Chapter 3

After Keira had stormed out of the Spargus Battle Arena, she rode her car back to her garage. If anything had the power to ease her mind, it would be something in the garage. When she was bored, she went to the garage, when she was lonely, she went to the garage, no matter how she felt even when she wasn't on duty, the garage was her sanctuary.

She could lose herself in the hard labor and her mind would think no more of other things. She found peace in going under car hoods and repairing whatever technology was brought to her. It felt good to feel the oil on her fingers while she sweat and was hard at work. To her, that was heaven. However, for some odd reason, work wasn't helping her that afternoon. While she was cranking away underneath a customer's car, thoughts continued to infest her mind and anger rose up inside her.

Who does he think he is? He thinks he can just disappear all the time and I'll just be here waiting till whenever he feels like coming back from saving the world over and over. He thinks he can just go accept kisses from all the women that flock over to him and I'll just be the sweet little mechanic just waiting to fix whatever he brings. Oh you're hover board broke? Please let me fix it. Oh so your car won't start? Let cute little Keira check it out for you. No need to say thanks. No need to pay me back or pay me at all. No really, I don't mind being complety ignored. Oh what is that? Do you need me to look up something on precursor technology? Sure, fine, everything is just dandy.

She continued letting the sarcastic remarks run through her mind as she stood in the darkness underneath the car with nothing but a light on her forehead. Her mind went blank for a while and then other thoughts began to enter her head, sadder more painful thoughts.

What am I to you anyway? Do you even think of me when you're away? Have I just been the smart girl next door all your life and nothing more? Did you even plan on starting where we left off now that the war is over? Do you even remember that we left off from anything or did all that mean nothing to you? Did you even notice me the entire time I was standing by you during the war whenever you came back to strategize? Do you ever notice me at all?

Her eyes began to burn and her lips slightly quivered, she bit her bottom lip to prevent any sobs from escaping her lips. She hated when her weaknesses showed. She was always being underestimated and treated like a defenseless little girl just because she didn't carry around a gun. She hated that. However at times she couldn't help but reveal the pain that she hid deep within her. This was one of those times where it was hard to hide. Is this even hurting you as much as it's hurting me…

Just as she was thinking this she heard footsteps walking into her garage. The figure had stopped in front of her. She sighed to herself as she pulled up the goggles on her face to wipe any evidence that she was almost crying. She slid herself out from underneath the car. She saw that it was a tattooed, middle-aged man with a red Mohawk. He was full of piercings and he wore a worn out, black leather jacket. He seemed like the rebel type, but then again in Haven City, who wasn't a rebel?

A gray stream of smoke traveled from the thick, brown cigar in his mouth as he looked down at her, waiting for her to get up. She slowly stood up and turned to the stained blue towel that she had laid on top of the car. As she was rubbing the oil off of her hands she felt his gaze on her back. It was giving her the creeps as she felt an uncomfortable shiver up her spine, knowing that his eyes were practically eating her alive when her back was turned. She hated when customers acted like that. It gave her the heebie-jeebies.

She turned quickly with a scowl on her face and asked, "What can I do for you sir?" She made sure she put an impolite emphasis on the word "sir". She put the towel back on top of the hood and crossed her arms, tapping her foot with impatience. She was not in the mood to deal with some middle-aged man trying to hit on her, or worse.

He smiled deviously at her as he pulled out the cigar from his mouth to throw it outside the garage, "Well sweetie, I was wondering how much you'd charge me for a tune up?" His disgusting smile grew even larger as he said this and Keira had to restrain from cringing at his chauvinistic behavior.

"Depends on the model," She continued to shoot him a dangerous glance, daring him to try anything funny so she'd have every reason to grab a hammer and beat him with it.

He seemed to like her rebellious behavior and licked his lips before slowly advancing toward her. "Well maybe we can…work out a deal"

He suddenly lunged forward, startling her to the point where she had fell back against the side of the car. She was leaning against the car as he got closer to her. She turned her head in disgust when he straddled her in between him and the car, she could feel his hot breath on her face now. He bent his head dangerously close to her neck so that he could inhale the sweet smell of her skin. Little did he notice that she was fumbling behind her tool belt, trying to grab anything that could crack his skull open.

She finally felt the cool metal against her palm and she slowly pulled her hammer from her belt. He was getting too close and she was ready to let him know that she was not to be messed with. She hardly noticed the screeching tires outside her garage and the footsteps quickly approaching the both of them. Suddenly, within the blink of an eye, two strong hands had gripped his shoulders and violently thrown him to the cool, hard metal floor. His smile had long disappeared and his jaw hung in shock. He stared up to the figure hovering above him who was slowly cracking his knuckles as if to intimidate him. It was working.

"Looks like maybe you need a real good tune up", Jak glared down at the trembling man sitting at his feet. Jak's eyes flickered black and the man could swear he saw electricity in them. He raised both hands in defeat as he got up from the floor, his sly smile returning to his face.

"Sorry pally, I didn't know she was taken"

Meanwhile Keira was in the washing station toward the back of the garage. She was washing her hands when she heard the man's comment and couldn't help but turn her head in Jak's direction, "I'm not taken by anyone. I'm not something to be taken even though some people takeme for a fool" she yelled, knowing Jak would cringe by her reaction.

The man released a loud laugh as he saw Jak turn towards her and the expression that formed on his face. It was like he had just been smacked in the face, by Keira's words of course. Here he was trying to help her out and now he was getting embarrassed in front of the jerk that he was trying to help her out from. He never knew Keira to be so spiteful.

"Looks like the little lady was better off with me here than you"

Jak quickly turned back toward him and growled. He was pulling out the scattergun that he had strapped to his back and the man gasped in fear, running out of the garage. Words of apology trailed behind him and Jak let go of his gun. He sighed with frustration, and just stood there staring outside the garage. He was unsure of what to say and what to do next. He heard Keira walk towards the table where she kept her auto parts and gadgets.

Heavy pieces that were unidentifiable were scattered everywhere and he had no idea how she got them there in the first place since some pieces might've weighed fifty pounds. He had always wondered why she even kept old rusty parts but she always said that every piece had history and might even come in handy some day. He shook his head at the thought.

I should say something to her, anything. I can't just stand here like an idiot all day long. He clenched his fists and slowly turned around so that he can attempt a conversation with her. It was then that he witnessed one of the most gruesome experiences in his life, even more horrible than when he was in war or fighting for his life.

It almost felt as if it happened in slow motion. As Jak was slowly turning around to say something to Keira he saw that big, chunk of metal on one of her shelves, sitting at the edge. Letting her mood control her, Keira slammed one of the drawers shut and after placing her hand on the table so she can bend down and pick something up, he saw it. He saw that large auto part falling down toward her, right toward the small delicate hand sprawled out on the table surface. It happened so fast really but in Jak's mind it was horribly played out like a horror movie.

Jak's body began to move on instinct as he saw the big piece falling toward her fingers and he lunged forward hoping he'd catch it in time, but he didn't. It came crashing down and before he knew it he had heard her deafening screams of pain, escaping from her lips. He had even heard the cracks that must've been her fragile bones breaking as the piece crashed down on her without mercy. She automatically dropped to her knees and her other hand clenched the one that was trapped underneath the auto part, trying to pull out from beneath it but it was too heavy. Jak saw the crimson spreading on the tabletop as her screeches of anguish filled the garage. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she began to hyperventilate, trying to hold in the pain but it was too much.

Jak grabbed the garage door control that was nearby and closed the door so they wouldn't have an audience. Already there were people nearing the entrance to see what had happened. After he pressed the button, he quickly threw the control on the floor and ran back to Keira. His hands were trembling and her screams and sobs were just tearing him apart. He had even felt his own eyes begin to burn, he wanted to stop her pain and stop it now. He quickly grabbed the piece with both hands and tried to lift it but it was too heavy to lift up. Dragging it would just cause more damage and pain to the helpless girl lying on the floor. He began to panic.

Oh my God what do I do Oh my God? He grabbed onto it again, this time releasing his dark side as he lifted. He knew that he developed ungodly strength when in this form and even though he knew Keira hated this side of him, this was the only way he could lift that giant metal chunk off of her.

The horns grew out of his head as his hair and body grew pale. His claws dug into the auto part and he let out a roar when he lifted up the piece off of her hand and threw it through the car behind him. It literally went through the hood of the car, but at that moment, that wasn't important. He turned back to look down at her hand which for some reason was still on the table and he was horrified at what he saw. As she covered her sobbing face with one arm, her hand laid on the table covered in deep, bloody cuts and the thin bones in her hand were clearly broken. He went to grab her destroyed hand and she screamed out "No! It hurts! Don't touch it!"

His lips began to quiver. He hadn't cried in probably ten years and here he was, almost at tears because even though he was playing the part of hero all the time, he had never realized how helpless he was until now. He had never wanted to see her in so much pain and he knew he had no choice but to grab her hand, whether she liked it or not.

He let his anger take over and with a stern expression on his face he screamed at her, "I have to Keira! There's no other way!" and just as she was about to object again he quickly grabbed her hand and she let out another deafening scream. It was hard to listen to her screams but he had no choice but to ignore her.

He yelled out to her, "Hold on Keira, hold on!" His horns had slowly sunk back into his head as his body began to emit a blue and white glow. Wings spread out from his spine and his claws transformed into gentle white hands. He cupped her broken hand with both of his, closed his eyes and started to concentrate the Green Eco on her hand.

She looked up briefly to see his transformation and started to cry harder, "Oh my God! Another power! I really don't know…" her words turned into mumbles as she continued to cry. She hadn't cried this hard and openly since she was about ten years old and she had broken her leg. After the embarrassment of having mute Jak calm her screams down and lifting her up to take to Samos who would heal her, her pride caused her to vow never to be seen crying like that again. However this time the pain was unbearable and with the tears she had already been holding in all day, she couldn't take it any longer. She slowly heard the snaps and crackles of her hand being re-constructed and the crimson slowly disappeared.

Jak's eyes stood closed and furrowed in concentration as he let his power flow through his large hands to her tiny, feminine one. After almost a half hour, her sobs had died down and turned into small gasps of breath. Her eyes were swollen and still held water at their brims. Jak slowly and evenly distributed all the Green Eco and Light Eco into every bone, muscle, and ligament of her hand. Sweat trickled down his forehead from letting all the energy in him drain into her but still, he didn't let himself get distracted until he was done healing her. He slowly transformed back to his normal form as he let out a sigh of exhaustion. He looked up at Keira whose eyes were fixated on her hand in his.

"Can you move your fingers?" he asked gently despite how he had screamed at her earlier. She opened and closed hr hand in response. She took her hand out from his and held it against her, not being able to meet his eyes, tears still looking as if they'd spill out from her at any moment. He was on one knee the whole time so all he felt was pins and needles all throughout his legs. He ignored the uncomfortable feeling and shifted closer to her. He placed his hand under her chin so that he could turn her head towards him but she snatched her face away from his hand. Her eyes furrowed and a single tear slid down her cheek. Was she still angry at him?

"What's wrong Keira?"

"It hurts okay" she scowled at him in her trembling angry voice.

"Still?"

"Not my hand…something else"

Jak was confused, "Something else? Did you hurt yourself somewhere else besides your hand? I don't have any Eco left but I can still take a look at-"

She interrupted him, still not meeting his eyes, "It's not something, that you can heal or take the pain away. Especially…" she paused and quickly glanced at him before turning away again, "especially if you're the one that caused the pain" She didn't care anymore. Her pride was already lost in what had just happened and crying like a helpless idiot all that time, she didn't care how she looked to him anymore. She didn't see the point of holding anything back anymore. She didn't care how she made him feel anymore. She silently decided to herself that it was her time to be selfish, as stubborn as Jak may think she is.

Jak's eyes widened at her comment and he turned his face from her as well. Now he was losing patience with her and he was getting angry. Why does she always have to be so stubborn? Why can't you just let me explain things before you go ahead and say shit like that? After what I just did you should be thanking me.

His eyebrows furrowed just like hers and they stood in silence for a while, still on the floor. Finally an idea occurred to him and he tried to conceal the smile that was forming on his face. He stood up in front of her and held out his hand to her so that he could help her up from the floor. Still with an angry pout on her face, she looked up at him and grabbed his hands so she can be pulled up. As soon as she was standing she snatched her hands away from his and crossed her arms, still refusing to meet his eyes. Jak grabbed a clean towel she had nearby and threw it at her before heading toward the door beside the closed garage entrance. She caught the towel and looked up at him confused.

"Clean your face and follow me," he smiled at her and left out the door. Forgetting that she was supposed to be giving him the cold shoulder she stammered after him, "Bu-but where are we going?" She quickly wiped her face and walked out the door, locking the door behind her. When she turned back towards the direction he was walking in, he was already sitting in his car. She titled her head at him waiting for an explanation.

"Don't worry about it. Come with me and you'll find out. I promise, it'll make your day"

Feeling defeated, she sighed and walked toward his car and climbed in. She gave him a suspicious look before leaning her head on her arm, staring outside the car. Where is he taking me? This better be good.

He finally let his determined smile fully spread across his face as he started the engine. They drove off into the streets as Keira pondered to herself the possible events that would happen next.

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Aww poor Keira, I know that was mean. It was a little cruel to do to her but Jak made her boo boos go away so it's okay right? Right? Well I did say that this story had drama. Well I'll be busy for a few days so I hope you enjoyed this long chapter until I get around to updating Lol. Please review and let me know if it was a little too soap opera movie thing…whatever. I was rushing a bit too so let me know if you spot any errors. Thanxies.