LightEcoDragonRider:

Light-Eco-Sage: I guess you could say the choice is between love or lust, but in a way that you probably hadn't guessed.

FlyingCherry: Yeah it was my fault, the real Chapter 5 is up now.

A/N: This is a pretty important chapter. Lot of stuff happening here.

Chapter V: Back to the Desert

Naughty Ottsel 8:35 AM

Jak sat with Tess and Daxter at a booth in the Naughty Ottsel, enjoying scrambled Flut-Flut eggs. Jak was in a good mood these days. He, Daxter and Sig had just demolished another two Metal Head nests the night before, and there were only thirty-six Kor-Clones left. As for the sewers, Torn had sent a recon team and they had come back without a report on any suspicious Metal Head activity. The panic and fear that everyone had been feeling had gradually died down.

As Jak wolfed down his second helping of eggs (with three thick strips of Yakow beef bacon) the doors to the saloon opened. Daxter stood irritably on his feat. "How many times do I gotta tell these drunkies, we don't open mornings!" Jak looked ahead and saw who stood in the doorway. It was Shea.

"Hold on Dax, I know her." Jak got heavily to his feet and went to the doorway, as Dax and Tess fed him furtive looks.

"Hi Jak!" Shea exclaimed as she elegantly tossed back her long brown hair. "Listen, I thought we could go to lunch today. A new place just opened up in Main Town. Apparently they serve Yakow meet. What do you say?"

Jak spared a glance at Daxter who nodded his head vigorously. Tess had a sad expression on her face. Jak looked back at Shea.

"Well sure I guess. What time?"

"Meet me at the Gun Range at noon m'kay?" Shea nodded her head, smiled, and bounced out of the saloon.

Main Town 12:15

Jak parked the zoomer at a very ritzy looking restaraunt, and helped Shea off. He now wished he had dressed nicer. Shea had at least changed into something new and all Jak had thought to put on was his old blue tunic, which was starting to smell like metal. Looking slightly abashed as he and Shea walked into the restaraunt, Jak opened his mouth to ask for a table. Shea cut him off.

"I have a reservation. I believe it's listed under Shea?" Jak, feeling even more embarrased, stared down, looking at something on the bottom of his shoe.

"Terribly sorry madam, but we were forced to give your table to another couple."

"Well are there any more tables?"

The man shook his head woefully. "However your table seated four. If you don't mind sharing I could put you over there."

Shea sighed. "Fine, fine. Show us the way." A waiter led Jak and Shea to the table and handed them menus. Jak looked up at the couple across from him. Staring back at him, eyes menacing slits, was Kiera. Pyrah was at her side,

"Jak, Shea, nice to see you again." Kiera said. Pyrah seemed to be the only one present who that she was being sincere.

"Good to see you again Kiera!" Shea gushed, smothering Kiera's right hand in two of her own. "And Pyrah! How are you both?"

Jak groaned. It was going to be a long day.

The waiter came back to give them drinks and ask what they wanted to eat. Jak looked up, trying to ingore the man's dissaproving glance.

"Uh, I'll have a Yakow Burger, with cheese please."

"Bring me a shrimp scampi with a light garden salad, thank you." Shea said.

Kiera, still obviously annoyed, said,"Give me the grilled Flut-Flut with mashed potatoes."

Pyrah ordered a Yakow Steak with baked potato.

The twenty minutes they waited for the food were the longest in Jak's life. Shea dominated the conversation, occasionally allowing someone with quick reflexes to get a word in. Jak finished his drink and was reduced to sucking on ice cubes while an elderly woman two seats down watched disaprovingly.

"So, Kiera, how long have you known Jak?" The question was sudden, and it caught Kiera off guard.

"Um, I'd say about our whole lives, why?"

Shea shook her head, long brown curls bobbing. "Nothing, nothing, just sizing up the competition, that's all. Anything ever happen between you two? Anything...steamy?"

There was an extremely akward silence, which was broken when Jak and Pyrah began coughing at exactly the same time. Kiera was not amused.

"Look, your questions are kind of making everyone uncomfortable, so maybe we should just change the subject?"

Shea mock gasped in protest. "Why, I hope I'm not!" She demnaded of the man sitting next to her, "Jak, are you uncomfortable?"

Jak wanted to tell her that, yes, she was making him unconfortable, but he felt an need to defend his date.

"No, I'm fine," he lied. He avoided looking at Kiera. Those emerald green eyes always knew when he was lying.

"Well then, you see Kiera. You don't have feel ashamed. If you don't want to tell, I'm fine to just drop it."

This was the straw, the fateful straw, that broke the camel's back. Kiera stood up violently, knocking over the complimentary basket of bread rolls. "What the hell is wrong with you?" Kiera yelled. Furiously, she grabbed a bread roll and threw it at Shea, with suprising accuracy.

Jak rose automatically, and so did Pyrah. "I'll handle it." Jak said, and, leaving no room for argument, he strode out of the restaraunt after Kiera.

Jak knew she wouldn't be standing in a corner, sobbing. She was outside, leaning against the brick wall, breathing in. She saw Jak and began to walk away. "Leave me alone Jak."

Jak was ready. He grabbed her hand and forced her back to the wall. "Kiera," he said, his voice soft. "What's the matter?"

Kiera hated when his voice got all soft and concerned. She looked at Jak, fighting his crystal blue eyes. "Jak," she whispered. "What are we doing?"

Jak looked back at her. "I don't know." Then, tentatively, he kissed her, lightly. "But Kiera, I think I love you."

(A/N: Yeah I know this is the corniest love scene you've ever read, but c'mon, this is not my area of expertise, and it's my first fic for goodness sakes.)

1:15 Sewers

Shea had stormed off after lunch, enraged. It was not so much that Jak had blown her off for the green-haired wench. She hadn't really found Jak particularly interesting. She had dated Torn once, and he had been as good as it got. Until Ashelin came into the picture.

She pulled a flashlight from the pocket of her trousures and shined it through the dim, dark passage. 'Where the hell are they?'

Suddenly, she found them. Or rather, they found her. A Metal Head running on all fours leapt at her. She ducked, and it crashed into the wall behind her. "Juharat! Juharat where the hell are you?"There was a flicker of light further inside the passage, and Shea looked upon a sight that would've frightened anyone. A group of about three-thousand Metal Heads, each one staring at her.

But Shea was unabashed. She strode forward comfortable, to the center of the group, ignoring the savage growls from the Metal Heads.

In the middle of the group were thirty-six Metal Heads. They all looked differently, but there was an air of leadership about them. One of them spoke.

"Have you destroyed Mar?" The Metal Heads called him by his real name.

"Not yet." There was a roar of outrage among them.

Another one Juharat, the Leader, said, "I told you your plan was foolish. Mar is too noble to succumb to seduction. You are too... eager for such things. Why didn't you lure him here as we sugested?"

"I tried, but Torn didn't send him. He sent someone else and they came back negative."

"Mar has destroyed more Metal Head nests. Our weapon is not yet ready, and if the Precursors give him the last light power, he will find and destroy it before it is fully charged. Bring him here! We must watch him die before we are satisfied!"

Shea rolled her eyes. "Fine, fine. I've got an idea."

1:30 PM Naughty Ottsel

Daxter walked through the back hall of the Naughty Ottsel. He stopped when he got to Jak's room and stod on the tips of his toes to reach the knob. He had Tess had been meaning to make the doors ottsel-accesible, but hadn't done it yet. He finally pushed the door open, and came upon the most unfamiliar sight he'd ever seen.

Jak sat on the bed. That was normal, Jak sat on his bed all the time. However this was the first time Daxter had seen Kiera on his lap. Jak was kissing her and she was running her slender, pale fingers through his blond hair.

"Holy shit!" Daxter swore. They immediatley looked up. Kiera's cheeks became about fifty shades redder, and Jak looked more pissed than ever.

"Daxter! Um, Jak and I were just-"

"Hey hey, you don't have to explain! I know exactly what you were doin'!"

Jak glared at Daxter. "Yeah, and if it wasn't for you, we'd still be doing it. You'd better hope you have a good reason for-"

"Yeah yeah, look Torn's outside. He says it's important." Daxter left, muttering something like, "My eyes. Oh God, my eyes."

Jak emerged from the back of the Naughty Ottsel, Kiera's hand in his. He sat across from Torn, who looked at the two with distaste.

"Jak, we need you to go into the Sewers. Shea just activated a distress signal and we need you to go get her out."

Kiera frowned. "Why can't someone else go? What about Jinx, or Sig, Ashelin or Pyrah?" Kiera was not exactly willing for Jak to go into the sewers with Shea alone.

Torn shook his head. "Look, I know you two want to get back in there and all, but there are hordes of Metal Heads. Jak's powers may come in handy."

Jak nodded. "Alright, I'll go." He gave Kiera a lingering kiss on her lips before he departed. Ashelin looked at Torn.

"Why don't you ever kiss me like that?" She asked him. Torn kissed her.

"There, you happy?"

1:45 Sewers

Jak wandered through the sewers, Eco Sword held aloft. It's dark jewel provided an excellent light. He walked through, until he finally found her.

Shea was standing in the middle of two Metal Heads. "Shea! It's alright, I'm here!"

Shea laughed, a high-pitched, altogether annoying laugh. "Playing the hero has blinded you Jak! Can't you see, I'm fine? It's you who's in the immediate danger."

A Metal Head spoke. Jak was almost too suprised to hear what it said.

"Do it now."

Shea removed a pistol from her pocket. It was pointed at Jak's heart. "This is the end Jak. My friends and I think you've gone one long enough. I think it's time to end it."

Jak looked at Shea. Then he looked at the Metal Heads submerged in the center of the group. He was sure they were Kor-Clones. There were supposed to be thirty six. Slowly he counted. And that's when it hit him.

Shea saw the look of recognition on his face and laughed. "Of course Jak, you figured it out! I'm a Metal Head, just like Kor was! In a way I should thank you. If not for you killing Kor, I'd still be an embryo in the middle of his forehead. So instead of torturing you, I'll just shoot you now. Think of it as paying my debt to- Hey, what do you think your doing?"

Jak had quietly taken out his Morph Gun. It was on the Plasmite RPG setting, and pointed at the group of Metal Heads in the center.

"Do it. One twitch of my finger and your "friends" will be blown to Metal Head hell." Jak did not wait for an answer. Suddenly, he lunged at Shea, knocking the pistol out of her hands and pinning her to the ground. He recovered his gun and slowly aimed back in the center. He backed away with a run, until he had reached the end of the tunnel.

"I don't get it Jak. Why didn't you shoot?"

"No amno."

"Well why don't you kill me with your sword or something?"

"I probably should, bu I don't think Torn will believe me otherwise."

2:15 Naughty Ottsel

Torn was shaking his head, disbelievingly. "So what happened."

Jak spoke first. "She's a Metal Heads, only in disguise like Kor. Once I've been killed they're going to try and destroy the city, just like Samos predicted. Shea was their inside man. Er.. woman."

Shea shook her head, sobbing slightly. "That's n-not true. He-he came and saved me from the Metal Heads, but then he wanted some kind of reward. He-he tried to r-rape me."

Jak laughed hopelessly. "No I didn't! Why the hell would I do that?"

Torn looked Jak square in the eye. "Well it sounds a hell of a lot more plausible than that bullshit 'Shea the Metal Heads' theory."

Shea started sobbing again. "It's t-true."

Torn looked at Jak. "If you try this kind of crap with one of my most trusted officers, you get the boot. And you're lucky it's not going up your ass."

He turned to a Krimzon Guard. "Make sure he doesn't leave this spot. I'm going to get a Hoverbus that'll take you to the Wasteland."

He moved his face close to Jak's. Jak could smell the swiss cheese and ham sandwich he'd had for lunch. "And this time, you won't come back."

2:45 City Gates

The blue hover bus was, well... hovering. Torn, Sig, Kiera, Daxter, Tess, and Ashelin were present. Torn had a hard stare on his face, everyone else looked sympathetic.

"I don't believe it." Sig muttered into Ashelin's ear. "I think Torn's the only one that does."

Jak's hands were bound. He could easily have fought. He could have become Dark Jak and created a Krimzon Guard Massacre. But he hadn't. He'd let himself be chained, and now he'd try to get to Spargus.

"No one goes with him." Torn said.

"Listen Tatooed Wonder, you're here, accusing my friend of something that doesn't make any sense. You think I give a Yakow's ass what you think?" Daxter climbed up Jak's shoulder. Suprisingly, it was Jak who resisted.

"No Dax. I need to go alone." The heartbroken ottsel jumped down. Jak took a look at Kiera. She was sobbing on Ashlin's shoulder. She didn't look at him. She couldn't.

Jak boarded the hoverbus. The doors closed behind him and it sped off.

LightEcoDragon Rider: Insert Greenday's "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" here if you want, it's what I was listening to while wrote this part.

I know that any Torn-fans will be pissed 'cause Torn's a jack ass (or Jak-ass lol) but don't worry, it wasn't his fault.

REVIEW!