Sorry for the short chapter….

Chapter 58: Recollection Time

Jak and Daxter strolled through the lifeless streets of Haven City, another day's work done, even if they had decided to stop a little early. By now, the majority of the city had been cleared of Dark Eco, though the physical damage would take far longer to clean up. Ironic, really, when a few crumbled buildings and downed ramps looked to be the least of their worries not so very long ago. And the agricultural section of the city was still a mess, the restored plants still sickly from Dark Eco exposure, actually closer to death now that the Dark Eco that had transformed them had been removed. That looked like a job for Samos.

They had since visited the massive crater left behind by the robot, reminding Jak quite a bit of the destruction he had seen after the Baron's palace had been knocked down several years ago, but that, too, could be fixed. While the city had been subjected to more than its fair share of disasters, it also had a knack for recovering from them, as well.

And they had already stopped by the Naughty Ottsel just the other day, its owner more than happy to find his head still intact, the head on the larger version of himself that stood over the entrance, that is. Though, any cheer he had at this good news was dispelled once they found over half the bottles inside to be shattered, the floor around the back counter littered with broken shards like islands of glass in a sea of spilled booze (an analogy Daxter did not find amusing), as if some kind of animal had gone through, and it was hard to say what had indeed happened, when the liquid inside said bottles was actually capable of transforming men into animals. Based on the nibble marks on the counter, though, Jak could only assume that some of those Dark Eco monsters had paid a visit to Daxter's establishment. And while Jak promised to help his friend later with the cleanup effort, as they were leaving, the ottsel was caught muttering under his breath that they could have at least paid.

Today, however, Daxter was in a much better mood, the cause of his barely controlled excitement the same as their reason for taking an early break, as they finally had access to the section of the city where their old home was, which they found to be still waiting for them in surprisingly good condition, a window broken and the door scratched, but other than that, still intact. Once inside, the ottsel decided that they absolutely had to try some Recollection Time, which began with them sitting on the couch, because this was something they used to spend a lot of time doing in their free time, in an effort to conjure up a bit of nostalgia for a time of peace they had been sorely lacking. Next, he demanded that they try other things they hadn't gotten to do in a while, like read comics, make coffee, and eat sandwiches. The latter two of these ideas failed, however, when they remembered they currently were without water or power and when they found the mayo and lunchmeat to be woefully outdated and the bread to be stale and sickeningly fluffy. And while Jak had his doubts about how effective Recollection Time would be, he had to commend Daxter on the idea, after all.

And while Daxter's pleas to remain here for the evening were quite appealing, Jak decided their nightly dinner with the soldiers should remain a part of their schedule, and his reminder of the state of their fridge and pantry silenced any more complaints. By the time they left home, it was early evening, and they were still able to return to the Naughty Ottsel in order to retrieve a few things, what had not been ravaged, at least, that he was sure the soldiers would appreciate.

Their next stop was the Freedom League barracks, where the soldiers had begun to spend their time in the evenings, and where the two of them would no longer need to stay for the night now that they had their home back. But, he couldn't just stay to himself when the soldiers were working just as hard as he was. And when they had better food. They had the usual rations, of course, that were kept from spoiling like their sandwich supplies had, but that wasn't what was so enticing. What was making Jak's stomach rumble so, and Daxter's, as well, was the fact that the soldiers also brought back game they had hunted from Haven Forest, wild birds or deer, which would then be cooked over a fire outside, creating such a tantalizing aroma for anyone within range that it had the effect of goading Jak's pace to quicken so he could reach it that much faster. This was how they had spent dinner every night since access to the barracks had been restored, sitting around a large, rectangular table in the mess hall, the room lit with any oil lamps they could find to chase the shadows away that the windows near the ceiling could no longer keep out, food set in the middle for everyone to have their fill of.

Today's dinner was a more than welcome choice after what they had found at home, though Jak had to refrain from thinking about that moldy bread their pantry had been concealing to prevent any nausea that may result. As they ate, the men would talk about what they had done that day, including any run-ins with Metal Heads while they were out in the forest, but what they spoke of most of all were families they had left behind in Spargus and the plans they had for the future, one young man they had since dubbed "Shivers" (a name he only accepted when they threatened to call him "The Wailer" instead for his complaints) grumbling once again about how he was leaving the Freedom League as soon as he could find another job, as he had only joined in the first place to impress a woman that had since begun dating someone else. It was truly a sign that things were settling down, Jak thought, when a soldier could go back to worrying about "girl troubles".

And while Jak largely stayed out of the conversations going on around him, content to just gnaw on a drumstick that was a lot more tender than leaper lizard (not that he was complaining about Keira's cooking), Daxter gave his fifth retelling of the time he blew up Gol and Maia's factory, the story now including a great deal of battling the ottsel apparently had engaged in against their enemies' monsters, a detail Jak didn't remember the first few times he heard it. He told stories every evening, cycling between a variety of different ones, including the day he had apparently defeated Maia in battle, the time he had spurned her romantic advances (several more things Jak wasn't previously aware of…), and his victory against a giant bug, though that was one story whose details didn't seem to change quite as drastically as the others did, leaving Jak rather uncertain as to whether or not this one might actually be the real deal.

Finally, the ottsel's tale reached its dramatic conclusion, after which Daxter strutted back over to his friend from where he had been reenacting his story at the center of the table. Jak put what was left of the drumstick down, licking his fingers. Now it was his turn to speak up.

"Tomorrow morning, I'm going to be taking a quick trip back to Spargus," he said as he picked the last bit of meat from the bone on his plate, his elbows resting on the table.

"What, you gonna leave us to do the dirty work, Mr. Big Shot?" one rather large, rather rough man, who looked like he could and had wrestled a Metal Head with his bare hands and won, and who had the most unsettling nickname of "Omen" (a name Shivers was clearly jealous of, though pretty much everyone was), asked from where he sat on the other side of the table, before he downed half a bottle of beer in one go, not that there really was enough to go around, but no one dared to fight it away from him.

"Like we haven't done enough for you guys already," Daxter said, fists planted on his hips.

"Are you saying you can't handle the work without me?" Jak said, a sly grin crossing his face, and the other man snorted. "I'm just going to pay the Governess a visit. Tell her about our progress."

"You can't do that by radio?"

Well, Ashelin wasn't the only one he wanted to see…

Before Jak could respond, however, Daxter spoke up again as he snatched a hunk of meat from the plate of the man sitting next to him and shoved it in his mouth, receiving in response a glare he failed to notice. "Don't you worry," the ottsel said, voice muffled as he chewed on his stolen snack. "We'll tell 'er you guys did some of the work, even if Jak and I did most of it. Right, Jak?"

"I wouldn't push it, Dax." He wasn't saying his friend was wrong, but he supposed it was pretty hard to compete with a guy that could fly and unleash waves of Light Eco. Just saying.

"Do what you want. We can handle everything more than well enough without you," the man said, seemingly more occupied with the bit of rib he held in one hand than anything else. Daxter flinched when he took a bite out of it that seemed to include the bone. "You two were getting in the way a bit," he added, bits of meat sticking out of his mouth as he spoke.

"Good to know," Jak said. "I was worried about leaving you guys alone."

Daxter watched the man crunch on bone and leaned towards his friend to say under his breath, "Maybe you shouldn't push it, Jak."

The two of them finished their meals and added their plates to the pile on the far end of the table, it being Shivers' turn to do the dishes this evening, though it usually was, no matter how much he whined about it, before heading home, the ottsel nearly hopping up and down in excitement at getting to sleep in his own bed again, surely a much more comfortable thing than the chair he usually had to settle with, Jak anticipating his bed, as well, along with the privacy of his own room. They arrived back home not a terribly long walk later, and Jak stretched his arms over his head as his friend jumped off his shoulder. It was dark in here with no lights, but it wasn't so hard to find one's way around a place bearing such comfort and familiarity that only a home could.

Once in his own room after having bid Daxter good night, Jak kicked off his shoes and slipped off his shirt to toss onto the dresser, barred moonlight coming through the blinds to leave alternating stripes of pale white and murky shade across the floor and the side of his bed. Even with the room enshrouded in the darkness of night, the familiar comfort his old bedroom gave was not diminished, and he dropped onto his bed, before pulling the sheets over himself and tucking his hands beneath his head.

This was just a taste of a peace that was soon to be restored, he thought, where their lives would return to a normalcy he knew they all were longing for. Torn may be gone, but there was nothing he could do about that, even if he would have done whatever it took to bring his friend back, had such an option existed. But, aside from Torn, who at least would live on in memory and the fact that this victory may not have been possible without him and his sacrifice, it wouldn't be much longer before all the others he cared about could return to their homes, as well, just as Daxter and he were able to this night. Soon, things would go back to normal, really go back to normal. But, it wouldn't be the same. Before all this started, before he even was aware of the possibility of another war, he had allowed himself to forget about Keira. He had neglected her, going off on adventures and making her believe he cared less for her than he really did. That was one thing that couldn't stay the same, one thing he wouldn't go back to once peace was returned to them. He would never allow himself to forget Keira ever again, not for one second, and that was just one of many things, in so many words, that he would have to tell her once he returned to Spargus.

In case it's not clear, and I really doubt it is, the giant bug Daxter claims to have done battle with was the final boss of "Daxter"…. And like always, because it's nice, please review.