//------------------------------//
// Exile: A Final Journey 
// Story: Jak and Daxter: Children of Eco 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
//------------------------------//

Once Jak and Pinkie returned to the Freedom HQ they regrouped and agreed on one thing, now that Errol's War Factory had been destroyed and his access to the city was severed with the destruction of the Metal Head nest, it was time for them to begin their expedition to where the catacombs were located. They knew that Veger was likely on his way there, so he could obtain whatever power the Precursors might have hidden there, which told them that they needed to get started soon before they gave him something that he didn't deserve. As they walked away from the HQ, however, Sig told them that they might want to seek out Onin herself, who happened to be resting in front of the entrance of the Fortress, to which they thanked him and headed towards their destination.

Thanks to the zoomers that happened to be outside the building they quickly made their way towards the area that Sig had told them about, where they passed by more Freedom fighters taking out the remaining enemies that dared to attack them, before they reached Onin's hut... where they found Samos and Pecker waiting for them as well.

"Jak, Pinkie, we're in serious trouble." Samos said, though his tone indicated that he wasn't referring to Haven City, rather he was referring to the planet as a whole.

"Onin says there are strange forces at work." Pecker stated, once more translating what Onin was signing, though at the same time the siblings raised an eyebrow for a moment, "Fate has been twisted by something more powerful than anything she has ever seen in her many years; something now awake deep in the catacombs."

"Let me guess." Raven said, staring at the group for a moment, as he knew that they were all eager to get this war over with before something important was destroyed, "You guys want us to go down there, before Veger completes whatever terrible plan he's been trying to put into motion, correct?"

"The best access to the catacombs is on the Metal Head side of the city." Samos replied, giving them the area they needed to go to, which meant that it was going to be a dangerous trek before they found what they were searching for.

"You know, this is where I would comment on really hating you guys," Daxter commented, causing the group to look at him for a moment, while at the same time he patted Jak's head as he glanced over at Raven, "but, with the power that two of our number possess, I will withhold my comment and say nothing on the matter."

"Onin says she sees your fate turning black with uncertainty." Pecker said, indicating that the seer was seeing their failure, despite the fact that they had Pinkie's insane abilities to back them up, "Onin says, it will be very dangerous indeed. Onin says, Pecker will escort you through the catacombs and... WHAT?! What did you say?"

"You will be Onin's eyes," Samos stated, to which Daxter had to resist the urge to laugh at Pecker, as he quietly thought that Onin's translater deserved this fate, "as well as serve as Jak and Pinkie's wisdom. You must do this!"

"Okay, fine!" Pecker replied, though at the same time he growled as he looked over at Jak and Pinkie, indicating that he didn't like what was happening at the moment, "But I am gone the moment that things get sticky! The four of you should get to the catacomb entrance and take care of business. I'll meet you there when the coast is clear!"

Jak and Pinkie watched as Pecker flew out of the hut that they were in and headed to the Metal Head section of the city, though before they left Samos informed them that they could power down the barrier that was protecting the HQ area for a few seconds. That meant that they could slip through before the Metal Heads tried to get through, though the only reason they didn't ask Raven to fly them was because the area in question didn't have too many safe areas for him to land in if he used his true form. Once they came to that decision they returned to their zoomers and headed towards the barrier that they had seen when they first entered the city, though when they arrived it did phase out of existence and allowed them to pass into the ruined part... though once they were on the other side the barrier returned in full force.

It took them a minute or two to make their way towards the exact area that they were supposed to head into, though Jak used his jet-board to reach the area as Pinkie phased through the shadows to reach him... but when they turned the corner, at the end of the path, they found a large number of Metal Heads patrolling the area in front of them, more than what they were expecting to find.

"The only hombres tough and crazy enough to take on these things, excluding us that is, are the Wastelanders!" Daxter commented, seeing the number of enemies that were in front of them, though at the same time breathing a sigh of relief as none of the Metal Heads noticed them yet.

"Well, it never hurts to see if we can call in some reinforcements." Jak said, to which he pulled out the amulet he had been given and pressed the button in the middle, though it beeped as he touched it and did nothing else.

"Yeah, that trinket's worth about as much as you'd get from a broke down pawn shop in South Town." Daxter stated, as while he had great respect for the Wastelanders he knew that some of their items weren't great in the long run, and it appeared that the amulet was one of those items.

"We've got more than enough power to deal with these guys on our own," Pinkie replied, to which she pulled out her Eco Blade and held it out in her right hand, while at the same time allowing some Dark Eco to gather around her left arm as she stared at the Metal Heads, "Come on, let's go deal with our unsuspecting enemies."

Jak nodded and pulled out his Morph Gun, though this time he switched it to the newest mod, the Super Nova, and aimed his weapon at a large amount of mantis Metal Heads that would start jumping if someone approached them, before loosing the shot that he was priming. The missile that was on his gun launched itself into the air and soared towards his target, though when it collided with the mantis Metal Head it exploded and caused Jak and Pinkie to close their eyes for a moment. When they opened their eyes they discovered that all of the enemies that had been standing in front of them had been destroyed by the missile's explosion, raining Skull Gems on the ground in the process, to which the siblings looked at each other for a few seconds before they continued along the path that was in front of them.

Jak switched to his Reflector Mod and started blasting the mantis Metal Heads that were in front of him, while at the same time Pinkie blasted the enemies that jumped into the area in front of her while also cutting at other enemies. Raven flew around the area in his hybrid form and attacked the Metal Heads that were in the air, cutting down on the number of enemies that Jak and Pinkie had to deal with. Not even a minute later they found a cracked wall that was blocking their path, to which Jak quickly shifted into his Dark Form and loosed a Dark Strike at it, allowing him to revert back to normal as they progressed onward. They then jumped over the various sections of the Palace and the Stadium that had fallen during the initial attack on the city, while at the same time dealing with the mantis Metal Heads and the small Dark Maker spider creatures that were scurrying out of a small hole they put in the ground.

From there they noticed that there were some Light Eco Vents nearby and a decent sized gap in front of them, to which Jak and Pinkie restocked their Light Eco and transformed into their Light Flight forms, allowing them to cross the gap in front of them. Pinkie remained in her Light Flight form and took out the mantis enemies that were in the area around them, allowing Jak to progress towards the next gap and move on, though once she was done with her enemies she flew to where her brother was waiting and reverted back to her normal form. From there the two of them continued their assault against the Metal Heads that were guarding this part of the city, blasting them with whatever mod they deemed necessary, as that all depended on which type of foe they fought, before having Jak break down another barrier that was blocking their path.

They then came to a set of platforms that would allow them to access the area below them, though Jak insisted on going first and the platforms collapsed beneath him, but he was fast enough to get to the other side without suffering any injuries in the process. Pinkie, on the other hand, simply shrugged and shifted to where her brother was standing, once again using the same ability she had developed back before the war broke out, before they pressed on once more. From there they fought a few more enemies and avoided falling off the edge of the ruined area they were walking on, though at one point Jak had to move forward alone because he was the only one that possessed a jet-board... until his sister reminded him that she possessed a different Light Flight form and could fly along with him, and could catch him if he were to fall, to which he smiled as they moved forward.

Fortunately it didn't take him long to reach another area where he had to shift into his Dark Form and blow up another fallen wall so he could move forward, though this time around Pinkie landed beside him and simply pulled her wings back until they were almost touching her back. Jak assumed that since his sister could break the rules of reality whenever she desired, like she had done multiple times throughout their adventures, this was another instance where she was doing that and decided not to question what he was seeing. From that point they had to traverse a few more rail sections, fight a couple more groups of mantis Metal Heads, and break down another cracked wall before they found Pecker... who clearly looked like he was getting ready to flee, but calmed down a tiny bit when he noticed their arrival.

"Where have you been?!" Pecker exclaimed, staring at the group for a few seconds, while at the same time ignoring the fact that Pinkie's Light Flight form was still active, "I've molted three times already just waiting for you! Onin says we must get through the Palace ruins, but I think... uh-oh..."

That was when a trio of Dark Maker satellites flew into the air and hovered in front of them, causing the siblings to prepare themselves for a moment, as while they could easily take one of them out they had no idea how long it would take to take out three of them.

"Jak, let me just say, before it's all over: riding on your shoulder, although it is kind of bony, and uncomfortable, well, you've been a good pal." Daxter commented, almost as if he believed that they were all going to die right here, though at the same time Raven had to chuckle at him in his head.

"Come on Daxter, we can get through this." Jak replied, though at the same time he glanced over at Pinkie, where he noticed that she seemed to be shaking for some odd reason, "Pinkie? Is something the matter?"

"Twitchy tail..." Pinkie muttered, her eyes wide as she remembered something, before she turned towards her brother and best friend, "Jak, Daxter, hit the ground!"

The moment the words left her mouth Pinkie dropped to the ground, indicating that she had felt that something was going to happen, though Jak decided not to question it and followed his sister's movements, as she had been right about things in the past and wasn't about to argue this time around. That was quickly followed by a large vehicle, one they had seen in Spargus' garage several times in the past, jumped into the air above their heads and slammed into the three satellites, destroying all three of them before the vehicle landed on the ground.

"Someone call for an army?" a voice said, to which Jak and Pinkie looked up to see their father, Damas, sitting in the main seat of the vehicle, though at the same time he smiled at them as he hopped out for a moment and helped them back onto their feet.

"Dad, I'm glad to see that you made it to Haven in such a short amount of time." Jak said, though he smiled at his father, because it was good to see him again, even if they were in the middle of a battlefield of sorts.

"I was called by one of your allies some time before your assault on the Metal Head Nest," Damas replied, though at the same time he, Jak, and Daxter climbed into the vehicle, allowing Pinkie and Raven to fly around in their respective flight forms so they could dominate the sky, "when you activated the amulet I came straight here, allowing the rest of my guard to help your soldiers out. Now then, shall we finish this?"

Jak nodded as he took the controls that were in front of him, apparently the driving controls from what he was seeing, while at the same tie Damas got on the gun and prepared himself for the enemies that would be on the ground in front of them. As they took off, however, Pinkie and Raven followed after them, specifically looking out for flying missiles and more satellites that might do them harm, though at the same time they grinned as they started their search.

The assault buggy proved to be very effective for the remainder of their trek through the enemy infested area that they had stumbled upon, as the path they had to drive along was wide and level enough for Jak to drive through, while at the same time the buggy was built sturdy enough that very little could actually damage it. The heavy cannon that Damas used could swivel around to lock onto Troopers that warped into the area, where a few well placed shots could take out any of them. On top of that Jak discovered that the vehicle could initiate a turbo boost at any time to smash through any solid obstacles that the vehicle's weapon didn't destroy, which was handy in smashing down bridges for them to cross over and destroying generators that powered the various shields in their way.

The flying enemies proved to be no match for the combined might of Pinkie and Raven, as they tore their enemies to pieces before they could even reach the vehicle that Jak and Damas were driving through the area. Fire bombs were also launched at her brother every now and then, to which Pinkie called upon her own Yellow Eco and blasted the balls out of the air before they could even hit the ground, amazing both Raven and Damas in the process. Jak simply chuckled, as he remembered what his sister had done back when they were fighting Gol and Maia, though he knew that blowing the fire bombs out of the air was the quickest way for his sister to succeed in protecting them. He didn't want to imagine what happened when she gathered her Eco power into a single orb and fired it again, to which he focused on the path in front of him and continued making his way through the area they were in.

Thanks to their efforts Jak and Damas were able to clear the last barrier in no time and approached an area where two Precursor vehicles were waiting, though as they came to a stop Pinkie felt her tail twitch again, though before she could shout out a warning to Jak a trio of missiles flew into the area and struck the vehicle from behind. Pinkie was forced to watch as the vehicle flipped end over end for a few seconds, allowing herself a moment to breath a sigh of relief as she noticed that her brother and best friend were fine... to which she froze as she spotted Damas lying under the vehicle, with a severed section of the buggy's frame sticking out of where his stomach was located.

"Dad!" Jak shouted, rushing to his father's side, while at the same time looking for any possible way to save his life, as he didn't want this to be the last time he saw his father, especially after only just meeting him.

"I never doubted you for a moment Jak, you do have some great driving skills," Damas replied, though at the same time he coughed up some blood, before he looked up at Jak, "Today is a good day to die, because I have been given the opportunity to see the type of warrior my son, and his sister no less, have become without even needing me to teach them a single thing."

"The wound isn't that bad," Pinkie said, landing beside her brother and casting a glance at her father's stomach, while at the same time reaching into herself to access her Eco once more, "I think I can..."

"Oh, I wouldn't waste my energy on a dead man," a familiar voice said, one that caused Jak, Daxter, Raven, and Pinkie to turn their heads towards the Precursor vehicles for a moment."

"Veger!" Raven growled, though at the same time he could tell that the rest of his group was pissed off, especially since this guy was responsible for so much of their headaches, "What are you doing here?"

"I should think that the answer to that is obvious, especially for a creature of your inferior intellect." Veger countered, though his tone indicated that he must still have no idea what Raven's blue crystal meant, while at the same time his insult made the disguised Neo Metal Head raise the volume of his growl, "Though I guess I can spell it out for you: I'm here to save this ungrateful world! Deep below us rests the power of the Precursors, a power that I intend to make my own, and  with it at my command I will unleash the Planetary Defense Grid and wipe out the Dark Maker ship!"

"Do you really think that the Precursors will just give such an incredible power to a monster like you?" Pinkie asked, because if she knew the Precursors as well as Samos taught her, and she believed that she did, she knew that they would never give Veger the power that he craved.

"I am the most qualified person to receive their power!" Veger replied, though before he could say anymore Raven, who had enough of him talking, finally snapped and transformed back into his dragon form, where he roared and caused Veger to retreat by jumping into one of the vehicles.

The moment Veger started the trek down the Precursor tunnel that was in front of them, however, Raven and Pinkie opened their wings and flew after him, leaving Jak and Daxter with Damas... to which the three of them climbed into the second vehicle and took off after the others. Jak resolved to at least let his father see who the Precursors were before he bled out, though he was secretly hoping that they could heal him back to how he was before the missiles hit the buggy... to which he growled as he followed Pinkie and Raven into the depths of the planet once more.