She couldn't watch. She tried to but when the first marauder jumped at him her hands twitched wanting her gun.

Her instincts screamed to protect him to cover him to have his back. She had to leave though doubted anyone noticed hidden in the shadows as she was.

"You feared for him" anyone except of course Damas.

"I feared for my investment"

"That line might work on others but not on me. I have known you since you were a small child still in diapers"

"So you've reminded me before."

"And yet you still think that you can fool me."

Lexi sighed, sinking into the wall. "You care too"

There was no reply to her statement as she pushed off the wall walking away from her king towards the lower entrances to the arena. She had money to collect.

She couldn't contain the smile as she looked up at klievers face as he counted the money into the bag before chucking it at her. Even as he glared at Jaks approach she couldn't manage to control it.

Kliever was shaking with rage but managed to choke out a few words of congratulations to the boy.

"Thanks" that crooked smile of his appeared as he stared at the bag now in Lexi's hands. "You actually bet on me"

"Of course."

"Bet on you but she couldn't even stick around to watch" so kliever had noticed she left he must have been watching her instead of the match.

"No need to watch a sure thing kliever."

"A sure thing huh. Are you sure it's not cause you're getting soft. So worried that you couldn't stand to watch." He hit the mark though he was guessing trying to get under her skin.

Lexi snorted and jabbed him in the chest. "I don't do soft. There's no point in watching him mop the floor with some marauders when I have other things to do. Just because you can't tell a good warrior from a bad" He stared down at her and she met his gaze until he turned away snarling.

"Well see how good he really is" she was surprised the ground didn't shake as he stomped off.

"You didn't stay to watch" jaks voice was so guarded.

"Like i said, no need to watch a sure thing. And maybe I don't like standing on the sidelines while others fight."

"It feels wrong doesn't it"

"Yea" she agreed softly. "Seem would call it a hero complex"

He snorted, no doubt his dealings with Seem were always as the one she witnessed.

"You're still hiding something", he closed the distance and stared down at her the few inches difference, and she stared up defiantly.

"I only care about my investment", she turned away in a mock huff, stomping off.

"Way to go Jak, piss off the hot chick that was worried about you"

"I, I didn't mean", the poor dear was stumbling over his words before turning them into heated whispers with Dax that she could no longer hear.

She had gotten to the doorway when she turned around and there they still stood arguing. "You coming, Hero? Or are you gonna stand there all day?"

"Hero"

"She's obviously talking to me", it was amazing how much ego that that tiny rat had as he walked up leaving Jak trailing behind him.

"Sure fuzzball we'll go with that"

"Fuzzball really?". He scrambled up to Jaks shoulder, not happy furry paws on hips.

Lexi didn't bother replying as she walked off leading them towards food.

She couldn't help it, she enjoyed the weight of those arms wrapped around her waist as she weaved the bike between the rocks. The warmth on her back wasn't too bad even with the desert heat bearing down on them, though it made that butterfly feeling in her stomach ten times worse than it normally was around him.

Stopping on a dime she felt his weight slide into her more, Please let that be something in his pocket or it's gonna be a long morning. Her mind was already thinking of all the things she could do if it wasn't.

"Having fun hero," she rested her head back on his shoulder, goggles still covering her eyes her scarf pulled up probably wasn't as teasing as it could have been but she could see that little twitch beneath his scarf and knew that he was trying and failing not to smirk at her attempts to flirt.

"She rides nice", he had rolled his eyes when she had informed him the bike was a she but listened anyways. Lexi opened her mouth to say something and sighed instead

"God Jak, sometimes you set yourself up so well it's not even any fun"

"wha….Oh" the tips of his ears were probably turning red, resting as they were though she couldn't quite see them. " you've spent far too much time around Jinx haven't you"

"And women far worse than he ever could be"

"Really"

"Really, over in Providin there's the Order of the Lily, trained to use every weapon at their disposal to rid them of enemies of Providin, including the one between their legs"

"I….how is that a weapon", he managed to choke out the words

"If a man wants it, it can be used against him, a bargaining chip, a thing to make him relax, and tell secrets during pillow talk. Sometimes it's just the bait and all they really get is a slit throat and a shallow grave."

"Remind me to stay far away from Providin"

"Gladly, it's a frozen vipers nest. Old bloodlines thinking they are better than everyone else because their ancestor shook hands with Mar, or cleaned his toilet, or something."

"You don't see it as home do you"

"No, my homes here and part of it lays within Havens walls" she nestled further back into him, and his hands shifted to sit a little higher having been dangerously low. "Providin was just a place where i was a bargaining chip, a pawn piece that everyone wanted to have".

"Your family is high up there"

"You could say that." She sighed loudly. "Come on hero, lets see what you can do before you make me so depressed with all this talk that I cry"

Sitting up she swung her leg over the bike sliding off and Jak moved forwards and she slid behind him. "Just no crazy stunts, this time"

"This time?"

She wrapped her arms around his chest feeling the muscles tight beneath his shirt. "Just learn how to handle it this time. Save the fancy shit for next time"

"So there will be a next time"

"You gonna keep talking Goldilocks, or you gonna start driving." the last word wasn't even out of her mouth when they took off, sand flying in every direction as he sped through a sand drift. Her arms tightened around him and she rested her chin on his shoulder watching each obstacle come up and be dodged. He was born to drive, there was no hesitation, he leaned with the turns.

Jak drove until the sun was at high noon, and their artifact bag was too full to hold anything else, and he turned them back towards the city.

Lexi had her fingers half splayed across his sides where they rested after wrapping her arms around his midsection and she could feel the muscles flexing with each movement. She managed to catch herself before they entered the city, he parked so carefully away from the other vehicles and she slipped off tossing their bag at Damas who was chatting with Kliever when they drove in.

"A good haul, especially with the sands settled after last night's store. You did well,

"You can give the boy the credit, he drove beautifully and barely had to slow down to grab them; he held it steady."

"Giving him credit now Girl. You are going soft"

She rolled her eyes at Klievers words, not bothering to even reply to the man. What reply could she even give now, with the feeling of his muscles still lingering on her fingertips.

"That's high praise coming from Lexi, I have already heard reports of your driving skills and seen some with my own eyes. But that is a lot more difficult to navigate on the desert sands. If she says you drove beautifully it must be so."

Kleiver had gotten close to Jak, and she couldn't make out the words being spoken.

Damas has a job for us, but I'm no babysitter so stay out of my way" he jabbed one of those fatty fingers into his chest, and Jak could feel the dark eco inside surge slightly.

"Jaks not afraid of you. Are you Jak", Dax on his shoulder was nervous, and he half raised a hand towards him to reassure him without words.

"If you knew what was happening out here, you'd be afraid all right", rancid breath filled jaks noise as Kleiver leaned in closer as footsteps approached.

"What's going on here", Damas had wrapped up with Lex and was walking over and the slightest smirk appeared on Kleivers face, for they both knew that the king of Spargus had not heard Kleivers words.

That smirk stayed as Kleiver began to drift off. "Nothing your Lordship, just offering Jak and the little one here some healthy advice." His eyes stared over Jaks shoulder and he frowned, most likely due to the threat that Jak knew Lex made at him from behind him and Damas.

A large hand clapped down upon his shoulder drawing attention away from Kleiver and Lex and back to the white haired warrior. "You have a reputation for being rash. Didn't your father ever tell you to pick your battles wisely." Damas did not seem to see Dax motioning to stop though Jak felt the movements.

"I didn't know my father", he blocked nearly all emotion as he stated the fact, and for a second he saw what looked like sadness flickering across the older man's face.

A soft sigh could be heard. "My point is, sometimes you face your enemy head on, and sometimes you wait until his weakness is revealed. Patience is a warrior's greatest weapon. Do you understand?" Jak nodded a little bubble of something settling in his chest. "Jak I want you and Kleiver to go into the desert and herd a group of lizards into a waiting transport. We must prepare for whatever lies ahead, I need all the resources we can gather.

He let that crooked smile come back a hint "No problem, I'm good with animals"

"See you out there chum", kleiver called back at him as the wastelander climbed into his vehicle before speeding towards the door at breakneck speed, only opening just in time.

"Pissing contest with lives, how wonderful"

"Lex'.

"Sorry Damas" jak snorted and she turned to him one eyebrow raised. "Something funny newbie"

"Yea, if you're sorry then I'm a Yakko", Dax piped up from his place, and Jak couldn't help but shake his head at his friends inability to not say something for once.

"I was talking to tall dark and handsome here." she moved quickly across the makeshift garage standing in front of him before he knew it, only inches away. He had to stop himself from taking a step back automatically. "Go wipe that smirk off that mans face '', she leaned forward clasping her hands behind her back before planting a soft kiss on his cheek. "A sage's favor for luck Goldilocks", she skipped off slipping through the gates of the city before the dust of them opening had even settled, disappearing into the noon crowd with ease.

"If she catches you staring after her"

"She'll kick my ass" Jak finished Damas' statement making him laugh.

"Once you're done with Kleiver you have the remainder of the day to yourself. I suggest you move quickly so that you may enjoy it."

He managed to sneak quietly back to his rooms once they returned. The trip to the volcano and the secrets of the temple giving him more than enough reason to wish to be alone.

The light eco, it seemed to chase away what the dark had done to him. Not completely, though perhaps some of that anger was not the eco at all but rather the other things that had happened in the last three years.

It might not be able to erase the pain and anger of those things, but the dark eco seemed less like a ticking time bomb inside his chest, more stable than it had ever been. The anger that came with it was no longer a raging river but a slow stream that seemed to lesson more with every moment, with every bit of that precious light eco he absorbed as he walked over it.

Jak went over the events in his mind over and over again, wondering, thinking, desperate to figure out if there was a way to help even more, and remembering Torns' words so many months before.

"You weren't the Baron's only prisoner."

Just what had Torn meant, just what had the Baron done to her once Raiders torment had ended.

Had she been strapped to that same table. Had Errol

That dark train of thoughts ended with the slamming of a door from outside of his room and he looked at the nearby clock to see just how long he had been sitting there. It was nearly midnight and Lexi was back from whatever errand she had been running.

Those heavy footsteps -for someone so light on her feet she could make herself sound like a stampede of Yakkos when she wanted to- headed towards him and the door opened, red hair peeking around the corner of it.

"Damas wants you at the garage, pronto" He stared at her for a moment, his brain taking a moment to realize what she had said to him. "That means move Goldilocks. There's a storm coming"

Picking himself off the ground he left the room, brushing past her as he went, and he could swear that she stared at the back of his head as he left, he could feel her gaze all but burning a hole into him.

Three, three of the four men that Damas sent him after he was able to save. He brought back the fourths body, and he was told that he would have never been able to save him, the man had died maybe an hour before. Attacked by the very thing that attacked him when he found the man's body.

Despite his best efforts to, every attempt at sleep was met with failure or nightmares. It was almost a relief when he heard Kleiver voice first thing telling him to meet him at the turret gun beside the marketplace once he finished his desert run for artifacts.

He couldn't help but grin after he slid into the seat. Using those targets in the water to get used to the things controls, barely needing time to adjust before he had it in the bag, just like every other weapon he got into his hands.

Everything that popped up went down until there were many moments of nothing, and then the sound of Kleiver swearing reached his ears, and smiling he shut down the gun and climbed out carefully making his way down the ladder.

The large man's moustache actually shook with contained anger. "So you nippers walloped me. Fine. The top poppy has to be snipped sometime. Law of the land says the top gunner holds a special trophy in honor of their skill. 'The object gripped in kleivers fist was gently tossed at him. It was a large eco crystal, much like the ones he already carried. "This crystals yours now, but I'll be getting it back soon enough"

Kleiver stomped off without waiting for Jak to reply, not that he had much to say in return, the man's threats were turning out to be nothing more than that, a threat meant to frighten him.

Better his usefulness to Damas and his friendship with Lexi Kleiver was unlikely to outright do anything, and Jak was used to watching his back, had been for the last year and a bit, and he had Dax to help him do so.

If the man intended to get him back for beating him

His train of thought was halted, replaced with surprise.

Standing there at the stalls buying the last bits of food from the vendors that were slowly shutting down as Lexi, except it didn't look like Lexi.

The outfit was much the same, dark shorts beneath the skirt like garment, though it was all shades of grey and black. Same expanse of bare skin showing above and then below the shirt. Though that was most different for instead of the slightly worn ones in different shades of brown this one appeared to be of a shiny material, and green like the tips of his hair. Those two dreads that recently started framing her face were pulled back being used to hold the rest out of her way loose as it was, it nearly tangled into the basket that balanced on her hip. It struck him once more how beautiful she was, she wore no makeup but seemed to be glowing as she stood there talking to the vendor.

Though when he thought of it, was she not just as beautiful when they were out in the desert, or when she had come from the garden, dirt smeared on her cheek, sometimes a green smear from the plants.

He walked over, quietly picking up the second basket from the ground causing the vendor's eyes to go wide as dinner plates as the smaller girl took in the sight of him. He probably had sand and blood on him, his hair sticking up widely from the metal head he encountered. Those wide eyes made Lexi turn and face him, and she smiled up those few inches at him, a smile which became larger when the girl disappeared rather quickly.

"You know you're not supposed to frighten the poor shop girls to death. There's this wonderful thing called a bath. Gets rid of all the blood and metal head guts." Delicate fingers picked something off his shoulder not occupied by Dax and she dropped it wiping her fingers on her skirt piece. "Come on, let's get this to the palace kitchens and then you to the baths."

She didn't wait for a response spinning on her mostly metal foot heading off towards the palace hips swaying as she walked.

He felt Dax nudge his check and he smirked back at him not taking his eyes off the sight in front of him as he followed behind.