Chapter 2

Jak met Ashelin outside the entrance on the arena. They both shared the same serious and worried expressions on their faces. Ashelin just stood there. Hands on her hips, shaking her head to herself as she saw Jak walking up to her. He knew just by looking at her that she didn't find Torn.

"Didn't find him huh?"

"Nah, any luck on your side?"

Jak just nodded, disappointment was obvious in his eyes.

"So where's Daxter?"

"With Tess, now that she's an ottsel he said he wanted to show her the ropes" a halfhearted grin was forced on his face when he said this and Ashelin responded by doing the same. Jak sighed in frustration.

"Ashelin…"

She put her hand up to stop him before he could continue with whatever he was saying. "Listen, I don't know what was in my head. I don't have any feelings for you any more than you have feelings for me. It just happened so drop it"

Jak was not satisfied with this answer and he shot her an angry look, signaling her to come up with more to her explanation.

"Just consider it a thanks for saving our asses kiss and nothing more. I made a mistake and I will never cross that line again. Deal"

She held out her hand to him and he reached out and shook it, sealing off their "deal".

"Right now we have other things to worry about" she said as she walked over to her zoomer and sped off, leaving a trail of dust behind. Jak just stood there watching her drive off into the distance.

He was unsure of what to do. Even if he did find Keira, what would he say to her? He was never good at these kind of things. He was never good with words unless it involved I'm gonna kill you or let's get out of here or even a long list of curses he screamed out in his battles but as for words with these kinds of things, nope wasn't good at it at all. As much as the ladies were always trailing behind him in Haven City and offering him "company" when he was walking down the deserted streets alone, he didn't have much experience with women and the only woman he did have some knowledge of was Keira. He had no idea what a woman would want for him to do in a situation like this.

What does she want me to do? Sing a song to her under a balcony and wear a nice cape?

He shook his head, disapproving of the situation as he hopped into his vehicle.

He let out another frustrated sigh as he started the engine and heard it rumble. Damn it, don't be an ass.

He turned the key in the ignition again and this time the engine roared in response. He sped off and headed toward Haven City. His destination, Keira's new garage. The last garage was destroyed in the abandoned parts of the city due to the metal heads so she had no choice but to change location. It wasn't too far from the Naughty Ottsel.

Jak grinned at the thought of Daxter being able to turn it back into a bar again instead of lending it to Torn for his strategy planning. That was probably where Daxter and Tess were heading now. Jak continued to drive on, outside the wastelands. He felt the grains of sand scratch his face as he drove and the heat beam down on his blond-green hair. He lost himself in his memories as he drove, to that night that took place about a year ago. When he had rid the world of Baron Praxis, Krew and Kor. They were celebrating inside the Naughty Ottsel. Daxter had cut off Jak and Keira's kiss as usual and then they heard the rumbles and whistles from the colorful fireworks that lit the velvet sky. Everyone emerged from the bar to watch…

Flashback

You can see the flashes of red, blue, yellow and green in her large emerald eyes as she stared up into the sky. She looked like when she was a child and had a fascination with fireflies. She'd try to catch one all night while the mute Jak just rolled his eyes and watched her. But when she'd finally catch one, she'd hold her cupped hands to her face and let the light reflect off her skin. Jak would notice how her eyes seemed to enlarge and light up as well. Right now her eyes had looked the same. Even though he had been gone for two years, and he was sure he missed a lot in her life, some things about her remained the same. Even though Haven City was full of crime, the slums and a million worries, some things in her remained untainted. Her eyes still stood pure at the site of beautiful things. To Jak, that was something beautiful in itself.

Jak put his arm around her and whispered in her ear "Wanna make up for lost time?"

She turned to look up at him, she grinned in response as he lead her to his zoomer. He sat on it and pulled her up so she could sit behind him to wrap her arms around his waist. They had snuck away from the crowd that was still wrapped up in admiration of the fireworks and headed to Haven Forest. It was one of the only places covered with green and surrounded by nature, he knew it would make Keira feel at home as if she were in Sandover all over again.

Once they arrived they stood at the entrance and sat on the grass. Keira huddled her knees, placing her chin on them as she observed her surroundings. Jak leaned back on his hands, legs spread out and relaxed. They stood in silence for a while, listening to the birds and crickets chirping.

"So, it's been a long time huh?" Keira asked Jak without turning to look at him. Her eyes seemed to be fixated on the stars that painted the sky.

"Yeah, it has. Probably too long." He turned to her and studied her expressions, wondering what she was thinking. It was a little awkward after not seeing each other for two years and then suddenly he re-appeared in her life with a bad attitude and some other anger issues. He had also come back with a voice when he was once mute for fifteen years. Their first meeting was cold and awkward. She had recognized Daxter's voice and revealed herself from behind the curtains in the garage. She just looked at him and stuttered You look different. He wasn't happy with her response but at the same time he didn't expect her to run to him in excitement, especially since she knew he was doing Krew's dirty work. She broke the silence of his thoughts.

"Can I…tell you something?" she still stared up into the sky. Was she avoiding his gaze?

"Sure go ahead"

"Back then, two years ago, when we were thrown into this world, it was…scary" she seemed hesitant to go on but he shifter closer to her to show that he was waiting to hear more.

She glanced at him quickly before fixing her eyes back on the sky and continuing where she left off. "Daddy and I didn't know where you and Daxter had gone. We searched for a while but in time we had no choice but to give up. Everyone was running around looking miserable, Krimson guards were walking around holding guns, the buildings were run down and we had nowhere to go. Eventually I found a way to start working in my own garage and we were able to survive. It wasn't as nice as being in a quiet village surrounded by waterfalls and greenery but it was survival."

Jak nodded at her, showing that he understood what she meant. She continued, "Being in this city eventually taught me to be stronger, as afraid as I was at times, I knew I couldn't afford to show weakness. There were times when I'd be in the garage and I'd wonder to myself Is Jak dead? Will they ever come back? Did they end up in a different time from us? Were you just as worried about us as we were worried about you?"

Jak suddenly placed his hand on her shoulder and responded in a low, gentle voice, "We did worry about you guys. I was separated from Daxter as well during the Dark Eco experiments so I don't know his exact thoughts but I know that while I was there, hidden in the depths of the Baron's palace, I thought of you guys. I wished I could go back to Sandover and it was the place my memory would visit when I felt alone"

Keira then turned to Jak and leaned toward him a bit, her eyes showed vulnerability and remorse, "Jak, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry."

"Sorry? For what?" Jak's eyes raised in confusion as he kept his hand on her shoulder even though they were now facing each other.

"If I hadn't helped Daddy with making that machine and helped him research the Precursor technology, we never would have-"

Jak put his finger to Keira's rambling lips to cease her talking and she did. He shifted so he could face her more directly, his cerulean eyes focused on hers as he said, "It wasn't your fault and I never once, held it against you. You don't have to apologize for anything" With that he pulled her close so that she can lean her head on his shoulder.

"Jak?"

"Yeah?"

"Was it…painful? The Dark Eco experiments?"

He stood in thought for a bit. He wasn't quite sure how to answer her without making her feel even more guilt than what she had already felt. He just rubbed her shoulder with the arm that was already draped around her and sighed, "Keira, don't worry about it okay. The bad times are over now and we're all reunited again"

She nodded, "We've both had our changes…" she paused to give Jak a knowing glance because he knew he had the most changes and he smiled at her "and I know we were a little cold to each other when we first reunited so I was just hoping that…we could get to know each other again. If that's ok with you." She looked up as she said this so she could see his reaction.

He smiled again and said "Of course" and she laughed. She got up from the grass, wiping her bottom as she did this. She started to walk deeper into the forest right before Jak called out to her, getting up as well.

"Where are you going?"

"To look for fireflies" and she ran into the trees laughing mischievously with him chasing after her.

End of Flashback

Haven City was coming into view as he snapped out of his daydream. Ever since that day they had began to date. They shared a few kisses, heated moments and learned more about what they had missed in each other's lives. He had discovered Keira's fear of his dark side and it was due to her that he was learning to harness it better. They had visited that forest often, which is before the metal heads slowly destroyed it. Everything was going smoothly but then he was exiled to the Wasteland without ever really knowing where him and Keira stood in their relationship.

He hadn't really put much thought in continuing where they left off since he had been exiled and the war was taking place. He had all those other things on his mind and she understood that. That is why she didn't try to get his attention or speak to him much while he was in the process of coming back and forth between Spargus, Haven City and other areas to put an end to the war. She always kept her distance when he was in "hero" mode unless she was needed. Now here he was, the war was over and he had plenty of free time. Just when he was looking forward to actually having a conversation with the girl after another few months of being separated,something like this happens.

I bet she hates my guts! He groaned aloud as he drove into the city. His knees began to tremble slightly as he headed in the direction of Keira's garage. Please be there Keira, I'm coming and we're going to fix this…

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So what do you think of that one? Yeah I know I have a thing with all the flashbacks I put in stories. I can't help it, I like creating nice little memories for the characters. Is that a bad thing? Let me know how this story's working out for ya so please review review:-P