Ekobean: Ah, it's back up an running. Yes, this is finally my next chapter in New Menace. However, I fear this will significantly shorter than its predecessor unless I can think of more things to keep it interesting. Until then, please read on!

The entire room was silent. Even the computers seemed far off and silent as every eye in the room followed Samos' every move. The short green sage was sitting in a chair at the end of the Palace's meeting table twiddling his thumbs nervously. The bird that normally sat atop the large log on his head had abandoned its perch to pick at the flies and insects that lived in the cracks and fissures of the room.

Familiar faces lined the outsides of the table. Most of them were bruised or covered by bandages by Robo-Erol's onslaught. Ashelin had a long, ugly gash across the left side of her face, Torn's arm was in a sling, and Sig had suffered three cracked ribs and a slight concussion.

Shady Sis, who was normally upbeat and loud, was now silent and glaring with her chocolate-brown eyes at the sweating sage. Jak had his arms crossed and his feet set on the table, opposite of Samos. Keira was sitting next to Samos, supporting him, patting him on the back.

Shady suddenly burst out with full fury, ignoring the pain in her bandaged torso. "You should have let Jak kill the son of a bitch, Samos!"

"Now he's out there doing Mar-knows-what!" Ashelin agreed.

"We all want to know Samos, why did you help him?" growled Jak, speaking for the first time in the two days since the incident.

"Because I believe that both you and him play a part in the course of this world," Samos answered humbly.

"That's what you said before, gramps!" Daxter shouted, banging his gloved hand on the table.

"That doesn't cut it. Why did you do it?" Torn hissed.

Samos sighed and rose from his seat, nervously pacing back and forth.

"Because…" he began thoughtfully, "all Eco needs a master."

The room was silent for about ten seconds.

"…Huh?"

Samos faced the group. "Don't you think it peculiar that just a year after Jak defeated Gol and Maia, two creatures controlled by Dark Eco" –

"You're forgetting Dark Jak," Tess corrected.

"Right. Don't you think it peculiar that after defeating three creatures powered by Dark Eco that another would arise just a year later?"

Mutters of agreement rose up from the group. "What's you point?" Shady urged.

"My point is that all Eco needs a master. Why do you think there were sages in the first place? Even when the Precursors ruled the universe openly, they had assigned Sages for each type of Eco: Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, Dark, and Light. Without one of these to manage their type of Eco, it becomes unstable, and it tends to produce far more rapidly. If there is an imbalance with any amount of Eco in the world, it will become uneven and eventually the Apocalypse will follow."

"And you didn't tell us this before because…?"

"Because I had hoped that the next Dark Eco Sage would be someone who cannot be corrupted by it…someone like Daxter maybe."

Daxter's jaw dropped open. "Me? Why?"

"Because you have already been touched by Dark Eco and lived. I thought you might be fate's obvious choice, but I guess I was wrong."

"But Jak's been touched by Dark Eco too."

"Yes, but Jak is already a Sage. The Light Sage."

"I am?" Jak gasped, rising.

"Yes. You are the only one among us who can use Light Eco, my boy. One cannot be the Sage of more than one type of Eco. It's the Precursor's unwritten Law."

"Wait, go back to that imbalance thing," said Ashelin. "You said that if there were an imbalance it would cause the Apocalypse?"

"Yes, I did."

"So that's why you didn't want Jak destroying the Dark Eco in the Silos. You knew that once he did it would eventually lead him underground to the source."

"That's true."

"So…wait. You said there had to be a sage of every type of Eco, right? Why hasn't the Apocalypse come yet? There aren't exactly any colorful people running around here."

Samos smiled. "Because the Red, Blue, and Yellow Sages are still alive. It is our sages' jobs to manage our Ecos for as long as possible until our heirs, the ones we will pass our powers to, come by. They're scattered about the world in the environment that suits them best. That is where every Sage's instincts leads them eventually."

"Then if Erol is the Dark Sage, he'll go to an environment that suits him best."