Disclaimer: Heya peoples! Jak, or any of the other characters from Jak and Daxter, Jak 2, and Jak 3, do not belong to Naughty Dog, they belong to me! Just kidding . . . none of the characters from the Jak and Daxter trilogy belong to me. They are all created by Naughty Dog.

Redemption

7

For the love of Keira (Part 1)

Torn's POV:

It had been two whole weeks since Keira and I got together, and to tell you the truth, we were happy. Really. I almost feel thankful that Jak and Ashelin had betrayed our trust and got together, because through that act of betrayal, I had found the greatest woman I've ever met. Okay, did I say almost feel thankful? Hell! I am thankful!

I whistled happily as I strolled down the road to Keira's apartment. Yes. She has a new apartment now. Remember that Underground chick she was talking to on the last Underground meeting? (You know? The one where I embarrassed myself in front of every Underground member alive?) It turned out that Clarice's family had a huge company that sold zoomers, flyers, cruisers, hellcat cruisers, and every kind of off-road vehicle there is. Basically, her family owns a large vehicle company. She had heard of Keira's great mechanic skills, and has heard of her inventions, so she asked Keira if she wanted to join the company, since her garage was ruined in the war. Keira had said yes, and well . . . that's the whole story. It was great really. Keira was so happy with her job. She then got an apartment using the money she earned and she's also planning to rebuild her garage.

Two of the Freedom League fighters waved a good morning to me and I told them to keep doing a great job. It was wonderful. The whole city seemed to be on a big spring-cleaning day. By the next month, everything would have been repaired. Samos was even planning to extend the Underground base. Anyway, enough about that.

I rang Keira's doorbell and silently waited for her to open it. I looked around and notice someone watching me intently. I couldn't tell who it was since she or he had a hood on. They must have realized me noticing them because they quickly turned away and left.

Weird.

Who could it have been?

Before I could get lost in my thoughts, the door opened to reveal a smiling Keira. She hugged me and pulled me inside. "Hey Tattooed Wonder. What are you doing here so early?"

I smirked and pulled her to me. "I was getting impatient. I wanted to see you so badly," I said giving her a slow deep kiss. It was true. There wasn't a single moment where I wasn't thinking about a certain aqua haired mechanic. Keira's hands wove through my hair as she pulled me closer to her, returning my deep kiss with her sweet ones. Our kiss lasted for a few minutes, before we both pulled back in need of air. She smiled at me and kissed my cheek.

I pulled Keira close and buried my nose in her neck. "I love you Keir."

She pulled me to her and kissed me again. "I love you too." She sighed and combed through my hair. "I'm thinking . . ."

I looked up at her wondering what she was thinking about. "What?"

She smiled. "I'm thinking . . . I don't want to go to work today. Instead . . . I wanna spend more time with you."

I smiled. That was exactly was I was thinking about.

Author's POV:

He turned away as he noticed the one called "Tattooed Wonder" watching him. He left, promising that he'd be back later. He had been watching the aqua-haired woman for some time now. The first time he saw her, he had almost forgotten that he of his mission. Her beauty had caught him off guard and all he could do was stare. But then his communicator rang and then the boss had asked him of his current actions. He remembered his mission all right. Since the day he saw her, thoughts of her lovely face kept evading his mind. But then, he had also seen her kissing the Freedom League Fighter Commander, and rage and hate for the man filled him. It was no matter. He wasn't supposed to feel anger for the commander, he was supposed to feel anger for her. But it was a hard task. Still, he knew. He would have to kill them both any day now.

Jak's POV:

I angrily stormed out of the palace, trying to get away from Ashelin. We had another big fight. Damn. What the hell was wrong with her? I couldn't stand it anymore. She kept pestering me about Keira, so I told her. I admitted that I still had feelings for Keira. She threw a vase over my head and told me to get out of the palace, so here I am, walking aimlessly on the streets, letting my feet take me anywhere but the palace.

I finally stopped talking and found myself at the entrance to Haven Forest. (A/N: Yes, Haven Forest from Jak 2 was restored.) What brought me here? I entered through the entrance and headed to the warp gate. I jumped inside and came out on the other side of the mountain. I climbed on and waited as the lift took me to Haven Forest. I climbed down as soon as I got there, and started wandering around.

I stopped.

Keira and Torn were sitting by the ground laughing as a bird landed on Keira's shoulder. I watched transfixed, as Keira took the bird in her hand and let him fly away. Torn laughed and placed an arm around Keira's shoulders. Keira tilted her head and pulled Torn down for a kiss. I watched as the two continued on kissing, and memories of me and Keira . . . came back to haunt me again.

"Jak! Where are you taking me?" Keira's laughter rang through my ears. I looked back at her and saw her smile. "Come on Jak!" She laughed again.

I smiled and continued leading the way to Haven Forest. We finally reached it a few moments later. I heard Keira's gasp as she looked around, absorbing the beauty of the place. "Oh . . . Jak . . . This place is beautiful!"

I laughed and took her waist as I jumped on the jet-board. She gave a shriek of laughter and wrapped her arms around my neck, holding on as I speeded down the river. We both jumped down as we reached the ground. I placed my hands over Keira's eyes and pushed her forward. Finally . . . we reached the place . . . I pulled off my hands and told Keira to open her eyes. I watched as her eyes go opaque with shock.

She turned to me and smiled. "It's beautiful Jak!"

I smiled. I knew she would like it. Keira laughed and wrapped her eyes around me. "Oh, Jak . . . I love you so much!"

I pulled her close . . . I could almost see the fluttering of her eyes. We were so close . . . She closed her eyes . . . and our lips met in a beautiful kiss.

Those times were over now . . . there were no more Keira and I. Without knowing it, I was battling with Torn for Keira's affections. The battle was over. Torn won.

Not yet.It wasn't over. I need to find a way to bring back Keira.I will do anything to bring her back to me. Anything.

Ashelin's POV:

I sat by the palace roof top thinking about the fight I had with Jak earlier. It was mostly my fault. I kept asking him if he still loved Keira, and he kept saying no. Somehow, I knew all along that Jak still had feelings for her. I wanted him to admit it. He did. And it hurt me really bad. It was painful . . . to hear him tell me he still loved her. But there was something else . . .

What hurt me more than anything . . . was that realizing . . . that I too was still in love with Torn. It also hurt to know . . . that I had lost him.

Why? Why did I take that kiss between me and Jak seriously? Did I honestly think he loved me as much as he loved Keira? It was my fault. I was the one that kissed him. For that act of selfishness and greed, I had ruined his future, and his life with the woman he truly loved and I had ruined mine as well. Could I have been that naive? What the hell was I thinking? I just thought . . .

I am such a (insert whatever name you want to call her here) selfish bitch! I was so stupid and . . . I regret that now. I know now that Jak and I were never meant to be together. He was in love with Keira. And now . . . because of me, he lost her to the man I love. Through my act of stupidness and naivete we lost the people we cared for the most.

Pecker's POV:

"Danger is ahead for the two lovers. Fate can be really tricky at times, and I'm afraid if their love is not strong enough, they will both suffer and die."

Onin's mystical voice echoed in my head. She had been saying the same things over and over again . . . but that time . . . that time was different.

I was Onin's interpreter. You could say I was her voice. I read her mind pretty well but, I haven't been expecting the sudden turn of events. I had thought that Jak and Keira were destined to be together. It was written in the prophecy:

In the times we least expect,

A being of great power arises

A daughter of a sage that brings life,

With intelligence that surpasses all of the other sages.

Yet there will be darkness amidst the shadows

A being that threatens to destroy the being we speak of

But a hero will rise and protect her

And their destinies shall be intertwined.

The hero the prophecy spoke of must have been Jak, considering he is the only hero

around. But lately . . . things seem to be going horribly wrong. Can it be? Can it be that the prophecy is somehow incorrect?Or is there something we are missing? Perhaps we have misread the prophecy. Perhaps the "being" the prophecy spoke of was not Keira. But who could it be?

"Danger is lurking nearby. VERY nearby."

For once, I thought about how life would be peaceful if I wasn't Onin's voice.

Daxter's POV:

I happily wiped the bar counter, whistling as I watched Tess took orders from the customers. I sighed. What a nice woman I had. She was so sweet, and caring, and she loves me very much! Oh! Did I tell you? We were getting married soon! I guess I have to say goodbye to my womanizing days. Sure, that part was a bummer, but on the good side, I get to live happily ever after with Tess.

I heard the door slide open and I looked up, expecting to see either Sig or Jinx, since both of them always seemed to be coming in here during this time of the day. Instead, what I saw was someone in a black hood. Creepy.

I couldn't tell if it was a boy or a girl. The hooded figure looked around, glanced at me and headed back out. Who the heck was he or . . . she? What was he or she doing here? I shrugged, not bothering to find the answers to my question. I continued on with my business, happily wiping the counter.

Jak's POV:

It had been more than two hours since I saw Keira and that bastard Torn in the forest. I was on my way back to the palace. I wanted to talk to Ashelin and apologize for everything. I had already made my decision. I didn't love as Ashelin as much as I loved Keira. I understood that now. Ashelin and I . . . I think what we had was just a friendly sort of love that we had mistaken to be true love.

I didn't want to hurt her, and myself by pretending that I loved her. Because I didn't. I just hoped she would forgive me. Still . . . I didn't know if what I was planning to do would hurt her too, but I guess I would hurt her more if I tried to hide my feelings for Keira.

I was almost at the palace entrance when I saw Ashelin sitting by the fountain near the entrance to Mar's tomb. I sighed heavily and made my way to her. She must have felt me coming because she looked around and patted the spot beside her, urging me to sit down with her.

"Ash . . ." I began, searching for the right things to say. She beat me to it.

"Jak. We need to talk."

I nodded. Somehow I knew what she was going to say. "I want to talk to you too."

She smiled. "I understand Jak. I feel the same way. We were never meant to be together, I get that now . . . and I'm . . . I-I'm sorry . . . Because of me . . . you lost Keira. I know now that she was the woman you were destined to be. You love her and I . . . I love Torn."

I nodded. I placed an arm around her shoulder and kissed her for the last time. "I don't blame you Ashelin. It's not your fault that I lost Keira. I stupidly let her go." I smiled.

Ashelin laughed. "You'll try to bring her back then?"

I nodded. I was going to do just that. "You?"

"I've been thinking. And I've decided . . . no. Torn seems really happy with her Jak, and I'm betting she's just as happy as he is. I understand how you feel for her because I feel that way about Torn too. But if we take away the love they have . . . wouldn't that be selfish of us? We already hurt them once Jak, I can't stand to do it again . . . so . . . I won't stop them from sharing their love with eachother. No matter how much that hurts me, I'll bear with it." She paused. "I love Torn. If you love Keira, you'll do the same thing as me." When she was done, she kissed my cheek, and left.

I thought about what Ashelin had said and . . . for the first time in my life, I didn't know what to do.

End

A/N: So . . . what did you think? I didn't really know what else to write, so I did a little plot twist. What do you think? What should Jak do? Follow Ashelin's advice or fight for Keira? Anyhoo . . . I already know what I'm going to do, but I'd like to hear what you guys think. You never know, I might decide to change my decision. Hehe. See ya next chapter!

Review Reposes:

Flying cherry: Anytime! Thanks for the review. This chapter doesn't really have that much action in it but I promise the next one will have lots of action and violence.

Daxter the Otsel: Hiya! I'm glad you love my story! Yay! I got a compliment! Don't worry. There's a lot more of that jealousy stuff.

Jaky: Oh yeah! I forgot about that . . . Sig does call JD "cherries." I tried to put that in my story, but it didn't make sense. Thank you for the review!

Kuro Kin'youbi : Yay! Another compliment! Thanks for the review!

Shadows-of-flame: Yup yup! It will definitely end up as Torn/Keira, and don't worry, Keira and Jak won't make up, but I do have something in store for our little yellow-green haired hero! (Keep up the good work on "Karigoya yabureme" )

Jynxie the Plague: Jynxie, Jynxie, Jynxie. I love you so much! You HAVE to update "Her Fake Smiles" I'm dying to see what happens next!

Thanks for all the reviews! Be sure to keep an eye out for the next chapter! It'll be coming out really really soon!