She fingered the small silver hoops for a moment before she removed on of them and inspected it. She still felt her surprise that after all that had happened to her, the sliver earrings were still intact. The sliver was inscribed in simple but attractive designs. She placed the earring back into her ear and reached for the tips. A year with her new ears, hair and abilities and she still couldn't believe that it was true. She closed her eyes and before she even had time to notice, she fell asleep.
The sound of the four girls laughing sounded through the silent house. The four were laying in sleeping bags on the floor of the living room next to a huge set of cathedral style windows. The view was breath taking, with the full view of a forest and lake. A full moon lit the sky and that was all the light the group needed. The moon glinted off the latke and cast a glow on the mists floating in and out of the forest.
"Ok, lets do you next, Kaida," said one of the girls once the giggling had subsided.
"Alright." Replied the raven. A blonde girl with short hair opened a thick book to the index.
"Ok, what is your birth sign?"
"Duh, Elle, you should know this. I am a libra."
"Libra, lets see… wow!There is a big section on you!It says 'The Libra is the only inanimate star sign. You are the scales of the universe and you keep the cosmos in balance. You affect everything you do. Your other symbols include the Yin Yang, Sun and Moon, and your elements are Fire and Water. Though you are usually in perfect balance and keep the universe as such, beware the upset. The Libra is extremely powerful, so beware the Scales when the balance is tipped.' It goes on to explain your other traits and stuff, but wow!That is interesting!
"Ha ha, you guys had better watch out then! I am the most awesome sign!" "Yeah yeah, ok, now its time for the next part." The blonde handed a lit candle to the raven and she carefully tipped it into a bowl of water. The bright moon caught its light in the pool and Kaida poured the liquid wax from the candle into the cold pool. There was a plunk and the four friends leaned in to see what shape would appear. The lump of, now, solid wax floated to the surface. A strange shape appeared in the light of the candle, crossed with the moon.
"I am not sure what it is. Lets look in the book. It should say something about your future." They looked frantically through the many pages. Kaida looked back at it and tilted her head and for a moment in the dim light of the candle reflected on the water, the wax shape seemed as if it was missing a part. It seemed as if the whole drop was just part of something else. She looked into the water and a face looked back. It should have been the happy young girl in pajamas looking back, but somehow, the face had black and gold hair.
A thunk woke the sleeping girl. Jak had pulled on his boots and tripped as he walked. It had been an akward moment for the usually sturdy hero. Kaida blinked in the dim light and curled herself into a ball under her thin sheets. Her dream had been a memory from her last birthday. Well, her last birthday in her world anyway. They had used a book she had gotten as a present to predict their futures and learn about their star signs. They had stayed up late into the night and slept for long hours in the morning. It had been a great day.
Kaida curled tighter and a single tear clouded her eye. She felt a hand on her arm and she made sure the tears were no longer in her eyes and turned over to see who was there. Jak stood over her and carefully got her attention.
"Hey, lets go. You want that job or not?" Jak's voice was quiet enough to not wake others but loud enough to get his point across. Kaida tightened her ball for a moment, but soon set a cold frown on her face and sat up.
"Good. C'mon." Jak placed his gun on his back and headed out into the front area of the hideout. Kaida quickly straightened her shirt and yanked on her boots and practically ran after him. She was still clumsily shoving her gun back into its holster as she hurried into the front room. Jak let his hard face soften just a little at how quickly she had gotten ready. He had a little sick sad laugh in his head as he thought about how eager she would be the next time she found out she had to go work for Krew.
There was, surprisingly, silence on the way to the bar, as Daxter seemed to have left his energy back at the hideout.. As they slowed and stopped at their destination, the wind caught up with them and Kaida frowned as she tossed her head in an attempt to rid her face of the hair she hadn't had time to tie up. They walked up to the door and Kaida tossed her hair one more time as they entered the bar. The smell of cigar smoke and beer instantly hit her. They walked around the roped off area in the center of the bar and Kaida glanced at it, still not quite understanding its purpose. It looked suspiciously like a cross between a boxing ring and a poll dancing spot.
They had barely entered the bar before Daxter jumped off Jak's shoulder and began talking with the blonde girl behind the counter. As the remaining pair finally reached the bar, they over heard parts of the conversation.
"I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along and I may be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets." The blonde spoke in hushed tones. Daxter said something but the attention of the pair was not on the small orange animal. The sound of whooshing air hit their ears and Kaida turned and nearly stumbled backwards. Krew had come floating over to the pair that just entered his bar. Kaida couldn't help noticing that, despite his enormously large body, his skinny little legs were dangling like useless twigs from the bottom of his hovering chair. Krew smelled strongly of the smoke of the bar and sweat, and Kaida had to resist turning her nose at him.
"Got a new little recruit for me, ey?" Krew looked her up and down briefly."I don't know what she's good for but I've got a little test." Daxter chose this moment to appear in their conversation, however at the moment he was...
"Hey there, five chins, how's crimes?" stone drunk. Daxter swayed on the counter as he fought to keep his vision focused. Krew watched with a gruesome face.
"What's his problem, 'ey?" He asked with a disgusted tone.
"Nothing, I'm fine. Mind your own business" Daxter slurred out and waved his paw/hand at Krew in annoyance. A pause follows before Daxter feels the sudden need to sing. "Sometimes I feel so very..." The off key noise is enough to deafen Krew, Jak and Kaida, and turn them back to their initial conversation.
"Listen, I have six 'clients' around town who are about to make money drops for me." Krew looked directly at Kaida as he spoke. "I need you to collect each money bag as fast as you can and 'take care' of any guards who get curious, mmmnn. Get to a money bag too late and some townie might pick it up." Kaida nodded and Daxter suddenly turned up the volume and interrupted again.
"DRY!" he yelled, finishing his song for the moment. "You know what the trouble with you is, Krew? Ya got no vison. This could be a real swinging joint..." Daxter struggled to keep his words in order and slurred out his sentences. "Hop Heg Hiven with more dancin', more mac'n, more WOMEN!" he managed to get out one last sentence before he tipped over.
"Just collect all fourteen money bags before they disappear and bring them back here. If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, 'eyཀ As for you Jak," Daxter found his way to his feet again and attempted to hug Jak, still sloshed as a fish in a bucket, Krew continued speaking nonetheless. "You still haven't made the racing team time. You had best get back there and finish it ey." Krew gave a disgusted look to Daxter and drifted off to do whatever it was he did throughout the day. Kaida paused for just a second then turned to see Jak already heading for the door. Kaida followed him out of the door and knew the clock was ticking for both of them.
They barely said anything to each other before they headed off in their directions. Kaida sat up straight to allow her hair to be blown away from her face, rather than into it. She saw the first 'client' look around suspiciously before carefully placing a small pouch on the ground. At the same moment, out of the corner of her eye, she saw another citizen, do the same thing. She dropped to the lowest level of the zoomer and sped up to where the money bag was. She slowed and leaned over to grab the money. Proud of collecting her first bag she sat back up with a slight smile. Even the smallest things in this real game made her happy.
Normally when she was playing, she wasn't happy until she won, but this was different. Everything here gave her a real sense of accomplishment. Her eyes caught the sight of a citizen making a b-line for the place the second bag of money had dropped at. Kaida shoved the money into her bag and kicked the accelerator to speed towards the money on the ground. She broke and stuck one foot on the ground, using it to pivot the still moving zoomer around in an arch to avoid hitting the wall.
"I'll take that." she said as she grabbed the money off the ground out from under the citizen. The brown haired man looked at her in utter shock.
"Hey!" Was all he had time to say before she was off, seeing the next target. The next few were easy enough, slow down, then pivot and grab the money. A few times she had to out run a pedestrian but other then that, it wasn't too hard. On the tenth, however, the guards has seen the money dropped and one of them was jogging towards the money. It was a straight shot, however, and there was no wall so she decided to take a chance and never slowed down, she just leaned as far as she dared over the zoomer until her fingers brushed the ground and she snatched up the money.
But no body could mistake that the Guard had been going for the money, and she still took it. That meant war. Seconds later, Kaida heard the whirr of two guards on her tail. She wove from side to said gently, and enough that it was hard for the guards to shoot her. Kaida grit her teeth and dove for the next packet of money. Again, she let her fingers brush the ground as she grabbed up the money. For a moment she wished that she had someone like Daxter who could shoot over her shoulder while she drove.
She sped around a corner, looking desperately for the next target. There it was! She swung to the side and grabbed up the next money only seconds after it left the client's hands. 'Three more to go!' she thought and tore through the city, attempting to avoid citizens and dodge shots fired by the growing number of KG following her. Her zoomer jerked and ground against a wall as one of the Guards shots made its mark. She pulled out her own smaller gun and chanced a glance over her shoulder and shot quickly at the guards. She whirled around and replaced the gun in its holder and snatched for the next money pouch.
The last two were much the same and when at last she had them all, she rose to the high level of traffic and lost the KG in the thick crowds. Once she was sure she was free of unwanted attention, she carefully made her way back to the Hip Hog to deliver the money. After dropping the money off and receiving a new gun mod for her self and one to give to Jak as payment for bringing her here, she walked out of the doors and nearly collided with Jak. Daxter appeared to have sobered up a bit. But by the look, or lack thereof, on Jak's face Kaida could tell he had once again failed. Kaida opened her mouth, about to speak. She had noticed that the nice friendship that they had seemed to once have had was flickering into just a grunt and point sort of relationship. She wondered vaguely if Jak had noticed it too, and also began to wonder if she was mostly responsible for the current situation.
She hadn't been able to make her self talk like she used to. She couldn't overcome her nervousness and apprehension about this new place, and she had never said anything about it. Her voice came to her throat when suddenly there came a tug at her mind. Her eyes widened slightly. It was calling her. It was the oracle. When Kaida shut her mouth, Jak was about to open his, but Kaida was quickly to beat him to it.
"I'll see you later." was all she said as she ran off and hopped on the nearest zoomer. Jak felt a sort of anger form in his chest and he paused for a few long moments before he knocked a passing driver from their zoomer and followed the speeding Kaida. Jak had, in fact, noticed that they seemed to talk less. He had thought about it and noticed that Kaida herself was literally talking less. She rarely spoke with her mouth, and more, now, with non verbal skills. But in the recent few days, she didn't do much of that either. But Kaida didn't seem the type to just ditch him. Something was going on. He didn't really care what, but he still wanted to know.
Kaida followed the pull of the oracle, but it wasn't fast enough for her need, and all of her thoughts on safety were lost. She slowed only when she docked the zoomer and ran down the boardwalk into the oracle's house. Jak had followed her carefully and hopped off his zoomer a little ways away from Kaida. In his mind there was no doubt that there had to be some good reason why she was acting the way she was.
"Well she hurried here fast, as if that old tin idol is going to run off somewhere." commented Daxter quietly from Jak's shoulder.
"She's different. Something is up and I want to know what." Jak walked quietly and carefully up to the doors of the oracle. He leaned in gently and attempted to hear what he could.
"I have news for you, traveler." Came the deep rumbling of the oracle.
"Yes, you called me and I came as quickly as I could." Kaida insisted.
"I have much I desire to speak with you about. There are several very pressing matter you need to be made aware of." Kaida sat carefully on the floor and nodded to the oracle to continue. "First, you must know that this concerns your world. Time passes between our two world, yet time does not move as one straight line. The passage of time is a wave, different for each dimension. As of now, these waves are in conflict and therefore the time passage of each world is opposite of the other. For every second that passes in your world, a day, a month, a year could pass in ours. For the moment, then, this time is on your side." Kaida was paying rapt attention.
"For the moment?" she questioned.
"Yes, for it is uncertain how long this phenomenon will last, and soon the time will again align and thus all time spent here will pass there. You could be missing for years in your world."
"B-but then, I have to go back soon! Now!" Kaida felt herself rising in agitation.
"Yes, I agree, the soonest would be best lest you be touched too much by this world. Unfortunately, there is only one way back, yet where that is I cannot say." Kaida felt her knees weaken. It was good that she was not wasting time in her world, but, how long could this last? At the end of the game, the young Samos goes back via warp gate found in the metal head nest. But not even the oracle knew how to send her back.
"Though at this moment, nothing may seem more important, I have more to say. You have already been damaged by this world. You are tainted with darkness. Your soul is a balance, and steadily, now, it is tilting. You must find a way to become, once again, a balance, or at least maintain your current imperfection, no worse." Kaida looked down at her hands, and was afraid to ask.
"What...what will happen if I don't become balanced?"
"Then your soul will be torn and great devastation will take place. This, you cannot allow to happen." Kaida nodded and looked, shakily, at her hands again.
"I am sorry I could not say more, but what I have told you I feel that you should know." It was long moments into a thick silence before Kaida rose and bowed before the statue. She forced her legs to move her body to the exit and out into the world.
Jak stepped back from the door as Kaida confirmed what the Oracle had just said. She was not from this world. Though granted, neither was he, per say, but that did not make it any better. So, he was alone. Completely alone as the only one who was fighting what had been done to him. She was different, she wasn't like him. She didn't want to help anything in this world, she didn't want to help him, Jak figured, Kaida just wanted out. She wanted to go back to her world, where time had stopped and nothing would have changed. Granted, he hadn't told Kaida where he was from, Jak still felt as though she had lied to him. She should have at least told him. They had spent so much time together while she could talk and he couldn't, and Kaida had never said anything. Jak sat back on a post of the dock and ran through his thoughts. Jak wasn't sure how long he sat there in silence but eventually Kaida emerged from the house.
She stopped and blinked at him. Their eyes met and they stared at each other for a moment.
"Jak, what...what are you doing here?" Kaida was the one to brake the silence, but she did not break the stare. Jak was silent, unsure of what exactly he wanted to say. He was angry, he knew that, so what if it was a slightly ill founded anger, it was anger none the less. He wasn't sure, did he want to confront her, or should he defend himself with an explanation to her question. His silence was slightly prolonged and Kaida took a step closer. She could see the look behind his light blue eyes and she didn't like the way he seemed to be having I a rough discussion.
"Jak, you alright? You seem..." she searched for a word to fit her meaning. "Upset," Jak's eyes seemed to flash and in an instant his anger got the bets of him and he jumped to his feet.
"Oh, so you did notice, did you?" His tone was bitter and a bit sharp. "Surprising, since you are so wrapped up in yourself." Kaida was taken aback and could only blink at him for a moment.
"What...what do you mean?" Jak almost fought back a sneer.
"As I you haven't noticed. You don't talk anymore, not the same way you did when we first got out of prison. I wondered why, but now I know you don't talk because you don't need to. You don't need help to get back to your world. And thanks by the way, for telling me about that. You don't really care about this do you? You just want to go back to your world and act like nothing happened." Kaida let it sink in before she found her own anger loosening her tongue.
"Shut up! As if you don't wish the same thing! As if you don't want to forget this place, and everything that's happened! As if you don't wish you could go back! And how dare you talk like you know how I feel! You don't know shit! By the way, I noticed you gave a hell of a try to start talking again." her icy tones even made the fur on Daxter's back stand up.
"Oh and thanks by the way for telling me that you weren't from this world either. I am sorry I didn't spill right then and there!" Jak narrowed his eyes and took her words in. A spark of angry suspicion rose at Kaida's last statement.
"How the hell would you know where I came from? I only know because you said it out loud! I've never said anything, so how would you know?" Kaida knew she had been caught, but she was still angry and all she wanted to do was get out of here.
"It's none of your business! I know and that's all that matters! Don't worry, I wont tell anyone your little secret. Have a nice fucking life!" she spat at Jak, ducked past and ran off. Jak followed her with cold eyes and the kicked the wooden pole he had been sitting on and watched it splinter and crack.
"Easy Jak, calm down." Daxter attempted to calm his friend. Jak took in a shaky breath and did his best to chill. He knew it was a good think she had left when she did, because in the moment before she cursed him, the air had cracked slightly and a small bolt of dark energy had arched between them. Jak ran a hand through his hair and rubbed the back of his neck in an agitated manner. As he pushed his anger down, he thought harder on what had been said and began to put things together. She was right. Jak did want to go home. It had been un fair of him to say those things to her, because he knew that he wanted the same thing. He knew that he hadn't told her about where he had come from but still. Somewhere, inside, it hurt. Jak didn't know what to do. He needed something to take his mind off this for a while. He headed back for the bar to try again to make it to the stadium, but his heart wasn't really in it.
Kaida ran noisily down the wooden boardwalk, and occasionally she got strange looks from people as she shoved passed, but she didn't even seem to notice. There was a dampness on her face and it chilled her cheeks in the breeze as she ran. It was all to much. She was too normal, too much like the person she had been when she first came. She was too afraid and too home sick. Maybe she should have told Jak, but it didn't matter now, he already knew. Maybe she had begun to ignore him a little but, it was all over now. This was too much for her. She couldn't handle it and she felt herself falling apart from the inside.
This was probably something from what the Oracle had said. Her soul was off balance and so was she. Kaida continued to run until she found that her feet had taken her to a familiar door. She stepped up to the large metal doors and walked through into the ruins known as Dead Town. She let her feet carry her until she was high on a piece of cement. She had violently removed all living creatures that had stood in her way and now she lay on the sun warmed stone and shook. Kaida wasn't sure if she was crying or shaking with anger.
Fairly quickly the heat of the hazy sun dried the tears on her face and she stood, though she still allowed her feet to carry her up through the ruins of Dead Town. Suddenly her skin prickled and she felt energy dance across her surface.
'I think you need to have a talk.' came what seemed to be a voice from nowhere. Kaida felt her self falling and then... a sudden stop.
She blinked, and found she couldn't see much. The world was dark and dim and it took a while for the meager light to reach out into the rest of her surroundings. She was lying on the streets of the nicer district of the city where the people actually lived. But no one seemed to notice that she was there. It struck her quickly that something wasn't right as she looked around. The air was completely silent. There was no sound. Not even someone walked right past. There was no sound of feet, to talking, no machines, nothing.
She jumped to her feet, startled and looked wildly around. She took slow steps backwards. None of the faces of the people would come into focus and none of them looked at her. She followed one woman with her eyes and was alarmed to see her disappear, as did the man behind her. She suddenly felt something firm at her back and whirled around. Instantly horror and shock gripped her body. There standing in front of her was her own Dark Kaida.
happy holidays! And I have a surprise for all of you good little readers! Enjoy! Sorry about the lateness, my computer connection as been down. But here it is! Anyway, yeah, the bit in the beginning really didn't have a whole lot to do with anything, but hey, I didn't feel like taking it out.