Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters or locations in this story. All original concepts belong to the amazing people of Naughty Dog. I bow to their creative minds.

JKA: This fic was inspired by Light-Eco-Sage's absolutely AMAZING story "Back To You", which is her own rendition of Jak II. And if you haven't read it yet, I highly recommend you do, because this story wouldn't have even been thought of if it weren't for her.

Broken

Somewhere within the cold metal fortress, a door slammed shut. The sound of whirring machines could be heard from the cells nearby the place known by the select few forced to visit it only as "The Room".

A heartbeat passed, and then an agonized scream echoed throughout the desolate halls.

The guards threw a young, barely-conscious elf roughly into his cell, instantly locking the door and backing away, guns trained on him as if they expected him to attack at any moment. However, the elf did nothing of the sort. Instead, he dragged himself to the far corner of his cage-like living quarters and curled up in a ball, blackness threatening to engulf his vision and aftershocks of pain ripping through his body every now and again. He squeezed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth against the sharp aches that were all-too-familiar.

Two years.

Two long, miserable years had passed since Jak had been separated from his friends. Two years of suffering, loneliness, and fear. The days had long ago started to blur together, until Jak couldn't remember the date, the day of the week… he wasn't even sure how old he was anymore. All he knew was the same torturous routine he was forced to live over and over, every day of his pathetic excuse for a life: wake up, get beaten, eat the sludge that was supposed to pass as his only meal, get beaten some more, get sent to The Room for his daily "treatment", and then get locked away in his cell and pass out on the floor.

He wasn't even exactly sure what he was doing here, or why he'd been sentenced to this "punishment" he couldn't remember deserving. Little information was passed from the Krimzon Guards to the prisoners, and Jak had long ago ceased caring anyway. All he knew was that he was one of five inmates being used in some experiment the guards called the "Dark Warrior" program, run by Haven City's iron-fisted tyrant Baron Praxis. But to the "test subjects" locked inside the Baron's fortress, it was Hell on Earth.

In reality, he didn't give a damn as to why he was here, or what these people were using him for. His mind just wasn't capable of any real feeling apart from fear, hatred, and pain anymore.

Heavy footsteps echoed off the metal floor, and Jak slowly blinked open his eyes, his face emotionless as he watched a haggard-looking man — probably in his mid-thirties — being dragged past his cell by two Krimzon Guards. Four other armored elves flanked them, their guns all aimed at the prisoner. Jak's numb mind gradually registered that this man was another "experiment", and that he was probably being taken to The Room.

Sure enough, several seconds later a heavy door banged shut, followed by an eerie silence. It was abruptly broken by an anguished scream, one that would have made even the most hardened KG's skin crawl with dread.

Jak heard the man's cries, but they fell on deaf ears. He'd experienced it all before — being bound to a cold metal chair, the searing pain of Dark Eco surging through his body as he begged anyone within earshot to kill him.

The blonde-haired elf sighed, a miniscule twinge of pity seeping into his blank thoughts — or the equivalent of what used to be pity, anyway.

After what seemed an eternity, the agonized shrieking cut off, leaving a deathly quiet in its place. Jak watched with expressionless eyes as the group of guards reappeared, supporting the unconscious man between them.

They were just about to pass by Jak's cell when the armored men made what would prove to be a fatal mistake.

A mere foot from the bars of Jak's cage, one of the guards lost his hold on the comatose elf and dropped him. The prisoner's limp arm fell through the minimal space between the metal bars, within reach of the blue-eyed elf inside.

In an instant, Jak was on his feet, animalistic fury surging through his limbs. The months of Dark Eco exposure and all the torture he'd endured had reverted him to his most primal instincts, taking over his mind and resulting in a boy who was more animal than man. And prevailing above all the other primitive behaviors was the instinct of male dominance.

Therefore, Jak immediately saw this other elf's presence — no matter how insignificant — in his cell as an intrusion of his territory.

Before any of the guards could realize their mistake, a feral snarl ripped from Jak's chest. The painful burn of Dark Eco seared through his veins and clouded his already unresponsive thoughts. The tan of his skin — grown paler after two years without sun exposure — bleached away, leaving it a deathly white color. His green/blonde hair faded, an ashen tone taking its place. Jet-black horns sprouted from his forehead, and five-inch claws of the same shade grew from where his fingernails usually were.

Last of all to change were his eyes. The pupils seemed to expand, completely obliterating his ocean-blue irises and drowning them in darkness more suffocating than the blackest midnight.

Without giving the shell-shocked Krimzon Guards time to react, Dark Jak dove for the unconscious elf and grabbed him by the wrist. Using inhuman strength and speed, the dark creature yanked the man that had dared to invade his territory through the non-existent space between the cell bars. Several of the prisoner's joints dislocated in the process, but Jak's Eco-driven mind was too focused on punishing the intruder to care.

Quick as lightning, Jak literally tore the poor elf to shreds, leaving nothing behind but scraps of clothing and several crimson puddles on the floor.

By the time he was finished, the guards had managed to overcome their shock and draw their weapons. They fired at the dark creature, causing several ear-splitting bangs to echo throughout the hall.

A single blast connected with Dark Jak's shoulder, and pure fury swam in his vision, so potent that he could taste the burning flavor on his tongue.

With an animalistic roar, Jak flung himself at the bars of his cell, swiping at the nearest KG. His claws sliced through the man's armor as if it were wet cardboard, digging into the flesh of his chest and killing him instantly. Another guard met the same fate within a heartbeat, but the others were wise enough to leap out of Jak's range before they could join their comrades.

"Call for backup!" one of the remaining guards barked at his companions, his voice slightly distorted by the mask protecting his face. "Restrain that monster!"

The other three guards ceased shooting at Jak and flipped their rifles to the shock-mod they so fondly used in short-range combat. Getting as close to the enraged Dark elf as they dared, they let loose a volley of high-powered electricity straight at him.

Jak's growls of fury quickly became pained howls as the shockwaves jolted his body, sending his muscles into a spasm and breaking him out of his blind rage. Color gradually returned to his skin and hair, and the horns receded into his skull. His razor-sharp claws shrank back down to normal fingernails, and the choking black of his eyes faded, revealing the cerulean underneath once more.

As soon as the burn of the Dark Eco vanished, Jak collapsed onto the hard metal floor, writhing in agony as the guards continued to shock him.

After a few heartbeats, the KG finally withdrew their weapons. Jak lay trembling on the ground, his knees curled up to his chest and his arms wrapped tightly around them.

"Good work, men," one of the guards said gruffly. "Now move along. We've got two other prisoners that need treatment today."

The other three guards snapped a salute to their superior, and then they marched away down the hall, carrying their fallen comrades over their shoulders.

Jak remained where he was in his cell, completely oblivious that the guards had left. He closed his eyes sadly and rested his forehead on his knees, remorse coursing through his veins.

Over time, he'd lost track of how many KG's he'd murdered, and by now he thought nothing of it. All the KG had ever brought him was pain, and the way he saw it, they deserved a fate far worse than death.

But never before had he killed another prisoner, someone who had been suffering the same torture he had. That man had been just like him, forced into a sadistic "experiment" and tormented to near-insanity. Even if he had been a criminal before being enrolled in the Dark Warrior program, nobody deserved the ill treatment all prisoners received from the guards and the endless hours of Dark Eco agony.

And now an innocent man's blood was on Jak's hands.

Jak tightened his hold on his knees, as if it would somehow help ease the guilt that clawed at him now. Any shred of humanity he may have retained before murdering his fellow inmate had officially died and gone to hell.

He squeezed his eyes shut, trying to focus on something — anything — else.

A sudden image popped up in front of his mind's eye. It was a picture of a young boy; his ocean-blue eyes radiating innocence and a tranquil smile playing around the corners of his lips. His spiky green/blonde hair was gently tousled by the wind as he raced down a sandy beach, the air around him vibrating with silent laughter.

A bitter chuckle escaped Jak's throat before he could stop it. He couldn't believe that the gentle mute boy in his memories had once been him. The differences between his younger self and the man he was today would have been almost comical were they not so sickeningly ironic. Who would have thought the quiet hero of Sandover would end up as a cold-blooded murderer?

That boy is dead, Jak muttered to himself. He died a long time ago. I'm not who I used to be.

The image of the carefree boy faded, a new one instantly taking its place.

This memory was different, but still the same in a way. Jak was playing in the center of tiny Sandover village, radiating his youthful innocence, but now he was not alone. He was chasing around a short, orange creature wearing a pair of fingerless gloves and goggles on its furry head. A young girl sat on the edge of the village fountain, her feet dangling in the water, watching the two boys with an amused expression. The wind played in her blue/green hair and the sunlight sparkled in her emerald eyes.

Daxter, Jak thought sadly, letting out a long sigh. And Keira… They're probably long gone. Even if they somehow ended up in the same place as me, I'm never going to see them again.

He imagined, not for the first time, reuniting with his long-lost friends. If things had been different, he could see the occasion as joyous. He could picture Daxter leaping up on his shoulder just like old times, grinning his broad grin and making some smart remark. He could see Keira, her bright green eyes brimming with overjoyed tears as she threw her arms around him.

The mental image taunted him cruelly now. For, in the two years he had been separated from his friends, he had truly become a monster. If by some miracle they actually were to reunite — provided that Jak found a way to escape this impenetrable hellhole called "prison" — he knew that they would be shocked to see him the way he was now. Daxter would no doubt run from him screaming as soon as he saw the cold hatred that was ever-present in Jak's eyes. And Keira… he didn't even want to imagine the hurt and bewildered look that would be on her face.

Pain lashed at Jak's empty heart as he pictured Keira, her bright smile and the music of her voice that had all-but-faded from his memory. As much as he missed Daxter, his wisecracking best friend, it was nothing compared to the agony he felt when he remembered the beautiful she-elf.

We could have had so much. We should have had years together. But I never even got to tell her how I felt…

Unshed tears began to burn in Jak's eyes, and he stubbornly fought against them. After two years of relentless torture, he had come to accept that showing emotions such as grief were a sign of weakness. And this was definitely not the place to succumb to such vulnerabilities, not if you wanted to avoid an extra hour of beatings from the guards.

Besides, the Baron's prison was not a place for the faint-hearted. Jak had seen many prisoners die at the hands of their torturers after losing their battles with their emotions. He had vowed early on that he would not be one of those unfortunate victims, and so he had learned to suppress anything that would label him as weak.

But it doesn't matter anyway, Jak sighed to himself, tightening his grip on his legs and pressing his forehead to his knees. I'm going to die here. And even if by some miracle I didn't, then what would I do? I have no one to escape to, and no one is looking for me. There's really no point in fighting it anymore.

Fatigue from the day's events soon began to seep into his mind, and within a few minutes he fell into an uncomfortable sleep, his hopeless thoughts still churning in his head.

Warmth beat down on Jak's face from somewhere above him. His long ears picked up the sound of waves gently lapping at a shoreline nearby. A cool breeze stirred his thick hair and disturbed the gravelly earth beneath him.

Blinking open his eyes warily, Jak instantly squinted against the blinding sunlight. After all his time spent in the dank prison, his eyes weren't used to exposure to such powerful brightness.

After giving his eyes time to adjust, he slowly realized that he was lying on an absolutely breath-taking beach. The sun's rays glittered off the surface of the ocean and the golden sand positively glowed.

Jak propped himself up on his elbows so he could survey his surroundings, his eyebrows furrowing in confusion. Something about this place seemed familiar…

Glancing behind him, an involuntary gasp escaped his lips as his eyes fell on a grassy cliff-top plateau several yards away.

Nestled into the cliff, looking exactly the same as he remembered, was Sandover Village — his home.

So this must be Sentinel Beach, he mused silently, scanning the sparkling shoreline with wide eyes.

Quiet footsteps stirred the sand to his left, so low that he could barely hear them over the crashing of the waves. He was instantly on his feet, whipping around to face whoever was approaching, instinctively dropping into a battle-ready crouch.

A tense second passed, and then Jak straightened up, his eyes enlarging to the size of dinner plates and his heart thudding almost painfully against his ribs.

There, strolling calmly over to him, a small smile playing around the corners of her full lips, was Keira.

The she-elf came to a halt about a foot away from Jak, tucking a strand of blue/green hair absentmindedly behind her ear.

"Hello, Jak," she greeted cheerfully, as if they had seen each other just yesterday. Jak's long-empty heart melted as her voice rang in his ears, the most perfect melody he'd ever heard. "It's been a long time."

"K… Keira?" Jak stammered, hardly daring to believe his eyes.

Keira laughed lightheartedly, grinning warmly at him. "Who were you expecting? Gol and Maya?"

Jak opened his mouth to reply, but no sound came out. He simply stared at her, dumbstruck, unable to wrap his head around the fact that she was standing right in front of him.

"Ottsel got your tongue, Jak?" she laughed again, stepping closer to him. Her emerald eyes sparkled with affection, and Jak instantly found himself getting lost in their endless depths.

"I…" Jak tried to answer her, but he couldn't seem to assemble his jumbled thoughts in order to form a coherent response.

Keira took another step toward him, slowly closing the distance between them. When she was within an arm's length of Jak, she reached out to rest her hand gently on his cheek.

Without thinking, Jak recoiled from her touch, automatically expecting some form of harm. Two years of receiving merciless beatings in prison had drilled the same lesson into his subconscious over and over: human contact equals pain.

"Jak? What's wrong?" Keira asked, tilting her head to one side, confusion plain on her face. Her eyes swam with hurt, and Jak mentally kicked himself for his instinctual reaction.

"Sorry, Keira," he murmured, avoiding her gaze. "It's, uh… complicated."

Understanding flashed briefly in Keira's eyes, and she nodded once, her face somber. "It has to do with your time in prison, doesn't it?"

Jak blinked at her, surprised. "H-how do you know about that?"

"It's not important," the blue-haired she-elf replied, shrugging nonchalantly.

"Okay…" Jak wanted to press her, but he let the subject drop. He stared blankly at her for a moment, and then it finally dawned on him that she was truly here, standing less than a foot from him, and that she was not running away from him — yet.

Without a second thought, he wound his arms around her slender waist and pulled her flush against his body, holding her as if the world would end should he let go. Keira seemed bewildered by the sudden show of affection, but she gladly returned his embrace, throwing her arms around his neck.

"I've missed you so much, Keira," Jak murmured, tightening his arms around her and burying his face in her hair.

"I've missed you, too," she replied softly, resting her head against his chest.

The two of them simply stood there for several immeasurable moments, taking comfort in each other's presence. Jak inhaled deeply, breathing in Keira's sweet scent, and he held his breath for as long as possible, indulging in it. He'd been without it for so long, he was shocked to find he'd actually forgotten how she smelled.

Keira shifted gently in Jak's arms, pulling away a few inches so she could look into his eyes.

"Jak…" she whispered, her warm smile slowly fading and sorrow taking its place. "You've forgotten."

Jak blinked at her, confused. "What?"

"You don't remember," Keira repeated, closing her eyes and shaking her head sadly.

"What don't I remember?" Jak inquired, completely baffled. He tilted his head to one side, studying her with a bewildered expression.

Keira sighed, meeting his gaze again. Her expression was somewhere between somber and… disappointed?

"You've forgotten… everything," she muttered, her emerald eyes dull with what could only be pain. "Sandover, Daxter, me…"

"What?" Jak gasped, his eyes widening. "Of course I haven't forgotten you and Daxter! I've thought about Sandover almost every day since we were separated!" He shook his head, completely shocked that she would think that. "Daxter… he's my best friend. And you, Keira…" He suddenly felt as if there were something stuck in his throat, choking him.

Taking a deep, shaky breath, he forced the words out. "I love you, Keira. How could you think I'd forget you?"

The blue-haired she-elf sighed again, shaking her head slowly. "But you have. You've forgotten who you are, and therefore forgotten me."

It was Jak's turn to sigh as he finally realized what she meant. He knew she was referring to the fact that he obviously wasn't the innocent boy she'd known in Sandover. But that didn't mean he'd forgotten his younger, carefree self, he simply wasn't the same person anymore.

"Keira…" he mumbled, avoiding her gaze. "That kid you knew isn't who I am. I'm… not who I used to be. Now I'm a… a monster."

Keira was quiet for a long moment. She reached up and held his face gently in both her hands, waiting for him to look at her before she spoke again.

"No," she stated flatly, her mouth set in a firm line.

"No what?" Jak demanded, his tone confused rather than irritated over her cryptic behavior.

"You're not a monster," she clarified, stroking his cheek with her thumb, her emerald eyes intense and completely serious.

"Yeah, I am," Jak, sighed, his gaze sliding to the ground again. "I… I've killed people, Keira. And one of them was an innocent man that just happened to get a little too close to me. I'm… I'm a murderer."

The she-elf in his arms was shaking her head before he'd finished speaking.

"Don't say that," she disagreed, tilting his chin up with one finger so his eyes met hers again. "You are not a murderer either. You've just… lost your way."

Jak opened his mouth to protest, but Keira held up one finger before he could speak, and he remained silent, studying her with an incredulous expression.

"The old Jak of Sandover is not gone," she insisted, her gaze boring into his. "He is still there, he's just buried deep. That carefree boy is who you really are, Jak. Maybe not in attitude, or in your actions, but it's the true you."

Before Jak had a chance to object, she leaned in and pressed her lips softly to his.

Jak's eyes widened, his chagrin over their conversation completely melting into astonishment. After a few heartbeats, he managed to unlock his tense muscles, and he kissed her back, his arms holding her tightly to his chest.

All too soon, she broke away from him. Her emerald eyes met his cerulean ones, and she smiled again, warmth radiating from her every feature.

"Remember who you are…" she whispered, her voice so low that Jak could barely hear her over the pounding of the waves on the shore. She stepped out of his embrace, backing slowly away from him, her lips still pulled up in a gentle smile.

"Keira?" Jak called out to her, confused again. His puzzlement quickly shifted to fear as her form began to fade away, and the golden sand behind her became visible through her skin.

Within a heartbeat, she was gone.

"Keira, come back!" Jak yelled, scanning the surrounding beach desperately for some sign of her.

Suddenly, the familiar surroundings of Sandover began to disappear as well, the sunlight slowly dimming to blackness and the sound of the ocean falling silent.

Just as the darkness threatened to engulf him, Keira's words echoed in his head once more.

Remember who you are…

Jak jolted awake with a gasp, sitting bolt upright on the hard metal floor of his cell. A cold sheen of sweat dripped down his forehead and the back of his neck, and he wiped it away impatiently with the back of his hand.

He glanced around himself quickly, bewildered, not exactly sure where he was. Awareness slowly seeped into his jumbled thoughts, and he relaxed, his shoulders slumping and a drained sigh escaping his throat.

Wonder if it's time for my morning beating yet, he pondered sourly, hauling himself to his feet and stretching his aching muscles.

It was then that Keira's words chose to repeat themselves in his mind, mimicking the perfect music of her voice exactly.

Remember who you are.

Jak stared blankly at the grime-coated wall opposite him, listening to her voice echo in his head. Memories came rushing back into his cold mind, hitting him with a force similar to that of crashing a zoomer headlong into a brick wall.

He remembered the day he'd met Daxter, catching the boy who would soon become his best friend in the act of trying to free all of the old farmer's yakows. He pictured the moment he'd seen Keira for the first time, and could almost feel the way his stomach had done nervous flips when she'd said hi to him, even though he'd only been a child then.

A less pleasant memory quickly flashed through his mind; his fateful encounter with a swarm of wumpbees on his ninth birthday, an event that would effectively scar him for life.

And then, more recent memories dug themselves out of the hollow recesses his mind had become. He could see Daxter's gangly human form falling into a vat of Dark Eco, only to be launched out as an ottsel several seconds later. He remembered his adventure to Gol and Maya's citadel, racing to free the four Sages and save the world. He imagined the glow in Keira's eyes after he'd defeated the Dark Sages, a bright smile playing around her lips as he leaned in toward her, only to be rudely interrupted by a certain orange fuzz-ball…

Suddenly, something in Jak's mind clicked into place. Two years worth of pent-up agony, fear, and hatred melted away, to be replaced by a cold determination that he'd never known he was capable of.

His hands clenched unconsciously into fists at his sides as a powerful resolve settled over his thoughts. Without warning, he leapt up into the air and grabbed one of the metal bars that spanned the ceiling of his cage-like cell in one hand. He then proceeded to pull himself up until his hair brushed the cold steel, dropping down again after a few seconds and repeating the motion.

I know who I am now, Keira, he growled to himself, gritting his teeth with the exertion of his one-armed pull-ups. And I'm going to fight. For Daxter… and for you. He smiled grimly to himself.

If there's one thing I'm certain of, it's that when I get out of here… there's going to be hell to pay.

(line here)

JKA: Phew, that was a heavy dose of angst if I ever saw one. XD Anyways, reviews are much loved, people, so if you please... ^_^