to become much more difficult as the travel got farther and farther.
'When are we going to stop?' Shinku grumbled, trying to catch his breath while continually teleporting in pursuit of the duo. His attempt to dive into the shadow realm began to fail from time to time, forcing him to focus more of his inner ki before he could do another successful teleportation. Fortunately enough, Slark finally slowed down and started his descent. Noticing the long-eared warrior's change in speed, Shinku decided to stop for a while to take a rest and observe his companions' movement much closer.
With Slark finally getting to a halt, Shinku was finally able to take a breather from continuously warping in and out of the shadow realm. The shadow assassin temporarily settled down on the top of a flat concrete roof. As he relaxed his ki, Shinku entered into a trance once again to closely monitor Slark and his sidekick. With their phase, it appeared that the duo switched to travelling on foot which allowed Shinku to relax even more as it indicated that they have reached their destination. From where the duo were, the assassin estimated himself to be at least a few meters away which was a pretty safe distance for him to keep track of the long-eared warrior.
A sudden hint of aggression from an unknown sentient being near his companions alarmed Shinku who was about to snap out of his trance but its quick transition to serenity calmed the assassin as well. Slark must have found his client as the ambience by their area seemed to have settled down to a more relaxed aura.
Shinku's companions however, would be the least of his concern for now as the assassin suddenly noticed a malevolent intent coming from several beings that slowly approached him.
"Eh what do we have here? Someone's brave enough to trespass in our territory." Shinku could hear a hoarse voice of a male being, coming from a few feet in front of him. He decided to keep his trance state, observing the movement of the mob that then surrounded him on all sides. Through his extrasensory skill, Shinku was able to determine that there were at least ten beings, all with ill intent against him. A dark aura surrounded each of them, causing Shinku to be wary, while still keeping his trance state.
"Hello, is anybody home!" The same voice taunted, followed by the sound of light footsteps. Still not moving an inch, Shinku stayed calm as he saw a particular spiritual form moving towards him.
"Hey boss. This one must be too scared to move. I bet he's already shitting in his pants." Another voice mocked, which started a chorus of sarcastic laughter among the group.
Shinku on the other hand, focused on restoring the flow of his inner ki as it had been too disrupted after the continuous use of his shadow pass. He could feel the presence of the one that first spoke to him, gradually approach. His enemy had gone so near that Shinku could hear the click of a pistol being cocked. The aura of aggression had now become more intense around him, yet Shinku remained unfazed at the middle of his foes.
"Now listen kid! If you don't tell us who you are and what you are doing here, I'm gonna have a bullet poked inside your head." The man threatened, making the front of the gun's barrel touch Shinku's forehead. At this point, the shadow assassin's ki had started to gradually stabilize. "I'll give you ten seconds to answer, kid. Ten…" The stranger in front of him continued to threaten the shadow assassin with a sudden countdown. The other beings that surrounded Shinku started to mock the assassin with random swear words.
"One!" For a split second, Shinku could hear the subtle sound of the trigger being pulled. The voices of the others had started to fade into deep distorted voices and then into total silence.
"Whhat the hell happened!" A fire was shot but to everyone's surprise, the young man that once stood among them disappeared without a trace. The fired bullet drilled a hole on the concrete surface of the rooftop, making it seem like no one was actually in front of the stranger who made the shot.
Shinku reappeared on the top of another flat concrete roof, then again melded into his shadow with his eyes focused towards Slark's direction. His energy had fully returned, having his ki stabilized after a few minutes of rest. His blood started to boil, agitated of the inconvenience that he just went through. He made several jumps into the shadow realm until finally reaching his destination.
"Hey! Are you trying to have me killed!" Shinku appeared in front of Slark in form of a purplish smoke that instantly materialized into his form with his sword pointed at the long-eared warrior's throat. Apex and a woman near the duo appeared to have been paralyzed in fear as if a phantom suddenly appeared in their midst.
"Wwwhho the hell is this?" The woman beside Apex suddenly gasped in terror at the sight of Shinku's appearence.
Shinku tightened his grip on his sword, his heart beating in rage as his weapon threatened its impending victim. His eyes bore through the soul of the warrior in front of him, aiming to psyche his opponent out. This time, his strength is at its peak, reinforced by his sudden fury towards the eco warrior who made him travel a couple of miles on foot. It was only fortunate enough that the assassin could travel through the shadows, slightly attenuating the toil.
Slark then growled, reacting to the assassin's sudden aggression. "Don't be stupid, I thought you were following me!" He hissed, as the same dark-lightning from before, danced around his body and made sudden changes on his muscles.
The woman beside Apex looked absolutely horrified as the rodent held her, trying to reassure her that everything was going to be fine.
Though confident of his stance, Shinku suddenly flinched when once again, a dark aura emerged from Slark. The same fear suddenly seared through the assassin as his opponent underwent a sudden transformation. The aura around his opponent was similar to the energy the warrior released during their first encounter. With Shinku not facing the warrior during the incident at the inn, this became his first time seeing the long-eared warrior's skin going from pale ivory to a more purplish hue. The eco warrior's blond hair has faded into grey and black claws emerged from each of his fingers. Shinku felt his opponent's energy significantly rising up yet he tried to remain unfazed by the eco warrior's frightening aura.
Black horns jutted out of Slark's head, followed by a sickly greyish hair and black filled eyes came out. He started to turn into the form of a demon with lavender skin showing underneath his clothes. Slark then hissed, his claws now pushing Shinku's sword "Better not to threaten our host."
Shinku was surprised when Jak quickly took a grip of his sword's blade, pushing it away as the long-eared warrior growled. Realizing his disadvantage, Shinku quickly pulled his sword then had his body diffused like a black smoke and disappeared. He re-emerged behind Slark, arcing his sword in a crescent strike, to cut through his opponent's head.
"Pesky.." To Shinku's surprise, Slark was able to quickly maneuver himself to capture the assassin's blade as if merely holding a wooden stick. Bolts of lightning suddenly surged from the dark warrior's hand, speeding it's way through the blade and towards the assassin. The lightning's current gave a sudden sting to the assassin, forcing him to again seek refuge into the shadow realm. With the assassin disappearing, the dark warrior's lightning bolt shot towards a nearby car engine, frying its gears to a crisp.
Shinku decided to re-emerge at a safe distance from the dark warrior, trying to rethink his steps. He could still feel the pain from the shock of Slark's lightning bolt. His opponent proved to be a tough one in spite of the assassin finally gaining his full strength. He was about to make his next move when suddenly, a loud yell roared around the room. The yell came from a lady of which Shinku was only aware through his shadow tracking.
"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU! YOU SUDDENLY BARGED IN HERE, CAUSE A FIGHT AND START BREAKING THINGS!" The woman yelled in rage, as if not feeling a bit of terror at Shinku's arrival.
Hearing the woman's scream, Slark immediately changed back to himself. "Shit." He muttered, realizing that his lightning bolt hit what sounded like a car engine.
Realizing his stupidity, Shinku decided to quickly sheathe his sword yet still making himself prepared in case the Slark decided to retaliate. He stared at the fried engine, relieved that he chose to escape the lightning bolt before ending up with the same fate as the car's engine. He turned his head towards the long-eared warrior who seemed to have calmed down as well. His face of guilt was evident making Shinku feel the same with the mess that they both made.
"Alright my bad. So what do we do from here?" Raising up his hands in surrender, Shinku walked towards his companion in an attempt to make up for his rude entrance.
With the guys calmed down, the woman seemed to have realized her unlikely behavior. She muttered something under her breath and looked at Slark and his sidekick, then to Shinku. She crossed her arms, still a little ticked at the three men for fighting but slowly she began to calm down.
She turned at Shinku who placed his sword away and sighed "So, Slark, who is this guy anyways?"
Daxter shrugged as he looked over at Slark.
Jak sighed and turned "Well Shen'za, let's just say we got ourselves some business associate. We are on loose terms though but I invited him here to help you with your mob problems out there.
"My mob problems? But how?" Shen'za, as Slark addressed the woman, asked followed by a blink of confusion.
"Well we couldn't guarantee your safety while we're on the racing track so we entrust you with..." Slark suddenly faced Shinku for some reason. Judging by his last words, Shinku assumed that the long-eared warrior was asking him to continue the introductions.
"Oh yes of course, you can call me Trey." Shinku spouted, throwing some random name to the group. The situation suddenly turned a bit awkward when Shen'za and Slark kept their stare at the assassin, seemingly waiting for more words that the latter might add to his introductions. Shinku's head alternated between the two, unsure of what more they expected him to say.
To break the silence, Apex decided to barge in. "By the way, what exactly got you in such a rage, err.. Trey"?
"Well, Travelling here by foot isn't exactly an easy task while you two ride that thing with that speed. Plus, I kind of got into a minor scuffle." Shinku responded mundanely, bowing his head in shame of the conduct that he just showed his companions.
The rodent's eyes grew wide in disbelief. Shinku's current condition didn't seem to show just a minor scuffle. "A minor scuffle? You looked like you went through hell."
"I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do for you.. " Hearing Shinku's side, Shen'za couldn't help but feel some pity she walked up to Shinku.
Slark sighed and turned "I can heal you. That's the least I can do after what happened out there."
"You think you are being a little too trustworthy, Slark?" Apex protested
The eco warrior frowned "Perhaps I am. Perhaps I don't want to see anyone else hurt on my watch."
"After so many betrayals, Slark.. you think this one is going to be different?" The rodent continued as he watch his companion walk towards Shinku.
Slark chose to ignore Apex's last inquiry but instead focused on Shinku in front of him. "Hold still."
To his surprise, Shinku saw the Slark's body turn ethereal, emanating a bluish glowing aura. Threads of light started to sprout from behind the long-eared warrior, forming into bluish translucent wings. In front of the assassin of shadows is now a somewhat angelic being, far from Slark's previous frightening dark form.
"My name is Light, Slark's other side. My host wants to heal you so I will do so." A voice, far from Jak's usual tone, suddenly spoke up, seemingly as a different being, though in the same body as the long-eared warrior. Shinku could feel a warm energy suddenly surging all throughout his body, the moment the angelic being touched him. It was almost the same feeling as when Birke healed him back in the forest.
Shen'za stepped back lightly, seeing Slark change into someone completely different. "Those forms. I.. saw them on that reality show Staten's Island, right?"
The light form slowly turned, looking at the woman "Yes… I was there and so was my other form."
"So, you are two beings that share the same body as Slark? But you both have your own personality?" Shen'za looked up in interest.
Light just stared for a second to answer the woman's question "Yes. Me and dark share headspace inside our host."
Shenza nodded "Interesting. But how?"
Light was quiet and turned for a second. "You certainly ask a lot of questions, woman."
Shinku on the other hand, couldn't help but be completely lost in daze as he was filled with an unexplainable warm energy. It felt soothing to the young man, and addictive at the same time, almost causing him to fall into a deep trance, lost into a blinding light. The voices around him suddenly faded into obscure speeches making the young man's mind finally succumbing into a state of tranquility.
It wasn't that long when the assassin of shadows finally snapped out of his dreamy state. He felt as if his soul had suddenly been sucked out of his body then placed back in one swooping motion.
Shinku opened his eyes, with the view of Slark's ethereal form which then gradually turned back into the long-eared warrior's original form. "Thanks." Shinku prevented any hint of a smile to escape his lips. "So shall we get on the deal once and for all?" The assassin of shadows imposed impatiently, fascading his feeling gratefulness at the eco warrior's kindness.
Apex looked at his arm "Yeah, we should go. Shen'za, you drive the car you made up there. We'll go and win the race for you."
Shen'za blinked "Oh! Yeah, we have got to get going." The woman made her way to what appeared like a formula racing car without any wheels on. "Follow me up to the track."
"You heard the lady, let's go!" Apex smirked, invited Slark and Shinku to tag along.
The assassin of shadows responded with a snobbish nod then followed the rest of them who were on their way to their rides. Slark's gestured Shinku to join him on his ride hence, the assassin of shadows quickly hopped on after his companion took the lead.