While I like a good OC story as much as the next person, I've been attempting to read through several Jak x OC stories, and to be honest, none of them really do it for me. Even though other writers are creating much better characters than Keira in their stories, I still really think that at the end of the day, Jak should be with Keira. I just really wish that Keira was a better character and a better friend!
So, this is my solution. . .
It was a beautifully warm spring day. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the air was filled with the laughter of children. At least, that's what one would imagine would be happening outside, if one were so inclined to actually go outside during their break. As you can probably guess at this point, this one, was not.
This one was still in her pajamas, and perfectly content clicking away on a controller while sitting far too close to the TV.
The Jak & Daxter HD Collection had just been released a little while ago, after all, and this was the first opportunity that I'd gotten to really dedicate some time to play! And yes, while it's true that I've played these games before, a lot, in fact. To the point where I could do 100 percent runs in my sleep, these particular copies were for the PS3!
Not only had the graphics been beautifully enhanced for the new console, but now being compatible with the PlayStation Network, it was a chance to flex my skills by earning some sweet, sweet trophies! I already had one platinum in the bag and was working on my second.
"Hey, Katie!"
The shout caused me to wince, and narrow my eyes in the direction of the interruption as the source came tumbling inside the room.
"What?" I barked back irritably.
"Mom wants to know what you want for lunch."
I paused the game to give the distraction my full attention, not wanting to risk messing up and having to repeat anything. I pondered the question.
"Pizza," I decided. That was something I could eat one handed. The smaller boy in front of me scoffed.
"She's not ordering food. It has to be something we can make here," he told me, his tone dripping with preteen attitude.
"Then why even bother asking?!" I lamented. "I'm pretty sure the only things we have to make right now is macaroni or sandwiches," I pointed out.
"So, you want macaroni or a sandwich?" he pressed.
"Why not both?" I suggested with an exaggerated shrug.
"Oh, genius! What kinda sandwich?" he wondered.
"Turkey. . .?" I tried hesitantly. I didn't actually know what the sandwich options were either.
"Yo'kay!" he chimed before disappearing back the way he came.
I shook my head at the spot he'd just been occupying.
"Little brothers," I muttered.
Several minutes later, and he returned to fetch me and let me know that the food was ready. It was already enough of a surprise that mom was willing to make it for us. It would be nothing short of a miracle for her to actually deliver it to me!
Stepping into the kitchen, I spotted a plate with a ready-made sandwich on it sitting next to a bowl of yellow noodles. I assumed this was for me since my brother had already plucked his up and was heading out of the room.
"Thanks mom!" We both called, as I snapped up my plate and bowl of Sponge Bob shapes, before making a move to follow my brother out and back to my waiting game.
"Derek. Katherine. Where do you two think you're going?" Came the sudden demand before we were able to get far.
Uh Oh! Mom's busting out the full names.
"Uhhh. . ." I hesitated, glancing longingly down the hall. "Back to my game?" I offered slowly, while Derek just remained frozen in his tracks.
"I don't think so. Since I made lunch for everyone, the least you kids can do is eat it with me," she lectured, gesturing towards the kitchen table.
And there's the catch! I should have know that there was going to be one!
I sighed and set the dishes down in front of one of the chairs before reluctantly plopping my rear into it. Derek did the same. At the end of the day, it was a small price to pay for food we didn't have to prepare ourselves. It wasn't like I was going to be able to single fist this kind of sandwich anyway.
After eating, and making awkward small talk with my mom, where she attempted to take an interest in our activities despite her obvious lack of understanding, I was finally able to return to the task at hand. Only this time, it was with an uninvited plus one.
It wasn't the first time Derek had requested to watch me play, far from it. I had just figured he'd not only seen, but played, these games so many times himself that he wouldn't have an interest at this point. And a couple of minutes later, he proved that I figured right, because he started pestering me to play something multiplayer with him. I shot that down real quick!
"Come on! Why don't you ever wanna play together anymore!" he whined.
"Because you're a bad winner and a sore loser, and I'm already in the middle of this and I don't wanna quit. If you don't like it, you're welcome to leave," I reminded him.
Except he wasn't apparently all that motivated to do so. I heard him sigh behind me in resignation before slipping into a stoic silence.
That is, until, I reached the cut scene where Jak finally figures out that the girl behind the curtain has been Keira the whole time, and vice versa. I groaned and shook my head at the painful lack of emotion from the girl, when she's finally reunited with her childhood friend that had been missing for the last two years!
"What? What's your deal?" Derek asked in a skeptical tone at my response.
"This scene! It just feels so, blah! Why is she so weird about seeing him? Why isn't she happier or more excited?!" I protested haughtily.
"Whadaya mean?" he wondered.
"She acts all like, whatever! Like everything that's happened over all this time is just, no big deal! All she seems to care about is getting back to the past. I mean, didn't she miss him? Doesn't she care at all about everything he's been through?" I tried to reason, but my unsympathetic brother only laughed at me.
"What are you talking about? You know none of this is real, right? They're just acting the way they're programmed to," he told me as if it should be obvious, which it was, but that wasn't the point!
"Well, they did a crummy job with her character! Why did they have to make her act like such a shrew?" I snapped.
"I thought you liked Keira?" he argued.
"That was back when I was young and impressionable," I explained, waving him off. "I just feel bad for Jak. He's got like, no friends in this game," I lamented sadly.
"What about Daxter?" he reminded me.
To be honest, I didn't really count Daxter much, either. He wasn't exactly the greatest friend.
"Fine. He's got half a friend," I consented sarcastically. "I still feel like he basically got abandoned. He's got to be pretty lonely. . ." I trailed.
"You think you could do better?" Derek suddenly asked. It sounded like a challenge.
"Well, yeah! I'd be a much better friend than stupid Keira!" I raved.
"I was actually talking about the people who made the game, but sure, let's go with that. How would you be better?" he wondered.
I hit the pause button as I pondered the question with a hum. How would I be better?
"Well for one, I'd do more to try and help instead of just, expecting Jak to do everything by himself," I began, but was interrupted by my brother laughing at me again.
"You know that's kind of the point, right? The player is supposed to do everything, or else the game would be kinda boring," he reasoned.
"You know what I mean!" I barked at him. "But it's not just that! It took Daxter two years to break him out of that prison, and it's like Keira didn't even bother to try looking for him, let alone try and help him! If it were me, I would have gotten him outta there way before then! And I would be way nicer to him than she ever was!" I ranted, until I realized how ridiculous I sounded.
"And I wouldn't have wanted anything to do with Erol, either," I couldn't help but add in a disgusted mutter.
"I don't think she's that bad. I mean, she just said that she's been trying to look for them," he argued smartly, but I knew it was just to see me get riled.
"She obviously didn't try very hard," I stressed.
"Plus, she doesn't have powers or anything like Jak does. She helped as best she could. At least, in the first game," he added.
"Whatever! The point is, Keira sucks and Jak deserves a better friend!" I snapped, refocusing my attention on the game.
There was no argument my brother could make that would change my mind now.
"If you say so," he decided with a shrug, realizing that any further protests would be a waste of time.
. . .
The hours quickly began to race by as I played, and before I knew it, it had gotten dark. Eventually Derek got bored of watching, as I kept getting stuck on a racing bit. I always hated the vehicle parts of these games, mostly because I always sucked at them, and they would take me forever to get past. No matter how long I practiced, I was never really able to get the hang of it. I would usually just end up getting lucky.
It was about midnight when my mom stuck her head in the room to tell me that everyone else was going to bed, and to make sure not to stay up too late.
"I know you don't have to go anywhere tomorrow, but you still need to get some sleep. Staying up all night isn't good for you," she scolded lightly.
"Yes mother. I'll go to sleep soon," I assured her, but it was mostly just to humor her.
It was an assurance I wasn't planning on following through with.
Time continued to roll on, and the story I was controlling continued to progress. As I was directing Jak to head over to talk to the Oracle, I happened to cast a quick glance at the clock on the wall. It read that it was almost 3:00 am.
Oh man! I really should think about getting to bed soon! I thought to myself. Mom's gonna know I lied if I can't stay awake tomorrow. Well, let's just finish this last quest, then I'll call it a night, I decided, then clicked the speak button.
"Well, well, well. Look who it is. So, the 'video game master' returns," the Oracle began to monologue in a patronizing tone. "You really think it'd be so easy to live in this world?" It asked. "Quite the audacious declaration."
Meanwhile, I had to do a double take. What did it just say? That wasn't the normal dialogue at all! I clicked several buttons on the controller, but nothing seemed to happen. I couldn't get out of the conversation, and Jak wasn't reacting to any of the prompts. That was weird. Did my game freeze?
"You claim you could do better?" the Oracle continued to ask, despite the screen appearing as though it had locked up.
Okay, now I was starting to get creeped out. What was going on? It was like the game was, talking directly to me? But that was impossible! Did I fall asleep while playing, or something? Was this a dream?
"Well now, I believe that is something I would like to see," It told me.
"See? See how?" I wondered without really thinking.
"Simply lay your hand upon the game console. I will take care of the rest," it explained, sort of surprising me that it had answered my question.
Now feeling fully convinced that I must be dreaming, I decided that it wouldn't hurt anything to go along with what this weird, forth wall breaking Oracle was telling me. Maybe I could have a cool dream adventure that I can tell my brother about in the morning!
Little did I know the crazy turn of events that were about to unfold with such a simple gesture. So, without a second thought, I plopped my hand down on top of the warm, whirring system. A moment later, and everything went black.
. . .
"Ke. . . a? Ke. . .a! Oh . . . osh! . . .u okay? Wa. . . up! . . .lease wake . . . Keira!" The sound of someone shouting was slowly rousing me out of my stupor.
What was all the yelling about? Did mom make the mistake of letting Derek help her with breakfast again? Did he light the stove on fire?
I tried to open my eyes, but my lids felt really heavy. Not to mention, there was a brightness behind them that I didn't really understand. Normally I kept my room like a vampire lair. What was with this searing sunlight?
I suddenly felt my upper body being lifted by someone. That certainly stirred up my urgency to open my eyes and figure out what the heck was going on! A sharp pain sprang through my head as I did so. Everything was still feeling pretty fuzzy as I brought a hand up to my aching temple. What happened last night? Was this some kind of strange gamer hangover?
"Ugh! My head," I moaned, ready to give a piece of my mind to whoever it was that had disturbed me, as they slowly came into focus.
"Hey! Look! I think she's coming around," came the sound of a very irritating, yet familiar, voice.
In fact, it almost sounded like. . .
Two faces suddenly appeared above me. They both had large, expressive eyes, crazy styled and colored hair, and impossibly long, pointed ears. It only took my brain about half a second to process what I was seeing, or more correctly, who I was seeing. I froze – my mouth gaping halfway open in a state of complete shock!
"What's the matter? Muse got your tongue?" Daxter joked with a stupid grin.
I screamed! I didn't know what else to do!
Their faces had just been so surprisingly close, not to mention appeared with a level of depth and detail that I could never have imagined. Daxter screamed as well, before rapidly backing away from me, and Jak dropped me in alarm. I hit the ground with a soft thud and instinctively rolled out of reach.
"Ah! Jeeze! Don't do that!" I heard Daxter snap.
Despite the horrible pounding in my head, I managed to push myself up to a sitting position to try and get some bearings. I glanced around to find the boys staring at me with cringing expressions. I realized I'd probably scared them, but in my defense, they had started it! However, before I was able to even begin to process what was happening, a short, greenish man with a long, white beard and a log in his hair that I recognized as Samos the Sage, came running up to our haphazardly sprawled group.
"What is going on here?!" he demanded, waddling up to my side, and putting himself between me and the other two. "What did you two dunderheads do to my daughter?!" he shouted at them.
"Huh? Nothin! She just – took a bit of a tumble," Daxter attempted to brush off.
"Off of a zoomer!" he roared, gesturing towards one of the sideways and smoking vehicles with his staff. "Keira! Didn't I warn you about clowning around with these half-wits? You could have been killed!" he lectured, in a typical parental tone.
When there was no immediate answer, Samos turned to peer at me with a look of concern.
"Keira? Are you alright?" he wondered.
All eyes were back on me again, waiting. . .
Wait a minute, was he, talking to – me? Well, he was looking at me. But, why was he calling me 'Keira'? How could he think –? It was at this moment that I was struck with the urge to look down at myself.
If I hadn't already been shocked into silence as it was, what met my gaze seemed to all but break my brain!
A tiny, white crop-top, tank-top was covering my chest, a pair of suspenders resting over top of it. Below that, was a mostly bare torso, that appeared pinched almost in half with how thin it was. This led to a pair of purplish trousers that covered most of my legs, before ending in a set of black and red boots. Except, these were not my clothes. Nor was the chest, or the legs!
In a moment of sheer panic, I reached up to grab at my hair, and pulled it around in front of me. However, it was only to find to my dismay, that instead of the average brown that it used to be, it was now a strange mix of green and blue! But that still wasn't the worst part! That occurred when my arm managed to bump my ear, and I realized, once I ran my hands over them, that they were sticking out by about a foot on either side of my head!
No! No-no-no-no-no-no-no! This wasn't – this wasn't my body! There was no way – there was just no way this was happening! It was, completely impossible! I was – somehow – I had transformed into – Keira!
I glanced up to find the looks of worry directed at me deepening. The others were all still waiting for an answer, but what on earth was I supposed to tell them?! I wasn't even on earth anymore, and I definitely wasn't alright! I also wasn't Keira, but I very much doubted that they would believe that!
"I – I don't –" I finally managed to stutter out, but stopped at the strange sensation of the squeaky, girlish sounds coming out of my mouth.
I even had her voice, I realized, reaching up to clasp a hand around my throat.
However, at this point, it seemed that Samos was done waiting. He leaned down towards me to give me a once over, reaching out to prod at my head. I hissed and flinched away from his hand at the sharp wave of pain that his touch had induced.
"Looks like a rather nasty knock to the head. Come on, let's get you inside so I can get a better look," he instructed, and attempted to help me to my feet.
At his insistence, I tried to stand, but an overwhelming wave of dizziness caused me to wobble and stumble into him. I had to use him as a prop in order to keep from tumbling back to the ground! Fortunately, he didn't seem to mind.
"You, boy!" he snapped, aiming his staff at Jak. "This is your fault, I'm sure. So, get over here and help me carry her into my hut!" he ordered.
Jak stared down at his feet, looking shamefaced, before moving over to obey his command. Meanwhile, Daxter huffed indignantly at the words.
"It wasn't Jak's fault!" he protested. "Racing was Keira's idea! Jak didn't even want to," he tried to argue, but a sharp glare from Samos caused his words to die in his throat. "We didn't mean any harm," he managed to mutter.
Sounded like Keira was just as bad at racing as I was!
"Regardless of who's at fault, the harm's been done. What's important now is making sure Keira's going to be okay," the sage pressed.
The seriousness of his tone apparently caused Jak to pick up his pace, because before I knew what was happening. He'd scooped me up into his arms, and was now easily carrying me back into Sandover Village, Daxter and Samos right on his heels. I blinked up at his face bobbing in and out of focus, and realized that I would really be enjoying this if my head hadn't been throbbing so badly that it was making me nauseous!
Once inside Samos' hut, he instructed Jak to sit me down so he could give me a more thorough examination. He cleaned and bandaged my head, before then giving me some typical exercises that I believe were to check for any brain damage. Such as following his finger with my eyes – or, wait, wasn't that to check to see if I was drunk?
Either way, once he'd finished with that, he began asking me a series of questions, but it first started with getting my attention.
"Keira?" he wondered.
There was a moment of silence.
"Keira!" he repeated louder.
This time I flinched in response. Oh yeah, that's right, he was talking to me! That was going to take some getting used to!
"Y-yes?" I managed to mumble out.
"Do you know where you are?" he asked, slowly.
Except, I wasn't sure how particular he was wanting me to be. I glanced around a bit before responding.
"In, your hut?" I guessed.
He frowned at me.
"What village is this?" he continued, now being more specific.
"Sandover Village," I answered, sounding more sure this time.
"And, do you know who I am?" he pressed.
"Samos the Sage," I replied before I could really think about how that answer would come across.
He cocked his head at me for a moment, considering.
"And who am I to you?" he decided to inquire.
I hesitated for a moment, before I realized the obvious answer he was looking for.
"My father," I told him matter-of-factly.
Although judging by his reaction, maybe it was a little too matter-of-factly. He hummed before switching to a different type of question.
"What project were you and I working on yesterday?" he quizzed, seeming determined.
Uh oh! Now that was a question I was pretty sure I wasn't going to be able to answer. I thought about it hard, but it appeared that, while I had a general knowledge of this world from my time with the game, I didn't seem to have any of Keira's personal memories. Only my own. Since I hadn't the foggiest idea, all I could do was shake my head and shrug.
"I see. Do you remember what we had for lunch?" he tried, but I somehow doubted that a turkey sandwich and Sponge Bob macaroni was the right answer.
I shook my head again.
"What about the new bit of info we discovered about the Precursors last week?" he attempted one last question.
Nope, wasn't gonna be able to answer that, either.
"That they, liked shiny things?" I offered as a lame guess, my tone betraying a hint of sarcasm.
"Oh! Oh dear," Samos was sounding very worried now, and I was feeling it.
Had he figured out that I wasn't really Keira? And if he had, what was he going to do with me? These were the good guys though, right? So, I was hopeful that it wouldn't be anything too bad.
"It seems that her basic knowledge is intact, but her personal memories seem to have taken a rather serious hit," he determined. "That blow to the head appears to have done more damage than we at first thought," he concluded.
Oh yes, of course! Blame it on head trauma! That could definitely work in my favor. Maybe I can fudge this if these guys think I'm acting weird because of the injury! Even so, I didn't like the sad look that Jak was flashing me. It was obvious that he was feeling guilty about my, or Keira's situation, as it were. It made me feel bad for him.
"So, she doesn't remember who we are? Is that why she screamed when she saw me?" Daxter wondered at the sage.
"While I don't doubt that would be a normal reaction to anyone who saw you," Samos began his casual insult.
Daxter just crossed his arms and glared at him.
"I have a sinking feeling that might actually be the case," he confessed with a sigh.
At this news, both boys turned to stare at me with such gloomy, worried expressions, that my immediate reaction was to try and say something that would help them feel better.
"Ah! Hey! D-don't look at me like that! It's not like I could ever forget someone like you, Daxter," I tried to assure them.
He seemed to perk up at hearing me use his name, and they both turned to Samos with hopeful eyes.
"Well, seems like she remembers us after all," he commented.
"Eh, while she might know your name, that doesn't necessarily mean she remembers who you are," the sage stressed.
"You mean, wise cracking and annoying?" I offered, earning a sour look from the wounded party, while Jak poorly attempted to hide a grin at the remark.
However, Samos still didn't seemed convinced.
"So, maybe I'm having a little trouble remembering what I had for lunch yesterday. It's no big deal. I'm sure it'll all come back to me eventually, right?" I lied through my teeth.
Although to be fair, I didn't actually know for sure it was a lie. Since I still hadn't figured out how I'd even gotten here, there was a chance that I could leave and the real Keira could come back again. There was also still the chance that this was all just a dream, but the continual, shooting pain currently arcing through my head was making that possibility seem less and less likely. After all, dreams weren't supposed to hurt.
"Perhaps," Samos consented, stroking his chin in thought. "Either way, you need to rest so your head can heal, which means you two need to scram! Shoo!" he commanded, waving the boys off and out of the hut.
Daxter just shrugged and left without a fuss. However, Jak hesitated, fixing me with a quizzical brow. I glanced back in time to see the sage begin physically pushing him out the door. When our eyes finally met, he smiled at me and waved goodbye.
Once I returned the wave, he let the old man finish throwing him out, and I felt my heart melt a little. He was such a cinnamon roll! I still couldn't understand how everyone didn't just completely love him, especially the grumpy, old man! Speaking of which. . .
"Come on. We're getting you into bed right now," he ordered, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me into what I assumed must be Keira's room.
I didn't really remember there being separate rooms like this in the game, but then again, that could have just been because of the programming limitations.
Part of me wanted to assure him that I was okay, and didn't need to go to bed yet. However, I realized that maybe some alone time might be nice for me to finally get a chance to try and process what the heck was happening to me! So, I humored him by climbing into the bed and lying down.
"And you are not going to be hanging around with those two again! I mean it this time. They are nothing but trouble," he continued to lecture as I settled.
Oh, he thought so, did he? Well, if I ended up still being here the next morning, then that would be an order I'd be immediately disobeying. He had another thing coming if he thought there was any way I'd miss out on hanging with some of my favorite video game characters! Not to mention, the punishment seemed a bit unfair.
"Aw, come on, pops! Daxter might be a bit nuts, but you know that Jak's a good kid," I argued.
"A good kid?! Just listen to yourself! Since when do you call me 'pops'? You're completely addled, and lucky to be in one piece!" he snapped back.
"But –" I tried to protest, but he cut me off before I could continue.
"Enough arguing! Just rest for now. We'll talk about it in the morning, alright?" he told me.
It sounded like an attempt to just placate me for the moment, but I supposed that it would have to do for now.
"Okay," I nodded with a sigh.
Once he'd left, I turned over on my side to stare out the window as I ran through the events of the past hour or so. Was this actually a dream? Or, had I gone insane? How on earth was any of this happening? Well, how about we just take things one step at a time, I told myself.
Number one: despite the implied impossibility of the situation, I was pretty convinced at this point that I wasn't dreaming. It all just felt too real to be a dream. I've never had one this lucid or detailed before. Not to mention the head injury. I've definitely never felt pain in a dream before, not without immediately waking up. And I kept not waking up.
Number two: I was also pretty sure I wasn't crazy. I didn't feel paranoid or confused about anything. I knew exactly where I was and who these people were. No matter how crazy the situation seemed, I was still me. Even if I didn't understand how I got here. . .
But, speaking of which, that reminded me of what happened right before I woke up. Hadn't the Oracle spoken to me from the game? It had said something about wanting to see me do a better job, right? But, I had thought it was talking about being a better friend in general, so why was I inside Keira, of all things? Did this mean it wanted to see me prove that I could be a better version of Keira? I narrowed my eyes as I actually felt myself start to get sleepy. Guess that meant it was time to advance the story.
Well, you know what, Mr. Oracle? Challenge accepted! I thought with determination before I nodded off once again.
I tried looking for one, but I wasn't able to find any other self-insert replacement stories for this franchise. At least, not concerning Keira's character, anyway. So even though this is technically going to be a retelling, I hope it offers a bit of a fresh take!
Also, the cover art is my own personal redesign! :)