As the gang returned to town, they got a message from Krew that he had a proposition for them, and to meet him at his bar if they were interested. As Onin did not yet have answers for them regarding the artifacts and Torn hadn't contacted them for anything, the group decided to investigate, as they had nothing better to do.
"So, you said you had a proposition for us?" Ben asked as the group entered the Hip Hog Saloon.
"Well, let's just get down to business, eh? Zoomer Racing is the biggest sport in the city!" Krew explained. "Erol is the undisputed grand champion. He's crazy and dangerous on the track...my kind of guy."
Jak scowled, remembering Erol as Baron Praxis' right-hand man who was with him overseeing the two years of horrific torture he went through. Ben flinched, recalling a few encounters with Erol himself before he broke free.
"So knocking him off his championship pedestal will take him down a few pegs and burn his temper? Making him easier to fight?" Jak asked.
Krew laughed. "Only a fool would dare race against him, eh! And that's where you lot come in. A client of mine is looking for fast drivers for her racing team."
"Racing, huh? Sounds like my kinda thing!" Rainbow smirked.
" Here's a security pass to get you into the stadium section," Krew said as he tossed a pass to Jak before bringing over a contract. "And your contract with just a few trifles for me. I've uh, already signed your name to save time, hmm?"
Jak gave the contract to Daxter, who quickly began reading over every detail at rapid speed with the Eds looking as well.
"We the racers hereby agree to give Krew all proceeds from race earnings, endorsement fees, broadcast royalties, syndication residuals, vehicle sponsorships, mall appearance fees, collectible card assets, fast food tie-ins, use of likeness rights, talk show deals, clothing lines, all print rights including book, novella, comic, pamphlet, ticker tape, neon sign and bathroom graffiti designs..." Daxter paused to take a deep breath. "toy rights, shoe lines, mood rings, game rights...GAME RIGHTS?!...vitamin endorsements, city kickbacks, movie deals, and of course, all death and dismemberment accident insurance claims."
Daxter then tossed the contract to Twilight, who gave a more careful and thorough analysis before levitating it in her magic telekinesis and showing it to Krew.
"So...did she include this clause that says the entire contract is subject to her analysis of our first race, at which point she can completely invalidate it for renegotiation directly with the racer?" The alicorn girl gestured to the fifth of twelve pages. "Here in the fifth paragraph?"
Krew snapped his fingers and growled. "That clever vixen... She'll only consider you if you can get from here to the stadium in less than three minutes, though. Good luck on that, eh?"
"Come on, team! We got a race to beat!" Hilda cheered as everyone headed out.
Exactly two minutes later, the gang leaped off the Zoomers they'd rode to the stadium.
"Heh! I coulda beaten that in ten seconds flat!" Rainbow boasted.
"At the speed you go when you fly, I would believe that," Double-D said.
"Totally! Dashie is the fastest flyer around!" Pinkie giggled.
Entering, Jak looked around for who was interested in hiring them.
"Hello? Krew said someone was looking for a race driver?"
"I'm busy right now!" a feminine voice called from the back...a voice that Ben and the Mane 6 in particular couldn't help but think was strangely familiar. "You must be Krew's new errand boys."
"Hey, there are girls here too!" Hilda snapped.
"Look, I don't mean to be rude, you did get here fast, but I'm not interested in any new drivers right now, and I've got work to do."
"As long as she ain't baking..." Applejack muttered, putting a hand to her mouth afterward in surprise.
"Honestly AJ, your honesty can be a little brutal..." Daxter whispered.
The woman hadn't heard. "Listen, if you think you've got the guts to race in this town, try taking my prototype JET-Board out on the stadium course. Beat the stadium challenge, and maybe I'll consider you for my team."
Smirking, Jak headed for the stadium, the others following close behind.
"Was that...no, it couldn't be..." Rarity muttered.
"I'm with you, Rarity...I think we all are." Twilight said as she and her sisters looked at each other.
Ben looked down at the ground. It was clear from the Mane 6 that he was also thinking exactly what they were thinking.
The gang sat back and watched as Jak did all sorts of flips, tricks, and jumps on the jet-board, plainly enjoying himself.
"It's just like old times," He muttered to himself as the timer ran out, having racked up a score of 150000 points with his tricks. "Like testing things out for..."
His face fell, and he hopped off the jet-board. Ben sighed as he walked over and patted his brother on the back.
"Let's go see what that mechanic thinks about your skills, huh?"
Nodding, Jak put the jet board back on the rack and followed back, his face down. Hilda noticed and moved to give Jak a hug, her blubbery but firm arms and pillowy gut acting as a welcome warm embrace.
"Thanks, Hilds."
"Hey, I may have eyes on your Bro, but I felt like you needed it."
Fluttershy also sensed Jak's distress and held his hand in her own tiny one, the two smiling at each other as the group returned to the garage.
"We beat yer stadium challenge!" Applejack said.
"Wow, I never imagined someone could score that high." The woman behind the curtain whistled. "I don't have a place on my team for a new racer just now...but you certainly deserve a reward for trying so hard."
Hearing how she mentioned a 'reward' as well as the fact that Jak had clearly been ogling her earlier when she gave them the mission, Ben's eyes widened.
"Couldn't be..."
The Mane 6 all seemed to have come to the same realization as Pinkie decided to go for broke.
"As long as it ain't a cake this time!" The pink pony girl laughed. "Seriously! That wasn't a baked good! It was a baked BAD!"
There was a clatter as the woman stumbled behind the curtain, several tools falling from the shelves.
"P-Pinkie?"
Jak's eyes widened as he managed to get a better hearing of the woman's voice.
"...Keira?"
"...Jak?"
Before anyone could react, Keira had stepped out from behind the curtain. She clearly looked like she had lost hope for a long time...but as her eyes caught sight of Jak, her eyes lit up, and she raced towards him.
Jak could only stare. Before, he'd known she was cute, pretty even. But now...seeing her face light up like that, she was breathtakingly beautiful. He was barely able to raise his arms to embrace her before she slammed bodily into him, her arms wrapped around him as she burst into tears.
"Jak..." She whimpered, clinging to him like a lifeline. "I thought...I thought you were dead..."
"For a while, I thought I was, too," Jak whispered back. "I...I thought I lost you..."
"KEIRA!"
The Mane 6 all cried out as they surrounded Keira and hugged her tightly as well, crying their eyes out. Keira hugged the six young pony girls as well, Jak backing off a little to let her.
"You girls...!" Keira smiled, fresh tears coming out of her eyes. "You're so big now!"
"Yeah! We're 10 now!" Rainbow said, tears in her own eyes. "Pinkie threw the biggest party to celebrate the milestone...wish you and Old Man Samos were there for it."
"Sis...?"
Hearing Ben's voice, Keira turned and gasped as she saw him. While Jak still looked recognizable even after two years, just with a goatee, Ben looked so much different now.
"Ben, what did they do to you...?"
"Let's just say Jak and I were pumped full of Dark Eco by the Baron...and Jak was the lucky one."
"Define lucky..." Jak grimaced.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, lemme get this straight!" Eddy said as he came in. "You guys know this chick?!"
"Eddy, that's Keira! The friend Twilight and the girls had told us about before." Double-D pointed out before turning to Keira. "Oh, I'm sorry. My name is Double-D and these are Ed and Eddy."
"Whoa...other Ottsels besides Daxter?" Keira asked in amazement.
"We were just as surprised as you are now, darling." Rarity giggled.
"Hey, hey, hey!" Hilda laughed as she picked up Keira in a hug. "Nice to meet ya! Any friend of the girls is a friend of mine!"
"O-Oh, nice to meet you!" Keira greeted. "Well...you're certainly healthy-looking."
Hilda beamed. "Ashelin said the same thing!"
"What have you been doing all this time?" Twilight asked.
Keira rubbed her shoulder awkwardly, a sad look on her face as she turned away.
"It's...a bit of a long story."
"We got time," Ben said as he sat down. "What happened?"
Keira could remember it like it was yesterday. Two years ago, she had gone flying out of the rift just like everyone else, but she had ended up crashing into a junkyard just outside Haven City. Using her mechanical ingenuity, she managed to build a working vehicle to take her into the city, only to be intercepted by the Krimzon Guard.
It was there she was brought before Baron Praxis and Erol, who had taken an interest in her inventions. Impressed by her skills, Praxis offered her a job as an independent contractor to make her A-Grav technology for the Krimzon Guard and in return, he'd have the guard search for her missing friends.
"Well, despite the horrible things he did to Jak and Ben, at least the Baron is a gentleman." Rarity noted.
"Erol seemed pretty nice too...after he stopped trying to flirt with me." Keira grimaced.
"That explains all the top-notch Zoomers," Twilight said. "With all your mechanical expertise, it's no wonder they were able to get so many out on the streets of Haven in such a short time."
Before more could be said, Keira looked up and gasped when she saw a light above her worktop begin to blink.
"Guys, hide!"
Twilight quickly cast an Invisibility Spell to camouflage everyone, who quickly dove behind the curtains to remain further inconspicuous.
"Whoa, is this the Rift Rider?" Daxter asked as he saw what Keira had been working on.
"SHHH!" Everyone else shushed him.
The group couldn't see anything beyond their hiding place, but they could hear. And there was one voice Jak and Ben recognized in particular.
"Keira, I'm afraid your little present has stopped working again," Baron Praxus said gently as he entered.
"It's alright, Baron," Keira responded warmly. "I did say the power source wasn't perfected and would need to be replaced every so often."
Praxus chuckled. "I'm always amazed at how gifted you are with machines."
"It's a knack," Keira countered demurely.
"Keira...your friends have been spotted."
Keira paused. "What? But...you said-"
"I was mistaken," Praxus admitted. "It is possible. However...it seems your young man has...undergone an unexpected change."
Papers could be heard being laid out, followed by Keira gasping quietly.
"But...but that can't...is...is that Dark Eco?"
"You recognize it? Yes, it appears he's been exposed to a great deal of Dark Eco somehow...and he's become a danger to himself and all those around him." Praxus said. "And that's not all...the one you consider your brother...he has also been exposed, only his changes were more...extreme."
"That weasel...!" Eddy whispered. "He's lying to her face!"
Jak clenched his teeth, barely controlling his rage. Was Praxus really going to try and make himself look innocent of what happened to him? He clenched his fists tightly, digging his nails into his palms to keep from charging out and tearing Praxus apart.
Ben was in the same boat. He could still feel the needles digging into his flesh, his body distorting and changing as the Dark Eco warped him into what he was now...the blood that splattered all over him as he tore those scientists apart. A low feral growl escaped his throat.
"Shhhh!" Hilda shushed, pulling Ben into a tight hug.
"I see how he can be dangerous to anyone who attacks him," Keira mused at last. "But...how is Jak a danger to himself?"
"Dark Eco poisoning is cumulative. The more this...'Dark Jak' comes out, the less of Jak as you know him will remain, until eventually...the beast in these photos will be all that's left of him." Praxus explained. "If we can get him under control so we can learn how this transformation works, we may be able to help him...and then he could help all of us."
"But...what about Ben?"
"I'm afraid it may be too late for him...he already has blood on his hands."
"Why tell me all this?" Keira asked at last. "I know you said I'd be the first to know if you found him, but..."
"Because if his feelings for you are even a fraction of yours for him, then you're the key to bringing him around."
"So that's it," Keira almost spat. "You want me to get him to follow me up to the palace so you can lock him up?"
"Don't be absurd," Praxus countered. "I want you to keep him here."
"What?"
Jak wasn't entirely sure for a moment if it was himself or Keira that spoke there. It was only when Praxus continued normally that he realized he'd managed to keep his silence.
"As far as we can tell, it's rage that brings this side of him out, rage, and danger." Praxus explained. "The only way he can be kept under control so the damage he's doing to himself can be countered is if he is somewhere he can be calm and feel safe...and that's somewhere that's yours. We know he's in the city somewhere...and I have connections in the city, so I can arrange to have information spread that will likely lead him here. If he does come, do what you can to calm him down and convince him to stay."
"What then?" Keira asked. "Send Erol around to collect samples or something?"
"Are you asking for trouble?" Praxus barked out with a laugh. "You, Erol, and Jak in the same room? We'd need at least one body bag within the hour. No, I'll send in my daughter to make observations. Any studies and sample collecting will be your own responsibility, and at whatever rate you think best. He'll trust you: that's what we're counting on."
"And since Ashelin and I are friends since she's been checking up on me the past two years, he'll trust her, too," Keira concluded.
"Precisely. Can I count on you?"
Keira was silent for a long time. "I'll think about it. If he comes...I'll decide what to do then."
There was the sound of some sort of device whirring, and soft music played.
"It's fixed."
"All I can ask," Praxus replied. "...I never get tired of watching the lights play, and hearing the music."
"I'm glad you like it."
After a long time of silence, Keira spoke again. "
He's gone. You guys can come out now."
"Well, considering he hired you as an independent contractor, it would make sense that he would be on speaking terms with you." Rarity noted.
"But the real pickle here is why was he acting all sweet and fatherly to ya?" Applejack asked.
"That and he lied about me and Ben's situation." Jak scowled.
"Except for the blood part..." Ben shuddered. "I did kill all those people..."
"You weren't in control of your actions, Ben," Fluttershy said, gently stroking his leg.
"Well, you know what the situation was once I took the job," Keira explained. "I was safe, as long as Baron Praxus thought I was working for him...but not safe if I was actually working for him since there was already unrest about his rule in the form of a resistance group called the Underground."
"Yeah, The Eds and I are part of it," Hilda said. "But I can tell you're a good girl, so please continue."
Keira nodded. "I knew I had to do something to convince Praxus I was on his side while still protecting my own interests. Opportunity practically fell into my lap when I was invited to attend his birthday party. Not a showy affair, just close acquaintances and a few delicacies, rather understated for the ruler of a city...but it gave me the perfect opportunity to bug his private office."
Pinkie let out a loud scandalous gasp. Being the master of parties, she found this whole thing to be blasphemous...even if she perfectly understood what Keira was doing.
"You planted a bug in his private office in the middle of his birthday party?" Jak demanded, shocked. "Are you insane? Do you have any idea how reckless that was?"
"Not very, considering he planted the bug himself."
"Wait, what?" Rainbow asked flatly.
Keira giggled. "He's even been kind enough to bring me the recording himself whenever it needs replacing."
"Wait...you mean that little gift...?" Jak began.
"The power source is designed to need replacing whenever the recording tape runs out," Keira explained as she set up a device to read the tape for significant information. "And the lights and music it plays create enough energy feedback to create a false positive on bug-detecting devices when running...and I showed him that when I gave it to him. So that false positive he knows about hides the real deal."
"That's...ingenious!" Twilight exclaimed.
"I know! I'm speechless!" Double-D gushed. "I mean this is an absolute coup, the distortion of awareness and-"
"I thought you were speechless," Eddy said as he shushed his sock-hatted pal.
"Not bad, Keira." Jak chuckled. "What have you been doing with all that information you've been gathering?"
"I've handed off just enough to keep the Underground happy and not trying to actively recruit me, without actually giving them anything to use against the Baron," Keira elaborated. "They may not be happy about the situation, but without you here the Baron was the best chance this city had to survive. And after my first sighting of a Metal Head...well, I understand what the Baron was talking about with the struggle just to survive."
"Yikes..." Rainbow winced. "Glad to know you made it out okay."
Keira shuddered. "Yeah. If Ashelin hadn't taken it out, I would have been forced to build myself a new leg."
"Ashelin Praxus?" Jak asked.
"Yeah, the Baron's daughter. She's...a friend of mine." Keira confirmed. "Why, you know her?"
"That's a complicated story involving time travel," Jak replied.
"So you ARE the lost Prince everyone's looking for, but older than they expected, aren't you?" Keira inferred. "Does she know you're the little boy she used to babysit all grown up?"
"Well, Ashelin is a friend of mine, and The Eds too." Hilda chuckled. "Guess we were just made to be besties."
Keira giggled. "Yeah. Erol had also been helpful and we kinda worked together on a few things...but he acted rather sketchy here and there."
"Yeah, Erol ain't exactly a trustworthy source," Daxter said.
"And the Rift Rider?" Twilight asked.
"Since I couldn't find you guys after we all got separated, I feared you might have been lost in the rift," Keira explained. "I was in the process of rebuilding it in hopes of finding you after Jak and Ben were found."
"Well, we're here now." Rarity gently said. "All we need to do is find Samos and we'll all be together again."
"Yeah, if you're here, then the old geezer has gotta be here as well." Daxter noted.
"But why are you trying so hard to keep the Baron on the throne just now?" Fluttershy asked worriedly.
Keira sighed. "Because as inhumane as some of his decisions seem to be, without Jak and Ben he was still the best chance Haven and humanity had of surviving the Metal Heads."
"Forgive us if we find that hard to believe..." Ben growled.
"Yeah, he's been trading Eco to the Metal Heads." Jak pointed out.
"It was to buy time to perfect the Dark Eco control process and gather the Precursor tech needed to complete a superweapon that will wipe out all the Metal Heads simultaneously," Keira explained.
"Okay, that's...wow," Rainbow said, unable to say anything.
"While a good idea on paper, the damage to the Eco veins, even in their depleted state, could be catastrophic," Keira explained. "So, while a good last resort, not a good idea to use when there are other possibilities."
"Which is why you haven't fed that tidbit to the Underground?" Hilda clarified.
"Good lord, if she wasn't such a kind soul, she would have had us obliterated!" Double-D realized.
"Yeah, be glad yer on her side." Applejack quipped.
"And once we find Dad, I already have a plan in place." Keira said as she pulled back a sheet, she revealed a plan laid out in immense detail. Step-by-step instructions and backup stratagems that lead toward three major goals: the elimination of Krew's influence on Haven; the destruction of the Metal Heads; and the end of military rule over Haven, and Praxus' control of the city.
"Sweet! I couldn't have come up with anything better!" Eddy praised.
"This is so well-detailed!" Twilight noted.
"It is a strategy for war, soldiers!" Ed declared. "Time to go on the front lines! Private Do-Not-Enter is ready for duty, Chief!"
"Settle down there, trooper." Ben chuckled as he patted the buff Ottsel's head.
"Keira, I love you!" Jak said before catching what he said. "Uh...yeah, you're very pretty and..."
Keira smiled up at him warmly. "Jak...you have no idea how long I've waited...to hear you say those four words. I thought...I might never hear them."
Tears in the corners of her eyes, she stepped up to Jak, wrapping her arms around him and slowly leaning towards him.
"Come on, let's give the lovebirds some privacy." Hilda giggled as she ushered everyone out.
"Awww, but I want to play some romantic music!" Pinkie pouted.
"Next time, Pinkie." Rarity smiled.
Yeah, I wish I could have done some romantic music too, Pinkie Pie.