A week had passed since the celebration and Jak and Pinkie were enjoying actually having the people of the city look at them with hope in their eyes, as they had helped turn the tide against the Metal Head army that had threatened to destroy Haven City. Jak mostly spent his time practicing his skills at least once a day, so he could be ready for whatever the next adventure was, while at the same time taking any odd jobs that Ashelin or Torn tossed his way. Pinkie, on the other hand, generally wandered around the city and aided anyone that needed assistance, making sure that they weren't harmed in any way from the brief invasion of the city. Pinkie and Ashelin had agreed that the citizens didn't need to know that the Baron had brought the Metal Head invasion upon his citizens, so they made up a story about how he confronted the Metal Head Leader and died defending the people.
Of course that meant that he had to be buried and a ceremony had to be held, so they and their friends quickly set everything up and held a funeral for the former ruler of the city... before they got back to work making sure that Haven City was safe from any immediate threats.
Once the Baron had been buried, as Ashelin's workload had slowed down a tiny bit, Jak felt it was time to ask the questions that needed to be answered. He already knew that the young boy the Underground had been hiding had been the heir to the throne, which technically made him the next in line if he wanted to take over, but that also meant that this father had been, at one point in time, the king of Haven City. Thanks to Vex, who had searched the Power Station for clues as to what happened to the king, as well as recovered Vin's still body so he could be buried with the rest of the dead, he knew that the records weren't known to the public... which meant that he had to ask the one person who knew the Baron the most if he wanted to get his answers.
It still surprised him that when he made his appointment with Ashelin, and told her what they needed to take about, that she silently nodded to him and confirmed that they would talk in a few days... which was why he was standing outside the large set of doors that separated the hallway from the throne room. Before he could actually tap on the door, however, they opened before his eyes, indicating that Ashelin was ready for him... though when he entered the throne room he found the new governor sitting at a table at the base of the throne, which had to be where she did all of her work these days. Jak walked up to the table and silently took his seat, though a few seconds later Ashelin sighed and set down the piece of paper that she had been looking at, before she looked at him.
At the same time, however, he also noticed that Sig was lurking near one of the walls, no doubt searching for any of the Metal Heads that might have run into the Palace during Metal Kor's defeat, but he decided to leave Sig alone and focused his full attention to Ashelin.
"So, you want to know what happened to your father?" Ashelin asked, to which Jak nodded his head for a moment, though Ashelin merely glanced at the papers that were on her table for a few seconds, "The records are incomplete, indicating that my father didn't want anyone to know the full story behind the disappearance of the former king. What I can tell you is that shortly before you and Pinkie disappeared from the Palace, and ended up on the streets I might add, my father and his forces attacked the king's soldiers and chaos erupted throughout the Palace. You and Pinkie were able to get away, though the coup was swiftly brought to an end as my father forced your father to surrender, but it is never explained how he accomplished that.
Killing your father would have made it impossible for the Baron to take the throne, especially with you unaccounted for, so my father did the next best thing that would give him control over Haven City. He banished your father to the Wastelands and said that he was never to return, just like what happened to those that received the same verdict in the past. Some of your father's retainers and most trusted followers, people like the Shadow for instance, chose to allow themselves to be exiled with their king, while some were forced to swear fealty to my father... just to avoid being exiled from the city that they swore to protect with their lives."
"Wait, so you're telling me that my father was exiled from the city?" Jak inquired, because all this time he had believed that he had been killed by the Baron, all in order for the mad leader to take over the city and wage his terrible war with Metal Kor... which he had nearly lost if it hadn't been for Jak and Pinkie.
"That's right," Sig commented, to which he walked over to the table for a moment and stared at Jak, though something told Jak that he still wasn't going to get the whole story, "I cannot explain everything to you, but I have it on good authority that your father is out there in the Wastelands, surviving even after all these years, with both his loyal followers and the other people that the Baron banished since coming to the throne. Damas might not be the King of Haven City anymore, but he is definitely the King of Spargus."
"Spargus?" Jak said, though at the same time he raised an eyebrow, as he had never heard of the city and was sure that either Sig or Ashelin would explain things to him.
"A city of exiles and refuges," Ashelin explained, though at the same time she reached into a nearby drawer and pulled something out, to which she set what appeared to be a beacon of some kind on the table, "My father made it a law that when someone is banished from Haven City, no matter what the reason was behind the decision, they were to be given one of these beacons. According to what I have read they are supposed to emit a signal that only the people of Spargus can pick up, indicating that while my father was certainly mad he still cared for those that would no longer be under his protection. From what I can gather Damas will likely respond to a signal appearing on his scanner and go looking for whoever is carrying one of these beacons... though I don't know what happens after that."
"No doubt a test of strength to determine whether you should be allowed to stay in the city," a new voice said, to which the trio watched as Pinkie stepped out from behind a pillar, though Jak noticed that the shadows seemed to be separating themselves from her, "Sorry, I couldn't help testing a new Dark Eco ability I discovered, using the shadows to go from one place to another... though it really takes a lot of concentration to pull it off, and leaves me winded."
Jak was done questioning Pinkie's Eco abilities, as she was able to tame and befriend the leader of a new Metal Head hive and had a second personality that could do so much more than she could. He actually dreaded to wonder what would happen if Pinkie and Pinkamena merged into one personality, but as that thought crossed his mind he looked at the beacon that was lying on the table. His father, Damas, was somewhere in the Wastelands, living as the King of Spargus and ruling over those that were banished from Haven City, all because of what the Baron had done after his coup. From what Ashelin had said the records didn't have the location of the City of Exiles, meaning that those that were banished were dropped into the Wasteland like trash... and many likely died before someone came to find them.
His father was out there, alive no less, and it appeared that the only way for them to reunite with each other was for him to find some way to get himself banished... which was going to be hard considering that everyone in the city was actually praising him and Pinkie for their work.
"Oh, I almost forgot," Pinkie said, to which the trio watched as she pulled a flyer out of her bag and set it on the table, one that showed a man that appeared to be well dressed and had an attitude that Jak immediately disliked, "Count Veger is apparently trying to convince the people of Haven City that you and I are menaces to the city... and that we need to be exiled to the Wastelands before disaster strikes."
"I would like to see him try," Ashelin commented, glaring at the picture for a moment, before turning to Jak, "Veger is responsible for nearly all of the exiles that have left Haven City, save for your father and his loyal followers, and he'll stop at nothing to make the city believe him. Fortunately Vex has taken over Vin's role in the Power Station and has erased some of the more incriminating evidence he could use against you... so you and Pinkie are safe, for now."
"Which means that we should prepare for our eventual exile," Jak said, to which he let out a sigh and looked out of the Palace, to the location of where the Shield Wall had been a few weeks ago, "Without the Shield Wall it is only a matter of time until something happens and we're forced out of the city, so we should prepare for it and hope that when disaster finally does strike the people still side with us."
The people around him nodded their heads in agreement, as Ashelin and Sig knew that Veger would stop at nothing to make sure that he got his way... and that both Jak and Pinkie paid the price for the Baron's actions.
The next six months passed without anything exciting happening, which made both Jak and Pinkie worry that something terrible was going to happen, as they were used to the continuous stream of missions that Torn and the others had sent them on. Seeing how they had free time they got some additional training from Samos, more along the lines in surviving in a desert environment than anything else, as they waited for something to happen. At the same time they spent some time training with each other, making sure that they were both well prepared for what the future held... though when something did happen they were a little shocked by what happened.
Exactly seven months after the defeat of Metal Kor, however, the surviving Metal Heads, those that were strong enough to survive the death of their leader, gathered together and starting attacking the city once more, in the farm area that rested in front of the entrance to Haven Forest. At the same time, however, the Krimzon Guard Bots, which had been constructed to reinforce the actual Krimzon Guards, attacked the citizens from the Industrial Section of the city. This effectively made the protectors of the city, now named the Freedom League to avoid confusion with the KG Death Bots, fight on two front, while Ashelin controlled the effort from the Palace. Jak and Pinkie, aided by both Daxter and Raven, took to the streets and battled the enemies that were attacking the city, while at the same time wondering why their foes had waited so long to attack them.
After a month or two of minor bouts and new boundaries set up to keep the citizens safe, disaster truly struck the city, as something launched a powerful missile at the supper structure that the Palace sat on... which was swiftly followed by the entire structure collapsing and crumpling around the rest of the city, destroying a large portion of the city and killing a large amount of people at the same time.
At that moment Count Veger made his move, claiming that Jak and Pinkie were at fault for everything that had happened to them so far, including the death of their beloved Baron, and not only called for them to be banished to the Wasteland, but also called for Pinkie to be cast out of the Praxis line and her name stricken from the records. Ashelin was shocked that the Council was even considering along with the Count's demands, but it became obvious that he had a lot of power and could easily overrule her if she showed any favor towards her sister. Pinkie stated that it was fine, as it would allow Ashelin to focus on saving the city while she and Jak tried to find his father... while at the same time see if the Wastelands had any Precursor artifacts that could help them defeat the enemies that were currently attacking the city.
By the time a year had passed since the defeat of Metal Kor, however, Count Veger succeeded in convincing the majority of the Council to side with him... to which Jak and Pinkie were banished, but as they were escorted from the city they silently swore they would get back at Veger for this, and then save the city from their enemies.