Loving the Past and the Present (Revised)

Here we are with chapter two!


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For the past couple of weeks Sasha and the boy got closer. The woman still didn't know the name of the small child, but The Shadow dismissed it when she reported to him. The Underground Leader seemed content enough with the progress his elite member had made and left her alone to deal with the child and asked to have a monthly report on the boy's progress as well as to make sure he stayed safe. She still didn’t know what made her small ward so important, but the woman stuck to her assignment.

Sasha developed a basic way for her to understand the boy after she figured he was a mute due to a traumatic event. Nothing really eventful happened during these almost peaceful times that required Sasha to be away from the little one for very long. She still thought that her talents were better used else where, but dutifully cared and protected her charge. In that time the dark skinned operative began to consider him to be her little boy, then her little brother, and then something else, a something she couldn't explain. She taking a stroll with the little one and her friend Kor when trouble sprouted up.

A stranger with greenish blond hair wearing a blue top and a pair of tan pants with a strange orange animal that talked came down the road. His eyes were a deep blue color that held intelligence and barely contained rage and anger. Sasha had never seen a young man so handsome before and never had she heard so much talking from an animal. It was then the woman notice she had stopped and they started to head toward their direction.

"You two look like you're reasonably smart. Where am I?" The stranger bit out as he stalked up to be face to face with Kor.

"Well, my angry friend," Kor began as he wiped away the dust the clung to the front of his dark blue robe. "You are in Haven City. Where he Baron rules with an iron grip."

"I was just a guest in the good Baron's dungeon."

“A nasty place to be. But whether inside a cell or the city, we are the prisoners of the Baron. Walls surround us and cage us from the outside world." Kor finished sadly. Hoping down from his perch upon his friend's shoulder, the orange rat motioned to the kid, who hid behind Sasha’s black leather pants leg.

"Who’s the kid?"

"We don't know. I found him wandering the streets and my friend here, Sasha, took responsibility of him. But we do know that he is very important." The old man explained as he waved over at Sasha who had been quietly studying the newcomers the whole time. She focused her green eyes to meet the gaze of the taller one who had the beautiful blue eyes.

Her breath caught in her throat now that she had a closer look at the former prisoner. His eyes held so much hate and anger, but deeper behind those strong emotions was a sweet kindness that left Sasha in awe. She could feel his blue gaze study her as well and some of that anger faded from his eyes. The stranger took in her dark navy blue hair held back behind a green headband, her dark unblemished skin, the vibrant green color of her eyes, the form fitting purple long-sleeve belly shirt and the black leather pants that hugged her hips and legs, the belt around her waist and the well-crafted brown boots on her feet.

The woman reminded him of his childhood friend, Kiera, with the way she stood and the gleam of defiance in her expressive eyes. And yet, this Sasha person was very different from the mechanic. One big difference was the skin color. Kiera was pale, while the female before him was dark, resembling a light brown color. Overall, Sasha was very attractive considering he hadn’t seen a woman in over two years. The stranger wondered if perhaps she might be willing to entertain him for a while, but he just shook his head as the old man continued to talk.

“My name is Kor. The child could be the lost heir to the throne and if that were so, then we would no longer be prisoners under the Baron’s rule.”

The boy shifted closer to the orange animal out of curiosity but moved back slightly when said animal jerked a finger his way. “You’re talking about this scuff of a kid?”

The old man was going to answer when the sound of military boots heading their way caused him to widen his eyes in shock. "Speaking of prisoners, we better get a move on!" Kor exclaimed as he tried to wobble away from the oncoming Krimzon guards.

"Halt! By the order of his Eminence, the Baron Praxis, everybody here is under arrest for the suspicion of harboring underground fugitives. Surrender and Die." A Hellcat guard followed by other guards stood at the exit to the dead end alley.

"Uh… Excuse me, don't you mean surrender OR die?!" The otsel protested loudly.

"So the Baron wishes to have us arrested for the suspicion of harboring fugitives? I'm flattered, but I have an agenda to follow." Sasha stated coldly as she headed with the little one to exit, but paused when the soldiers raised their weapons.

"You will see the Baron and I'm here to make sure you do." Spoke what the female guessed the leader.

"Kor would you please take the little one. It would seem that I must take care of some annoying pests." Sasha handed the boy to Kor before turning back to the leader with a chilling glare. This was not what she had in mind when she agreed to take a stroll with her older friend.

"But Sasha there are too many for you to deal with by yourself." Kor protested as he took the little one with his free hand. The old man was right, there was no way for her to fight the guards in front of them or the ones that started to drop down from a Hellcat cruiser the female didn’t remember noticing. As much as the woman hated to admit it she needed help; her green eyes rested on the tense strange man and his furry companion.

"Hey stranger,” He looked in her direction. “You got something against the Baron?" Sasha asked as she slowly stepped back until shoulder-to-shoulder with the taller one.

"Oh... Baby, I did love a woman in leather," The orange animal gazed upon the black material that was stretched tight over muscled legs, thighs, and most of all a cute and almost round butt.

"Yeah, I got a problem with him," Answered the stranger.

"I'll make you a deal: Help me fight these annoying insects and I'll take you to person who can help you get back at the Baron. So, do we have a deal?" The Underground member had a pretty good feeling that they were going to fight, at least the taller one was, by how his blue eyes darkened when she mentioned the Baron.

"Deal." The taller one answered and lowered into a fighting stance.

"Good." Sasha reached inside one of her belt pockets to pull out a thick steel pin sized stick. She pressed a hidden button on in the middle feeling the stick elongate into her custom built staff before she gripped the heavy weapon in both hands and rushed the group in front of her.

'These guards are no match for me.' Sasha thought as she swung the staff around in a wide circle.

The soldiers, who were caught off guard by the boldness of the dark skinned woman, didn’t have time to react to the heavy and long weapon that knocked most off their feet. The ones that were still standing tried to fire off some shots, but Sasha was quick with her staff as she batted the gun away from one soldier’s hands, breaking the bones there, and used the other end of her weapon to rearrange the guts of the soldier that had snuck up behind her. The training she had put her body through was paying off as she dodged laser fire. Soon, two more Hellcat soldiers landed on their backs when Sasha twirled her staff before slamming the length of the rod on top of their armor causing hairline cracks to appear in the red material.

Sasha finished off the last of her group loving the sound of her steel staff as it cut through the air. Once she had made sure that all the soldiers were either dead or incapacitated, the female operative decided to check if her new ally needed any help. The sight is not what she expected.

“Jak, buddy, are you ok?” The furry animal questioned as he gripped the metal shoulder plate that acted as his perch.

Jak panted heavily as he felt something dark and powerful surge through him. Something wanted to be let out. “Something’s happening to me… I can’t control it!”

The taller stranger suddenly gave a loud cry before transforming into a dark eco monster, evident by the sparks of purple coming from his body. As Sasha gazed upon this creature, she felt a chill run down her spine. His skin had turned a pasty pale coloring and all of his upper body bugled with muscle, both eyes had turned completely obsidian while his hands grew long black claws and two horns had erupted from his grayish-white hair. After all the guards were killed, the stranger changed back to his original form holding his hand to his head from the aftermath.

"Amazing," Sasha pressed the hidden button once more and the staff retracted back to its small size. The dark skinned woman replaced the stick back in her belt pocket as she came to stand next to the strangers again. "You will be a great asset to our cause. The Shadow could use a fighter like you. Hmm... Tall, dark, and dangerous, what a most opportune combination for us, it is one I haven’t seen in quite some time." Sasha complimented with a grin.

She walked leisurely over to Kor and the young boy kneeling down to embrace the hug that would ensure the boy that she was safe. When he knew that his protector was safe, the child released her neck so that she could stand. "Kor, you better get going incase some more guards decide to show up and actually put you in prison. I’ve got things covered here.”

"Yes, it wouldn't a place I'd want to go." With that Kor wobbled off, with his cane clicking on the ground.

Sasha turned back to her new allies, “Thanks for your help. Wait, I secure us a zoomer. Little one, stay close to them, I will be only a moment.”

The female operative jogged to the entrance to the dead end alley rounding the corner and disappearing from sight. Jak and his companion looked at each other before looking at the little kid who wrung his hands nervously with a worried look on his face. True to her word, Sasha returned shortly after in a two-seat tarnished-green zoomer. She brought the empty side of the medium-sided hovercraft to a halt alongside the child and the stranger, who took a step back thinking that the woman would accidentally hit him.

"Hop in, and if you don’t mind, would you hand me the child?" Sasha made sure to put the vehicle in park as Jak picked up the rather lightweight boy. The dark skinned woman leaned over the seat to take her ward, trying to ignore the small jolt of electricity she felt when her bare fingers brushed against the stranger’s bare fingers.
Sasha gently placed her now happy boy on her lap knowing that being away from her for too long tended to make him worry. She felt the zoomer shift at the extra weight being added on the other side. Once they sat down, Sasha gripped the steering handle tightly in her hands releasing the parking brake before hitting the accelerator that launched them into the maximum speed the craft would go. The woman was grateful that the hovercraft she had stolen was medium-sized, a well-balance between speed and defense.

"So, why did you offer to help us," Asked the darker stranger, the one that caught Sasha's eye.

"I noticed how your body seemed to tense when Kor and the guard mentioned the Baron. So I assumed you had a bad date with him and you'd like to get back at him. As Kor introduced earlier, my name is Sasha. I am an elite member of the Underground."

At their confused looks, Sasha explained in detail, "A rebel group who wish nothing more than to dethrone The Baron Praxis. And this is the little one."
The Underground member finished as she took a series of left and right turns while expertly avoiding citizens, Hellcat guards, and their cruisers. Luckily for them, the soldiers they had defeated in the alley hadn’t alerted the whole core of Krizmon guards or flying wouldn’t be as easy as it was now.

"The name’s Daxter and this is my sidekick Jak." The orange animal named Daxter introduced from his perch on Jak’s shoulder.

"A pleasure to meet the both of you. May I ask what happened back there Jak?" Sasha questioned her long navy blue hair fluttering in the breeze though her green bandana kept the strands from flying into her face.

"I have no idea," He brought a hand to his head as though he was expecting to feel the horns that had grown out of his skull when he had transformed. "The Baron pumped me with dark eco."

"WHAT?! And you survived?! Amazing indeed. Maybe this was the project that he mentioned about and the reason why the city was low on dark eco…"

"Alright toots, what's with the surprised tone?" Daxter raised an orange and yellow eyebrow as he held on tighter to his partner’s shoulder when a particular turn threatened to send him flying in the worse of ways.

"Dark eco is very hard to find nowadays and we knew the Baron was planning something big with the stuff, but we didn't know exactly what that plan was. Going on what happened in the alley, it would seem that the Baron was using the dark eco to make a new type of soldier and last I heard about it, there were no survivors.”

Sasha gave a side glance to her passengers. “Interesting that you survived, congratulations are in order. But, would that be the reason why you want to get back at the Baron?"

Jak looked puzzlingly at their ally, "How did you know?"

"Your body language reveals all Jak. And if I had been pumped full of dark eco, I'd want to get back at the Baron for putting me through hell too. Nearly there,"

"Why are you after the Baron?"

"Well Jak, the Baron took everything from me. My father, my mother, and my life at the age of 6. I vowed revenge and began training. I put my body through various trainings and had some hired-guns teach me what they knew. I push my body to its limits and beyond. Torn was surprised when I came to him at the age of 14. By that time, I started picking up new talents such as making and customizing my own weapons. The staff I used earlier is of my own design. I also developed a knack for handling, fixing, and making little gadgets and gizmos. At first, Torn didn't want to take me because I was too young. I asked him to at least give me a test to prove myself and I passed with flying colors. It was then I became a member of the Underground and I've been with the rebel group for about 6 years now."

"Uh... Who is Torn?" Daxter questioned hopping down from his perch on Jak's shoulder to land on his bent knee.

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That's chapter two and I must say that it's pretty good.