The next thing Keira was aware of, she was lying on her side in soft grass, and the warmth of sunlight was on her face. Opening her eyes slowly, the grey trunk of a large tree came into focus right before her, its old feet dressed with mushrooms and moss. She raised her head drowsily like an animal coming out of hibernation, still feeling the residual, disorientating effects of sleep, and as she got up onto one elbow, she looked around. Her field of vision was populated by trees, mossy rocks, and a small waterfall and stream that flowed past her not too far away, cool and clear. It dawned on her that she was still in the forest.
She reached out for her torch that was lying by her side in the grass, but she didn't need it anymore, because the morning had broken, bright and warm. Then she slowly climbed to her feet, and she could feel a slight heaviness to her clothes as she moved. Looking down at herself, she realised that they were slightly damp from the gentle spray of the waterfall that permeated through the fresh air. Her hair was a little soggy and out of shape too.
Before she could decide on her next movement, there was a yawn behind her, and she turned around. Tess was curled up atop a rock, but she was starting to stir and slowly stretching out, evidently having just awoken too. Azyma was also there, sitting with her back against the same rock and her head resting on her knees, still asleep peacefully.
Tess saw Keira through one dozy eye. "Keira?" she said softly as she raised her head, sounding a little confused. "What happened to us last night?"
Keira thought back as far as she could through the previous hours. She remembered arriving in the forest and finding the Precursor archway, but after backtracking and sitting down here by this stream it was mostly a dreamy haze. "I don't know," she answered, wiping a hand across her damp face. "We must have fallen asleep."
Tess looked like she was trying to process something. "What time is it?"
Keira shrugged. "No idea, but it's morning, that's for sure."
Tess looked up at what she could see of the brilliant blue sky through the gaps in the canopy, and the early sunbeams casting down. "So have we been lying out here all night?" she asked, now sounding a little concerned.
"I guess so," Keira answered, feeling faintly amused by the fact. True, the sudden, unexpected, unexplained sleepiness had crept up on them surprisingly, and for it to happen to all three of them at once was truly strange, but overall she found the idea of it quite exhilarating.
Tess looked slightly uncomfortable, but after a few seconds, she relaxed herself and seemed to tentatively accept it. "Well," she said with interest, "That's the first time that's ever happened to me." She let out a smile and a little laugh of her own, but Keira couldn't tell if it was from true levity or nerves.
She slid herself off the rock, but unwittingly landed right on top of Azyma who was still resting against it. Azyma was startled out of her sleep to find an orange furry blur right in her face, and she yelped in shock, shoving Tess away onto the grass.
The ottsel looked up at her with an annoyed face. "Hey!"
"Oh! Sorry Tess!" said Azyma upon grasping the situation, and then she too looked around in confusion. "Are we... are we still in the forest?"
"Yeah, it seems we all fell asleep out here, honey," said Tess, getting back on her feet. "We were out here all night."
Azyma's eyes widened in alarm. "Oh my god!" she gasped urgently. She leapt up at once, looking fearfully in every direction and breathing heavily, as if she expected something to suddenly jump out and attack them from somewhere. "What the...? But how...?"
"Take it easy," said Keira consolingly. "Nothing's wrong. We're alright. See?"
Despite how captivated Azyma had been last night by the temples and the forest's natural beauty, she now looked quite terrified to realise that they had spent the entire night out here, unprotected and on the wrong side of the city wall. But she began to calm down when she understood that nothing bad had happened to them, that they were in no present danger, and that her friends were close. Indeed, they were all safe and unharmed, just a little damp from lying in the all-night spray of the waterfall. Nevertheless, she still looked overwhelmed and frightened, and she really no longer wanted to stay here.
"So… are we going home now?" she asked pleadingly, still looking around nervously. "I really think we should go back to the city." It was clear that she'd had enough exposure to the outside world for one day... or night, however long it was they'd been out here now. This was all a bit too much for her to take in, and she wanted to retreat back to her comfort zone.
"Yeah, we'd better," said Tess more calmly. "We should start heading back to the warp gate now. Don't you think, Keira?"
Azyma swept up her bag at once, not waiting for an agreement and feeling very relieved to finally be leaving. She and Tess started towards the gap in the rocks they had come through last night, but then they discovered that Keira wasn't following. Looking back, they saw her standing in her place by the rock with a contented smile on her face, looking very much in her element and showing no indication that she would move. Even now, she had not yet had her fill of adventure.
"You two go," she said pleasantly. "I'm going to have another look around here now it's light. I'll head back later on my own, OK?"
Azyma looked insecure at her decision. She didn't know how to handle Keira's desire to stay behind, so instead she looked to Tess to see what she thought about this. Tess was hesitant to leave Keira out here by herself, but she independently figured that if nothing dangerous had happened to them as they lay here sleeping in the dark when they were most vulnerable, then surely things would be just as safe, if not safer, in the daytime. Keira could look after herself; she was a smart girl, and she seemed to know a lot about the forests.
"Alright," Tess said, capitulating once again to Keira's decision. "Just let us know when you get back to the city safe, OK?"
Keira gave one firm nod and a wave of her hand, and as her friends disappeared back through the rocky passage, she turned around and beheld the full glory of the forest in the daylight, finally without distraction.
The forest seemed like a whole new place now it was bathed in radiant morning sunlight. The tall trees stood strong and resolute, holding aloft high tiers of branches and leaves, alive with birds that sang to each other in many varied and beautiful tunes. Large fronds and plants decorated the ground level, creating a dancing movement throughout the forest as they swayed in the gentle breeze. Colourful butterflies fluttered from flower to flower, slowly flexing their wings upon the delicate petals, and dotted here and there were old, weathered rocks topped with scalps of deep green moss. All the while, the stream beside her provided a soft, continuous backdrop that melted it all together like a melodious song.
It was absolutely beautiful.
Filled with wonder and tranquillity, Keira took a deep inhalation of the pure forest air. The scent was fresh and made her feel somehow lighter, like a buoyant cloud had materialised inside her. Even as she took her first steps back into the flourishing verdure, walking felt much easier than usual, as if the soft, springy grass were pushing her gently along.
As she walked deeper into the woodland, following in the steps she had trodden the night before by the water's edge, Keira almost felt as if she were back in the environment of her old village, where she was always surrounded by nature's kind embrace. As a child, she'd often given names to her favourite trees and flowers, imagining they had different personalities and liked to play different games with her, much to the amusement of her father. Though now an adult and having outgrown most of her childish fantasies, she couldn't help feeling now that she was surrounded by a great many sentient entities in these trees. Something here still lived, untouched and unspoilt by the corrupting hand of industry and ravenous development that would swallow up any untamed land and the energies it nurtured. The only blemish was a portion of the city's grey wall visible through the trees to her left, a barrier to keep the natural world separated from the artificial. The very sight of it felt offensively intrusive here.
But ahead was the Precursor archway set within the rock, which still glowed visibly even in daylight, and when Keira came beneath it, she touched its warm metal and admired it with reverent interest. Unlike the city wall, this archway seemed to merge in perfectly with its surroundings. She felt an old appreciation for the lost Precursors who had placed it here, how they would build around nature and incorporate their structures into it, not smother, conquer and control it like Haven.
She took the steps and stood beneath the spotlight again to see what lay beyond. What was hidden by the night was now revealed; Keira could see that this arch marked the beginning of a rocky tunnel, more spacious than the ravine through the mountains, through which the stream reappeared and continued on its lazy course. Ahead it widened until it took up the full width of the passage floor, leaving no dry ground on which to walk, and disappeared around a bend. But this did not deter Keira; she was feeling adventurous and wanted to follow where it led, deeper into the magical heart of the woodland, and there was no way she was going to walk away from the opportunity that now presented itself to her.
She took off her shoes and socks, rolled up her trouser legs and stepped into the passage. The water around her ankles was cool and pleasant, but the stones beneath her feet were slippery, and she had to tread carefully. Once she was around the corner, the stream picked up a little speed, and the sky opened up above her again. She had entered a new, much larger area of the forest, and here the stream bubbled and rippled its way into the shallows of a great, blue lake that glistened in the morning sun.
Keira paused at the mouth of the stream before the water got too deep, and just took in the beautiful sight of it. Then seeing a nearby grassy bank, she stepped out and climbed up to a small plateau to sit down and bask. Fallen leaves drifted on the lake surface, and further out, several small rocky islands broke the water, topped with untouched grass and flowers, and sometimes a thin, solitary tree. The forest continued over on the far bank, and the trees over there seemed to grow in thicker clusters and looked much older and darker in the bark, and Keira wondered what lay beyond them. But they were out of reach; there was no way over there except for swimming. This was as far as she could go today, so she figured she may as well hang out here for a while and enjoy the peace.
Without withdrawing her gaze, she reached into her bag and pulled out a piece of food leftover from their picnic last night, which she began munching. There she remained, quietly eating and contemplating her surroundings. What a wonderful spot this was, definitely a place to come to for their next picnic. Azyma and Tess didn't know what they were missing out on; they just had to see this beautiful location. It was peaceful, secluded, warm, and right now she had it all to herself.
After she had finished eating, she lowered herself down onto her back and looked up at the leaves dancing in the branches above. This was a perfect paradise. There was no rush to get home, no work, and she was content to lie here and relax for as long as she desired, taking in the warmth of the sun, the cool breath of the wind, the sound of the birds and the running water, and the tickly feeling of the grass between her wet toes.
She let out a deep, serene sigh. "Daddy would love it here," she said aloud to herself.
Being in this forest conjured a strong image of him in her mind. She wondered where he really was and what he was up to as she lay here now. She hadn't seen him or spoken with him face-to-face for the past few days, separated by their respective jobs. Likely he was still caught up in some 'pressing business' or whatever was happening over at the Freedom HQ building. She lazily puffed out an indifferent sigh at that thought, which flicked a loose strand of her hair up and over her face. She had never really cared about the politics of the city or the goings-on in the offices upstairs. It was all so boring, especially when they would close up without warning or explanation as they had done yesterday. But out here in the forest, all that felt far away and unimportant, part of a completely different world.
Her mind continued to wander and her thoughts found their way to Jak, as they often did when she had nothing else to do. His handsome face swam into her mind, taking up all her attention, and looking at her with a bright and longing gleam in his blue eyes, just as he used to when they were young, before they ever came here to the world of Haven and adopted its problems. He was all she could think of now. She imagined that he was really here in the forest with her, looking down on her lovingly or lying by her side in the grass, just the two of them in this beautiful, secluded place, and what they might do together in this timeless experience, and this time with no Daxter to interrupt them, as he had so often done in the past.
But then a cloud passed in front of the sun, plunging her into a sudden chill that was very noticeable and potent after lying in its warmth for so long. It was even enough to trigger a small shiver. But with that, for some reason, things took a sudden change. The breeze in the forest now felt much sharper on her skin, the light around her seemed less radiant, but worst of all, Jak's face began to fade from her mind's eye.
"No!" she said aloud, and she found herself reaching out into thin air, but it was too late. Jak was gone, and she could not bring him back, no matter how hard she tried.
Her wishful fantasy was banished, robbed from her, and once again the familiar loneliness and rejection that she thought she had now cast aside for good started to fill her up. It crept up from her toes, and was already lodging itself in its usual place in her chest, a desperate and melancholic mood that wracked her whole body and left her to suffer. The painful shadow of Jak's absence loomed over her dominatingly, and now more than ever, she wished he was here with her. But he wasn't.
Her face broke and she let out a frustrated moan, much louder than she had intended. "Where are you?" she sighed mournfully to herself, and then she rolled over to bury her face under her arms, trying to keep those lost thoughts from evolving into tears. There she stayed for what felt like many long minutes, hardly moving, her mind a lonely blank.
But as she lay there, she thought she sensed a strange presence, almost a whispered voice from some unknown source. At the same time, the cloud above slowly drifted over, the sunlight returned, and a gap in the canopy created a beam of light that fell upon her, caressing her with warmth once again. This roused her, tempted her to lift her arm a little and peep out with one eye, and she saw the brightness and peace returned once more. Uncovering herself fully, she sat up again slowly, just as she had done upon awakening earlier. She was still alone, everything around her looked the same, and she did not feel like much time had passed. Shades of her pain still lingered, but they were rapidly chased away by the sunlight and the calm forest atmosphere, as if they were but a bad dream.
She shook her head and rubbed her eyes again to rid herself of the last of the tension in her mind, and then puffed out another heavy breath. "Huh. That was weird."
The experiences she was having in this forest were just getting stranger by the minute. First that sudden sleepiness in the night, and now this. It really did feel like some power here was toying with her, an unfamiliar intruder. Maybe it really was time that she headed back to the city now too, to return to the humdrum of everyday life. There was only enough daydreaming she could take before getting a little overwhelmed by it all, before her thoughts inevitably steered her somewhere she didn't want to be.
Gathering herself together, she got up and retraced her steps, back through the watery rock tunnel, along the river, to the hidden pass by the waterfall. Before leaving, she paused and took a last silent look at the shining forest, sorry to have to go, but it was with the reassurance that she would return again one day soon with her friends. At last, when she was ready, she slipped back around the rock, leaving the forest and its wonders behind.
The city was just the same as it was when she'd left yesterday. Still the same old beaten streets and buildings, and still the ominous, looming threat of danger that had been felt in the sky throughout the war, a sense that things were still not right. These feelings stalked her again as Keira made her way home, but she found comfort in the fact that she now had somewhere special and private she could go to escape them. She'd felt so far away from everything in the forest, and was already looking forward to a second visit, to continue the exploration with her friends, to show them that beautiful lake.
Her home invited her inside, and all was quiet. As she deposited her bag on one of the couches in the living room, she started to plan how she would spend the rest of the day. After a wash-up and a proper breakfast, she would head over to Freedom HQ, see if it was open again yet, and maybe look for her father too, try and gain on update on what had happened yesterday. If that wasn't possible… well, she'd figure that out later. But not long after she had thought these things, she heard the unmistakeable clunk of her father's log shoes approaching behind her. He was home, at last!
"Daddy!"
Her heart swelled and she turned around to face him, a smile ready on her face, at last feeling the promise of the explanation she sought. There he was, standing between the hallway and the sitting room, but his countenance disarmed her. He did not mirror her expression of a warm reunion, he looked unexpectedly surly and strict, eyeing her suspiciously through his magnifying spectacles, and it made Keira's smile wilt uneasily.
"Daddy?" she said unsurely, sensing a tense mood emanating from her father. "Is something wrong?"
"And just where have you been?" he asked her grumpily, one hand twisting on his wooden walking stick.
Keira was a little bemused. "What? What do you mean, Daddy?"
Samos wrinkled his long moustache. "You weren't here last night," he clarified accusingly. "Your bed was empty, and I know you weren't working late in the workshop. Where were you? And what have you done to your clothes?"
Keira looked down at herself automatically, noticing the rumpled creases and grass stains on her jacket and trousers, the leftover evidence of her trip. She relaxed and let out her breath, finally understanding her father's concern, and knowing that she could explain. "Oh. Don't worry, Daddy. I just went out to Haven Forest with Azyma and Tess last night," she said as if it were no big deal. "It was really nice, and we ended up staying the night. Well, not on purpose, but…"
"You WHAT?" Samos barked, and the tension snapped. Keira jumped at the sudden crack of his voice. "Keira, what were you thinking? It's not safe out there! You know we haven't fully checked the area for hostilities yet!"
Keira was startled by her father's sudden burst of outrage, it hadn't been what she had expected from him at all, but she responded calmly and rationally, and tried another tentative smile to show that everything was alright. "Daddy, I'm fine. We didn't see anything dangerous out there. It's —"
"But that doesn't mean you can go waltzing on out there unprotected!" Samos interrupted. "It's outside the city walls and beyond our control!"
"Daddy, relax," Keira retorted more firmly, still maintaining her composure. She couldn't really understand what the problem was. "There was nothing out there. Besides, there were three of us together, and I'm sure we could've —"
"That's not the point!" Samos interrupted again, thumping his walking stick on the floor. "There's too much risk, Keira! What if you got lost or hurt and needed to be rescued?"
His aggressive chastising was starting to make Keira feel a little guilty, like a child who had done something wrong without realising or understanding how. But she was also starting to lose some of her patience, frustrated that her father would not let the matter drop. "Daddy, nothing happened to us!" she said emphatically. "We were just exploring! Look, I made it back here OK, didn't I? I can look after myself. I'm not a child anymore! I think it's about time you stopped worrying about me so much and just let me enjoy myself once in a while!"
"You can enjoy yourself without leaving the city next time!" ordered Samos sternly.
This made Keira feel very bitter, like her father was tightening the leash on her, and she retorted with a palpable bite to her voice. "Well then why wasn't it closed off or anything?" she argued. "If you don't want people going out there so much, why was the airlock open or why wasn't there anyone guarding it?"
With this, Samos seemed to realise that maybe he had made a mistake too, something that had been overlooked or forgotten about. Keira could sense it, and she felt as if she was turning the argument around in her favour.
"We cannot do everything, Keira," Samos explained bluntly. "Our forces are already worn thin, and we have other more pressing matters to attend to right now."
"Like what?" Keira asked, and her voice levelled a little in the hope that she was finally going to get some answers. "What's been going on?"
But her father did not respond immediately, his expression fraught. "That is not relevant to this discussion," he grumbled, but Keira could tell by his tone that he was not revealing all that he knew.
"I think it is!" she retorted, amplifying the pressure again. "What's happening in Freedom HQ? Why was it closed up yesterday? What aren't you telling me?"
Again, Samos frowned and took a moment before he answered, dodging the subject again. "That is not for you to know, Keira! With all the danger we have faced during this war, we can't have people wandering freely in and out of the city until we know it's safe, least of all MY DAUGHTER!"
Keira jumped again at the shout, but was unsatisfied with this blunt U-turn in the argument, and fired back. "You wouldn't be saying that if Jak was here! You wouldn't be trying to control him!"
"Do not bring Jak into this!" Samos rumbled. "All last night I didn't know where you were! Do you know how much worry you caused me?"
Keira scoffed. "I left you a note, didn't I? Didn't you read that?"
"You said nothing about leaving the city limits. I assumed you were out somewhere in the city, and that's where you should be!"
"But you love the forest, Daddy!" she protested desperately, making an appeal to her father's more sensitive side. "I thought you said you were sending a team out there to secure it for you!"
There was another difficult pause, and Samos tiredly pressed his fingers to his forehead and sighed. In this moment, Keira's anger softened a little again, for she now saw how incredibly old and exhausted he looked, and she felt a wound of caring pity growing at the sight of him. "There is a right time for everything, Keira," he argued more quietly. "But right now we're too preoccupied and there's no time to think about such matters."
He straightened himself up, looking stronger and determined once more. "Keira, I forbid you from going out there again."
That was a hard blow. Keira's mouth fell open in disbelief and indignation. "What? Daddy, no, you can't —"
"Enough! I do not want to hear any more about it!"
"But Daddy —"
"I said ENOUGH!" Samos roared, banging his stick on the floor harder than ever. "I have spoken!"
Keira gaped at him with stung bitterness in her eyes, looking as if she would argue again, but she could summon no more words at the cold look her father returned, signifying that the debate was well and truly over. She couldn't believe he would do this. Never had she felt so angry with him!
Then Keira cracked. She clenched her teeth and kicked at the wall in anger, swearing from both rage and the pain. Though shocked by his daughter's uncharacteristically strong language and violent outburst, Samos remained as blank and unresponsive as a statue, deliberately hiding his emotions, as Keira stormed past him in a tearful fury and stomped up the stairs. He didn't even turn around, and just stood where he was until he heard the bedroom door slam.
A dreadful, crashing silence fell upon the house and swallowed Samos in his place. Finally, with a heavy sigh of confliction, he relaxed his muscles, releasing the tension. His clenched fist opened and he let Keira's screwed-up note fall to the floor.
He had to assert his authority, and Keira really should have known better, putting herself at risk like that. But now that the shouting was over, he felt the first foundations of regret starting to form. He wanted his daughter to be safe, but had he been too harsh on her? After all, these past three days had been long and difficult for him, especially with the mysterious business unfolding at Freedom HQ, and he was tired… too tired… his emotions strained and on edge.
A part of him also knew that some of what Keira had said was true; he did yearn to see the forest again, and perhaps Keira was old enough now to look after herself. But still, it was hard for him to let her go, especially in these dangerous and uncertain times, when there were unknown forces at work that she did not know about, that she could not know about. This pained him. A father should never have to keep anything from his daughter, but these were very unusual circumstances, and he couldn't face losing her.
Without any more words, he took several slow steps and shut himself away in his plant room to meditate on this experience.