A/N:

So excited to write; this story from MTLH Part 1 up to what I intend on being the third installment, has been thought-out and years in the making. I can't wait to hit certain parts and share them with you all.

Be prepared.

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Jak.

"Hey Jakie-boy! Long time no see!"

Jinx was sitting at the bar, smoking a fat cigar as usual. I shook his hand and he offered a cigar to me, but I declined. He shrugged, blowing smoke into Dax's face.

Daxter sputtered and coughed, "HEY!"

Torn tapped on the bar behind me impatiently, "Sorry, boys. No time for pleasantries. Tell Jak what you did, Jinx."

"Alright, so you know the blast bots you've seen around? Well...I captured one!" Jinx took another puff and grinned proudly. I lifted an eyebrow and as I opened my mouth to ask how he did such a thing, he held up a hand. "Don't ask. I'll show you the scars later."

I protested this, "I'd rather not-"

"-Anyhow, I've rigged that baby with a remote control and even more explosives than the standard package."

"Why am I not surprised?" Daxter crossed his arms and Jinx blew smoke in his face again.

"Jak," Torn stepped up beside me, gesturing to the hologram table, "Link up to the remote and use the hologram to direct that bot into the KG area." We headed over to the holo-projection, which lit up as we approached, "If you can get the blast bot close enough to the Freedom League border and blow it up, it should punch a hole in the defensive line and allow us to hook up with our comrades."

"Let's do it. Remote please?" I zoomed out of the holo-map with my hand and gave myself ample arial viewing to direct the blast bot to the correct location. Jinx popped the remote into my hand, which resembled something like a gaming joystick, and I began pressing its buttons.

It was much harder than I thought it'd be; trying to dispose of KG and metalheads, while simultaneously avoiding crushing Freedom Fighters...it made me sweat profusely. Daxter was cheering me on, loudly in my ear, as if this were only a game. But it did improve my morale, and therefore I was able to reach the ambush awaiting near the defensive line.

"Alright, Jakie, this is it," Jinx murmured, leaning forward and ashing his cigar on the edge of the map, "You know how people always tell ya never to press the big red button?"

"Um...I...suppose...?"

"Well, I want you to press it once you pass that wave of metalheads there."

I waited til the precise moment he described, and as Jinx shouted "NOW!", I jabbed the big red button with my thumb.

On the hologram we watched in awe as the barricade and everything around it exploded into smithereens. Some of our men and women were blown back, and in a moment of panic I was afraid I'd killed them. But as the smoke cleared, they all began to rise, holding their heads and helping each other to their feet.

Daxter, Torn and I all glared at Jinx. He blinked and shrugged, holding his hands up defensively. "Hey, don't look at me like that. It's my job to blow shit sky high. Not to protect those in the line o' fire."

Torn shook his head, took the remote from me and clapped me hard on the back. "Great job, Jak." He headed over to the bar, reached over it and pulled up a large whiskey bottle and four glasses. "We can link up with the northern front now." After pouring the glasses and passing them around to us, he exited out of the holo-map and went into his contact files. "I'll get on the horn to HQ and give them the good news!" He held up his glass, and the rest of us followed in pursuit. "You're the man, Jak! You are the man!"

We tossed back our drinks- Daxter one second behind because I had to pour his down his throat since his hands were too tiny to hold the glasses Torn had snatched up. Torn wiped his mouth on the back of his sleeve and took our glasses back from us. I watched him walk over to the bar, noticing there was less- for lack of a better word- bounce in his step than usual. His ruby dreadlocks were frizzier than normal, and he had bags in his eyes I hadn't noticed before. This war was wearing him down...much more than the war against Praxis had.

"So what's the next step?" I asked him, trying to stop thinking about his problems, "I'm sure Samos told you about the Astro-Viewer by now. What's our next move?"

Torn clanged the glasses into the sink behind the bar noisily. Jinx and I glanced at each other briefly. The commander sighed and turned to us, slinking back over.

"KG and metalhead retaliation..." He began pacing. "Errol's back from the dead. Veger is a crazed lunatic, but that's nothing new. Now Dark Makers..." He paused to look from Dax on my shoulder, then to me, then to Jinx. "Frankly I think we need some time to strategize our next move. But first thing's first- we need to get to HQ stat."

I couldn't agree more. That was our safest place to be, the safest base to have that "time" to strategize. But..."What about here? The Fighters should be heading back from the Industrial Zone soon-"

"-Don't worry, boys, I'll hold down the fort!" Jinx stepped forward, smoothing his gold hair back, "Literally, figuratively, and everything in-between."

Torn looked relieved, but he tilted his head in worry, "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it? This isn't exactly what you normally do..."

"I've got all the booze I need, plenty of stogies in my pocket and a hot Fighter babe eyeing me up over there in that booth." He looked behind me and waved, and I turned to see a small group of Fighters sitting for a drink at the back of the bar. One of them was a gorgeous redhead with aqua eyes. I shot a look at Jinx.

Torn narrowed his eyes, "I'm serious Jinx. You need to be a leader here."

Jinx waved a hand at his comment. "You know I'm just kidding man. I'll keep an eye on things while you guys link up with New Haven base."

"No dicking around?"

"No dicking around. Sir no sir!" Jinx winked and saluted Torn, then me. I made eye contact with Torn and nodded to let him know it'd be fine to leave Jinx in charge. For a little while.

"Alright." Torn agreed, "Jak, let's snag some zoomers and head out."

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"IT'S ABOUT TIME YOU TWO GOT HERE!"

Samos's angelic voice shattered my eardrums as soon as Daxter and I followed Torn into the meeting room.

The whole crew was waiting for us. All except Keira and Darla...

Before I could ask about them, Pecker stomped his feet on the holo-projector, "What took you so long?!"

I blinked at him, feeling my dark eco rumble a bit. "Sorry, we only had a war in the way."

Ashelin came over to me, looking down at her hands awkwardly but still standing proud. It had been the first time I'd seen her since my accident in the agricultural section of the city. "Great work, Jak. Listen, I want to apologize for sending you on that mission-"

"-Forget about it." I snapped accidentally. I was never good with conversations like this. "I went because I wanted to. I've got my own interests in this."

Samos grunted and stepped between us, "Well, what we know right now is there's a huge dark planet builder bearing down on us all. How much time we have...no-one can guess." The bird that always sat on his log fluttered about the room, briefly distracting me. Samos went on, "If it is rogue Precursor technology, then the only way to destroy it is with more Precursor technology, and that lies at the bottom of the catacombs."

Maichael, brown hair in a disarray, crossed his arms, gripping a notebook in his hands. "Also, according to Keira's notes here, the large number of eco crystals being moved about can mean only one thing." He looked around at each of us, trying to form his thought into words. "...Someone is trying to...awaken vast Precursor technology."

My mind whirled with the issues Torn listed back in the Port. "I think Veger's behind it. Or Errol." I scratched my goatee. "Or maybe-"

"-Ooh, ooh!" Dax interrupted, jumping onto the hologram, "Wait til you hear about how Jak and I blasted through the barricade! So there I was, facing a whole brood of slobbering metalheads when all of a sudden-"

BOOM.

The entire building shook, silencing our group, and an alarm began to blare obnoxiously, echoing throughout the meeting room. I looked at Ashelin wide-eyed and Maichael dropped the notebook, startled.

"Uh oh." Pecker muttered, suddenly looking terrified.

A Freedom Fighter, youthful and decked out in his electric blue armor uniform, dashed into the room. "Governor Ashelin!" His voice quaked, "It looks like a large scale assault! Multiple targets inbound!"

Ashelin turned to me, "You up for some action, Jak?"

"Look who you're talking to," I thumbed my chest armor and grinned at everyone in the room, trying to show them we had nothing to worry about. My eyes landed on Daxter, and as our eyes met his fear-covered face shaped into sheer determination. I gestured for him to get onto my shoulder and he scrambled up. "Let's rock-n-roll, Dax!"

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Darla.

I wasn't sure which was scarier:

The fact that New Haven was under attack right outside the hospital.

The fact that Keira and I had no idea what was happening to our friends out there.

Or the fact that my baby and I were both dying.

Kenzo had been brilliant- he talked with me during the entire infant-extraction surgery, spreading blue eco over my torso and working his hands to make sure the baby would pass through correctly. I was calm as he talked about his career to distract me from the strange sensations in my body. He was saying how back when he was in healer school, women were still giving birth naturally or through Caesarean, and though the process was much quicker, it was not safe in Haven's poor conditions. Women died during childbirth back in those days, he said. He said that, today, both me and my baby would make it out of this alive and healthy.

But...then why was everyone shouting? Why couldn't I hear the heart monitor, or see anything but blinding light, or feel Keira's hand in mine anymore?

I was tired. I was so, so tired. Why was I so tired?

"Keira..." I said. I thought I said it...did I say her name? Did she hear me?

Why wasn't my baby crying? Was it even out yet? It had been hours, it had to be out...

I can't see anything.

Why can't I see? This damn light...

I was suddenly aware that I couldn't sense my demon's voice. This made me panic- though all these years I'd wished she never existed, she'd become a part of me I'd been used to. She was me. Her absence felt very heavy and I was overcome with loneliness, as silly as it sounded. She was the reason I fought so hard to stay good, stay strong in the hell we'd lived through. Where had she gone?

I felt something in my body as the blinding light turned black- the dark eco, still there, bubbling up and without my logical, conscious state of mind, it teared through my flesh and my monster unleashed in the blackness. I was relieved, my soul free and my body numb, feeling as though maybe I had actually died and moved on to the next life.

You thought you could get rid of me that easily, didn't you.

I breathed heartily. There she was, making a statement, never a question. My body was floating in the black. Would I be a monster here in the next life? The idea wasn't generally appealing, but it gave me clarity to think about it.

...The light again. A blue-white light, similar to the one that blinded me earlier. What the hell is that?

In the distance, a shiny light.

It moved and took many shapes, like a Precursor, little electric bolts zapping out of it as if it were made of eco.

Eco? Could it be?

My brain...I don't think it was working anymore.

Because the next thing I heard was the spirit-whispers of the Precursors:

"Welcome to your new life. We have seen your homecoming since the creation of the Brink, and we have awaited your arrival with open arms."

Then...nothing.

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I felt pain, but it was bearable. My body was humming, the dark eco mixing with green to heal me. I knew the feeling all too well to be concerned with what it was. The sound around me was muffled because I hadn't awoken yet, and my mind began to work and realize what had happened.

I opened my eyes.

Keira was beside me, brushing a stray hair off of my face. Her eyes were staring straight into mine, saucer-sized and unreadable. She rose to her feet gently, adjusting her suspenders on her shoulders.

"I'll get the nurse!"

That's right...the hospital. I was in the hospital. I nodded and she headed for the door. I rested against the pillow.

But then..."Keira, the baby-?!" My voice sounded hoarse, even though I felt like I yelled.

Keira paused in the doorway. She turned around slowly and my heart began to pound, expecting the worst.

"Let's...get you checked out," Keira said, smiling calmly, "And then we can talk, okay?" She exited.

My lips parted in surprise and fear. I wasn't sure what she meant. I assumed if...if something had happened...she would've told me right then and there. But where was my baby? I sat up straight and my hands flew to my stomach, which had receded back, much flatter than when I had left for surgery. I was practically back to normal. But I felt empty- and I was...my baby was no longer inside the protection of my belly. It felt wrong in a way...as much as I wanted it here in my arms, I felt that it was safer to keep the baby inside of me.

I took two shaky breaths and sat against the pillow again. The heart monitor was starting to give me anxiety, so I leaned over my bed and unplugged it. I patiently twiddled my thumbs.

Keira return with an old, male nurse who carried a chart and a heavy build, and was much slower than my friend. He creaked into the room ever so slowly and I almost asked him to "get on with it". Keira stood beside me, her face unchanged. The nurse cleared his throat.

"We're looking much better Ms. Acheron-"

"Darla. Please." I interrupted with a polite smile as to not sound rude.

"Yes. How are you feeling?" He came over with a stethoscope and some other tools to prod me with before I could actually decipher what I felt.

I waited for him to look me over. "My body aches. I'm fine. Where's my baby?" I asked as he peered into my ears with a flashlight and used a number of tools to check my vitals.

"We'll have time for that after your checked and-"

"-I want to know now." I said, much less polite now.

The old man looked down his nose at me through his wide glasses. He stood up and grunted. "You're fine. Alright then." He pulled out the chart and scribbled some notes. "Do you remember anything from the surgery right before you...blacked out?"

I closed my eyes. All I could see was the blue-white light, the one that blinded me so much. I told him about it and he wrote about it on paper. I glanced up at Keira and she nodded at me to indicate it was okay. I trusted her.

"And what about the sack? What do you remember about the sack removal?" He asked.

The sack? "Um..." I said quietly. I thought. I remembered being rolled into the delivery room. I remembered the numbing process, and Kenzo and his healers charging my skin with blue eco. I remember feeling the tugging sensation, the tingling as the eco worked over my body as Kenzo explained how the baby would phase through the electric charge, slowly and painlessly. But seeing the actual sack...? "I can't remember any part of that." I said, feeling as though maybe I was supposed to be awake for that special moment.

The nurse nodded and scribbled more. "That is fine. Many mothers forget seeing the sack. I only ask because...well...I'm sure your friend here can explain it to you, as she was the one who understood what had happened."

"But..." I said, panic tightening in my throat. "The baby?"

"Healthy. Different, but healthy."

I thought I might faint from relief. "You couldn't have lead the conversation with that?!"

The old man shrugged. "Why would you assume your child died?"

I blinked. "Because I thought I...I saw, felt when..." I wasn't making sense to them. I thought that I felt I died. I felt like everything was wrong, all wrong, with me and the baby. Why did I feel all this pain and sureness if I hadn't died and the baby was okay?

As if she were reading my mind, Keira put her hand on my shoulder. "I will tell her everything else, thank you."

The nurse grunted again and nodded. He turned to go but I needed to know..."When can I see-?"

"-I will bring the cart around shortly with your child inside of it, alive and well. Don't worry." The nurse didn't stop to say this and kept walking until he was out the door.

Keira sat down and relaxed in the chair beside me on my left, and I couldn't understand how while I was so jittery inside. "Please tell me what happened!"

Keira shook her head. "It's always an adventure with you, D."

I rolled my eyes. "For fuck's sake..."

"It's okay, really," She pat my hand. "So, starting from the beginning...as you saw, the surgery was going normal, according to plan. But as they started phasing the egg sack through your abdomen, you began coding."

"So I was dying then?" I asked, surprised that the nurse hadn't mentioned this.

Keira grimaced, her eyes remembering. "Sort of...you coded, and they got the sack out quicker so they could start chest compressions...but then you actually turned Dark on the table," I gasped and she rubbed her forehead. "Yeah...and they had to call more people in to...well...strap you to the table before you escaped."

"Holy shit." I groaned and leaned against the bed. "What else?"

"You were struggling against the restraints but you must've tired yourself out after a while because as they began the healing process, you relaxed and...okay, let me pause for a moment." She held up her hands. "I would tell you to sit down for this but you're already sitting. It's nothing bad...just different."

Different...just like the nurse said about the baby. "What is it?"

"The sack started glowing." She said, her face full of wonder, "The baby in the sack was glowing, too. Everyone was terrified- you could feel something in the room. It was emitting some kind of power. This brilliant, blue light. Darla, it was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and feared."

I gulped. "F-feared?!"

She grabbed my arm reassuringly, "Not that it was scary! It was just...otherworldly. Unlike anything I'd ever seen...other than a few instances."

"And...?"

She sighed, her big, gorgeous eyes blinking at me. "It was the same unearthly light as the spirit of a Precursor."

I leaned away from her in confusion. "What are you getting at, Keira..."

"You were staring at it- at the sack, I mean. You relaxed and allowed the healers to work and you just looked at the baby in the sack glowing. Eventually, the glow stopped and you passed out." She shrugged. "Your body reverted back a bit later. The nurses began to get the baby out of the sack, with difficulty I must add. It seemed that the sack was tougher than they thought, like the light had been shielding him inside of it."

"What do you think it was?" I processed her words. "Wait...he?"

Her breath hitched and her eyes widened like she'd spoiled some surprise. "Ohmygosh...I wanted you to know when they brought him in..."

I covered my mouth with my hands. A boy. I have a son. Jak and I have a son. My stomach flipped over and over and I felt my eyes moisten. "I have a boy!"

Keira squealed and we embraced. I buried my face in her shoulder, emotions washing over me. Joy that I had a healthy baby boy. Relief that we both made it out alive, without me killing anyone in the operating room. Sadness that I couldn't share this happiness with Jak...

"Where's Jak?" I asked, pulling back and rubbing my eyes. I gasped remembering the chaos outside. "The city-!"

"I'm going to call him as soon as I know that...everything outside is clear." Keira rubbed my shoulder. "I did not want to call when there was a raging war outside to let him know his girl was in labor. We both know him- he would've left the war and came straight here!"

She was right of course. Who else knew him better besides us and Daxter? "Okay."

"Anyway," She rubbed her hands together, "As for your bouncing, previously glowing baby boy...we've seen Precursors project themselves in this electric, light eco form. That's the only time we've ever seen this light, in its blinding blue glory." She paused. "I will need to talk to Onin and Daddy about it before we confirm anything...but it seems that the Precursors were protecting your son and the light inside of him."

"Why would they do that? Light? As in light eco?" I shook my head. "That's impossible. Beyond impossible. Well, Onin said..." I paused briefly, trying to recall what exactly she had been trying to communicate to me. I remembered her showing me that light that made me hot and cold all over...the very same light that I just witnessed again. But how? "I just don't know how the baby could have...I mean, Jak and I didn't..." My face flushed with heat. "He didn't have his light eco powers yet. During that...time."

Keira blushed too, understanding what I said. She nodded. "It's there, Darla. Whether it was genetic on one or both of your sides, or the Precursors blessed him with it themselves...it was there. They took his blood. They saw it inside of him."

"What about dark eco?"

Keira frowned slightly, her eyes squinting at me. "The dark eco is prominent in him. It flourishes in his veins as much as it does in yours." I wasn't surprised of course. "But we both know you will be able to handle it. And now he has some Light in him as well."

"Why do you think they were protecting him?" I asked, now watching the door waiting for my son to come through it. My son. It felt so strange to say it. It didn't feel real yet.

"Maybe they feel they owe Jak. Maybe they know how special your boy is going to be." She smirked at me.

I smiled back...then remembered something. "I heard something before I blacked out. After I turned...it was them I think. I thought maybe I was just losing my mind-"

"What did they say?"

I twirled one of my blonde curls as thought back to the whispers that echoed in my mind. "They said...'welcome to your new life. We have seen your homecoming since the creation of the Brink, and we have awaited your arrival with open arms'. I thought they were welcoming me to the other side at first and then I thought maybe they were speaking to the baby. Or maybe both."

"They've been waiting since the 'Brink'? Darla..." Keira stared at me incredulously. "That's...that's the dawn of time. The Brink was created before any of us were here." She leaned back in her chair and rubbed her forehead. "This is all so bizarre."

There was a tap at the door and we both looked. A different nurse, a young woman, was standing with a cart and smiling. My heart practically stopped.

Oh, here we go...

"You ready to see your baby boy, ma'am?" The nurse asked softly, rolling the cart into the room. I looked at Keira, almost as if I needed permission, and she grinned toothily at me. I nodded at the nurse vigorously and she parked the cart beside the bed on my right. She reached into it and pulled out a very tiny bundle wrapped in a violet cloth. I could barely keep my arms still as I reached for the bundle in the nurse's arms.

I pulled him down to me and nestled him against my chest, in the crook of my arm. He was asleep and so warm and so...tiny. Of course he was, he was an early-born. But I couldn't fathom how tiny he'd actually be when he finally arrived. His hair was in curly blonde tuffs on his head, bright green frosted about the tips. His little button nose resembled a miniature version of Jak's, and it wrinkled as his blonde eyebrows furred. His bottom lip jutted out in a pout, much like mine often did, practically consuming his top lip. His nose twitched and I ran my first finger over his cheek. I leaned forward and kissed it, inhaling his new-world skin.

"Oh my gosh, D. He looked just like him." Keira whispered. I closed my eyes and sniffed again. "Like how Jak looked as a child."

"Hey, little man," I said to my boy, nuzzling his small face. I felt my emotions rise. "I'm sorry you went through so much trouble to get here."

Keira and I laughed and my boy's eyes pried themselves open. He blinked slowly and I held my breath.

Indigo. His eyes were a vibrant, brilliant indigo. They reminded me of-

He began to wail. His eyes squinted and his little wail was weak and helpless and not as loud as I expected it to be. But he was very upset- I could see it as electric purple bolts licked out from his soft skin.

I began to panic. I looked at Keira for help and she put her hands up.

"You're his mother, D," She said with a smirk, "This is all you. You're going to be great."

I looked back down at my boy and started to shush him and pat his bottom. His arms escaped the blanket and he stretched and after a quick moment where his eyes flashed beady black- as mine always do- and back to indigo, his cries began to settle.

He's pretty cute...I like him. My demon said. I guess he can stick around.

His bottom lip quivered and he stared up at me with his large, wet, beautiful eyes. He hiccuped and blinked at me. We locked eyes briefly.

That's when I knew...I had never loved anything in the world as much as him. And I would never love anything else as much as I loved him.

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Jak.

My ears were ringing. I was half awake, half knocked-out, my mind in a dream state.

..."But he's his father," a familiar voice yelled, "He needs time to mourn!"...

...The man groaned under the weight of the vehicle, "You have a habit of leaving people to die, don't you?"...Jak paused for a moment, then said what was true. "You get used to it." Explosions...

..."The Light in him is strong, but it will not save you from your own self destruction"...

...We have seen your homecoming since the creation of the Brink, and we have awaited your arrival with open arms"...

My eyes snapped open and I rolled over onto my stomach with a moan. I scrambled to my feet and held my head.

New Haven was a mess; bodies of enemies as well as comrades shared the ground. It was quiet now, no more explosions, no more blood curdling screams of civilians as they watched my darker half tear through metalhead and metal bot. Healers were already prepping the injured for transport, and braver citizens were helping one another out. Freedom Fighters were securing New Haven's borders and moving their fallen brethren out of the streets. I turned around, seeing that Daxter was rising to his feet beside me.

"You alright, brother?" I knelt down beside him and allowed him to climb onto his rightful place.

He rubbed ash from his eyes. "That was some crazy bullshit."

I stood, looking up at HQ, where I had passed out in front of its doors. "Where is everyone?"

Daxter pointed his thumb at the door. "They all went up; after Tess and Torn pulled your sleeping corpse out of the line of fire, we saw Veger head inside and I told them to go ahead while I waited for your sorry ass."

I growled. "Veger? Piece. Of. Shit..." I shoved the doors open and stormed toward the elevator.

"Don't lose your cool, man." Dax said warily.

"I'm going to do a lot more than that." I hissed as the elevator ascended.

The doors slid open and Samos nodded in my direction. "Nice moves, my boy. You're the best man we've got to lead an expedition into the catacombs."

Veger was standing at our round table, uninvited and unwelcome. My fists clenched and unclenched in fury as he turned to face me.

"Please, please. Let us not be too hasty." He eyed everyone in the room, from Maichael to Torn and Tess and the others, stopping on Ashelin. "Are you sure you want this dark eco freak contaminating the hallowed halls of our glorious Precursors? I should lead the expedition myself!"

Ash crossed her arms and straightened up. "We're tired of your scheming, Veger."

Veger put his staff in both of his hands."I've got the answer you're looking for. My Precursor monks have given me the knowledge to turn on the planetary defense grid. If you beg me to do so-"

"-The only one who'll be begging is you, Veger." I stepped up to the balding fuck, speaking through my gritted teeth. "You, begging for your life when I get you on your knees."

Maichael stepped around the table. "Jak's always gotten us through thick and thin." He nodded at me. "I'm with him."

Samos chimed in, "Here, here!"

Daxter leaned forward from my shoulder to eye Veger up. "You're washed up, Vegan."

The old man grumbled. "Veger! It's Veger, you idiot!"

Daxter waved him off. "Whatever."

Ash glanced at me and clasped her hands behind her back. "Count Veger, I hereby dissolve the City Council and strip you of your title, command, and all privileges." She stepped between him and I, looking him dead in the eyes. "Now...get out of my sight."

Veger pulled back in anger. "What?!" He shoved her out of the way and I caught her before she stumbled. "How dare you! I offered you mercy, but now you will all burn in the Precursor fires of creation!" He trudged toward the exit and paused before leaving. "I swear it!" He was gone.

Ashelin thanked me for steadying her and she gestured at the hologram map in the center of the table. "That was one hell of an attack wave. We can't continue to repel such large assaults forever." She looked to Torn. "That floating War Factory has got to be shut down. The problem is, the factory is shielded and has gate codes on every access point. Most old KG door ciphers were kept hidden in the main system in the Power Room." She touched Torn's arm. "If you, Tess and Maichael can break into the system, you may be able to unlock the War Factory doors to get inside."

I leaned my palms on the table, "And me?"

"You and I have some things to take care of in New Haven, Jak," Samos tapped the back of my leg with his staff. "The others can handle themselves."

Pecker floated around the projector and landed on one of the control panels. "Onin says the eco grid in the Power Room could help you all, but to open the old power room you must find the junction box in the sewer. Personally, I think you're all crazy to go down there. But, ah...good luck."

Tess frowned at Pecker. "Thanks. So much."

Daxter blew her a kiss across the room. "Don't worry baby, I believe in you."

I turned to Samos. "What is it we need to do tonight?"

"Jak, my boy," He said, glancing around the room. "It appears you are officially a father."

I almost choked on my spit. The room around me grew silent.

Then, an eruption of cheers.

I could barely understand everyone as they approached me, clapping me on the back, throwing arms around my neck, shouting inaudible words on congratulations. A wide grin was painting itself across my face. All I could hear was my own, ecstatic thoughts.

I'm a father.

I'm someone's dad.

I have my own kid.

A legacy.

A new promise of forever.

A new hope for life.

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A/N:

It's a boy! I had planned this since before I started writing MTLH part one; it was always going to be a boy. Jak and his boy, Daxter's nephew he'll totally ruin...Everything is right in the world!

Except for Jak...it's really not.

More coming soon!

~RyJones