Naturally Keira was surprised when Jak and his sisters returned to the Phantom Blade, along with Daxter and Tess, though all of them were taken aback by the fact that the four siblings were true Prism Sages now, something Eon must have felt all the way back in the core of their world, but given the fact that they didn't have a lot of time now, since Skyheed's arrival had to mean something, she accepted the last Coordinate Sphere and added it to the others.
"It seems to be pointing back to the research station," Phoenix said, though he clearly didn't like the idea of heading back, given his history with Skyheed and his Dark Warrior Program, even if the Eco Seeker was pointing towards that area, but, in the end, he knew that nothing he said was going to matter to the siblings, as they were going to head there and see what they might have missed, before he recalled something, "truth be told that station was built on top of some strange formations, ones that we couldn't pierce, no matter what we used on them..."
"Wouldn't put it past Skyheed to build on top of a Precursor structure," Daxter replied, as that sounded like something the dark Duke would have in mind, especially after everything they had seen during their time in the facility in question, but as he thought about that he considered part of what had been said and what they were looking for, "Is it possible that the Eco Core is somewhere below the research station?"
"It's worth a shot, though we'll need to make sure the Phantom Blade is out of danger," Jak stated, though it it was true, and they had been some distance above the Eco Core, it meant there had to be a way further into the planet to find the artifact that would help them restore the balance of Eco to the world, which meant only those with Eco power could go down there, as those without power would be in harms way.
Phoenix agreed and informed the siblings that he and his pirates would be waiting some distance away from the structure while they worked on whatever it was that might be in their way, to keep the skies clear and keep an eye out for Skyheed, but as Jak set a course for the research station, however, Twilight had a feeling she knew what was coming and informed the captain that it might be better if he and his people left the Brink. When questioned about it she told him that when it came down to it they could come up with some really bad ideas, ones that could endanger bystanders, and given the fact that the fate of their world hung in the balance this time around she knew that whatever she and her siblings did would be far more dangerous than anything that had been done before this point. Such a thing didn't stop Naomi from offering to join them, as her Blue Eco had been able to help Twilight when she needed some assistance, even if it hadn't been close to what her siblings had done, and even the Dark Sage, who revealed that his name was Tym, wanted to go with them, since Keira was planning on going for this venture, since it was part of her quest to find the Eco Core. In the end Phoenix agreed with the plan, he and his crew would be departing as soon as the Hellcat was no longer aboard his ship, leaving the Sages to track down the Eco Core and fix the world, with Daxter and Tess heading in with Jak's group, though when they reached the edge of the area Jak found that a barrier was surrounding the research structure and some bots were trying to repair a generator that powered it, to which he headed out without wasting time.
As such Jak climbed into the pilot seat of the Hellcat while everyone else who was heading to the Eco Core piled in back, in the magical aspect of their ship, before he departed from the Phantom Blade and flew over to where the facility rested, to which he and Daxter opened fire on the repair ships before any of them could complete their mission, allowing Phoenix and his crew to fall back, before Jak tore through the generator that was powering the barrier. Of course that wasn't their only target that needed to be taken down, as there were two more shield generators that needed to be taken care of and each of them happened to have hangers that deployed more repair ships, so the first thing they did was collapse the top of the hangers, preventing more enemies from flying out to reverse any damage they did to Skyheed's generators. As soon as Jak was sure that the hangers were taken care of, which Daxter confirmed as Keira nodded her head as well, he opened fire on the pair of generators as Naomi focused on making sure the flow of Blue Eco matched the destruction of the last two targets, eventually leading to the third one being destroyed and caused the barrier to fall in seconds. With that done, and all of them confirmed that nothing remained to stop them from landing in the docking bay, Jak did that and came to a stop, allowing everyone to climb out before Starlight protected their ship with another spell, just like she did whenever the group visited a new area, though with that done Keira carefully pulled out the Eco Seeker as they studied the area that was around them right now.
In the next few seconds a door opened and revealed an elevator that had to be what they were looking for, one that just so happened to take them down into the depths of the facility, which brought them into a large underground chamber of sorts, one that seemed far more modern than what Jak and his sisters were expecting of the Precursors, before spotting a massive purple geode, a crystal that looked like it was infused with Dark Eco, before they stared at the area around them for a time.
"We've done it... we've found the Eco Core." Jak commented, staring out at the area and finding that there was some sort of device around the majority of the massive stone, or at least beams of it were from what he could see, though as they came to a stop Keira rushed over to where the terminal was located, allowing everyone else to stare at the rest of the area for a time as she worked her magic on it.
"Yeah, and it's located near the heart of our planet," Keira remarked, where Jak and his sisters knew that she was referring to the other Precursor station that rested near this part of their important world, the Planetary Defense Platform, but she continued working for a few moments and thought about the fact that this happened to be where the Precursors once controlled the Eco of their world.
"But how are we going to wake it up? The terminal is long dead." Naomi asked, because while she could see that Keira was working on figuring out what the problem was, and not the power issue to be exact, there wasn't much they could do with how dark this place was, while at the same time she noticed that Twilight was huffing as she knelt on the floor, where the Dark Eco had to be messing with her.
In response to that Jak and his sisters raised their hands before sending a light stream of energy into the terminal, which caused the screen to light up not even a few moments later, allowing Keira to make sure everything was fine while the Eco Core itself started to glow as it was raised by whatever device it was being carried by, bringing it up to where they were standing and gave them a chance to stare at it for a time.
"Based on these readings the Core is comprised of two things, the first being the crystal in front of us, which draws in the Eco and reshapes it, like a processing center," Keira stated, telling Jak, his sisters, their friends, and their new companions what she was seeing and what it might mean right now, though they said nothing to that, knowing it was bad to interrupt her, especially given that they knew nothing about the device that was in front of them right now, "second, there is a prism inside the heart of the crystal, which seems to be doing the majority of the work, in pulling in and reshaping all the Eco that it was designed to draw in... however, that prism is out of alignment and it is causing a massive energy build up. Now, I'm sure I can realign the prism and bring the Eco Core back online, but the main problem seems to be the Brink itself, or the massive hole that bares that name... we can fix the immediate problem, but someone would have to come back in about a thousand years to repeat what we've done, though fixing the Brink is much harder to do."
"And you will be fixing the Core to my specifications, least I..." a voice said, where they found Skyheed walking towards the platform they were standing on, meaning he must have found a way to bypass everything the Precursors had placed in this place to protect the Eco Core from harm, before they found two female pirates standing behind him with their hands bound, one dressed more like a fighter with a red coloration while the other seemed to be a sharpshooter, who also had a yellow color to her attire, meaning he had brought Augusta and Evelyn with him, before he stopped as Jak applied his own power to the man.
"You know, we normally give people the benefit of the doubt, that there is a reason for their actions... but you, Skyheed, all of this is because of your own greed and lust for power," Jak replied, deciding not to bother fighting the man that was the main enemy of this adventure, because with the Eco Core turned back on, even with the prism out of alignment, he could do so much while being in the same location as this powerful device, rather he gestured with his staff and the Dark Eco in Skyheed's body came flooding out, rejoining what was inside the Core while leaving him weak, though it wasn't long before Twilight took a page from Midnight's book and banished him to the Plane of Torment.
"And this is why you don't mess with a Prism Sage, especially near the Eco Core," Tym remarked, showing them that he did know about their power and how dangerous they could be, though with Skyheed removed Naomi was able to rush over to Augusta and Evelyn, allowing her to untie their bindings and the metallic device that restricted their powers, hence why the pair didn't try to escape before this point, before he turned towards Jak and Keira once more, "So, how long before you do what you need to do?"
"Not long... just be ready for when the show starts." Keira stated, because if she knew Jak, and she really knew him and his sisters, this was going to be rather impressive and possibly one of the most dangerous things they might ever do, which could possibly kill all of them if they were unlucky, maybe even everyone else if they failed, but given everything that she had seen in the past she had a feeling this was going to work out well.
True to her word it didn't take her long to get the prism in alignment and make sure that all of the machines were good, as a misstep here could be disastrous for them, though once she was done everyone gathered near her before channeling a fair deal of their own Eco energies, Jak and his sisters focusing on Light and Dark Eco, with Daxter and Tess aiding them as Tym did his best to help out, while Keira, Augusta, Evelyn, and Naomi channeled their own colors to balance things out so the Eco Core could be balanced. As they did that something interesting happened, both the platform they were positioned on and the device that contained the Eco Core rose out of the ground for some reason, though it became known why as they felt all of the Dark Eco that was across the Brink being dragged into the Core, so it could be reshaped into the other colors and bring balance to this section of the world. Such a thing ended up toppling the research station in it's entirety, a fact that also came as a surprise to them as Skyheed's structure collapsed into the water around them, though after that happened Keira focused on bringing balance to the world, just like they intended when they came out here for this quest, but, as they all knew, this was only part of the equation and none of them had any real ideas on what to do about the hole in the world that would cause all of this to happen again in a thousand years. In that moment the screen in front of them beeped and Starlight activated it with her magic, where they found a message from Eon that seemed to be cutting in and out on them, no doubt due to what they were doing right now, but they were able to figure out that he had discovered that a massive meteor was heading straight for their position, one that would crack the world apart if it struck the Eco Core or one of their barriers, meaning they had to come up with a way to stop it before it struck.
As the message ended, however, Twilight launched herself into the air and stopped when she was floating above the Eco Core, where she tapped into her full power as a Prism Sage and allowed the aura to wash over her body for a few seconds, allowing the meteor to get closer and closer to their world, before she sent out her power in a burst of power that started to wrap around the incoming rock as she tried to slow it down. Keira, knowing what Twilight was up to, found some new readings that suddenly appeared on the terminal in front of them, the Eco of their world seemed to be gathering in six points, either due to her other selves coming out to help or it was all six colors gathering on their own to help her, where the latter would likely be explained by Twilight's Ottsel powers. Still, slowing down the meteor proved to be challenging for Twilight, even though she was pouring all of her power, Eco and magic combined into a single force, where Jak and both of his sisters had to wonder if Twilight was still weak from her transformations, that she wasn't at full power or something, and the meteor continued to descend towards their destination, despite her attempts to slow it. In that moment she and the others watched as it started to pierce their atmosphere, drawing ever closer to where they were working and causing all sorts of flames to dance along the edge of it, though in that moment all of the Eco readings Keira had discovered did something new, they surged through the air and wrapped around Twilight, strengthening her and restoring her to what had to be her prime as her aura intensified before their eyes.
Twilight floated there for a few seconds, no doubt taking a bit of time to realize what sort of power she possessed now, all while the meteor continued to descend without any real resistance, before she raised her hands and weaved her power into a magical ring that was designed to act less like a barrier and more like something that would slow down the meteor that was coming at them. Despite that fact, however, the meteor continued to press against her spell and even cracked it after a few seconds, though she was fine with that since most of her power was being focused into another attack, so the rune circle was more like a distraction as she prepared for what seemed to be her last effort, or maybe the one that had a greater chance of success. Not a few moments later the rune circle shattered and that seemed to be what Twilight might have been waiting for, where she raised her left hand and actually stalled the meteor, meaning her full power must have been awakened at long last, even though it seemed to send shudders throughout her entire body, something that told all of them that her hybrid state couldn't contain the power of an Ottsel. Once she was ready Twilight swung her right fist at the meteor, like she was trying to punch it, and a powerful burst of energy surged out from where she was standing, which slammed into the face of the meteor before sending shock waves throughout the massive rock, something that caused it to start breaking as pieces fell from where the massive rock rested.
In that moment everyone watched as the meteor shattered and the fragments were carefully moved by the energy that had broken it, where it looked like Twilight was using the impending disaster to fix the Brink, though she also fixed up all of the islands that were scattered around this place, including creating a new one around the Eco Core, making it easier for someone to access the device. It was a surprising and shocking display of power, with how easy it was for Twilight to move things around like she was a puppet master or something, or maybe a sculptor who was working on a piece of art, which gave them an idea as to what a newly awakened Ottsel was capable of, something that made sense in Jak's eyes as he took a moment to consider that the Spirit stage could travel through time and space with ease. After a few moments Jak and his sisters found that the meteor was gone and that nothing in the air seemed to be coming down to strike the world, while the last of the pieces fell into place and were molded to look like all of them had been there since the beginning, and the oceans washed over the new land with ease, transforming the Brink into something new. Jak knew that this was the other half of the puzzle, that fixing the Eco Core was really only part of the solution to restore Eco to their world, so with Twilight channeling her powers like this, with them doing everything in their power to assist her, they had overcome the last hurdle and had mended their planet so no one would have to worry about this in the future.
Once that was done a flash of light emitted from Twilight, as if informing them that they were free to stop channeling their powers, to which Jak, both of his sisters, their Ottsels, and Keira did just that as everyone relaxed, which was a sign for the others to follow their lead and they relaxed after channeling their energies for a long time, though after that Keira rushed over to the machine to check on the readings.
"We've done it! The prism is realigned and the Eco Core is channeling Eco again... soon we'll be seeing Eco coming from all of the vents again!" Keira said, her tone revealing that she was happy for all of them, though after all of that she felt like a fully realized Green Sage, something she would have to ask her father about, and was sure that Naomi and her sisters felt the same way, but, at the same time, it only took her a few seconds to realize what else had happened to their world, due to Twilight's actions with the large meteor, "And, thanks to Twilight filling in the hole that was known as the Brink, things should be far more stable, so the people of the future won't have to worry about fixing things again, except to come and check on the Eco Core from time to time. Twilight, you can..."
In that moment, as Keira looked up at the area that they had seen Twilight in, Jak and his sisters, plus their Ottsels and all of their new acquaintances, found Twilight floating above the Eco Core, though before anyone could say anything they also found some mist rolling off of her body, with the rest of her body transforming into an Ottsel's body while she lost the rest of her height, stopping at two feet eleven inches, which was the same as Tess. It was the end of her transformation, which made sense when they thought about what she had done to stop and reform the meteor that Eon had told them about in his message, though it was in that moment that Jak noticed something that worried him, which in turn worried Starlight, Cozy, Keira and their Ottsels, not to mention everyone else, her body seemed to be dissolving before their eyes, as in her limbs seemed to be turning into a light mist. Such a thing made them wonder if Twilight had pushed herself too far while she was messing with the meteor, and keeping them safe as well, because it was entirely possible that she might skip the Ottsel state, not to mention the Chrysalis state that happened to follow it, and go right to the Spirit state Eon had told all of them about some time ago, though as Jak's group realized that he also knew that there was nothing any of them could do at this point, except watch and wait. Twilight didn't seem to even be aware of what her body was going through, as it did look like channeling all of that power had knocked her out, though it wasn't long before the mist overtook her body and her face followed, leaving a mass of energy where she had been not a few moments ago, one that started spinning as it took on a rainbow coloration.
A few seconds later a red mass launched itself out of the swirling mass and raced towards the area they were standing in, one that slowed down and safely landed on the platform in question, where everyone turned their heads and found that someone had landed nearby, a red furred Ottsel that was dressed in Twilight's previous clothing, attire that wasn't red like her fur, where Jak and his sisters realized that Pele had been separated from their sister. Sure enough a few more bursts erupted from the swirling mass of energy, one that was blue colored, another that was green, and a third that was yellow, to which everyone watched as a blue furred Ottsel landed not far from Pele, followed by a green furred Ottsel doing the same to Pele's right, and a yellow one formed further to the right, leaving the blue one landing to the left. In that moment Jak and the others remembered what Twilight had told them in the past, that her other selves had their own names, Pele being Red Eco, Shiva controlling Blue Eco, Gaia possessing Green Eco, and Bronte being Yellow Eco, but before they could say anything another burst surged out of the swirling mass and a dark furred Ottsel, similar to Gol and Maia, landed near Jak, who looked like Midnight. After all of that a few flashes erupted from the swirling mass and they watched as it quickly reformed into a single mass, which was when Twilight, in her Ottsel glory, appeared before them, her fur looking the same as before, a Light Eco Ottsel to be exact, though she landed on the platform between her other selves, which was when all of the lights faded and everything returned to normal.
No one did anything for a few moments, just to make sure they didn't interfere with whatever was going on, though that was when Midnight and the other four Ottsels opened their eyes, only for surprise to appear on their faces as they quickly realized that they had been separated from Twilight, that what Eon had said some time ago had been proven to be true, though Twilight remained still, causing her siblings to move over to where she was resting.
"Twilight? Come on, wake up." Cozy said, as while Midnight and the others had been able to wake up and move within the first few seconds of landing on the platform, showing that they were just fine, the fact that Twilight was still laying still, like she was sleeping, worried her and the others more and more as the seconds ticked by, especially since it looked like she wasn't breathing at all, "Please, wake up... this isn't funny."
Midnight and the others stood there for a time, unwilling to admit that after everything they had been through, or what Jak and his sisters had been through, that it was their separation from Twilight that did their main self in, that she might have given her life to make sure they could live on after saving the world, and it brought tears to their eyes as they considered it, since they considered themselves to be her sisters as well. As the sisters, not to mention the newly born Ottsels, started to tear up, and Twilight's former other selves started to cry over her having given herself to separate them from her, Daxter noticed two things as Jak and Keira moved closer: the first being that Twilight still had access to all six types of Eco, while the second was that her chest was moving.
"...I'm... not dead... yet..." Twilight weakly replied, where Cozy, her siblings, and everyone else found that she was alive, that she was breathing and that she was in the process of opening her eyes, even if she seemed rather weak in doing so, which made sense when they considered what she had been through, before she moaned for a moment, "I... just need... some rest... before I do... anything..."
In that moment Jak breathed a sigh of relief as he carefully picked up Twilight, as he didn't want to inflict any harm on her while she was resting, before they headed for the area that the Hellcat was resting in, as it was time for them to return to the Phantom Blade and give Phoenix the good news, though for now Twilight closed her eyes and fell asleep as Midnight and the others followed after Jak, as it was time to bring an end to this adventure and head home.