Authors Note: OMG YOU GUYS LAST CHAPTER OF BOOK2 SQUEEE! X3. I'm really looking forward to writing Book3, and then possibly a sequel after that… cough. But anyways! To my lovely reviewers!

Miracle Mar: lawlz X3 It was a good idea, lol. Did I type that mistake somewhere? Owo oops. And yes! Almost book3! Thanks for the review!

xoxReneeOrionxox: Lol, I'm glad you liked it! Yah, me to, he really creeped me out D: Shwee for book3! Thanks for the review!

Ukee Chick: Why thank yah :P Lmao, I know, me either! Thanks for the review!

Anyways, yay last chapter! And If you guys want I'll post a note on this one when Book3 is posted as an alert. No, on with the final chapter!

Chapter Fourteen: End of a War

The flaming remains of the gun factory could easily be seen from the city, many people stopping and pointing, talking in whispers. The KG cruiser came down in the port, Ashelin turning to the three renegades as they hopped out, Jak still carrying Tera.

"You guys find my father, I'll take the Heart of Mar to Keira for you," the red head looked away for a moment, "I'm sorry it's come to this." She hit a few buttons, speeding off in the direction of the Stadium.

"Uh, Jak?" Tera poked the male in the chest, then crossed her arms, "You can put me down now, you know."

"Oh, right, sorry," Jak did as she'd said, an almost invisible tint rising in his cheeks. Tera didn't notice, to busy thinking about what to do next.

"We should probably head over to the Hip Hog," she reasoned, glancing towards the bar across the port, "If Sig's there, he'll want to know that his boss is dead."

"Good idea," Jak turned, starting off towards the bar with Tera on his heals. Neither was in much of a mood to talk; Krew's words still rung heavily through their minds. Daxter, for once, was also quiet, the ottsel not even looking at women as they passed them. The fat mans words had gotten to all of them.

"Hey guys," Tess greeted the three when they entered the bar, standing beside the Metal Head Mash Game the bar sported, "Whatever Krew put in that machine, he looked really nervous."

"Whatever it is, Krew won't be needing it anymore," Daxter commented, turning to Tess, "He's, shall we saw, not all together these days. Step aside, you two! Let the game player do his stuff!"

Tess bent down beside the ottsel, grinning at him, "You're such an animal."

Daxter smirked, hopping onto the machine and grabbing the hammer to start the game. The three blonds watched him go to work, beating the game pretty easily. He was fast, so it wasn't a problem for him.

"Ta-daa!" Daxter hopped down from the machine, raising his arms in victory. He jumped when a floating, Precursor object suddenly jumped from one of the holes, "The Time Map!" he smirked, looking to Tess again, "You know, sugar plum, if any real Metal Heads came into town, I'd bonk 'em just like I did in the game!"

Tess had stopped listening at one point, staring at something behind him in terror, "Daxter…"

"They'd be all 'Don't hurt me please!' and I'd be all 'Too late, Metal Monkeys! You die screaming!' Hee hee, know what I'm saying?"

Jak loaded his blaster, "Um…"

Daxter turned around, eyes going wide, "Jak, I think these trophies are still walking!"

The two Grunts fell to a couple of shots from Jak's gun, the male having pushed the two girls behind him.

"Me… me… Metal Heads! Metal Heads!" Daxter screeched, "Where's Sig when you need him?!"

"Sig?" Tess echoed, "I think Krew sent him on one last mission. Something about using Mar's Ruby Key to open a secret door in the Underport…"

"Of course!" Jak breathed, already headed for the door, "Come on guys, we need to get to the Underport right now!"

"I'll take the Time Map to Keira," Tess offered, bending to pick up the artifact.

"I'll go with Tess," Jak looked back at Tera in surprise, frowning.

"But-"

"Look at it this way, Jak; in order to get through the Underport you're likely going to have to use the Titan Suit, which only fits one person. Also, there are Metal Heads in the city now; I don't want to leave my friend unprotected." Tera's stubborn gaze met Jaks, "I'll meet you at the Stadium once you find Sig, alright?"

"Fine…" Jak paused once more before leaving, "but you'd better be careful."

"We will be, Jak, now go find Sig!" Tera couldn't help but shake her head at her friend once he'd left, "That boy is to paranoid…"

"He's just worried about you, Tera, its sweet," Tess giggled, not missing the flush that formed on her friend's cheeks, "C'mon, we'd better get the Time Map to Keira."

"Right." Tera drew her guns, going to the door and peaking out before exiting onto the streets. They grabbed a zoomer as soon as they could, driving over the Metal Heads to the Stadium where Keira waited beside the Rift Rider.

"Great, you found it!" the mechanic exclaimed, taking the Time Map and going to work on the Rider, "That was the only piece I was missing!"

"I'm going to head back to the bar," Tess pulled Tera into a quick hug, "Good luck with everything!"

"Thanks, Tess," Tera smiled weakly as the other girl drove off. Keira finished installing the Time Map and approached her sister.

"You love him, don't you?" Tera stiffened at the question, looking back at the older girl with a raised eyebrow.

"Excuse me?"

"You heard what I said," Keira continued calmly, leaning against the Rift Rider, "It's easy to tell, for me at least. I know how to read you," her lips twitched, "You are my little sister, after all."

Tera sighed, ears lowering as a flush spread over her cheeks, "Well…" she gave in, sitting beside her sister, "How long have you known for?"

"Since Sandover," the teal haired girl grinned, "but don't worry, I haven't said anything to Jak."

"It doesn't bother you?"

"Not really, because…" Keira fidgeted slightly, "I'm sure you've noticed that we've drifted… plus I know you. I know you wouldn't do anything to break us up on purpose, so why should I worry…"

"Excellent work, Keira!" both girls jumped at the sound of their father's voice, turning to see Samos and his younger self approaching, "The Rift looks perfect!"

The engine of a zoomer suddenly sounded from around the corner, Jak and Daxter appearing seconds later and screeching to a stop. The blonde looked stressed, mumbling to Tera when he approached, "Sig's dead."

The girl's eyes went wide, "No…"

"The Rift Rider's finished," Keira tried to steer the topic in another direction, "but if my fathers right, and the Ring is somewhere in the Metal Head nest, how are we going to get the Rift Rider there to use it?"

"Loooook!" Brutter appeared from behind the Rider, pointing into the sky, "Brutter just knew friends would need help if Metal Headers attack!"

"Daxter grinned, "Brutter, you're the man!"

"Lurker balloons are finest lifters in the world, but they is easy target!"

"Right," Jak pulled himself from his thoughts, "You guys get the Rift Rider to the nest, I'll stay and defend your take-off and get away."

"Once again, being your friend sucks!" Daxter whined, "I wanna go on the balloon!"

"I'm staying with you guys to, Dax."

"No," Teras gaze snapped to Jaks, "You're going with them, Ter."

"What?" the girl's eyes narrowed, "Why? I want to help fight-"

"I don't want you getting hurt," Jak snapped, "You're going on the balloon; I'm not letting you fight the Metal Head leader."

"But-"

"You keep Stadium sage while we prep balloon for lift away!" Brutter interrupted, then gasped, "Uh-oh! Here they come! Metal Headers!"

Keira and Brutter ran ahead to the balloon, the two Samos' using their powers to lift the Rift Rider and slowly move it over to the lift. Daxter jumped back onto Jak's shoulder, he and Tera drawing their guns and following after to take care of any Metal Heads. The first wave to appear was Stingers from within the grassy areas, Jak's Scatter gun easily taking them down. Grunts and hoppers soon joined in, the two managing to keep them under control with their Blaster and Vulcan mods.

Once they'd reached the balloon, the sages went about position the rider on the lift so that there would be room for everyone. Once it was ready, Jak took a brief second to grab Tera and force her onto the lift, the girl struggling against his hold.

"Up! Up! And away!"

"Jak!" Tera frowned down at the male on the ground, kneeling on the lift. He'd managed to get her on afterall…

"Must be nice floating away while we die down here!" Daxter exclaimed, watching the balloon.

"We'll meet near the nest!" Keira called back, "See you soon, Jak! Be careful!"

"Yeah, Jak, be careful!" Daxter mimicked, earning a frown from Jak before the blondes eyes were drawn back to the Lurker Balloon.

'At least they're safe,' he reasoned, looking to his comm. when it suddenly popped out of his pack and floated in front of him.

"Jak…" it was Vin, his voice extremely weak, "Kor… Construction… site…"

The two males shared a look before grabbing the nearest zoomer, speeding off towards the Construction Site. Entering, Jak spotted the Baron and several guards down below, rushing down the ramps after them.

He slid to a stop at the end of the ramp when Kor suddenly dropped from above, Jak's eyes narrowing, "Kor? What's going on?"

"I'm sure you know," Kor replied, turning and approaching the Renegade, "deep down in your darkest nightmares," his face turned animalistic before returning to normal, "We've met before, remember?" he turned back towards the Baron, "Everything is going exactly as planned."

The old man gave a sinister laugh as he walked away from all of them, tossing aside his cane and jumping into the air, a pair of insect-like wings sprouting from his back. Several other changes occurred, a tail appearing and his arms becoming much bigger.

"Jak! It's the Metal Head leader!" Daxter yelled, Jak automatically loading his Morph Gun.

"Now you see! Without the shield wall disrupting my powers inside the city, I am my full potential now!" Kor laughed, "So for the last time, give me the Precursor Stone!"

"If the city must die, then we all die!" The Baron yelled, raising his energy sword and charging, "AGGGGH!"

Kor was un-phased, shooting out a blast of Dark Eco and taking out the guards, Jak barely managing to dodge the blast.

"I will find that Stone if I have to crush this city one brick at a time!" Kor flew off to the nest, leaving Jak to rush to where the Baron was pinned and lift the wreckage off him.

The baron coughed, rolling onto his back, "You are the supreme weapon, Jak. And I made you…still, any leader worth his salt… always has his backup plan…" he pressed a button on the remote he held, revealing a bomb with the Precursor Stone attached to the top, "Remember, the first rule in making a bomb… is to always make two!" the Baron fell back, his life fading.

Jak cast one last look at the fallen Baron before running over to the bomb, Daxter leaping from his shoulder, "Ohhhhh ok! I'm going in!"

He jumped inside the bomb, messing around inside it, "Man, what a mess of junk in here! All jumbled coils and switches! Should I unhook the blue wire? Wait a minute… are ottsels colour blind?! Let me just break a few more things and see if anything pops loose… BOOM!" the Precursor Stone popped up, Daxter grinning down at Jak, "Hah, gotcha!" he slid down the side of the bomb, landing on Jak's shoulder, "Like candy from a baby!"

They left the Construction Site, grabbing the nearest zoomer and heading for the Port. There, he jumped off and boarded the Air Train, determined; they needed to take Kor out at any cost. It wasn't long till they reached the Wasteland, the very atmosphere of the place giving off a bad aura. Jak broke out his Scatter gun, taking out the Metal Mantis' that appeared, then switching to the Blaster to take down the Arach-Head down the path.

It wasn't long before they found Mar's gun, the magnificent piece of weaponry strong enough to break into the Metal Head nest.

Ashelin contacted them just as they were taking the lift up to the gun, "There isn't much hope now. With the Shield Walls destroyed, it's just a matter of time before the Metal Heads overwhelm us. You should just go through the rift back to your own time, Jak, and get away from this horrible place."

"I see your point," Daxter answered, "Come on, Jak."

"This place," Jak slipped the stone into its area, "is worth fighting for!"

"We'll hold out as long as we can, fare well."

"Precursor Stone. Gun," Jak turned, grinning wickedly, "Nest."

Daxter jumped on his shoulder again, "Light 'er up, padre!"

"Hahahaha eat this!" Jak growled as the gun went off, blasting a hole in the side of the nest.

"That oughta wake 'em up!"

"Let's go take care of business."

"What?!" Daxter squeaked, "You mean, go in there?! Ahh, I'm right behind you!"

Jak grabbed the Precursor Stone, managing to stuff it back into his pack before once more loading his gun and heading out. He had to fight off several waves of Metal Mantis', Arach-Heads, and dodged numerous Ele-Beasts before he managed to make it to the nest, fighting off another wave of Metal Mantis' there.

Pulling out the Precursor Orb, Jak approached the now open entrance at the back of the Nest, Metal Kor hanging from the ceiling within.

"Finally, you've decided to join us," he moved his tail, revealing the Kid encased in a black energy sphere, "And you brought the Precursor Stone. Good. The boy will now play his final part."

"Not this time!"

"Oh, but this child is such a part of this! Such a part of you! Don't you recognize him?" Kor smirked, "The boy is you, Jak! And this place… this is where you began, in the future!"

"But… how?"

"You were hidden in the past on the hope that you would gain the skills to face me today. But Onin was wrong! Now that you've been altered with dark eco, the stone will never open for you. Your younger self, however, still has the pure gift! He alone can awaken the Stone and the Precursor entity which sleeps inside!"

"This stone if a Precursor?" Jak glanced at the glowing orb in surprise.

"The last Precursor egg! Mar was clever. He covered his tracks well through time, hiding his last egg from me, and building the shield and city to defend it! It has been a long siege. But today, I will finally feed on the last Precursor Life Force!"

"Ah, I think you're forgetting one little thing, Metalo-Maniac!" Daxter chose to pipe up, "We've got the Precursor Stone!"

"Not for long!" Kor growled, shooting a beam of dark eco at the platform they were standing on, sending them tumbling down to the ground. He scanned the pile of rubble, thinking they were dead.

Dark Jak suddenly burst from under the rubble, snarling and sparking with dark eco.

"DIE!" Kor snarled, the battle beginning. Jak didn't move first; he could now control his dark self, and was waiting for the right moment to strike. The metal beast laid several stingers, Jak taking the opportunity to run through them all, now invincible while dark thanks to the oracle.

Once they'd all hatched, he launched himself in the air and slammed down onto the ground, sufficiently taking them all out as well as hitting Kor. Immediately grabbing the Blaster, Jak circled around the room, not stopping so that Kor was unable to get a bead on him. He took down the Stingers as they hatched, pausing when he could to shoot at Kor.

"JAK! STRAFFERS!" Daxter alerted him to the new wave of Metal Heads, Jak growling and continuing on. He had to keep shooting, now taking on Stingers, Straffers and trying to shoot Kor. Eventually, he felt the Dark Eco pulse through him again, Jak giving a snarl as he once more released dark and launched himself into the air, taking out the Straffers, Stingers, and hitting Kor yet again.

The Metal Head Leader gave a growl, dropping down onto the floor to fight himself. Jak had to move even faster this time, waiting until Kor had taken a second to shoot at him in order to return fire, slowly managing to knock down his health. Finally, the metal beast fell, unable to hold himself up.

Kor made a desperate attempt at escaping, flying towards the Precursor Ring and trying to get through it. The energy instead demolished his body, his huge head flying back down onto the ground.

Now awake and free, young Jak blinked, spotting the glowing Precursor Stone and walking over to it. As soon as he touched it he fell back, surprised by the light that exploded from within it.

"Oh man, a Precursor," Jak mumbled, stepping up behind the boy and staring at the glowing being.

"It is finished," the being spoke, "Our ancient enemy is no more. Take hope brave one! The terrible darkness inside you is now balanced by a glorious light! We will meet again…"

The Precursor floated back through the portal just as the Lurker Balloon entered through a hole in the nest, Jak giving a sigh of relief. His friends were safe now.

"Jak!" Tera jumped down when the Lift was close enough, whacking the male over the head, "Don't you ever do that to me again, you hear me?!"

"Yah," Jak gave a soft grin, surprising the girl, "I won't."

"We haven't much time," Keira spoke from beside the rift as the balloon lowered, "I've set the coordinates back to our village. Let's go home, everyone."

"But we are home." Jak commented.

Samos turned to his daughter, "Keira, I'm afraid your Rift Rider must be used to send young Jak here to a place where he will grow up safe from harm. He must become old enough to complete the destiny he has fulfilled today."

Young Jak went to get up on the rift, but was too short to pull himself up, his older self lifting him up onto it.

"Wait a minute!" the Shadow exclaimed, "It's you! I mean… it's me! I have to take him back and watch over him, don't I? Ah, grub roots! Talk about being in the wrong time at the right place!"

"Hey, kid," Jak bent in front of his younger self, "you take care. Oh, and trust me on this, stay away from any wumpbee nests on your ninth birthday, okay?"

"Wouldn't it be great if we could avoid that incident," Tera snickered, earning a nudge in the side from Jak. She reached out, ruffling the kid's hair, "Be good, ok? I don't want to hear about any misbehaving." The child nodded, giving the teen a hug before pulling back and allowing Jak to place him on the Rift Rider. He pulled the pendant from around his neck, handing it to Jak.

"I sure hope I built this replica right," Keira bit her lip, "I don't know if it…"

"It's perfect, Keira. This is the very machine we found… or will fine, later."

"What?" the girl blinked, "I just built this. After seeing the first one, I mean. It's based on what I remember from-"

"Honey," Daxter cut her off, "the more you think about it, the more it hurts the head!"

"I'll take good care of the child!" Young Samos called as the Rift Rider drifted back towards the Ring, "And don't worry… I'll be back in time for the celebration! Fare well!"

Jak stared at the ring for a minute before turning to the sage, "Thanks Samos. Without you…"

"Its funny," The sage cut him off, "The boy won't remember any of this."

Jak watched the ring fall apart, "No… I do remember the light."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"Your transport is ready, m'lady," Ashelin gave a soft grin at the Lurkers voice on the comm..

"Thank you, Captain Brutter," she flipped the comm. closed, turning to Torn, "Come on… we'll be late for the party at Daxter's new place."

"I've got so much work to do," the commander muttered, "Besides, it's not my thing."

"Ten hut!" Torn was up in an instant, Ashelin circling around behind him, "As the new governor of this city, I order the Commander of the New Krimzon Guard to escort to an official function. Is that understood?"

"Yes sir! I mean, yes ma'am! I mean…"

"You can start rebuilding the city tomorrow. Tonight, we get to celebrate with our new friends," Ashelin smirked, hooking her arms around his shoulders, "Besides, tough guy, I'm dying to see you dance."

Torn's lips twitched, "Not likely."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The doors to the bar swung open, revealing a newly refurbished bar, Daxter turning with a big grin, "Welcome to the Naughty Ottsel! The hippest, happenest, happiest joint in town!"

The bar was packed with all of their friends. Samos, Keira and Jak stood against the main bar, Tera actually sitting on it beside Jak. Onin and Pecker were on one of the extra bars, and Tess and Daxter sat on another one.

"Check out the new décor!" The ottsel grinned, motioning to where Kor's head was now tacked above the bar.

"Ooooh, what a big trophy!" Tess praised.

"As if size matters! I bagged that bad boy myself, baby!"

"Onin says she doesn't know who has a bigger head," Pecker squawked, "Him, or you!"

"We must not forget Vin and all the others who sacrificed their lives to defeat this evil and protect the child," Samos piped, everyone bowing their heads briefly.

Jak pulled the pendant the boy had given him from his pack, staring at it, "I still can't believe… that little boy was me," he gave a weak laugh, "Better times, huh?"

"You miss him already, Jak?" Tera grinned, kicking her legs back and forth, "Never got to see you that young."

"Me either," Keira smiled, poking Jak's nose, "You know, the kid grows up to be a handsome hero!" Tera looked away as her sister went to kiss him, but Daxter interrupted them again. Though Jak would never admit it, he was kind of glad he had, the male shuffling a bit closer to Tera as his eyes went to the ottsel.

"Hey! That's enough for you, lady," the ottsel was talking to Onin, "I'm cuttin' ya off!"

Onin simply zapped him, sending him sprawling beside Pecker.

"Trust me, she gets real mean when she's like this!" the monkaw's gaze when back to Onin when she made some symbols, eyes widening.

Daxter sat up, "What'd she say?"

"Something about rubber tubing and certain parts of your mother… you don't wanna know…"

The main door opened suddenly, Daxter screaming when he looked over, "Agghh! A Metal Head!"

Jak's gaze went over, eyes widening, "SIG!"

"SIG!" Daxter echoed, reappearing, "I knew that!"

Jak approached the older man, "You're okay!"

"You cherries didn't think some nasty breathed, giant sized lizard was gonna keep me from the biggest party in town did yah?" the black man laughed.

"I knew you were too tough for 'em, big guy!" Daxter exclaimed, "Come on and join the party!"

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

"You saved the city and more, my boy!" Samos spoke as several of the group left the bar to watch the fireworks going up, "Metal Kor and his menace are history, and somewhere out there, an ancient race has begun again. And Tera," the sages eyes went to his adopted daughter, the girl surprised by the look of approval on his face, "I knew I made the right decision when I took you in; you've been a great help to Jak, my dear."

"Thanks, Samos," the girl flushed, giving a small grin.

Jak smirked, reaching down and stroking his croca-dogs head, "I'm just glad to be back home."

"Yeah? Well, rest up," the sage grinned, "We've got a lot to do, and so much time to do it in!"

"Don't say time!" Jak cut him off, "The Rift Ring was destroyed, remember?"

Sig stepped up beside the group, "You know, my momma used to read me bedtime stories about Mar when she'd tuck me in. She'd give me a nice glass of warm yakow milk… and my little poopsy bear."

Daxter stared at the wastelander, "Bedtime stories? Warm milk? Poopsy bear?! Buddy, ya just blew your image!"

"I've got a feeling we'll meet Mar someday," Samos looked between the two, "He may be closer then you think."

Sig pulled out the Mars Ruby Key and handed it to Jak, "You're the designated driver!"

"Oh no," the male smirked, holding the key up so Tera could see it, "I am done with adventures. Besides, you'll tell us before something happens next time, right Samos?"

The sage put an innocent look on his face, looking away.

Jak frowned, planting his hands on his hips, "Right, Samos?"

"Arrrrk!" their attention was drawn to Pecker, "You never know what the future may hold!"

"Wait…" Daxter narrowed his eyes at the bird, "you know something, don't ya feather breath?"

"Who? Me? Ah… no! We're just, ah… guessing, right Samos? Today, tomorrow… only time will tell!"

"No! You're gonna tell, right now!" the ottsel gave a yell, launching himself at the monkaw.

"AAAGGGH! Why you little…"

"Ooooh, dirty fighting! Dirty fighting!"

Tera and Jak glanced at each other, rolling their eyes with a laugh. Some things would never change.

Finally, Sig reached down, grabbing both of them by their tails.

"Jak, my boy," Samos put a hand on the males arm, "The future, awaits!"

"Yah," Jak glanced back at Tera, "I know."