A/N: I didn't expect to take such a long break from writing, however life changed a lot. And now I am taking care of my twins and haven't had much creativity flowing. I'm hoping that I can make this awesome as I've been trying to write her story since 2006! Enjoy

"What happened?" Jak decided to ask after a long pause, seeing Torn get wrapped in his own thoughts again.

The tattooed man turned back to face him, a mocking look about him as he spoke; "Its a very long story. One that I can only tell half of, since she's not here to do her part justice." Though, she was always terrible with stories. She'd forget what she was saying halfway through, or her mind would wander off elsewhere or she'd just change the subject all together. But that was what made her so unique, different than anyone else that was in the Guard at the time.

"Just tell me anyways." Jak said, starting to get annoyed at this point. He would blame it on the dark eco, but he just hated when people avoided the question.

Torn sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before getting started. It was a story he never wanted to tell anyone, especially not now. Not to someone who had no idea who she even was.

"Cara was just a girl with a crazy dream when I met her…"

It was a few months before the metal head war had gotten serious, the Krimzon Guard was looking for new meat, anyone who was willing to join this dangerous fight. Cara had applied, but was rejected. Not that the woman couldn't fight, but Baron Praxis felt that women had no place in a war. Torn didn't know what made her stand out, maybe it was her firey colored hair; or maybe it was her emerald colored eyes. But she found her way to the battlefield, somehow.

Torn scratched his head, trying to recall when exactly they had met. "She wasn't exactly a member of the Guard, but she always seemed to be in the right place at the right time." He smirked, scoffing. "Kinda like you, Jak."

Cara was an exemplary warrior, but she wasn't always that way. She had been training under the Shadow, aka Samos at the time when they first crossed paths.

Torn was on patrol with his fellow guardsmen when Metal heads had broken in through the sewers. They were there to neutralize the threat and block up where they had come in. However, it seemed that someone had already started their job when they had got there. The same girl he's come to know as Cara, her long firey hair in a ponytail running behind her as she kicked, punched and shot at the much bigger metal heads. She was pretty torn up when Torn and his men got to her, they jumping to her rescue. Though she only showed them her palm; "Stop! Turn back! It's not safe here!"

Who did she think she was talking to? "Excuse me ma'am, but you're the one in real danger here." Torn had called to her, aiming and shooting at a metal head that attempted to attack.

"I'm fine! Don't worry about me." She replied, kicking the monster backwards. It must've hurt though, because she began to cradle her shin. He only remembered this because it made him chuckle and break into action with the other two men by his side.

The four of them ended up fighting as one team against the metal heads until they stopped coming, though Cara seemed to be angry about the situation. Her arms were crossed as she walked ahead of them. "Thanks for the help." She said, a bit bitterly.

"It was no trouble ma'am, but what the hell were you even doing here?"

"My name's not ma'am. Do I even look like a ma'am to you?" Cara responded, turning to him then. Her eyes were shining,as if they were on fire even when she was upset. She had cuts and bruises all over her olive colored skin and was heaving slightly. Torn raised his hands in surrender. "Well, excuse me princess…" he said mockingly at first, seeing that it only made her more angry. It made him smirk and chuckle at her. "Look, we don't need civilians mucking around trying to play hero. You got it?"

Cara felt a frown mark her features as she flared at the masked man. She could hear the smile in his tone, and it pissed her off. "You listen here, Captain." She said in a mocking tone. "I'm not some damsel in distress, and I can't stand aside and let people get hurt waiting for your sorry asses to arrive."

"We came, didn't we?" He corrected. Any patrol he was on he went straight for the danger. He couldn't speak for the other patrols about the city, despite being captain.

She sighed deeply; "I'm sorry, I'm making a terrible first impression." Her frown went away and turned to a smile as she extended her hand. "My name's Cara. I tried to apply for the Guard, but apparently women are still meant to be in kitchens and birth children."

Thus began their friendship. She always seemed to be there, like she was tapping their communications somehow. They grew closer as a team, and eventually she eased up on him, wasn't so harsh. And she softened him as well, so much that he felt he had to protect her from Baron Praxis. If he found out that he was giving guard secret training to a civilian, he would definitely lose his title. Not that he cared.

As time passes and as they grew even closer, Torn began to realize what the Baron was doing to the city. He was practically destroying it through his own ignorance. There were more people getting killed in the slums, but there wasn't even a report of it. It was like these people slowly began to be nothing but numbers to him.