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With time almost everyone affected by the mysterious liquid recovered. Sadly, Samos wasn't able to recover like the others. He did live for a few more years but passed away just the same. Keira dove back into her mechanic work and Kara tried to teach herself eco channeling but it reminded her too much of her grandfather.

Jak developed a stiffness in his right leg and he took to walking with a cane. He decided it was time to retire. Daxter became a father to three little rugrats. Tough little boys Theo, Timothy, and darling daughter Dexter. Or Dee as her mother calls her.

Sig told them he would rather be dead than retire but when his joints too started to wear and pain him he took a cue from Jak and "retired". At least that's what he told Kara.

Sig claimed to have no idea about what was going on in Spargus, but he was sure Ember was adjusting to life there very well. Considering. But he never said what the considering factor was.

Kara walked into the Naughty Ottsel, kissed her father's temple and sat on the bar. She smiled and stretched her arms. "I wonder what people are going to do for my birthday." Jak raised an eyebrow at her before hobbling over to talk to Torn in a booth.

The littlest ottsel, Dee, ran up and grabbed Kara's pinky. "Hi Kara."

"Hello, Dee," Kara picked up little Dee and placed the ottsel on her shoulder. "What are we doing today?"

Dee fixed her footing and leaned against Kara's head. "Mama said we're party planning."

Daxter yelled from across the room. "Dexter. You need to learn the meaning of the word secret." He was busy serving customers and running from one end to the other.

Theo and Timothy scampered from behind the back door and onto the bar. "Dee-Dee, Kara!" They came calling. Both boys had tufts of blond on the tops of their head while their sister did not. The boys were as close to inseparable as a pair could be, but Dexter was the second out of the three.

Kara smiled. "Yes, tiny ones?"

This stopped the boys for a second. The triplets were still less than half the size of their parents but the boys got something from their dad so they returned with, "Dee-Dee is tiny. Not us."

"Small ones, then?" Kara offered with a smile. The boy still weren't satisfied. "Why don't you little orange things tell me what your mother wants?"

Dee tugged a little bit on some of Kara's hair. "I'll ask Mama for you." Kara let Dee off her shoulder and the three little ottsels went scampering off, arguing the whole way. Theo and Timothy pulling on Dee's back feet as she ran.

Kara smiled and rolled her eyes. The boys kept picking on little Dee, but their parents were usually busy running the Naughty Ottsel that they never truly noticed what their three furballs get up to. Asher entered the Naughty Ottsel, stopped off to give his father some papers, and joined Kara at the bar. "Hey, Kara." He leaned up against the bar.

"Hey Asher." Kara smiled. "How's it going?"

"Serious question or just asking?" Asher sighed.

Kara shrugged. "Let's go seriously this time."

Asher sat down next to her on the bar. "Well, things are different. My mother refuses to leave the palace and my father won't stay in it." He rubbed his neck. "Mother is losing her eyesight and she's not taking it well. Father's developed a tremor." The two looked over to the booth where Torn was signing some papers, his hand violently trembling. "He almost refuses to acknowledge it exists." They looked away before Torn could catch them watching him struggle. "We've reached the age when our parents become human."

Kara bit her lip and nodded. Jak left the booth with a wave to Torn and he hobbled over to Kara and Asher. "Hi, Daddy." Kara smiled and kissed her father's cheek.

Jak smiled and hugged his daughter. "I gotta go get your Mom. She needs out of that garage sometime." He kissed his daughter's head and waved goodbye as he left. "Behave for once." He called.

Kara waved a little bit until her father was out the door. "I made fun of my dad for getting old, now I just wish it could be like when I was young."

Asher nodded. "Same." He tapped Kara's arm. "Oh, I can't make it to your birthday bash. Mother wants me to take care of some things for the city."

Kara looked up at him. "Birthday Bash, huh?" She smiled.

Asher cursed to himself. He yelled toward the back room. "Code Red, Aunt Tess!" He punched Kara's arm, grabbed the sighed paperwork from his father and quickly took his leave. "Bye, Kara! Happy Birthday!" Out the door he went.

Tess and the three mini ottsels ran out of the back room. "Asher, you didn't." Tess jumped onto the bar and looked for the offending young man. She sighed and looked at Kara. "Kara, why don't you help me plan your no-longer-a-surprise party." Tess shooed away the little ottsels and brought Kara a binder. "Pick what you want, a girl turns 18 only once."

Dee came back and opened the binder to the cake pages. "Kara, you should pick chocolate." The little one licked her lips and looked up at Kara with wanting eyes. "I like chocolate."

Tess laughed and shooed Dee away again. "You'll get chocolate cake on your birthday, Dee. Let Kara pick her own cake."

Dee smiled and cuddled up to her mother. "Yes, Mama." She looked up at her mother and told her she was going to help her father.

Tess allowed her daughter to help Daxter under the guise that she wouldn't do anything big. She smiled as she watched the littlest ottsel join her father, helping with little things that a little one can help with. Tess smiled and asked Kara how her mother was. "Jak is here all the time to spend time with Torn and Daxter, but your mother never comes around anymore."

Kara smiled into the binder. "Mom spends more time in the garage than with us." She flipped a couple of pages and stopped to look at Tess. "She's never been the same since Grandpa died. Her hands are getting stiffer so that makes her grumpy, so Dad and her go for walks to get her out of the damn garage."

"Kara." Tess pointed to her ears, then to her sons who were playing with the mirror behind the bar.

Kara sighed. "Sorry. Darn garage." She corrected. Kara rubbed her eyes and put her head in the binder and groaned. "I gotta get out to the track."

Tess held up her hands. "Finish the binder and you're free to go." Several more customers came in the door and Tess scampered off to help Dax and Dex.

Kara smiled to herself and did as Tess asked. She picked everything she wanted and things that would make Tess happy. And she picked to have chocolate and vanilla cupcakes for her party. Before she left Kara gave the binder to Theo and Timothy for safe keeping, and she made sure to say goodbye to the Ottsel family.

She hopped on her hoverboard and got down to the track as soon as she could. Kara breathed easier once her feet touched the track's asphalt. The smell of smoke was almost therapeutic.

"Hey Kara." A female voice said behind her. Kara turned around to see an old racing partner. Jina was tall with a half shaved head of pink hair. Her green eyes glittered as she laughed. "Come back to get your butt kicked?"

Kara smiled. "Isn't that your hobby?" She found her bike and jumped on.

Jina smirked and got on her own bike. "Rematch?"

Kara put on her helmet. "Not much of a match if you can't keep up." She took off for the starting line followed by Jina with her mask on.

"We'll see about that, Kara," Jina smirked.

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