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Chapter Text

AU where Mar doesn't get sent back in time with Young Samos. It's either because Jak and Daxter hid him beforehand or because Mar managed to escape before the Time Rift took him. Jak and Daxter hide him with the Lurkers, and no one knows that Mar isn't where he's supposed to be. Everything goes as supposed to the whole way to life in Spargus.

The duo, feeling comfortable in their new city, miss their "little brother" (probably because of seeing Spargan kids playing) and decide it's time to bring Mar to Spargus. But instead of telling anyone what they're doing, because they still don't want to let it slip who Mar is and that he's still in their time instead of in the past until he's safe with them again, they sneak out of Spargus during a supposed artifact run and back into Haven. This causes a big mess in Spargus. The paranoia is torn between the possibility that the duo has been abducted or that they abandoned Spargus.

Mar and the crocadog are told to stay completely hidden within the vehicle until the all-clear is given. Once they're back inside Spargus, Daxter is told to go get Damas to meet their little brother, while Jak stays with the hiding pair. Kleiver is torn between being relieved they're okay, not that he'll admit it and it's making him angry that he was worried about them, and pissed that neither seems repentant at their actions. Damas and Sig are in the same frame of mind when Daxter catches up to them, but they calm slightly when Daxter explains they just wanted to go get their baby brother {who Daxter admits is not brother by blood but just an orphan like him and Jak} and didn't want to take the chance Damas might have refused. (Damas has already internally adopted the teenagers as his sons and may or may not be hurt the boys thought he wouldn't allow them to get their brother.)

Damas already tells Daxter the punishment they're about to face for this disappearing stunt(nothing that bad, but for Daxter, it's the worst punishment ever), but he also tells him that their little brother is welcome to stay with them as long as the pair can take care of him along with their responsibilities. Sig is calculating the damage about to occur if this kid is anywhere near like the Demolition Duo, a calculation that increases as Daxter regales them with the five-year-old's "cuteness" while they make their way back to Jak. (He's giving them very vague stories of their interactions with Mar that can easily be taken as just "adventures in babysitting" antics.)

Meanwhile, back with Jak, Kleiver (and possibly a few others) is making his opinions of his disappearance well known to him, being more upset when Jak refuses to tell them what he was doing, saying he's waiting for Damas. Then someone makes a very bad decision. They catch Jak off-guard and restrain him before dragging/throwing him into a holding cell and closing the door on him. (There may or may not be some comments that could easily be taken as Jak belonging in prison or deserving to be punished.)

Jak flashes back to his capture/imprisonment/torture, no longer hearing/seeing Spargus because Daxter isn't with him, and loses control of the dark eco out of fear/terror, transforming into Dark Giant. (We're going with the reason he never used Dark Giant in Jak3 is that he feels safe enough in Spargus not to have the constant sense of fear/rage needed for the bigger form, that and Praxis/Errol are dead.) The holding cell manages to hold him in his attempts to break out, barely, but the ruckus draws a lot of attention.

Soon after, Daxter, Damas, and Sig arrive. Daxter panics, also gets flashbacks of those two years, and jumps straight to the worst conclusions at seeing Jak imprisoned. His loyalty is to Jak, and with this, the feelings of trust he's started to develop are shattered. He turns on Damas, accusing him and the rest of Spargus of being just like the Havenites. Any attempt of Damas to protest is met with Daxter holding Jak's gun (which fell off him during the struggle to restrain him) with the intent to shoot Damas if Jak isn't released immediately.

Damas tries to talk Daxter into calming down, telling him that Jak being imprisoned was not on his orders, and reminding him of the punishment he already told them they would be receiving, which did not include being imprisoned. He's staying moderately calm because 1) these are his sons, even if they don't know it, 2) he knows the two have trust issues and for good reason (he does not want them to lose trust in him), and 3) he can tell Daxter is more upset/terrified than angry, the same with Jak whose roars/growls sound more like crying to him. (He's hiding his own upsetness extremely well, despite how painful it is to hear Daxter basically saying he can't trust him and that they were leaving Spargus for good once Jak was free.)

I'm not entirely sure how to get from point A to point B, but Damas does call out the ones who imprisoned Jak for their rash behavior of passing judgment without his orders, and even explains to them what Daxter told him about the duo sneaking out to rescue their baby brother from Haven when they protest. (Which soothes some ruffled feathers, most of those around admitting they'd do the same thing.)

Jak finally breaks the door down, but instead of charging for an attack, he returns to normal and falls to his knees, panting hard. Damas hands his weapon to Sig when Jak doesn't respond to Daxter and cautiously approaches despite the dark eco crackling around Jak. Grabbing his shoulders and forcing him to his feet, Damas isn't surprised by the wide unseeing eyes staring back at him as Jak grabs his arms to pry him off. He suspected that Jak was in shock about something that had happened before, having been triggered by the imprisonment, and this confirms it.

"Ground yourself, Jak! Wherever your mind is right now, you are not there!"

It takes several minutes, along with more encouragement from Damas, but Jak finally blinks at Damas a few times as he slows his frantic breathing and loosens his grip around Damas' arms. The tenseness returns when Damas asks where he was, and Jak turns his face to the ground. This results in Damas removing one hand from a shoulder and forcing Jak to meet his stern gaze by placing the hand under his jaw.

"You are a Spargan! Third battle amulet or not. You will not bow your head in shame to anyone or anything!"

Jak admits that being locked up without Daxter made him go back to when he was back in Praxis' prison, revealing that he'd been in the prison for two years right before he'd met Sig in Haven when Sig mentions that he didn't remember Jak having gone to prison. Whether this leads to what happened in the prison is debatable. More probable is that Damas understands this isn't a conversation to have with other people around and changes the subject.

A vague idea of where to go from here. Jak lifts the crocadog out of the vehicle, grinning when he immediately charges at Kleiver with teeth bared but calls him back before he manages to bite the man. Mar is lifted next, but he hides his face against Jak's chest and clings to him, not wanting to be put down. He's feeling uneasy about the place since "big brother" went dark, which means to him that there's danger nearby.

Everything is calming down...until Pecker shows up.

He immediately realizes what Jak and Daxter did and starts screaming in panic. This involves him not remembering to keep his mouth shut about certain things and starts informing everyone nearby of Jak and Daxter's time traveling as he's yelling at them for messing with time and things that are supposed to happen. Daxter's comment about them still existing meaning that nothing got messed up, gets Pecker to announce that there must be a way to fix it and send "the kid" back in time like he's supposed to be.

This results in Jak, who had been walking away with Daxter on his shoulder, saying that they'd be taking the kid over his dead body because he's not letting the kid grow up to be like him.

"Oh, you idiot! The kid is you! Of course, he's going to grow up to be you! It's inevitable! *aggravated huff* This is why you shouldn't have been told anything!"

Pecker continues by reminding Jak of his fate, his task to be the Precursor's Hero, Mar's Heir, and he needs to stop letting the Dark Eco corrupt his thinking and get back to doing what he's supposed to be doing, as in "saving the world."

Jak tightens his hold on Mar before turning around to storm back to point in Pecker's face (who happens to be perched on the shoulder of a very confused Damas).

"If I hear one more word about that Heir of Mar crap, I will find one of the other Rift Gates and travel back in time just to kill that sonouva yakkow's tit, and then we'll see how fucked up the timeline can get! Mar is staying right here, and anyone who tries to take him from me is metalhead food!"

With everyone too stunned to say anything, Jak leaves the area without another word, but not before Mar pops up over his unoccupied shoulder to shoot Pecker with his slingshot. (a perfect bulls-eye that sends him sprawling to the ground at Damas' feet)

Pecker returns to fretting as soon as he's recovered, completely forgetting the extremely confused audience he has, and doesn't realize the danger his mouth is about to get him into when he comments that he needs to get back to Onin and tell her what Jak did.

Damas grabs Pecker before he can fly off and demands that Pecker explain what's going on. Pecker does NOT know Damas is the former ruler of Haven, not having met him before, and blithely explains about the time traveling so that Mar can grow up to be Jak so that he can go into Mar's Tomb to get the Precursor Stone to defeat the metalhead leader. (the whole "destiny" spiel that basically sums up that Mar/Jak's life was planned for him to be the "hero" {sacrifice}) He demands that the Spargans help separate the kid from Jak so that the kid can be sent back to the past where he's supposed to be.

"*A very angry Damas who's barely holding back his rage* You would place such a burden on his shoulders." "What has been done, had to be done, and must continue being done. The time loop must be preserved." "He's just a child!" "Sacrifices must be made to end the metalhead wars. Jak may have lost his way, but he's still the only one that can face down the dangers that await us and still stand after the fight. The child has to be sent back in time to ensure that Jak will grow up the way he's intended to, or the consequences could be catastrophic!"

Unclear what Damas says or does to Pecker, though nearly shooting him before he manages to fly away seems to be entirely possible. Damas' attempt to go after Jak to get Mar is thwarted by Sig. "Best think this one through and approach it a little more delicately. You might get Mar back if you reveal the truth now, but you'll lose Jak. *thumbing to the broken holding cell* After that, Jak and Daxter might not be so easy to convince we're not like those conniving Havenites if you claim to be Mar's father, which by extension, makes you Jak's father as well if what that bird says is true."

Damas reluctantly admits that Sig is right. Neither version of his son showed any recognition of him and anything he said could be taken as another attempt of manipulating them. Ordering that word is spread for no one to make any mention of what Mar means to him until he permits it, Damas follows the boys at a more subdued pace.

Mar has finally relaxed enough for Jak to put him down and is happily running around Jak as they walk down the street. It's only when he notices Damas approaching that he returns to Jak's side and grabs his hand, staring up at the Wasteland king with wariness. (Damas tries to ignore the pain when the same wariness is reflected in both teenagers' eyes as well.)

"You're not going to believe it." "Let me decide that for myself." Jak and Daxter reluctantly tell Damas the whole story starting from their days growing up in Sandover to when Kor told them Jack and Mar were the same person to how they hid Mar so that he wouldn't have to go through what Jak did.

The question of what will happen to Jak if his younger self isn't sent back in time gets an answer that disturbs Damas with how little Jak values his own life and he has to resist the impulse to grab the teenage version of his son into a hug. (only the fact Jak would probably freak out at such an action keeps him from doing so.)

Daxter is the one who comments that the "birdbrain" is worrying over nothing. Even though Big Jak and Little Jak are the same person, that doesn't mean they are from the same timeline, and since Daxter is still here and furry, that means nothing concerning Big Jak and Daxter is going to change. "AGHH! This makes my brain hurt!"

No idea from here, though Jak does admit at Damas' questioning that he doesn't remember anything from before Sandover, that it was Daxter who gave him his name since he couldn't even remember that. Whereas Mar still remembers his name.

Chapter Text

AU where neither took Sig's sparse explanation of his task in Haven as enough. Jak asks Damas what he lost in Haven that was so important to send Sig there, ignoring Sig and Kleiver's signals/comments to stop talking. He adds that he spent a lot of time in places Sig didn't go to, so he might be able to help.

"I really doubt you've been in places I haven't, Cherry." "*cocky smirk* How about in the fortress and in the palace while Praxis was still alive and had a price on your head?" "*stunned gaping* Chilipepper, you have adrenaline issues! You're definitely a Wastelander!"

Damas reluctantly/painfully explains Mar's kidnapping and shows the boys his amulet as an identifier of his son. *Cue Jak and Daxter stunned glances at each other*

Daxter's yelled question of "Junior was your kid?!" gets immediate attention, and Jak silences his attempt to continue talking with a glare. Realizing the boys have seen Mar, Damas questions them about where he is and how the two know him, getting more anxious at Jak's bowed head and refusal to look at him even as he explains that Mar was with the Underground when the pair joined them. There may or may not be a mention of their "babysitting" antics, as well as the Underground's plan of sending Mar through the Tomb of Mar to get the Precursor Stone.

The more Damas tries to press about where Mar is now gets Jak to unconsciously take a step back for every step Damas takes until Jak hits a wall, making Damas even more fearful when Jak finally looks up in shock at being trapped to reveal fear and shame within his eyes before he lowers it once more. Jak finally admits to Kor abducting Mar and taking him to the metalhead nest. *cue Daxter mentioning how the wasteland metalheads are nothing more than kangarats compared to the old metalhead leader*

"We...we got him back, but...Damas, I...I...I couldn't...I didn't..."

Damas' heart plummets when tears start streaming down Jak's bowed face to drip to the desert floor. "Mar isn't...I'm so...so sorry, Damas! Mar is gone!"

The answer brings both peace and pain, and while Damas is struggling with the conformation of his son's fate, though he had already been resigned to such news when he called Sig to return, his heart breaks further when Jak cringes/flinches hard when Damas touches his unoccupied shoulder. It's clear to him that Jak is expecting Damas to punish/attack him, and he's worried that the trust the newcomers were starting to place in Spargus/in him was now on shaky ground. Thanking Jak for telling him and for trying to protect Mar confirms this when Jak mutters that he shouldn't thank him since it's his fault Mar is gone. (the fact that Daxter isn't speaking but looking at Jak with obvious worry is also confirmation)

"Did you attack him?" "What?! No!" "Then whatever happened is not your fault." "But he should be here, not me!"

Kleiver and Sig follow Damas when he walks away to talk to Seem to have an official ceremony now that they know Mar is dead, but then Sig goes after Jak and Daxter when Seem makes mention of whether it's possible to bring Mar's body to Spargus to lay him at peace there instead of in Haven. Just as he gets to where the boys wandered off, he starts to hear Jak and Daxter arguing, a rare enough occurrence that it stuns him long enough to hear Daxter insist that they tell Damas the truth, and then he hides behind a corner before they see him so he can listen.

Daxter is arguing that Jak has always wanted to know his family and now he's got the chance. "And hey, Sandking isn't the worst choice for a dad. Makes sense, actually. You're as crazy as he is!"

Jak is arguing that telling Damas the truth would only create more problems and that it's better if Damas believes his son is dead. "Even if Damas actually believed about the time traveling and how his son grew up to be me, it won't change anything except make things worse. I ain't that kid anymore, Dax! That kid died a long, long time ago."

Jak finally gets Daxter to promise not to tell anyone about it and storms off to the garage alone when Daxter refuses to go on an artifact run with him.

Sig walks back to the palace pondering the conversation and bits of information from Haven City that he had once thought irrelevant, not realizing ottsels have very keen hearing and he's being tailed by Daxter. He realizes the boys must be telling the truth once he makes it back to the throne room. (because, as Daxter said, it makes sense. Jak is almost identical to a younger Damas.) He ignores questions relating to what he was supposed to find out and asks Seem if there was any proof Precursors had time-traveling technology.

Seem confirms despite Kleiver's sarcasm of the sun getting to Sig's head. She even mentions a journal entry mentioning two people claiming to have been from the future, an older man and a young child, and that the journal further stated in later pages of the pair returning to their time period some years later when the child had grown. (Samos had told the Explorer the tale and had warned him of things to come, and the Explorer wrote them down in his journal, hiding them in the temple along with other artifacts.)

At the answer, Sig reveals he heard the boys arguing over telling Damas the truth about what happened to Mar, explaining further that there had been a lot of talk back in Haven that he just brushed off as idle/drunken talk/gossip. He wouldn't have thought it possible, but with Seem's confirmation, he's positive what happened is that Mar was sent to the past to grow up as Jak, and Jak's worried about how Damas would take that news.

How does Damas take the news? *plot bunny shrug*

Before anything is said, though, Daxter jumps onto Damas' shoulder and stares at him with uncharacteristic sadness.

"And what do you have to say about all this?" "I promised Jak not to say anything about what happened to Mar. Not that I need to since Sig heard it all, anyway." "Then you're saying this...story is true?" "If you can't accept Jak for who he is right now, then don't bother asking questions you're not going to like the answers to." "You have to admit it sounds outlandish." "*snort* You don't even know the half of it. But it doesn't matter. Just don't hurt Jak. He's been hurt enough."

Open plot from here, though it's possible Daxter decides that while he promised not to mention the truth about Mar, he'd tell Damas a long story about Jak, starting from the moment Daxter met him in Sandover. (Damas, Sig, and Kleiver can't hold their amusement back at hearing the trouble Jak caused with his neverending thirst for adventure and mischief "You can take the kid out of the wasteland, but you can't take the wasteland out of the kid!")

Chapter Text

AU where on a mission to escort The Kid (they don't know his name yet) after the water slum incident but before finding the location for Mar's Tomb, Jak gets more uneasy about the Underground's intentions with Mar. Worries that Daxter shares, and unintentionally gives Jak the idea of kidnapping Mar and leaving Haven City to go somewhere neither the Underground nor the Baron can get him. They know Sig has family outside the walls since he admitted as much when he informed them of his upcoming "vacation" and devise a plan to convince Sig to take them with him.

This involves Jak hiding with Mar, who Jak is holding and using a blanket to hide what he looks like (Jak also took the amulet and put it around his neck for safekeeping and to hide it), in a nearby alley while Daxter goes into Hip Hog Heaven to get Sig to go outside without anyone realizing that he's involved with the duo. Sig gets the hint that Jak wants to talk to him in private and ignores Daxter's "pleading" for him to stay at the saloon, saying that he's got to get ready to leave if he doesn't want to miss his AirTrain home and can't wait for Jak to catch up. Daxter follows with more dramatics, subtly hinting Jak is in the alley, before finally silencing when it appears the ruse worked.

Sig is first reluctant to help the pair when they state that they need to get out of Haven now and ask him to take him with them to his family. But he eventually concedes (mostly because Jak is practically begging and Jake NEVER begs, and with how obviously fearful Jak is glancing around while clutching the kid protectively) after getting them to understand that if they leave Haven, they can't come back, that his "people" will only accept their "outsider" presence if they become one of them. He instructs them to get to the pumping station and wait for him some distance away from the city and that he'll get the AirTrain to pick them up on the way.

While Jak and Daxter obey, Sig heads to his apartment and quickly comms Damas to explain that he's bringing company to Spargus. Damas isn't thrilled but agrees to it when Sig explains the situation as he knows it. The situation being that it's gotten too dangerous and Jak's scared of not being able to protect his "little brother" within Haven anymore, that he's willing to turn his back on Haven if they can get somewhere away from the Baron and the Underground.

Nothing from point A to point B where the AirTrain sets down outside Spargus which turns into a run for the gates when it turns out the city is under attack from metalheads (Daxter calls the crocadog a stupid mutt when he tries to chase after a metalhead that got too close, though Jak manages to call him back before he gets hurt). Once in the garage, Jak still keeps a tight hold on the covered Mar (he's being still and quiet because Jak told him to be until they know it's safe) and questions the introduced Damas on what he thinks about Krew, the Underground, and the Baron. Damas' answer of not bothering to kill Praxis but rather throw him in The Metalhead Nest just to put him to some good use before he dies gets Jak to relax and say to Mar that it's okay and they're safe now.

Damas quickly explains that though they're safe from those in Haven, Jak will have to prove his worth to Spargus before that statement is entirely true. He will be expected to prove himself useful, and though he will get community help, he'll be expected to take care of his little brother himself. The horror crossing Jak's face makes Damas internally question Sig's previous reassurance that Jak could handle the arena until Daxter starts laughing hard enough to fall from Jak's shoulder to crash on the ground.

"That's just perfect!!! I can't wait till Tessy-poo and Keira catch wind of this!!! Jak! Father at sixteen! What can possibly go wrong!!!" "Shut up, Dax!!! And it's seventeen!" "*standing to point an accusing finger at Jak* Sixteen, you little whelp! It's not your birthday yet!" "Who are you calling whelp?! You're not even nineteen yet!" "HA! So you admit you're only sixteen!"

Sig yells for the pair to quit bickering before clarifying Jak's age, which Daxter gleefully confirms that Jak is sixteen despite the other teen's insistence. When Sig comments that Jak is too young to go to the arena, he's hard-pressed not to cringe under the glare Jak gives him.

"I'm not a kid, Sig. Or did you forget who deep-sixed a hundred and seven KGs in less than an hour three days ago?" "*hesitant* I thought the water slum massacre was Praxis propaganda. Is that why you needed to get out of Haven?"

Daxter-"Nah. We just kidnapped Junior here." "*furious* You did what!!! What did you rookies get me mixed up in!?" "Relax, big guy. We just swiped him from the Underground. Trust me, the kid's better off with us."

Damas ignores the sharp pain resulting from Daxter's casual mention of kidnapping a kid and focuses on Jak as he lets Mar stand on his feet. He tries to ignore the painful similarities from what he can see of both boys...until Jak pulls an extremely familiar amulet from beneath his scarf and sets it around Mar's neck with a comment of telling he told him he would keep it safe and now it's back where it belongs. He can't stop falling to a knee when he finally sees the younger child's face, nor the hesitant "Mar?" as he reaches out to him with one hand.

It takes a few seconds of staring for Mar's face to alight with recognition and he runs into Damas' arms with a happy shout of "PAPA!"

Meanwhile, the confused Jak and Daxter turn to Sig for an explanation. The answer of Mar having been stolen from Damas two years ago gets different results. Daxter is freaking out that their decision to kidnap The Kid turned out to be a reverse kidnapping with them returning the kidnapped child to his father. Jak, however, just stares at the reunited pair.

It's an anguished whispered "They knew." that pulls Sig's attention from watching the pair himself and he quickly sets his peacemaker ready to use as his bionic eye registers Jak's rising Dark Eco levels. He quickly stands in front of Damas and Mar and calls for Jak to calm down. When Dark Eco lightning starts to spark off of Jak, Sig yells at Kleiver to open the gate. After Kleiver finally opens the gate and Dark Jak runs out to start fighting against the besieging metalheads, Sig turns to a somber Daxter (who's staring at the closed gate with the forlornest look Sig's ever seen on him) to ask/demand what set Jak off.

Daxter explains that Jak is an orphan, both of them actually, but unlike Daxter, Jak was orphaned so young that he doesn't even remember his parents, let alone the name they gave him. Because of that and because of Jak not being a native to the village they grew up in, Jak grew up having to prove his worth to the adults around, constantly having to complete whatever chore they gave him so they wouldn't decide he was more trouble than he was worth. Not sure everything that is told, but it ends up with Damas realizing that Jak is seeing Mar experiencing the same treatment he had when he was younger, realizing the Underground was grooming Mar to grow up to be the "hero" just like Jak was. (A lot is because Sig didn't know about Mar being with the Underground, or with complete certainty within Haven, but both Krew and the Baron knew. Which suggests Krew and the Underground know/suspect Sig is within Haven to find Mar, implying to those not knowing the truth that the Underground is responsible for Mar's kidnapping)

When all the metalheads are destroyed, Jak returns to normal and walks tiredly through the re-opened gate before slumping against one of the garage's walls and letting himself fall to sit on the ground as Daxter takes his place on his shoulder. Mar squirms out of Damas' arms and eagerly crawls into Jak's lap, ignoring Jak's protest of reminding him that he told him not to get close while the "wild eco" was so near to the surface. When Mar continues to ignore him, making himself comfortable against the teenager, Jak turns his attention to the approaching Damas and doesn't contain the growl or restrain a too-sharp tooth from showing.

"Still willing to let the eco freak stay in your city?" "I wouldn't call you an eco freak. But I would call you dangerous. And that could be useful. *smirking when Jak loses his wariness and stares up at him in shock* According to our laws, you are too young to compete in the arena to earn your citizenship to Spargus. *holding up a hand to ward off protesting* However, Sig has vouched that you are a capable young man, and you've proven you can defend yourself."

Damas goes on to explain that Jak and Daxter will be permitted to stay in Spargus, treated as one of their own, with a few minor differences. Both boys will be expected to pull their own weight and both grin at the explanation of artifact hunting.

No idea from here on except vague thoughts. Sig does not go back to Haven since Mar is back home. Jak and Daxter easily take to Spargan life. Mar tags along with the pair whenever he accompanies Damas. Damas starts mentoring the older boys, including viewing them as his older sons (though he will not admit it despite Sig and Kleiver's pointed looks and comments).

Then, after returning from an artifact hunt, Jak tenses as he enters the city, feeling that something is not right. Drawing his de-gun, and ignoring Daxter and Sig's confused questionings, he takes off for the palace and runs towards Mar's room, also ignoring Damas' concerned calling. Mar is being held by humanKor when Jak barges into the room, but Jak can sense the Dark Eco in him now that they're not within Haven and charges at him, grabbing onto the metalhead's legs when Kor throws himself out the window and transforms. He manages to keep a hold on Kor until Kor deliberately slams his leg against the garage's upper wall and forces Jak to let go, stunning him only momentarily before jumping into the buggy Kleiver is driving out the gate after Kor.

They manage to catch up close enough that Jak does an eco-powered jump up to grab hold of Kor, trying to reach for Mar, before Kor shakes him off again. Instead of flying away, Kor turns to Jak and throws Mar's Seal of Mar at Jak's feet (which Jak picks up) and tells him to go to Mar's Tomb and retrieve the Precursor Stone as he's destined to, or he'll end this time loop once for all by killing his younger self now. At Jak's confusion, Kor starts laughing and taunting him, saying he thought Jak knew/remembered since Jak had grabbed Mar and ran straight to Damas.

Kor reveals that Jak is Mar from a previous time loop before crooning in delight at the remembrance of Jak's scream when he tore his father (Damas) apart in front of him, saying how he screamed so loud and long that his voice cracked and his throat bled. When Kor starts leering at the approaching buggies, stroking Mar's cheek, and comments that he can't wait to hear those screams again, idly mentioning that it'll be even sweeter this time with two Mars watching their father's death, Jak snaps out of the horror-induced paralysis the returned painful memories put him in, and charges at Kor in Dark Form. Jak manages to get Mar out of Kor's grasp, but before he can jump away from Kor, Kor separates the boys from each other and throws Jak hard, causing him to land harshly against the ground. Jak can only watch helplessly as Kor flies off with another order for him to fulfill his destiny before he passes out from the pain.

Jak awakes in the medic area with Daxter anxiously waiting nearby, explaining that Damas and the others hadn't managed to catch Kor before he left the Wasteland and are now planning to go the Haven City to storm The Metalhead Nest to get Mar back. Quickly heading to where the Spargan warriors are gathered confirms the plan and Jak wastes no time, ignoring his heart at Damas' delight at noticing his approach, and punches Damas hard enough to knock him unconscious. He ignores everybody's shock and outrage and turns to Kleiver, demanding, that no matter what, he doesn't let Damas leave Spargus.

"Don't make me see it again, Kleiver. Don't make Mar see it." "That old metalhead was telling the truth, wasn't he?" "Please, Kleiver, stay here and keep him in Spargus! I'll get Mar back." "*frustrated groaning* Fine! I'm giving you ONE day! But if you don't have your skinny ass back here by tomorrow morning, I ain't guaranteeing that Haven's walls will be standing after we get done."

Blank period from point A to point B but it picks up as Jak returns to Haven to find everything is in chaos. The shield wall is down, metalheads are running along the streets, and the KG is teamed-up with Underground Agents trying to get unarmed citizens to safety. He manages to find Torn and Ashelin in the midst of the fight, who immediately question where he's been, which he brushes off with an explanation that Kor is the Metalhead Leader and took The Kid (which they assume happened weeks ago and that Jak was too injured to return earlier. Neither Jak nor Daxter corrects them). The duo discovers that the shield walls collapsed that morning, causing the city to be overrun with metalheads, and that the Baron was killed by the Metalhead Leader at the Stadium where he was presiding over the Class-1 race. Jak can't stop his vicious grin at hearing that piece of news, especially since Kor had loudly confronted Praxis on not fulfilling his end of their bargain before killing him, revealing to the whole city that he had strengthed the metalheads so that he could keep control over the city (Errol was also killed at the time).

Jak ignores their orders to help with the attacking metalheads, stating that he knows how to defeat Kor and that maybe if he can kill him the other metalheads will scatter. He and Daxter fix up the tower of light, find Mar's tomb, and complete the trials, grabbing the Precursor Stone before heading to The Metalhead Nest. Kor is defeated, but instead of Mar touching the Precursor Stone and then being sent through the rift gate, Jak puts the stone into his backpack and tells Daxter to get Mar back to the waiting AirTrain (and Spargus) without anyone seeing them, that he'll distract everyone from knowing that Mar is still there. Daxter reluctantly agrees after getting Jak's promise that he'll follow as soon as he can. Daxter and Mar have already left before Keira and both Samos arrive in the Lurker balloon (plot hole is irrelevant and explained as happening without Jak and Daxter's involvement during the weeks they've been gone). At Samos' questioning of where The Kid is, Jak tells him that Daxter is taking care of him. Which Samos takes to mean that Daxter and Mar went to the past through the now collapsing rift gate (it was destabilized by Kor's defeat) and starts bemoaning the horror/tragedy of Daxter raising the Heir of Mar (Jak ignores this with rolled eyes and barely-suppressed irritation).

While Jak works to help clear out Haven of the invading metalheads, Daxter makes it back to Spargus (the AirTrain immediately returns to pick up Jak at the location Jak told Daxter about). Damas has been waiting frantically, barely managing not to order the tight-lipped Kleiver (who hasn't told anyone what "that old metalhead" said that got Jak to punch Damas) to an arena duel, and pounces on the returned boys with much enthusiasm. Enthusiasm that diminishes slightly when he notices Jak is not with them, but he acknowledges Jak's wisdom in making sure the Havenites don't go looking for the true king of Haven (or his heir) now that Praxis is dead (basically, it's a case of "they permitted these events and now they can stand on their own feet to fix their mess").

Everything is calming down...until Kleiver, who's been more worried than he's let on, asks Daxter what's going to happen to Jak with Mar not completing the time loop, revealing what Kor said about Jak being an older Mar who had watched Damas die in the previous time loop before being sent to grow up in the past (which essentially freaks everyone out when they realize Jak might cease to be). Daxter manages to calm things slightly by pointing out his appearance as an ottsel and presence in the "future" is completely Jak's fault, so with him still there it proves this hasn't messed up time (his muttered "I hope" doesn't go unnoticed by Damas, Sig, and Kleiver).

Back in Haven, Jak volunteers to clear a large group regrouping in Haven Forest, countering concerns about him going after the large group by himself by pointing out that if they don't stop the Metalheads from regrouping it will just make it harder to finally end the war, and that he's sure he'll last long enough until reinforcements can finally arrive to help. He kills most of them before putting his plan into action by allowing one metalhead to crush his communicator and hoverboard, quickly killing the rest before using all the bullets in his gun to make it look like he ran out of ammo, and tearing out some fabric from his shirt, pants, and ripping off his scarf. Taking advantage of the fact his position is over the river, he dives into the water and allows the current to take him to the ocean, where he sneaks to where the AirTrain is waiting (he gets into the front seat because the driver insists after seeing the multiple injuries he's got).

The ride back to Spargus is fraught with much fretting by the driver. Despite the success of the plan into tricking the Havenites into thinking Jak died (he called a "friend" who told him the tragic news), Jak's injuries are more severe than he thought now that the adrenaline is gone. Eventually, Jak passes out and the panicked driver radios Spargus to have medics waiting at the garage. This results in everyone discovering Jak's pending arriving and converging at the garage to wait.

Damas regrets that decision immediately when the driver carries a bloody Jak out of the AirTrain and he has to keep a crying/screaming Mar from going to his "big brother" as the medics are forced to tend to Jak's injuries on the ground for fear of him bleeding out before getting to the Medcenter. However, Mar manages to escape his father's hold and rushes to Jak, tripping before reaching him and falls onto the removed backpack instead.

The Precursor Stone activates and the "Precursor" pops into existence above a semi-conscious Jak, thanking the "Time Warrior" for defeating their ancient enemy and ending the destructive time loop once and for all. They reassure that although Jak was Mar in a different timeline, Jak and Mar are not the same person and that Jak's existence is not in danger. They offer Jak a place among them, BUT Damas shoots that down immediately by saying Jak's place is in Spargus with his family as it's been for the past few weeks.

Upon Jak's groggy agreement that he'd rather stay in Spargus, the Precursor bids Jak farewell with a mention that they'll see him again (which gets Daxter to complain about more "hero work") before disappearing in a shower of sparks that fall onto Jak and heals him (though he's still exhausted).

Plot Bunny ends there.

Chapter Text

AU that is definitely inspired by Child_of_the_Fae's Mishap with an Hourglass.

Damas is in the garage, along with a few monks and Sig, to check out the artifacts that have already been brought in when the duo gets back from their own hunt. The pair are arguing over Daxter's playing with one of the artifacts even as they make their way over to the group. Just as they get closer, Damas watches in mounting horror as Daxter loses grip on the object and it falls to the ground at Jak's feet, shattering in an explosion of light.

His relief at noticing both figures on the ground once the light and dust clear is trampled under shock and fear once he realizes that the smaller figure is not Daxter and the taller figure is not Jak. Confusion is soon to follow when he notices the small child is wearing Jak's too-large-for-him clothing and armor, and it's made worse when the orange-headed man sits up and Daxter's voice emanates from his mouth.

"Don't say it. I already know. You don't need to rub it in my face how you told me to stop playing with that Precursor crap! How was I supposed to know it'd...JAK!!!"

Following the pointing hand back to the child now sitting up as well, Damas watches as the pair point at each other before rapidly touching their own faces and looking down at themselves. *cue Daxter's most high-pitched screaming (Jak's screaming too, but no sound is coming out)*

Daxter's scream soon turns to laughter as he wobbles to his feet and gives himself a more thorough lookover, along with commentary, of course, since this is Daxter. ("I am back, baby!" "Huh. I'm taller than I was before. Well, it is going on three years, so I guess that makes sense." "Man, these clothes are way too small!!! Not that I'm complaining. Better than being naked all the time!!!" {he's wearing the clothes he had on when he fell in the Dark Eco})

Meanwhile, Damas has knelt to help Jak out of the constricting fabric, straps, and medal that he's swaddled in after several minutes of failure on the aged-down kid's part (he leaves the tunic on after the sheer panic Jak couldn't hide when he went to remove the large fabric, remembering how Jak refused to go to the public baths or the medic and that even Sig has mentioned that he's never seen so much a sliver of the teenager's concealed skin). He's struggling to ignore the painful similarities between Jak and his son, similarities he had noticed before but had been easier to ignore with Jak's teenage form. Now, though, Jak looks identical to Mar with only a few minor oddities. (Jak's hair is darker than his older self but already lighter than his younger self which was sent back to the past. Going with it being at least five months since the battle with Kor. Jak's been turned into the age he should be for that time, retaining the characteristics he had developed while growing up in Sandover.)

Jak is obviously less than happy about his transformation, glaring at the shattered object beside his unoccupied boots even as Damas carries him away from the artifact and over to the stunned monks (one of them has already gone to get Seem). His glare turns to Daxter when the ottsel-turned-man teases Jak for being so cute as he follows.

Damas is getting more worried because Jak is not making a sound no matter how much Daxter is goading him, a worry that grows when he realizes Daxter's chatter is laced with barely-hidden fear (the fact that Kleiver, who is standing with Sig, is visibly showing his worry is not helping). His unasked question is answered when he lets Jak down as the newly-arrived Seem inspects the shattered metal and Jak starts clawing at his own throat with a snarl on his face. Damas immediately grabs Jak's hands before he can do more damage to the reddened flesh and his heart plummets when Jak screams again but no sound comes out (with Daxter being so loud, no one realized they hadn't heard Jak scream). Just as Damas begins to assume the artifact had caused Jak's loss of voice, Daxter comments to Jak that being turned back into a kid must've made him mute again. "Ah, but don't worry, Jak! Your voice already came back once, so I'm sure you'll be speaking again in no time."

Everyone watches mystified as Jak starts making erratic gestures with his freed hands and Daxter responds as if Jak was speaking out loud to him (a few times he has to tell Jak to stop talking so fast because he's out of practice). When Daxter starts looking more and more nervous as the conversation goes on and throws fear-filled glances in his direction, making half-spoken sentences and a few hand gestures himself, Damas pays closer attention to the signs the pair is making. A few of the gestures are familiar, Spargan Sign Language, something every Spargan child is taught from infancy, but it's clumsy and very basic, little more than what could be expected from a child under two years old (this brings to his mind questions of how the pair would know SSL and also of how old Jak and Daxter really are, realizing that he never asked them before). However, most of the other gestures are not familiar. It takes Damas a minute to realize that some of them are not some other sign language as he first guesses but that they are miming gestures, something that is painfully familiar as Mar had the habit of expressing himself that way even after he started talking. Despite the pain, Damas brings the memories of the last precious few months he had with his son to the forefront of his mind, using it as a guide to help translate the conversation before him.

He immediately wishes he hadn't. The bits he could understand made it clear the conversation was about him, but as he already guessed, not in a good way. Jak was arguing that they had to leave Spargus before Damas decided Daxter had to prove his own worth in the arena now that he wasn't furry anymore. Daxter wasn't arguing against it, agreeing that Damas probably will turn on him as soon as the shock of everything wears off, only arguing that they couldn't leave until they found out from the monks what happened and how to turn Jak back to normal. Jak's suggestion to convince the monks to take them back to the temple to further study the side-effects of the Precursor artifact, so that they could escape back to Haven easier, gets Daxter's agreement, and Damas' silent disagreement.

Damas is part furious and part heartbroken that the pair have so little faith in him. He had thought they had started to respect him, more than when they had arrived, at least. Yet, here they were, making plans to sneak away without so much as telling him (it's obvious to him that they think no one can understand them).

Before Damas can alert the pair to knowing what they're planning, Seem finishes examining the broken artifact and mentions that there is still power within the shattered pieces, that there may be enough to fix the damage that has been done. Damas doesn't notice the "brilliant idea" look that crosses Jak's face, nor is he fast enough to grab him when short legs dash back to the broken artifact with clear intentions to do something VERY unadvisable as he reaches his hands to the object.

Daxter, however, knows his best friend, and had been seconds behind him, managing to grab Jak and lift him away before he manages to touch the broken artifact.

"JAK!!! Are you crazy?! Who knows what more that thing could have done?!" *cue Jak struggling to get out of Daxter's arms and making several gestures* "I know you want to get back to normal, buddy. Just let the monks figure out what it's supposed to do and then you will."

This only results in more struggling, enough that Daxter has a hard time keeping a hold of Jak, and he accidentally puts too much pressure around Jak's chest. The first spark of Dark Eco lightning causes Daxter to yelp and drop Jak. Damas quickly grabs the snarling child and holds Jak tightly against his chest, willing the Light Eco he stores within himself to force Child Dark Jak back into dormancy (Jak has also retained the damage the Dark Warrior Program did to him, something he realized shortly after realizing he was back to being a child). To his surprise, and everyone else's, it works, but he's met with small fists pounding against him with equally surprising strength.

Trying to talk sense into Jak doesn't work, but just as Damas starts losing his patience over the temper tantrum happening within his arms, another forcefully-buried memory rises to the surface. This memory was of the only one of Mar's temper tantrums that he had received harsh punishment for, it being the only one that had managed to snap Damas' patience. Even now, the memory brings shame to Damas for his resulting actions, only to discover later, much too late, that Mar hadn't been acting out because of disobedience, but because he had been afraid.

Shoving the memory away, Damas takes a closer look at Jak, before sighing heavily at the blatant fear in those painfully similar eyes. His anger melts away with the realization of how terrifying this situation must be to his young warrior.

Damas adjusts his hold from restraining to holding and forces Jak's head to rest on his shoulder, murmuring that it's okay and that he's safe. The murmur of promising to protect him breaks the angry facade and Damas is surprised further when Jak wraps his arms around his neck before silent sobbing wracks his small body, tears soaking Damas' skin from where Jak is pressing his face into.

Basics from point A to point B is that orders are given to the monks to find out what that artifact was and how to reverse the effects. Daxter picks up Jak's belongings and follows Damas and Sig to the throne room and then to Damas' chambers (since I'm not clear where everything is in the palace and I don't see anything to indicate differently, his chamber is located in the same area of the throne room). Sig is given the task to find Daxter and Jak more suitable/better fitting clothes, and Daxter is told to take a bath (There's a pool of water in Damas' chambers that's isolated from the oasis in the throne room).

"Hey! I do not stink! *quick sniff* On second thought, when you're right, you're right. It's all Jak's fault with all his crazy adventures, so how come I have to take a bath and he doesn't?!" "He's getting one."

This immediately wakens the emotionally-fatigued Jak, who vividly non-verbally expresses his extreme disapproval of such an idea. Damas merely ignores him and adjusts his hold on Jak to remove his armor and boots without letting go of the squirming child (After realizing how fast Jak can escape him {like Mar, another thing he's trying to avoid thinking about}, he's taking no chances on letting Jak out of his grip until he can make sure Jak and Daxter don't leave Spargus). Daxter is cackling at Jak's useless struggles even as he obeys Damas' repeated order to get into the water (there is probably a "CANNONBALL!!!" involved, much to Damas' dismay).

Damas opts to leave his soft clothing, and Jak's tunic, on and eases into the water while keeping a secure grip on the disgruntled child. Threatening to bathe the boy personally if he doesn't do it himself gets Jak to comply and Damas watches in amusement as Jak glares at him while washing his hair (Damas is sitting on an underwater ledge with Jak sitting on his knees).

The amusement doesn't last long. Worry quickly takes its place when Damas notices the water around them turning slightly pink. Ignoring Jak's soundless protest, Damas pulls the soaked tunic off him to stare in horror at the bleeding lines scored across Jak's chest and back (A quick look at his own tunic reveals faint blood on the fabric to indicate Jak has been bleeding for a little while).

Daxter quickly obeys Damas' order to fetch the nearby medkit (wrapping his old tunic around his waist) and tries to coax Jak into letting them treat the wounds. He comments that being de-aged must have reopened all those scars, but that it's strange that everything connected to the two years in prison even stayed with Jak since he's almost exactly like he was when they were kids (Damas gets frustrated at Daxter's ability to avoid answering questions about Jak's past even as he answers the question, but he's gotten used to it by now).

Completely vague from this point. But there is an instance shortly after the bath where Damas reveals he knows what the pair is planning in terms of returning to Haven, using basic SSL as he's speaking to prove his point. This results in a shocked/delighted Daxter immediately announcing that they're not leaving Spargus ever and that he'll do whatever he has to to make sure Jak can stay in a place that can actually understand him. (Damas barely represses the fury at finding out Daxter was the only one who bothered to try and understand the mute child.)

It is also eventually discovered that Daxter can shift into his ottsel form and back again. This may or may not be because of an incident involving his big mouth and Kleiver's snapped patience. (Daxter has taken Jak's role of artifact hunter, and despite EVERYONE'S protests, Jak goes along with him {Damas, Sig, and Kleiver are trying to figure out how Jak's cheeky smile managed to get them to allow it. Damas succumbed to the pleading blue eyes first, then Kleiver, and then Sig.})

Everything is going fine as they wait for the monks to figure out how to turn Jak back to his right age...until a small group of Spargans privately confronts Daxter and Jak for being "coddled" by Damas. They bring up the fact that Daxter has not been made to enter the arena despite it being several days since he was turned back to being human, as well as Damas not killing them both for Jak's defiance in the arena when he refused to fight Sig. Daxter (who's furious about the accusations but only Jak realizes that Daxter is mad) smartmouths them enough that the group's "leader" challenges Daxter to an arena battle and before Damas can stop them (he was informed about a fight brewing and had been approaching the group when the challenge was issued), Daxter accepts.

This results in a very big surprise. Daxter wins. And he wins with barely any effort despite it being a weaponless battle (the challenger has the right to pick the terms of the fight and he assumed Daxter couldn't fight at all since he's so "cowardly"). When the rest of the group goes to Damas to accuse Daxter of deliberately manipulating their dead friend into issuing the challenge just to kill him, Kleiver reveals that he had overheard everything, that he was the one who called Damas in, and had stayed out of sight to see how far their treasonous behavior went. Their attempts to refute their behavior as being treasonous to Damas get another surprise when Daxter's "cowardly friendliness" facade snaps and he rants with all the fury he's been suppressing for nearly his whole life (absolutely no one gets away with saying that Jak is a Haven weakling and doesn't know what hardship is).

Damas gets more information than he wants as Daxter reveals that Jak is three years younger than him and that the seven-year-old Daxter was practically the only one who took more than basic care of the four-year-old Jak (including giving him a name), reveals about the TPL events and thirteen-year-old Jak facing off against the lurkers and Dark Eco sages with help only from the newly-ottsel-turned sixteen-year-old Daxter, reveals the two years of torture Jak endured at Praxis and Errol's hands starting when Jak was still thirteen until Daxter had managed to break him out shortly after Jak's sixteenth birthday six months ago, reveals the number of humans Jak had killed in Haven just trying to stay alive (the amount is more than any other Spargan and more than most Spargans had killed combined), and reveals every mission Jak had up until he was banished. Unable to stop himself now that he's letting out all the pen-up rage, Daxter also reveals the truth about the banishment, Jak being the time-twin of the four-year-old the Underground said was the heir to the throne of Haven City and that they banished Jak so he couldn't claim the throne.

By this point, Damas can't keep his eyes off an increasingly uneasy Jak, who's trying to make himself smaller, and he can't stop himself from moving to pick him up after hearing Daxter's rant of "Heir of Mar Precursor crap!". He's trying very hard to resist the hope rising (as well as dread and more horror) at Daxter's revelation and barely manages to get the demand for Jak to prove it past his tight throat. He barely pays any mind as ottselDaxter jumps onto his shoulder as he walks quickly through the tunnels within the arena area but answers the frantic question of what's going on. "*strained* I can't...can't say. Just that I need Jak to prove...prove that he's the Heir of Mar. Please, Jak."

They quickly arrive at a closed-door bearing the Seal of Mar and Jak hesitantly takes his amulet out of his pocket (sending another pang through Damas at the familiar object). The door obediently opens when Jak raises the glowing amulet toward it. This results in both Jak and Daxter panicking when Damas falls to his knees clutching Jak tighter against him, pain lining his face while tears escape his eyes as he stares at Jak. Their confusion is made worse when they notice the group that followed after Damas (consisting of Sig, Kleiver, and several others of high authority in Spargus) is also looking nearly as distraught as their king.

Sig is the one who manages to gather himself enough to respond to Daxter's frantic questions. Staring at Jak and telling him that they looked everywhere for him when he was taken from them, that Kleiver went to the Marauders, (insert character) went to Kras City, (insert character) went to Areopia, and Sig went to Haven City. He can only get out that he's sorry for failing him, for being so close but not finding him in time, before his voice breaks under his grief.

Daxter's screamed pleading of someone telling them what's going on results in Damas removing his own amulet from his pocket and using it to close the door in front of them before bringing the glowing amulet next to the one Jak is clutching.

Damas brokenly explains that two years and nearly six months ago that there was an attack on Spargus. They managed to repel the marauders, but it hadn't been enough to deter their enemies. So it was decided to attack the marauder's stronghold with the bulk of Spargus' warriors, leaving enough to defend the city. He continues the story to say that though they had won the battle, they returned home far too late to stop what had already been done. "It was a trap. One of our own betrayed us."

The memories of the day re-emerge despite Damas' best efforts to shove them away, still feeling raw from several days before after remembering Mar's heartbroken face from being punished and sent back to his room when he tried to keep Damas from leaving that day. He closes his eyes against the pain as he remembers feeling triumphant at the victory but heartsick at his and Mar's first "fight" when they return to the garage, his resolve to go speak to his son turning to fear as he takes his first step into the city and realizes he can't feel the presence of the only other eco user, the desperation as he runs as fast as his feet can take him through the streets and to the palace, and the horror at entering Mar's room to find the guards dead and his small son gone.

Opening his eyes once more, he stares at Jak with tears running down his face, hesitantly reaching a hand to his cheek. "*broken whispering* I'm so sorry, my son. I failed you back then, and I've failed you every moment since you returned home." "*shocked Daxter* Wait! You're Jak's dad?!"

Anything goes from here, though I'm quite sure that either the monks figure out how to turn Jak back to the age he is now, or that he manages to get turned back another way.

Chapter Text

AU inspired by radioactivepeasant's story of Damas struggling with the aftermath of the "Arena Defiance Fiasco". Taking the bit from where Damas is more worried about how the other Spargans take Jak's defiance than actually taking offense at it himself. On the way to the garage, Jak realizes he doesn't have near enough bullets to make him comfortable about going into a metalhead's nest, so he tells Sig to meet him at the garage while he goes to his apartment to get more bullets (as well as a warning for Sig to make sure the filter in his breathing mask is fresh with an offhand remark that the air in a nest is poisonous).

Damas is alerted to a fight breaking out and runs to the commotion to find a group of older Spargans attacking Jak while one of them holds Daxter from interfering (though that doesn't stop his mouth). He's even more troubled by the fact that Jak is not fighting back but instead, takes the punches and kicks with only bare minimal blocking. Eventually, he manages to pull off the adults, demanding an explanation for this as he kneels to check on Jak, dismayed at the amount of damage the boy has been inflicted with (Jak's barely breathing and is bleeding heavily).

Daxter bites his captor, jumps to a nearby roof, and answers (harshly and aggressively) before anyone else can, stating they were just getting more ammo to do what "Damas demanded" when the group jumped them "on Damas' behalf" to punish Jak (hence why Jak didn't fight back, because he thinks Damas wanted this). He loudly criticizes Damas' leadership and Spargus' own morals, calling them no better than Praxis and Haven City.

About this time, Sig shows up just in time to hear Daxter swear to make Damas pay for betraying Jak like this before he runs off, easily scaling the walls and escaping into the Wasteland. Not quite sure what precisely happens from point A to point B but it's mostly the attackers defending their actions by citing Jak's disrespect to Damas and the Purity of the Arena, Damas explaining the punishment of clearing out the metalhead nest in place of an arena duel, and then Sig carrying Jak to the boys' apartment with Damas trailing after (they think he's dying and Sig refuses to leave until Jak dies, stating that Jak should have at least one person with him that he knows won't turn on him {Damas can't hide his hurt at the jab but Sig's too pissed to care}). Sig refuses to talk to Damas, stating that he's too angry right now to speak peacefully and that he'll wind up saying traitorous things if he were to talk to Damas.

Vague thoughts from here go to Jak waking up in the middle of the night and heading out with Sig to the metalhead nest, ignoring Sig's pleas to rest (the "playing half-dead" was something he picked up in prison to stop beatings when they got too much since they wanted him alive). He also ignores Sig's attempts to explain the Spargans' violent outburst (making Sig more worried with his muttered comment that he shouldn't have been surprised the acceptance he and Daxter found only extends so far). They clear out the nest and return to Spargus where Damas and a group of others are waiting in the garage.

Sig's concerns only climb higher when Jak doesn't take Damas' words as the praise and apology that they are and only glares at the king before declaring that if Damas wants him dead, he'd better try harder. He quickly blocks Damas when the teenager turns from the stunned group to enter the Tough Puppy and asks if he wants help finding Daxter before mentioning the direction the watch had seen him running in when Jak rejects the help.

After Jak leaves, Damas tries to get Sig to talk about Jak & Daxter & whatever happened in Haven, and when Sig repeats his comment about anything he says could be taken as treasonous, Damas tells him that anything he says will not be taken as such. This immediately results in Sig punching Damas hard enough to send him to the ground before yelling out, "What the hell is the matter with you?!" Then he starts calling out Damas for breaking the rules of the arena that he created by allowing a sixteen-year-old to enter the trials (to which Damas responds with shock that he thought Jak was eighteen {no one asked Jak's age, but they assumed Haven wouldn't banish a "kid"}), reveals that Praxis is dead and so is the Metalhead Leader (the later's death being by Jak), and also that the only reason he was let out of Haven's prison (where he was taken to for his connection to Krew, though Jak hadn't known what happened to him) is because the Havenites want Jak back to fix the problems that have arose since his banishment (he already told Jak and gave him the frequency Ashelin gave him to give to Jak). Not sure what everything is told about what Sig knows of Jak & Daxter, but there is a mention that Jak will come back when he feels "punished" enough (this does not help Damas' feelings of guilt).

Everything from this point is unknown.

Chapter Text

AU that starts with Ashelin's call to Jak being picked up by Spargus' communications center and they alert Damas to what they overheard. Damas calls her comm unit and warns her not to pressure Jak into doing anything that Jak doesn't willingly agree to. He counters her plea of Haven needing help that that's Haven's problem, and they have no right to ask any of their banished ones to fix their problem.

Not trusting her, he quickly gets in a buggy and drives to the oasis with Sig and Kleiver. Kleiver stands guard over the buggy they hide in an alcove while Damas and Sig climb up the rocky outcropping to a hidden lookout point into the oasis just in time for Jak and Daxter to arrive. They merely watch the proceedings, only holding back when the Maruarders arrive because they can see Jak being able to handle it.

It's after Ashelin leaves and is out of sight when Jak yells (in both rage and frustration, and there's probably a Dark Eco sparking involved) before punching the ground, that Damas leaves his spot and walks over to the now-sitting Jak (who's also berating himself for being so stupid). He waves off Daxter's nervous rambling and sits down beside Jak before explaining that Spargus picked up Ashelin's call and he came because he didn't trust her.

"She's more her mother's daughter than her father's, after all. She pulled the same trick on you that her mother pulled on me." Daxter - "So you do know her." "Back when I lived in Haven. Knew her parents more than I did her, though."

Jak - "You knew Baron Praxis?" "Regretfully. Of course, back then he wasn't quite the despot he became, and he was a good friend of mine. *self-deprecating laugh* Then again, I was nineteen when I was banished, and teenagers aren't known for making good judgments on manipulative people." "He betrayed you." "In a way, I betrayed myself more than he betrayed me. I let my emotions rule me when Alyna came to me one night and did exactly what her daughter just did to you. Even though nothing happened between the two of us, Fabian was able to use enough of what he "happened" upon to prove the other charges he brought against me as being true, despite their falseness."

Daxter - "Sounds like some story, Sand King." "It's a story for a different lifetime, not this one. However, the lesson I learned from it could be useful to the both of you now."

Jak - "What lesson is that?" "Don't let anyone manipulate you into doing anything for their reasons. Whatever you do, however you do it, do it for your own reasons, for your own self, not anyone else's." "Not even yours?" "Not even mine." "Even if I said I want to go back to Haven, go back to fighting their battles for them?" "Even then. Spargus will be waiting for your return. But if you decide to go, go for your own reasons, not theirs."

Not sure what happens from this point. Bunny stopped here.

Chapter Text

What if Jak was more exhausted than he realized after Ashelin left the oasis? What if the Marauders were a little more persistent? What if the Havenites' manipulation tactics caused EVERYONE more problems than anyone anticipated?

Between the emotional trauma that's background noise at this point and the sheer exhaustion he hasn't experienced since being banished, Jak doesn't react quickly enough when more marauders appear after he leaves the oasis. They manage to capture him and Daxter, but while they're deciding what to do with him, the leader recognizes Jak as the new Spargan that's been causing him so much trouble and is rumored to be favored by Damas (the monks talk a little too much around anyone who claims to be a devotee of the Precursors).

The leader's decision to give Jak back to Spargus causes an uproar among the marauders, until he chuckles that he never said Jak would be alive, clarifying that he plans to kill him in full view of the wall after making sure Damas is watching.

"Teach those dogs who the real Wastelanders are and that this is our island!"

Fortunately and unfortunately, they discover the amulet Ashelin returned to him as he's being searched, and the leader revises his plan because he knows what it represents. They take Jak and Daxter back to their stronghold, making sure to leave no trace that they have them. Jak is chained to a dark dungeon's wall while Daxter is chained with a leash, the leader winning the fight to keep him when a scuffle breaks out over who gets "the pet" (they think Daxter is a type of animal owned by rich Havenites, and Daxter thinks playing the part of dumb animal is the best way to break Jak out).

Over the course of two weeks, the marauders give Jak barely enough food and water to survive, wanting him to live long enough to weaken to the point of no return. Their treatment of him includes beatings, being chained to posts out in the sun, and being whipped. The leader adds ridicule to the torture, taunting Jak that he's been abandoned by his father again.

And why?

Because he believes Jak is Damas's son, who was kept in Haven when Damas was exiled, and he plans to torture Damas by dropping a mostly-dead Jak at Spargus' gates when it's too late for Damas to do anything but watch his son die.

(Jak is having so many flashbacks to the prison, being torn between defiance and defeat, and only Daxter's appearance whenever the leader shows up keeps him from giving up completely. Daxter is feeling guiltier as the days go by, because he's being fed well and has to watch Jak be slowly starved, while having no idea how to free him since he's chained to the leader while the man's awake and kept in a small cage when he's asleep.)

Then the leader crashes during a fight with a Spargan, and Daxter manages to get free before the vehicle explodes (he also took the amulet of Mar the leader stole and hides it beneath his cap). He checks himself over before yelling at the other driver to be more careful with the merchandise.

"Daxter?! We thought you were in Haven City with Jak!"

Plot bunny has the Spargan being a tough-as-nails older woman with one serious murderous grudge against anyone who kidnaps or harms a kid (she may or may not be Jak's maternal grandmother). She also has zero impulse control, because the second Daxter tells her that Jak has been held captive in the marauder fortress for the past two weeks, she slams down the accelerator and orders on the radio for any available artifact hunter to get to her location immediately, without telling anyone why (her partner is resigned to this sort of behavior). She barely waits for her backup to arrive and explains to them the situation before driving into the fortress. Daxter is shooting the spare gun with gleeful prejudice from her shoulder as she and her partner run through the fortress down to where Daxter says Jak is. They waste no time freeing Jak and quickly drive back to Spargus with Jak in her arms while her partner drives.

Between giving Jak sips of water and small bites of rations they had on hand, she explains that they had gotten a call two weeks back where Ashelin heavily alluded that Jak was back in Haven "where he belonged" and thanked Damas for keeping him safe during the political upheaval that resulted in his erroneous exile.

Driver: "*sighing while shaking their head* Can't believe we were so stupid to trust a Praxis at their word! Sorry, rookies, I guess we never learned anything, or we would have scoured the whole island for you when you didn't check in."

Daxter: "Even after the whole 'defiled the arena' thing that got Sandking's skirt tied up in knots?"

This results in both Spargans being shocked that Jak and Daxter didn't know the truth about the third arena trial. That Jak was supposed to refuse to fight Sig since it's against Spargus law for Spargans to kill another Spargan without just cause. If Jak had fought against Sig, despite it being clear even to a former Havenite that Sig is a Spargan, Jak would have failed the trial and either been imprisoned or killed right then as a threat to the rest of Spargus. He was supposed to counter when Damas ordered the fight to continue that he had no fight against a fellow Spargan.

Everyone assumed Jak and Daxter knew and we're just being teenage-defiant on purpose for the sake of being teenage-defiant (Sig was the one who got them in trouble and on metalpede nest duty, because by throwing his gun down without Jak countering Damas, Sig ruined Jak's arena trial and kept him from getting the third amulet that day).

Daxter: "How are we supposed to know anything if no one tells us?! Damas and Kliever are the only ones who give us any instructions, and the most the monks tell us is that we don't belong and need to leave!"

Even exhausted and drained by pain, Jak notices the change in atmosphere as both the woman holding him and the driver tense immediately, and he forces himself to pay closer attention to the conversation.

Female Spargan: "What do you mean the monks told you that you don't belong and that you need to leave?"

Daxter: "Exactly that. That head monk made it quite clear we weren't welcome in Spargus every time we crossed paths."

Driver: "His Lordship is not going to like this."

Female Spargan: "*scoff* That's putting it mildly. Seem better have a very good reason for this, or I'm gonna be the one to break their face before the king gets the chance."

The pair explains to the confused boys that while the monks are not Spargans, even though they are allowed in Spargus because they are a neutral party, they're the ones who teach newcomers the laws of the Wastelands and the laws of Spargus. That's why Seem was at the first arena trial, because it's their duty to start educating new Wastelanders and Spargans, assigning them to classes or personal teachers (everyone assumed Jak and Daxter were given to a monk for private teaching since they never showed up at any of the classes and no one really knew where they were for most of the day).

Driver: "Most importantly, though, they don't have the right to tell you that you don't belong in Spargus. Spargus is the city of the exiled; you belonged the second you were dropped in the desert and survived long enough to be found."

Jak: "I belong?"

Female Spargan: "Of course, you do, young'un! You're a Spargan and no one has the right to tell you otherwise!"

Jak: "But I haven't got the third battle amulet."

Female Spargan: "Most newcomers don't even go through the first trial for several months when they arrive, and they're still considered one of us. It has nothing to do with you being a Spargan, but it is your badge of honor that states you're a warrior in your own right."

She promises to explain things better after he's gotten medical treatment, since it's clear now that no one has taken the time to explain things properly, and both boys are curious at the driver's low, almost pained, groan when she states she'll also talk to Damas and Kliever.

It's already been radioed in that a Spargan needs immediate medical treatment, so there's a crowd waiting in the vehicle pit as the group of artifact hunters drives through the gates. Damas demands an explanation when Jak is lifted out of the car, and Daxter jumps down to stand in front of him with his arms crossed before anyone can answer.

Daxter: "Ashelin Praxis is the only one in Haven City with balls bigger than her father's, and Jak paid the price, as usual! She called us to the oasis two weeks ago with a sob story about needing us to return to Haven and fight their war for them. Jak told her off, fought off a Marauder platoon that was attracted by the shiny new hellcat she was driving, told Ashelin off again when she tried to manipulate him once more, and then got ambushed by another Marauder platoon when she finally left. Thanks to everything that happened since the arena trial, Jak didn't have enough energy to fend them off a second time, and we wound up being imprisoned in their fortress for the past two weeks because the head bozo got into his pudding-for-brain that Jak is your son. If it wasn't for Grandma Badass here and her better driving, he fully intended to torture Jak until he's nearly too far gone and then drop him at the city gate for you to watch him die. As far as I'm concerned, it's your fault Jak is in this mess, since not only did he deal with that because of being mistaken as your son, he wouldn't have even fallen for Ashelin's trick if it wasn't for that whole arena mess that made Jak believe You thought he wasn't worth keeping around!"

Female Spargan: "Hey, now, firecracker, you can't talk to the King of Spargus like that. *hands Daxter the spare gun* At least, not without a weapon. Getting shot in the foot is the most annoying injury ever for a Wastelander, so aim low. *giving a maternal disapproving look to Damas* The young'un has the right to his anger. It seems we've been getting complacent and not ensuring newcomers are getting the right care, allowing monks to decide who has the right to be a Spargan."

Driver: "Neither of the rookies knows any of the laws of the Wasteland or of Spargus, and apparently, Seem told them both repeatedly that they don't belong here and that they should leave."

The gathered monks cringe at the hostile and disapproving looks thrown their way from all who're gathered. Seem's attempt to explain is cut off by an angry Damas.

Damas: "You have no voice here, Precursor Monk! You will give your defense before the council when it convenes to discuss this matter after Jak is attended to. And for you and your acolytes' sake, you had better have a valid reason for refusing a Spargan their rights."

(There's a vague idea of Damas taking off his armor to hug Jak while apologizing to both boys before they leave the garage, horrified by the knowledge of Jak's torture and near-death, and willing to show being vulnerable to prove his sincerity.)

Plot bunny is vague from Point A to Point B, but it goes to where Jak is being transferred to his and Daxter's apartment on a stretcher (he refused medical care by the medics, and Damas calmed the pending argument by mediating a compromise that Jak can go to his place as long as he allows one doctor to assist Daxter in treating his wounds and saves his strength by being carried) and the oracle totem activates as they move past it, shocking the group. Daxter instantly gets hostile and barks at "glow boy" to find someone else to do their dirty work. The oracle ignores him and says that time is running out, that the planet's final trial is almost upon them, and that there's much that Jak needs to do.

Plot bunny shrugs at the dialogue and says it's the usual wheedling and manipulation that Jak gets saddled with. But this time, Daxter has had enough. Daxter counters with Jak needing to rest and recover from two weeks of torture, and that there are plenty of people in Haven to call on instead. He doesn't get too far in lecturing the oracle for all the times Jak had been mistreated that they never intervened in before folding his ears back and whining Jak's name when he hears Jak get to his feet and asks what needs to be done.

The oracle smugly remarks that at least some people understand their duty before continuing with the list of going into the temple's catacombs down to the subrails, completing each task that is waiting for him, and then taking the subrails to Haven, where he can start looking for the artifacts to activate the planetary defense system. Jak tiredly agrees before turning his attention toward the garages, seeing but not seeing the adults standing in his way as he starts walking back the way they came. Damas grabs his shoulders before he can move past him, though.

Damas: "No, Jak. Daxter is right. You need to rest and receive medical care first." "But I have to." "No, you don't. You need to take care of yourself first, young warrior, and then when you are recovered, if you still feel this is something you must do, then you will receive help to complete your task." "You'll help?"

Female Spargan: "A warrior does not have to win a battle by themself, young'un, even if they can. You're Spargan, and it's time you understand what it means to be one of the clan. Now, either you rest willingly, or I'm carrying your scrawny hide to my place and you won't be getting out until I'm satisfied by your recovery, which might be by your twentieth birthday."

Jak smiles briefly before promptly passing out, forcing Damas to catch him and quickly check his vital signs. Daxter growls at the still glowing oracle and growls that "Jak and I killed the Archerons, Krew, Praxis, and the Metalhead Leader," and that once they were through with these next enemies, "You're next!" to which the glowing stops instantly. (Yes, I know that technically they did not kill any of them, but give Daxter his bragging rights since no one can honestly contradict him at the moment except Jak.)

Plot bunny stops here with any true ideas, so I have no idea where it goes from this point...well, other than the Female Spargan and Sig stating that it's Precursor hunting season when they hear exactly what Jak's been manipulated into doing by the Precursors and their followers.