A few days had passed since Haven City celebrated the end of the Metal Head War, which was the name given to the conflict between them and the Leader of the Metal Heads, though once morning had arrived Jak and his sisters headed out to make sure everything was alright and that nothing bad had happened, finding that most of the sober residents were heading out to resume their jobs, the drunken ones were either laying near some of the walls or had been escorted home, and the rest of the Krimzon Guard were patrolling the city with a new sense of purpose, especially with all of the Neo Metal Heads that had joined them in defending Haven. All four of them were still amazed that the guards had accepted new allies without even questioning what was going on and, with Kor's war over, some appeared to be talking to the more intelligent beings who were now working alongside them in protecting this large city from danger, though they were sure that Shade was up in the Palace with Praxis, since she was a spymaster of sorts and he could use her experience and knowledge to better secure Haven from the dangers that were outside the walls. Of course the siblings knew that the remaining Metal Heads weren't the only threat that the city faced, as there were supposedly enemies in the Wasteland, or at least Sig claimed that such a thing existed and none of them were about to call the great warrior a liar, though that wasn't the only thing they thought about, as the two shadowy beings who appeared on top of the Port's high wall made them realize that something dark might be on its way to their world, those two being scouts of sorts in their eyes. As such Jak's plan was simple, they were going to make sure Haven was safe from danger, while at the same time Vin worked to make a modified Shield Wall that would protect the city and not weaken the Neo Metal Heads while it was active, before heading to the Palace and talking to Praxis about what had happened to their father, as it might open some doors for them in the future and allow them to discuss their plans for the future, though he knew that Praxis was going to put this off for as long as he could, maybe due to the fact that, now that he had regained himself, he might be ashamed of his past actions or something, but the siblings needed to hear what he knew before bothering to make any new plans.
Based on what the siblings discovered there wasn't much happening to the city right now, even after the war with the rest of the Metal Heads, meaning they were going to spend their time patrolling Haven and making sure that everyone was fine with everything that had been going on lately, even though it quickly turned into Jak doing it on his own as Twilight took Starlight and Cozy out to the Pumping Station for some lessons in channeling Dark Eco, which he knew was mostly Midnight trying to make sure all of them had access to their own Dark Forms and whatever powers it brought. Of course he was a little nervous about such a thing, as Cozy turned into a berserker of sorts when she changed and Twilight turned into a whole new person when her dark power took over, something that made him remember the sheer power that was at Midnight's fingertips and made him wonder what sort of power Dark Starlight would have, if she was lucky enough to gain a Dark Form, as he was silently hoping that she just gained the power to channel Dark Eco and have none of the more dangerous side effects from such a thing. Of course he did consider what they had seen during the celebration, two dark figures who disappeared as quickly as they had appeared, and the fact that all of their Dark Forms had reacted in some way told him that they needed to be ready for whatever was coming next, as those two had to be scouts for whatever dark force they served, or at the very least and early warning system for the inhabitants of the area the pair appeared at, all to give their targets time to ready themselves before the main force arrived. Jak also knew there was a chance that he might be wrong about all of this and that the pair meant nothing, that they were simply curious as to what had happened to this world during the war with the Metal Heads, or whatever had caught their attention, but there was no way for him to tell which of his thoughts were correct and which ones were wrong, though the reaction from their Dark Forms was the key to understanding part of the situation, hence why he wanted to have that conversation with Praxis, before figuring out what their next move might be, he just had to be patient and wait for the Baron to set aside some time for them.
When the week came to an end, four days after the defeat of Kor and the celebration everyone had enjoyed, Jak and his sisters found themselves in the Palace, as in Praxis had invited them to join him, instead of them staying outside like when they tried to sneak around this place to get information for Torn and the Underground, meaning he finally wanted to talk with them and get the conversation out of the way, so they could focus on securing the city and moving on with their lives, hence why they were in the throne room and not the dining room, where Praxis had set up five chairs for all of them and was currently sitting in one that was alone, while the other four were closer to the throne that his was, making this seem more like a royal audience of some kind.
"Jak, Twilight, Cozy, Starlight... I am ready for whatever questions you might have for me," Praxis stated, his tone revealing that he must have come to terms with what he had done in the past, or at least what he had done while under the dark influence of Kor and the Dark Eco that had tainted his metallic headpiece, and that, after coming to such a decision, he was now ready for the conversation Jak wanted to have with him, even though he knew that the others might have a few things to ask him as well, where he watched as they took their seats in front of him, or at least three of them did as Cozy growled and stood with her back on one of the nearby pillars, showing him that she still disliked him, "I know all of you are still angry with me, after everything I put you through while I was under Kor's influence, though my only desire is that you hold back your anger for now and allow me to get this off my chest... once I'm finished I will face my crimes, regardless if it means earning your eternal hatred, forgiveness that I don't deserve, or death at your hands... I will not fight back, once all of you have come to a decision regarding my fate, as I know you'll do what's best for Haven and our world."
Cozy growled for a moment, once more showing that she might not forgive him for imprisoning her for three years, and all of the Dark Eco experiments that had been performed on her while she was trapped inside the Fortress, before huffing as she shifted her glance to another part of the throne room, showing her siblings that she was willing to listen to the story Praxis had to tell them and not just smash his head into the floor behind where he happened to be sitting, which caused her siblings to relax a little as they focused on the Baron.
"Okay, so what's the story behind our father's disappearance and our younger selves appearing on the streets, only to fall into the hands of Kor and the Underground?" Jak asked, because while they knew that the Shadow had found them first and made sure the four of them were out of harms way by moving them constantly, something that was due to what their memories told them, there was part of the story that neither he or his siblings knew about and Praxis happened to be the only one, in all of Haven City, who knew everything about the event in question, or at least it sure seemed like it based on what they had learned so far.
"As you know, this place used to be your home, where the four of you and your father lived," Praxis stated, reminding the siblings of the fact that they had once called the Palace their home, or at least it had been before they had been forced to flee and appeared on Haven's streets, with next to no one realizing who they were walking by, save for the Shadow and maybe Kor when they thought about what their memories told them, where Praxis sighed for a moment as he recalled the events that happened in the past, "and Damas, your father, used to rule from this place, even though he was loved by his people and often spent his days walking around Haven, tending to the problems of his citizens and making sure nothing was threatening the city, though to be honest I'm not sure how no one recognized you, since there were days where you walked around Haven with your father... I guess the Precursors might have lent a hand in some manner, or someone had a way to hide your identities for a long time. Either way, Damas and I had very different methods and plans for taking care of the Metal Heads that were trying to get inside the city so they could find the Precursor Stone, where I believed that my ideas were far superior to what my King wanted to do and several plans formed in my mind, one to take down those who were attacking our city and a plan to seize control of Haven so I could show everyone that my plans were worth the risk, but, as you and Keira discovered, one of my plans failed and it ended with me suffering a wound to my head. This metal casing allowed me to survive my injuries and continue living, though it fueled my desire to prove that I was right, as that was the only change I suffered in the beginning, to which I had Ashelin reassigned for a time, which angered her since she liked protecting the four of you, and proceeded with a coup that should have been quiet and easy... I should have known Damas would have made plans in case someone tried something like that, as the coup turned into a full on battle that also destroyed one of the Palace's wings."
"So, Kor influenced your desire to show our father that your plans were superior and that, in turn, caused a fight to break out between you," Starlight commented, taking a few moments to think about the information they were learning, which her siblings were also doing while Cozy looked like she might not care, even though she knew her sister wanted to hear what had happened to their father, before she pulled her attention back to the conversation they were having as she took a moment to think about something important, "What did you do to him?"
"Damas was crafty, far more than I gave him credit for if I'm being honest, and most of the city would have been on the Underground's side had I simply ended his life... something I would never do," Praxis replied, the last bit added to let Jak and his sisters to know that, even under Kor's influence, there were lines he wouldn't cross in the early stages of his dark corruption, even though he had been broken by the time they returned to the future, given his dark nature they had seen during his time experimenting on Jak and Cozy and his meeting with Kor before Midnight's awakening, "since executing him would have signed my death warrant, with a full scale rebellion and possibly death by the claws of the Metal Heads, I did the only thing possible to ensure his safety and the start of my reign over the city, I exiled Damas from the city, and all of his guards who had been captured during the coup, and sent them to the Wasteland. Of course such a thing wasn't as easy as you might think, since he was beloved by everyone who called Haven home, and to ensure the potential rebellion didn't arise with his banishment Count Veger, one of the Council members who help govern the city, spread all sorts of false rumors about Damas and made it seem like he wasn't fit to be the ruler of Haven, though I never asked Veger to do such a thing, meaning he had his own reasons for wanting the King dethroned and exiled to the Wasteland, no doubt he wanted the four of you for some dark reason. With Damas banished, and his guards were exiled with him, I turned most of my attention to finding the four of you, along with that Crocodog of yours, before something bad happened to you, as I intended on having Ashelin guard and protect all four of you so none of Haven's enemies could use you against the rest of the city, but I was forced to turn my attention to protecting Haven, as Gol and Maia were right... tracking you four down was entirely impossible and most of my focus turned to defeating the Metal Heads..."
"Wait a minute... Gol and Maia? As in Gol and Maia Acheron?" Daxter asked, as that caught him off guard, which Jak and his sisters shared since it was impossible for the two Dark Sages to be around these days, due to the fact that Praxis meant he must have talked with them before sending Damas into the Wasteland with his group of guards, especially since he man nodded his head to confirm that he was talking about those two individuals and not someone else he knew that went by those names, which caused the siblings to glance at each other for a few moments, "Impossible, they have to be two new people with the same name and not the Dark Sages we encountered in the past... unless, of course, Dark Eco is the key to eternal life or something... or they found another Precursor artifact that messed with time."
"Based on all the research Keira and I did, the Rift Ring, or Rift Gate as Kor called it, was the only one that allowed people to travel through time," Twilight commented, informing everyone that the artifact Kor's body had destroyed was the last of its kind and that there were no more for anyone to use, or at least it seemed to be the case since they knew Kor was a liar, meaning it was entirely possible that the Precursors could have made more and one of them could have been found by Gol and Maia, to catch up with the four of them, before she considered Praxis' words for a moment, "however, now that you mention that they worked with our father, I'm beginning to remember something: a couple of days were we learned a few basics of controlling Eco, from people who looked like Gol and Maia... Samos might have told them the truth about all of us, before we went through the past version of the Rift Gate, letting them know that we happened to be from the future and that we were hiding from something. If that's true, they might have figured out a way to either travel through time or gain some sort of lasting life, to make it this point in time to make sure we knew the basics of channeling Eco and the vast powers each one gives whose who wield them, lessons Samos would continue once we settled into Sandover Village... its all a loop of sorts, us heading into the past to become the heroes that save the future... I'm willing to bet they became our father's advisers on the matters of Eco, like how to use it to protect the city and everything, and when you banished him and his guards the pair went with them."
"Sometimes I forget how smart you are, and that's not counting Midnight helping you out," Praxis said, as he knew Damas was of the opinion that Twilight and Starlight were the smart ones of the four, with Jak being right behind them, where he agreed with his former friend as he listened to everything that Twilight came up with and talked about, making him take a moment to wonder if there might anyone who could rival her intellect, before he considered her words once more and what happened when he banished Damas after the failed coup, "but yes, the Royal Advisors left Haven City when Damas and his guards were sent to the Wasteland, taking most of their journals and notes with them in the process, leaving only a single journal behind, the one that prompted my darkened and twisted mind to start the Dark Warrior Program, though it also told me about the four of you and Daxter... I'm starting to wonder if it was intentional, to inform me that heroes were on their way and that I wouldn't have to worry about dealing with the Metal Heads on my own."
"Given that Sig is a Wastelander, and has expressed an interest in us learning from him... or at least he did last we talked... I wonder if he would know where our father went," Jak commented, referring to the fact that Sig claimed there might be someone in the desert who might be able to help them with their Dark Eco problems, to balance them out or something like that, meaning there had to be a city or settlement of some kind out in the Wasteland for all those Kor had Praxis exile to live in as they fought against the elements, to which he glanced at Praxis for a moment, "there must be a city of some sort in the Wasteland, with our father as the leader, that might have some massive Metal Heads roaming around the rest of the desert. Praxis, is it possible to arrange for an expedition into the Wasteland?"
"The only time we send people into the Wasteland are when we banish someone, where we give them a beacon, one that could be picked up by either the exiles or the Metal Heads," Praxis explained, showing them that, even with his darkened mind thanks to Kor's influence, he and the Council of Haven made sure to give the exiles hope for a future, to be picked up by those who lived in the Wasteland and not by the Metal Heads who called it home, but in that instant he noticed that all of the siblings seemed eager to explore a new part of the world, or new to them to be more exact, to which he sighed for a moment as he held a hand up, "Don't get any funny ideas, we still need all of you here, in case Alvin and his brothers fail to gain control over the other Metal Heads, and that's not counting the fact that someone might be messing with the robotic section of the KG, so we might be heading for a full scale battle for Haven at this rate and we cannot afford to lose any of you before such a thing happens... actually, I don't know why I'm trying to tell you four what to do, because if any of you are like your father I'll be talked into stepping down and allowing you to do this anyway."
"Right now the city is safe and sound, and with everyone guarding it we can afford to take a small break," Cozy said, as she knew that Jak was already considering every option to get them to the Wasteland, so they could track down the city Sig had no doubt found to receive his own training, though as she thought about it she glanced at the city that rested outside the Palace, looking beyond it and focusing on everything that might be outside the fallen Shield Wall, which Vin was working on to make an even better one, "though given what you just said it sounds like Veger doesn't like our family at all, no doubt because he feels like he should be in charge or something, meaning he might be thinking of a way to incriminate us so he exile us as well... maybe we can convince the Council that some sort of enemy rests in the Wasteland and that we're going out to deal with them?"
"There's the Metal Heads out there, and whoever else Sig might know about," Twilight added, because it made sense when she thought about it, as regardless of what Alvin and his brothers were capable of they would have to deal with the larger enemies in the desert at some point, before they tried to march on the city, so she and her siblings could nip the problem in the bub before it became a real problem for everyone in Haven, plus she was interested in the figure Sig that could aid them in finding balance, so they had multiple reasons to tackle the dangers of the Wasteland, and she could hear Midnight agreeing with her, "we would have to get a haircut and change our attire, plus review a few of Samos' lessons on staying in a desert, but if we complete those steps, and convince the Council of our desire to put an end to Haven's enemies, there's a good chance Veger's plans can be ruined before he even starts them... plus, if someone is messing with the KG robots, they would need a good bit of Eco and supplies to get started, so setting something up away from Haven would be the best thing to do, so we could potentially knock out multiple birds with one very well positioned stone."
"Are you honestly planning on heading out into the Wasteland to find Damas and his city?" Praxis asked, because while he knew that Haven City still had several enemies that needed to be taken out, especially since they had no idea who might have hacked into the KG robots or the factory which produced them, which was a problem that needed to be taken care of at some point in time, he also knew enough about Jak and his sisters to know that when they set their minds on a task or something there was no talking them out of it, so by giving them this information he suspected that they would head out into the Wasteland to find Damas.
"If we find our father, and convince him of your partial innocence in his banishment, we might be able to return with new allies for when the big battle happens," Jak explained, as it seemed like a good idea to him and his sisters, that they took a few days to track down their father and speak with him for a time, to convince him of a number of things before returning to the city, hopefully with some reinforcements to help take down the one who was messing with the KG robots, and they could see that Praxis was considering the idea as well, even though it would be like him admitting defeat and proving that Damas was the one who had been right, before he beckoned towards a window, "right now the city is at peace, save for an unknown being messing with the KG robots, who Vin is trying to track down at this very moment, so this is the best time for us to head out into the Wasteland... if we were in the middle of a war, well, we would have to be banished to do such a thing, which would crush the morale of everyone in Haven."
"Whether you know it or not you four are so like Damas," Praxis stated, where he would normally consider such a thing to be bad, given what he knew about their father and his own actions, but this time there was nothing more he could say as he stared into the eyes of Jak and his sisters, finding that all four of them had a look of determination in their eyes, which happened to be reflected in the eyes of Daxter and the brothers who were sitting nearby, to which he sighed for a couple of seconds as he nodded his head and admitted defeat once more, "okay, we'll do things your way, which should upset Veger and his plans, whatever they might be... but if anything happens to Haven while this expedition is happening, such as the war starting or some damage being done to the city, I'm pulling the plug and calling you four back."
Jak nodded as he heard that, as it was nice to have someone like Praxis on their side, as it meant that a Council member, if the Baron was on, was on their side, and even if he wasn't he was still in control of Haven City, even though the citizens of Haven knew that the four of them were the grown up versions of the heirs and would seize control of the city in due time, so for now having him in power meant they could focus on other things, though with the meeting over he turned some of his thoughts towards the future and the fact that they would, in due time, find their father and set things right, along with finding Gol and Maia once more.