Tsukasa: I know my last fic in this universe was way too short but I couldn't find ways of lengthening it without straining my plot. But I have been contemplating a sequel and here it is. However, this is a one shot so again, shortness reigns.
Payback's A….
With respecting Jak's wishes in keeping the fact he was a living time paradox a secret, it was harder for Ashlein to prove Jak was an heir of Mar and therefore had a legitimate claim to the throne. Then Samos pointed out only an Heir of Mar could open the door to Mar's Tomb. So they had Jak stand in front of the door with his seal, which his younger self had given him, and then hand the seal off to Ashlein, Torn, Keira, and Samos to see if the door would open for them, when it didn't for them and a randomly picked person from the crowd, yet opened for Jak, the council was convinced, though it seemed Veager was squirming for some reason. Then again, he was one of the ones pushing to have Jak banished. Now it was proven before most of Haven and the whole council that Jak was a rightful heir to the throne. Ashlein had also read the wills of the people correctly in assuming they'd want a return to the government before Baron Praxis's reign.
Thus Jak was crowned King of Haven City. This spelled doom for the whole council.
Of course, we're getting a little ahead of ourselves.
Do you really think the council would let Jak just waltz in and take over? A resounding 'NO' sounds about right.
Veager and his cohorts holed up in the council chambers looking over the laws the pertained to the crowning of a previously unknown heir whenever other heirs are gone. Now, Veager knew of Jak considering the role he played in separating the Kid from his father, but the others didn't which was to his advantage. They found a provision in regards to an unknown heir who is perceived to be unstable: Marriage.
'No woman in her right mind would marry that freak,' Veager thought. He shared this thought with his partners in crime and they seconded this thought.
Veager looked a bit too smug whenever Jak, Daxter, Ashlein, Torn, Keira, Samos, and Tess arrived. Tess was holding Daxter and was ready to silence him should he speak out of turn.
"The council acknowledges that Jak is indeed an heir of Mar. However, in the laws of succession regarding previously unknown heirs that are perceived to be unstable by over two-thirds of the reigning council that heir is to marry before he can ascend the throne." Veager said smugly expecting Jak to explode angrily. Instead the infamous explosive temper of the renegade was absent.
Then again, it had been six months since Jak had defeated the Metal Head Leader and a lot can happen in six months. Such as Jak's temper being tempered by Keira and the fact the pair was dating. Veager hadn't known this at the time, and was shocked whenever the man formerly Haven's Public Enemy #1 turned to the mechanic girl next to him.
"I was hoping to ask you in a more private setting, but what do you say, want to be my wife?" Jak asked her as he pulled out a box that contained a ring set with a green eco crystal.
"Of course!" Keira said before she pulled Jak into a passionate kiss.
"Can't an eco sage preside over a wedding ceremony?" Ashlein asked Samos.
"I can," He said, "What right here and now? No, give them a day to get ready, my little girl deserves more than this."
"Fine, Twenty four hours it is. Also if that heir is engaged to get married he is considered the be the Crowned Prince in that interim and as such cannot be banished without just cause and a whole heck of a lot of concrete evidence which then has to be verified by an impartial, certified third party," Ashlein said to Veager. The little bureaucrat's face turned green with outrage rivaling Samos's skin in color.
After they stepped out Ashlein dragged Keira off to the side.
"We're going to go dress shopping NOW. Tess, give Daxter to Jak, you're coming too," Ashlein said.
"Thanks you two!" Keira said, "Want to be my bridesmaids?"
"We'd love to!" Tess answered for both before they left. Daxter shook his head before opening his mouth.
"So what are we going to do on your last night of freedom?" he asked.
"I'm going to look over those laws to make sure there aren't any loopholes," Torn said, Jak nodded,
"I'm going to see if it's within my power to dissolve the council," Jak said, "But you can go drink in our stead."
"What the use of owning a bar if your best pal won't let you throw him a bachelor party!" Daxter complained.
"What's this about a bachelor party?" asked Sig's voice.
"Sig! When did you get in?" Jak asked.
"A few hours ago, Jinx said you'd be here. Didn't say why though," Sig said.
"Jak here's getting married so he can become King!" Daxter said boasting on Jak's behalf.
"How?" Sig asked. 'There aren't any other family members of the House of Mar aside from Damas and little Mar.'
"Jak here's an heir of Mar! And a living time paradox-thingie to boot-Ouch!" Daxter said and Jak smacked him.
"And how is that cherries?" Sig asked an edge to his tone said 'explain or else.'
"It turns out the Kid the Underground said was the heir to the throne was my younger self. We had to send him to the past to grow up and become me," Jak explained after a moment.
"Before you say Time Travel is impossible, I've been to the past too," Torn added.
"I see. Could this little kid speak?" Sig asked.
"No he was mute like I was until the Baron got a hold of me," Jak said darkly.
"So when's the wedding, chili pepper?" Sig asked.
"Tomorrow," Jak said.
"I'll be there," Sig said.
Sig slipped out of Haven before he turned on his communicator, praying a sandstorm wasn't raging that would disrupt his reception.
"King Damas, this is Sig. I've found him," He said.
"Is he alright?" Damas asked.
"He's fine, but you need to get to Haven tonight. There is something you need to know," Sig said, "And it's something I need to explain in person."
"I'll be there in four hours," Damas replied.
"Those bastards are going down!" Jak laughed four hours later. Torn, who was sitting next to him jumped.
"What?" he asked.
"I can dissolve the council if they've ever been affiliated with anyone who has plotted to overthrow the King, and considering they ruled with Praxis they're as good as gone," Jak said.
"There aren't any loopholes for them to get rid of you unless a direct descendant should appear and we both know that can't happen as you are that descendant," Torn said tiredly.
"Hey cherries, want to meet me at The Naughty Ottsel for a drink?" Sig's voice said over Jak's communicator.
"Sure. Torn?" Jak asked.
"Might as well." Torn said.
Damas followed Sig's directions to 'The Naughty Ottsel,' formerly the 'Hiphog,' and saw Sig was sitting in a darkened booth but he stopped to stare at the stuffed and mounted head of Metal Kor. He could hardly believe his eyes.
"I could hardly believe it when I saw it too, but knowing Jak like I did I shouldn't have doubted the cherry." Sig said as Damas sat down.
"Jak?" Damas asked wondering who was sacrilegious enough to name their son after the famous hero of myth.
"We've got to wait for him to arrive to explain things fully about your son." Sig said in a low voice so only Damas could hear him.
"Is this a private party or can we join?" Jak asked as he and Torn approached the table.
"Take a seat cherries." Sig said. Jak sat next to the cloaked stranger while Torn sat next to Sig.
"Now tell again how it's possible for Jak here to ascend the throne when it was widely known the only heirs to the throne were from the small number of those of the House of Mar, namely two," Sig said which earned a strange look from the cloaked man.
"Jak's a living time paradox." Daxter said as he butted in.
"A time paradox can't exist." The stranger pointed out. Jak was about to speak but Daxter spoke for him,
"Well if that was true then Jak wouldn't be here, yet he is," Daxter said, "We sent his younger self to the past about six months ago. That younger self is going to grow-up into Jak, save the world, arrive in the future two years ago, get all dark eco-y and pissed, kill Metal Kor with my help (though I did most of the work-ouch hey stop abusing me Jak!), and start that twisted loop all over again," Daxter said managing to keep his voice low.
"And how does this have anything to do with him being an heir of Mar?" Sig prompted before Damas could.
"Wel-," Daxter said before Torn cut off the ottsel letting Jak speak for himself.
"My younger self was the heir to Haven's throne and heir of Mar. He gave me this before we sent him back in time," Jak said as he pulled his seal out and laid it on the table.
Damas couldn't believe his ears. He glanced at the younger elf out the corner of his eyes and could see similarities between Mar and Jak.
"Why did I have to explain all this for this man?" asked Jak.
"Because, that's King Damas of Spargus, former King of Haven," Sig said softly. Jak didn't give any sort of reaction at first, nor did Damas. Daxter, on the otherhand…
"WHAT?" he said as his jaw dropped. Everyone looked that direction for a second before returning to their own business,
"Knock it off!" Sig said cuffing Daxter.
"But they don't even look alike. Actually, this guy looks like that statue Jinx blew up if you squint at him and turn your head sideways." Daxter said.
"How do I know you four aren't trying to deceive me?" Damas demanded in a low tone.
"Jak can make the seal work." Torn said, "We used that to prove to the whole city the legitimacy of his claim without revealing Jak's a living, breathing paradox."
"How did you do this?" Damas asked.
"I opened Mar's Tomb, again." Jak said after being silent for so long.
"Again?" Damas asked.
"The first time it was opened, my younger self was the one who opened the door. But I was the one who went through the trials to get the Precursor Stone." Jak said.
"Which Praxis stole then we got it back and used it to blow a hole in the Metal Head Nest!" Daxter said.
"How did you know of Mar's Gun?" Damas asked.
"I told the cherries about it." Sig said.
"He's not going to believe us unless we give him the same demonstration we gave the rest of Havne." Jak said standing up from the table.
"It's not that I don't believe you, it's just I'm afraid to and it turns out it's false." Damas said hesitantly. After all, he isn't exactly the type to ever admit to his emotions now is he?
"Can you accept a Dark Eco freak as your son?" Jak asked.
"I'd accept you even if you were a Dark Maker," Damas replied as he finally looked Jak in the eyes.
"So touching," Daxter sniffed making both of the two remaining members of the House of Mar glare at the furry ex-elf.
"Cherry, if looks could kill, you'd be dead," Sig said.
"Keira'd have killed me long ago if that were true," Daxter said before remembering he had a bar to run, "Look at the time! See you tomorrow!" the ottsel scrambled away towards the bar which made Sig chuckle and it seemed the laughter was contagious because soon Jak and Damas were laughing too.
"So tomorrow's the big day, huh chili pepper?" Sig said.
"What's going on tomorrow?" Damas asked.
"Oh I forgot to tell you, but Jak here is getting married," Sig said slapping the smaller elf on the back.
"Really?" Damas said.
"Yes, to Keira Hagai," Jak said.
"The Sage's daughter?" Damas asked, "I was under the impression she's a year younger than you should be."
"She's part of the time paradox too," Jak said as he shrugged. This made all of them pause for a moment. In all technicalities, according to the records of this time, a seven-year-old would be marrying a six-year-old. This made Jak laugh again as the image of his younger self and Keira's younger self popped up in his mind wearing mini-wedding outfits.
"This could be problematic; neither of you has proper records that fit your respective ages," Torn said.
"He's right, cherry," Sig said.
"Ashlein's already taken care of it," Samos's voice said making all four jump.
"Really?" Jak said.
"As soon as you got back from that little time-trip she began to make very realistic fake records for both you and Keira while deleting Keira's other records from the system the records for your younger self had to remain otherwise people would get suspicious," Samos said before he bowed his head to Damas, "It's good to see you, Your Majesty."
"Enough of that Hagai," Damas said.
"Shouldn't we be celebrating?" Sig said as he dragged Torn and Jak to the bar. Damas and Samos just returned to the booth to have a long talk.
It ended with the Sand King punching the Green Sage in the face but Samos admitted he might have deserved it.**
Veager had tried to go the 'no records' route only to find records for a Jak with no last name was in the system and last he'd looked Keira Hagai was only supposed to be six but here it was listing her age as sixteen and the way the codes looked they were flawless. He was surprised to see the records of Prince Mar were still there considering Jak actually was Prince Mar. This meant that whoever did this was not only a skilled hacker but smart enough to leave Mar's records alone.
In actuality, Ashlein had help with her little stunt. Tess, it turned out, not only made guns as a hobby but also could do some computer hacking as well. Ashlein was actually good at writing code but Tess was good at making it appear as if they code had always been there, and she classified and de-classified Jak's information like one would expect. Ashlein knew her father's authorization codes so they were able to fake that too.
The day of the wedding dawned bright an early, Jak had been given a set of armor from the old palace's armory to wear along with a cape that was red with the seal of Mar embroidered on the back in gold. Around his neck on a thin gold chain was his seal of Mar. Also, Torn had made him cut off a good chunk of his hair, remarking that they needed a King and a Queen not two Queens, so now most of the blonde was gone leaving mostly the green behind, his goatee had also been sacrificed (this was to appease Keira who had lost her favorite plaything after the haircut).
Keira stood nervously before the mirror in what she was told was the rooms the Queen had used before she married Jak's father. The dress was strapless with a sweetheart neck line, the bodice covered in white lace. The skirt was two layered with a white silk underskirt underneath sheer layers of gossamer which came down in sections that reminded Keira of flower petals, the sheer overskirt being six such sections. On her head was a veil made of a material that reminded her of ice. Around her neck was something Ashlein had found in the royal treasury: a gold choker with the seal of Mar on it in rubies. Ashlein herself was wearing a wine red dress that had a halter top that left little to the imagination and a skirt made of draped material. Tess wore the same dress as Ashlein being a bridesmaid as well. They'd decided on that dress because it flattered both their shapely forms. They hadn't done much with their hair deciding that their usual styles were good enough.
Torn was even more nervous than Jak was. His dress code for the day had been easy enough; all he had to do was put on the gray dress uniform of the New Krimzon Guard, only his had a thicker ribbon track* than the others and a few more medals. His nervousness was mainly due to the fact he had to coordinate the security at the last minute and find an excuse for the King of Spargus to be present. King Damas explained that by letting people assume he'd fathered Jak out of wedlock would help a long ways towards keeping people from sniffing too deeply into the 'why' of his being there. Sig was in his standard armor as Damas's 'body guard' despite the fact he didn't need one. Damas was in his normal gear as King of Spargus staff and all.
Vegar spotted the ex-King of Haven and thought that he was there to make a scene. He was disappointed as the small wedding began with Samos entering followed shortly by Jak, Daxter (in a mini-tux made for him by Tess), and Torn. Torn was surprised at how quickly Keira, Tess and Ashlein arranged everything. The guards were keeping the reporters out (Who had discovered their reestablished rights of free speech rather quickly after the Baron was killed). It all went off without a hitch, much to Veager's dismay. He was shocked to see Damas smiling at the whole thing which meant,
'He's in on this!' The council recognized the deposed king immediately and they were all shaking in their boots. Ashlein had also managed to make this a wedding/coronation by telling Samos what he had to say after he married the couple and placed their crowns on their heads. Jak's crown was a simple circlet made out of solid gold with the seal of Mar engraved in the front. Keira's crown was also a circlet only hers was made out of several 'threads' of silver that were braided around each other with a small red eco gem that rested on her forehead. The crowd of (mostly) the former Underground, now making the ranks of the New Krimzon Guard's officers, cheered as the ceremony ended.
King Damas approached the happy couple with a bittersweet smile. They reminded him of how he and his wife had been on their wedding day. He had also just found his son only find he was already a man.
"Congratulations," he said clapping a hand on Jak's shoulder.
"Thanks…Father," Jak said as he smiled at the Wasteland King. The council was still watching the king as a kangarat watched a leaper lizard, with fear and wariness. Of course now Jak was King, which meant they also watched him with fear.
The next day the newly crowned King Jak dissolved the council on the grounds that they supported Baron Praxis after he deposed King Damas and from the fact they'd held onto their power during his reign it was hard to refute. So he had them all stripped of their ranks and possessions and put into place a new council that the citizens of Haven would elect at Ashlein's prompting. This move was politically sound. Of course, later, whenever Veager was caught red-handed in trying to blow up Praxis's palace, Jak tried not to smile whenever he sentenced Veager to prison for fifteen years. The other councilors joined him later all for tax evasion and evidence of bribery during their time as council members. Jak had his hands full with governing Haven, establishing good trade relations with Spargus and Kras City, and fighting a war on two fronts.
After a visit to the Desert Oracle, at the suggestion of King Damas, Jak was able to use his newly gained Light Powers to help turn the tide on the front lines. This was allowed because the Queen of Haven was sort of like a Vice President instead of just a spouse. Keira was upset Jak was fighting on the front lines leaving her to run things and not actually be part of the battle, but she knew he'd have gone out and fought anyway. Once the dust from the final battle cleared peace was restored to Haven and Spargus.
One year after his coronation, Jak and Keira celebrated the birth of their own child, a little boy they named in honor of Jak's ancestor Mar. This younger Prince Mar was greeted with hopes of a better future for both the two cities of Spargus and Haven and a better future for the child.
Of course, hearing that Veager had fallen into a vat of Dark Eco that same day and had been ottselfied made things all the better. After all, Pay Back's a…
The End
* That's the best name I could come up with for that multicolored thing that military service members have.
**That was meant to be an allusion to POTC