With their directions received from Onin, the trio made their way through the city to the Canyon that Onin had mentioned, where they were to use the artifacts from the forest ruin. The canyon turned out to be in the forest area itself, and rather close to the entrance as well. The completed Seal of Mar opened the path to the canyon, letting the trio make their way to where the relics needed to be used. The path beyond the gate was straightforward, with no Metalheads or Crimson Guards to block their path.
Various ancient Precursor machinery filled the area at the end of the path, which activated as the trio placed the three artifacts in slots waiting for them. When the machinery finished, a laser shot towards the city, destroying a statue of Baron Praxus. The falling masonry revealed a hidden entrance.
"Talk about hiding in plain sight," Jak muttered as the trio quickly made their way back to the city.
Beyond the hidden door, an elevator carried the trio deep into the earth. At the bottom of the shaft, The Shadow and Kor awaited them, with Mar and Ar-Mar at their sides. Against the far wall was a massive sculpture of a Precursor Oracle surmounting a massive door.
"You did it, Jak!" The Shadow marveled. "You actually found Mar's Tomb. I know you prefer I be cynical, but this...this is just too amazing for words."
"So now what?" Jak asked bluntly. "We send Mar here into a meat grinder? He hasn't got the strength, skills, or training to make it through."
"But you do," Ar-Mar pointed out.
Shining blinked, surprised. "Well, yeah, but you think Jak should go through?"
Ar-Mar merely shrugged.
Kor, meanwhile, seemed excessively eager to get his hands on the Precursor Stone, which only made Daxter more suspicious.
"You must be cautious, child," The Shadow told young Mar. "The Tests of Manhood are fraught with peril...and Mar's heir must face them alone."
Jak stepped up close behind Mar as the Oracle became active. "Welcome, Heir of Mar!" it proclaimed as the door began to open. "Finally, the Chosen One stands before us. Enter and prove yourself worthy to claim your ancient birthright."
As the door opened, Jak picked Mar up and set him on his back. "Hold on tight," he instructed firmly as he made his way towards the door.
"But...but the heir must face the challenges alone!" Kor pointed out in confusion.
"Yes," the Oracle agreed. "Heir of Mar, You and You, alone may enter!" As Jak crossed the threshold, the door closed behind the pair.
Once the door was closed, Shining turned to pass the time with Ar-Mar...until someone shouted, "Freeze!"
Even with Mar clinging to his back, Jak had very little trouble facing the trials within the Tomb of Mar. While they were taxing on his body, they were no more difficult than any other trial he'd faced in his adventures thus far. Mar seemed amazed as he gazed around in awe at all the stunts Jak was capable of, slowly wrapping his mind around this being his older self who could do all this...that he would be doing all this someday.
Mar did express his confusion when Jak groaned as he came across one particular puzzle. "What's wrong with the colored floating tiles?" he asked softly.
"Trust me, kid," Jak replied quickly. "Someday, you'll hate the very sight of such a thing." Carefully he jumped across the illuminated tiles. "At least it's simpler here. Last time, standing on tiles of one color caused all tiles of that color to drop." Noticing Mar's eager expression, Jak chuckled. "You want me to tell you about my last adventure?" he asked. When his statement received an eager nod, he chuckled. "Alright..."
As he continued, he told his younger self all about the various trials he and Shining had encountered going after Gol and Maia back in Sandover Village. It was only as he reached the tale of the trials in Gol and Maia's own Fortress while he was activating a second laser switch to open the last door of the tomb that he came to a realization. "Huh," he muttered. "So that's why I seemed to know what to do throughout the whole journey."
Passing through the last door, Jak came to a massive Precursor Statue. "Welcome young warrior," it proclaimed proudly. "Eons have passed since our hope burned so brightly. Today you have proven yourself worthy to receive Mar's legacy. What you are about to receive contains grave power, and with it comes grave responsibility. Eons ago, the Precursors waged a terrible war with the Hor'qwa, those terrible creatures you refer to as Metalheads. Driven by their dark leader, the Metalhead legions destroyed our great civilization. And now, they swarm the universe unopposed, looking for the last relics of our power."
"We'll see about that," Jak muttered, shaking out his arms as he walked up to the statue.
"You are brave and determined, much like Mar before you," the Statue continued. "He tried to hide the Precursor Stone in this tomb to protect it from them. It is our last hope, and it is up to you to keep that hope alive."
Nodding, Jak walked up to the statue in silence, removing the large, green, octagonal stone from its mounting, rolling backwards as Praxus flew in in a large mecha. "You are more valuable to me alive after all, Jak!" he proclaimed loudly. "You've led me right to the Precursor Stone! Now, hand it over, or your Underground friends up above will pay the price!"
Sighing, Jak set Mar down. "Hold this," he instructed, handing the Precursor Stone to him. "I need to deal with this guy real quick."
"Don't take me lightly, boy!" Praxus roared as he braced the spider like mech against the statue.
"I don't," Jak replied. "But a mech like that...just isn't a threat to me." He popped out a clip of Vulcan Fury ammo, carefully popping out the Blue Eco shells.
"You think you're that strong?" Praxus demanded angrily.
"No," he replied simply as he popped the shells open. "But I know how to fight it." He promptly chugged the shells contents down his throat.
"Are you mad?" Praxus demanded, shocked. "That's pure Eco!"
"Exactly," Jak replied, drawing Shining's Eco Blades and charging them with Red Eco. Dashing forward too fast for Praxus to track due to the Blue Eco boosting his speed, he brought the blades down, slashing all eight legs off the mech before splitting it open.
As the mech and escape pod collapsed, Praxus leapt out, rolling to his feet. "Well, I certainly didn't expect that," he muttered, drawing a pair of Eco Blades of his own. "I've been calling you boy mistakenly all this time it seems. So let's settle this like men!"
Both lunged forward, clashing their blades against each other. Jak was careful, using one blade to strike forward while holding the other back to block incoming strikes. Praxus, on the other hand, lunged in for a full force clash, trusting in his greater bulk to overpower Jak's slimmer frame, and believing himself to have greater stamina than the Eco boosted warrior.
Mar, for his part, watched in awe, clutching the Precursor Stone tight to himself as the warriors fought against each other.
After a few full force clashes, Jak suddenly chuckled. "I just realized...I can't lose here."
"What are you talking about?" Praxus demanded angrily. "You truly think you're so great?" He spun, trying to catch Jak on the backswing of his blade.
"I don't need to be!" Jak proclaimed as he blocked the strike, his block moving into position almost before the strike was thrown. "Take a look at who's watching. A child that young, a fight this intense...whether he knows it or not, he's going to remember this fight all his life, replaying it in his dreams." He spun then, kicking Praxus in the face before catching one of his Eco Blades at the hilt, sending it flying away from the Baron's grip.
"So what?" Praxus demanded as he held his remaining blade two handed. "What sort of advantage does that give you?" He lunged in, trying to skewer Jak.
For his part, Jak sidestepped easily, catching the baron's extended arm under his own before bringing his remaining blade up to his throat. "Guess who he grows up to be?"
Praxus stared at Jak, stunned. "...now it makes sense," he grumbled. "The ability to biologically metabolize Eco of any color...that's unique to Mar's line. So...are you going to kill me now? Take back your throne?"
Jak stared back at him for a time. "Keira tells me you've treated her like a second daughter this past half a decade or so," he stated bluntly. "Was that genuine?"
Praxus blinked. "What does that have to do with anything?" he demanded angrily.
"If I'm going to kill you, I should understand you first," Jak replied simply. "Well?"
"What does it matter?" Praxus growled. "My heart is just another tool to me. If feelings I have are useful to a situation, I make use of them. If not, I suppress them. And I can fake feelings I don't have if need be!"
"Was. It. Genuine?" Jak asked once again.
Praxus screamed in frustration. "Yes, Maker damn you, yes! She wasn't much younger than Ashelin, and a lot like her! I wanted to take care of her and protect her, and since it helped win her loyalty I did so!"
Jak smiled. "That's good," he replied. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out something Keira had prepared and slammed it down on the metallic parts of Praxus' skull.
Praxus staggered back, clutching at his head before eventually falling to his knees. "What...what happened? What did...you do?"
"Keira got ahold of your medical records," Jak explained. "We were able to figure out that when your head was wounded during a raid on the Metalhead nest and you used Metalhead parts to repair it, some Dark Eco was left behind inside you, leaving you somewhat susceptible to the signals the Metalhead leader uses to control the Metalheads. Not enough to fully control you, but enough to warp your mind and perceptions. The device I just slammed into your skull contained a tiny bit of Light Eco Keira was able to extract from her last Power Cell from our old timeline. She gave it to me just before I entered the Class 3 Zoomer race. But she told me it would only work if the Dark Eco hadn't fully corrupted your feelings."
Praxus stared up at Jak...at Mar. "That's why...you made me answer? To see...how much of the real me was left?"
Jak nodded. "And it seems there was enough. That small dose won't be permanent, though. We'll need a great deal more Light Eco to fully purge the Metalhead Leader's influence on you...either that or eliminate him. But we have a few weeks grace period before he can start influencing you again."
"Wouldn't it have been easier to just kill me?" Praxus demanded intensely.
Jak smirked. "You're more useful to me alive."
Praxus slumped, like a puppet whose strings had been cut. "You...you..."
"I don't plan to lead some insane charge into the nest," Jak told him bluntly. "Metalheads are built for fighting armies. With enough ammo and preparation...Shining and I will take them down ourselves. They won't even know what hit them."
Praxus sighed...and then shifted to a kneeling position, his fist over his heart. "...command me, My King."
Jak glowered down at him. "I want to believe this...but as you yourself said, every thought and emotion is another tool for you-"
"He speaks true," the Precursor Statue proclaimed. "We see into his mind and heart. The corruption of the Hor'qwa twisted him, but the twists are coming unraveled. Knowing the influence the Dark Leader had on him, he now no longer fully trusts his own thoughts, instincts, and plans. But you, whom he tortured with Darkness to forge into a weapon, now speak to him as the King he believed in once did, and he is ready to follow the line of Mar once more."
Jak blinked in surprise, amazed that the Precursors could read Praxus so fully. However, seeing how the Baron wilted under the pronouncement, he knew that it was true. Nodding, he walked over to young Mar and took back the Precursor Stone. "Hold onto this," he told Praxus. "I'll need it later. In the meantime, keep an eye on my younger self as well. And don't let anyone know that you're working for me now."
"Understood, sire," Praxus agreed formally. He then stood up. "You have a plan?"
"First, I'm going to break into the Fortress and bust everyone out," Jak explained. "Then I'm going to carry out the rest of Keira's plan to purge Krew's influence on Haven. Then I'm going after the Metalhead Leader." Cocking his Blaster, he turned to walk out. "And when I get back from that, we're going to have a long talk about my Dad!"
Praxus sighed as he stood up. "...I look forward to it," he groaned, startled as young Mar walked up and took his hand, smiling up at him. Not knowing why he did so, Praxus smiled back.