|Valentine's Home|
Jak walked around the house, trying to find Valentine. The Kid followed him, obviously curious as to what he planned on doing. Furthermore the child seemed to be interested in Daxter who resided most of his time now on Jak's shoulder, looking at the boy with suspicion.
He could hear her voice, a rhythmic rising and lowering in pitch. Following the sound the Kid sped ahead of him, suddenly understanding what Jak wanted. He pointed towards a door and jumped up to open it. Jak followed and found himself standing in a room like he had never seen before. A disc was spinning as Valentine had a headset pressed against her ear. she seemed focused on listening to the song that was playing, adjusting sliders up and down.
Jak sensed the meaning behind the words as if they somehow connected with the dark taint that ran throughout his blood and poisoned his body. When the anger struck he couldn't help but see enemies everywhere. He decided he liked the raw music.
Valentine noticed the bunch of them standing in the room. She turned off the music and walked towards them, throwing the headset to the side.
"See you guys found my recording studio," She said, not sounding annoyed in the least about it. Daxter dropped to the ground, fiddling with some buttons on the nearest machines.
"A recording studio, eh? What'cha doing holed up in here?" he asked her, letting one of the bigger buttons flip around. A sound blast came out of it, blowing the Ottsel to a wall. The others quickly propped their fingers in their ears as Valentine pressed to off-button with her foot.
"Torn already told you I'm kind of a celebrity around here, didn't he?" she asked, rubbing her temples as a sudden headache set in. The music she usually brought was loud, not to say a real assault on the eardrums. "Well, this is where I record most of the time and edit the sound. I prefer doing it here since going outside is always such a risk." Though it was true, at times she did not have a choice since new songs often required her to meet up with her manager and the band. "You know my stage name, right?"
Jak nodded. "DE – girl, right?" he asked, having heard about her from Torn, who hadn't seemed very hyped up about it.
"Well, it stands for Dark Eco Girl," She explained, putting away the mike while at the same time keeping an eye on Daxter and the Kid, in case either of them was up to no good. 'Nobody's been smart enough to figure that one out yet.'
Jak chuckled. He hadn't realized it either but he wasn't planning on admitting that just now. He leant back against a wall after checking there weren't any hidden buttons that might bombard him with sound waves. "Why do you do it? Isn't it safer to just lay low and work with the Underground?" he asked, curious about her motives.
Valentine dropped backwards in a rotating chair, slowly spinning circles in it as she talked. "Well, let me think. First of all, because I work as a singer, I have my own place and I don't have to live in Headquarters. Secondly, I can donate the leftover funds I have to the Underground. Thirdly, the best place to hide is right under the Baron's nose, especially now I've hacked the system and set all the computers to ignore not only my face but that of any Underground member. And fourthly… to create an opportunity.'
"Opportunity?" Jak asked, leaning slightly forward.
"Yes," Valentine answered, stretching out in her chair. "Praxis can't afford to lose the approval of the citizens, and so he is forced to like whatever they like. In this case he would have to like me if I get more popular. Sooner or later he is going to have to ask 'DE – girl' to perform at a social event. With a little luck, I'll be close enough to kill him. Even if I don't get close enough the first time, he will keep on inviting me until he lowers down his guard once. I only need to succeed once, so it doesn't matter how long I have to wait before that time."
Jak frowned, thinking her plan over. "Even if you say that, you yourself said you're not a fighter. You're a hacker. It could get you killed."
Valentine nodded. "I know that," She said, more to herself that as a response to him. "Because my parents died so soon, I only had Uncle Vin to teach me the things I need to survive. Uncle isn't suited towards any fighting, so instead he had me working with computers. I'm as good as him which has been a blessing. So even if I have the chance I will probably die when I kill Praxis."
She smiled at Jak, the kind of smile one would give when they're in pain but they try to hide it. "But that's alright, you know? Because that would mean that the people here would be free and the true ruler of the city can come back to his rightful place. If I can accomplish this goal I can die happily.
Jak's frowned as if he felt a sudden surge of anger at the statement. "What the hell are you saying!" he shouted. Valentine's eyes grew bigger as he said that. She recognized the Eco anger when she saw it. "I'm just saying that –"
"You're saying you won't mind dying just because some other people can live happily then? Well, I'm planning on killing Praxis, and I won't die when I do so because I still want to be able to enjoy my life afterward. And I'm not letting you kill yourself for something like this!"
"Jak…"
"No! The reason Torn teamed us up is because we are able to work together and correct each other's flaws, right? I'll do the fighting, and you can do the thinking. That way, nobody will have to die, and I won't to lose my partner."
The corners of her mouth curled up as she thought about what he had said. "If you say it like that… I'll do my best, since you called me partner and meant it." She said, feeling unexpectedly good.
Jak blinked, taken aback by her smile. "Well, that's… We are partners, so I… anyway, Torn wanted to see us. He's got another assignment for us."
|The Hideout|
"The demolition duo has returned! One ammo BBQ, served up hot!" Daxter announced himself and Jak to Torn, it being the first time seeing the man after their last mission. Torn rolled his eyes before trying to swipe the animal of his cluttered desk. Instead of the orange fur ball he only managed to wipe of some empty ammo shells.
"We saw something strange when we were there," Jak said in a brave attempt to drown Daxter's yapping out. "There were Metal Heads in the city and the Baron was giving them Eco!"
Valentine nearly missed a step when she heard that. "And you didn't tell me about that? That's pretty vital information!"
"Daxter, Valentine, can the both of you just shut up for a second," Torn said. Although he hadn't raised his voice he still gave off the vibe that he was considering to throw the both of them out if they didn't calm down. The reprimanded twosome sighed before they kept their mouths shut.
"I knew the Baron was up to something fishy, but this is low even for his standards. The city needs that Eco to survive!" Torn said, pacing around while trying to get to the bottom of the situation. "Just happens that I have some Dark Eco ore that's waiting to be shipped to Krew. You guys bring it to him and pump Krew for information while you're there. He's wired into the city, and he he may be in the loop regarding the Baron's plans."
Valentine couldn't contain herself any longer. "That creep! He's just as likely to sell of us to the Baron if we're not careful!" she blurted out, not being able to be in the same room as Krew without her skin starting to crawl in the yucky, 'I'm near a huge creep' kind of way.
Torn banged his fist on the table, sending Valentine a wary look. "Valentine, if you can't obey orders, maybe I should suspend you and get it over with. If you don't want to take this mission you can sit the next three months at home, watching your fingernails grow!" he growled at her, the gravelly quality in his voice nearly tangible.
Valentine let out a low growl too, followed by several dark sparks running over her body. Then she shook her head and took a deep breath. "Fine. We'll go and see Krew. When we get back, you better have something much better waiting for us Boss," She said, regaining her cool slightly. Torn pulled up one corner of his mouth as she said that.
"That time of the month again?" he asked her. Jak blushed, wondering if Torn wasn't getting a tad too personal.
Valentine rolled her shoulders, trying to relieve stress. "Yeah… haven't been able to let it all out for a few weeks now. I need something with Metal Heads. Like, I need to get the Eco out of my system."
Jak looked at her in wonder. When she caught the look she shrugged. "Come on, partner, I'll tell you about it while we get to Krew's." Torn said nothing as they left but saw them off with obvious worry.
Valentine explained the previous discussion to Jak as they mounted a Zoomer. "Well, I bet you've been experiencing some mood swings lately, right? Well, once the Eco has been in your system for longer you'll be able to control it a little bit better. Still, it needs to be let out." She ran a hand through her wig as she got behind him on the zoomer, laying her hands around his waist. When Jak wasn't able to see her face she allowed herself a frown.
It hurt. A lot. But she hated letting the darkness come out and take over because it always made her feel bad. She didn't like the rage and wanted to keep it inside of her so nobody would ever have to see that side of her. She'd gotten in trouble a lot of times thanks to that tendency. There had been incidents in the past. Sometimes serious ones.
Valentine was so caught up in her thoughts she didn't hear Jak's question. She looked over his shoulder and asked him to repeat himself. "Well, I was just wondering…"
|Computer Station Beta|
Jared, the Baron's recent most-trusted programmer, was going through the security files with a languid sigh. There wasn't any reason to do so, he just wanted to check if he could touch up some of the more delicate programs. As he was going through the facial recognition program, he noticed a few codes that seemed...off . Not by much, but they were formulated in a way that suggested somebody besides his colleagues had been working on them.
He opened the file only to be confronted by several pictures of wanted criminals. 'Valentine… Jak… Torn… these are all top targets the Baron is looking for!' Jared realized, as he looked further, seeing more and more faces that he recognized. He adjusted the program, which had been set to 'ignore'. Now it was set on 'full alert' as it should have been. He kept checking the computer program for more anomalies.
|Jak and Valentine|
"ALERT, there they are!" Two soldiers just beneath them yelled as they flew by, shooting at them without delay. Valentine shoved her communicator in her ear, planning on calling Torn. He had beaten her to it , shouting in her ear. "Valentine, somebody cracked your codes! I'm getting calls from people that had their covers blown all over the city!"
"I'm on it boss, give me a few moments!" she yelled back, before searching for her pocket computer in her pockets. "Jak, keep heading south and whatever happens, don't stop!" she yelled, turning on the device.
"What the hell happened?" Jak asked as he dodged a bullet from a pursuing Krimzon vehicle.
"Somebody found my code, so we're no longer being ignored by the town's security system! I'm fixing it, so keep us out of trouble!"/p
Daxter screamed in her ear, grabbing on to her shoulder so tightly it hurt. "AAAAAAAAAAAAH!"
|Computer Station Beta|
Jared was updating some minor programs when the screens around him started to flash violently. Everywhere he looked he saw programs glitching and rewritten at an incredible speed. Faster than a thought he grabbed the nearest keyboard, typing as fast as he could. The flood of new data surged through the system, and before he knew it he was in a race with the person who had hacked the system and attempted to rewrite it again. He forced his adversary in a corner on the web, only to have them slip through his virtual fingers. He snarled, attempting to type his way out of the binary equivalent of a 1000 – pound weight dropped on his head.
He managed, barely, but before he escaped one attack he was already being assaulted by another. He launched desperate attacks against the other person, trying to divert their attention. He didn't know what they were planning, but he did know that if he didn't act fast, he'd lose this arms race.
In the entire time he worked for the Baron, not a single person had been able to match his speed when writing programs. Now he was battling someone who was just at fast at thinking them up, and who apparently also had a good deal of hacking experience.
Sweat seeped down his brow as he attempted to fight this foe , but he could not help but get a growing respect at the same time. 'This grace… those codes…' he thought, not daring to wipe away the dark hair from his forehead in order to see better. He couldn't afford to lose a second of time as he typed.
Suddenly a mail opened in his screen, without him asking for it. Before he could react, it had already covered the entire screen, making his fingers halt their tireless efforts. The letter type was big and swirly, giving the feel of a hand-written message.
'Sorry honey! You tried your best, but I was the top dog. Hurry up and close off your computer, before the date bomb I installed destroys every program you have left! xOxOx'
He paused for a few seconds, but before he had groped for the off-switch, a small bomb had appeared on the deep green screen. All of the security data was wiped out in front of his eyes. He would have to re-write every single code, if the Baron was to keep order. As he brushed the hair away from his deep green eyes, he couldn't help but feel that… he really admired his foe.
|Near Hip Hog Saloon|
"Just park over there Jak." Valentine pointed to a spot right next to the saloon. The package of Eco ore was hidden securely beneath her shirt, in case a guard still got any funny ideas. Jak put the Zoomer on the ground before helping Valentine get off.
"How'd you do it?" he asked as she put her feet on the ground. Jak's hands around her waist were warm, steadying her before she tripped. "I put a data bomb in the security system. Not the most graceful solution, but I had no other choice. At least the system will now not be bothering the Underground for a few months."
The person who had been on the other side of the web… had been good. So good it was frightening to say the least. They had countered almost all of her programs, and she had to act fast to counter him. Placing the data bomb had been as much skill as it had been luck. Still, now Praxis had the proof he needed that somebody was able to hack his systems. Security would be upgraded, and she would have an even harder time trying to tackle the systems.
With a determined look on her face she swept her hair back, before motioning to the doors of the Hip Hog Saloon. "Let's get in, shall we? This meeting will be unpleasant however long we put it off. Try to hold your breath when Krew is talking to you, and you should be fine. Daxter, behave," She warned the orange critter, who waved her comment away.
"Please, what's the worst that could be waiting behind those doors, after that wild chase?"
"Suit yourself…" she said, walking behind the guys. The feeling of Jak's warm hands was still on her body. She felt a little light in the head, and attributed it to all the action she'd just had.