A half-hour later, Jak stepped out of the garage happily, rejoining the rest of the crew.
"While we were waiting for you and Keira to finish your happy romantic moment, we got a call from Krew," Hilda said.
"And judging by that smile, I doubt whatever mean thing he says will bring your mood down!" Pinkie added with a giggle.
"We might as well get going. I bet he'll appreciate us clocking in early." Ben said.
The group got on their Zoomers and made their way back to the Hip Hog, where they noticed someone new by the counter that immediately caught Daxter's eye as he jumped off Jak's shoulder and onto the counter.
"Hey, sugarplum! You new here? What've ya got that's hot and..." He blinked. "Wait, I've seen you before. You're with the Underground-"
The blonde woman, who the group had last seen when they first met Torn, quickly shushed Daxter by pressing two fingers to his lips.
"Shh! I'm Tess." She smiled winsomely at Daxter, not seeming to care that his eyes were most definitely not on her face. "Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along, and I may be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets."
"Ooh, I love undercover work, baby!" Daxter said eagerly. "But uh, two can work better than one. Let me help you out."
Daxter jumped behind the bar as Tess giggled, digging around through some spare bottles and drinking them.
"Wow! There sure are a lot of bottles back here." Some more tossing bottles around while also drinking a few. "Whew! Ooh that's, oh that, that goes down ah... Ooh boy, gee you s'pose that's real gold floatin' in there? How 'bout this purple stuff? Whew! That's the stuff! Finally!"
"Jak, I need you and your little friends to go around and make a few collections for me," Krew said, making his presence known behind the group.
"What kind of collections are we talking about here?" Rarity asked while using her magic to lift a now thoroughly wasted Daxter away from the bar.
"I have six clients around town who are about to make money drops for me. I need you to collect each money bag as fast as you can and take care of any guards who get curious, hmm? Get to a money bag too late, and some townie might pick it up."
"Well, maybe that's secretly a good thing because then they'll have money to afford food and..." Fluttershy said, her voice trailing off as she shrunk from Krew's glare.
"You know what's the trouble with you, Krew? You got no vision... This place could be a real swinging joint..." Daxter slurred. "Hop Heg Hiven with more dancin', more mac'n, more women! Jak knows what I'm talking about!"
"I get what you're saying!" Eddy grinned. "We'll call it...The Tower of Eddy!"
"It'd need to be an ACTUAL tower first, Eddy..." Twilight pointed out dryly.
"Just collect all fourteen money bags before they disappear and bring them back here," Krew said. "If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, eh!"
"Yeah, yeah, we hear ya loud and clear, Lard Beak." Rainbow scoffed.
The group headed out to get the job done...and get a drunk Daxter out of the bar before he made any more of an ass of himself.
Thanks to a mixture of Twilight's magic, Ben's Dark Eco powers, Rainbow's speed, and Double-D's magical hammerspace hat, the group was able to collect all the money and bring it back to Krew. Thankfully by that point, Daxter had also managed to sober up.
"We got your business done, Krew," Hilda called out as Krew came down.
"Hmm, quite the money collectors, eh? Here's a gun upgrade." The obese arms dealer said as he gestured to the aforementioned upgrade on the bar table. "Now get out! I need my beauty nap."
"Trust me, brother, there aren't enough hours in the day." Daxter snarked.
The upgrade was for the Red Eco Scatter Gun Mod which increased the rate of fire. Since Krew had nothing else for them to do at the moment, the gang decided to go through with the first stage of Keira's plan. Towards that end, they swung by the Power Station.
"Vin, buddy. We need a favor." Jak began.
"I can't help you with your Eco bill," Vin replied quickly.
"This is bigger than that," Ben countered.
"Sides, we've got that well in hand," Eddy added.
"We need you to switch on the access elevator in one of the palace's support towers," Jak explained.
"Sheesh!" Vin gasped out. "That's part of the old B-Zone power grid! It hasn't worked for years."
"Will you even be able to handle it?" Fluttershy asked worriedly. "I mean, if it's that old..."
"Oh no, it's nothing like that! Mar designed this city very carefully. Once the grid's back on, I can route the B-Zone conduit lines through the bypass grid, shunting past the Eco rings to connect the inductor tubes in series, then back through the outer wall indicator helix and across the resonant flux routes into the number five capacitor array. Assuming the circuits in the GX75B can handle the surge, I could link the phase loop lines into the primary coils, and presto, you've got instant lift juice!"
"Uh...did anybody other than Twilight get all that?" Applejack asked.
Pinkie's eyes were spinning around in her head as steam was pouring out of her ears while Ben massaged the bridge of his nose to stave away the headache he was feeling.
"That's all brilliant!" Twilight gushed. "Vin, you're a genius!"
"Awww, come on, Mar was the real genius," Vin said humbly. "Anyway, to get that elevator moving, you gotta find and turn on all the old B-Zone power boxes located in the city. There are five of them!"
"Sounds good to me!" Hilda said.
"HOWEVER!" Vin began. "Those power boxes are guarded by motion-sensing turbo cannons!"
"Dang it!" Eddy cursed. "It can never be easy, can it?!
"Tsk, tsk, Eddy! If it was all easy, we would not have a story!" Ed said, wagging his finger.
"But, if you can destroy the cannons, and switch the boxes on, I can do the rest." Vin said. "Just don't tell the Baron I ever saw you!"
"Our lips are sealed," Ben smirked, making a zipping motion over his lips for emphasis.
The cannons proved to be much less difficult than advertised, as one shot from close range with the Scatter Gun took them out, and they couldn't aim up. It was an easy task to move in via overpass or Zoomer, take out the cannons, and then activate the power switches they were built on.
The guards backing up the turrets also weren't very challenging, since the gang all moved too fast for them to get clear shots. Ben also used his Dark Eco Shield Arm to block the bullets and plasma bolts so Twilight could retaliate by trapping the guards in anti-gravity magic bubbles.
"Okay, the B-Zone power grid is back online." Vin called by radio. "Have fun being killed in the Palace."
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Vin..." Rainbow said dryly.
Making their way inside, the elevator took them up to the top of the support tower, leaving a direct but dangerous path to the palace. The walkway along the power lines was narrow and interspersed by rotating fan blades charged with electrical Blue Eco. Another section was completely coated in Red Eco, forcing them to detour along swing poles with Twilight teleporting Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity to everyone else when they were across.
A defense turret also got in the way but Applejack used some quickdraw shots from her Morph Gun in Blaster Mod to take it down, blowing the smoke off the barrel like a gunslinger afterward.
Beyond that, several rotating portions of the path alternated between safe, flat platforms and deadly spiked ones, with another turret on the other side. The next section involved another detour below the normal path past more rotating fans across platforms that broke away shortly after they were stepped on, before using swing poles to get back up.
"Are we there yet?" Pinkie groaned as she rested on Hilda's shoulders.
"Unfortunately, we're only about halfway there." Ben frowned.
"For Pete's sake!" Hilda huffed. "I think I've lost about 10 pounds this chapter!"
The rest of the path was more of the same obstacles, save for a pair of turrets that rotated around the path, firing constantly once the group was in range. However, Ben got an idea and took some Yellow Eco Ammo for the Blaster and cracked it open before injecting it into his body.
"What the hay are you doin'?!" Applejack asked in shock.
Ben grinned as his veins turned yellow before he morphed both his arms into a cannon made of Dark Eco biomass mixed with Yellow Eco energy, which fired a powerful blast that obliterated the turrets in a single explosive shot.
"After I absorbed the Green Eco earlier, I had a thought that maybe I can do the same for other types of Eco as well," Ben smirked. "Guess I was right on the money."
"Well, maybe next time give us a heads-up before trying to prove a hypothesis," Twilight said. "I don't want you to suffer any more negative side effects than you already have."
Once on the roof of the palace, the gang made their way to a skylight, where they could see Praxus and Erol speaking to an illusion of someone...or someTHING.
"I've told you, I will have more Eco by week's end. We'll transport it directly to your nest, as promised." The Baron said.
"A deal is of no value if you can't deliver, my dear Baron. I grow impatient with your puny gestures. Give me the agreed-upon Eco soon, or the deal is off, and your precious city will pay the price." The voice said before cutting off.
"He's toying with us!" Erol snapped. "Let me lead an assault on the Nest before it's too late! I can take him!"
"Patience, commander. No one has ever penetrated the Metal Head nest, you know that. I've seen what comes of such foolish plans." Praxus said while brushing the metal covering half of his face. Penetrating the nest is impossible as things stand. The plan remains. The Metal Heads are powerful, and they know it. That confidence is the key to their downfall. We must accede to their demands, seeming weak...until it turns to overconfidence. Then the final strike will work."
"I think we haven't been giving the Baron enough credit..." Ben muttered, surprised to hear himself say that.
"And find that child! If you'd spend half as much time looking for the little brat as you spend flirting with Keira, we would have pinned his royal ass to a wall long ago." Praxus snapped at Erol, who flinched.
"A-As you wish..."
"And a reminder...I want the child alive and unharmed! If he comes to harm, we're ALL doomed." Praxus added before turning to leave.
Seeing both men leave the chamber, Jak decided it was time for the gang to leave. However, just as they were about to leave, Praxus suddenly intercepted them in a flying battle mech.
"Do you think I can't tell when I'm being spied on?" He barked out, his voice magnified by the armor like a megaphone. "And do you think you'll be leaving in one piece?"
"Listen, Lex Luthor! We want the Metal Heads gone just as much as you do!" Ben snapped. "But pumping me and Jak full of Dark Eco isn't exactly my idea of a consensual agreement!"
Jak narrowed his eyes. "Keira designed that for you, didn't she?"
Praxus watched him silently. Jak could see that he was trying to determine exactly how much he did and didn't know. Finally, after a tense and suffocating silence, the Baron spoke.
"She knows you're here now. She knows what the Dark Eco's done to both of you."
"Does she know YOU were the one who did it to them?!" Twilight demanded, her horn glowing brightly.
"No more than you know why," Praxus replied. "You boys are worth more to me alive than dead...but you still have value dead. It's your choice."
"Hey! It's like Ben said, you still want the Metal Heads dead just like the rest of us!" Hilda pointed out.
"More than almost anything. The only greater goal is to keep humanity alive." Praxus replied.
"...Then let me ask you something," Jak asked slowly. "If the best way to ensure both goals was for you to step down from leadership-"
"In a heartbeat," Praxus interrupted. "But that's not the situation right now, is it?"
"No...But the answer is enough for now." Jak said as he holstered his weapon.
"Hey, are you crazy?!" Eddy snapped. "You're giving him the perfect opportunity to fry us!"
"I trust him..." Hilda said as she holstered her Morph Gun as well.
"Well, if you put your faith in him...so shall I..." Double-D said.
"I don't know enough about the situation to know if I'm on your side...but as long as the Metal Heads are a major threat, I'm not your enemy. If you let us, we'll leave peacefully." Jak told the Baron.
The Baron stared at him for a time...then grinned widely, which definitely left the Mane 6 and The Eds in particular worried.
"Gol and Maia's journals told me you would be coming, boy, and what they knew of your potential. I thought they had all the answers...but they only scratched the surface. How are you controlling your anger through the Dark Eco inside?"
"Oh-ho-ho, trust me, Mr. Krabs..." Ben chuckled darkly. "It's taking every fiber of my being not to rip you limb from limb and melt down the carcass until there's nothing left..."
"To be honest, I'm kind of in the same boat," Jak admitted. "But the Precursors are making sure neither of us loses ourselves to what you did."
Praxus fell dead silent for a time. "...your worth alive grows more and more, boy. Now get out before I change my mind!"
"Yeah, whatever. Bye-bye." Daxter sarcastically waved as the group made their way past the disengaged electrified barriers.
"That was...CRAZY!" Rainbow breathed. "Something tells me the Baron won't be so nice a second time, though..."
"No, he won't..." Ben frowned, a low growl escaping his throat.
I bet you can probably guess the joke behind Ben calling Baron Praxus 'Lex Luthor' and 'Mr. Krabs'. XD
Speaking of which, I liked Tatsurou's portrayal of Baron Praxus in Sons of Damas, so I'm doing the same thing here.