Authors Note: Hey all, I'm back with another oneshot! (And possibly another chapter on Book 4, but we'll see how that goes). This one is semi-sad, but more just deals with the guilt some characters likely felt after certain events. I've been replaying Jak3 and the one part struck me suddenly, so I decided to write about it. Anyways, enjoy!
Title: The One We Couldn't Save
Era: Post Jak3, just after end-game
Rating: PG-13
Prompt: Being basically the only blue channeler left in existence, Tera takes it upon herself to help out the now digitalized-Vin reset and recode everything in the control room, feeling guiltier then she ever has.
Dedication: Everyone who was sad about what happened to Vin.
"A little more to the left! No, more to the right! No, to the right!"
"Daxter."
"Perfect!" the ottsel squeaked, grinning up at the now-fixed sign of the Naughty Ottsel, "Good work, Jaky-boy! Couldn't have done it better myself."
Jak only smirked, leaping down from beside the sign and landing smoothly beside his friend. Several guards muttered about it, a few pedestrians whispered or giggled, but he paid them no mind. They weren't important; right now, the only person he was interested in was…
"Where's Tera?"
Daxter shrugged, leaping up onto his friends shoulder as he headed for the bars entrance, "Beats me, I haven't seen her since this morning. Relax, buddy," the ottsel couldn't help but tease, "Ter's a big girl, and there ain't nothin' to hurt her here, she's fine."
"Yeah." Not that that made him feel any better; old habits die hard. He didn't like her being out of his sight.
Inside, Torn was bent over the command centre as usual; they hadn't had the time to transfer the information over to HQ yet. He was in the middle of a conversation but glanced up at them with a nod, still talking, "How's the rewiring going over there?"
"Almost done." The familiar voice had Jak's eyes locked on the console in a second, though no hologram floated there today, "Just have a few connections left to make, and things'll be-hey! Vin, wait, I can't go that fast!"
"You're a blue eco channeler, your specialty is speed!" the electronic voice could only be what was left of Vin, a grumble sounding from the girl.
"Alright, you're free to go whenever you finish, Eco, just get those things fixed."
"Will do." The signal went dead, and Torn turned to find Jak giving him a weird look.
"What?"
"You still call her Eco." Jak couldn't help but smirk, arms crossed, "It's not like we're in the middle of a war anymore, Torn."
"Habit, Jak; I didn't know her actual name till you came into the picture, if you'll recall." The FL commander gave a smirk of his own, "I knew you were looking for her, blondie; she's the only one who can touch those wires without getting zapped by the eco. You go get her and head home, you've done enough for one day."
"Thanks, Torn." The wastelander nodded once, heading back out and hopping on his jet board. There was no point in grabbing a zoomer; either Tera would have one with her, or she'd taken her own jet board. It wasn't as though the transport back to Spargus was all that far away from the control room. He dropped Dax off at the gun course and waved good bye as he sped on, mind focused simply on avoiding pedestrians and getting to the control room as quickly as possible.
Luckily, it was getting darker, which meant less people still wandered the half-repaired streets of the city. This added to the fact that KG bots and metal heads no longer wandered the city made jet boarding to the control room quite a bit easier, Jak gliding up the proper ramp within ten minutes.
He dismounted outside and stepped forwards through the opened doors, quiet as he entered. He could see Vin's digital 'head' floating above the control panels, yapping away as usual. Tera stood with her back to him, looking as though she were checking all the switches and buttons that littered the main console, speaking much more quietly then Vin.
As he approached, 'Vin' turned to look at him, digital features breaking into a huge grin, "Jak! Long time no see, buddy! We just finished getting things all set up, Tera's been a great help!"
"Hey, I just did what you told me to, Vin," modest as ever, the blonde girl turned to give her boyfriend a tiny smile, looking tired, "Hey, Jak."
"Hey." Jak strode forwards and put an arm around the smaller girls shoulders, looking to the head above them, "We're heading back to Spargus for now, Vin, but we'll see you soon, okay?"
"Right-o, I'll be here!" the construct chirped and disappeared back into the system, leaving them alone in the blue glow of the computer consoles.
"Ready to go, Ter?"
The blonde girl started, having been staring at the place where the head had been. She looked back at him, at the hand he had outstretched to her, and nodded, fingers lacing with his as he lead her from the building and out onto the metal ramp it was perched on.
"Hey," he gave her hand a squeeze, making her look at him, "You alright?"
"I'm fine." She did her best to smile, lips barely moving, "Promise."
Jak said nothing more, releasing her hand so that they could both grab their jet boards and take off, heading silently for the port and the transport that would take them home. Neither said a thing as they boarded the courier and sat down, each lost in their own thoughts as the thing took off and headed out over the Wastelands.
It wasn't till they were almost there that he heard her sobbing.
Startled, Jak sat up straight and moved closer, a hand touching her shoulder, "Tera?"
"Yes?" when the girl looked up he was startled by the tears that ran down her face, even more so when she gasped and whipped them away quickly, looking down, "D-dammit… I can't-"
"Shh." He'd pulled her to him in an instant, pressing her face to his chest even as she started to cry again, hand rubbing up and down her back in what he hoped was a soothing motion.
"W-we couldn't save him." She whimpered, clinging to his shirt, "We c-couldn't do anything, Jak! A-and now he's stuck there, a-alone because no one goes there anymore…"
"We do." He whispered, hold on her tightening, "We go there, we visit him. That's… all we can do for him, Ter."
He fell silent then, just letting her cry into his shirt, knowing she'd fallen asleep when the sobs stopped. He carried her out when the transport reached Spargus, heading for home and curling close to her on her tiny bed, not wanting to leave her alone.
He knew how she felt; remembered how guilty he'd been when he'd realized how everyone in Sandover probably died when they'd shot forwards to Haven, when he thought about how many people had likely died in both wars, both in Haven and in Spargus, remembered how he'd felt before Damas had been brought back to life.
Even heroes couldn't save everyone.
