Final chapter! Thanks everyone for your patience and I'm sorry this took so long to finish. Lots of big changes in my life and major changes of fandom… but we're here. Enjoy!

Keira held her breath as more Metal Heads joined the first two at the edge of the hole. Their dark, snarling mass almost blocked out the light. Occasionally one would snap at another, jostling for a better look at their prey, and their growls echoed off the walls of the pit. Keira shrank closer to the wall, her hands scrabbling for a loose rock or something that would make her feel less helpless. Her movements seemed to stir the Metal Heads into a greater frenzy. Without warning, one leapt down towards her with its claws outstretched and jaws open wide.

It landed heavily on the ledge and struggled to gain balance on the narrow lip of rock. Keira took the opportunity to smash her mangled communicator into its face. It scrambled backwards with a roar and lost its footing, its claws scratching helplessly on the rock before it fell. Keira's heart pounded frantically, and her limbs ached with the sudden burst of adrenaline. Her head snapped back up towards the opening, anticipating another attack. But the Metal Heads seemed distracted – some were even turning away. Sudden bursts of gunfire took the rest of them running away from the edge.

Keira strained to listen, but the gunfire sounded muffled from where she was. It was only a few minutes before all sound ceased from above. She waited in agony for a few minutes, afraid to call out case the Metal Heads had killed whoever was up there.

And then someone was calling her name. Once, twice, three times, in a voice raw with fear, but still a voice that she knew.

"Jak, I'm down here!" she yelled.

He immediately appeared at the edge of the pit. "Are you ok?" he called. He looked incredibly relieved to see her, but his voice still held fear in it.

"I'll be fine, but I'm stuck. Can you throw down a rope or something?"

Instead, Jak jumped down and landed gracefully on his feet right next to her, just as if he'd hopped off a zoomer rather than a ten-foot drop. Before Keira could exclaim over it, he pulled her into his arms. She could feel his heart pounding to match hers.

"I thought I was too late," he said, muffled against her neck. "I thought…." His arms tightened around her once and then let her go. "Are you hurt?"

"My ankle, a little. I'll be ok," Keira answered, eager for a change of subject. "How did you find me? I didn't tell anyone where I was going."

"I got back to the city early and I was looking for you. The watchmen saw you leaving HQ and I took a lucky guess." Jak shook his head. "Keira, what the hell were you thinking, coming out here by yourself?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I wanted to see if I could salvage anything from my garage," she snapped. "I needed to get my mind off of – off of… things." She was glad that it was probably too dark to see how red her face had gotten. "How are we supposed to get out of here?"

Jak looked at her for a few seconds, looking like he wanted to say something else, but then he stepped back. "Don't freak out, ok?" He closed his eyes, and then he glowed.

Blue-white light suddenly suffused his whole body, illuminating the pit until Keira had to shield her eyes. When she opened them again, enormous glowing wings unfurled behind him, and he stood regarding her with an aura of deep calm. He held out a hand. "Trust me?" Jak's voice now had a strange, reverberating note to it, but it was still his.

She nodded and took his hand, and he gently put his arms around her. He was warm, but the light radiating from his body gave off a curiously cool sensation. "Hold on to me," he said in her ear. He bent his knees and pushed off the ledge, and Keira felt like she'd left her stomach behind. They were flying.

Her eyes squeezed tightly shut, and she clung tighter around his neck until their feet touched the ground. The coolness disappeared, and when Keira finally opened her eyes again, he was just Jak. He let go of her reluctantly and had an apprehensive look on his face.

"It's light eco," he said quickly. "It helps me balance the dark."

"That was amazing," Keira said, her mind alight with possibilities. "I thought it was all gone after what we found at Gol and Maia's citadel. I mean, this is a huge discovery! I knew you seemed different, more like yourself. And I can't believe you can fly! "

Jak looked relieved. "I was going to tell you about it at the party, but we kind of got interrupted."

Keira's elation fell flat. "Ah, yeah." Here they were, back to oh-so-awkward square one. "Thanks for saving me," she said, not quite looking at him. "We should get back before it gets too dark." She turned around and started to walk carefully toward her zoomer, favoring her injured ankle.

Jak grabbed her arm before she got far. "Wait. Would you stop running from me?"

"If I'm running away, it's because I'm sick of getting hurt," she retorted, pulling her arm away and glaring at him.

To her surprise, Jak turned red to the tips of his ears. "Is this about the kiss with Ashelin? Because that wasn't – "

"I don't want to hear about it!" Keira yelled. "Yes, it's about that, but all the other back and forth bullshit! I can't figure you out. We've gone back and forth so many times and I can't take the whiplash anymore, all right?"

"Will you listen to me for a second? I'm trying to apologize to you!" Jak exploded, fumbling for words and getting even redder. "I've been an ass, things have been so messed up, and then Ashelin, she just… she just sort of came at me and it was a stupid adrenaline thing for both of us. It was a mistake and all I could think about afterwards was how I wish it had been you!"

They stared at each other after his outburst, Jak breathing hard and Keira trying to ignore her pounding heart. "So what are you saying?" she finally asked.

"I'm saying you're right. No more whiplash." Jak abruptly closed the distance between them and kissed her. No hesitation this time, no hovering or slowness or uncertainty. One of his hands pressed to the small of her back, the other came up to cup her cheek. Keira found herself kissing him back, her hands gripping the collar of his shirt to pull him closer. The press of his lips on hers was graceless and heated, clumsy even as their teeth clicked together once or twice, but underneath the rough desperation, there was vulnerability. Keira felt it especially when he drew away to kiss her forehead, the way his hands shook just a little where they rested on her back.

"Look, I suck at this stuff," he mumbled, "but you… I don't know, you make me want to keep trying."

"We've been kind of stupid, haven't we?" Keira said breathlessly, running her fingers along Jak's shirt collar.

"What do you mean?"

"To wait this long." Before Jak could answer, Keira pulled his collar down until his lips crashed against hers again. He groaned and tangled both hands in her hair, kissing her over and over again until she felt half drunk with pleasure.

They only stopped when Keira realized that the sun had set completely. "We should probably go," she said, reluctantly drawing back. Jak kissed her one more time and then ran over to his zoomer.

"I'll race you back," he called, revving the engine.

Keira laughed and hopped onto her own ride, not waiting for him to count down. She took off through the city, hearing Jak yelling in protest behind her. Once they reached the more populated, lit-up areas, she glanced back to see him catching up to her, and he was laughing.

She beat him back to HQ with seconds to spare, but Jak didn't seem in the mood to be a poor loser. In fact, he seemed very willing to give her a victory kiss, and another, and another.

"We ok?" he asked, looking sidelong at her as they climbed the stairs and waited for the doors to open.

Keira squeezed his hand. "We're going to be more than ok."

End ~

Thank you to all who have reviewed and stuck with me for all these years. Your support has meant everything to me 3