To those who reviewed: (To be honest, I didn't think I would need this section.)

Amathist Fwirrel- Damn that was fast. I didn't think anyone would review before I got the next chapter up, which will hopefully be around the realm of 2:00 A.M. Yes, tentacles are indeed fun. I like 'em. Hm, I like the mirage/afterimage you thought of, especially since one of the Channelers (take a guess who) will find out he/she is an Ascended Channeler. It's not Jak. Um, Goramia is completely lost on me, so I regret to inform you I have no idea what you're talking about. Hypnotism is a good idea, but I think I'll make it a par of the character, not a power. As for using Green Eco offensively, I don't think the way you thought of will work (it's based on healing, not harming) but it did help me think of another way to use it. Thanks very much for your help, it was appreciated.

Disclaimer- I own nothing, save what my insane shattered mind has cooked up.

Celebrations and Discoveries

"Jak!" Keira cried as her hero (figuratively and literally) approached. He grinned wildly as he stepped off the platform. Keira threw herself at him and grabbed him into a hug. "You did it!" she said as Jak looked down at her. In the heat of the moment, Jak picked her up by her waist and spun her in a circle before putting her down and smiling.

"Well, it looks as if I may have been too hard on you, boys! You DO have what it takes to be heroes!" Samos said, a rare grin on his visage. He looked with pride at the Channeler. Jak felt suddenly bashful and shy under Samos' praise, seeing as how he got it so rarely. Keira also looked at the elf with pride and love. Suddenly, she thought of something and realized that with no Light Eco…

"Daxter… now we can't change you back," she said sympathetically. Daxter looked up at her with a sad look on his face. "Aw, maybe he's not so bad," Keira thought as she picked Daxter up and gave him a sympathetic hug.

"Don't worry about me, baby! You know what they say: Big things come in small packages!" he said as his paws found a certain part of her body and squeezed. Keira smacked the rodent out of her chest and straight into Samos, who was more than a mite angry about the rat groping his daughter. A dull thunk split the air, and Jak caught his friend, who had been on a one-way trip over the edge of the top of Gol's Citadel.

"You'd think by now he would've learned," Jak thought as he shook his head. He looked up as an extremely excitable voice addressed him.

"Jak, you encompass a staggering endowment for Channeling Eco! Samos, you may have been precise about this one, after all!" Jak and Daxter looked at each other: when had Samos ever bragged about Jak? Usually the Sage was the first one to put Jak down and point out his mistakes. Keira, too, pondered what her father could have meant. She opened her mouth to ask but was interrupted.

"And Keira," Santar said in his deep voice, "without your help and ingenuity none of this would have been possible. Heh heh heh... Perhaps we've found a new sage now that Gol and Maia are lost." Keira blushed crimson at these words and Jak grinned: he loved the way Keira blushed. It just made her seem so more adorable.

"Yes, Gol and Maia…" Alecis said as she stared at the Silo.

"The Dark Eco probably destroyed them," Tarea said as she too, gazed out at the sealed tower.

"Probably…" Potentia muttered, not sure if Gol and Maia would be killed by something that they seemed so in tune with.

"Aaaah, who cares! Bring 'em on, we can take 'em, right Jak?" Daxter said as he began shadowboxing opponents. When a nod from his friend did not come, Daxter stopped and looked around. "I said 'Right, Jak?'." He said loudly. Daxter looked around and saw Jak and Keira in the shadow of a colossal door, firmly locked at the lips.

Keira smiled as Jak pulled her closer to him, eager to eliminate any space between their two heated bodies. Jak's hands strayed up and down her back as Keira tangled her fingers in Jak's hair. Suddenly, a large, warm, fuzzy object forced itself between them. "Whoa! Put it on ice, big guy," Daxter said as he positioned himself on Jak's shoulder once more. Keira seriously considered strangling the rat, but settled for a death glare and walking away. Jak looked at her, a bit afraid to go to her and glared at Daxter. "What?" the rodent asked innocently. Jak sighed and shook his head- some things never changed.

" Holy Yakow! What would that be?" Samos asked as he walked up to the door, having just noticed it. He had been watching Jak, and had just finished a deep discussion with the Sages. Keira turned around and analyzed the door for the first time.

"Wow! It's an ancient Precursor door! It looks like it will only open if we fill all one hundred holes with Power Cells!" she said as she examined it. Jak felt a pouch on his belt quiver and as he opened it, all the Power Cells he had collected on his journey nearly a year ago flew out of his bag and positioned themselves in the holes. The door trembled for a second before unlocking and opening.

"Wow…" Keira said as she saw what lay inside.

"It's… beautiful," Daxter said softly, and agreed with his friend. A gigantic ring made of Precursor metal was in the door, along with parts to a vehicle that Jak was sure was connected with the ring. He groaned and clutched his head with one hand as a wave of nausea swept over him…

"We'll put it here…" a gruff young voice said.

"When will it be opened?" a softer voice that sounded a bit like a snake asked.

"When he is ready…"

"What was that?" Jak thought as he grabbed his head. He shook it off and watched as Keira examined the pieces.

"Well, this looks like a Rift Ring and a Rift Rider," Tarea said at last as she joined Keira in inspecting the equipment.

"No way!" Potentia said as his jaw dropped.

"A Rift Rider? What's that?" Keira asked. Alecis cleared her throat.

"It is a powerful artifact that is only a legend. According to scrolls I've read, the Ring Rift, when properly made, will open up another portal."

"To where?" Daxter asked, his eyes wide.

"Other places, other planets, perhaps even other dimensions. No one knows," Alecis said.

"Sounds like fun," Keira said as she looked over the pieces. "If we move it to my lab, I might be able to put it back together."

Suddenly, a huge rumbling got everyone's attention. The Dark Eco Silo rumbled as it sank beneath the ground and disappeared from view.

"Well, I didn't know that would happen," Samos said as they began moving the pieces through the Warp Gate back to Sandover Village. It was hard work, as the pieces were much heavier than they looked. After about an hour, the entire thing was moved, and Jak, Daxter, Keira, and the Sages took the elevator down. As they exited, Jak saw something that he had never expected to see.

Elves and Lurkers were working together to put the Econite around the weak points Gordy had identified. When all the fuses were set, everyone backed away. Each of the Sages shot a beam of Eco into the charges, causing Gol's Citadel, a building that for the past year stood for fear and evil, crumbled away into nothingness. As the building collapsed, Jak looked with satisfaction at the work that he and his friends had done. They had freed the land, and toppled a tyrant. As they walked away, Jak felt another tremor beginning. He turned around and saw a building beginning to rise up out of the ground.

"By the Precursors! That's a Precursorian Arena!" Alecis said, her voice filled with excitement. "That is where the Precursors themselves fought to see which one was the strongest," she explained.

"Hey, I have an idea!" Daxter suddenly shouted. "Why don't the Channelers have a tournament there?" Everyone looked at Daxter before saying that they thought it was a terrific idea.

"We could hold it in one month, for we still have work to do," Zeorro said as he reminded them that they had to fix the towns, find a replacement for Gol on the Sages' Council and establish peace with the Lurkers, who no longer wanted to fight the elves. Jak nodded and everyone began to get to work at the monstrous tasks still ahead of them.

The next month was fairly uneventful, at least Jak thought so. Hatu had been placed on the Sages' Council because he represented the Lurkers as well as a Channeler. Lurkers were now helping the elves, and trust had finally been established. Schools now taught both languages, and Jak could see a golden age for his race and the Lurkers on the horizon. The towns had been rebuilt, and The City of The Sky had been fixed and once again hovered above the planet about a mile or so.

Jak, however, was also busy helping Keira assemble the Rift Ring and the Rift Rider. They had completed the Ring and were going to begin working on the Rider when the tournament was over. Everyone seemed excited about the dawning event, since it would mark the closing of a dark age and the emerging into a brighter one. Keira noticed, however, that Cara seemed moody and gloomy.

"Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, not wanting to upset the girl. "You have a guy now you know," Keira said jokingly, as Cara had been lonely until she and Retep had gotten together. They were not the only ones either- Liz and Ferrid had hit it off, as well as Harrison and Emma, the most unlikely pair ever. Andrew had proposed to Tiffany just last week, and the wedding was set to take place in three months.

"It's just, I wish I could go home," Cara said softly. Keira whistled softly: she had been expecting this.

"Then why don't you go back and take the throne after the tournament?"

"I've been banished," Cara reminded her.

"And Nicolae is still abusing his power. You must go back there," Keira said. "You're the only one with the power to stop him, and he is abusing your power."

"I know. I have to, to make my mother proud," Cara said softly.

"No. You have to because it's what you're meant to do," Keira said. Cara suddenly brightened up and smiled.

"Your right. I'll take Retep there and show him around."

"And what about me?" Veston asked.

"Oh, you don't have to come. It's been too long since we worked."

"I don't care. Captain, I swore to serve you, and I once again ask you take me along as your servant," Veston said as he knelt in front of Cara and bowed. "My Queen," he added.

"Veston…" Cara said, too filled with emotion to say anything more. "I'd rather you come along with me… as a friend." Veston looked up and smiled, tears in his eyes.

"As friends…" he said.

All across the land, people gathered where Gol's Citadel had once stood. They were excited, and with good reason. Most of them had never seen the Channelers release their awesome powers except during a fight. Even the Lurkers were coming, as they wanted to see what these deadly elves were capable of without having to risk dying.

Jak looked at the arena. It was fifty feet in diameter, with twelve more feet of just dirt between it and the stands. Three feet of a clear glass separated the crowds from the fight, but they had been tested. The glass appeared to simply absorb the Eco. There were also numerous charging facilities, so running out of Eco was never a problem.

"People from various villages," Hatu said as the event began. "One month ago, a tyrant was overthrown. Now, we enjoy peace and prosperity like never before! And to celebrate, it is my great pleasure to welcome each and every one of you to the first Clash of the Channelers!" Jak smiled at the title. He was also glad that Hatu got to be the commentator. It was a token of goodwill form the elves, that the only Lurker on the Sages' Council would commentate the first Clash of the Channelers.

Jak walked to his personal room and waited for his name to be called. The style of the tournament was very odd to him. First, four random names were called. Those four would enter the arena and fight until one remained standing. They had agreed that non-lethal attacks were the only ones allowed. If there were any injuries, the person responsible would be disqualified and banned from society. When four matches had been fought, the remaining four would fight one opponent. The winner of each of those two fights would fight each other and the winner of that would be the champion.

"Hey Jak," Keira said as she walked in. Jak looked up at her, smiling. He was nervous, but excited, and he was also pleased that Keira had come to see him before he fought. "Good luck," she said as she kissed him on the cheek. Jak looked up at her and stuck out his bottom lip, pouting. Keira laughed at the sometimes childishness behavior of her boyfriend. "You'll get more than that later," she said with a playful wink. Jak grinned. "How much more… depends on how well you do," Keira said with a giggle as she walked outside. Jak sighed and leaned back on the chair, nearly falling out when he heard his name announced. As he walked towards the gate that he would enter though, Jak looked at his Eco Belt- one of the many that Keira and Retep had cranked out in the last month. He made sure that he had full Eco, and grinned as his gate rose.

Jak stepped into the light and prepared for the fight of his life as the Clash of the Channelers, the first tournament between heroes, heroines, and friends, began…

Um, not much to say, you read it last chapter. I know, only Channelers paired with Channelers, I know. I don't know why I did that, it just seemed to fall into place. Anyway, sorry that this is so short, and I'm sorry I couldn't put more detail into it. Hopefully, I'll make the tourney worth reading, so wish me luck.

Quote of the week- Me

Rule #20 of Life: If you have to play a sport and get nothing but strikes, play bowling.