Chapter 9: The Woman in the Garage
Jet: Okay, so first- I'm sorry that chapter has taken me so long. Aside from having the worst case of writer's block, my dog that I had for 12 years had to be put down. He was old, in dog years he would have been like 92 years old. But still I had him for a long time and after that I had a hard time focusing on anything but now I'm back to my old self and back to working on my stories.
Penny: Jet, are you sure you're okay?
Jet: I'm fine, don't worry about it. I'm just going to recap the last chapter now. So chapter 8 was a chapter that I had been looking forward to doing ever since I started to think of this story; so back when I was writing The Untold Story. And the reason why I was looking forward to that was that I got to write out one of my favorite parts of Jak 2; the mission where Jak has to take the kid to the power station and I love playing that part of the game. I will let the kid almost get caught just so that when I punch a guard Jak says something entertaining; and I really like that because that just shows that even thought Jak acts like he's pissed at everyone he's still the same nice, caring guy that he was in the first game… at least a little. Sorry, little off topic there; so on the way to the power station Jak lets his dark side take over and makes a big bloody mess on the way. Jak keeps the kid from seeing it and gets him and Mutt to the power station and then it's another cutscene Jak leaves and Kor ignores the kid so Mar and Mutt take a nap and then Vin shows up being what else- terrified- because he saw the bloody mess that Jak had made… you know I feel bad for Vin. I really feel like he saw his parents get killed by Metal-heads when he was a little kid and that scarred him for life. Anyways, so Kor takes the kid back to the hideout much later, and the kid goes to bed. Then the next day Tess shows up and apparently she knows Keira, and I'm talking about the older version, not the toddler. Tess convinces Torn to let Keira be a part of the underground and that's where the chapter ended. Oh also Mutt found a toy of Ratchet and Clank and pretty much killed it… I'm not a shamed to say that I enjoyed writing that, because I am not a Ratchet and Clank fan. But whatever, on with the story.
Tess stopped in the doorway and looked back at Torn, "Doesn't Keira have to go to day care today?"
Torn looked at Tess, "Yeah, but she's doesn't have to go for a few more hours. Why, do you want to take her?"
"Well like I said, I have to get back to the Hip Hog soon, but I was just thinking that Mar is going to be here all alone all day. Really I don't know what's been going on- but I guessing that he hasn't gotten out much."
Torn shook his head, "Tess, I get that you miss the kids but you can't take The Kid to the Hip Hog. I know for a fact that Errol like hanging out there and-"
"I wasn't going to take him to the Hip Hog!" She snapped. Even though she was on the other side of the room Torn still leaned back a little. "You don't think I know who goes there on a daily basis?! I see the people that go there; I see the kind of people that Krew works with and the people he has working for him and- aside from Sig, Daxter, Jak and Keira- they are horrible, horrible people I wouldn't want either of the kids anywhere near that place, ever. No matter how much I miss them."
Torn cleared his throat from this feminine outburst, "Then what were you talking about?"
"I was thinking that I could take the kid to Keira… the older one, and let her watch him."
Torn just looked at her, "No." He said sharply, "Tess, I don't know this person and the Kid is just too important to just leave him with just anyone."
Tess looked away from Torn and crossed her arms, "Well I guess you're right, we should just let Kor keep watching him."
Torn glared at her back. On the one hand he didn't know this friend that Tess kept talking about; what if this person was working for the guards? Then again, according to Tess she knows Jak and Daxter. On the other hand, Torn didn't like Kor- didn't even really trust him- and lately the old man had been leaving the hideout without telling anyone and that meant the Kid was left with no one but his dog and although that mutt did keep the Kid out of trouble he was still just a dog. "Fine. Take the Kid. But Tess, you better not be wrong about this person."
Tess looked back at Torn with a smile, "Don't worry Torn, she already knew about us."
"What?!" Torn almost yelled, "How?"
"Jak went to her a little before I did and asked if he could barrow her jet-board; when he told her that he needed it to help the underground she said he could keep it. I really think we can trust her."
Torn shook his head, "I just hope you're right. We can't lose that kid."
Tess started to walk to the door that the kids had run through, "I know that."
"Where are you going?" Torn asked, "I thought you had to get back to the Hip Hog."
Tess looked back at Torn, "That tub of lard can deal without me for a little while. Besides someone needs to get Keira ready for day care." And with that she walked down the hall to the play room.
Tess walked into the play room and saw Mutt chasing Mar and Keira. Keira saw Tess and playfully ran behind her and Mar followed. Mutt stood in front of Tess wagging his tail happily as the two kids giggled. Tess smiled at the toddlers, "Okay you two," she knelt now and looked at them, "Keira, we need to get you ready to go to day care."
The smile fell from both of the children's' faces, "No." The small girl said, "Don't want go." She grabbed Mar's hand, "Stay." She said, pouting her lip.
Tess just kept smiling, "But Keira, you want to grow up to a smart girl don't you?" Tess asked, "You don't want to grow up and be dumb do you?"
The one year old let go of Mar's hand and looked at her feet, "No…" She said.
Tess smiled and picked her up, "Then you have to go to day care. So you can learn new things." The older she-elf rubbed her nose on Keira's causing the young girl to giggle again.
Keira looked at Mar and Mutt and pointed, "Come too." She said to Tess.
Tess shook her head, "No Keira, they can't come." Mar and Keira looked up at Tess sadly, "I'm sorry, but they can't." Tess started to take Keira away so she could help the young girl get ready to go.
Mar just stood in there while Tess took Keira away. Only when the two were out of sight did Mar turn and walk over to the toy pile, he sat down and picked up a toy. He looked at it but then he threw it aside. Mutt, thinking that Mar was playing, now chased after it. The dog brought it back guessing that Mar was going to start pulling on it like he usually did. But the young boy didn't seem to want to; Mutt dropped the toy and then he crawled onto Mar's lap. The young boy smiled and started to pet his dog.
Tess took Keira to Day Care about a few hours later; when she got back she found Mar sitting in the play room with Mutt sitting next to him and Kor just watching them. Tess didn't pay any mind to the old man and called the young boy over. Mar got up and walked over to her with Mutt following him. Tess knelt down, "Hey, guess what Kid, I made a new friend yesterday and I think she would just love to meet you. Do you want to come with me and see her?"
Mar just reached up at her, wanting her to pick him up. Tess did, taking this as he wanted to go with her. Kor however didn't seem to like this plan. "You can't just take the boy away. He needs to stay here where I can keep an eye on him."
Mutt growled at the old man and Tess glared, "Torn said that you're not very good at looking after him. And you know what; I don't like you at all. So I'm taking him to meet my new friend." Tess turned and began to walk away. Kor followed Tess, Mutt tried to follow but Kor shut the door behind Tess locking the dog in the play room. Kor smiled as he heard the dog scratch at the door as he walked down the stairs following Tess.
Kor couldn't stop Tess from taking Mar, and Torn even told Kor to stop trying to make her leave the boy in the underground. He looked at Tess, "So where are you taking him?" Torn asked.
"The stadium," Tess said, "garage three. You can pick him up from there." She pointed to Torn. Then she turned and Kor watched as Tess and Mar left the hid out.
The sun was very high above the city- now it had to have been about noon and there wasn't a cloud in the sky so the sunlight hurt the young boy's eyes; he rubbed them a little, trying to get used to the light as Tess put him in her cruiser and buckled him in then she got in and they began to fly away. Tess didn't drive as fast or as crazy as Jak did and really Mar wished that she did. He liked Jak's driving, it was fun for the little boy. But Tess drove the speed limit and she was willing to put up the city traffic where as Jak just would switch hover zones to avoid slowing down. A trip that would have taken Jak minutes took Tess a half an hour.
Tess stopped in front of the stadium which still had people filing out of it, Tess looked a little disappointed, "Oh no, I missed the race." She groaned. Then she looked at Mar with a smile, "Oh well, I'll catch the next one." Mar didn't know what she was talking about he just looked at her with a blank look. As Tess looked for a place to park Mar looked at all the people; a particular duo caught the boy's eye, he smiled and pointed at a very agitated-looking teenager who seemed to be talking to the large orange rat on his shoulder. Mar pointed Jak and Daxter out to Tess who (going by Jak's apparent attitude) decided not to try to talk to them right now. Tess found a place to park not too far away from where Keira's garage was. She got out of her cruiser, unbuckled Mar and carried him to the garage. Tess walked into the garage and put Mar down, "Keira?" She called, "Are you here? It's me, Tess."
Mar saw a green curtain move and saw a she-elf standing there. She was wearing black shoes, purple pants and a white tank top that only covered her chest. She also had goggles around her neck and her blue-green hair framed her face. Keira looked at Tess and smiled, "Tess, I didn't think I would see you again so soon. What are you doing here?"
Tess picked Mar back up, "I was hoping you could watch this kid for a little while."
Keira looked at the small boy and then she looked back at Tess, "Tess, I'm a mechanic, not a babysitter."
"Please," Tess asked, "this kid is important to the underground- and the person who usually watches him… no one trusts him and really I don't like him much either."
"Tess, if this kid is with the underground that's even more of a reason for me not to baby-sit him. I told you that Errol likes to pop in here without warning and if this is the kid that the Baron is looking for…"
"Come on, Keira. Just look at him."
Keira looked back at the boy: he was looking at her with big, innocent, ocean blue eyes. There was something about those eyes that Keira just couldn't say no to. It reminded her of… -she pushed that thought from her head and looked at Tess, "Fine, I'll look after him for a little while." Tess smiled and put Mar down; Mar happily ran over to Keira and looked up at her with a smile. Keira looked down at him and also smiled. Looking at the kid made her feel good inside; just looking at his eyes reminded her of… -she looked at Tess who was starting to walk out of the garage, "Tess," The blond she-elf stopped and looked at her. "Why didn't you tell me that Jak and Daxter are working for the underground?"
Tess smiled, "You're friends that you told me about? I didn't even notice." The look on her face told Keira otherwise.
Tess started to walk away again when again Keira stopped her, "You didn't tell me his name."
"We don't know his name," Tess said, "The underground has just been calling him kid." And finally Tess walked away, leaving Keira alone with the young boy.
Keira looked back down but found that the kid was gone. She looked under the table but he wasn't there, it wasn't until she heard he tools hitting the floor that she knew where he was. She walked behind the curtain and found the boy standing next to the project that she had been working on for the last two years. Keira smiled, "Well what am I going to do with you?" She asked. The boy just smiled at her. "I can't just have you wandering around here, there's too much for you to get into." The boy just kept looking at her. Keira picked him up and the two sat down in the rift rider, "Well, can you tell me your name?" The boy looked at her and shook his head. Keira just blinked, "Okay, then… can you tell me what you like to play?" Again Mar shook his head. Keira just blinked at him, "Um… can you tell me what stories you like to hear?" And again the young boy shook his head. Keira tilted her head a little, "Can you talk?" Mar just sadly looked at his feet. Keira looked at the little at the little boy reading his body language, "You can't talk can you?" Mar just looked at her. Keira smiled, "It's okay, you don't have to. A… very good friend of mine used to be a mute. You remind me of him… at least… what he use to be." The smile fell from Keira's face. Mar looked up at her and then he hugged her arm; a small smile returned to Keira's face. She put a hand on top of the boy's head; her smile became bigger, "Well, I don't have anything really for you to play with." She said, looking around the garage and then she looked back at the kid, "What can we do?" She said. Mar jumped out of the rift rider and started to run around the garage, Keira smiled and began to chase him.
Back at the hideout Mutt was still scratching at the door to the play room. He didn't know where Mar was and that worried the small dog. Mutt finally started to howl hoping that someone would hear him and let him out of the room. The dog's cries fell down the stairs and into Torn's room, for once there was no one else in the hide out, he didn't have to worry about where the kids were so he was trying to get some much needed sleep. However Mutt's howls easily came into Torn's room and the ex-Krimson guard was unable to continue sleeping until he dealt with the crying animal. He got out of bed and followed the dog's cries up the stairs to the play room. Mutt could hear someone coming and stood back from the door a little waiting for it to open. However, once Mutt saw who it was that had opened the door the croca-dog, bared his teeth and growled at Torn- thinking that he had taken Mar away again. Torn, being half awake only looked at the angry dog with a bit of a blank look. Mutt lunged at the man but Torn just stood aside to keep the dog from hitting him and Mutt fell down the stairs; Mutt hit the landing with a howl of pain and laid there crying not able to move. Torn, now wide awake, ran down the stairs; he hadn't meant for the dog to get hurt- he didn't even think that the dog would fall down the stairs. Torn got to the bottom and reached out to pick up the dog. But the puppy looked at Torn and growled at him. Torn pulled his hands back and then glared at the dog; Mutt tried to get up, but he couldn't stand on his front right leg.
Torn looked at the dog and then picked him up. Mutt tried to squirm out of Torn's arms and even tried to bite him but with the way Torn was holding him Mutt wasn't able to bite or ever really scratch him. Torn took him to the infirmary; Charlie was out getting more supplies so Torn was going to have to deal with Mutt on his own. He put Mutt on one of the beds, the pup looked down and wisely decided not to jump off the bed, so he just laid down and watched Torn. Torn came back over to Mutt with two small wooden rods and bandages. He held out his hand and Mutt looked at it and put his hurt paw in Torn's hand. Torn put the rods on either side of Mutt's leg and then wrapped the bandages around them so that Mutt couldn't bend his leg and it could heal. Once Torn had tied the bandages he reached out a hand to pat Mutt on the head. Mutt didn't growl but let the man pat him. Torn started to scratch him behind the ears and Mutt's tail began to wag. Torn saw the guard tag that was around Mutt's neck and pulled it off and then continued to pet him
After a while Torn picked Mutt off the bed and put him back onto the ground. Torn started to walk back to his room and Mutt, not wanting to be alone, followed him. When they got to Torn's room, Torn got back into bed and was starting to fall back asleep when he felt someone pulling on the blanket. He looked and saw that Mutt was pawing at it and biting it. Torn rolled his eyes, picked up the pup and put him on the bed; Mutt laid down and both Torn and Mutt fell asleep.
Back at the garage, Keira had gotten the kid to take a nap. He was laying in the rift rider, Keira looked at him and smiled. She put a blanket (that she had for when she slept in her garage) and covered the small boy. She walked away from the sleeping boy and closed the curtain, she walked over to the racing zoomer that Jak had driven in the class three race that day. The zoomer had gotten a bit beaten up in the race but it was nothing that Keira couldn't fix. She got to work trying not to think about Jak, but she couldn't help it. She shouldn't had let what Daxter had said about Jak and Ashelin get to her; it was Daxter after all, even as a kid he was always making jokes but usually it was about her and Jak having a relationship- or even her and Daxter- but his jokes had never bothered her before so why did they now? She was so into her work and her thoughts that she didn't hear someone walking up behind her and she jumped with a gasp when she felt a hand touch her shoulder. She turned around and saw Errol standing there. At first she was relieved that it was just him but then she remembered who was sleeping behind the curtain. She didn't know what to do, "I didn't mean to scare you." Errol said.
"Um… it- it's nothing. Don't worry about it." She said, getting up and walking to the other side of the garage from where the curtain was. "What are you doing here anyways?" She asked. Her voice going a bit higher then it usually was.
Errol walked over to her, "I just had to come see you. I saw the race today and I got worried about you."
"Why?"
Errol took her hands in his, "Keira, you can tell me the truth. That man who won today, he's on your racing team, right?"
"Yes…" She said, feeling a bit uncomfortable about him being that close to her.
"Did he threaten you in anyway? Did he make you let him race?"
Keira shook her head, "No, no why would he?"
Errol grabbed her shoulders, "Keira, you don't have to be scared. If he's threatened you, tell me I'll protect you." He said as he ran his hands over her arms.
This made Keira feel a bit uncomfortable, she looked at him and pulled his hands off of her, "Errol, that was Jak and Daxter, you know- my friends that I've been looking for. They would never hurt or threaten me." She started to walk away from him, "Why are you so worried?" She smiled a little, "You're scared that you're going to lose the class one race this year?"
Errol looked at her, "I never worry about losing, I never do."
Keira crossed her arms, "There's a first time for everything Errol."
"I'm not worried about losing, I'm worried about your safety. Do you have any idea what that… man is like? Do you know what he's done since he broke out of the fortress? Do you know what he can do?"
Keira looked at him confused, "The fortress? He was in prison?! And you didn't TELL ME !?" She yelled, angrily forgetting that the kid was sleeping behind the curtain. "I thought you were helping me find him?!" She looked away from him sadly, "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I- I was trying to protect you. Yes, I knew where he was all this time but I couldn't tell. Whatever he was when you knew him- he's not that anymore."
She looked back at him over her shoulder, "I know he's… a bit different now. I could see that clearly when I looked at him. But I don't care; I know who he really is."
"Would you wake up Keira!?" Errol yelled. This woke Mar up, "This isn't some children's tale; and he's not some prince who will save you!" Mar rubbed his eyes as Errol continued to yell. "He's a monster! He's killed people! Innocent people!" Mar didn't like all the yelling, it scared him so he hid under the blanket staying quiet so that whoever was scaring him wouldn't find him.
Keira covered her ears, she didn't want to hear this, "Shut up! JUST SHUT UP!" Tears were in her eyes now, "I don't want to hear that!" She glared at him, "And you're one to talk, I hear what people say about you! You're a killer yourself and you bribe and scare innocent people just to get your way. You're a bully, plain a simple, you rely on the strength of the guards to get what you want. You want to call Jak a monster? Well you're the only monster I've ever seen. And I've never turned my back on you so why would I turn on Jak?"
Errol glared at her but then his glare softened, "Keira, I'm… sorry. I just don't want to see you get hurt; I care about you too much. Yes, I know I'm… not the nicest person, but you have to understand the people I have to deal with. I've seen the worst this city has to offer and all I want is to keep the people I care about safe. That means you. And yes, I kill people, but it's my job."
"You're job is to keep peace." Keira said, in a much calmer tone.
"And more often than not, that means killing."
Keira shook her head, "There has to be a better way…"
Errol pulled her into what Keira hopped was just a friendly hug, "There isn't." It had gotten really quiet now the yelling had stopped so Mar slowly crawled out from under the blanket. He still didn't want who ever had been yelling to find him so he stayed quiet. But he crawled to the edge of the seat in the rift rider and knocked over a few tools that Keira had left there. They fell on the floor making a lowed crash; Mar crawled back under the covers to hide again. Errol and Keira heard the crash and Keira's face went pale, she had forgotten about the kid. Errol started to walk over to the curtain, "What was that?" He asked.
"Um- rats." Keira said, quickly running in front of him so he could get to the curtain.
Errol looked at her, confused, "Rats? You have a rat problem in here?"
"Eh- yeah, they're everywhere in here."
Errol looked at her, confused, "Rats? You have a rat problem in here?"
"Eh- yeah, they're everywhere in here."
"Do you want me to take care of them for you?"
"N-no. I… I called an exterminator earlier today. He's going to come by tomorrow and take care of it for me." She smiled.
Errol just looked at her, "Are you sure? I could take care of it right now." He said, pulling out his gun.
"NO!" She cleared her throat quickly, "No, really you don't need to do anything. Besides, I'm sure you're needed at the fortress or the Baron needs you or your niece is waiting for you for something."
Errol put his gun away, "Well I did tell Kat that I would take her to the palace today." He said, smiling, "Why don't you come with us?"
"Um… no, I have to fix this zoomer. That's going to take me forever."
Errol looked at the racing zoomer and smiled, "It doesn't matter what you do that thing, I'll still win the class one race like I always do."
Keira also smiled, "We'll see Errol. Now get going, Kat's probably waiting."
Errol started to walk out but then he looked back at Keira, "Keira, just keep in mind what I told you and be careful around… him."
"I'm fine Errol, don't worry about me." She watched him walk away and then waited a couple of seconds before she went behind the curtain and smiled as she looked at the lump under the blanket, she sat down next to it she started to tickle it, "It's okay, you can come out now." Mar crawled out from under the blanket and looked up at her. She smiled at him and then he crawled onto her lap and she hugged him. She didn't know why but there was just something about this young boy that made Keira happy every time she looked at him.
The sun was setting, by the Torn came by the garage to get the kid Mutt had followed Torn to his flyer and had come along for the ride. He walked in and found Keira finishing a story as the boy fell asleep in her arms. Keira saw the tattooed man and held Mar tighter thinking that this man could be a guard. Torn held up his hands, "It's okay, I'm with the underground."
"Prove it." Keira demanded, getting up, still holding the boy and walking back a little. She backed up to a table where she picked up one of her wrenches and held it behind her back.
"My name is Torn; Tess told me where she was taking the kid earlier today." Mutt started to bark loudly to get Mar's attention. Mar woke up and looked at Mutt, smiled and started to squirm. Keira had to put him down- lest she would drop him- and the boy ran to his dog who started to lick his face. Keira looked back at Torn and Torn just stared at her; Tess was right, she did look a lot like the small girl that was sleeping in the underground hideout. Torn shook his head, "Look, if you don't believe me then come with me to the hideout. Okay?"
Keira looked at the kid and then back at Torn, "Fine." She walked over and picked Mar up. Torn thought that Mutt was going to growl at her but he didn't he just wagged his tail and walked-limped next to her as they walked to Torn's flyer. Keira got in and kept Mar sitting on her lap. Torn picked Mutt up and put him in the flyer before climbing in himself. Keira looked at Torn as they flew through the city. "Is that dog yours?" She asked.
"No, he's the kid's. At least it seems like it."
"What's the deal with this kid anyways? Why is he so important?"
"He's the prince."
Keira just looked down at the little boy, nothing about the boy seemed to be very princely to her. His clothes were a mess, he didn't have any shoes or socks. Honestly, he looked like any other kid from the slums. The only thing that stood out to Keira was the amulet around the boy's neck. Keira hadn't really gotten a good look at it, however looking at it now she realized what it was. She looked back at Torn, "Why does the Baron want him so badly? He couldn't really be planning to hurt this little boy, could he?"
Torn's eyes narrowed, "He most likely would've if he ever got his hands on him. Just look what he did to the King. And the King and the Baron used to be friends."
Keira looked back at the boy who was now reaching to pet Mutt. "How do you know that?"
"Ashelin, she used to tell me alot about what was going on in the palace."
Keira looked at him a bit confused, "You're friends with the Baron's daughter?"
"Yeah, what of it? I know that Jak's friends with her too." Torn asked, slightly glaring at her.
Keira didn't say anything else the rest of the way to the hide out. Only when they were in the hide out did Keira feel okay about letting Mar go. She watched Mar walk to his bed and climb in; Keira smiled and then she looked at Torn who was back at the table, "So this is it, huh?" She asked.
"Yep." Torn said not looking up from his papers. Keira looked back at the boy and then she started to walk out, Torn looked up from what he was doing, "Where're you going?" He asked.
"Well now that I know that the boy's safe I'm heading back to my garage. It is getting late and I have a bit of a walk. But if you need me for anything just let me know, I would be glad to help." She smiled and then walked out.
Jet: This chapter took me FOREVER. I'll try not to take so long with the others. So yeah, this chapter kinda looked at Keira a lot but you know what I really like her even in Jak 2 I liked her. And let me point this out- because people don't seem to get it. SHE NEVER CALLED JAK A MONSTER! Would everyone stop saying she did! Also here's something that I think everyone forgets, Keira is only sixteen in Jak 2 and she's stuck living on her own in Haven city.
Penny: Calm down Jet.
Jet: Sorry. I just can't stand it when I find people who say they don't like Keira just because they think she calls Jak a monster. But to talk about something else for a little while, Tara Strong has a song out that she sings. It's not connected to My Little Pony but really it's a good song. The song is called "Take My Hand: and I love it, really if you haven't heard it yet go look it up on YouTube. I'm so going to do a Jak and Keira vid with that song. Mostly because it is Keira singing and that's just great. So I guess I'll see everyone for the next chapter. See ya.
