Kor's head fell to the ground, the last remnant of the monster he had revealed himself to be. The cavern shook in response to the settling of the titanic energies unleashed during the struggle, and everyone only barely managed to stay on their feet. Young Mar allowed himself to fall on his butt since he didn't have far to fall. He was the first to recover and immediately noticed that the Precursor Stone was glowing brightly.
Drawn to the light, he reached out and lay his hands upon the jewel. A blue humanoid figure of pure energy leaped from within the stone, a silhouette filled with power.
"A...Precursor..." Jak gasped out in amazement.
"It is finished," the Precursor proclaimed, its voice deep and echoing, though subtly different from what issued from the Precursor Oracle statues. "Our ancient enemy is no more."
The figure floated there, hands spread wide. Though there was no face, a sense of joy and pride emanated from the figure, filling all in range to hear with hope.
"Take hope, brave one of the line of Mar, noble son of Damas, for the terrible darkness inside you is now balanced by a glorious light, drawn from the blood we share, waiting to awaken and serve you."
"Wait...what about Ben? He's pretty much Jak's brother!" Hilda pointed out. "Can you help him?"
"The Dark Eco inside him serves a purpose...he has not become it, it has become HIM." The Precursor explained before taking note of the approach of the Lurker Balloon. "We will meet again..."
With its piece said, the Precursor sailed into the Rift Ring, vanishing into space and time. As he vanished and the sense of awe began to fade, Daxter was the first to speak up.
"So...am I the only one who thinks that dude somehow grows up to be Mar?"
"We may never know..." Double-D muttered.
As the Rift Rider arrived, Keira and Samos stepped back, letting The Shadow and Mar get ready to ride the Rift Rider back to Sandover.
"We'll meet again, little buddy," Ben said as he rubbed Mar's head. "Though I assure you, I'll look much handsomer than I am right now."
"I think you're plenty handsome." Hilda smiled, making Ben blush.
"And you'll see us again too!" Pinkie added. "And we'll have so much fun together!"
"Hey kid," Jak spoke up, approaching his younger self. "You take care of yourself, okay? Oh! And trust me on this. Stay away from any Wumpy Nests on your ninth birthday."
Giggling, Little Mar handed Jak the medallion he'd been wearing around his neck all this time, an artistic representation of the Seal of Mar. Smiling, Jak pocketed it as the Rift Rider rose up to dive through the Rift Ring...before the ring itself fell apart, its ancient power finally spent.
"Well, the loop has been set..." Twilight sighed.
"All that's left is to leave things in the hands of fate," Double-D added.
As the group got ready to leave, Daxter suddenly realized something.
"Wait a minute...I'M the one who got stung by all those Wumpys on your ninth birthday!"
"And now you know why I kept my distance," Jak teased.
"Come on, Daxter! The Wumpy Honey Cakes I made after were GOOD!" Pinkie reassured.
"Yeah, I guess so..."
"So, that's it? It's finally over?" Fluttershy asked.
Samos added. "Indeed...this mad war has finally ended."
"Well, let's go and take everyone the good news!" Applejack smiled.
"WOO! I'll get the party invites!" Eddy said.
"Let's bake a pie and hit me with it!" Ed said nonsensically.
With the news of the war ending, Praxus resumed his duties as Governor of Haven and began drawing up the plans to slowly cycle the city back to peacetime functions, as well as drawing up ideas for how the Wasteland might be reclaimed and restored, though that was a very long term project. He declined to attend the party to celebrate the end of the war, as with Kor's death his mind had become completely clear for the first time since his skull had been damaged and repaired, and he had a lot of deep thinking to do. And beyond that, he hoped to delay the conversation awaiting him with Jak regarding the fate of his father.
Daxter, for his part, had found a new source of income for the group until a new adventure overtook them. Taking over Krew's old saloon, he had renamed it The Naughty Ottsel, "The hippest, happenist, hoppiest joint in Haven City". Out of a sense of karmic irony, Daxter had affixed Kor's head over the bar in the 'trophy' style that Krew had enjoyed so much.
"I bagged that big boy myself, baby!" Daxter proudly told Tess.
"It's true! It was SO AWESOME!" Rainbow gushed, squishing her face excitedly.
"Well, looks like I was betting on the wrong pony, then!"
Everyone gasped when they saw Sig there at the front door, alive and well.
"SIG!" Fluttershy sobbed as she flew over and hugged the man. "Y-You're alive! H-How? Why?"
Sig laughed as he stroked her mane. "You cherries didn't think some nasty breathed, giant-sized lizard-bug was going to keep me from the biggest party in town, did you?"
"What are you made of? IRON?!" Eddy asked incredulously.
"Well, to be honest, it was touch and go for a bit there. Luckily, a special someone came to save my bacon." Sig said as he stepped aside to let someone else walk in.
It was a tall robotic figure with a light blue optic slit and a white color scheme. Everyone was surprised and confused until it started speaking in a familiar voice.
"Hello, fellow Metal Head Slayers!"
"VIN!" Twilight exclaimed happily. "You're alive too! But how?"
"Well, you see, when the Metal Heads began overrunning my base, I activated a self-destruct sequence I installed as a last resort," Vin explained. "Luckily, I was able to upload my brain safely into this robot body I had also made for emergencies. Luckily, I had the thought to build in weapons because when I came to, I saw Sig about to be crushed and moved to rescue him!"
Sig chuckled. "Gotta say, he's not so bad himself!"
As the celebration continued, various individuals gathered together for conversations, whether discussing the past, planning for the future, or just asking 'what now?' In the garage where she'd spent so many years, Keira relaxed alongside Hilda, Ashelin, and Tess as they discussed various things they found of interest.
"Seriously?" Tess gasped out as she giggled. "That's what Daxter was like before he became so cute?"
"Yup!" Keira replied with a chuckle. "He was the idea man of the trio, but never had the guts to go through with anything on his own...except when he was the perv of the trio. I lost count of the number of times Maia Acheron tried to blast him for peeping on her...or her brother Gol tried to blast him for the same. The transformation certainly matured him quite a bit."
"He's such a sweetheart now!" Tess sighed dreamily.
"And Ben being the middle man...why does that sound like him?" Hilda smirked. "I bet Twilight and the girls were adorable."
Keira giggled. "Oh, they were the cutest! They were such sweethearts all the way when Jak, Daxter, and Ben found them as babies!"
"So what was young Mar like growing up?" Ashelin asked curiously. "I watched over him as a toddler, and I thought I'd failed in making sure he WOULD grow up...but seeing what he's grown up to be..."
"Jak was always just...Jak," Keira explained, smiling softly. "He was always rather quiet, and...I could always rely on him. If he said he was going to do something or be somewhere, you could count on it. A bit of a natural leader, which was why he was the ringleader of the three growing up."
Ashelin chuckled. "I guess Dad was right. Krisma does run in Mar's line."
Keira blinked. "You mean charisma, right?"
"No, I don't," Ashelin countered. "Similar, but distinctly different. You've met charismatic people before, right? People who can convince you something is the right idea, that they know what they're doing and you should go along with what they're saying even if it doesn't make complete sense at the time?"
"That's my Dad," Keira replied with a chuckle. "Even though Sandover had a Mayor, Dad was the one who was really in charge."
"Krisma's like that, but more so," Ashelin explained. "Have you ever known someone who could talk to you about something that needed to be done, and by the end of the conversation it not only made perfect sense but you'd swear it was your idea all along? When they look at you, you know that they're seeing everything you are inside, and a smile makes you feel like you're truly worthwhile for the first time in your life. And even when something they're going to do doesn't make complete sense, you go along anyway because you believe in them and you're sure they'll pull through somehow?"
Keira replied softly, thoughtfully. "Yeah...When I was a lot younger...that's the effect Jak had on me. It's...it's what first made me fall for him. Of course, that feeling faded overtime when I saw how much of a klutz and idiot he could be at times, as well as how awkward he started to get with me. Put him on less of a pedestal."
"That was Krisma, as my father calls it," Ashelin explained. "The sign of a true, natural leader. The sort of person who would never seek leadership or a crown, but those who know them will give them a crown on their own. It's how Mar first became the leader of the settlement that built Haven City. He didn't come in and take over, he just started gathering everyone together and started nudging them towards safety. It's not in the standard history taught, but once the city was completed the populace offered Mar the throne and crown, and he actually thought they were joking at first...and then it took three days to track him down once he realized they were serious!"
Keira burst into loud laughter. "That sounds like Jak, actually. He's a natural leader, but he'd hate being stuck in the position of authority."
"It's bred true in the bloodline," Ashelin continued. "It's why everyone in the city responded, almost instinctively, to Jak as a hope for the future. He didn't even have to do anything special...he just had to be."
"So what's it like being all but betrothed to the city's 'once and future prince'?" Hilda asked teasingly.
Keira rolled her eyes at the tease. "Difficult. Of course, most of the difficulty comes from being my father's daughter..."
"I thought you liked your Dad?" Tess spoke up, confused.
"Oh I do, don't get me wrong!" Keira said quickly. "But both my parents were Green Eco Sages, which means whether I choose to train as a Sage or not, I have Green Eco in my very blood. That has some...interesting consequences that make things...difficult with Jak."
"How so?" Hilda asked, confused. "Does it make things weird in the bedroom or something?"
"More makes things impossible in the bedroom," Keira countered. "Green Eco's the energy of life...which means I'm always fertile. Short of someone coming up with a way to prevent insemination, if I go all the way with Jak, I will get pregnant. And don't even bring up pulling out or anything like that: according to Dad, Jak's Eco abilities are similar to that of a Sage, and when two Sages become intertwined, their Eco resonates, leaving them consumed by their instincts. So if we go too far like that, I'll end up with a bun in the oven."
Ashelin winced. "Damn. That's rough...so you can never...?"
"Not until we're ready for kids," Keira confirmed. "Although Dad tells me there is a plus side, not that I've noticed..."
"What sort of plus?" Tess asked. "It's gotta be a big one to make up for that."
"I'm not sure what he meant by this, but he said Mother Nature would never leave me a crimson present," Keira explained. "Any idea what he meant?"
Hilda, Tess, and Ashelin exchanged glances.
"Keira...I fully understand the frustration about what you can't do with Jak, but...you got damn lucky, girl." Ashelin said and with that, she chugged her drink, leaving Keira very confused.
"What are you guys talking about?" Pinkie asked innocently as she came over.
"NOTHING, SWEETIE!" Hilda said hurriedly as she got up to move the little ponygirl away.
And so ends Jak 2! Next, we'll be setting things up for Jak 3!
Also, Vin's new robot body is based on Dr. Samuel Hayden from Doom 2016.