//------------------------------//
// Return to Elsewhere 
// Story: Sons of Damas 
// by Tatsurou 
//------------------------------//

	Jak lay back on a large lily pad, floating in the main waterway of Spargus as the sun shone down on him, most of his body exposed to the light as he felt his skin absorb it, only for it to be converted within him into Eco, only a pair of shorts as a concession to modesty.  He hadn't been surprised that the way people treated him had changed with the awakening of his full power.  Of course, his expectations had been that everyone would be treating him as some sort of quasi-divine being, the way the Pirates had been.  Instead, all that happened was everyone treating him as the King, apparently having decided that he was now ready to take on the role.  Everyone - even his closest friends and comrades in arms - was now addressing him as 'Your Majesty' and greeting him with a polite bow.  This was especially rough in Haven as the exquisite formality of royalty came into play there, making it impossible to just head down to the bar for a drink, or even get some alone time with Keira outside the palace (which was finally being rebuilt, teach Jak to make the ostentation of royalty the lowest priority far below everything that was for the well being of the people).

It was much better in Spargus.  Here, formality had never caught on due to how much effort was required to eke out a living in the Wasteland.  A nod and a greeting of 'Majesty' was as formal as it ever got, and those habits hadn't faded.  While everyone was respectful, most of the citizenry called him by name...well, one of his names.  Some insisted on calling him Mar.  Even so, a simple request to not be disturbed - wherever he was - was enough to get him left alone to relax and enjoy himself.

Of course, he wasn't completely alone.  A splash in the otherwise still twist of the river reminded him of his current company.  Keira slipped out of the water and onto the large lily pad he lay on, curling up beside him.  The lily pad remained where it was without tipping because he willed it to, making it an ideal place to sunbathe.  Jak felt his cheeks heat as she curled up to him, knowing it had nothing to do with body heat or the sun.  The awakening of his abilities came with an enhanced awareness of his surroundings, making him all too aware of the relatively skimpy swimwear that Keira was wearing to enjoy sun and water, and just how little there was between their bodies just now.

"Feeling rested, Your Majesty?" she asked teasingly, being the only one to address him that way with such affectionate teasing...and as such, was oddly the only one he was truly comfortable having call him by title.

"Yeah," Jak agreed warmly, putting an arm around her without thinking.  "Still not sure if I need to be a Majesty, though."

"The people need a King, Jak," Keira pointed out, snuggling against him, smirking as she saw his cheeks redden.  "You know that."

"Do they?" Jak asked as he stared up at the sun.  "The cities more or less run themselves, the return of worldwide Eco has eliminated just about every possibility of conflict, and the scale of the event means that every known city on the globe is scrambling to ally itself with Oasis."  Oasis was the name given to the joined kingdom of Haven, Spargus, and Kras...which had been more appropriate before the restoration of the world had turned the Wasteland Desert into some of the most fertile land on the planet.  "The Baron and Dad are overseeing treaty negotiations, and they lead the council which oversees any disputes between individuals or cities.  What, exactly, do the people need me to do?"

"I never said they needed you to do anything," Keira countered, running one hand down his chest, marveling at what his awakening had done to his physique.  It had taken what had already been the build of a fighter and warrior, and amplified it into the pinnacle of human capability...and she had a very hard time controlling herself in close proximity to him.  "But they do need you on the throne.  For now, you're a symbol of Fate and Unity.  The Hero, the Legend, the King...that's what they need you to be."

"So they need me to sit on the throne and look pretty?" Jak asked ruefully.  He turned his gaze towards Keira, taking in how her own awakening had amplified her development, bringing her into the full flower of her beauty.  "If that's the case, maybe I should give you the crown.  You're more qualified than I for the latter part of that."

Keira giggled softly.  "That's a matter of opinion," she chided gently before rolling onto his chest, looking him in the eye.  "But look at it this way.  You've done everything you've set out to do - united the world, saved everyone, fulfilled the obligation of your choices and destiny - and don't have anything hanging over your head to get in the way of enjoying yourself."  As she completely shifted her body to on top of him, she leaned in and locked lips with him.

Jak returned the kiss, wrapping his arms around her, but eventually let it break.  "Not quite everything," he corrected sadly.  "I...still want to find where Shining came from...and help him go back-"

"I've already taken care of that," Keira pointed out.

"Wait, what?" Jak gasped out, stunned.  He started to sit up, but Keira quickly pushed him back down.

"It's still going to take the rest of the day to fully charge," she pointed out.  "You can wait that long to bask in my genius, can't you?"

Jak smirked up at her.  "To bask in, I suppose."  Without warning, he rolled over, leaving her beneath him on the lily pad.  "But not to praise it."

Giggles and moans echoed over the water as the lily pad floated sedately against the current to under the nearby pier...and bits of swimwear floated downriver.





Jak, Shining, Daxter, Tess, and Samos stared at the item Keira had constructed.  Finally, it was Samos who spoke up.  "Is that...a Rift Ring?"

The resemblance to a Precursor Rift Ring was very evident, though it was much smaller than the one that had brought Jak and company forward in time from Sandover.  It was at most 15 feet in diameter, and glowed brightly with Eco and Magical energy.  "Similar," Keira explained.  "Elder showed me the schematics of the Rift Ring, and I used those as a basis...but I made it a little differently.  Rather than using a coordinate sphere to aim itself, it utilizes a deep scan of the subject to lock onto a point of origin, using Precursor techniques to scan through all of space-time..."  She chuckled softly.  "With a few enhancements I came up with to enhance those further."

"I fear for the stability of the universe should she ever become a Spirit," Elder offered worriedly.  "I doubt if it could contain all of her ideas."

"Once it's fully charged, which should happen any second now-"  Keira's words were interrupted as a device rose up out of the top of the Ring and aimed at Shining, emitting light rays that swept over him for a time.  With a loud 'Ding', white light erupted within the ring, creating a thin film of fog which soon shone golden.  "It will scan Shining for the point of origin, and lock onto the source...as it has done," Keira concluded.  "And the best part is that the smaller size allows for a much more controlled void tunnel, meaning we don't need a Rift Rider to get to the other side.  We can just walk through.  I call it a Rift Gate."

Shining stared at the Rift Gate in amazement.  "Then...just a step through there...and I'll see where I came from?"

Keira nodded.  "Well, four steps.  Don't want to be half in and half out if the power interrupts."

"How stable, exactly?" Jak asked curiously.

Keira grinned.  "Stable enough to be a bridge," she confirmed.

"Then he won't go alone," Jak stated firmly.

Shining's head jerked up, and he glanced back and forth at the open, warm, determined expressions of his friends and family.  With a smile of his own, he turned and led the way into the unknown.