The gang quickly made their way out of the palace. The Krimzon Guard was conspicuously absent, giving them a clear runout. Once outside, they made their way to a back alley where they could talk unobserved.

"Now what?" Daxter asked. "We got a good deal of information out of that...but what can we actually do with it? And what was the point of it, anyway? Keira's probably already GOT all that information!"

"That was the point. It's part of Keira's plan...even Praxus catching us." Jak explained. "He needs to know we know, but not realize that was the point of it."

"...Does that make any sense to you at all?" Rainbow asked.

Jak shook his head. "Nope. But I trust Keira."

"Praxus' actions are a direct result of what he knows and what he can assume," Twilight spoke up. "I think your choice to not fight him influenced events a great deal more than Keira expected. We can't go back to her right away though."

"Why is that so important?" Eddy demanded.

"Even in this day and age, the power of the Precursors is known and legend. And Praxus now knows that they're weighing in on this conflict...on Jak's side." Twilight explained.

Rarity gasped. "If that's the case, we need to get this information to Keira right away-"

"Already got it."

Keira's voice spoke up from their communicators as everyone looked at them.

"Once I knew Jak, Daxter, Ben, and the girls were back, it was easy enough to lock onto your comm signal. For now, you should report to Torn to move forward with the Underground's agenda. And don't worry, Jak, you've actually moved up my schedule. The more Praxus needs you on his side, the easier it'll be to carry this out."

"Heh, having Keira watching our backs. Feels just like ol' times..." Applejack smiled wistfully.

As the gang arrived at the Underground, they found Kor and Mar waiting for them while Torn looked livid.

"The city's on high alert! What the hell did you do?"

"We climbed up the palace, tripped a few alarms, and had an interesting talk with the Baron," Jak said calmly.

"What?!" Torn demanded. "I didn't authorize a strike on the Baron-"

"As much as we would've WANTED it to be a strike, there were no shots fired on either side." Ben stepped in.

"Just who do you think you are to go over my head like that?" Torn demanded angrily, slamming his fists down on the table.

"Ask Ashelin. Tell her you're authorized to know." Jak stated bluntly.

"And we overheard a secret meeting with the leader of the Metal Heads!" Daxter added.

Kor gasped. "You saw the Metal Head Leader?"

"No, he was on some communicator, but we heard him talking with Baron Praxis." Hilda clarified.

"The Baron is bribing the Metal Heads with Eco!" Pinkie said. "But it's actually some big double-fisted ploy!"

"Double-fisted ploy?" Kor asked curiously. "Whatever do you mean?"

"The entire act of bribing is a ploy to buy time for some sort of super weapon!" Daxter barked out eagerly. "No idea what sort, but that's certainly of interest, right?"

"But it's ultimately a final last resort thing...one I really hope doesn't come to pass." Fluttershy worriedly said.

Torn and Jak were still glaring each other down. Finally, Torn looked away.

"Well, since you stirred this up, you get to move four of our agents to new safe houses-"

"Done," Jak quickly replied. "Just tell us where they are and where to take them."

Torn continued to glower, much to young Mar's amusement, but handed over the information. Hilda gave Mar a playful head rub and Rainbow gave him a reassuring thumbs-up as the gang headed out to do the mission.

To make the job go faster to maximize the safety of the agents, Jak, Daxter, and Hilda, each took their own vehicles to get the agents to the specified safe locations with Twilight and Applejack sticking with Jak, Rarity, and Rainbow sticking with Daxter, and Pinkie, Fluttershy, and The Eds sticking with Hilda.

Ben moving on foot with his Dark Eco powers proved to be the fastest and delivered the fourth agent to the designated safe house. With everyone moving about at once, the Krimzon Guard was forced to divide their forces and weren't able to effectively deter any of them.

With all four agents safely moved, they returned to the Underground HQ for another mission. When they got there, Torn was alone...and he looked up at them with a good deal more respect than before, and almost a hint of deference.

"Something tells us you've been warming up," Ben smirked.

"Scouts report movement in Dead Town; creatures moving towards the Sacred Site, just as before."

"What happened, uh, before?" Daxter asked suspiciously.

Metal Heads broke through the old city wall. We fought them, but then the Baron pulled back, leaving everyone outside the 'new barrier' to die." Torn explained. "Only the Shadow stayed and somehow stopped the attack."

"And now you expect us to go out there again?" Double-D asked incredulously.

"You catch on fast. If you prevent the Metal Heads from reaching the Sacred Site, the Shadow will be, most grateful. He might even ask to see you." Torn said. "Also...Ashelin spoke with me while you were away."

"I take it she had some big news to share, huh?" Twilight asked with a smirk.

"Yes. But the Shadow would be...most appreciative if you did what you could." Torn said before reaching underneath the table and tossing three new Mod barrels powered by Blue Eco. "Hey, I'm probably wasting this, but here's a Vulcan Barrel for those pea shooters of yours. Believe me, you're gonna need it."

Jak, Hilda, and Applejack smirked as they loaded their Morph Guns with the new barrels, Pinkie's eyes sparkling as she saw the minigun-like configuration.

"Ooooh! I have got to get me one of those!"

"You've already got your Eco Party Cannon, Pinkie!" Rainbow pointed out.

Once outside the city proper, the trio made their way to Dead Town, blasting their way through several different types of Metal Heads they'd encountered before. As expected of a place called Dead Town, the terrain was inhospitable. Ruined buildings, swamps replacing roads, and only brief spots of dry ground to jump between. Here and there, a plant attempted to grow, giving a sign of the life that might once have thrived there. It was overall a depressing place.

In lighter news, the new Vulcan Fury mode for the Morph Guns proved most effective for a great many of the Metal Heads they encountered, inflicting a great deal of damage rapidly. But when they reached the Sacred Site... it was far too easy for them to recognize.

"Is that... Is that? No, it couldn't be. That's not..." Daxter stuttered in horror.

"It's... Samos' hut." Jak whispered in disbelief.

"Oh god...we're not in the past..." Ben realized, his eyes widened in horror. "This...this is the future."

"I sort of suspected..." Twilight whispered, tears already forming in her eyes. "Praxus mentioned Gol and Maia's journals...but to see THIS..."

"Wait...all this time, you guys weren't from the future...YOU WERE FROM THE PAST?!" Eddy asked in disbelief.

"EXTREME PLOT TIWST!" Ed exclaimed.

"This is...sobering news," Double-D muttered.

"H-Hey, are you guys gonna be okay?" Hilda asked worriedly.

Jak, Daxter, Ben, and the Mane 6 were silent. None of them could deny it; this was what their world had become.

Sorry for the short chapter. The next one will be longer, I promise.