Once Jak and Shining finished adapting to the Light Eco inside them, the powers that granted them, and the return of Shining's magic, Shining glanced around the chamber. "...say...there seem to be two other platforms in this chamber facing one of the faces of this statue." He grinned widely up at Jak. "Bet I can teleport us to them now."
"It won't do you any good," the statue replied bluntly. "We aren't giving you the powers unless you find the other entrances and clear the connected trials, in that order."
"Hey!" Daxter complained. "What happened to the approach of the end of the world? Isn't that kind of urgent?"
"It was the hunger for power without discipline that created this danger," the statue intoned. "No dice, shorty."
"And what about me?" Daxter continued. "How come I always get the short end of the stick when it comes to quest rewards?" He quickly held up a paw. "Please don't pun."
"Your powers will awaken as they grow strong enough, or you are exposed to the powers of your fellow warriors," the statue replied.
"Fair enough," Jak allowed, ignoring Daxter's grumbling. "We should get back to Spargus. Dad needs to know about this."
"Bet Seem would find it interesting, too," Shining agreed.
"Weren't they working with Veeger there?" Daxter pointed out, shrugging off his disappointment for the moment.
"Why should we care?" Jak asked pointedly.
"He...did get us kicked out of Haven," Shining reminded him.
"Yeah," Jak confirmed. "Who do you think arranged for him to get the information to do that? Oh, hey, another portal!" He quickly hopped through.
Shining and Daxter exchanged frustrated glances. "I'm not the only one who misses when he wasn't good at the whole spy game, right?" Daxter asked.
"I miss when he read us in on his plans beforehand," Shining grumbled as the pair leapt after Jak.
The portal brought them back to the exit portal in the base of the above-ground portion of the tower structure, the way back out once more open. Making their way back out, the trio got back in the Dune Hopper and headed back for Spargus.
Once in Spargus, the trio made their way quickly to Damas' tower chamber, and the oasis it contained. Upon arriving, Damas was speaking into a functioning PA system. "Attention people of Spargus!" he proclaimed loudly. "A large storm is heading our way! Prepare the city!" Noticing the trio arrive, Damas nodded. "Jak, Shining, Daxter, I'm sure you have news regarding your latest endeavor, but it will have to wait. Four Wastelanders who went out into the desert have not yet reported in. I need you three to go find them. Do whatever it takes to bring them back!"
"Alright," Jak agreed as they turned back for the elevator. "I'll just give you the super short version until we get back." Tapping the Light Eco inside of him, he triggered the transformation, his body gaining a blue tint as his eyes went solid white. He gave Damas just enough time to take it in before shifting back "We'll talk more after the storm!"
Damas sat back on his throne as he watched the trio go. "By the Precursors..." he muttered.
"In all likelihood," Pecker offered from his perch. "Those three have a habit of getting help from them."
"And the casual way he drops earth shaking news?" Damas inquired.
Pecker shrugged. "I assume it's - AWK! - part of his charm."
Arriving at the vehicles, Shining raced over to their first buggy, the Sand Shark. "We need to go fast," he stated firmly. "The quicker we finish, the quicker we get back. I'll take the Sand Shark. Jak, you and Daxter take the Dune Hopper."
"Are you sure?" Jak asked worriedly.
"Yeah!" Daxter added. "You just got access to your magic back. You sure you're good to go solo?"
"With my magic back, I can suplex a desert Metalhead," Shining countered. "But if you need to use your other forms, Jak, you might need a Light boost from Daxter."
"Huh," Daxter muttered. "Never thought about using my palm blasts as a battery for you two. Not sure how I should feel about the idea..."
"There's no time to argue!" Shining insisted.
"Alright," Jak relented. "Stay safe."
"Will do!" Shining promised. "You too!"
The two teams split the four signals between them, speeding off to track them down. Once they'd made it to one of the stranded Wastelanders, they immediately drove them back to the transport. While Shining's seemed startled at his appearance, they were too desperate to make it back in one piece to question a unicorn driving a dune buggy while hurling a Raider buggy into the ocean via magic.
Jak, unfortunately, did not have as much luck. Trying to get around faster, he combined a turbo boost with the Dune Hopper's high jump in order to clear vast swaths of desert in a single bound, he wound up overshooting his first Wastelander by a wide margin, to the point Shining had already brought back his second by the time he reached the transport. "Together for the last one?" Shining asked.
"Watch my back!" Jak agreed, turning to seek the last signal.
They raced to the last signal as fast as they could, but by the time they got there, the last Wastelander was already dead...and from all the signs, had been since before they left Spargus. The only clue was a Dark Eco Crystal he clutched in his hand. Jak took the crystal as Shining levitated the body into the Sand Shark.
As they turned to go, a Dark Precursor construct rose up, surrounded by a Dark Eco barrier. The main body floated inside the barrier, while tendrils with lasers hung down to attack.
"Huddle!" Jak insisted, bringing the three of them in tight. The trio watched, waiting for an opportunity as they stayed inside the radius the lasers could shoot at, staying out of the line of fire. After a time, the construct dropped its barrier and tried to crush them beneath it. As soon as it did, Shining seized it in its magic, holding it in place as all three opened fire with their weapons and Daxter's Light blasts.
As they fired, Daxter suddenly had an idea. "Jak! Pull out the Wave Concussor and charge it up!"
Confused, Jak pulled the weapon out and started charging. "What now?" he asked.
Daxter leapt to Jak's shoulders and focused his energies into the weapon. "Shining! Get it in position!"
Grinning, Shining brought the construct down as Jak leapt up. The charged Red and Light Eco energy blasted into the construct, causing it to erupt in a dark purple cloud.
"Nice thinking, Daxter!" Jak praised.
Daxter shrugged. "Can't let you have all the brains!"
"Let's get back to the city!" Shining insisted.
The trio quickly climbed back into their buggies and raced for the city, stopping just long enough to drop the dead Wastelander off with the transport so they'd know all four were accounted for.