The Zoomers Praxus was able to provide managed to get the heroes to the Weapons Factory in seconds. After that, they quickly made their way into the Weapons Factory. As Praxus had decided that subtlety in this regard wasn't the best of ideas, especially with Jak's plan to get the Heart of Mar back from Krew over the fat man's dead body if necessary, he'd sent them along with an ID signal that would let them pass by the Krimzon Guards on patrol without harassment. It was built into the key he'd given them to enter the Factory, so they didn't have any problems getting through as the Guards they did come across assisted in clearing a path for them.
The Factory itself had a grim atmosphere, with sickly green chemicals flowing through most of it as Jak, his siblings, and his friends were forced to leap from platforms to conveyor belts to gateways, maneuvering between even grimmer pipelines pumping the sickly sludge throughout the place. The gang did their best to take in as few details as possible as they made their way through.
"For heaven's sake!" Double-D gagged. "I think I smell something fecal!"
"What smells so good?" Ed asked, excitedly sniffing the air.
"When the Metal Heads aren't an issue anymore, Haven could use some beautification," Jak muttered to himself, though loud enough for his companions to hear.
"A few trees, some nice rugs, a couple of throw pillows..." Daxter began, only to shake his head. "Nah, I don't think there's enough fab in the world to clear up this place's drab."
"You know what we could try turning this into? A gag factory!" Eddy suggested.
"Ooooh! I like that!" Pinkie excitedly said.
After making their way past a final few waves of automated security bots that had been tweaked to not recognize their security code, they reached the massive bomb that Praxus had built...and wasn't being dismantled for some reason. They weren't surprised to find Krew there.
"Ah, hello children. Wasn't expecting to see you here." Krew greeted. "Any idea when the Baron's going to show up with the Precursor Stone? I have this splitter bomb I've designed just for him to crack open the Precursor Stone...but he's late."
Everyone exchanged glances. Either Krew didn't know they were in tight with Praxus now and was trying to play them, unlikely, if he was asking when he would be there, or someone had been interfering with Praxus' communications with the Weapons Factory, and Krew didn't get the signal to dismantle the bomb.
"He's not coming," Applejack stated bluntly. "And this bomb ain't going off on our watch."
Krew's eyes narrowed. "Oh? You really think you can stop it?"
"I'd say so," Hilda replied, detaching the ammo clip from his Morph Gun, and shaking up the Red Eco inside. "And we're taking back the Heart of Mar."
"Over my dead body!" Krew snarled.
Hilda grinned widely, a grin that caused everyone else to feel a shiver run down their spines as Ben noticed what she was planning on doing.
"Wait, Hilda, don't do what me and Jak do-!"
"TOO LATE!"
With that, the chubby girl chugged down all 100 capsules of Red Eco in an instant.
"Are you insane?!" Krew demanded, his one good eye nearly popping out of his skull as the other, almost completely white, spun crazily.
Hilda's belly rumbled loudly, glowing a brilliant shade of red as her eyes burned with Red Eco aura. She then rocketed up at speeds faster than her blubber would suggest and tore the splitter bomb from its moorings, hefting it like a club.
As Krew saw the fat brunette tomboy about to bring the whole bomb down on his head, he could only let out a single sentence with a defeated sigh of resignation.
"Oh bugger all, eh..."
Hilda's Mom was humbly cleaning at the brewery when she suddenly heard an explosion that caused the place to shake. She steadied herself before shrugging and getting back to her business...only to hear a loud, roaring belch echo over all of Haven City.
"Goodness! Hilda sure must have had her fill!"
"Oooogh, I think I'm gonna be sick..." Hilda groaned as she rubbed her big belly, which was growling in unpleasant ways as the Mane 6 comforted her.
"At least the Heart of Mar is unharmed," Jak noted as he picked up the undamaged artifact in question. "Who knew ancient Precursor artifacts were so durable."
"Well...the good news is that Krew will no longer bedevil Haven City with his ilk." Double-D said.
"Word on that, Fuzz Brother!" Daxter said, giving his fellow Ottsel finger guns.
Ben made his way over to Hilda and Green Eco glowed around his palm before a strange syringe-like spike made of biomass formed from it, glowing with Green Eco. Almost instinctively, he injected it into a part of Hilda's stomach, giving her immense relief.
"Ahhh, that feels nice..." Hilda sighed before letting out one last belch, a few bubbles of Red Eco leaving her mouth. "Hehehehe...'Scuse me..."
"Honestly, that was actually kinda hot what you did to Krew there." Ben chuckled as Hilda's chubby cheeks turned pink.
"Heh, not as hot as what you would have done to him, I'm sure."
The two stared at each other, almost lovingly...before Ben made the first move and kissed Hilda on the lips, making her gasp before slowly closing her eyes and pulling him into her flabby but firm arms, an embrace he tenderly returned.
"Dang! Jak's getting game, Ben's getting game, when is it my turn?!" Daxter complained.
"Come on, you guys. Let's head back to the saloon." Twilight said.
Since Krew was no longer a concern or among the living, Daxter started making plans to take over the management of the saloon as a way to make some money once the city was safer. Once there, however, Tess had some interesting information for them.
"Krew put something inside this game," she explained, indicating a machine labeled 'Metal Head Bonk', with eight holes and a scoreboard on top. "Whatever it was, he looked real nervous about it."
"Whatever it is, he won't be needing it anymore!" Daxter insisted. "He's...not all together anymore."
"Let's just say if anyone wants it, we'll be having Krew Pancakes on the bar menu," Eddy smirked.
"Ugh! That would be WAY too fattening, darling!" Rarity huffed in disgust.
Daxter cracked his fuzzy knuckles. "Now watch the game player do his stuff!"
"You're such an animal," Tess purred flirtatiously as she bent over the Ottsel as he hopped on the machine.
"Whack-A-Mole!" Ed cheered. "Whack me!"
As everyone settled down, they watched as Daxter played, bonking the Metalhead heads that popped up - grays and golds, but not electrified reds - while Tess continued to praise him. It wasn't long before Daxter beat the game, causing it to dispense a prize...
Twilight gasped. "The Time Map!"
Daxter puffed his chest out as he turned to Tess. "You know, sugar plum, if any real Metal Heads came to town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game!"
"Then perhaps you may test that theory, yes?" Rolf spoke up. "We have guests!"
Sure enough, two giant Metal Heads had somehow entered the saloon. As Tess screamed, Daxter lunged in and, as he'd bragged, bopped the Metal Heads with the game's foam mallet.
"You think you can step onto the turf of the Orange Lightning?!"
Jak, Hilda, and Ben moved to help, but they and everyone else were surprised to see Daxter glowing with an incandescent white light, which then flashed over the foam mallet as the Metal Head's Skull Crystals cracked and then shattered, causing them to slump over dead.
"Daxter...that was incredible!" Tess gasped in awe as she scooped the Ottsel up and kissed him on the cheek.
"Whoa...did Daxter just unlock those Eco powers Gol and Maia talked about?" Rainbow asked the others in surprise.
"Oh my...that was amazing!" Fluttershy said.
"That was TERRIFYING!" Daxter groaned, shivering in Tess' embrace. "Where's Sig when you need him?"
"Krew sent Sig on one last mission. Something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open a secret door in the Under Port." Tess explained.
"Of course! Come on guys, we need to get to the Underport right now!" Jak said urgently.
"I'll take the Time Map to Keira!" Tess said.
"Be careful, angel cheeks, and your hero will return shortly!" Daxter said flirtatiously, giving Tess one last wink before leaving with the others.
As they left the saloon, they got an emergency message from Vin.
"The Shield Wall is down! I repeat, the Shield Wall is down! Sabotage! Kor did it! I knew Metal Heads would be the end of me..." A banging was heard on the other end. "Oh no! Metal Heads are at the door! They're breaking through! Too many of them!"
"Vin!" Twilight and Double-D called out in concern.
"There's only one thing left to do...I never thought I'd have to do it but there's no time! They're almost through!" Vin's voice then became somber. "Everyone...thank you for believing in me. I'll see you all again soon."
"Vin..." Fluttershy whimpered, tears forming in her eyes.
"Hats off to you, partner..." Applejack whispered, tipping her hat.
As the gang rode on their Zoomers through the city to Under Port, they could see Metal Heads crawling about, engaging with the Krimzon Guard and other members of the Underground.
"This is bad," Twilight muttered under her breath as she stared out at the chaos.
"It'll be worse if we don't take out the Metal Head leader soon," Jak grumbled, gunning the engine.
Once in Under Port, the gang found the Titan Suits awaiting them, allowing them to smash their way through to wherever Sig was. However, as they leaped into the Titan Suits, the area began to fill with water...and the suits only had a limited air supply, forcing them to hurry. Thankfully, there were a few air vents they were able to use to replenish the air in their suits scattered about.
The water had a few squid-like Metal Heads and several mines scattered about that the gang needed to destroy and avoid as the situation demanded. Eventually, they reached the end of the passages and the water began to drain out, letting them leave the Titan Suits.
On the opposite side of a large door, the gang found Sig engaged in battle with Metal Heads. When Jak moved to greet him, Sig nearly shot them.
"Hey there, tough guy."
"Get your skinny ass over her and start shootin'!" Sig snapped. "I was set up! Krew sent me down here to open some old doors with that Ruby Key you found, and when I did, Metal Heads came streaming in from some passage outside the city walls. Just like they were waiting for me!"
"Krew's dead," Jak informed him.
"He's lucky then! Cause he would not want me to catch him alive!" Sig snapped.
"I crushed him under his own weapons," Hilda said proudly.
Sig smirked. "Won't argue with karmic irony!"
"Let's get you out of here!" Rainbow insisted. "Then you can give us directions to that passage, so we can find the nest and take out the Metal Head leader!"
"You're crazy, you know that?" Sig demanded worriedly.
"If we were, this probably wouldn't work," Ben smirked.
As they made their way forward, however, a large centipede-shaped Metal Head burst through the wall, bearing down on them. The group fled as fast as they could, but it continued to pursue them. At one point, Fluttershy nearly went down a pit when a bridge collapsed under the giant Metal Head while she was still on it, but Sig managed to grab hold of her and pull her up.
"Nobody gets left behind on my watch!"
With the danger apparently passed, the group continued with Jak, Double-D, and Twilight working to solve box puzzles to open the path forward...only for the Metal Head Centipede to show up again, making them run for it.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Daxter, Eddy, Hilda, and Rainbow Dash all shouted at once.
They were almost out when Sig paused on a bridge.
"Looks like we finally lost him, eh chili peppers?" He gasped out as he came to a halt. "Now you kidsare real Wastelanders! I say it's time we take this fight to the Metal Head Leader himself!"
"That's the plan," Jak explained. "Any ion deas how to pull it off?"
"If we find a way to juice up Mar's old gun, then boom baby!" Sig slammed his staff weapon into the bridge. "We storm the nest guns blazing! All of us together! Side by side! Nothing'll stop us-"
"Maybe we could talk about this on the elevator?" Rarity interrupted.
"What are you scared of?" Sig demanded. "We lost that creature a while back-"
As Sig spoke, the Metal Head burst through the wall above...where it was about to pounce on Fluttershy.
"NO!" Everyone cried out.
The kind-hearted pony girl flinched and waited for the end, only for Sig to grab and toss her to the others, giving a reassuring smile as the Metal Head Centipede crashed atop him, both plummeting into the abyss below.
"SIG!" Hilda, Ben, the Eds, Pinkie, and Rainbow all screamed.
"H-He saved me..." Fluttershy whispered out as Twilight, Rarity, and Applejack hugged her.
"We're ending this NOW." Jak snarled as everyone took the elevator.
On their way out of Under Port, the gang received a communication from Keira.
"Thanks for getting the artifacts guys. It's strange, though. The Time Map had a bunch of old coordinates in it. Come see me at the stadium."
"...we'll be right there," Jak replied quietly.
"...is everything alright Jak?" Keira asked worriedly.
"We...we lost Vin and Sig."
"Oh...Jak..."
Silence reigned after that, and the communications were cut. It didn't take long after that for the gang to reach the stadium, seeing a much larger and better-equipped contingent of Krimzon Guard patrolling the streets to take down the invading Metalheads. With Praxus working for them instead of against them, more resources could be directed toward beefing up anti-Metal Head defenses.
When they reached the Stadium, they saw Keira waiting for them outside along with the completed Rift Rider. When they approached, she quickly pulled everyone into a hug. Hilda used her larger mass to get everyone together as well. After a time, Keira raised an unrelated topic to clear the air.
"The Rift Rider's finished, but Father says the Ring is somewhere in the Metalhead nest."
"Any plans on how to get it there?" Daxter asked curiously.
"Look!" Brutter proclaimed as he popped out from behind the Rift Rider, pointing to a balloon carried wooden platform. "Brutter just knew friends would need lift if Metal Heads attack!"
"A blessing from the Gods in these dark times!" Rolf beamed, fist-bumping his Lurker brother.
As the two Samoses used their Eco to lift the Rift Rider onto the Lurker Balloon, Everyone worked to take down attacking Metal Heads. Jak, Hilda, and Applejack utilized their Morph Guns, Twilight, and Rarity used their Eco Blades, and Pinkie laughed maniacally as she opened fire with her Eco Cannon. Daxter took advantage of his newly discovered abilities by grabbing a good-sized blunt instrument and smashing any Metal Heads that got in his way.
"CRUSH THE MONSTERS!" Ed screamed as the Eds used their combined teamwork to pick up their own objects to smash the Metal Heads.
"Awww yeah!" Rainbow laughed, using her sheer speed to outmaneuver and take out her enemies.
"How dare you...HOW DARE YOU!" Fluttershy shrieked with pure fury as she began attacking the Metal Heads, unleashing all her pent up anger over Vin and Sig's fates on them.
With everyone working together, they were able to keep up a full circle of protection, and the fact that it was only the smaller scorpion-like Metal Heads attacking made the whole endeavor go much faster.
Once the Rift Rider was loaded onto the balloon, Keira and both Samoses went with Brutter to take the aerial route to the Nest.
"Must be nice floating away while we die down here!" Daxter sarcastically snipped.
"We'll meet near the nest! See you soon, Jak! Be careful!" Keira called back.
As the gang left the stadium, they got a message from Praxus.
"Jak, I've managed to recover the Precursor Stone. It turns out no one actually stole it. Little Mar's Crocodog swallowed it. I've got it now. Meet me at the Construction Site, where Metal Head activity is at its lowest, so you can take it to Mar's gun to power it."
Knowing that it was time to move fast, the gang made their way rapidly to the Site.
"I just hope we're not too late..." Twilight said.
Once at the site, the heroes rushed forward to meet Praxus and his men, only for Kor to drop in out of nowhere.
"Kor?" Jak shouted out. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm sure you know," Kor replied, his voice wicked. "Deep down in your darkest nightmares!"
As he said the last word, his face warped, his teeth becoming razor-sharp. He then let out a high-pitched whimper as Ben shoved his Dark Eco Blade Arm into his crotch.
"I'm trying to do my dramatic reveal here!" Kor complained.
"Yeah, you're the Metal Head leader disguised as a human. Saw it coming."
"We had a feeling it was you with some of your more suspicious acts earlier." Twilight said. "But thank you for fully confirming everything!"
"And now we have you dead to rights!" Pracus grunted, driving his own Eco Blade into Kor's skull.
With a deep growl, Kor blasted them all away as his body erupted.
"ENOUGH!"
Four insectoid wings erupted from his back, six legs burst from his stomach, his head warped into a visage of death, and his spine ripped free to extend into a massive scorpion sting as he expanded to ten times the size of those around him, the human form torn asunder.
"You see, without the shield wall disrupting my power inside the city, I have my full potential! Now where is the Precursor Stone?"
"Daxter has it," Jak replied bluntly. "He's already on the way to use it to breach the Nest."
With an angry roar, Kor lunged into the sky.
"Nice bluff," Daxter whimpered from the small of Jak's back.
"Here," Praxus said quickly, handing over the Precursor Stone. "You'd best hurry."
Making their way out of the Wasteland, the gang followed the map Praxus had provided them to Mar's ancient weapon, a massive gun designed to shatter the Nest Barrier to allow a more direct incursion. Numerous highly nimble Metal Heads leaped about as they tried to slow the gang's progress, but they moved in hard to get past them. The only real obstacle they encountered was a massive Metal Head guarding a bottleneck with a rapid-fire Eco weapon, but they were able to get past it by waiting for the weapon to overheat before lunging in to blast away.
The 'gun' itself was massive, as big as a building, and mounted with the turret pointed at a large mountain. The gang rode the elevator to the ammo chamber, and Jak carefully placed the Stone in the proper slot. Immense amounts of Eco poured out of the Stone, filling the gun before it unleashed it all in a massive blast, ripping the mountain open and leaving a clear path into the Metal Head Nest.
As everyone prepared to head inside, the Mane 6 all stopped when they saw something peeking out of the gun; six crystals of pure Eco that each glowed a different light; magenta, light blue, red, orange, pink, and purple.
"What are these?" Pinkie asked.
"I don't know...but I feel something tugging at me when I look at it." Rainbow said. "Let's take 'em and see if Samos can tell us!"
The Mane 6 pocketed the Eco crystals and followed everyone else into the nest, crossing over lakes of Dark Eco, which released purple gas into the air constantly, filling the path with a dark fog.
"Don't fall in, people. We don't want any more Ottsels or super-powered Dark Monsters." Daxter quipped.
The Metal Heads were much stronger inside the nest, and actively worked to take down the heroes. However, much as Jak had predicted, they didn't actually know how to handle small groups or single targets all that well, and the weapons fire they were able to bring to bear mowed down the defending force. What they could see clearly of the Nest after that rather closely resembled the inside of a beehive or anthill, but on a much larger scale.
Eventually, the gang reached the central chamber, where Kor waited.
"Finally...you've decided to join us..." he whispered, moving his tail to reveal Mar, trapped in a Dark Eco sphere. "And you brought the Precursor Stone. Good. The boy will now play his final part-"
"Since we already know most of the crazy time shenanigans going on," Daxter interrupted, gesturing to the Rift Ring nearby, "Can we skip all the exposition, get the Cliff Notes, and just fight already?"
Kor frowned. "You know, you're taking all the fun out of this!"
"Yeah...don't care," Jak countered. "By the way, I'm guessing you expect you can feed on the Eco inside this stone?"
"It's not just Eco!" Kor snapped. "It is the last Precursor life form! And it will only open to one with the pure Eco gift of Mar, undiluted by Dark Eco...one of the same bloodline as the Precursor inside!"
"Then it's a good thing there's two of me here," Jak commented dryly.
While he wondered why the Stone hadn't opened when he'd handed it to Mar back in Mar's tomb, he guessed it hadn't been ready to open for whatever reason. So he had a new plan now: smash Kor, give Mar the Stone, watch the fireworks.
"Let's just crush this guy already!" Ben snarled as he turned his arms into their Dark Eco Claw mode.
Kor, as it turned out, was disappointingly easy to take down. His wings hooked him to the roof of the Nest, making him a sitting duck. Jak, Hilda, and Applejack focused on shooting him while the rest of the Mane 6, Ben, the Eds, and Daxter took out the Metal Heads Kor spat out in eggs to attack them. He occasionally fired off a blast of Dark Eco at the group, but he telegraphed the attack too much to hit.
"It seems I was right. Against armies, you're all designed to consume everything...but a well-armed lone warrior, or a small group, can easily take you down." Jak commented.
"Man, you certainly don't live up to the hype." Hilda said. "All these years fearing the Metal Heads and the damage they've caused and this is all their leader is capable of? I'm insulted!"
With an enraged bellow, Kor disconnected himself from the roof of the Nest to charge the group...only for them to scatter. Jak and Shining drew attention while Daxter quietly crawled under Kor before leaping onto the massive creature. His light weight and small size went unnoticed as he crawled up the carapace.
"THIS ENDS NOW!" Kor roared.
Jak grinned widely. "You're right about that."
"PASS!" Twilight shouted, teleporting her Eco Blade to Daxter.
Daxter leaped up, catching hold of the blade and bringing it slamming down onto Kor's forehead crystal, Light Eco surging along the blade. The crystal cracked and the beast began to stagger, only to stumble into the Rift Gate and explode.
"HOT SOUP!" The Ottsel declared.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
Krew and Kor have been vanquished but there's still one more part left in the Jak 2 Arc to go through!
Also, it seems the Mane 6 have discovered some very familiar crystals...but what purpose will they serve? Find out next chapter!