Chapter 1 - A Day to Remember

Balls of fire rained down from the cloudy red sky as the ground erupted in columns of dirt and rock. Nothing but destruction could be seen for miles.[br]
---[br]
“Are you ok?” Lani asked the dirty faced boy as they ducked down behind a boulder. He nodded in silence. Lani peered out over the rock checking to see if everything was safe to move on. She turned back to the kid. “You’ve done a great job holding out for this long. When the coast is clear, I’m going to need you to run as fast as you can ok? We’re almost there.”[br]
A small floating machine gun soared through the air over them scanning the area with its motion sensors.[br]
“Get down!” Lani said, pushing the kid’s head down and shielding him as the gun began to fire. The bullets sent up fragments of rock and covered them in dust and dirt. Lani felt a sudden stinging in her left hand as the bullets struck her, the warm crimson liquid flowing down her arm. She bared the pain to keep the kid from getting injured as well. A cloud of dust encompassed them causing the gun to lose sight of its target. [br]
It flew off into the distance, leaving the two behind. Lani grabbed the kid’s hand and broke into a run as bullets showered down on them again. [br]
In the distance was a little broken down house. Someone ran out of the building and hid out of sight behind a rock. Lani, with the kid trailing not far behind her dropped down behind a nearby rock.[br]
“Take this kid and keep him safe.” Lani said to them hastily. “I’ll lead them away from here and find Jak.” [br]
Lani ran back out into the open, the machine guns firing not far behind her. [br]
---[br]
Reaching her destination, Lani dived down behind a metal panel out of fire and turned to Jak.[br]
“What are we going to do?” Lani asked. “Who knows how much time we have left before they claim this world?”[br]
“I’ll take care of it.” Jak said. “You go back and save the others.”[br]
“But Jak…?” Lani looked up at him in fear but he only smiled back at her.[br]
“The others are counting on us.” He said to her. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”[br]
---[br]
Lani drove the large rescue vehicle around the ruins, loading up everyone from the Freedom League she could find. She counted eleven, wondering what became of the rest of the Haven City soldiers.[br]
“There are about 30 other citizens still out there.” Torn said to her. “Do you think you could find them all and get them to safety before those things come back?” [br]
“I’ll do my best.” Lani replied. She climbed out of the rescue vehicle as Torn took the controls and flew off. She ran across docking area in search of another rescue vehicle before driving back into town. [br]
---[br]
Lani finally gathered the remaining people in the docking area and brought forward multiple escape vehicles. Some of them were more beat up then others, and the people’s faces screwed up in disgust at the sight of them. Once they were ready for boarding, Lani helped the children and older people on first. [br]
“I’m sure the rest of you are capable of strapping yourselves in.” she said to the remaining few. “We need to hurry though.”[br]
The rest stood in silence, staring at the vehicles. Lani realized they were comparing them before gathering around the newest one, pushing each other to get in. There wasn’t enough room for all of them. [br]
“You have got to be kidding me…” Lani muttered to herself. [br]
There was a loud siren ringing off into the distance, the sky deepening in color. Lani knew it was coming back. [br]
“Does it really matter which one looks the best?!” Lani yelled at them, frustrated. “Unless you all want to die, I suggest you just get into the vehicles now before the planet blows up! God people are so stupid…”[br]
She ran back to her own vehicle as the rest of the people clambered into the remaining seats.[br]
“Come on…” she muttered to herself as she watched them strap themselves in. Once the last one had secured themselves, Lani pressed the autopilot button and the escape vehicles took flight. She slammed her foot on the gas and sped off into what was left of the city.[br]
Cutting close corners, Lani drove at full speed through the deserted streets. The smell of burnt rubber lingered in the air as she avoided fallen pipes and metal panels.[br]
---[br]
Catching air off of a ledge, another vehicle zoomed by with a large alien machine flying closely behind. She landed on the road behind them and pulled a medium sized red crystal out of her backpack and placed it in a special chamber in her vehicle. It closed, securing the crystal and raised the turret. Once it powered up, she began firing at the machine, a ray of energy emitting from the crystal. It hit the robot but it never stopped, determined to catch up with Jak.[br]
Lani kept her target in sight as she blasted it with the energy from the crystal, but it was useless. It seemed completely ineffective as the robot raged on. Jak was at top speed as it closed in on him.[br]
He rounded a corner but before the machine could follow, Lani sent another blast of energy at it. The force pushed the robot off track and into a nearby wall. She increased her speed and followed after Jak, leaving the enemy behind.[br]
---[br]
They approached an open space atop the tower overlooking the vast destruction and pulled to a stop. [br]
“Where is it?” he asked hopping out of his vehicle and approaching Lani. “We don’t have much time.”[br]
Jak pulled out an arm plate that was created to support the power of the crystal, having been retrieved on a previous excursion. Lani strapped it to her arm and placed the red crystal in, channeling her Eco through it, but nothing happened.[br]
“Come on, come on!” she yelled at it as the enemy robot rose before them, loose wires sparking but the crystal remained inactive. “Screw it…This is why you’re the hero.”[br]
Lani tossed the crystal to Jak. Caught off guard by her sudden actions, the crystal slipped out of his hands and slid across the platform. [br]
“Quick, Dax grab it!” Jak said as the crystal got lodged under another platform. Daxter jumped off his shoulder and chased after it as fast as he could, the robot hovering before them, its large eye scanning its targets as its laser began to charge. Jak turned back to Lani. “Why did you—“[br]
“Come here.” Lani said suddenly, pulling him by the arm.[br]
“What?” Jak asked confused.[br]
“Come here.”[br]
“But what about the—“[br]
“Just come here.” Lani said again pulling him even closer to her. She stood up on her tiptoes to make up the height difference as she pressed her lips against his. Instead of pulling away like she thought he would, Jak returned her kiss.[br]
Daxter released the crystal and ran back to them as fast as he could. He jumped onto Jak’s shoulder and set the crystal in place with the arm plate. Without separating himself from Lani, Jak raised his hand level with the robot and channeled his own Eco through the crystal, sending a beam of red energy out of his palm and shattering the sensory lens of the machine. Jak and Lani parted and watched as the flaming bits of metal showered down.[br]
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