Reconnect

Keira Hagai found herself alone in the stadium garage, rearranging the wires inside a broken zoomer that was brought in for repairs. Her shiny green eyes spotted the culprit for the damage within the wiring, an old screw with a stripped head which was sitting at an angle, catching the wire and causing the engine to lose accleration when moving. "No wonder the zoomer could only move in bursts, that screw's damaged the accelrator." Keira exclaimed in her mind, grabbing a magnetic screwdriver to try and untighten the botched up screw.

With a firm grip, she managed to unscrew it. The damage on the wire was salvagable at best, could be recycled for one of her inventions. "I'll replace the whole wiring and install with a new screw." She thought as she stood up to look at one of her old blueprints she had memorised from Sandover Village before leaving through the rift machine.

Suddenly she felt a presence behind her, she swiftly grabbed the closest wrench. "Who's there!" She shouted, afraid to open the curtain at first until a familiar voice spoke calmly.

"It's just me Keira." Ashlein said as she opened the curtain. She could see the tension in the mechanic's body calm down, noticing the wrench in her hand. "I take it you were expecting someone else?" She asked, crossing her arms.

Keira placed the wrench back on the table, sighing before taking a seat. "Can't be too careful. How are you Ashlein?" She scratched the back of her head awkwardly.

The Baroness grabbed another seat opposite her, "I'm alright. . . I came by because I owe you an apology. I'm sorry about the fight before we headed off to Kras. And about kissing Jak too." Ashlein's eyes met Keira, who at first looked angry, but was actually relieved with her. "Jak's not at fault. . . I pushed it and should've just hugged him instead. I-"

"Ashlein. . ." Keira interuppted, "You don't need to apologise. Jak talked with me about it. We weren't even together back then, but he told me because he was so worried about upsetting me. And you know what? Yeah I was upset and a little angry, but I realised how much it affected him."

Ashlein sat up, "He's been through too much. . . If I had known about my father's experiments, I would've did everything I could to stop it. A part of me feels responsible for what Erol did to him." The name brought a sour memory for Keira.

When they first met, she once thought of Erol as a smart, brave, and even the most handsome captain of the Krimson Guard at one point. Unbeknownst to Keira, when Erol wasn't flirting or flaunting his racing ability, he was torturing Jak with malicious joy. When the truth came out, she felt an overwhelming pang of guilt for not believing Jak. But after everything, Jak never held it against her for not knowing what he went through.

"Even after what he went through, he forgave me for almost falling for Erol's charm. I don't deserve him. . ." Keira's eyes began to water. This prompted the Baroness to move out of her seat, she placed a caring hand on her shoulder.

Ashlein gave a small smile of assurance, "Now that's a load of bull. You bring out the best in him and he, you. You've both been through so much, but one thing that hasn't stopped is your care and love for each other. I'm only starting to understand that feeling with Torn, and he's changed me for the better."

Keira wiped away her tears. Without hesitation she grabbed Ashlein into a friendly hug. "I'll do whatever it takes to help Jak and protect him. . . Just as you do for Torn and the others. Please Ashlein, will you teach me to fight?" Her question made Ashlein look at her in surprise.

"It won't be easy Keira. You sure about this?"

The Mechanic nodded, "Absolutely Ashlein. If it means I can protect those I love and myself, then the struggle will be worth it. But can we keep it a secret from Jak for now? I know he's protective, but I wanna show him that he's not the only badass in this world!"

Ashlein smiled brightly as the two had reconnected as friends, and also looked forward to teaching her the art of combat and how to fight. "We'll make you one hell of a soldier Keira. On that, you have my word."

End of Story: Reconnection

Author's Notes:

Many speculate how Jak and Keira got back together despite Jak 3's ending with Ashlein. In Canon it's stated they went back to their respectable partners after the story. I interpret that Ashlein and Keira did argue/fight, but had patched things up.

( Also Keira's original VA was absent, hence why we see less of her in Jak 3 despite her critical importance as a whole. Thankfully Jak X helped in bringing Keira back with more confidence and a firey attitude. )

Until next time folks!