A/N:

Is it weird that vacation from my actual author job is writing for FanFiction? Yes? I thought so. But I embrace my prime weirdness, tenfold.

On with the next chapter!

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJ

Jak.

It was a good day.

Good days were hard to come by. Every time one situation was taken care of, another arose. There was never really any "downtime", even when there was downtime. I'd never gone on a trip before; not alone, not with my wife, not as a family. Sparxon was born, and being the frail little potato he was in the first year of his life, there was no reason to take him on a vacation getaway. And Darla and I didn't go anywhere without him, so we just didn't really go anywhere at all. I figured maybe once he was old enough to enjoy family time away from home, we'd take a nice, long trip. See the world, just the three of us. But that future wasn't in sight yet, so I'd just put it on the list of things to do when I had time. Or chose to make time for it.

But this, right now, felt like downtime. This felt like vacation. This was a good day.

The sounds of the waves rolling along the shore drifted gently through my eardrums; the sand under my bare feet was soft, cooled off from the setting sun. The sky was pink and blue and orange and purple, sparkling on the sea, the water stretching for miles and miles, so far that you couldn't see what lay beyond. The Brink, perhaps? The place I've studied diligently over the last two years, the mysterious location mentioned in my father's documented research files he provided me upon his death? I didn't know for sure, and neither did my father. His research only mentioned something about it being the edge of the planet, the drop-off of our world. But, maybe, that's what truly lay beyond.

For now, the world stretched on infinitely, just like this day with my son.

We strolled the beach together, hand in hand, him pulling me along the shore as if he knew exactly where he was headed. His petite hand was engulfed by my larger one, but- in a metaphorical sense- it didn't feel much smaller than my own. Nothing about Sparxon was small, in that regard. My once infant son was now a human being, with the world before him and a wild life ahead.

It was unfathomable to think that, one day, he would be sixteen and going on adventures with his friends, like I had at that age. It was both terrifying and exciting to know that he would some day feel and think and be as I am, yet be his own person at the same time. He would love and hate, feel fear or show courage. The medallion, our seal of House Mar, was once as big as his skull, and one day he would wear it well. He would grow and keep growing away from the little boy that was now walking beside me, when it seemed like only yesterday he was just my drooling, wide-eyed, innocent Sparky.

"I'm bigger now, Da."

His voice joggled my thoughts. I grinned down at him.

"You're much bigger. Almost as tall as me."

He frowned and halted, turning us to the sea. He gazed down at his toes in the sand, digging them deeper beneath it.

"You miss me small."

"I miss you smaller, sure." I nodded, looking out at the sea as I moved my foot near his. "But I like you more now. We walk together, talk together, play together. We're better pals than before, don't you think?"

He didn't respond and I glanced down at him. He was still frowning. I knelt by his side, placing my hands on his tiny waist, turning him to me.

"I'm not sad about you being big, Sparky." I explained, bowing my head so he was forced to look me in the eyes. "I miss when you were a baby only because you only get to be a baby one time. I'm going to miss you every year you get older. It's not a bad thing; each year that you get bigger is a brand new adventure. Right?"

He shrugged and I squeezed his ticklish sides, earning a tiny giggle from him. I lifted his chin with my finger.

"Think of it this way," I continued, "When you were a baby, you were too little to do all these things with me, like walk and talk and play. But now you're a big kid. You're big enough to tell me we're best friends. You're still my best friend right?"

"Yeah! Yeah!" He jumped into my arms, flinging his own around my neck. I laughed and sat back in the sand, pulling him into my lap. I sighed, petting his sunny-blond hair.

"You're too smart for your own good." I murmured. He patted my back as if I needed some sort of reassurance, making me chuckle.

"I know." He pulled back and looked me in the eyes. "Dad?"

I sighed again, knowing whenever he said my name like this, it always meant he had questions.

"Yeah, bud?"

"I worry."

He worried. Of course, he worried. He was a toddler with an old soul because he could hear the minds of every person around him. He was "too smart for his own good" because everything he heard registered. I should've known something was going on with him. He spoke so much better than the other children. He was far more mature. He had his moments obviously, since he was, in fact, a child. But he never ceased to amaze me, and I should've realized he was simply more amazing than an ordinary boy.

He touched the side of my face. "Don't worry, Daddy."

I rolled my eyes at him. "I'm worrying about you, boyo."

"I know." He rolled his eyes, too. "But I worry for Mommy. You need to worry for Mommy. Not for me."

"I am worried about her, though." I whispered. "That's why I brought you here. I wanted to protect you. But I'm also thinking about her. You said she needed a clear head. No more clouds."

"Hmm." He nodded slowly, his small brow furrowing. "Yeah. But now I can't hear her. So now I don't know."

"You were right, though." I said, leaning back in the sand on my elbows. "She needed to be away from both of us, even if she didn't want us to leave. Not because of us, but because of the clouds in her head." I picked up a shell by my fingertips. "I thought I took you here to protect you, but I think I knew she needed a break in order to focus on whatever is distracting her so damn much."

"Bad word, Da." Sparxon glared at me with his sharp, indigo gaze.

I smiled. "Sorry. Anyway, sometimes when Mommy gets upset, she needs some time to think. To clear her head. So I give her a little space until she feels better. And Mommy does the same thing for me when I'm upset. That's why we need this. I think Mommy and I both need to get rid of our clouds."

Sparky watched me with wary eyes. He slid off my lap, sitting beside me and facing the ocean. He then wound his arms around my bent leg, resting his head on my thigh.

"You know best."

It came out like a whisper, and he didn't sound anything like my almost three-year-old boy. He sounded like a grown person inside a smaller one's body. I felt like he meant what he said, but there was something condescending about the way he said it. As if, even though I made the best decision for all of us by leaving, he may not think it was necessarily the right decision.

I frowned heavily, my bottom lip jutting out as anxiety crept into my brain. But Sparky suddenly peered over his shoulder at me, flashing me the biggest grin.

"Da, I want to see fish!"

I exhaled with relief. My little boy was back. I smirked at him, lifting an eyebrow.

"How about I take you out on Grandpa Damas's fishing boat tomorrow and we can hunt for lurker sharks?"

Sparxon cried out happily and pounced, scrambling on top of me. I fell back in the sand, feigning defeat as he tackled me. We laughed together, the sun finally sinking deep into the see, the sky a light indigo color, much like my son's eyes were.

My thigh vibrated and Sparxon rolled off of me. I sat up and reached into my pocket for my communicator. I saw Daxter's name on the screen and answered, placing the device to my ear.

"Hey, Dax." I said, watching Sparky move our boots and begin to line them up in the sand.

"It's me."

My heart stopped at the sound of Darla's voice coming through in place of my best friend's. I didn't answer. My mouth ran dry and my stomach turned.

She sighed loudly. "You were right all along. And I know why you did this. But you need to come home."

Sparxon made a pattern with our shoes- big boot, small boot, big boot, small boot. I focused on him playing in an attempt to steady my breathing.

I spoke with hesitancy. "I don't know…"

"I'm serious, Jak." Darla pleaded urgently. "All the secrecy and meetings you weren't in on, all the plans I'd been making without you... They didn't even work. I tried my best, but I wasn't able to do what needed to be done in order protect us from our next obstacle." She paused and I heard her suck in air sharply. "All the lies and our fight and you taking Sparxon away… It was all for nothing."

I stood up abruptly and took several steps back from my son so he wouldn't overhear our conversation. "What does that mean?"

"It means I failed."

I didn't say anything. I didn't know what the hell she was even talking about.

"I still want to discuss what happened." She went on. "I want to mend what's broken, and I promise you things are going to change. But you need to get home now." Her tone was strong, unwavering. "Our family needs to be together for us to get through this new chapter."

I was terrified by what she meant by all of this. Usually when Darla and I gave each other space for whatever the reason, we allowed one another to actually get that space. I was so used to Darla letting me cool down after an argument or bad day, and I always did the same for her. But she demanded that I come home- now- and that could only mean one thing.

Whatever future or fears she'd been keeping from me were finally here, just over the horizon.

The storm had arrived.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJ

Darla.

I paced the apartment, awaiting Jak's arrival.

I tried to wait a few days before calling him. Almost a week. I knew he'd come back like Keira said, and I knew he was only trying to do the right thing for our family, just as I had been. I thought he'd be back in a few days and we'd fix this and I'd tell him what was about to happen to all of us. I would tell him that a long time ago, I'd had visions that we'd all somehow be roped into a crime war that involved being forced to race for our lives. What was once a fun sport that made Jak thrive would soon become his worst nightmare. I'd tell him I wasn't sure how or why we'd get involved, but there was no way I could've stopped it. I thought he'd be back by now for me to tell him all of this.

But it couldn't wait. The reading of Krew's Will was happening in two days. I had done all I could, and he needed to come home so we could be a family again. There was no time to waste on fighting each other when another battle was already here.

The front door clicked and I gasped with anticipation. My belly warmed, both from nerves and the want to see my husband after days of being apart. The door opened slightly, and it was just Jak's head that peeked into our apartment.

I don't know what I expected. I thought maybe he'd come in guns blazing and in a pissed off mood. Ready to fight me as I tried to tell him the truth. But he didn't look pissed. In fact, he looked far from it.

He looked like a sad, disheveled crocadog. His blond and green hair was in a complete disarray, a spiky mess of bedhead, and his goatee had balding spots. He had a nervous tick where he consistently scratched his chin to oblivion, so I assumed it was from that. He had dark circles beneath his wide blue eyes, which stared at me like I was about to bite him. His shoulders were hiked up to his ears as though he was afraid of coming into the room. His jaw stuck out, his bottom lip in a pout.

I grumbled, almost angry that he wasn't as angry as I felt, but also relieved that he looked sorry. I walked up to the door and pulled it gently open to force him inside. He slipped through the opening, closing the door behind him.

"Where is he?" I asked when I noticed Sparky wasn't with Jak.

Jak rubbed the back of his head, leaning against the door, avoiding my gaze. "I dropped him off at the garage to see Keira and Daxter. I didn't think he should be here for...our conversation."

"I see."

"He already knows too much." Jak went on bitterly, standing a little taller. He crossed his arms, glaring at me accusingly. "He's too young to know as much as he does. Did you know?"

I lifted my eyebrows. "Did I know what?"

"About his powers." Jak said, "Did you know he could read minds? Everyone's minds?"

My chest constricted, but not in the way it did before major visions. No...this was a constriction of panic.

"N-No." I whispered, turning away from Jak so he wouldn't see my sudden terror. "I knew he'd...I thought he'd be able to do things we couldn't, have abilities we didn't have. But I never thought he'd have them so young. I never thought this would be..." I trailed off.

My son, my little boy, was burdened by the consumption of countless minds belonging to countless souls.

My hands rested over my chest and I walked toward the couch. I didn't sit.

"Yeah, well," Jak followed me to the living room, his stance tense. "He knows everything. It's why he's so fucking smart, Darla. Why he speaks so well and why he's always so intuitive. How he always knows exactly what we are feeling and thinking. Why he always says such strange things..." He dragged his hands down his face with clear exasperation. "God, Darla, he can see your visions when you experience them."

We finally locked eyes as I covered my mouth with shame. My job, my life's purpose, was to protect my son. But I couldn't even protect him from my own thoughts. How was I supposed to protect him from everything else?

"How long have you known?" I asked.

He placed his hands on his hips. "Since I took him away. He kept saying things... While we watched the fireworks, I asked him if he could hear people's thoughts. He told me he could. He said he hears everyone. He told me my head is 'loud' and yours is 'quiet', and that your head right now is apparently full of clouds, and that if we didn't leave, you'd wouldn't be able to 'save us'." His breath caught and he bit his lip, gaze shifting to the floor. "He was the one who told me it was okay for us to leave."

No wonder it seemed so easy for Jak to take our son away. Our son told him it was okay. He practically gave him permission for Jak to take him away...all because of me. Because I wouldn't be able to save them.

He was right. I couldn't save them.

"He knew we were in trouble." I uttered, shocked as well as not shocked at all. I knew my boy was special, but I had no idea how special he'd become.

Jak threw his hands up in annoyance. "Guess so. Seems like everyone has known about it except me."

I made a sound of disgust and shot him daggers with my eyes.

"Please, Jak." I spat. "I'm sorry for hiding so much, but you know damn well it was for your own safety."

He snarled, his upper lip curling. "Oh, no, I'm sorry, Darla. I'm sorry for being worried about you. I'm sorry for feeling left out of your life when it's supposed to be our life. I'm sorry for being the only one who doesn't know how much danger we are actually in, or what the danger even is!"

"Really? Really?" My tone of voice raised at least twelve decimals as I felt my demon stirring in me. I stormed around the coffee table and got up in Jak's face. "Wasn't it always you running around getting into trouble with Dax and the Underground all those years? Wasn't always you who left me hanging, left me worrying sick, left me pregnant and alone-"

"I didn't know about the baby!" He cut me off, throwing his hands up again, eyes flaring. "I was at a crossroads then, D, there was so much shit happening-"

"And? What's your point?" I shouted. "I did my part in the Underground while we kept our relationship afloat and you fought for your life. I still work hard at protecting our family and friends, while working hard in this marriage!"

"But you don't have to." He groaned, pulling his hair. "We've been doing just fine without running after our enemies. You don't need to fight, you don't need to do anything! We have our son now-"

"So should I have just sat around these last few years, then?" I laughed humorlessly, jabbing him in the chest with my finger harshly. "Should I have sat around playing housewife while you run off into danger, being the hero?"

Jak looked stunned, eyes wide as saucers. His arms dropped to his sides and his jaw went slack.

"Darla, I haven't been a 'hero' in three years!" He yelled, making me flinch. His nostrils flared and he shook his head slowly, looking disappointed in me. "You're the one who seems to have been working that job full-time."

I fell silent. The guilt that had chewed me before was now swallowing me whole. I stared at Jak as he took deep breaths, hands grasping his hips.

A lot had changed with him in the last few years. He was far less reckless, far more overbearing, far more...afraid. But he was also more loving, if it were even possible. He was more attentive, as proven by our most recent argument. And he was so much more mature. He'd changed, and I never noticed until right at the moment he screamed at me.

Maybe I never noticed, because I hadn't changed. I've pretty much been same Darla since Jak and I met...which was not necessarily a bad thing. Jak had become a different person because of all the different experiences he'd faced over the years. He had to fight on a daily basis just to learn how to be who he was right now, while my own growth had been relatively gradual. I just needed to figure out how to better understand him, adjust my own actions and reactions... Maybe I had to be more attentive than I'd been in a while.

I sighed quietly, pressing my palms flat to his chest. I gazed up at him, pressing my body against his. His glare softened as he watched me, then disappeared completely when I moved my arms to the back of his neck.

"You'll always be my hero." I murmured gently. "You don't have to be fighting in a war to be my hero. And I'm not trying to be a hero...but I would do anything to protect you. I did everything I could, including lying, hiding, putting myself in the middle of danger, and hurting your feelings." I touched his face, and he leaned into my hand. "I went about it all wrong. I'm so sorry for that. But you also need to remember that in some cases with my visions...I really, truly can't tell you everything. It kills me, but it's just how it is."

I rose on my tiptoes and pressed my cheek to his. He smelled like the beach; like himself. I breathed him in, relief washing over me that I had him here, in my arms, alive and well. I didn't care if he'd be still mad after this; I didn't care how mad I was that he left with Sparky just to teach me some kind of lesson. It didn't matter, because I knew I still had him. No matter what. And I knew I had to get him through all the awful things headed our way, because it was friends, family and love that kept him going strong and fighting on...kept all of us strong and fighting.

"You deserve so much more than what the world gives you." I whispered. "You have to know how sorry I am and how much I love you."

His arms instantly went around my torso and he squeezed me, groaning into my neck.

"Of course I know, D," he grunted, sounding defeated, "I was just angry, is all. I love the hell out of you. I just want you to remember we're in this together. We need to talk more." He pulled back and glared down at me. "Please, my darling wife, please do this...if not for our relationship then for my sanity."

I let out an impulsive giggle and wrapped my arms around his waist. He moved his arms to my shoulders, hugging me to him.

"You drive me nuts." He growled, pressing his lips to mine.

"I know," I smirked. "I'm going to be more honest..starting right now." I pulled away from him, "You're not going to be happy about what I'm going to tell you."

"I'm expecting the worst." He frowned and sat down onto the couch.

I don't think you are. I thought, making my way over to the kitchen counter, where I'd placed a small "I'm sorry, forgive me" token of my love I'd bought him the day before. I snatched up the package and brought it over to Jak, plopping down beside him.

"I got you something," I handed him the box. He glanced at me quizzically.

"We can't solve all our problems with gifts, babe." He said, looking wary of what was inside.

"I know," I gestured to the gift, urging him to open it. "I just thought it might soften the next blow I'm going to deliver."

"Oh God." Jak snorted, then pried open the cardboard folds of the box. His eyebrows furrowed and he blinked up at me. "New goggles?"

I nodded and pulled them out. "Your old ones are so dingy, and the lenses are scratched from the last time you took Sparky in the dune buggy." I ran my thumb over the shining material. "These are tinted for when you're out in the sun...which is a lot. You always get the same pair so I thought I'd get you a better one that will withstand the forces of nature."

I hoped I was convincing enough. I needed him to think they were simply a nice gift, rather than a replacement for the pair that would cause him to go blind in his left eye during a collision in one of the upcoming races he'd be in. We wouldn't get through this if Jak only had one working eye the whole time.

He flashed me a wide smile and leaned over to kiss my cheek. "They're awesome. Thanks."

I took the box from his lap and placed it on the table. I then took his hands in mine and took a deep breath.

"We're in deep shit, love." I tried to sound lighthearted, but it came out so much more grave than I'd intended. "Krew's daughter is in town. She invited us for the reading of Krew's Will, because we're apparently in it. All of us."

"First off- Krew has a daughter?" Jak stared at me, expression incredulous, then shivered. "That's...just... No. Nope. We're going to move on from that immediately. Secondly...why would any of us be in his Will?" Jak glimpsed at our hands in his lap. "I was sure Krew's attack on us was premeditated. There's no way he would leave us with anything."

"Well, he did." I shrugged. "Anyway, we're attending a gathering Saturday in the the top floor conference room at Kras HQ."

"At least we'll have a nice view." Jak rolled his eyes. "So...why are we in deep shit?"

"So, you know how Krew was tangled up in the mob throughout all the cities surrounding Haven?" I fiddled with my fingers, twisting my wedding band around and around. "A regular person would leave people their valuable items, some money, maybe a property. But Krew..." I bit my bottom lip. "He basically left us his mess to clean up."

Jak rested the back of his head against the couch. "Goddammit. That's probably why the crime rate in all the local cities skyrocketed- everyone's fighting for a piece of what Krew left behind. No one claimed anything, so it's all up for grabs."

"Right." I frowned. "And Krew wants to ensure that he's still on top, even though he isn't even here. He wants to preserve his legacy. He wants us to preserve it for him."

"Then how come his daughter never came around to claim what is rightfully hers? Rightfully being the operative word, obviously." Jak scratched his chin, "Why wait until others are after his empire? Why has it taken this long for his Will to be read?"

I glanced to the side, thinking of a way to be vague about this without straight up lying through my teeth. How would I skirt around the fact that we were in worse danger than he could possibly imagine?

"That's the thing," I rubbed my thighs, clenching my fists. "The timing is just right. He planned it perfectly so that his Will would be read at the exact moment he needed it to be."

Jak eyed me warily, his hand slowly falling from his face. His frustrated look and clenched jaw told me that he knew I wouldn't be saying much more about it.

"I can tell by your deadpan expression that there's a bigger reason Krew has chosen this specific date, and you won't be saying anything more about it until after it happens." Jak said, utterly monotone and knowing me all too well. "I can assume that Krew will force us into doing his bidding, and that's what you've been unable to prevent. Which can only mean we are, in fact, in deep shit. And I'm going to be a very, very infuriated man."

I clasped my hands together, twisting them in my lap. "Uh-huh."

"And there's nothing we can do to stop it?"

"No." I whispered. "I tried everything. Searched the future for other paths but…this is one we need to take. It'll bring us out on a better side."

Jak nodded, pursing his lips. His eyes flashed, purple electricity sparking within his irises before they flickered to mine. He then rose to his feet, reaching his hand to me.

"I've had about enough fury in my life to feed the poor." He said lowly. "Instead of being mad right now about something that hasn't happened yet, I intend to feel good for the next few hours while our child isn't home."

He yanked me to my feet, then swung me up into his arms bridal-style.

"Oh?" I blinked in surprise, arms around his neck.

"Even just a few days away from you was torture." He raised his eyebrows at me, his hands gripping tighter. "If it's all right, I want to make up for that lost time. In our bedroom." He leaned his face toward me, grazing his nose over mine. "In our empty apartment. Where we can be as loud as we want."

I internally shivered, closing my eyes.

"Okay." I breathed, and almost immediately, he hungrily crashed his lips to mine, carrying me down the hallway with a determined walk.

It was as if he'd never left.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJ

Somewhere on the west side of Kras City...

"Roberta," a man drawled as he watched his redheaded right-hand approach, "I assume you've taken a liking to the new gig?"

Roberta smiled anxiously and nodded, trying to show her boss she was happy, when she was actually terrified and desperate to stay alive. Even if it meant wrapping herself around a pole to entertain the men and women of this crime-ridden city.

The west side, plagued by destitution and slum lords owning the streets, wasn't always this awful. Not when Roberta and her boss first arrived earlier this year. It was cleaner, quieter, and in some ways, quite fun. It felt like a new start, even though a new start began with covering up the murder of her previous boss, killed by his own son.

That was their little secret though, Roberta thought, as she placed her boss's whiskey onto the table in front of him. She gazed at him playfully over her thick-rimmed glasses, feeling sick to her stomach at the way he gazed back at her. She must've been some actress to get him to believe she wanted him. His hand glided up her thigh to her bare ass beneath her striptease skirt. She bit her lip in an effort not to cry out and prayed he'd go no further. She'd gone this long without him touching her more than this, and she refused to let anything more happen. She was no longer the same innocent, little mouse she was before she helped murder an old man.

The Precursor's were on her side, because he smiled and dropped his hand. "It suits you. Dancing, of course. Not the stripping; I mean no disrespect." He grinned widely. "Although, I do enjoy watching you strip. You look like a dirty little librarian up on that stage."

"Thank you, Mi-" She cut herself off as to not reveal his real name. "I mean, thanks Blitz." He'd almost killed her the last time she used his true name in public.

He tossed his drink down his throat and adjusted the blonde wig that covered an entirely bald, tattooed head. He almost looked friendly as opposed to the psychopath she'd come accustomed to seeing.

"I told you I'd take care of you." He rose to his feet, tightening his violet suit jacket around him. "You've gone from being a waitress at my first restaurant, to being bartender at my first nightclub, to managing this place and being a wonderful den mother the beautiful girls and guys who live to perform every day and night of the week." He leaned in and kissed her cheek softly. "I'm proud of you, she-wolf. Your pack adores and respects you. That respect is the most important thing."

"I aim to please." She murmured seductively, hating the way it sounded as the phrase left her lips.

"That's right, Robbie." Blitz laughed and winked as he backed away from her. "You do. And soon enough, my empire will grow to the point of no return. This city will be mine; these people and their lives will be mine. With the money we have and the opportunities given, I'll be unstoppable ,and you'll be able to have whatever your cold little heart desires."

He pulled out a cigarette and stuck it into his mouth. He whipped his lighter out and flicked it, inhaling the now-burning stogie. "I'll see you later, toots."

Roberta smiled cheerily and waggled her fingers, waving until the rat bastard was out the door and out of sight.

"Goddamned arrogant fuck." She growled, snatching the empty glass off the table. "I swear to the Precursors..."

"Is he gone?" A small voice said from behind her. A short brunette boy, no older than seventeen years, pulled back the curtain to the dressing rooms, searching the strip club with his wide, blue eyes.

Roberta sighed and entered the hall behind the curtain. "He's gone, Sweetie."

Sweetie sighed, mussing his brown locks. "Damn. I get anxiety every time he walks in. How do you do it, Robbie?" He followed her to her dressing room. "How do you put up with his shit?"

Robbie closed the door behind the two of them and pressed her back against it. "I won't be for much longer."

Sweetie narrowed his eyes at her. "Why? Are you quitting the club?"

"Oh, Callum." She shook her head, dragging out the syllables of his actual name. She reached touched his cheek affectionately. "I'd never leave you or the others. I hate to say it, but Good Graphics is my home. You've all become family to me."

"T-Then what do you mean, you won't be putting up with G.T. for much longer?" Callum whispered, eyebrows low.

"I mean," Robbie pinched his cheek excitedly, "I'm going to fucking destroy that cocksucker if it's the last thing I ever do." She released Callum and approached her vanity and switched the bulb lights on, illuminating her pretty face.

Callum stood behind Robbie, taking a hesitant step forward. He watched her with a determined look set in his square jaw. The two of them locked eyes, and he smiled malevolently.

"How can I be of assistance?"

A smile crossed Robbie's face as she realized what he meant. For once, she'd get what she wanted in life. For once, she'd fight back without repercussion.

Finally, she'd be set free.

JDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJDJ

A/N:

I hope you all enjoyed! This one was a little short for two reasons:

1. I've been SO freaking busy with my publisher regarding my first book (which will be out January 2019!), plus I've been hard at work wrapping up the sequel.

2. The next chapter is the actual start of the Jak X game, and I wanted to give that chapter special attention!

I know...excuses, excuses. But I love you all and I'm still here. Hope you stick around!

~RyJo