Author's Note: This takes place before Krew sends Jak and Daxter to Keira's. This, to me, sounds like a chapter out of a full story, but I think it's really just like a mini story (which is the meaning of a one-shot, I know, just let me ramble). I'm not sure if that will make it a little…what's the right word…messy; but I really think it'll just be different from your basic one-shot. Errol's going to be quite the romantic in this fan fic. I actually think Errol and Keira would make descent pair, but Jak and Keira are much, much better together. The missions will be a little different in this one, it's as if Jak did more mission before he went to meet Krew's client, ok? I guess they gain easy access to the Underport in the beginning from Torn, ok? So please don't complain about things being "out of order" or whatever. Ok, nothing sex wise is going to be in this, no atrociously horrible language… blah, blah… on with the fic, right? Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Jak games, or any of their characters. Naughty Dog, however, does.
- Save Me a Kiss -
It was dark outside and the sky was thick with smog, as usual, in Haven City. Keira was walking home from a date with a guy she had just met a few weeks ago, Errol. He seemed nice enough, he appreciated her, and he was handsome; so when he asked her out, it wasn't hard for her to say yes. They had just gone to a restaurant in New Haven and then to a movie. It was a scary movie so she was expecting Errol to make a move on her, like most guys do, but he was a complete gentleman, and he just occasionally offered her popcorn. He didn't even try to hold her hand.
So now, in the late evening, they were walking back to the garage. Sometimes when she walked home by herself, men had tried to hit on her, grab her butt, or steal her purse. She wasn't afraid to take care of them with a quick punch to the face, but when she was walking with Errol, no one tried anything. They're probably all terrified of him, she thought. It gave her a strange sense of comfort she never knew she needed, walking hand in hand with him like this.
They arrived in the front of the garage. She turned to say goodnight to him. She was stunned with what she saw, she even blushed. He was holding a tiny black box out in front of him, but that wasn't why she blushed. He was standing out in the open, the moon illuminating his sharp features. His shocking orange-red hair was practically glowing like fire, and his light brown eyes were shining in the light. His strong chin and the beginnings of a muscular chest were shown also. She came out of her stupor when he tucked the box in her hand.
She looked at it, and then looked back up at him, in shock and appreciation. She opened the box, and what she saw inside made her gasp. It was a beautiful silver necklace with an emerald jewel at the end.
"The color brings out your eyes." he said. He took the necklace from her and reached around her neck to fasten it. He stepped back in admiration. She took the emerald between two of her fingers, gazing at it with wonder. She looked back at Errol, and then went to give him a tender hug.
"Thank you so much Errol, no one has ever given me something like this…it's so beautiful."
"As are you, Keira." he whispered.
He leaned his head towards her, his lips a moment from her own. She was mesmerized by his eyes, his lips, and his hand on the small of her back… She moved her head away in a slight panic, making Errol hesitate, and then give her a peck on the cheek.
"Goodnight Keira." he said, before he turned and walked away swiftly.
Keira was left stunned and sad. She considered running up to him and replaying that scene over again, but instead she sighed and turned to go inside. She walked up to the door leading to her upstairs apartment and took out her keys.
I'm sorry Errol, but that kiss belongs to someone else…
Jak leaned further into the pillow of grass he currently had his head upon.
"No, don't go… don't leave, please…"
Jak was rudely awakened from his nightmare by a familiar voice and a furry orange face.
"Jak, JAK? Wake up you bum! You're tossing and turning all over me! I'm too fragile for this kind of treatment…"
"What? Daxter?" Jak struggled to focus his eyes and attach the annoying voice to a face.
"No, it's Mar. Of course it's me, you big lug!" Daxter shouted.
"Alright, alright, take it easy…and stop yelling…" Jak sleepily muttered.
He sat up and stretched. It was sunny in Haven Forest, but it wasn't hot at all. He put his head in his hands and rubbed his temples. He looked up at the sun and guessed at the time.
Better get over to Torn's. He thought.
"Come on Dax, let's get over to the Underground." Jak said as he stood and brushed off the grass on his clothes.
"Oh man, I was hoping we could take the day off…"
The boys looked at each other and burst out laughing. "Yeah right!" they yelled in unison.
"That's about as likely as Keira letting us take the A-Grav for a free ride!" Daxter continued to laugh, but stopped abruptly once he realized what he had said. Jak had already stopped once he had mentioned Keira's name.
"Jak, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to…" Daxter trailed off.
"It's nothing." Jak smiled down at Daxter, but he could feel its fakeness, the lie crawling all over his face.
Daxter smiled naively back up at him. He was satisfied with that answer easily, probably because incidents like these happened so often, and he always received that answer.
Daxter hopped up onto Jak's shoulders, and they went to the precursor transport platform. Jak thought about his nightmare with Keira.
Remember all the times that we used to play?
You were lost and I would save you
I don't think those feelings will ever fade
You were born a part of me
I was never good at hiding anything
My thoughts break me
Do you understand what you mean to me?
You are my faith
He had dreamt that Keira was dying in some bizarre way every night, ever since his first day being experimented on in prison. Those ways didn't seem so bizarre anymore since coming to Haven, though. He couldn't do anything to save her; he was completely helpless, which was nightmare enough to our hero.
Won't you cure my tragedy?
Don't take her smile away from me
She's broken and I'm far away
Won't you cure my tragedy?
If you make the world a stage for me
Then I hope that you can hear me scream
Won't you cure my tragedy?
Jak's memory strayed back to the days where he and Keira had played games. Daxter joined in occasionally, but Keira usually wanted to leave the orange ottsel out; since he tried to hit on her every time he saw her. Even at such a young age, Daxter was a ladies-man-wannabe. They had laughed, ran, held hands…everything came rushing back to Jak in one painful instant.
When I sit and think of the days we shared and the nights you covered for me
Every little thing that I ever did
You would stand by me
Every time you cried it would take my wind
My heart would break If I could be strong like you were for me
You are my faith
Every time she had had a problem in the middle of the night, usually Keira missing her mother, she would come to him; and he would be able to relate to her. They would crawl under Jak's covers on his bed, and he would hold her as she tried to hide her silent tears by burying her head in his shoulder. He had shed tears, also trying to hide them from her, but she had been there for him to wipe them away.
Won't you cure my tragedy?
Don't take her smile away from me
She's broken and I'm far away
Won't you cure my tragedy?
If you make the world a stage for me then I hope that you can hear me scream
Won't you cure my tragedy?
Don't take her smile away from me
She's broken and I'm far away
Jak walked off the platform onto the grass, and walked over to the warp gate. He hesitated, and then jumped through. He felt the familiar pulling and pushing of one of these gates, but he felt strangely distanced from it.
He and Daxter emerged back out. Jak almost tripped because of his lack of concentration, but he quickly regained himself.
He walked out of the security door, down the ramp, and into the fields. He stole a zoomer from a man who had been pulled over by the Guard. The guard raised his gun to shoot Jak, but Jak quickly dodged it and killed the armor-covered man with one swift punch to the throat. The citizen had currently tried to be brave and take off with his zoomer. The other Krimzon Guards were storming in quick. Jak needed power. He suddenly felt the frustration he always had felt since he had been tortured bottle up inside him, and he quickly felt the sharp pains of Dark Eco coursing through his veins as he morphed into Dark Jak.
His horns split through his scalp and hair, his fingernails grew into long, black, needle-like claws, and his skin and hair began to become lighter, until they were white. After the initial pain that came every time was over, his anger took a hold of him. Dark Jak mercilessly tore apart the KG and the citizen, who was just trying to get to work on time.
He could only think about the nightmare, and Keira. He thought of how scared he was of not knowing if she was dead or alive, or cursing his name with her last breath right now for not staying with her and keeping her safe. He roared in anger and killed the last Guard.
I can't take this anymore
I can't feel this anymore
Won't you take and give her pain to me
'Cause my whole life I've made mistakes
Jak changed back, and Daxter shakily came back towards him, carefully avoiding the blood and bodies. He felt a tear streak down his face as the last patch of gray diminished from his skin, and he collapsed onto his knees, panting as more tears slowly streaked down his cheeks. Her face was appearing in his head.
Can you hear me scream?
"Jak? What's wrong?" Daxter asked.
"Nothing, I just wore myself out…too many Guards… too early in the morning." Jak responded, his heart beat slowing and his breath returning to normal.
"You sure you're alright? You seemed, well, REALLY pissed off, more than normal. You're crying…" Daxter quietly said.
Jak looked up at his best friend and smiled another fake smile as he hastily wiped the tears from his face.
"Dax, I'm fine." He looked up at the zoomer, then at the bodies. He winced as he stood and walked over to the parked zoomer. He swung one leg on and turned the key. Daxter hopped onto his shoulder and they were off.
"If you say so." Daxter said.
If you were only here with me, to help me ward off my demon… I would never let you go again.
Keira reached for a rag from underneath the zoomer she was working on. She ended up having to slide from under it and go get it. As she was wiping down her face and hands with it, she received a visitor.
"Hello Keira."
Errol came in to the garage with a cool smile on his face and a red rose in his hand. Keira stopped rubbing grease and sweat off her face and smiled at him.
"Errol! Hi!" she stopped and looked at him with embarrassment and discomfort. "Listen, about last night…"
He held up his hand to stop her.
"Don't worry, its fine." he said.
She nodded in gratitude for being able to avoid the subject. He held out the rose for her. She took it with a smile and smelled it, letting out a sigh of contentment. Errol let out a small laugh.
"I'm glad you like it." he said.
"I really do. It's not every day that I get to smell something besides exhaust fumes and motor oil."
They laughed together and she tried to rub more of the black grunge from her cheeks.
"Listen, Errol, you've been so nice to me these past few days, and I don't know how I can ever return the favor." she finally said, avoiding his eyes.
"Well, there is one thing…" he mused. Keira eyes shot up to his face. She blushed bright pink and gasped in anger.
"You can forget about it, Errol. There's no way I would-"
"Allow me to take you out on another date?" he questioned with one of his eyebrows up, and a grin on his face.
The breath whooshed out of her and she blushed even harder.
"Errol, I'm sorry, I'm just so used to jerks hitting on me, and I thought-"
"I'm the same as said jerks?" he interrupted, his lips curled with that same amused, mischievous smile.
"No! Well, I thought, maybe…" she trailed off.
"It's alright. Everyone thinks I'm a jerk in this city." Errol said with a subtle bitterness to his tone.
"I don't think you are, at all. And whoever they are, they're wrong. They must not know you like I do." Keira said, a stern tone to her voice.
Errol resisted the urge to let out a small laugh at her determination, and instead he smiled at her and went to take her hand in his.
"So, then, you'll go out with me tonight?" he asked.
"I'd like that." Keira said, with an equally wide smile.
"Great. I'll pick you up at seven." he waved to her when he had turned and proceeded to walk out of the garage.
As Keira turned back to her work, she could only think of how much she missed that certain blonde boy from Sandover, and how much she wanted him to be okay. She felt guilty, going on these dates with Errol, but she was lonely. Besides, she knew she needed to move on from him. He might even be... No, she refused to believe that. She always had believed he was still alive, somewhere, missing her as much as she missed him.
But now she had Errol, he was here now, and she needed to move on with her life, as painful as it might be. She set down the wrench she was working with and sighed. She slid back from under the zoomer and decided to go get ready for tonight. She glanced over at the patched green curtain, and the silhouette of the object behind it.
Will I ever see you again, Jak?
To give you an update on our heroes: Jak and Daxter were currently running their asses off trying to escape from a huge Metal-pede that was trying to kill them. Busy guys, huh?
"Keep up, Dax!" Jak shouted.
"I'm only 2'10 you know! My legs aren't as long as yours, hero boy!" Daxter yelled at him between pants. He put in a set of extra strides to catch up to Jak, then climbed his way up to the teen's shoulder armor.
Jak groaned at the extra weight and readjusted to balance himself out again. Just in time, they jumped through the security gate that led out of the Underport and back to the city.
"That was close!" Daxter said between breaths as Jak stole a parked zoomer.
"Yeah, well, if Torn needs to retrieve something down there again, he can do it himself. " Jak panted.
"No complaints here. I don't exactly enjoy being chased over bottomless abysses all day!" Daxter said.
Jak just shook his head, stole a parked zoomer, and drove towards the Hip Hog Saloon. When they arrived there, Jak parked the zoomer and walked through the doors with Daxter right behind him. Jak was pissed from Torn riding his ass all day, and he hoped Krew didn't give him any trouble.
"Come for your mission, eh?" Krew said as he hovered over to them.
Jak nodded, but his gaze was somewhere else, at the mirror in the back... What is that? He thought.
"Are you listening, boy?" Krew asked. His voice had an annoyed tone.
Jak snapped his attention back to his employer and gritted his teeth at being called a boy.
"Yeah, sure. Go ahead." Jak growled out.
Krew snorted and continued rambling on about the mission.
"Get down into those sewers, and get me that Heart of Mar, eh?"
"Listen, tub o' lard, we aren't going' down into those sewers, no way!" Daxter exclaimed.
Jak only lightly knocked Daxter on the head, because he wholeheartedly agreed with the small ottsel. But he knew this meant access to the Baron, so he went along with it.
"We get this Heart of Mar for you, right? So then what do we get out of it?" Jak questioned.
Krew let out a small, breathy chuckle.
"You'll see when you get back." he laughed again.
Jak didn't like the looks of this at all, but he knew he had to do it. He glanced back at the mirror before turning and walking out the door with Daxter on his shoulder.
"I swear, one of these days…" Daxter left the threat open.
Jak boarded the same zoomer he had before, and jetted off to the sewers. Who, or what, was that in the mirror? he wondered.
He had seen something crazy in that dusty mirror. He had seen himself, but he had horns and his body was slowly turning light purple, like his other, darker self. As if it was taking over him. He had been terrified, captivated, and he had felt totally and completely helpless. That was an emotion he rarely felt anymore, and when he did, he felt a burning rage at himself.
It felt horrible, all he felt was that he needed to get this…thing…out of him, immediately. Or else I'll lose myself to it…
He shuddered at the thought. He decided to try to focus on other things, like his revenge on the Baron. But all he could think of was her…that's what always happened when he was sad; she would appear in his head.
We'll meet again, right Keira?
Keira stepped inside of her small apartment and tossed her keys onto the table. She made her way to the bathroom, closed the door, and locked it. She stripped off her clothes and climbed into the shower. She let the warm water run over her tired muscles as she stood in place, then cleaned herself.
After she was done, she stepped out, turned off the knob, and got on her robe. She walked into her bedroom, her wet hair dripping onto the ratty carpet. She opened her closet and looked over her clothes.
"No. No. No. Definitely not. Only if I was going to a gutter..." Keira sighed in anger after she had critiqued every piece in her wardrobe, except for her one and only dress. She took it out carefully and looked it over. She nodded in approval and slipped out of her bathrobe, into her undergarments, then into the dress.
Next she went to the bathroom and dried and styled her hair. She swept it to one side of her face, half-covering one of her green eyes, and then attempted to straighten it in the back with her fingers. She sighed in frustration. Why does my hair have to have that funky curl-wave in the back?
She left it with a small wave at the back, curling upwards. She hastily put on makeup. Keira looked herself over in the mirror. Light makeup; curled hair, and the emerald necklace Errol gave her. Finally, an emerald green, strapless dress that came out slightly at her knees, where it ended.
She approved of her look in the mirror and walked back out to the living room. She looked over at the clock in the kitchen. It was 6:50 now. About five minutes later, she heard a knock on her door. She walked over to it and opened it, expecting Errol.
"Hey, ready to go?" she said before she looked at them. A Krimzon Guard was standing in front of her. His gun was slung over his shoulder, in its holster.
"Are you the mechanic, Keira Hagai-"
"Yeah, baby, we can go wherever you want." Another KG stepped beside the first one and leaned against the door.
"Pig…" Keira said.
"What did you say, wench?" He stopped leaning and stood upright.
"I said you're a pig." Keira said, her eyes staring daggers into his own.
"You're gonna regret you ever said that, hag." He lifted his hand in a motion to hit her, but it was harshly grabbed and twisted behind his back.
"Is that any way to talk to a lady?"
"Hey man, let go!" he yelled.
"Apologize to her, now."
He glared up at her, and as a result his arm was twisted further.
"You're gonna break my arm!" he screamed.
"Say it, now."
"I'm sorry, ma'am. Now let me go!" His arm was released and he stalked out of the garage in an attempt to regain some of his ego. His partner trailed behind him. Errol stepped forward towards her.
"Thanks." she said, stunned by his actions.
"My pleasure." He paused, smoothing out the front of the black, fairly-tight shirt and black dress pants he was wearing. "Shall we?" He held up his hand for her to take, and she took it, closing the door behind her.
"You look lovely tonight, Keira." Errol said as they walked.
"You look great, too." Keira replied. They walked in silence, enjoying the warm summer breeze washing over Haven, until they reached the restaurant. As the night progressed on, Keira found herself having a wonderful time with Errol. He was funny, charming, masculine but sensitive all the same, qualities that rarely come together in a man. Her bliss was only paused when they walked a few blocks to the "surprise", as Errol had called it.
Keira found herself in the Haven City Grand Ballroom. She gazed at all of the dancing couples who floated along with the music automatically, they all moved in one swift set of motions. Errol stood in front of her and bowed. He reached out his hand.
"Would you care to dance?"
Keira blushed and nodded stupidly. This was all so new to her. She took his hand and he led her onto the dance floor. He put her left hand on his shoulder, and took the other one in his hand. He slid his left hand around her slender waist. Keira gazed into his light brown eyes, and found herself lost in them as they began moving to the soft music that filled the room.
Am I falling in love with you?
Jak and Daxter had just come back from retrieving the Heart of Mar for Krew. They had delivered it to him, and he had given them another mission. They were to beat the race time to a client of Krew's racing garage, and set up a deal with them. They had set off first thing the next morning.
They started at the Hip Hog and had sped over to the garage with a minute and two seconds still on the clock. They walked into the garage to talk to this mysterious mechanic.
Jak gawked, open-mouthed and practically drooling, at the silhouette of the slender woman behind the green curtain as they conversed with her. Daxter started waving his hand in front of Jak's face to alert him, but to no avail.
"Fine. I might let you race for my team if you complete the JET-Board challenge. Now would you please leave me alone?" She said in an annoyed tone.
When he had finally snapped out of it, they walked over to the stadium and tried out the JET-Board. All Jak could think of was how much that woman reminded him of Keira, the hard attitude and the beautiful body. Their voices even sounded alike. Actually, a lot alike. Jak decided he would ask Krew to tell him what her name was. No, no. That won't work, Krew never reveals information about clients… But he had to know, just to see. He had to see.
"Jak, watch out!" Jak narrowly avoided running into the JET-Board rack. "Are you blind?"
"Sorry." Jak mumbled as he dismounted the board. Daxter grumbled more about Jak trying to get them killed. Jak put the board on the rack, and walked back out of the stadium. He thought about the mechanic the entire way back.
Keira, have you been this close all along?
It was a warm evening. Keira was rummaging around the inside of a zoomer she was working on. She sang a song softly to herself.
"In you and I, there's a new land…" she sang. "Angel's in flight, my sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah…"
She was thinking about her date with Errol last night. They had danced for hours, until they were the last ones left. He had walked her home and kissed her on the cheek again. She kissed his cheek, then she had gone inside, drunk with happiness.
She thought she might be falling in love with this racer Krimzon Guard, and she didn't quite know how she felt about that. She had a visit from of Krew's goons today. She waved them off without a lot of thought, but now she found herself wondering. Their time was extremely good, six seconds longer than Errol's score. She admired their cause to stop the Baron, but she didn't want to get involved and cause trouble. It was a hopeless cause in her opinion, anyways.
"I watch you, fast asleep. All I fear, is nothing…" she sang.
She couldn't help but think those two were familiar. They're just some mindless drones for Krew. In another week, they'll be replaced.
She went back to her thoughts on Errol, and their date tonight. Errol had said it was a surprise again, which made her even more eager to go and find out. She let the thoughts of two men fade from her mind, as she sang the refrain again, and drifted away into those familiar thoughts of happiness with him.
"Music will tie. My sanctuary, my sanctuary, yeah."
She saw a man playing with her children out in the fields. One ran up to her. She picked him up and twirled him. She set him down and ruffled his…blonde-green hair? The man walked over to her and planted a soft kiss on her lips. He stepped away and looked at his face. Round, strong, blonde-green hair, blue eyes… 'Hello, I haven't see you in a long time'...
To be continued…
Author's Note: Hey sorry. The second part cut off, so proceed to part II!