A/N: I'm sorry this update took so long. I just moved; I was packing and organizing from September to November and I started my journey (my drive three states away) two days ago, but I'm at my destination now! Thank you all for waiting!
She's Worth Defending
Chapter Eighteen: Vin
The man from earlier; the man who donned a white beard, a cane, and who had wrapped himself in a rugged, off-blue robe, stood underground. He seemed exhausted – desperate for relief, even – and carried the baby girl in his arms, like before. His tired, wrinkled eyes looked to the ground, before looking up at the man who had his back to him. He continued to cradle the baby in his arms, despite her having his head rested on his shoulder, eyes closed in a deep sleep.
"Sir, he couldn't take it; like you mentioned earlier," the old man said feebly, "You were right."
The other man, whose stature was just as short as the other man's, turned around and sighed. He held a short, stubby hand to his face – a nest of sticks and moss bowing with his head.
However, the elderly man continued, "I was a fool to believe that the Count could take on such a responsibility."
"And you?" The other man asked as he walked towards the bearded man – his wooden, tall clogs stomping on the ground, "You believe that you can handle the responsibility of caring for two, small children?"
"Actually, sir," the elderly man said as he looked away, "This is why I came to you today."
It was quiet for a moment, while the man with clogs processed the other man's possible request. The only sound was the crackling from the nearby fire.
"I-I," the clog-man stuttered, "Me?"
"–There is no one else," the bearded man interjected, "I assumed that The Shadow, of all people, could handle such a task." The man's request came out as a question, though it was disguised as a comment. However, this was no ordinary question; it came out as a hidden challenge; a proposition that, if refused, would bring judgment.
"This child is powerful, Kor," The Shadow said as he looked to the sleeping baby, "Are you aware?"
"I was aware of an importance, but power? I was not made aware, no," Kor said as he looked to the baby.
"The child," The Shadow began, but a weight on his back caused him to look up to see the young boy about to pick up the egg in the nest. The Shadow smiled, plucked the child from his shoulder, and placed him on the ground. The Shadow adjusted his nest-crown and looked to the boy, "This child is important, just like the child whom you are holding. They bring hope to this dark, cold, world.."
The young boy, who stood in front of The Shadow with a warm smile, quickly ran to the elderly man to look at the baby. He was mesmerized by the young girl, in a way. There was quite an age difference, but she was his only friend; the only one to look to him with happiness, rather than disgust and absolute stress.
"This power you speak of–," the robed man began, but was quickly interrupted.
"–It is our duty to keep them safe. They are worth so much, but were left so little," The Shadow said sympathetically, "–yet, they are so happy. Their innocence is still very much there, but in a world like this, I wouldn't be surprised to see that happiness fade to hate. This boy must be put on the throne; he's our only hope."
"–But, the girl, what does she bring to this world, with this power that you speak of?"
The Shadow turned away and began to walk towards the fire with crossed arms, "Her power lies in the influence of humanity; good and evil. Her parents left her with something special, despite the horrific circumstances…" The Shadow looked to the fire, sadness in his eyes, as if he had accidentally began a recollection of awful events. After quickly composing himself, The Shadow cleared his throat, "The world will be cursed with many wars, much worse than this one, I'm sure. As a descendent of Mar, it should come as no surprise that the boy will have to fight for his city one day.." With this, the boy's eyes widened as he gulped, "–but, I'd like to believe that this girl will be strong enough to aid him one day."
Kor smirked at The Shadow's backside; a devilish grin that didn't fit the situation, whatsoever, but when The Shadow turned around to face him, he quickly hid his eerie visual.
"A guardian, if you will," The Shadow finished.
"You go first," Cara said as she slowly lifted an arm, not taking her eyes off of what was in front of her, and poked a silent Jak's shoulder.
Jak continued to look at the array of blue's and purple's swirling together, completely looking past its beauty; knowing that whatever was on the other side, most likely, would be nowhere near as calming.
Thinking Jak would be more than willing to take lead, Cara looked over at him curiously when he didn't. Quickly thinking up a snarky remark, Cara opened her mouth to usher him, but found herself holding back. What she saw, wasn't the Jak she was used to; rugged, quick-paced, and forceful, no, this was something else; he was quiet and seemed at peace.
Surprisingly, Jak broke the silence, "…I haven't seen one of these in a long time." In a way, this relaxed him – it was a sight he saw frequently at home. The frequent Geyser Rock trips, the countless times he passed through them to find the sage to help Daxter, the gates he had to fix when reaching a new town; it was something he knew in a place that he didn't.
However, Cara merely thought of his time in prison. Yes, they had gates there, but they were always inactive. She thought about how many times Jak must have looked a the warp ring; the one that sat dormant in front of the chair he was tortured in. Immediately, she felt bad – there was an escape right there; right in front of him; taunting him. Cara looked away, trying to put their differences aside, before looking back up at the portal. "It's pretty, isn't it?"
Jak looked to Cara, which made her hold her breath, though he didn't look angry.
Cara watched the reflection of the portal dance across the side of Jak's face; the blue's and purple's now running up his cheek; swirls casted in his left eye. Cara bit the side of her lip and looked away when Jak looked away, knowing she lost her chance to say something. Should she have said anything? The look wasn't exactly inviting; it was like he was trying to come up with something polite to say, but couldn't.
"–Uh," came a voice from above Jak, which caused Jak to look up as much as he could without throwing his friend off, "–are we goin' or not? I've readied myself four times since we've been here n' there's only so much I can do before I change my mind."
"Right," Jak said as he cleared his throat, "Let's go." Without any hesitation, Jak catapulted himself through the gate, leaving Cara standing there alone.
Cara stood there, her eyes on the warp gate. When Jak and Daxter jumped in, a gust of wind blew out, causing Cara's blonde hair to blow gracefully across her face – a face that showed curiosity and confusion.
She must have stood there too long, for a furry, orange head poked itself through the gate. "You comin' or what?"
The three stood silently at the Strip Mine; eyes shifting as they surveyed the area. It looked exactly how Cara had remembered it: tall, rock walls, mounds of dirt pushed into piles, the eco wells, and the conveyer belt. There was something a little different and that was the awful smell radiating from the area. While one would say someone left a carton of eggs to rot, Cara knew what it was – it was something her and Vin, especially, figured out in the lab: Ammonia – Metal Heads hated it.
While Jak began to walk, Daxter quickly covered his nose, his voice becoming nasally, "Bleck! What is that horrible smell? It smells like mildew n' piss, what gives!"
Cara, who walked slowly behind the two, smiled, "Well, you're right about one thing: it's a high-trace of ammonia, which is found in piss. We placed a lot of it out here to keep the Metal Heads away."
"Yeah," Daxter began as he turned around, "You seem a little too casual about havin' people piss all over the place out here."
"–Nope," Cara laughed, "–it's just cat pee."
While Daxter pretended to gag, Jak finally spoke up, "Wouldn't that attract them?"
"At first it does," Cara began as she walked past a disgusted Daxter, "–but, it's too strong for their senses. They'll come up to it, inspect it, get sick, and keep their distance."
Jak abruptly stopped and turned around, almost causing Cara to bump into him. "What about when it rains? Doesn't it wash it all away?"
"We planted cultured bacteria out here with the ammonia with dead rats–…"
"–Good, lord, this just keeps gettin' better n' better," Daxter interrupted as he let out a belch and held his stomach.
"No, we just collected the dead rats, planted the bacteria, since bacteria can live in a dead animal, well, dead anything for quite some time, and then planted the ammonia. It took a few strains, since it can kill the bacteria, but Vin found one," Cara said, but then noticed both Jak and Daxter seemed disinterested and confused, "The bacteria helps keep the ammonia fresh."
"Right," Daxter said as he rolled his eyes, "–gotcha!"
Suddenly, a throaty grunt sounded, and Jak, Cara, and Daxter quickly took cover behind a dirt mound. Cara and Jak rested their backs against the dirt, while Daxter climbed back to his usual spot.
"A Metal?" Cara asked in a complete whisper.
Jak peered around the corner and looked into the distance. Not only did he notice three Metals, but he also noticed that one of them was on all fours, chewing on a dead rat; the crunch of its bones loud enough for him to even hear. "Your rats don't seem to be working," Jak whispered, which brought a surprised 'what?' from Cara.
"Ya, we got a problem Ms. Scientist," Daxter said, "Those Metal Heads are just gobblin' up your rats, like it's not botherin' 'em at all!"
Meanwhile, across from the three, a small, crab-like Metal Head, popped out of the ground.
"That can't be," Cara practically said to herself, "They hated it – they couldn't even go near it."
"Well, darlin', it looks like they have a newfound love for it," Daxter said, but soon grimaced as he watched two Metal Heads fight over a single rat; it tearing into two.
"It's the eco," Jak chimed, "They're getting stronger."
As Jak continued to relay his idea, Cara listened, but noticed something moving in her peripherals. Cara glanced over and saw the small Metal closing in on the group, but didn't say a word.
"As long as we are quiet, I'm sure we can find a way sneak around," Jak continued.
"Jak," Cara whispered, but Jak couldn't hear.
"–The last thing we want is to alert them."
Cara kept her eyes on the Metal and, as it got closer, brought her knees up to her chest. It scurried about, moving from right to left in a hasty motion. Cara curled her lips inward, trying her hardest not to gasp.
Daxter looked from the direction Jak was looking in, back to Cara; his eyes immediately widening at the sight of the Metal near Cara. "–Uh, Jak?"
Jak looked back and immediately noticed the threat. He took a deep breath, hoping that it would leave them alone if they did nothing, and sat still. Jak slowly looked to Cara, "Don't move," he whispered, "Don't make a sound."
Cara looked from Jak to the miniature beast and obliged; she kept quiet and remained still.
The three watched as the Metal latched onto Cara's shoe, which caused Cara to hold her breath. For a moment, the Metal simply nibbled on her laces, which brought relief – maybe it was friendly. Right as everyone began to calm down, the small creature threw its head back, screeched, and showed its teeth; about to bite down into Cara's ankle.
Cara closed her eyes and looked away, but the bite wasn't what made her jump – it was the sound of four rounds from her pistol that did.
…and every Metal Head heard.
Cara opened her eyes and looked to Jak, who had pulled a pistol from her holster in a moment of panic.
"Well!" Daxter said as he stood up straight, "We can just kiss the stealthy route goodbye!"
"Come on," Jak yelled, knowing there was no point of whispering any more, "We need to go!"
Before standing, Cara looked to the small Metal that was bloody and sprawled out on the ground.
'Jak saved me? I mean, it wasn't like I would have died, and that makes it even more mind-blowing. Did Jak really spare me the pain of a bite to the ankle?'
Cara looked up to Jak, who only looked to her in order to toss back the pistol. With a smirk, Cara followed.
The two dashed, with Daxter on Jak's shoulder, in the open – Metal Heads in pursuit.
A wasp-like Metal suddenly appeared and croaked out a whine, comparable to a crow.
Jak stopped and, this time, Cara ran directly into his back. Jak watched the insect-bird-like creature flutter in the air, "What is–…"
"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT?" Daxter exclaimed, pointing in the creature's direction.
Before there were any answers, a purple stream of Dark Eco was flung from the creature's stinger, which caused the group to disperse. Jak rolled to the left, while Cara dove, less gracefully, to the right.
Another stream was shot towards Jak, but Jak noticed something glistening in the moonlight. Still on his side, Jak glanced over and noticed a sharp piece of scrap metal. Quickly, Jak grabbed the scrap metal and held it in front of his face, which caused the stream of eco to reflect back, like a boomerang, to its owner with a clink.
The Metal screeched as it fell from a hover and to the ground.
As the two quickly stood up, Jak looked around them, "Where's Daxter?"
"HELP!" Daxter yelled from a distance, causing Cara and Jak to look in his direction. The ottsel was dangling from a Metal Head's grasp, being swung carelessly. The Metal Head, then, tossed Daxter into the air and looked up with its mouth open; ready for his next meal. The whole time, Daxter screamed – the whole way up, and the whole way down – but, he wasn't met with a set of sharp teeth. Instead, he bounced off of the Metal Head's body and onto the ground. Daxter spat out dirt and looked behind him just in time to see the, now, headless Metal Head fall to its knees and then onto its chest. Daxter shrieked as blood spurted in intervals from the opening, while snapped ligaments poked out like a cut wires.
Daxter quickly looked to Jak in awe, but Jak just stood there with a smirk, his Scattergun still raised.
The sound of pistol rounds caused Jak to look over his shoulder. Cara was working on another Metal Head and it didn't looking good. The Metal Head continued to charge toward her, as if the bullets weren't doing any damage, and Cara just continued to take a few steps backwards. Jak began to jog over, but Cara stopped him.
"I'm fine!" Cara yelled, "I got it!"
Even though Jak thought she was crazy, he listened, and stopped dead in his tracks. He watched as the Metal Head closed in, giving Cara barely any room to shoot. Jak's eyes shifted from the Metal to Cara, his eyebrows narrowed in confusion.
The Metal Head raised an arm, its claws out, and roared.
Cara quickly tossed her pistols to the ground. "How do you like this?" Cara exclaimed as she kicked the Metal Head directly in between its legs. In all honesty, that wasn't Cara's plan, but desperate times call for desperate measures.
Jak winced at the display and quickly turned around – the ball-kicking sending a shiver up his spine that he had to shake off. Jak assumed Cara took care of that Metal, for its sobbing whimpers ceased after he heard a pistol round.
The last few were easy and that's including the two on the platform. With Jak's Scattergun, the Metals were out with two shots, and killed instantly if hit in the skull gem. Jak did grow displeased with Cara for forgetting such important information, but the quick, Metal deaths soothed his temper. Now, the trio stood in front of the moving conveyer belt, all trying to calculate the right time to jump.
Jak, who stood ready, jumped and grabbed onto the side of the cart. Cara watched as he pulled himself up with ease and found herself frozen in place.
Jak quickly looked over his shoulder, "What are you doing?" he yelled, "Jump!"
"I can't!" Cara said as she looked down over the side. Just as she thought: an endless drop, surely ending in one's unpleasant demise. Upon noticing the cart furthering itself, Cara started to panic. She bounced in place; trying to get her body to jump. Finally, Cara felt her feet leave the ground and immediately regretted it.
In this moment, she could only hear her heartbeat and the echoes of her exhale. In her vision, she saw her own, outreached hand, Jak's look of anticipation, and the side of the cart as she began to fall. Cara closed her eyes, anticipating the overwhelming feeling of endless butterflies in her stomach as she fell, but she opened her eyes right when she felt her fingers curl around cold metal. Cara fixed her grip and grunted as she pulled herself up, but a pair of warm, firm hands made things easier. Cara looked up to see Jak's face – a look of fear in his eyes that had her staring, which made Jak order her to move it.
"Come on!" Jak yelled over the loud gusts of wind and machinery. With his hands wrapped around Cara's upper arms, he pulled her up.
"You did good!" Daxter exclaimed with a thumbs up, which made Cara smile.
Cara looked back to Jak and ended up looking past him when she saw a familiar creature. She focused on the creature's whizzing wings as it hovered, which made Jak's relieved smile; a smile she would been shocked to see, only a blurred moment in the corner of her eye. She watched as another stream of eco came her way – it all too quick to mention.
The eco flew past Jak's ear – it so close that he could hear and feel it going by. As Jak turned to look, the stream grazed against Cara's cheek; leaving a straight line of burnt flesh, that was accompanied with a dark rash, in its path.
Cara gasped as she lost balance – her shoulder bumping into Daxter; causing them both to tumble backwards off the cart. Cara kept a straight face, her lips slightly parted, as she felt herself falling. There was no fighting this; there was nothing she could do.
"JAAAK!" Daxter exclaimed, but it was all fuzzy to Cara.
Once again, she closed her eyes.
A surge of reality hit her when she felt a hand grasp one of her ankles.
Jak groaned as his face contorted in exhaustion. He felt himself slipping; his feet sliding across the dirt in the cart and towards the edge. With no choice left he let himself slide until he reached the one of the cart's bars that connected it to the belt. Jak looked down, groans still hissing through his teeth. He saw Cara, obviously, swinging helplessly by the ankle.
"Oh, my god," Cara said shakily as her stomach dropped. She was hanging upside down, staring directly into an abyss of darkness.
Jak continued to look down, looking for a certain someone…
Suddenly, an orange and yellow face showed itself. "Hello!" Daxter sang happily before he swung out of sight. Daxter swung casually, his face going in and out of sight, in which he made a comment each time. "Hey. Do. Ya think. You. Can. Help me!"
Cara looked and noticed that she had grabbed Daxter's tail during the fall. If it was to save him or if it was for leverage, she didn't know. However, the grasp wasn't great; her hands were slick with sweat. "Dax," Cara panted, "Stop!"
"What?" Daxter asked as he continued to swing, "Just tryin' ta make light of the situation!"
Cara felt as a drop of sweat slid down her forehead and down onto her nose. "Do you know how high we are right now?"
"Nah, I haven't looked yet!" Daxter grinned.
"–Don't!" Both Jak and Cara yelled in unison. While Cara's was more of a plead, Jak's was more of a sigh; knowing he'd freak out and increase the weight.
During all of this, Jak had managed to dodge every bullet of a eco, but with the Metal Head closing in, it was becoming much more difficult.
Daxter stopped swinging and stiffened up with wide eyes, "I'm not lookin' down…I'm not lookin' down…" he chimed to himself as he closed his eyes.
Cara turned her head to look up at Jak as she felt his grasp on her ankle start to loosen.
They were running out of time.
To make matters even worse, Jak felt an agonizing sting in his back. A painful groaned escaped Jak's mouth as he felt the stream of eco penetrate his skin. The eco melted a hole into Jak's shirt, right on his left, shoulder blade; leaving a visible burn and purple rash. Knowing that the Metal got its target, it crowed in pleasure.
"Just keep swinging, just keep swinging," Daxter sang, his eyes still closed in order to calm himself.
"Daxter! Goddamn it, stop swinging!" Cara yelled, the volume scratching her throat and causing an echo throughout the Strip Mine.
Cara sighed, but then noticed that Daxter's swinging caused a small amount of momentum. "Wait," Cara said as she looked to Daxter, "No, keep swinging! Keep swinging!"
Without question, Daxter began to swing and, this time, Cara swung with him. "Just like that! Keep going! Go faster!" Cara yelled, seemingly out of breath.
Despite the situation and despite Daxter's exhausted, he let out a remark in between pants, "Yeah! I love it when you talk to me like that!"
Completely ignoring Daxter's comment, Cara tightened up her stomach and swung as hard as she could. She saw her line of vision change: it wasn't just darkness anymore. Cara felt Daxter's tail slip and, instead of trying to keep hold, flung him forward – hoping he'd latch himself onto something. Once again, she saw Jak's face and reached out. This time, however, she saw that Jak's arm was already extended; a hand open for her to take. Cara grabbed Jak's hand as he yanked for forward and back onto the cart.
There was a moment.
Cara looked to Jak, while a few, blonde strands of her hair blew harshly against her face.
Jak stood there with his eyebrows narrowed, a look of relief painted on his face. Of course, Jak wasn't aware that he wore such an expression. To confirm the thought, his look of relief quickly turned to an annoyed confusion; not knowing why Cara was looking at him in such a way.
That was when both Jak and Cara realized that were still holding hands – like Cara was still hovering over a chasm; Jak held her hand tightly as if Cara was still in danger; like he didn't want to let her go.
"YOU ALMOST KILLED US! YOU DUMB, LITTLE–!"
Jak quickly broke the hand-holding and looked over his shoulder, while Cara cleared her throat and held her own hand to her chest.
Jak and Cara watched as Daxter wrestled with the wasp Metal. With Daxter's weight, the Metal struggled to keep flight and it didn't help that Daxter was punching it in the face. The two still watched amused, the cart closing in on the other side of the building, as the Metal and Daxter fell onto a cart. While the Metal was still dazed, Daxter kicked off the side of the cart. "So long! See ya some other time!"
The three jumped from the carts and onto the other side of the building. With Jak in front of Cara, Cara got a good look at Jak's new wound.
"Jak, your back," Cara said as she placed a hand on Jak's shoulder.
Jak immediately moved away from Cara's touch and kept walking, "I'm fine." Jak, as if to evade conversation, pressed the button on the door. Immediately, gunfire followed.
"AH! STAY BACK!"
Cara nearly stumbled when trying to dodge the bullets, but ran to the left side of the door, while Jak took cover on the other side.
"Do something, Jak!" Daxter yelled from behind Cara's leg, "This guy is crazy!"
Jak turned to look to the door, "Hey! Are you Vin? We're here to help! Torn sent us!"
Then, Cara peered around the door and almost took a bullet to the face.
"STAY BACK!" The man continued.
"–If we were here to kill you, you wouldn't be talking right now," Jak said sternly, hoping being straightforward would do the job.
"Oh?" The man said as he walked near the door, "Friendlies?" The man collapsed onto a crate he had used to barricade the door and sighed, "Thank goodness. Wha–so, uh, where's the army?"
"Uh," Daxter began as he looked to Jak and Cara, "We're it."
"What?" Vin said surprised as he rubbed his head, "Just you three? What do they think I'm worth?"
"I'm beginning to wonder that myself," Jak said as he ran his fingers over his goatee, "If you want, you can stay here and be Metal meat, but we're leaving before those monsters come back."
Vin took a deep breath and hopped over his makeshift barricade, immediately looking to Jak for direction.
Jak hugged the wall and looked both ways before jumping through the nearby warp gate with Daxter, leaving the other two to follow.
...
"Vin," Cara said as she bowed her head with a grin. She couldn't help but wonder if he recognized her – she did look different, after all.
"What?" Vin asked, slightly startled, but Cara's smile had him confused. "What?" He asked again, but Cara kept her grin, kept silent, and rose an eyebrow. Vin leaned in, squinting his eyes behind his spectacles, and mumbled, "Wait..." After readjusting his glasses, and rubbing a knuckle against them to remove the fogging, Vin scrunched his nose up as he peered even harder. "...Cara?"
Cara's smile grew bigger as she chuckled and dropped her arms to her sides, "It's me!"
"–My goodness, what are you doing here?" Vin exclaimed as he went in for a hug, but quickly backed away and dusted the dirt from his lab coat, "Did the Baron send you? What happened to you? You look awful!–no, I mean, you look okay, but a little banged up, but–..."
"–I'm fine, Vin," Cara said with a reassuring smile.
Remembering his train of thought, Vin frantically looked to the warp gate and then back to Cara, "That's not–..."
Cara nodded.
"–from the–..."
Cara nodded once more.
Vin grabbed both sides of face and gasped, "ARE YOU CRAZY – YOU KNOW THAT HE'S DANGEROUS!" Vin than grabbed both sides of Cara's face and pushed her cheeks together, "HAVE YOU LOST YOUR MIND?"
"He's working for the Underground," Cara managed to spit through her fish-faced lips.
Vin quickly withdrew his hands and stepped back, "...What? I mean," he said as he fiddled with his fingers, "Okay...does he know that you–..."
"–No," Cara interrupted, "He doesn't." Cara sighed, "Please, don't say anything."
In response, Vin feebly nodded.
Cara let out a hefty exhale as she walked down into the Underground. It was incredibly quiet, but she realized why when she walked past the bunks: everyone was asleep. Cara groaned and winced slightly as she held her stomach. She had cramps all day; painful stabs in the stomach from her time of the month all day. Of course, she couldn't say anything – she didn't expect Jak to care or understand. What would he say? Uh, ew. Bye, that's what he'd say.
As she walked by the bunks, she noticed that all of them were full. She, then, saw Jak sitting on the edge of the last bunk taking his boots off.
"Where am I going to sleep?" Cara asked, not even managing to properly greet her partner.
Jak turned to look at Cara while he kicked off his right boot, "I don't know, is there nothing left?"
Cara sighed, "No, there's not and I know you knew there wasn't anything left."
Jak sighed, knowing a tantrum would probably ensure, and stood up, "I didn't think you were coming back tonight," he said casually.
Cara squinted her eyes as she narrowed her eyebrows – all while giving him a look like he was the stupidest person in the world, "What? Uh, you knew I was coming back–and, what the hell is that? A few blankets on the floor?" Cara looked to Jak, "Let me guess, that's for me."
Mimicking Cara's bad tone, Jak retorted, "Uh, no, I didn't. You weren't with me when I left, but," Jak said as he slid past Cara, "I'm going to shower, so–..."
"–No!" Cara practically yelled as she walked over to the bathroom door, "You took my bed; you are not going to take the shower from me! Goodnight!" With that, Cara slammed the door, causing a few books to fall off of the nearby shelf.
Jak blinked – completely frozen in place – as he tried to process what just happened.
"Damn it," Cara groaned as she held her stomach and slid down the bathroom door to the floor. She was tearing up, but she didn't know why. Sure, the cramps were painful and all of the missions weren't helping, but she found herself upset for another reason – a reason she didn't quite know. Cara pulled her knees up to her chest and cried into her folded arms. Maybe it was the stress; the stress of war. This was all so different to her; she used to fight for the other side, after all. Whatever it was, her monthly, hormonal disaster wasn't helping.
'Well, you better hurry up! I'm not about to wait out here for two hours,' Cara heard Jak say, which caused her to cease her crying and rest her head on her arms.
Jak was about to bang a fist on the door; another, gentle reminder for her to hurry up, but heard a single sniff. He stiffened his jaw, knowing exactly what she was doing in there, and dropped his hand to his side. He found himself staring at the door, but realized that it was none of his business and he didn't want it to be.
After he let out a sigh, he turned away from the door and walked to the laundry bin. Right as he was about to toss his dirty clothes into the basket, which he knew he'd have to do in the morning, he stopped when something caught his eye. Jak peered into the laundry bin, a little perplexed – was he seeing what he thought he was seeing? He reached into the bin and withdrew someone's bed sheet; tilting his head as he inspected it.
A red stain, which he knew was blood.
Jak chuckled quietly, "Looks like someone got messed up pretty bad."
Then, it hit him – fairly quick, too.
Jak looked to the bunk Cara had slept in the night prior and noticed it lacked sheets; the Underground soldier that occupied the bed slept on a just mattress, but he didn't seem to mind.
Once again, Jak's jaw stiffened as the realization hit him like a truck. He looked to the bathroom door and then to his bed, where a sleeping Daxter was sprawled out comfortably. Jak sighed, "...Fuck..." He rubbed the back of his neck as he dropped the sheets back into the bin. He took one last glance at the bathroom before he headed over to his bed.
When Cara emerged from the bathroom, she ran a towel through her hair as she was wrapped in another. Her eyes were still red and she hoped that Jak had gone to sleep; she knew she'd be silently judged.
There was no judging.
Cara stopped walking when she noticed that the last bunk was open and, practically, untouched.
Jak had switched with her.
Why? She didn't know, but she certainly wouldn't be complaining.
Cara looked to Jak, who was sleeping soundly on the floor, and smiled.
"You're not that bad," Cara whispered to the sleeping Jak, even though she was fully aware that he wouldn't hear.
But, maybe, it was better off that way.
A/N: Lots of action at the Strip Mine! I know it wasn't crazy like that in the game, but I wanted to create a moment that tested Jak's character. Also, there may be a few errors in this chapter. It has been a while, lol.