Authors Note: OMG I'm so sorry for the long update wait you guys! The past few weeks has been crazy what with projects, homework and my birthday stuffs going on last weekend. I promise I'll do my best to keep to my updating schedule from now on! Especially since there's only six chapters left (including this one)! Which means that this is over halfway done and soon I will be starting Book3! Yay! Lol. Now, to my lovely reviewers who I have been neglecting:
Nostalgic Beauty: Lol, glad you liked it. Wasn't really aiming to make them 'romantic' moments, but oh well lol. Thanks for the review!
Miracle Mar: Haha, that picture doesn't have a THING to do with TAE :P Even says so in the pic description. It may have Ter in it, but it's from an AIM rp I was having with my friend at the time. Doesn't happen in TAE, lol, sorreh. Lol, glad you liked it, and yes, I like to torture my own character to much. Thanks for the review!
Twilight Angell: Shwee, lol, good to see you around:D Sucks about your old username though, stupid ff being stupid… Anyways, lol, I'm glad you're liking this! Thanks for the review!
xoxReneeOrionxox: Oh yes, Tera gets embarrassed so easily. Specially around Jak, lmao. Glad you liked it, thanks for the review!
Now, without further ado, on with the chapter that took so long to come!
Through Another's Eyes: Book Two
Chapter Ten: An Old Friend
"Are we almost there?" Tera yawned, stretching her arms out above her head as Jak continued to swerve their zoomer through the twisty paths of the water slums, following a beacon on his comm. unit.
"Almost," the male replied, eyeing the comm. as he drove, "Brutter said the seal piece'll be hanging on his door… guess lurkers don't get high end housing."
"You can say that again! Yeuck," Daxter made a choking noise from his friends shoulder, "It smells worse then a Hip Hog's breath after dinner."
"Which is exactly why we're just getting the seal and then getting out," Tera yawned again, rolling her neck to get out the kinks that had appeared over night, "Man I'm tired… that wound really took a lot out of me… but not so much that I should've stayed behind, Jak."
Jak's mouth snapped shut, the male giving an innocent grin when the blue channeler pinned an annoyed glare on him, "Fine fine, lets just get the seal then head back to the apartment or wherever we get sent next."
The three renegades hoped down to the rickety board walk of the water slums when they got close enough, walking over to the door indicated on Jak's comm.. The seal piece was hanging from a nail in the door, Jak snatching it with a grin.
"That is it!" the three jumped when Brutter's voice appeared from a comm. next to them, "Piece of seal, yes? Nice and shiny, huh? All yours!" the three rolled their eyes at the excited lurker, but jumped again when the comm. suddenly turned to 'look' behind them, "Uh-oh, I think red troopers approaching!"
"Oh not this again," the two blondes grabbed their guns when they spotted the KG transport up ahead of them, a wave of guards coming at them, the renegades immediately using their Vulcan mods on them. They rushed forwards once the first wave was gone, hanging a tight left at the next boardwalk and continuing on.
Jak took care of the guards coming from the front while Tera took out the ones trying to sneak up on them, grabbing the ammo they dropped as they ran onwards, Daxter's shouts only adding more to the confusion rather then helping any.
The water slums were a death maze with KG crawling throughout them, pushing the renegades ahead. They rushed around the hazardous corners and dead ends, taking down the KG as they went; the red guards were everywhere, but the three weren't about to let themselves get killed.
"Almost there!" Daxter shouted, motioning wildly to the exit of the water slums. Jak and Tera pushed onwards again, shooting down everything that moved; which, thankfully, was pretty much all Krimzon Guards. They took out the final group slowly, as they were now coming at them from every direction, before finally reaching the exit.
The three stood, panting, when the comm. popped up again, Brutters voice just as excited as before, ""You did it! You guys great hero's! Seal all yours!"
"Stupid lurkers…" Tera sighed, slipping her guns back into her holsters, "the KG are probably still on high alert, so we'd better get out of here. And I just realized… we never went back to tell that 'client' of Krew's that we destroyed his cargo."
Jak nodded, "You're right. Let's head over there now and get the insult slinging out of the way."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"We destroyed Krew's cargo," Jak informed the mechanic as they entered her garage, the woman still working on her secret project behind the curtains.
"Great," the mechanics voice was heavy with sarcasm, "I'll send you a medal. Now, if you don't mind, I'm on a deadline, so sc-"
"Are you always this difficult?" Jak growled, fed up with the woman's behaviour.
"Let me handle this, Jak," Daxter stepped forwards, "Listen lady, we beat your stupid course, and we can outrace anybody in this city! And there's just two things you need to know. One, we don't wanna join your stinking race team and two…" the ottsel ran his hands over his run, "you just lost a date with Orange Lightning. Let's go you guys…"
The three turned to leave, the curtain snapping open behind them to reveal a very familiar teal haired girl.
"Daxter, it IS you!"
"Keira?!" Daxter jumped, staring.
"Oh I never thought I'd be so glad to see your furry mug!" the girl rushed forwards, pinching the ottsels cheeks. Spotting Tera, she gasped, standing and grabbing her sister in a tight hug, "Tera! You've changed so much! You finally got a bit taller!"
Tera was unable to say anything, still in shock that they had found her sister. Keira let go of the blonde, turning towards Jak, "And Jak! You look…" she froze, her hands coming up to her mouth, "different…"
Tera and Daxter winced at the greeting, Jak looking down as though he was ashamed, "It's been a tough ride…"
"The baron pumped our boy here full o'Dark Eco, and it did something to him," Daxter took it upon himself to explain, "Now he's got super moves or something, and a few anger issues as well!"
"I've been looking for you guys forever!" Keira changed the subject, her eyes remaining on Tera and Daxter as she spoke, "And planning a way for us to get back home." She motioned to the object behind the curtain, turning back towards it, "Somehow that rift took us far into the future. I've calculated the time displacement, and I think I've-"
"We found your father," Jak cut her off, "Well… sort of."
"Working with the Underground fighting the Baron!" Daxter exclaimed, "But he's… ahh…"
"What?" Keira questioned.
"You need to go see him," Tera answered, frowning slightly, "Just… don't be surprised if he doesn't recognize you…"
"And I need to get to the Baron." Jak cut in, Keira considering it for a moment.
"You could try to win the class one racing Championship. The winner of that big race always gets to meet the Baron in the Palace," she paused for a moment, "But you have to qualify by winning the lower class races. There's a class three race staring soon. You can drive for my team! But Jak," Keira lifted the welding helmet off her head, "we should think about getting out of here. I don't like this place. And some of the people are creepy…"
Jak went to reply, but was cut off again when Krew suddenly flew inside the building.
"Jak, my boy. I need that Ruby Key you found, eh. A 'special client' has requested it."
"Sorry about that, Krew," Jak forced a laugh, rubbing the back of his head, "I… must've forgotten."
"Right," Krew grinned, catching the key when it was tossed at him, the fat man flying off yet again.
"Oh yah," Tera mumbled, crossing her arms, "Lots of creepy people."
"Class Three Race starting in three minutes. All racers please proceed to the race track," Jak sighed at the announcement, looking to the girls once Daxter had jumped onto his shoulder.
"Here goes nothing," the two watched the guys leave, Keira turning to Tera and grabbing her wrist when they were gone.
"Lets go watch; I know where the best seats are," she started pulling the blonde out towards the race track, sending her a grin, "It's good to see you, sis."
Tera attempted a smile, "Yah… you to."
The two girls slid into a pair of seats in the stands, talking quietly about what had been happening in the past two years. They stood up and cheered with everyone else when the race started, routing for Jak. The blonde managed to stay in first place the entire time, winning the race easily. Tera and Keira jumped out and cheered, heading back to the garage to meet with Jak.
They reached it just before he did, Keira hopping up onto the work bench just as the blonde strode in, grinning widely. Jak set the winners cup down beside the girl, Daxter jumping down from his shoulder, "When is this city gonna provide some challenge?!"
"Hey," the group turned at the voice, Ashelin striding up from behind them, "I watched you race today. You were pretty amazing out there."
"Oh, thanks…" Jak wasn't sure how to respond, turning when Keira hopped down from the work bench, "Uh, Keira, this is Ashelin. She's just…"
"Everyone knows who she is," the girl cut him off, frowning.
"And Keira's a…"
"A friend," Keira crossed her arms, eyes narrowed, "A very good friend."
Daxter made a hissing motion over behind them, Tera simply rolling her eyes and remaining silent. She didn't plan on getting messed up in this one.
"Thanks for helping out with that tanker, Jak," Ashelin strode closer, placing her hand on his shoulder, "You saved a lot of lives." The red head turned, pausing at the exit to the garage, "I'm not my father, you know. Ever since I was a little girl, I've looked down at the city streets from that ridiculous Palace, and imagined a better place," she paused when a group of KG's walked past, frowning when she continued, "By the way, they're hunting for you. I'd watch out for Errol. I can't protect you from him."
Daxter waited all of ten seconds before opening his mouth once more, "Whew, she's a betty! And she likes you, Jak!" he paused, smirking, "not that I can account for her tastes." The ottsel jumped up, ignoring the looks he was getting from his three friends, "I bet you'd love to pin some medals on her chest, eh? Heh heh…"
Keira glared at Jak, crossing her arms and walking off silently, Daxter frowning, "What? What'd I say? What'd you say Jak?"
"Oh brother," Tera put a hand on her forehead, sighing. What a way to piss off her sister. She glanced down at her comm., grabbing Jak's arm to pull him out of the garage, "C'mon, we're getting a beep from Vin. Better go check it out…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Tera slipped onto one of the bar stools at the Hip Hog, resting her head on her arms with a groan, "I officially hate today."
First they'd found Keira only to majorly piss her off, then Vin had sent them to the Strip Mines to detonate Eco wells with already activated bombs, and then Kor had sent them back to the Drill Platform to take down an Eco ship and probably about a thousand Krimzon Guards. Could it get any worse? Probably.
Jak chose to simply stand behind his friend, Daxter making it his duty to cheer his friends up with a story.
"So there I was, toe to toe with five of the nastiest Metal Heads you ever saw! Slime oozing from monstrous jaws! Teeth sharper then daggers! Slowly, all ten of 'em surround me! But do I surrender? No! I summon my highly trained killer instincts, and pounce! Hya! Chooy! Whaa! Haa! And when the dust cleared, there were twenty less Metal Heads in the world!"
"Ohh, Daxter, you're amazing!" Tess leaned against the bar, watching the ottsel fondly. Jak and Tera shared a look, rolling their eyes; only Tess would believe Daxter's stories.
"Yeah, I know. Scratch me there," Tess giggled and did so, rubbing his back.
"Quite a story there, golden boy," Sig chuckled, stepping up to the bar, "I guess you're just the 'animal' I need for another dangerous gig. Combat Metal Heads have now been spotted right here in Haven Forest! These new bad boys have special camouflage, so they're tough to spot. But I'm sure with your 'killer instincts' you'll manage. Go to the forest and take 'em all out."
"C-Combat Metal Heads?" Daxter swallowed, standing up, "Eh.. y-yah! Sure we can take 'em out! We'll head down there right now!" he hopped onto Jak's shoulder, "Eer, right guys?"
"Fine," Tera groaned, dragging herself from her seat and following wearily after Jak, frowning, "Kill some Metal Heads and come back… shouldn't be to hard…"
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"REMIND ME TO MURDER SIG WHEN WE GET BACK!" Tera screeched, diving out of the way of yet another barrage of eco bullets, firing back while continuing to move. She had to use her eco just to stay out of the Metal Head's firing range! What they had thought would be a simple get in get out mission had turned out to be a long, drawn out attempt to avoid the seemingly invisible Metal Heads while also trying to shoot them. Joy.
After two hours they were finally down to what seemed to be the last two, but those last two wanted to make things hard on them. Tera rushed forwards, firing and taking down one of the two cloakers with three shots, skidding to a stop when she reached the place it had been standing just seconds before. She looked down, backing up from the small cliff she was currently standing on. Turning, she yelped when, having not been paying attention to where he was going, Jak barreled into her, sending the three of them tumbling down the hill.
They landed with Jak on top, Tera hissing and arching slightly when pain flashed through her arm, glancing at it. Red seeped from the small cut caused by a rock, yet again where she had been bitten as a young teen back in Sandover. Why the hell did things like to hurt her there?!
"Ter, you ok?" Jak noticed the red, eyes widening.
"I'm fine," Tera eyes snapped open, "MOVE!" she shoved him off of her, rolling out of the way just as an eco beam hit where they had been laying mere seconds before. Jak jumped up and whirled, taking down the final Metal Head. The forest fell silent for a few seconds, his comm. soon popping up out of its holder.
"Good work, cherries! I didn't think you had it in you. C'mon back now, you showed those beasts a thing or two!"
Jak just shook his head, looking back over at Tera with a frown, the girl constantly trying to figure out how to wrap her wound with the medic tape she had pulled from her pack.
Jak walked over and grabbed her arm, ignoring the girl's complaints and swiping the tape from her, wrapping it tightly so that the bleeding would stop. Then he promptly grabbed the girl and hoisted her over his shoulder, smirking at her outraged cries and simply carrying her back up towards the Precursor platform that would take them back to the city gate, Tera cursing loudly the entire time.
XX
Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Tera
XX
When we found Keira, I thought that things would go back to the way they had been. I thought she would welcome Jak back with welcome arms and that the two of them would go back to being as close as they, not quite dating but always hoping. But no. Keira didn't do that. She hugged Daxter and me, and then she just stared at Jak, said he looked different, looked at him like he wasn't Jak anymore.
I've never been so angry in my life. I didn't do anything, didn't say anything, because Jak was there, but if he hadn't been Keira would've gotten an ear full. Couldn't she see how hurt Jak was by her words? My sister had changed; and not in a good way. She hadn't changed in the way Jak and I had. I had become stronger, tougher; the same with Jak. But Keira… her views had changed. She may have said she doesn't like Haven, but I can see how much it's grown on her. She's a mechanic in a world of machinery, rather then one of plants like Sandover. She belongs here now.
And that scared me, because if we ever get the chance to go back… if she doesn't want to, will Jak stay with her…?
XX
End Introspection
XX