Wow! It's been so long since I updated this, but here's the next chapter! Thanks to those of you who have favorited, reviewed, and alerted this story! :)

DISCLAIMER: Only Paige and Eileen are mine. Everyone else belongs to Naughty Dog.

One week later…

"Ouch!" I gasped as I accidentally pricked myself with one of the sterilized needles next to me. Sighing, I picked it up and threw it back into the bin filled with alcohol as I was forced to sterilize it again.

"Are you all right, Paige?" one of the nurses, Nurse Eileen Peterson asked with concern as she set up an IV to take to one of the nearby beds.

"Yeah, I'm fine," I growled, holding up my finger, which was starting to bleed again, "I just pricked myself." I balled my hand into a fist and closed my eyes for a minute as I thought about the last week.

As soon as Praxis had asked if I had had any experience working in a hospital, I knew what he was going to decide: that he would give me a stay of execution as long as I obeyed his and Erol's commands. As long as I complied with them, I could stay in the Fortress and help out around the hospital. If I slipped up, however…I didn't want to think about it. Well, I was a good girl, anyway: I would follow all the rules.

"Here, let me get you some Green Eco for that," Eileen suggested, but I shook my head vigorously.

"That's okay," I declined, "Thanks, though."

Green Eco. That had been something else I remembered my sisters vaguely talking about, but seeing as how I had never played Jak and Daxter before, I realized there were a lot of terms I would have to learn, Eco being one of them. I couldn't just come out and ask what Green Eco was, though, so I was forced to sit back and learn from observation. Eventually, I figured out that it was a healing substance, so therefore, by the time this minor mishap took place, I was well-informed about Green Eco. I would have to learn about the other types, though.

Eileen had taken a long time to get used to my short ears, but luckily, she didn't ask too many questions, though I knew she would eventually. I waited for that day.

"So, I hear the Baron and the Commander hauled some kid in last week," Eileen announced as we both went to check up on some of the other patients, "I wonder why."

I shrugged. I knew she was talking about Jak, but I wondered what was happening to him as well. We had both been arrested at the same time, and I hadn't seen him since that day. I hoped he was all right. "Maybe he breached the city's gates," I replied in a low voice, imitating the Krimzon Guards that had hauled me in.

"Is that why you were arrested?" Eileen asked, raising an eyebrow in concern.

I nodded. "I didn't even know I was breaking a law when I came from the forest," I explained.

"Haven Forest," Eileen replied as we finished setting everything up, "How'd you end up there?"

"I have no idea. I just woke up there last week. Maybe I can figure it out the longer I'm here." I shook my head.

"So we're part of the Krimzon Guard, too?" I asked.

"Yes," Eileen confirmed, "We're the medical division. And the guards you met are the ones that actually take care of business outside the Fortress."

"Why are they so mean?"

Eileen blushed and looked away. "I really shouldn't say," she mumbled, but I walked over to her and stood in front of her.

"You can tell me," I insisted, "I won't tell anyone else."

"Well, Baron Praxis can be a little pushy sometimes, and he wants the KG to take care of everything efficiently. But not everyone agrees with him. The former KG Commander didn't."

"Erol wasn't always the Commander?" I asked, surprised, "Then who was it before him?"

"Why are you two just talking instead of working?" another voice suddenly interrupted, and Eileen and I both whirled around to see Erol entering the medical ward.

Erol. I didn't know what to make of him. One minute, he was suave, calm, and collected, and the next minute…he was intimidating. Authoritative.

"Sorry, Commander," Eileen apologized, "We'll get back to work right away."

"Of course you will," Erol replied, smirking before turning to me as I squeezed a packet of Green Eco in my hands.

"And you?" he asked.

"Fine," was all I said, "This is better than facing a firing squad, that's for sure." I exhaled as the Commander chuckled.

"Well, I'm glad you're taking your punishment well." He then dropped the smirk and was all business again.

"I've asked some of the other nurses to cover for you two for the rest of your shift," he announced, "Whatever syringes you've been filling with Green Eco, stop. Use Dark Eco instead."

Dark Eco? I thought in confusion, What's Dark Eco?

Next to me, Eileen paled for a minute, which made me realize that it must have been something bad. Not all Ecos were good, I guessed. "D-Dark Eco, sir?" she inquired.

"Yes, you heard me correctly, Miss Peterson," the Commander replied, "I need two vials of it on the double."

Christ. Two vials of Dark Eco? What could he need them for?

"What for?" she asked.

"That is classified information."

I sighed. Of course it was. And who was I to question the Commander?

"Get the vials to me within the next fifteen minutes," he ordered, sweeping his gaze over both of us as he turned and walked out of the room.

"I guess we'd better get started," Eileen sighed, "What could he want with two vials of Dark Eco? Does he know how dangerous it is?"

I didn't say a word as I helped her out. "Where are we going to just get Dark Eco?" I asked, "From a convenience store?"

"There are special labs where we keep it. Just follow me. Oh, and put this on." She handed me what looked like a radiation suit. Gosh, I thought, It's that dangerous?

Gulping, I followed Eileen to the lab she was referring to, and I held my breath as she handed me some thick gloves as well. After slipping on the suit and gloves, I opened a certain refrigerator, and Eileen carefully reached inside and took out a large jar with a "CAUTION" label on it, and inside, I could see a purple and black liquid moving back and forth and glowing a little bit. That was it. That was the Dark Eco. I found myself gasping and leaping backwards as a little bit spilled over the top and got on my gloves.

"Careful, Paige!" Eileen warned me, "Here, use these syringes to take out two vials. I'll hold the jar in place." She set it on the table in front of us, and I slowly emptied out the two syringes filled with Green Eco, cleaned them, and then put Dark Eco in them instead. Once that was finished, we put everything away and retraced our steps back to the level above us, where Erol was waiting. I handed over the syringes without question.

A little while later…

"I wonder what they're doing with the Dark Eco we gave them," I asked as Eileen and I returned to putting together other medical machines.

Eileen shrugged. Then, she looked down at her watch and gasped. "Oh, damn it!" she cursed, "I've got to go!"

I raised an eyebrow. "Go?" I echoed.

"Yeah! My shift ended about an hour ago! I guess I got caught up with getting the Dark Eco for the Commander that I lost track of the time!"

I wondered why she was suddenly getting so hyper, so I tried to calm her down. "It's okay, Eileen!" I replied, "I'm sure they'll understand that you have to leave. I'm getting out of here, too, after the next two hours."

But something seemed strange about Nurse Peterson's sudden anxiety, and I couldn't place my finger on it.

"I hope so," she responded, "Bye, Paige. I'll see you tomorrow!" And with that, she was out before I could say anything else. Yeah, something's fishy about that, I thought to myself, But what?

I sighed as I began to play with the flower in my hair, adjusting and readjusting it until it was back to its original position. I couldn't help it; I didn't have anything to do at the moment, and I got anxious fast, especially in the Fortress. That was when I decided I need some breathing space as well. Getting up from my chair, I exited the medical wing and eventually managed to find my way out of the Fortress. I hadn't really been in Haven City since last week, so I was anxious to try and figure out some of the locations.

The whole time I was out, I pulled a hood over my head; I didn't want anyone seeing my ears, as I knew I would get even stranger looks than I already did. With my face covered, the first place I decided to walk around in was the place I had arrived in last week: the Garden Section.

The evening was a warm one, and the citizens around me seemed to be enjoying it. I was happy for them; the first time I walked the streets, they all appeared to be miserable. After spending a week in the Fortress, I couldn't blame them. The Fortress was a miserable place, too.

When I saw that I had reached a dead end by the gate leading to Haven Forest, I turned around and walked back into the square behind me, which I learned was called the Bazaar. I loved it! There were all sorts of stores, cafés, fruit stands, you name it!

In the middle of all this was a mysterious-looking tent, but before I could go inside to have a look, someone suddenly shouted at me.

"Join the Underground!" the voice shouted, "Fight the tyranny!" I pulled my hood up even more and kept walking.

"You! Miss!" the voice cried again, and this time, I turned around, making sure my ears were hidden out of sight.

"You mean me?" I asked.

"Yes, you!" the young man insisted, "Help us in our war against Baron Praxis!"

"You're a rebel group?" I asked, "Why are you out in public, then?"

"I want everyone to hear what I have to say! And you can help us!"

I shook my head. "Sorry, but I'm with the Krimzon Guard," I replied in a short voice, "Medical division."

"The Underground can help you change that. You don't have to work under a dictator anymore."

I narrowed my eyes. "Yes, I do," I said in response, "And you better stop protesting like this or you'll be arrested. What you're doing is against the rules!" With that, I turned and hurried away.

As I ran further away from the rebel, I heard him shout after me, "You can't follow the rules all the time!" At that, I ran even faster.