Disclaimer: I do not own Jak and Daxter

Chapter Twenty-One

For Krin

Just one more word and I'm gonna explode,

I'm gonna self combust,

I'm gonna blow up the world.

Just one more look,

You're gonna cross the line,

I mean over the edge,

You're on thin black ice.

There's a little bit of psycho in me I confess,

Why'd you wanna pick on me and not the rest?

Does it make you feel big?

Does it make you feel better?

If I just had a little more time,

I'd get some duck tape and silverware,

Oh if I just had a little more time

I'd show you the world is so much better when you find you don't fit,

There's a ladder in your tights,

you aint shiny and perfect.

There's a ladder in my tights and that's the way,

I like it, and that's the way I feel about it,

You'll be trying to hitch a ride with me, when it finally hits you

With just one more push trying to make me your clone,

Marking me outta ten for the label on my clothes.

Just one more squack and I'm gonna hit back,

I'm gonna burn down your house in a heated attack

I'd get some c4 and dynamite,

Oh if I just had a little more time

I'd show you the world is so much better when you find you don't fit

With the time that you've found yourself,

Free yourself from the crowd.

Yeah, the world is so much better when you find you don't fit.

~ Ladder In My Tights, Amy Studt, False Smiles

~ (***) ~

I have always wondered whether you have ever been afraid. So scared that you feel like you can't breathe, you want to throw the covers over your head and stay there forever. I have wondered whether you've been so angry that all you can see red and you want to destroy everything in sight. You want the entire world to cease to have any life left in it to turn to waste. I've felt that too much and when I look back, I can at least be certain of things which have passed, that its wasteful to give into the emotions of fear, anger, guilt. I have always thought about this because I have sat and wondered whether I should feel guilty for not being there to comfort you. I wish I could have held onto life for long enough for you to know what it was like to have a mother. When I think like this I wonder whether I've transported myself from my present to your own. Time seems to be lost or no longer exist. I can't be sure whether you're always my never ending present rather than what my future will end in. I would wish to think that I could be there in spirit to comfort you but then again that will never be enough will it? It will never be enough to make up for the fact that I was never there. I don't expect you to forgive me for everything I wasn't there for. For not making you ready. For letting the future happen. I finally gave up.

In the moment when I realised I had something to lose but no longer had that to lose I knew that I had to go out into the world and be whatever it was the world needed me to be. I had something to lose and I didn't realise it and it took until I lost it to realise that I had something to protect. I was a free spirit but it came at a price and a price I would never pay if I had a choice in the matter. However that was just it. When you had something you cared about more than anything else, it was what came with having those selfish things that you wanted in my life so badly. There was something I was clutching onto for so long, something which I indulged and everyone else indulged me in this little venture of mine. I knew by this point that there was no use in avoiding it any more. The universe was screaming something at me by this point so I figured now with this wake up call that it was about time that I began to listen to what it had to say. I was so used to wanting people to hear me. To acknowledge that I existed and mattered that I lost sight of my own selfishness. It couldn't believe myself for doing such a thing but I gave up because it was simply easier than resisting that which was always going to be whatever I was going to do. It wasn't that simple though. Resistance still continued but it was the beginning of acceptance of both our destinies. I was really resisting all this time because I was afraid of what may happen if I did give in to your father and all the precursors.

~ (***) ~

It was only until they saw the sun rising in the distance when Aella and Photine arrived back at the city. When they arrived at the power station she hovered slowly over the ground and craned her neck back and motioned for Photine to jump off. She seemed a little wobbly and actually half fell off only if it wasn't for the tree nearby for her to catch onto. Aella jumped off with ease and looked around. It seemed strangely quiet for somewhere outside the city walls. By now there should be some metal heads, whether it was day or night roaming about the place. She glanced around wearily and held out a hand to Photine to hold onto in case they did jump out of nowhere. She could feel Photine shaking but when she looked at her she would have fooled anyone into thinking that she was calm. Aella turned away and looked around for there to be someone to jump out to get them. She was still aware of being on the top of list of public enemies in Haven City. She knew that anyone in the KG who caught her would be set for life because the reward would be that big. She turned back to Photine and wondered whether there was anything to worry about. Maybe there had been attack earlier that night before they were close enough to see or hear anything. She was about to put her gun away when something leapt out on her.

"LOOK OUT!" She cried pushing Photine out the way.

The dark shadow leapt upon her and before it could hold her under its weight she threw herself onto the ground and held her legs up to push it over her head. She heard an umph and rolled onto her knees to see that it wasn't a metal head but a person.

"Hey." She scolded. "There was no need to jump on me like that."

The man glanced over his shoulder then jumped to his feet and held a gun in her face but was shaking all over so Aella didn't feel that threatened. In fact she didn't really need to be threatened by him at all. He looked more like someone who worked with computers with a nervous personality.

"Stay back." He said shakily. "Stay-"

She rolled her eyes. "Relax, neither of us are going to hurt you. We're on the same side...Unless you work for the Baron that's another story."

"The-the Baron? Oh no." He said shaking his head. "He-he wants to kill me. Wait, did you say that if I worked for him I would be the enemy?"

She narrowed her eyes at him. "Yes. Why does the Baron want to kill you? I mean, no offence but you hardly seem threatening to me." She chuckled.

"Oh, I was able to hack into his systems and well if I had the time to download the data I would have actually been able to reveal all the dirty dealings he's been doing. But I was found out so..." He looked around wearily.

She smirked. "Well...It seems we have an enemy in common, which means we could be of some use to one another..."

The man stepped back wearily. "What do you mean?"

She held out a hand for him to shake which he took slowly and cautiously. "I'm Aella Auroalis, ring any bells?"

He scratched his head for a moment that his head seemed to make a gesture if there was something ringing in there and gaped.

"The fugitive? What the hell are you doing here? You have the biggest price on your head than any fugitive has in the history of this city."

"I can't abandon the city to the Baron's rule so I set up the Underground."

The man shrugged his shoulders carelessly. "Figures."

Aella raised an eyebrow. "Anyway, we've actually been needing a technician for some time now. It would actually help with getting into the government buildings for some missions. We've always been having problems with that. So what do you say, are you in?"

The man shook a little again. "Sounds dangerous..."

"Yeah, but where else do you have to go? You do know the Baron will just send mercenaries after you. No matter how far you run. We can protect you."

He grabbed hold on her clothes. "You promise?"

She leaned back and pulled a face. "Just as long as you let go of me." She snapped.

"Oh. Right. Sorry." He apologised stepping back. "It's just that's the best news I've actually heard in a while."

She raised an eyebrow. "I can see that...I didn't catch your name."

"Oh..." He said holding his braces. "It's Vin."

~ (***) ~

Veger looked over the file and smirked. He had to laugh at how the Baron and Erol were running the city. They were chasing after the wrong people or if they were chasing after some of the rights ones they were chasing them for the wrong reasons. There was one very significant example amongst the black-listed. Aella Auroalis. She was intriguing individual to say the least. Not only was she a Captain but she seemed to be gifted by the Precursors later on in life. He frowned however when he saw what the gift was. One which should have been put to use however according to the file she was a stubborn one. She was classified as a possible non-believer which he wrinkled his nose at. It was a shame really when there were devout believers such as himself and then there were those who were gifted by the Precursors but didn't deserve such gifts. It was something which was always passed on through blood lines. Though there was no one by the name of Auroalis amongst the monks from whom he could recall. He frowned and knew this meant that she had to be the child of an exiled monk. He leaned back in his seat and tried to rattle his brains over who this could be...He did recall that there was someone who had broken one of the vows of chastity. He had been found out by another who was apparently very close to him, but what was his name...?

"What are you looking at Veger?" A sly voice slurred.

Veger jumped from his seat and found Erol with his arms folded and a smirk on his face. Veger glared back at him. He had found that the head of the KG to have an unfavourable character. The Baron only listened to him because of his brash character. He had not one functional brain cell in that mind of his but he knew one day, one day the council would listen to him. It was a new age, with the King gone there were new opportunities at such a time.

"I'm just looking through some old files which I feel have been neglected."

Erol chuckled. "What makes you think they've been neglected?"

"Well for one thing this Aella Auro-"

"What about her?" Erol demanded.

"Well you seem very intent to capture her and either imprison her or execute her. Personally I think this would be a great waste to such an opportunity."

"If this is about her 'supposed' gift of premonitions I hate to tell you but you would be sorely disappointed. There were never real examples of this actually being true."

"The monks confirmed it. Even the Oracle Sleep she went into was a clear sign-"

"I think you spend too much time praying and not enough actually paying attention to the real world." Erol purred.

Erol scoffed. "I wouldn't expect and imbecile for you to understand such things. Mark my words Erol there will come a time when you will be answering to me. Be sure of that."

~ (***) ~

"Do you think this is safe?" Vin asked shakily.

Aella gave the technician a look and decided not to answer him. He had been complaining and muttering to himself like an asylum inmate since they arrived in the city. She took the sewer route knowing that they would be undetected this way. Whenever a metal head jumped out of nowehere he and Photine screamed and she shot at it and the panic was quickly over. When they left the entrance she glanced around and motioned for only Photine to come over.

"We're about to enter into the Bazaar now you take a left and go straight down that street and then take a right, that's where you'll find Onin." She whispered.

Photine nodded to her in thanks and wordlessly went out into the dawn lit streets. She went down into the darkness and gestured for Vin to follow her down the tunnel.

"We have to move quickly so keep close to me alright?" She demanded. "We're going to leave out another entrance, on the edge of the slums. Do you know it?"

Vin nodded nervously. "Yeah...Won't there be loads of KG officers around there?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "What does it matter? They're everywhere."

She continued walking down the tunnel ignoring him after the final turning she walked towards the exit and smiled when the light shone down on her welcoming her back into the city. She gave Vin a look as if to tell him to stick close to her and jogged out the sewers. Once fresh air hit her she looked around and saw the coast was clear for now. She ran in the direction of the slums and soon found herself back in her old home. It seemed almost foreign to her since she had been away for so long. She hid her gun away in case she alarmed anyone and she knew that was an easy way for her to get noticed. She glanced up at the windows in case there was someone there to spot her from their windows and it was still clear. So far, so good. She turned the corner and saw the familiar dead end. She walked a little slower down this way and glanced over her shoulder to see that Vin had actually kept up but he was a little out of breath which caused her to smirk to herself. Maybe she should offer him one of the beds when they got back. She certainly needed a nap.

She keyed in the code but it jammed and she smashed her fist against it causing it to malfunction but still open. She glanced over her shoulder at Vin who looked back at her non-plused.

"I'll fix that."

"Thank you."

She walked down the steps and looked around wondering if she would see anyone around. All she saw was a messy of brown hair face down on the table and she was sure that she heard snoring. She smiled and ruffled his hair. The man fidgeted and moaned. He slowly looked up and blinked. Then when it finally occurred to him that his sister was standing in front of him he jumped to his feet.

"AELLA!"

She opened her arms for an embrace and he gladly wrapped his arms around her. She couldn't believe she was back as much as he couldn't.

"We thought you were dead..." He murmured.

She chuckled. "Takes more than the Wastelands to kill me. This is Vin, he's a technician, I found him on the outer section. I remembered we needed someone like that."

Nik folded his arms. "Can he be trusted?"

"Oh yeah. Can he borrow one of the beds. See he's really not supposed to be here...For the same reasons why I shouldn't be in the city..."

He nodded. There was a relieved smile on his face but something was wrong. She could tell instantly that there was something which he wasn't telling her.

"Nik what is it?"

He looked to the ground and shook his head. He considered denying it for a moment but then he stopped and closed his eyes and sighed.

"Aella...In the time you've been gone...Something happened...There was a purge..."

"Precursors...Another one? Did anyone lose anyone?" The look on his face told her everything. Or maybe not everything... "Who?"

He gulped. "I...I had no idea that they would...I don't know why it didn't occur to me...Aella, Shayna and Du-"

"No..."

She felt like she was going to vomit. She felt like her skin was on fire. She couldn't breathe.

"Aella please-"

"No."

"Aella-"

She clutched her chest and fell to the ground as she felt the darkness closing in...