"An AU after the events of Jak 3. Jak is on edge after dealing with council members to restore Haven City. Stress causes him to transform into Dark Jak, and Keira must use her new green eco sage powers to help him calm down. Afterwards, she explains how she devised a plan to harness the last known eco sources in order to destroy all Metal Heads once and for all."

*Note: These events take place before The Lost Frontier (instead of The Lost Frontier? Since it's not TOTALLY cannon…), but in this story it is assumed that Keira had begun developing her sage powers shortly after the attack from the Dark Makers in Jak 3. Not exactly accurate but… whatever. :p

Contemplation

Jak sighed with his usual low, grumbly growl. He was exhausted by the day's events. He had been helping in the rebuilding of Haven City ever since the Metal head attacks had stopped and the Dark Makers had been defeated, and there was a lot of talk of rebuilding that was done today. Jak was more a person of action than he was with words, but there were plenty of meetings he had to attend regardless.

Ashelin and Torn were best at coming up with ideas and discussing them amongst the group, which was unsurprising since they had both played a major part in the Underground resistance movement and were adept at organization and politics. Plus, they had lived in the 'future' world their whole lives and understood how it operated, something that Jak was still trying to get the hang of sometimes.

As a Baroness herself, Ashelin was well versed in the politics of the city and what was expected of her and how she expected others to conduct themselves. She was a true leader amongst the council. Torn led physical military troops alongside her to push back still invading Metal Heads. Tess provided information on the newest gun technology she had developed and how best to use them to combat incoming Metal Heads. Samos provided his sagely wisdom and often made suggestions that provided a good middle ground for the entire group to decide upon. But to Jak, these decisions took forever to make. He definitely had a right to be involved in these decisions, especially since the city was his now as the heir of Mar. The problem was that he felt more obligated to make these decisions…it was a lot of pressure to be put under. Especially since just a few months ago the city had banished him to the Wastelands, but now wanted him to help restore the city all of a sudden. He was supposed to be their king… but he didn't feel like a king at all. Not to them or himself.

Most days Jak didn't mind the long meetings; it was nice to relax physically for once, but he still missed the action and adventure him and Dax were used to having on a daily basis. But… he never felt right about the city. He didn't feel… a part of it. He had no connection to this place, and if he did, it was never for a good reason.

He was thrown into the future through a time rift, where he was separated from his friends for over two years. He was considered a freak for his ability to channel eco, and the city had no problem in still thinking that way about him. Thanks to Veger, Haven citizens had a lot of nasty perceptions about him that still surfaced quite often, and made tensions rise during official council meetings.

Jak shook his head – enough mindless thinking. It wouldn't do him any good. Not right now anyways. It was dusk, and he was tired from listening to city officials blabber on about the same issues they'd been blabbering on about for months now.

Thump.

He could feel the darkness rising up inside of him from the stress of the day, and he began tasting a bitterness in his mouth. His pulse quickened, and he could feel the thickness of his blood pumping through his veins. Thanks to his dark eco injections from Baron Praxis two years back, he had a lot of trouble controlling his anger when his emotions ran high. Although he had gone through some extensive training with Samos to quell the darkness if it ever rose, it was still something he was not used to and secretly still had trouble controlling, even with the balance of light eco within him gifted to him by the oracles.

He tried to shake off his dark temperament and began walking briskly from the temporary Headquarters set up in the new part of Haven city towards his private quarters. Jak was ready to unwind from a mentally exhausting day, and with the way his heart was racing, he needed to hurry home.

. . . . . . .

Intrusion

Jak, slumped over from fatigue and a far walk, tiredly walked up an incline to reach his door. His breathing was slow, and he felt light headed. He was prepared to flop onto his bed when all of a sudden, when he was a few feet from the door, his ears perked up and twitched. He immediately became alert, grounding his feet and tightening his fists. Jak noticed that the door had been left open slightly, as if someone was already inside. His instincts were right when he heard a small flutter of papers ruffling, and then a small pitter-patter of feet on the floor. His senses sharpened, and he could definitely sense a presence.

With the threat of danger, the dark eco welled up inside of him, ready to protect himself at all costs. The threat sounded minimal, but suddenly the darkness began swelling and went beyond Jak's control. He threw his head back as an uncontrollable surge of energy rushed through his veins; pain shot through his arms and head. His vision instantly became blurry and clouded. Without thinking, he rushed into the building to face his intruder.

The dark eco brought out animalistic qualities within Jak; he bared his teeth and let out something akin to a roar. Unable to see in the dimly lit room, he bared his claws and looked around at break-neck speed. His pupils dilated and became blacker than black as they finally focused on his target, a shadow to the left. He lunged forward and -

A yelp erupted from the corner of the room. His dark side had already begun taking control and Jak faded in and out of a transformation…

"Jak, it's me!"

Upon recognizing the high-pitched voice, Jaks heart stopped. He lowered his hands, not fully realizing that they were up in the first place. His vision began to return, and on the floor below him was….

"Keira…?"

Jak stumbled backwards. He was terrified. His dark transformation had taken hold of him, and he hadn't even realized…

The Baron's words rung inside Jak's ears, "The dark eco inside you will eventually kill you, Jak. Its destructive effects cannot be stopped. Once you are in its chaotic grip, it will not let you go until you slide into insanity. Turn yourself in. And I will kill you mercifully and painlessly. It is your only way out."

Jak clutched his head, accidentally digging long black nails into his scalp. The pain was enough to bring him to for a moment, and he regained control of the dark eco momentarily. His eyes widened with fear at the realization that he had slipped into insanity, if only for a few seconds. Panic gripped him and he frantically tried thinking of something, anything to drown out the trauma that the Baron had inflicted on him. His heart thumped hard against his chest and his mouth went dry.

"He's gone, he's gone, he's gone…" Jak kept repeating to himself.

"You're okay; you're alive. Nothing happened. She's safe, she's okay. He's gone, you're okay…"

In his confusion, Jak fell back into his desk, making papers fly off as he tried to catch his fall. Twisting sharply to create the most distance he could between himself and Keira, he instinctively threw a lamp between them so she couldn't come any further. He frantically scooted through the smashed glass and weakly crawled backwards onto his bed and pressed his back up against the familiar hardness of the concrete walls.

Keira had stumbled backward onto the floor the second Jak lunged near her. She knew better than to be close to him when he had changed – there was no telling what he could do. He was absolutely unpredictable, and had no rational thought present in that form at all. But seeing him so close to her in distance, and seeing him changed with no warning beforehand had taken her aback. She gasped and started pulling herself up the second she saw that Jak had scuttled far away.

Brushing her clothes off, Keira started desperately explaining her presence, "Jak, I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have startled you like that, and I didn't know where you were so I – "

Keira stopped once she had had a few seconds to glance across the room and assess the situation. Jak's desk had shifted from organized and neat to a muddled mess within seconds; papers and writing utensils scattering the floor, smashed glass sprinkled in between... She lifted her head and looked towards him, and realized that Jak was struggling. She could physically see he was struggling – dark eco was flickering off of his body like a live wire.

"Oh no…" She thought. Her heart sunk deep inside of her.

Darkness

Jak was huddled between the two concrete walls, with his fists crossed tightly across his chest and legs, and his fingers interlocked solidly. His cerulean blue eyes were glazed over, now appearing dull and emotionless. Even in the darkness she could see that his forehead was glistening with a cold sweat. Keira noticed Jak's chest, popping in and out at irregular rates – his breathing was ragged and shallow, and she could see blackness in his fingertips still even from a few feet away.

Her heart quickened and she knew he was in limbo between himself and the darkness. Acting quickly and without another word, she slowly stepped towards him, glass crunching beneath her feet. She ignored its sharp pangs in her soles, and continued moving at a steady crawl towards him. Not wanting to shock him any more than she already had, she slowly lowered her hands and knees on his bed and shifted her delicate hands behind his back. She practically had to peel him off of the wall, but eventually gently helped him sit upright on his bed, hoping to calm his nerves a little and help him to relax.

Jak was incredibly anxious, uneasy at best, and his mind went numb. His thought process was now minimal, primitive even, and he couldn't process his actions or thoughts right now. Even so, Jak knew he trusted Keira, and he knew she would help. And that was all he needed to focus on right now. He let her do what she needed to, his body inadvertently cooperating, as he focused on calming the darkness within him.

"Keira….Help…Please…Scared…Move, move, move…Can't…Move…Help…" Panic seized Jak and he no longer was able to move. His body became motionless, and he himself became stoic. Jak became lost in his mind, and began succumbing to darkness once again.

Keira slipped her body behind his, realizing how it was difficult for him to maneuver in this moment. Keira soothed Jak with slow strokes of her hands running along his back. She didn't know what to do in this moment. Well, there was one thing… should she try it…? She might not have any other option; Jak was calm now, but she might only have moments or even seconds until that changed again. She knew from her studies, her father, and her experiences with Jak that dark eco was completely unpredictable. And this time, Jak's change was bad. Really bad. Keira felt almost poisonous just being beside him.

Calming her mind, she took a deep breath. She couldn't wait for help, and she didn't want to know what would happen if she left Jak alone right now. Daxter wasn't around either…

Keira knew she wasn't an experienced sage, yet, but… she had to try.

Keira vaguely knew how to combat dark eco with green eco, and mentally pulled the green energy from within herself. She summoned a small but bright orb into her palm. It glistened with a deep emerald colour and swivelled like water back and forth between her hands. Its intense light created a glow on Jak's back; Keira could see his every breath he took, and every muscle contraction now that it was highlighted by the darkness. She could especially see his shoulders twitching from the stress of the eco build up…

She felt nervous, but knew she had to act now. With a sharp inhale she began channeling green eco into Jak's pressure points along his sides in order to bring balance to him once again. Keira felt the green eco surge within her as it came into contact with the dark eco, and she winced as her fingertips felt as though she had dipped them in fire. She felt an enormous pressure travel up her arms as the dark eco began transferring into her body from Jak's. She wanted to pull away, but her strength and willpower overcame her as she patiently waited for the healing effects of the green eco to kick in.

Jak needed her help right now more than she needed to not feel pain.

She gritted her teeth and pressed on, ignoring the dull ache she now felt in her hands and forearms as the dark eco began crawling up Keira's veins.

Healing

They waited in the calming silence for a few minutes. Neither of them spoke. They hardly breathed.

Keira was focusing too hard; she didn't have time to breathe, let alone think. Her heart was racing; what had she gotten herself into? Maybe she wasn't ready for this… His power was overwhelming. Her body felt weak from the intensity of its power, and what's worse, she sensed she was losing capability of her own.

A droplet of sweat slipped off her forehead and splashed onto her hands. Looking down, she saw them becoming abnormally pale, almost an alabaster white. Fear gripped her, and she pushed harder. She couldn't lose Jak, and she couldn't lose herself.

Hang on, Jak…

The battle of dark and green eco raged on for what seemed like hours to Keira, but was really only a few minutes. It took all of her strength to use her abilities to concentrate on segregating the dark eco from Jak's vitals, head and heart, and did what could best be described as 'locking' it away somewhere in his chest. Immediately, she felt the presence of darkness diminish.

Keira suddenly gasped and gulped in air. She didn't realize until now that she had been panting heavily from all the effort she was exerting. Her hands felt clammy and her thighs were numb from leaning on them so hard. Her blue-green hair fell in front of her face, practically drenched with sweat.

Keira saw Jak within her vision, and innately knew she had to refocus herself. She righted her body and knew the worst was over. Although the darkness was 'sealed' away, Jak's mental state was still unhinged. She would have to channel her eco directly into his body, this time to essentially connect everything together again. Jak's body essentially was pieced together, but dark eco was what took it apart. She had to reconnect the puzzle pieces so that he could become himself again.

Keira then moved her fingers softly to Jak's temples, and he immediately felt a wave of calm spread throughout his mind. Without thinking, Keira kissed the back of his head and affectionately nuzzled her pointed nose into his soft blonde hair. Her own mind felt connected to his, and she could feel the intensity of the pain he was going through. She cringed at how dark her own heart felt, and her eyes brimmed with tears knowing that Jak was going through an experience worse than what she could ever know - even though she was feeling a portion of his pain second hand through eco exchange.

Her forehead began dripping with sweat again from the effort she was exerting by funnelling green eco with something so toxic…

A dim green light flickered from Jak's backside as eco began flowing evenly into his body and circulating properly. It was as though Keira's very affection seeped into Jak, and he slowly began to feel at peace… he regained motion and was able to gather his thoughts. The positive healing effects of the green eco began working its powers, and Jak started reaching mental clarity.

Keira's emerald green eyes lit up as she felt Jak absorbing the eco's power, and she breathed a sigh of relief. She could feel the dark eco flowing away from his mind, and burying itself once again into the dark recesses of his heart. Jak was still slightly shaking, but Keira was confident in her abilities to help him regain himself.

Keira began channeling her green eco energy even more directly into him now, focusing on balancing the mixture of several eco energies within his body. His physical relaxation spurred confidence within her, and soon she began sensing the presence of light eco within his body appearing once again. As she felt his tense muscles beginning to relax, she began pondering the severity of this situation… Keira had become used to Jaks routine of calming his dark presence, but she should have known better than to trigger it like this… Guilt washed over her, and she stared straight ahead blankly wondering how she could ever make it up to him.

Suddenly out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of white. She noticed that the whiteness in his hair was still shrivelling away near his roots, and she could see the dark, swirling traces of his skin fading and flushing with deep pink once again. She inhaled lightly so as not to startle him when she noticed that his pulse had returned back to normal, and his color had returned. She fell back and almost smacked the back of her head against the concrete wall, realizing she had become extremely lightheaded, and had used up a lot of energy trying to combat the dark eco with her own, still very weak green eco powers. She was still new to being a sage, and realized she had taken a huge risk taking on so much power with so little training…

Her thoughts were disrupted when she heard Jak mutter under his breath, "Keira, I'm so sorry…"

Jak slid forward and let his legs fall off the edge of the bed now, hanging his head in what looked like shame. He folded his hands loosely together on his lap across his spread out legs. His mind was still recovering from the shock of the incomplete transformation, and how his actions could have had very serious consequences.

After a breath, Keira whispered softly to him, "No Jak, I'm the one who's sorry. I didn't think I would startle you like that…I… I shouldn't have been in your room; this is all my fault..."

She flicked her short blue bangs away from her face, unsure of what to say to Jak next. She had invaded his privacy, and she felt a twinge of guilt that her rush to gather information had overrun her intellect on Jak's…delicate… situation.

Suddenly, Keira felt light-headed. She inhaled sharply and tried to shake the feeling, but it kept getting worse. Before she could speak any more, her vision blurred on the sides. Confused, Keira tried to refocus her vision. She tried focusing on Jak, his face now turned to her. His mouth was moving in slow motion.

Everything faded to black.

Wake Up

Keira gasped sharply and bolted upright.

"Hey, whoa, easy there Keira…" a gruff voice said.

Keira clutched her head, which was throbbing with a dull pulse.

"Ughh…" she moaned. "What happened…?"

"You passed out."

Keira looked over to see that the voice was coming from Jak. Her panic subsided and she breathed easy now that she had regained her surroundings.

"How long was I out for…?"

"Only for a few minutes; you used up a lot of energy." He scolded her.

Keira was about to protest, but she suddenly became aware that she was clutching not on to her bed as she had expected, but some very strong, toned muscles.

"Uhhh… Jak…" His ears perked up and he looked down at her.

"Why…am I in your lap?" She asked slowly.

She saw now that she was in between his legs, and her head was resting on his chest. Her heart fluttered slightly at the thought of being so close to him… He usually wasn't so touchy. But he was warm, and his tunic was soft, and she was too exhausted to move by herself still. So… she didn't move.

"Uhh…" the question startled Jak.

Why was she in his lap?It wasn't like him to be so affectionate…but with Keira, he didn't even give it a second thought. Suddenly she was falling, and suddenly she was in his arms. And suddenly, he was stroking her hair, and thinking about how he always loved that crazy yakow lick she had in her bangs…

Wait… what? What was WRONG with him! This was Keira he was thinking about here…

Quickly, Jak nervously bluffed, "I just, uh, you know… you fell, so… I grabbed you…I guess?"

That was terrible.

Well. This just became very awkward. Especially since Jak realized that he had essentially been cuddling her this entire time. His arms were wrapped around her delicate frame, and she was sitting in between his legs for Mars sake. He didn't want Keira to get the wrong idea, and he definitely didn't want her to think he was a pervert, or worse!

But… if she did, wouldn't she have moved already…?

"Uhm… is this… okay…?" Jak awkwardly asked.

Keira tilted her head back to look at him. His heart fluttered when he saw her deep green eyes looking at him.

"Uhm, yeah… yeah, this is okay Jak." She smiled.

They both nervously fidgeted, not knowing where to go next. Both of them didn't realize that there was a possibility of romantic feelings involved for each other. They had never gotten this far. They knew this feeling when they were children, but they had to grow up very fast in a very short amount of time. Now, they weren't children. There wasn't time for playing or feelings, let alone privacy for them to ever have a chance to figure anything out when you were focused on saving the world. Plus, they had changed… a lot.

They sat together in silence for a few moments, their thoughts overwhelming them.

Jak breathed. It was true – they weren't children any more. They had changed. But if Keira could still be near him, after everything she had seen him do…

Jak tentatively brushed a strand of hair that had loosely fallen in front of Keira's face, from that goofy yakow lick of hers. She gripped onto his arms and rubbed her thumbs across his knuckles. They relaxed into each other's bodies and all at once….acted naturally together. The awkwardness dissipated and their tensions about each other floated away.

They eventually mindlessly began to chatter about their day's events, and suddenly it was like they were children again. It was like nothing had changed. Even though so much had changed, at the very core of themselves, they hadn't.

They both knew, without words being said. They shared a deep bond, a connection that was unlike any other. Distance and time had separated them, and yet here they were. Still together, years in the future after a separation from each other for over two years, and then even more when Jak had been banished to the Wastelands. And after all that, they was still here.

They may not be children in age anymore, but they would always be children at heart. They would always be those cheeky children, running amuk in Sandover Village. They would always be those children who spent their days splashing in the water, kicking up sand, throwing rocks at lurker sharks, mercilessly teasing the villagers, exploring new parts of the Forbidden Jungle even when the old man Samos gave them a list of a hundred reasons why not to…

She would always be the adventurous, brilliant mechanic. He would always be the quiet, head-strong trouble maker.

And they were always be meant to be together, Jak realized. It had been so long since they had had a moment like this, but… Jak yearned for more of them. He craved Keira's presence and affection. She had been there for him, through thick and thin. She was a constant in his life - aside from Daxter of course.

But she was definitely the one. She always had been. And it took Jak years to acknowledge that. The realization hit him like a vat of dark eco. He had never loved before, and he didn't know what he was doing…

Keira seemed to read his thoughts though, like she always had, and softly spoke, "I don't know what I'm doing either," She smiled up at him. "But we'll figure it out – together."

Even after all these years, Keira still knew what he was thinking even when he wasn't speaking. It was a blessing and a curse, but it was very reassuring in this moment.

But…this was a lot to take in all at once, and Jak felt overwhelmed by the surge of emotions he had. He had gone from a very dark place to a much lighter one in the span of an hour, and he needed to settle somewhere in the middle.

Keira felt his hesitation and sat up. They tenderly withdrew their hands from one another. Awkwardly smiling at each other, they scooted to separate ends of the bed.

Jak finally broke the silence by saying, "So…" Glancing at the floor and cocking his head, he said,

"Who's going to clean this mess up?"

Time to Explain

As they both swept the last shards of glass up from the floor, Jak realized he still had no answers about Keira's intrusion.

"Hey, wait. Why… why were you in my room anyways?"

Jak was slightly annoyed by the fact that she was able to get in, but he wasn't surprised. With a brain like hers, she could easily by-pass the city's security systems within merely minutes – maybe even faster than Vin could have. She was always sharp and a quick learner, and even future technology didn't faze her quick wit and intellect. Obviously breaking in had to have been for a good reason. And as one of his best friends, he trusted that she did indeed have good intentions. He hated to think this, but after his hard day and now the added stress of a transformation… this better be good.

"Jak, you're going to think I'm crazy, but…"

"Oh, I'm only just supposed to be thinking that now?" He jested.

"HEY!" She pouted back at him.

Keira got off the bed and kneeled in front of Jak. She withdrew a now very squished paper from her back pocket. Her cheeks flushed pink when she realized in all the excitement she had squashed it by sitting on it while consoling Jak, and while he held her. She mumbled an embarrassed apology, and deftly revealed a map of the city.

Confused, Jak cheekily raised an eyebrow to her.

She rolled her eyes in response, "Just listen…"

He smirked fondly, and let her continue.

"Look, here is a map of the new Haven City." She then pulled another paper out, thinner than the last, and put it over top of the map. "And here's one of Sandover Village."

Jak leaned in closer, confused by what he saw, and looked to Keira anticipating a logical explanation. He didn't see what she was getting at so far… but Keira went on,

"For the past few months, I've been trying to recreate the topography of the 'future' Haven City and try to match it with my memory of our 'past' home in Sandover Village, so to speak. From you exploring the ruins of the older Haven City from your time in the Underground, I've been able to piece together key locations, like my father's hut in Dead Town, and match past and future coordinates to one singular map. I created a scale and have done some exploring of the city in my spare time to do my own mapping, but it was still incomplete and there are a lot of areas destroyed from the Metal Head invasion that I won't be able to recreate onto my new map."

She stopped mid explanation and looked to Jak to make sure he was still keeping up with her. His hand was now thoughtfully placed over his mouth and he nodded for her to continue. She nodded back, now moving her hands wildly as she carefully explained.

"So, basically, I have a past map, a future map, and now my new map which is sort of a combination of both. I've been gathering information for months now to try and complete it, but… nothing here is very familiar any more…" She paused, crinkling her brow in contemplative thought, and rested her hands on her hip in a determined fashion.

Jak tiredly raised his hand to his forehead and rubbed his fingers in circles around his eyelids.

"So, what does any of this have with you breaking into my room?" He asked, confused and a little annoyed. It sounded like Keira had it all under control; breaking into his room seemed unnecessary. He had spent his whole day arguing with countless city officials, and he didn't want to end it by doing the same with one of his closest friends…

Keira's heart fluttered nervously, suddenly hoping that her explanation would be good enough for him. She saw the tired expression on his face and knew he needed to hear some good news. She was confident this news was better than good though – this was a game changer. This information was their trump card to getting rid of the Metal Heads, this time for good.

She took a quick shallow breath before shaking her head to rid herself of any negative thoughts surrounding Jak. Maybe that transformation had shaken her more than she initially thought… Never mind that though. Jak was obviously grumpy about everything he had going on right now, and that had nothing to do with her. Even though Jak was different now, more tired and more serious, at the core he was still the same. He respected her and her ideas, and most importantly - he trusted her. The eco had changed him, but he was still Jak. And as heir to Mar… well, she definitely couldn't hide this from him. Not if it meant changing the fate of his city.

With her thoughts sorted clearly, Keira now spoke with more confidence than before, "As an heir to Mar, you inherited all information of the city not accessible to the general public that's kept in the palace's archives. It's only available to people within the palace. The Baron chose to share information with only trusted advisors and leaders, and even then not all of them, and not all information. Even his own daughter – "

Her heart sunk at the mention of Ashelin, knowing Jak had a past with her; but she gulped and pressed on, "never knew everything that he was planning. He was incredibly selective with who knew what."

Keira kept fumbling with the edges of the map, "It's been difficult, but I've been trying to piece together my 'new' map for months now just from public information, but it hasn't been enough – lack of information was the Baron's strategic tactic to keeping citizens under his control while he reigned. Since you're also on the committee dedicated to restoring Haven City, you have recent and updated information on buildings and topography in your possession…"

Jak grinned at her ramblings. He knew she was on a roll and was amused by how quickly words could fall out of her mouth and still be comprehensible.

Keira continued, "I would have snuck into other council members rooms and grabbed similar information, but I knew you'd have less security since you were only given a temporary room until the palace is rebuilt, and you'd also have better information than the others due to your position…"

Keira paused, realizing that her actions were actually quite a gamble. She hadn't even considered how much trouble this could get her into - this information was still restricted to her, after all. It was a risk worth taking though, especially considering how interested Jak looked in the maps she created.

Jak leaned down and carefully grabbed the crumpled, fragile papers. He ran his calloused hands over Keira's scrawlings, and realized how much work this had taken. After reading and considering her notes on the papers, he looked at her and said "You did all this…?"

"Well, the precursors certainly didn't!" She retorted.

Jak cracked up; he forgot how fiery she could be! "With the quality of this work, you'd think they would have!" he commented.

Keira blushed from the compliment, but eagerly started chattering again, "But Jak, the most important thing about the information that I, uh, borrowed…yeah, borrowed! - from you, is that I've mostly completed my map. And with it, I think I've found a solution to get rid of the Metal Heads!" She clenched her fists excitedly and a broad smile grew across her face.

The Plan

Jak's interest was piqued. He stood up, paced away from Keira and glanced at the map. "This is our solution…?"

Her heart pace quickened, knowing that this next sentence was going to change the entire destiny of the outcome of the Metal Head War.

"Jak, I've been able to map all the locations of Mar's weapons, ancient precursor technology from the recent maps, and simultaneously the old eco silos from memory and older maps – the most important ones being the massive silos that Gol and Maia stored on Misty Island."

Keira stood quickly and matched Jak's stance. Excitedly, she continued to explain her idea, "I've discovered that the silos are now under water in dead town from the Metal Head War, but right now they're surrounded by Metal Head Squids. The squids can't access the silos and have no way to open it, and any terrestrial Metal Heads aren't able to make it deep enough under water to even try.

Keira opened her arms widely in excitement and exclaimed, "Jak! There's a whole untapped power source down there just waiting to be harnessed!"

Jak's heart skipped a beat. Could she actually have found a solution to the constant Metal Head invasions…? She was right; as masters of dark eco, Gol and Maia had a lot of it.

Keira stepped closer and grabbed Jak by his broad shoulders, "Jak, with that much eco, we can create more than enough guns, bombs, and armour to equip us more than ten times over! We have more than a fighting chance at destroying remaining Metal Head nests, and retaking all of Haven City! Not to mention have enough left over to finish its reconstruction faster than we've planned!"

"Alright…" He pondered. "So what's the plan?"

Keira continued on, "All we have to do is destroy any aquatic Metal Heads surrounding the silos. With Kor gone, there is no one to lead the Metal Heads, and there's no one to mother their eggs. With their defenses down, and them being weakened from a lack of dark eco, now is the time to strike! If you can give me enough parts and a few days, I can recreate the Titan Suit and we can send a team into the old Misty Island to recover the eco!"

Jak nodded solemly.

Wait… that was it? His reaction was to nod? Not, you know, do a happy dance, cry with joy, or really any other regular thing that people do when they find out that the war to end the world can be stopped?

Now that Keira thought about it though… it did include using dark eco… and lots of it. With his…genetic alterations… the council might not be too happy about Jak being that close to so much power. Even though it could kill him. She shuddered - she didn't want to think about that. The thought of dark eco consuming Jak terrified her. Daxter had been lucky the first time, but most people weren't as lucky their second time, let alone first time. Keira knew Jak was exceptional at channeling energy but… she didn't know how he felt about it after the Baron's injections. Being near such large amounts of such a destructive eco might take a toll on him.

Her arms fell to her sides, and she gripped her left elbow with her hand and looked away, "Jak, I know you might not like this, but we have no other choice, not right now anyways. I really think this is a solution that the whole council can agree upon. Other colours of eco don't exist in this timeline – I'm sure the Baron or someone before him used them all up. That's the only reason why he would turn to dark eco. It's chaotic – "

Jak shifted uncomfortably. Keira winced at her wording, and gave Jak an apologetic look, " – that is, dark eco's nature is chaotic. Look, the point is - with limited supplies of it left here… we have to get to it before someone else does."

Jak was quiet. He was speechless.

He couldn't believe it. The answer was so obvious, so simple. He had been wasting months of his time arguing with city officials and the answer was right in front of him the whole time?! Of course Keira would come up with this – she truly was a genius. He was so baffled by her sheer prowess he didn't know how to formulate words to express his joy to her. He just stood there, unmoving, trying to absorb this glimmer of future victory.

However, Keira thought that Jak's silence was because he was uncomfortable with the amounts of dark eco he'd have to be dealing with. His back was turned to her, and she couldn't read his body language. He was entirely stiff; was he really that upset…?

Trying to convince him how vital this was to the safety of Haven City, Keira piped up, "If we can access the silos and harness its power, we can use ancient precursor technology and destroy all the metal heads! And with that amount of dark eco –"

Keira continued going in depth about the logistics of it; costs, manpower, timeline, the whole works. Jak placed his hands across her mouth when he realized that her brainiac ideas were become jarbled to him as she began thinking out loud.

"Alright, Keira, just, just – oh, for the love of Mar, SHUSH - "

Her lips were squished between his hands. She offered a muffled "Whabft?"

He moved his hands to tilt her face up with a soft grip on her chin "Keira - You're a genius!"

"I know. Wait, I am? Wait, of course I am!"

Jak breathed and whispered, "It's finally over. Keira – " He rushed to her side, "- it's finally over, and it's all thanks to you."

Jaks comment took her by surprise. He's not upset after all then; and he seems excited by her idea!

Jak placed the map down on his desk, and crossed his arms boldly as he stood at attention and jumped into action.

"First things first – you and I present this idea to the council tomorrow. I know we'll have your fathers support in this. He's an incredibly influential member in the council, and very convincing. We'll have Ashelin and Torn's support too, and they'll be able to lead our troops. The long and short of it is, with you and Tess designing our weapons, this war could be over, for good, in a matter of weeks."

Jak stepped forward. "Keira… I can't thank you enough. You're amazing. You're brilliant. "

Jak was overwhelmed with joy and a grin spread across his face as he looked at her in disbelief. Suddenly, Jak embraced her.

Her hands naturally gravitated towards his shoulders, and his to her waist. His hands felt warm along her backside, and Keira gripped the green trails of his now long blonde hair. That connection, that spark, was running strong between them again.

Jak broke the embrace after a few seconds. He awkwardly placed a hand behind his head, "So… with all this war stuff having to wait until tomorrow anyways… want to pick up where we left off…?"

Keira smiled warmly and nodded. Jak grabbed her by the hand, and they sat down side by side on the bed.

"Just so you know Jak, that's a really cheesy pick up line."

"Hey, I thought you said you didn't know what you were doing!"

"Well, I don't, but I've been living here for over two years, and you don't think that at least one guy has tried to hit on me?"

"Oh, well that's more than I thought – "

Keira teasingly punched him, "HEY!"

"Well, did it at least work?"

"Yes, but that's not the point…"

They chuckled and layed down together.

"I guess the lack of a lamp adds to the ambiance, huh Keira?"

"Dammit Jak, can't we just go a MINUTE without your sarcasm!"

"Come on, isn't this romantic enough for you?"

"Pitch black is not exactly what I would call romantic, Jak…"

They giggled at their banter, losing all feelings of stress and thoughts of darkness and war.

And there it was again. That childlike wonder; that spark that lit them both up inside like the world's brightest and purest light eco.

Their teasing and laughing went on all night, until Jak yawned sleepily and rubbed his eyes.

Keira summoned a small green orb to light up the room. They shed their day clothes and embarrassed at how exposed they were, and how easily the small light accentuated their curves and edges, quickly put other night garments on.

Jak offered a hand to her, which she held on to delicately with her own as they laid down for the night. He held her closer, until they got so close that they couldn't quite remember where one body finished and the other began. His strong arms protectively enveloped her. Her thigh was squished in between his, and she breathed easily into his chest. They experienced pure bliss just being in the quiet together, in the cool, dark room.

"By the way…" Jak sleepily mumbled, "Don't think that I didn't feel that kiss before, when I was changing, Keira…"

Keira kept her eyes closed and yawned. "Oh?" She challenged. "And what are you going to do about it?"

He affectionately gave her a quick peck on her forehead.

"Now we're even."

Keira growled, but was too tired to argue. After all, they had a big day ahead of them tomorrow. And after everything that had happened that day, they definitely needed to wind down and rest. They lay there in silence, until the darkness enveloped them and their minds peacefully shut down for the night.

Who knew that the dark could comfort them both so much.