I'm glad everyone was happy that Torn was alive and didn't kill me for making him a Dark Eco demon to rescue his woman. Well it all worked out wouldn't you say? Now's the time for…you guessed it, reviewer appreciation day Yay :throws confetti: Time to give props to all my faithful reviewers to here you guys are! Be sure to wave and smile!

StormPhoenix, DL-Cinny-La-Mejor, Cooper fan (I could swear the name was different and it magically changed? Is that possible Lol I think I'm losing it), Ecohorse, mecca-dogLuv2Game, fireworkmage, Jaksgirl.not, SilverEyes18, Johny (anom.), GoodMorningBeautiful2005 (A very threatening one if you kill Torn Lol it was fun running from her)

Thanks guys for making this AshxTorn fic a success! Wave like Ms. America now!

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Chapter 18

A familiar vibration shook the lobby walls of the palace. The floors pumped with beats and colorful lights flickered around the large room. Numerous round tables were pulled out and arranged against the walls with chairs. The lobby was brimming with the crowding soldiers and citizens of Haven City. Everyone was enjoying themselves as they watched the popular orange ottsel spin records at his DJ table wearing his large sunglasses and wide grin. The blond ottsel stood by his side, shaking her hips and wearing a slimmer pair of matching sunglasses.

"Oh yeah! DJ Orange Lightning's in the house!" Daxter scratched the beat to encourage the crowd and they cheered him on. Jak was leaning against a wall with his arm draped around his turquoise headed mechanic, her head rested on his shoulder. She playfully flicked the golden medal hanging from his neck. He rolled his eyes as he watched his best friend turn the palace lobby into a nightclub. Torn and Ashelin had allowed it as a celebration party for the success of their mission and to praise those soldiers who took part in the battle. They held an award ceremony earlier and were now enjoying the reception.

"Having a good time?" Torn placed a reassuring hand on Jak's shoulder. Jak nodded and Keira gave Jak a quick squeeze as she smiled up at him.

"Yeah just glad everyone's alive"

Torn nodded in agreement, "Yeah, you're not kidding"

"Thanks to your Dark Eco raid I really thought you were either dead or gone insane"

Torn shrugged his shoulders. "Take it easy" He left Jak and Keira to cuddle against the wall as he approached another familiar figure across the room. He was easy to spot with the cigar smoke circling him and his drunken laughter echoing around him. However Torn was surprised to see that the usual swarm of women was not surrounding him, this time only a single woman graced his arm as she laughed beside him.

"I see someone is taking advantage of the liquor," Torn teased as Jinx exhaled the cigar smoke from his grinning lips. The black curls of the woman beside him sprawled out on his shoulder as she tickled his chest affectionately. He too had a golden medal hanging from his neck. Jinx put out the cigar in the ashtray in the center of their table.

"Hey Omoi, doing well?" Torn greeted Omoi who nodded at him in reply.

"Yeah, no problem. There's nothing wrong with having a couple of drinks with sweet cheeks over here" He flicked her chin playfully and she giggled.

Ashelin appeared behind Torn, leaning her chin on his shoulder, "A couple of drinks you say?" They all laughed because they knew that Jinx was a heavy drinker and a couple was not the words used to describe the amount of liquor he chugged down.

Jinx pulled Omoi closer to him as Ashelin led Torn away from them. It seemed that the playboy Jinx had finally found a woman to keep his interest to her and her alone. No one expected the once crying helpless woman who served as a decoy during the governor's kidnapping to now be laughing and sharing drinks with one of the most popular men in the FL. Maybe Jinx had discovered something in her that the others hadn't seen during the time he was ordered to watch over her. Either way, it was nice to see him settle down. Maybe she'd help control his bad habits.

Ashelin pulled Torn through the crowd of dancing people, slowly and cautiously. They're bodies were still sore from the battle two weeks ago so they were not fully recovered. Everyone was laughing and having a good time. The city was now at ease.

"I told you Anya, you can't out drink me" Seij teased a blushing Anya who sat in a chair beside him. Her crutch leaned on the back of her chair with both of their golden medals dangling from it. She raised another small shot glass full of bubbling golden liquid to her lips and chugged it down in a second.

"When are you gonna accept that I'm more man than you?" She winked at him as she slammed the glass back on the table to refill it with the bottle next to it.

Seij released an arrogant laugh, "Yeah? We'll see how man you are when we get to my place and I take that crutch from you" He pulled her close to him as he whispered the last of his bold statement in her ear. He twirled a lock of her sweet smelling silver strands in his fingers as his arm rested on top of her chair.

"Now that's not fair, taking advantage of the injured" She winked at him again as her cheeks grew redder. She kept her flirtatious gaze on his caramel eyes.

"Oh but I thought you said you was the man, now you're injured ey?" He pushed her forehead with his playfully before he backed away again.

She fumbled with her fingers in front of her innocently, her golden eyes glistening and growing larger as she looked up at him. "I-I don't know what you're talking about"

Seij laughed again before he was tapped on the shoulder. They both looked up to see the wide grin of their trustworthy comrade beside them.

"Heya guys, some party huh?" Myke gave them both a thumbs up. His arm wrapped around the waist of an unfamiliar woman with red locks tied in pigtails. Freckles lightly spotted her golden cheeks as she grinned beside him. She waved timidly at them in greeting. She wore his golden medal tied to her blue capris proudly. It seemed that this was his girl as he had mentioned to his commander before. They made a cute couple.

Seij gave Myke a punch on the shoulder, "Where's your friend?" Myke pointed through the crowd where they spotted Jigs. Jigs was blushing red as a middle-aged woman danced nearby him with dances from over a decade ago. She was swinging his medal in the air as she swung her wide hips from side to side. It was obvious that she too, had a little too much to drink.

"Maaa, can you stop that? You're embarrassing me" Jig's frowned. She leaned over to squeeze his cheek.

"Oh I'm so proud of my boy, finally a nice strong soldier. I knew you could do it" The soldiers around them laughed as Jig's rolled his eyes shaking his head at his mother's shameful behavior.

The clamber of voices was brought to a slow halt at the sound of a tapping wine glass coming from the front of the lobby. It seemed that Torn and Ashelin had finally made it through the crowd. Ashelin was tapping her wine glass with a spoon for attention as she stood on top of a chair. The crowd simmered down and turned their attention towards their Haven City governor. Daxter turned down the music.

Once she saw the attention on her, she stepped down from the chair and handed the glass and spoon to Torn to put away. She cleared her throat. Her ruby hair was loose in curls and a smile shone from her crimson lips. She observed the faces around the room before she began her speech.

"First of all, I'd like to express my utmost appreciation to each and every individual in this room for taking place in protecting this city as well as me, your governor. I am grateful that we all made it back alive although we had sustained some serious injuries but thanks to Jak's Light Eco, many lives were saved. I've never been more proud to be your governor and have you all as my people. I wouldn't change it for the world" She looked to Torn and he stepped forward.

"My friends, you have done well and are now seen as elite soldiers in my eyes. I could not have more pride in the strength of Haven's soldiers. Because of this battle and our alliance with some of Kras City's underground lords, there should be no other man daring enough to challenge our power again. I owe that fact to each and every one of you. Together, we make Haven City what it is and we make it safe for us all to live in. Thank you" His comments were met with loud applause, cheers and whistles.

The crowd was just about to return to their rowdy behaviors before Ashelin called out once more for their attention, "Also, before anything I'd like to say one more thing for the FL on duty in the palace. I'd like to refresh your minds quickly on security procedures and the training handbook-" Her speech was met with groans and she hushed them before they could get too disappointed. Torn eyed her suspiciously, wondering why she'd do something like that now when they were supposed to be in celebration. Couldn't she save that for tomorrow?

"I'd like to apologize for my stubbornness to some of the soldiers on watch duty from before I was kidnapped. Because of that, I want to make things very clear so there will be no mistake in the future. Please refer to your handbooks if you need to. Any suspicious package, person or event brought up to me…"

The crowd stared at her, awaiting the point of her lecture. They're eyes widened and surprised gasps filled the room once they saw their governor roughly pull their unsuspecting commander into a passionate kiss. His blue eyes grew wide as she grasped his collar and pressed her lips against his for all to see. Finally getting over his shock, his body slowly relaxed as he raised his hand to place on her waist, giving into her bold action and returning her kiss. The rumors were now confirmed and there was no mistake about it. Their usually solemn and tough governor and commander were involved and it seemed that it had been that way longer than they had known. The room was filled with stunned silence as she parted her lips from his and smiled.

He smiled back and she patted his chest to finish her sentence, "Like I was saying, anything suspicious will have to go through my commander first without question. And if I am placed in any danger in the future, no matter the circumstances, all authority is granted onto the commander. Understood?"

The crowd cheered and drops of golden liquor splashed up into the air, glasses were clinging together in celebration. Ashelin raised her fist into the air, "Now back to the party" The cheers grew louder as Daxter pumped the music back up.

Ashelin leaned her forehead against Torn's, their black tattoos meeting one another. They smiled at each other, lost in their gaze. It was already obvious that they were no longer trying to maintain the secrecy of their relationship within the palace. The knowledge of their relationship would only make them stronger and strike more fear into those that would try to harm her again. His arms wrapped around her waist and her palms rested on his firm chest.

"Secret's out I guess," she whispered to him through her wide smile.

"F-ck it" He replied before he pulled her in for another kiss. This time they lingered, not caring for those around them. Everyone was too busy drinking and celebrating to dwell on the two of them. They locked in each other's arms, their lips brushing against one another's lovingly and proudly.

Ashelin allowed herself to feel safe in her commander's arms and abandon her stubborn pride. She now knew that this was the person she'd spend the rest of her life with and the person that would always back her up no matter what. Whether it was in love or in battle, now it was clear to everyone that these two were inseparable.

THE END!

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Yay wasn't that great? Now everyone's partying and everyone has their gfs or bfs or mothers Lol. Well as I have already told you guys, I'll be taking a break from Jak and Daxter fics to try and write other things. I actually have a new idea for another story but I wanna save it for after my break. I won't tell you what it is but I'll tell you it'll star Daxter as the hero! It'll also be another JakxKeira fic. In the meantime I posted up my Kingdom Hearts 2 fic so any supporters of KHs please check it out and review it. Pretty please! It's a TifaxAxel fic cause I hate how Cloud is so absorbed in Aerith and Sephiroth that I wanted her to find someone else and Axel is the lucky guy! Wooh! Anyway stay tuned and keep Jak luvin!