Title: The Love Disaster
Author: thequietgenius
Genre: Humor/Romance
Rating: K+
Summary: Keira plots revenge on Ashelin by concocting a potion to make Jak fall for her. What happens when it backfires? Now not only Jak, but Torn is infatuated with her too. Will this obstacle stray her judgment? JxKxT
Disclaimer: The Jak Trilogy is owned by Naughty Dog, not me.
Chapter 9
-.-.-.-.-.-.-
Dark Jak's eyes locked onto Torn's and the corners of his mouth rose, forming a maniacal grin. Just before he pulled the trigger…
1 …
It all happened in slow motion. The bullet was released and it shot out towards its target. Screams and shouts were heard as the civilians in the café ran for their lives. Only one aqua-haired woman remained. Her eyes wide with fear. Somewhere outside a withered man dialed the number for security.
"NO! STOP THIS!" Keira shrieked, diving between the two.
The projectile hit squarely on the mechanic's shoulder, causing her to yelp in pain and collapse on the ground in a heap. The second in command looked aghast.
Dark Jak continued to hurtle himself towards Torn, tripping over Keira's body in the process. His head knocked against the cold concrete floor and he passed out.
Nobody moved.
—
Keira was, once again, wounded in the midst of battle. At the moment, she happened to be resting calmly, despite the severe injury on her right shoulder blade. When she moved in her sleep, she flinched at the pain, then returned to a more comfortable position. Her father was downright furious. Who could blame him? His daughter had to seek immediate medical attention three times now. He wouldn't allow anyone, especially not Torn or Jak, into her room. He had begun to hate Torn with a passion. Although, he apologized profusely and was the one who brought her to Haven's hospital in the first place.
The green eco sage didn't need to worry about Jak causing any trouble yet. He had little harm done to him except for a nasty graze on his forehead. This was caused when he tripped over the mechanic's body and landed straight on his forehead, causing him a concussion. Who ever knew something as simple as tripping would be enough to bring down Dark Jak? Even if he is an eco channeler, he's still human, he supposed.
The renegade was thrown unceremoniously over some Freedom Guard's shoulder and taken to the Haven Hospital after he lost consciousness.
Currently, it was morning, the best time of day, when Keira stirred. Her father was snoring quite loudly on the chair beside her bed. That's probably what woke me up, she thought irritably. She then stretched her arms and soon after let out a shriek.
"Wh–What's going on? Where's my tea?" The green sage jumped at the sound of Keira in pain. It took a few minutes for him to figure out what was going on. Oh, yes, that's right. Keira just screamed and …
"Keira! Thank Mar you're alright." He tightly squeezed her daughter in relief, oblivious to the fact she was in agony.
"Daddy!" She yelled. "Let go! You're hurting me!"
"Huh? Oh yes, I'm terribly sorry, dear." He immediately released her, looking abashed.
The mechanic took deep breaths before replying, "Ugh. Daddy, did you heal my shoulder?"
"Yes, why?"
"I think you're going to have to do it again." She groaned massaging her injury tenderly. Oh Mar … what have I done THIS time?
—
Torn was pacing his room in the palace of Haven City. He had a lot on his mind right now. Keira's father just about murdered him with his sagely powers when he discovered what happened in the café. Had he not been the commander of the FG forces, he would've been disarmed and locked up immediately for attempted homicide. He pulled out his pistol in means of self defense. Besides, it didn't have adequate fire power to kill someone, being a stun gun. To put it nicely, why did that hot-tempered lunatic haveto transform in a public coffee shop?
Not to mention, someone had to pay for the damage done in café. It was all the hero's fault in the first place. What set him off, anyway?
Oh yeah, calling him eco freak. Still, that wasn't a good enough reason to risk killing everyone in the darn place. People would've gotten hurt.
Speaking of which, somebody was. The tattooed man cursed. Things couldn't get any worse. He decided to pay the victim a visit. It was the least he could do … as long as her log-headed dad wasn't there. However, chances are he was. Oh well, he was going to have to deal with him eventually. He just hoped he wouldn't be killed in the course of action. Hell hath no fury like an overprotective father.
"Mar, help me." He muttered, walking out the door.
—
Jak awoke when he felt his brain throbbing like the dickens. Reflexively, he touched the spot on his forehead that was causing him much discomfort. As soon as he did, he winced."Why in the world is my head pounding? I don't remember it getting hurt—ow!"Just thinking about it made it worse. Apparently, he didn't remember the events the afternoon before.
He noticed he wasn't in his room. It had the familiar white walls of Haven hospital. Which he visited not too long ago to see Keira. "What the heck happened?" He groaned tiredly as he forced himself out of the stiff bed. Jak walked over to the mirror to examine the gash. It was wrapped untidily in gauze, making his blonde-green hair stick out in a strange position.
The annoyed renegade fixed his mane back to its original arrangement. Just after he did this, there was a knock on the door and a monk stepped in.
"Seem!" Jak exclaimed surprised. What is she doing here?
"I see you are stirring up trouble again, dark one." She replied, inspecting him carefully.
"W-what are you doing in Haven? I thought you never left Spargus and the wasteland." He sputtered.
"Bah. Then you thought wrong." She gave him a look of disdain. "I came to gather provisions with other traveling monks. Spargus isn't the only place that supplies the temples."
"Why are you in the hospital? Did someone get hurt?" Jak began to have a bad feeling in his gut.
Seem raised an eyebrow at him as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I thought you already knew. That mechanic companion of yours got injured—a gunshot to the shoulder blade I believe …"
"What? Keira's hurt! Who did this? I'll kill him." He growled, clenching his fist, heading towards the door.
The monk closed her eyes and shook her head. "You really don't know what happened, do you?"
"Whaddaya mean? I was knocked out and …" Then it dawned on him. The pain in his head subsided and the memories of the previous evening flooded his mind. First, was the heated altercation with Torn over Ashelin. Then were the feelings of rage and the burning sensation of dark eco pulsing through his veins. He recalled screaming and shouting and stumbling over something—or someone—as he attempted to charge the second in command. After that, it was pretty much a blur.
"I was informed by the green eco sage that Torn, commander of the Freedom Guard, had a low-grade pistol equipped. It seems you were the intended target, however, his daughter had gotten in the way…"
"Where is she being treated?" Jak questioned anxiously.
"Room 5A, three doors down." Seem told Jak before responding to his questioning look. "I visited her before checking up on you. You should go see how she is. That is … if her father doesn't get you first." Her stoic expression didn't change yet there was a glint of amusement in her eyes.
"Don't worry about that. I've known him since I was a kid in Sandover. He won't kill me, I think. Just yell a whole lot at the most."
"All right then, be off. I need to purchase some remedial herbs."
"Err—ok. See you later, Seem."
"Just one more thing."
"Yeah?"
"You finally got rid of orange lighting?" She couldn't help but let some expectation sneak through her features.
"Nah. I have a feeling he'll be back anytime soon." The blonde smiled, remembering the mischievous ottsel.
Her face returned to its usual appearance. "Who would have thought? That the wisely precursors would be so … so small."
"Heheh. I still can't believe it myself." Jak laughed, scratching his head.
He seems happy and carefree now. Not like the Mar I met before. Perhaps, this is the mechanic's doing. Whether she knows this or not. Seem wondered to herself.
"I will be leaving now, dark one. Take care."
"Yeah … hopefully Keira will be okay."
"Baroosh, baroosh. May it be so." Seem did a gesture and left promptly.
—
Jak began to walk down the corridor towards Keira's room. It was about 9 o' clock in the morning and he still hadn't eaten any breakfast. But he insisted his stomach to wait just a bit longer. The aqua-haired woman was the top priority at the moment. He winced at the thought of how infuriated the log-headed sage would be. The blonde had a bad feeling that he wasn't the only one he was going to have to confront.
4A, 4B, 4C … ugh, how many rooms do they have—ah ha, here we are! Jak stopped at door and knocked twice.
"Daddy, how many times have I told you, GO AWAY!" An aggravated yell came from within.
"Uh, Keira I—" The last time the mechanic was this mad … let's just say he didn't come out unscathed.
"Wait a second. Jak is that you!" A voice exclaimed in astonishment. Footsteps approached the door and the knob turned.
"Yeah it is." He scratched the back of his head, afraid of the consequence that awaited him.
An uncomfortable silence took place as Jak took in the sight before him. Keira's arm was in a rather heavy looking cast. There were various marks from when she collapsed. One eyebrow was raised and she seemed not completely 'there.' She must've taken some strong painkillers or large doses of green eco. The blonde was speechless and he felt a pang of guilt. How could he let his anger get the better of him?
"Well, what is it?" She asked impatiently.
"I—I'm so sorry, Keira. For everything. I shouldn't have been so careless." Jak apologized and took her in his arms careful of her injured one.
"Jak …" She whispered softly into his chest. She knew he was acting contrite and not embracing her out of love. However, she was okay with that. It was the closest she would probably ever get to him. With Ashelin and all …
Suddenly, the swish of automatic doors was heard. Clanking of boots came down the hallway and stopped abruptly, three feet from Keira's room.
Jak whipped his head around at the recognizable sound and glared at the stranger. The stranger glared back as if to say, 'what are you going to do about it?'
"Torn?" The aqua-haired woman said peering over Jak's shoulder. And out of embarrassment, released herself reluctantly from his hug.
He walked closer to her, ignoring the renegade's burning stare and placed a hand on Keira's shoulder. "I'm sorry for my rash behavior and—"
"Ah!" The mechanic's shoulder stung in protest. The tattooed man quickly removed his hand and apologized again.
"Look what you did, you moron!" Jak shouted, shoving Torn away.
"Don't touch me eco—"
"ENOUGH. Both of you." Keira reprimanded at the top of her lungs. "Do you want a repeat of last night!"
The two men looked down in shame. "Good. Now would one of you take me home, please? The nurse did an evaluation of me and said I'm good to go as long as I take all of this medication crap." She held up a box of green eco. "Plus, my dad's a healing sage so they let me off early."
The aqua-haired woman slapped her forehead as they began to stare each other down, daring the other to make the first move. Looks like we'll need a three seater…
A/N: Sorry for the long wait. I've been extremely busy with moving and all. Anyway, hopefully I'll get another update during winter break. I'll try my best o -; Next chapter, the two rivals will finally get a dose of Keira's love potion ...