Posters
Keira stared in complete disbelief at the poster right in front of her. She observed every single detail to make sure her mind was not playing tricks on her, but the more she stared, the more real it looked.
"This is impossible!" she muttered under her breath as people walked around her, minding their own business.
Her eyes did not betray her though.
On the poster was written the word "wanted" in big red letters and underneath was written why that person was wanted.
She read it again and again, trying to make sense out of it.
"The Krimson guards are looking for a young man, with blond hair and an enraged rodent on his shoulder. They committed a serious crime by climbing the palace via an old elevator that was out of service. They reactivated it to reach the palace to spy on the baron and then to attack him mercilessly. If anyone sees the criminal, inform the nearest Krimson guard immediately."
The yellow hair with green roots, the cerulean eyes and the ottsel sitting on the man's shoulder did not lie. It was Jak the Krimson guards were after.
They were looking for her Jak.
The Jak that travelled the world to help his best friend transform back into a human.
The Jak that defeated Gol and Maia.
The Jak that spent countless hours with her on Sentinel beach.
The Jak that went through the rift gate with her.
He was here, in Haven City, and most importantly, alive.
All sorts of emotions bubbled in her body. She would see Jak again, and Daxter. She would be able to hug him again. She just needed to get him to the garage somehow.
"Wait," she thought. It is written on the poster that Jak reactivated an old elevator to get to the palace. She had mentioned this to Krew's recruit when he asked about the outcome of the class one race. She had told the man that the winner would get the chance to visit the palace. The man had asked if she could get him to the palace and then she told him about the abandoned elevator.
"Was the man I was talking to Jak?" She asked under her breath as she walked back to her garage.
"But Jak's a mute, I've never heard him talk before," she thought.
"It's been two years," she thought. "A lot might have happened since they went through the rift gate."
As she walked to her garage, she wondered how she had never crossed paths with him in the last two years, if he's alive and well enough to stage an attack against their dear baron, he was well enough to see her.
It was clear that he was not the Jak from Sandover she knew. He had gotten older, as all of them did, but, on that poster, his eyes were filled with hatred; his traits were almost animalistic. Then again, this was just a poster and the baron tended to make everyone defying him look like a monster.
"What could Jak have against the baron, though? Why did he attack him?" She wondered.
She had heard the rumours of someone climbing the palace and triggering a few alarms, but she did not make anything out of it since most of the city hated the baron.
When she got back to the garage, the commander of the Krimson guards was waiting for her.
"Good afternoon, my lovely," he said.
"Errol," she stated, emotionless.
She had gone on a couple of dates with the guy the year before and they had fun, but it ended when she caught a discussion between him and the baron about a certain Dark Warrior Project. She heard Errol tell the baron on the communicator to increase the amount of dark eco injected into someone's body. She left the restaurant where they were having dinner without him noticing and she never told him why.
She knew the outcome of a long exposure to dark eco, Jak had defeated them. She knew the toll it could have on a person and she did not want to have a relationship with someone who toyed with said eco as fun little experiments.
She might not particularly like the guy, but he was the best driver she knew. He had won every race since she got to Haven City. His technique was impeccable, and he always won by at least ten seconds.
"I came to warn you about the freak running around town," he said, trying to look into her eyes, but she avoided his gaze.
"What do you mean?" She asked.
"You must have noticed the posters on the town's walls," he said. "The freak climbed the palace and attacked our dear baron."
"Maybe he deserved it," Keira spat.
"How could you say something like that?" Errol asked, faking surprise.
"Just a thought," Keira said, thinking about what he might have done to Jak.
"He's dangerous, he's got powers no one truly understands," Errol said, trying to scare her.
"Powers?" the aqua-haired woman asked.
"The man can channel dark eco," Errol said, conveniently leaving out the fact that he was the one who gave the freak his powers.
"What, it would kill a person to channel such eco!" Keira said loudly.
"Not the eco-freak," Errol said. "It just makes him stronger; I would stay inside at night if I were you, and I would not roam the city streets alone."
"Noted," Keira said nonchalantly.
"I'm just looking out for you," Errol said, trying to sound caring.
"Thank you," Keira said. "Now, if you don't mind, I have work to do."
"Right, right, the class three race is tomorrow. It's a good thing I don't even have to race, as reigning champion, I don't have to qualify for the class one race!" Errol bragged as Keira rolled her eyes.
She watched Errol turn around and leave her garage and she let out a sigh she did not know she was holding.
As she opened the green curtain and closed it behind her, something clicked in her head. Errol said the eco-freak, who is most likely Jak, could channel dark eco, something even Gol and Maia had trouble doing. She knew a person could only channel eco if they were born a channeler, or if they were exposed to the same kind of eco long enough.
She had never heard of someone born a dark eco channeler, even Gol and Maia gained their powers by being in contact with said eco too long.
She knew the Dark warrior program's goal was exactly that. She heard enough of Errol's call with the baron to know that they were injecting dark eco into someone's body to make them stronger, a weapon.
"Oh precursors," she thought. "What if that poor person subject to that awful program was Jak?"
Then, she knew he would have extremely good reasons to want Baron Praxis dead, and to attack him at the palace. It all made so much sense now. The only thing she did not know was how long Jak was subjected to the dark eco treatments.
"What has Jak become though?" she wondered. Such contact with dark eco would normally destroy a person.
She could not even sleep that night, her mind was racing, even faster than Errol would go during a race. So many thoughts filled her mind, one of them being that she would see Jak the next day since it was time for the class three race.
She did not know how she would react to seeing him in person. She wondered if she should play it cool or run to him immediately. She later decided that the latter would probably scare him off. There was Daxter to consider to; she missed the furball, but she knew how many words he could say in a minute.
The next morning, everything went by in a blur, she could not concentrate on anything even if she really tried. When she finally got into her work, she was startled by a voice and lost every bit of self-control she had.
"We're here for the race," a deep voice said.
She looked between the curtains and saw him. She opened them in a swift movement and rushed to Jak. She attacked him with a hug and he stiffened. He looked at Daxter with a confuse look on his face.
"I've missed you so much, I thought I'd never see you again," she said as she held him tighter, Jak still unaware of who had attacked him with a hug. It somehow felt familiar, and dare he say it, safe.
He pushed the woman away to look at her and his eyes widened. They softened as soon as he realized who she was.
"Keira," he whispered as he pulled her back into his body. She felt him tighten his grip around her, she did not protest; she was enjoying it. "I was starting to lose hope of seeing you again."
"I'm here, too, remember!" Daxter said. "I haven't seen you in two years, too."
The mechanic let go of Jak and kneeled to look at Daxter. She did truly miss the furball.
"Oh, how I've missed your snarky comments!" Keira said as she patted Daxter's head.
"I can't believe we did not recognize your voice!" Daxter said.
"I'm surprised I didn't hear yours when you came here before," she said to Daxter. "You're usually the chatty one!"
"Well, big guy here took a part of my place, now that he can talk," Daxter said.
"We have so much to catch up on!" Keira said to Jak and Daxter referring to that fact that Jak can now speak.
"I have a race to win before we do," Jak told the aqua-haired mechanic.
Jak walked into the garage with his first racing trophy. He gently placed it on a shelf, besides other trophies.
"We did great," Jak said to Daxter.
"We did great because I was there, you were a little distracted at some point!" Daxter said to his best friend. "I wonder why."
"You were amazing, Jak!" The source of Jak's distraction said as she looked at the new trophy.
"Hey!" Daxter shouted. "I helped too!"
"You guys might actually be able to beat Errol in the class one race!" The mechanic said enthusiastically.
Keira saw something flicker in Jak's eyes; it was like they turned completely black for a split second. He took a deep breath, and everything went back to normal.
"I hate that name," Jak answered, which confirmed her suspicions. Jak hated Errol, probably because he tortured him.
"Imma let you catch up while I go tell Tess about how awesome I was during the race!" Daxter said as he walked out of the garage towards the Hip Hog.
The two young adults watched Daxter leave and avoided looking at each other. As happy as they were to see each other again, they had not seen each other in two years, and some awkwardness slowly crept its way between the two.
Keira, realizing Jak was not moving or doing anything, took his hand to lead him towards her small apartment. She opened the door and led the boy to the living room, where they could chat without being disturbed.
"Have you lived here ever since we got to Haven?" Jak asked, taking in every detail of the flat. He noticed, on the coffee table, some plans that looked like the rift they used to come to Haven City.
"Yeah, well," Keira started. "I was thrown close to this place when we went through the rift gate and I noticed this garage. They hired me as an assistant and then the student became the master."
"I'm not surprised, you've always been a good mechanic!" Jak said sheepishly.
"I was able to rent this place after and I bought it a couple of weeks ago," Keira added.
"That's great," Jak said as another awkward silence occurred between the two of them.
Keira stared at the man beside her. He had changed quite a lot. It was like his entire body was rough from Haven City. His features were rough, and his eyes did not scream innocence and joy of life like they used to. Now, they screamed hatred, revenge and something else she could not decipher even if she wanted to. If she was honest with herself, he looked broken.
"I've been looking everywhere for you, Jak, what happened to you when we got here?" Keira asked.
The man closed his eyes and put his hands on his face for a couple of seconds. He seemed to be thinking or battling whether he should tell her his whole story.
Seeing how uncomfortable he was, she tried something else.
"Well, one thing I definitely notice is that you can talk now," Keira said laughing.
He did not laugh.
His face was still stern and serious.
"I can," he answered.
"How?" The woman asked.
"You don't want to know," Jak responded.
Keira was getting uncomfortable considering Jak's reactions. He did not want to open up to her and it hurt her. They were always best friends, and now he wouldn't even let her in.
Seeing the sadness in her eyes, he spoke up.
"I'm sorry for not answering your questions, Keira, it's too hard for me to even think about it," Jak explained. "I am truly ecstatic to be with you right now, I've missed your bubbly personality and your gentle touch. That is not something you often find in this prison."
The mechanic blushed as Jak complimented her. She could not hold herself and she pulled him in. She wanted to hold him close, to tell him everything was going to be fine. That she would never leave him again, but she did not. She knew he would not believe her. He was broken. She nuzzled her head in his neck while he nuzzled his nose in her hair. They have never had the chance to do that, not even in Sandover. Samos was always watching them, making sure Jak did not do anything wrong to his daughter.
"Samos," Jak thought.
"We found Samos," Jak said, "but he is different."
"You found daddy?!" Keira exclaimed as she pulled away from him to look him in the eyes. "I haven't seen him since we landed here!"
"It was like he did not remember me. He said he never went through the rift gate," Jak explained as she stared in his eyes. "He works with the underground, he's actually the leader. Torn is the second in command."
"Is he alright?" Keira asked.
"I think so, he even seems younger," Jak added.
"That's good to hear," she said, "at least everyone is well and alive."
"Sure," Jak said. Keira picked up from his voice that he did not agree with her, but she decided not to push it more.
"Why do you want to win the races to see Baron Praxis?" Keira asked.
"I want to make him suffer," Jak spat, with venom in his voice. That surprised her, she did not know Jak was able to be so aggressive. "He's a bastard and he deserves to rot in hell."
That last statement.
That last statement told Keira that Jak had been through hell, that he was nothing like the boy he was in Sandover. He was more mature, but he was almost, no he was, sadistic.
"He did hurt lots of people," Keira said, not wanting to make Jak close up even more.
The two heard a knock on the door right after that. Keira stood and opened the door. Her eyes widened.
"What are you doing here?" She spat. "I think I've been pretty clear that I don't want anything to do with you."
Jak heard every word she said and he could feel the hatred in her voice. Who could have made her this angry?
"Keira, is everything alright?" He asked as he walked to the door. In a way, his instincts told him to protect her.
When Jak saw who was at the door, he pushed Keira behind him.
"Leave," Jak said, "Now!" He looked the man in his eyes.
"Or what 2143J?" The commander of the Krimson guards asked. Jak winced at the enunciation of his prison number. He did not think he would hear it again. "You'll go all demon on me?"
"The lady said she wants you gone, this could be counted as harassment," Jak said.
"Do you seriously think the baron would condemn me?" Errol asked. "It's you he's looking for, remember? It's you that killed half the Krimson Guards in the last month."
Keira gasped as she heard Errol say those words.
"Because of what you did to me!" Jak yelled. "It's not my fault I'm like that. I never asked for it."
"You see, Keira, I warned you about him earlier, and you wouldn't listen to me. I told you to stay away from the eco-freak from your own safety. He's dangerous. He's killed many people, even innocent bystanders. He's a demon," Errol said mercilessly.
"He might be like that, but only because of your awful Dark Warrior Program. You made him like that, there is no way the Jak I knew would do something like that! You changed him. You'll be your own demise, Errol, if you keep acting like nothing's your fault," Keira said as she made her way in front of Jak again. "Actually, I would love to see you become your own demise, that would be quite entertaining!"
Jak's eyes widened as he heard Keira mention the program that doomed him. How could she have known about that? It was a top-secret program that only Errol and Praxis knew about. Daxter knew about it, too, but he never mentioned it to anyone else, not even Torn.
"You're gonna regret saying those words, petty mechanic," Errol spat.
"You don't get to talk to her like that!" Jak said, pushing Keira protectively behind him once again. "But I completely agree with her, I can't wait to see you become your own demise. Actually, no, I would love to be your demise. You deserve to die a slow and painful death after what you did to me."
Keira stared at Jak in complete shock. She knew he lived through hell and that he had every reason to act the way he did, but it still surprised her to see how much hatred and vengeance fuelled his actions.
"I'm not the dark eco-freak," Errol said, "You are the one that deserves to be destroyed in a slow and painful death. Anyway, why would anyone waste any time with you? You can't control it, can you? One day, you'll snap, and I hope Keira won't be in your way. You cannot protect her, Jak, if it's you she needs protection from."
As Errol spoke, Jak growled almost inaudibly. He could feel the dark eco bubbling in his body, waiting to do its magic. Dark Jak wanted to come out and end Errol at that very moment, but he did not want Keira to witness such atrocities. Jak felt the darkness pull his consciousness away.
"I'm not completely unconscious when it happens, you know," Jak spat, breathing in and out, to calm himself.
"So, you mean you voluntarily killed innocent people then?" Errol asked. "And you knew very well what you were doing?"
Keira gasped behind Jak. Was it true that he knew what he was doing when he killed people? She did not believe it. She did not believe Jak killed for the sake of killing. The innocent people he killed must have been collateral damage to something bigger than just themselves.
At that last statement from Errol, Jak voluntarily let go of any self-control he had. He needed to end that bastard.
The change happened in a blink of an eye. One second, he was Jak with his golden locks and blue eyes, and the next he was a demon with claws, grey skin and hair, black eyes and black horns on his head.
Keira backed up as she saw what was happening. As much as she did not want to be afraid of Jak, she was. Jak was at the mercy of dark eco and she had no idea what he was capable of.
"You see, Keira," Errol said, "that's the real Jak, the Jak without inhibitions."
"You made him like that," Keira yelled, "you tortured him and just now, you provoked him, so he would transform into his dark alter ego!"
"Don't you see, he's gonna kill you eventually!" Errol said.
At that moment, Dark Jak lunged at Errol and he held him against the nearest wall by the throat. The creature growled in anger and Errol was suffocating.
"You'll … regret … killing … me … 2143J…" Errol said between shallow breaths. "Baron… Praxis … will … avenge … me…"
Jak growled once more, clearly indicating that he did not care about Baron Praxis at all.
"Jak," a soft voice said, "you don't want to do this, not here."
He loosened his grip on the Krimson Guards commander for an instant, but he tightened his grip on him once more.
"Jak," Keira insisted. "I know he hurt you, I know he's a real jackass, but that's what he wants you to do. He wants the world to see you as a monster. He wants people to think you don't have control over this."
He understood exactly what Keira meant. Errol wanted him to lose control, and the best way to win against Errol, was not to lose control.
Dark Jak let go of Errol and pushed him away, voluntarily scratching his back with his long black claws as a warning.
The Krimson Guards commander left the building, realizing he would not win this fight that day.
Keira put her soft hand on Dark Jak's shoulder. "Come back to me, now."
The demon turned around and stared at the woman with its huge black eyes. They were harder to read than his blue eyes, but she could see a spec of tenderness between the hatred and the anger. He slowly walked over to the mechanic, like he was calculating each of his moves, not wanting to scare her.
"I know you can control this," Keira said, "you are the strongest person I know."
The mechanic took Dark Jak's hands in hers, making him flinch. "I know you would never hurt me, you're too good for that, and, honestly, I don't care if you end up killing Errol, but I know you can beat the dark eco. You're the best channeler I know."
Something clicked in Jak's head and he pulled his hands away from her. He fell to the ground, hunched over his knees. He was screaming in pain.
Keira looked at the scene in horror, she had no idea what to do. She could not understand what was going on with Jak, but then, she saw his hair slowly changing back to their original, she saw the horns retract themselves into his skull, and his skin turned back into its regular colour.
Once his appearance was back to normal, Jak panted heavily. His eyes were still closed, and he tried to take in his surroundings. He was in Keira's apartment and there was nothing threatening him. He was fine, and Keira was fine, too.
He slowly stood, making sure his head was not spinning anymore.
"You did it, Jak, you controlled it!" Keira exclaimed enthusiastically.
"I'm so sorry you had to see that, Keira," Jak apologized.
"I'm not," Keira said and Jak's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "I got to see what it is like when the dark eco takes over, and that made me realize I have absolutely no reason to be afraid of you."
"How can you be so amazing?" Jak asked as he pulled her in for a hug. "I missed you so damn much; thinking of seeing you, and Daxter too, again was the only thing that got me through prison and the Dark Warrior Program."
Keira's answer was to just hold him closer to her. "I missed you a lot, too."
They parted eventually and they went back to the couch, where they could sit and chat.
"How did you know about the Dark Warrior Program?" Jak asked. This had been on his mind since she mentioned it.
Keira took a deep breath in before speaking, anticipating Jak's reaction. "I overheard a call between Errol and Praxis. Errol was telling the baron to pump more dark eco into the subject."
"Has Errol bothered you often in the last two years?" Jak asked, as his body went stiff.
"I…" Keira started, "We've been on a couple of dates last year, but I ended it when I heard the call between Errol and Praxis."
"You what?" Jak shouted. He saw Keira stiffen as her reaction. "Sorry, I didn't mean to react like that."
"It's okay," Keira said, "I know I made a mistake by going out with him. I used to admire him; he is one of the best racers I know, besides you."
"He's also an ace at manipulating people," Jak added, "did you know it was me when you heard that call?"
"No, I didn't," the mechanic answered, "I realized it was you yesterday, when I saw your 'wanted' poster on a wall. Errol came to warn me against you, and everything made sense."
Jak lowered his eyes to the floor and sighed.
"I'm so sorry you had to go through that, Jak, you didn't deserve it," Keira said.
"I don't even wish that to my worst enemy," Jak admitted, still looking at the ground. "Dark eco as an awful toll on a human's body. I still don't understand how I survived. Dark eco was pumped into my body three times a day, and I was in a prison cell the rest of the time with nothing but a concrete floor and bars. The guards would beat me up for fun at least once a day. I was considered an animal, a thing, they never even used my name, they called me a number, 2143J. That is the number of people who were subjected to the program, and the first letter of my name. There were 2142 innocent people that were subjected before I did, and I am the only one that survived."
Keira listened to Jak without saying a word. She just nodded and put her hand on his legs affectionately. Her eyes filled with tears. She could not believe what Jak had gone through, but also what the baron made 2142 innocent citizens suffer, only to let them die.
"The treatments got more and more intense, my days were spent crying and screaming in pain, or being beaten up. Funny story, I actually realized I could talk after the worst treatment I've had; I screamed so much and so loud that it placed my vocal chords correctly." Jak said, trying to lighten up the mood.
The tears in Keira's eyes slowly rolled down her cheeks. She knew Jak was trying to lighten up the mood, to make it seem like he's over it, but she knew he was hurting deep down.
"That's awful," Keira said, "I'm so sorry you had to live through that."
Keira pulled Jak in once more, as if she wanted to glue together all the broken pieces. Jak gladly circled her petite frame with his strong arms, nuzzling his face in her neck.
He could not understand what he was feeling. When he got to Haven, he only felt negative emotions like anger, confusion, hatred and fear. At that very moment, he felt almost content, and appreciated; something he had not felt in the last two years.
Involuntarily, tears shed from his eyes. It was as if he realized what he had lost in the last two years, what he was denied and what was taken from him when he was subjected to the Dark Warrior Program.
Keira felt the moisture of his tears roll down her shoulders. She decided not to say a word. Jak needed time to let his emotions out. He needed to accept what he lived through and crying was part of the healing process.
The only thing she was sure of was that she would be there for him as of that moment. She needed him as much as he needed her. They made each other stronger, and having a shoulder to cry on was way better than ignoring every bad thing in their life.
Hello wonderful people! Thank you so much for taking the time to read my story, whether you enjoyed it or not. It means a lot that someone would take some of their time to read something I wrote. I've always loved the Jak and Daxter series. It was one of the first video games I've ever played. I feel like Jak and Keira's reunion in Jak II did not do justice to their relationship in TPL. Thank you so so much!