|Valentine's place|

'A pick nick?' Valentine repeated after Daxter, not sure if she had heard right. The suggestion was so amazingly good, she had trouble believing the Ottsel had come up with it. The Kid was sitting next to her in the sofa, reading a story book. At times he'd look next to him, at Valentine or Daxter.
'Yeaaah, that's what I'm saying! There's this pretty cool park in Haven, right?' Daxter said, standing up and using his hands while he talked to emphasize his words. 'I was there once before, and sure, there's a few Metals out there but nothing what you and Jak can't handle, right? Just think about it, we'll take a pick nick basket and do nothing but laze around the whole day.'

Valentine ran a hand through her hair, thinking about it. Finally she smiled, before denouncing the idea. 'I'm sorry Daxter. Uncle Vin said that there's a soothsayer downtown who might be able to help us figure out what Praxis is planning. I'd love to go on a pick nick with you all… but taking Praxis down is still my main objective.'
She turned her attention back to her wrist computer, typing in codes as she peered in the Contral Station programs. Whoever the person was that had discovered her codings a few weeks earlier, they were busy setting up a new security system. Valentine put out little codes of her own, some easy to detect and some harder. Even if they detected some, they would never be able to root out all of her codes. She now had the chance to infiltrate the system from the beginning, and that was a very valuable something.

Suddenly a warm hand touched her shoulder. She flinched, nearly mistyping one of her more complicated new surveillance codes. Looking behind her, Jak watched her with a smile. Valentine felt her heart skip a beat as she looked in those blue eyes. 'Jak.' She said, not sure what she could add to that.
'Valentine, are you ready to head out? The sooner we go see this Onin person, the better.' He smiled at her again, flashing those pearly white teeth. Valentine nodded, before leaning over to pick up the Kid.

'Okay kiddo, me and Jak are going out to work on some missions. Torn will be over here soon to pick you up. Be a good boy, okay?'
~Sure thing, Valentine. Will you be careful? And Jak too?~ the Kid signed at her. He had taken a liking towards Jak, even though the hero wasn't quite sure how he should act around a small child. Valentine smiled, nodding and telling the Kid that they both would be very careful. They waved, walking out the door. Jak started up one of the Zoomers, Valentine taking her usual place behind him.
They drove in silence for a while, keeping an eye out for any guard that was too efficient for their liking. Finally Jak broke the silence.

'The Kid seems to like you.' He commented, taking a sharp turn left. Valentine grabbed his waist a little bit tighter, not keen on getting thrown off.
'Yeah… well, I've been his Guardian after I escaped. He's a good kid, and he's quite happy now that he can use the sign language to communicate with everybody. Even though I'm the only one who's fluent with it at the moment.' She added the last part laughing, as she thought about Torn's efforts in mastering it.
Jak frowned. He had never before seen anybody using a sign language to communicate, and yet it felt as if he already knew it. There were times when Valentine and her young charge were having a conversation, signing away, and he would almost grasp what they were talking about. Once he had even understood, much to his and her surprise. She had him learning it too, and though progress was slow, some words he immediately knew without any effort.

It was baffling, to him as well as to Valentine. Though her surprise had been soon replaced by the kind of eagerness she usually only showed when she was experimenting in her lab, Jak was still quite skeptical about it. He didn't understand how it was possible for him to learn something so complicated so fast. Daxter tapped his shoulder, signaling that it was time for them to pull over. The Bazaar was apparently a pedestrian zone, much to his and Valentine's dismay. If they were in for a quick getaway, it would be hard if they couldn't use a Zoomer.
'C'mon, big boy.' Valentine said, giving him a tap on the shoulder as well, before she got off. He looked at her, dressed again in the purple wig and sunglasses. It was an effective disguise, and though they were sometimes harassed by people wanting an autograph, guards left them in peace. There had been one time when they had been pulled over by a patrol, but apparently the chief in it was a huge fan of DE-Girl.

Jak followed her, as Daxter jumped up on Valentine's shoulder, motioning him to hurry up. Looking back over his shoulder for a second, Jak quickly caught up. Amicably his hand brushed Valentine's elbow, letting her know he was right by her side. Trust had been built up between them, and now it was hard for Jak to imagine being without the girl. She was not just his mentor when it came to the darkness in him, but also a confidant when he was feeling so miserable he just wanted to scream. They had spent many a night staying up, sharing a drink while they talked about everything and nothing.
Valentine returned the touch, with a vague smile on her face. Jak was sure that she, at least partly, shared the same trust he had in her. While they were here, they took the opportunity to buy some fruits, fresh as could be. They watched people passing by as they walked further and further in the winding corridors, and soon she grabbed his arm, pulling him along with her. He felt his heart beat a little bit faster when she did that.

Valentine couldn't believe herself, grabbing Jak's arm like that. Still, he didn't object, for which she was quite thankful. Too soon for her tastes did they reach the soothsayers tent. She let go of him, reluctantly. Jak gave her a small push in the small part of her back, sending again butterflies through her stomach.
She knew that she was falling for the man. Quite badly in fact, judging from the way her heart fluttered just when he smiled at her. And though she fought to deny it, at the same time there was a thrill in it. The excitement when he somehow managed to say just the right things, or ended up touching her just as she needed it the most. The thrill of falling for someone who understood what she felt every day was almost too much.

The air in the tent was sweet, so sweet she almost suffocated on it. Incense was burning near the entrance, giving the place a misty look. Jak followed soon after, his eyes focusing on the huge, purple glowing mask that was placed right behind what he thought was the Seer.
Daxter, still on Valentine's shoulder, spotted a dead… something hanging from a beam. 'Cool, check out the dead stuff.' He commented, poking the thing on its beak.
It bit him so hard Valentine could hear the snap. Daxter screamed, fleeing to her other shoulder while the thing that had done the biting flew to the other side of the room.
'Touch the goods again, rat boy, and you'll be aaaark, counting with your toes!' the creature said. It looked like somebody had fused a monkey with a parrot. Jak started chuckling, as well did Daxter. Valentine wondered about the odds of such a creature existing while it mumbled something about its mother.

'My name is Pecker. I am Onin's interpreter.' He said, making a bow as he stood on the woman's head. She started to sign, her blind eyes gazing into nothingness as she did so. Valentine was surprised to see another person using a sign language, but she didn't get anything of it. Pecker translated for her, mixing in a few insults for Daxter as he talked.
'Oh oh, let me try. She wants a… fur ball… a hair ball… a hairy chest!' When Daxter noticed the looks of disbelief on everybody's eyes, he tried a different approach. He waved his hands in the air, trying to look mystical.
'For many moons she has waited for… a juice pop?' he exclaimed, really not getting it anymore. Valentine facepalmed as Jak managed to shut his best friend up. Pecker explained them that if they wanted to know more about what Praxis was planning, they would need to find three artifacts located outside of the city. They had something to do with Mar, and therefore were imperative if they were to find the tomb of the founder of the city before Praxis.

'Even if this tomb of Mar has something in it that can help us beat Praxis, I still go with the option utter and total destruction…' Valentine said as they got out of the tent. The sunlight stung their eyes, the shift from pleasant shade to full sun bringing tears to their eyes as they blinked.
'Ya know, that doesn't sound half bad.' Daxter said while he checked his fingers. Pecker had bitten him hard, but thankfully not hard enough to draw blood from the Ottsel. 'We go and take out Praxis, you and Jak beat him up a little bit extra, throw him down from his own palace and that's the end of all this mess. Then we see the Shadow, look up Samos and Keira and get back to our own time.'

'Keira and Samos!' Jak exclaimed, suddenly remembering he still hadn't done anything to find his friends. How could he have forgotten about his mentor and the girl he liked? 'We should go and look for them, no?' he said, shoulders slumping when he realized he had been to absorbed in his own misery.
Valentine looked away, suddenly feeling dejected when she heard a girl's name enter the conversation. 'Yeah… I'll help you look for your friends Jak. As soon as we get those artifacts I'll get one of programs running to see if I can spot them. It'll be faster than having you running around the town all day.'
It felt as if the day had gotten a little colder. She hadn't realized that Jak might already have a special someone, let alone that he might want to return to where he came from. She straightened her shoulders, and took a deep breath. Jak hadn't noticed her sudden spell of slight depression, and she didn't want him to notice either.

'Let's get going, partner!' she said, clapping Jak on the shoulder. Daxter threw her a worried glance, as if he somehow got what was bothering her. He hopped over to her, his nails digging in her shoulder as he turned around to beckon Jak to hurry up. She ignored the comforting pat on her head as she kept her eyes on the Zoomer. Even if Jak knew a girl, it didn't mean that he liked that girl, right? Perhaps they were just friends…
Valentine forced the thoughts from her head, getting on the back of the Zoomer with the kind of smile on her face that told the outside world there was nothing wrong with her at the moment. Jak got fooled by it, as he smiled back at her before getting on the hovering bike as well. As she put her arms around her partner's waist, she told herself that she hadn't lost yet. And suddenly she smiled as she realized something.
'Daxter, it looks like we'll be able to have a pick nick after all! Lucky us!'

|Computer Station Beta|

'JARED!'
The dark-haired man jumped up from his stool, as if bitten by a Metal Scorpion. He recognized that voice from everywhere, since it was the voice of the second most powerful man in the castle. Erol, Commander of the troops and asshole extraordinaire. He turned around, keeping a long deep sigh inside his body, before he would scolded for that too.
'Commander, how nice to see you.' He lied between his teeth. The Commander seemed to be in an even worse mood than usual, and Jared thought he knew why. The fugitives Jak and Valentine had been sighted throughout most of the parts in town, although they always managed to flee just in time before they got arrested. The matter infuriated the Baron, who took it out on Erol who in turn took it out on people below his station.

Pretty much everyone, that was.

'I don't have time for idle chit-chat!' Erol said, snapping his fingers underneath the slightly taller man's nose. Jared's eyes narrowed a bit in frustration at the gesture, but he remained quiet. Erol kept talking, his eyes on the computer screen and the stack of notes on the smaller desk on the sides. He picked up the paper on the top, pushing it underneath Jared's nose.
'Why haven't you solved this already?' he yelled, before ripping the paper in half. 'The Baron hired you because after Vin you are the best in this town! Somebody is messing with our system, and instead on working on the new one you're just taking notes about the hacker. Notes! You are to work on something that will keep out any hacker, and certainly that one that you believe is such a genius!'

'I have been working on that, Commander, but may I just point out that-' Jared started, pushing his glasses back up on his nose. Erol didn't let the man finish, instead pulling out a gun and placing it on the man's forehead.
'Jared, if you are thinking for even one second that I am interested the lame excuses of somebody who's hardly of the rank to clean my boots, I suggest you think again.' He removed the gun, gesturing Jared go sit on his chair again. The scientist did as told, trying to keep himself from spitting at the Commander.
Erol put a foot on the small table, looking at all the papers sprawled around the room, tapping the gun against the side of his leg. The ginger man gave the dark-haired one a slow smile. Jared looked at the doors, seeing two Krimzon Guards posted there. Not that it mattered. Jared wouldn't have ran away either way, since he knew what was at stake. His eyes moved to a picture on the desk. Erol followed his gaze, his smile somehow becoming even wider when he spotted that picture. He picked it up, examining it more closely.

'And here I was thinking that you had forgotten what would happen if you didn't work properly. I almost thought you didn't care for your precious family anymore. What a shame it would be if something happened to them… and that the security system wouldn't be able to film it when it happened.'
Erol's eyes met those of Jared. Jared said nothing, though his fists clenched. Jared had been working on the security system, but he had also been on the look-out for any small traces that had already been sneaking in his system. He had found some, but he wasn't nearly cocky enough to think he had rooted all of them out. Whoever it was that infiltrated the system, they knew what they were doing. Finally, when Erol's staring became too much, Jared scraped his throat.
'If the Baron wants me to get a system up fast, I can do it. I can't do it if he also expects it to be safe for the full one hundred percent. If you're just patient, I'm sure that-'

Erol hit him with the side of the gun. Jared felt how his head was forced to the side, and he thought he could hear something crack. He tasted metal, and realized his own teeth had cut through some skin, drawing blood to his mouth.
His ears were ringing, and though he saw Erol's mouth moving, the words didn't connect to his brain. Jared realized he was lying on the floor, but didn't remember falling down there. His hands hurt from breaking his fall though, so he supposed his body must have done its best as to protect him. He saw Erol snarl something at him as the man bent over, grabbing him by the collar and pulling him up to his feet.
Jared struggled to get up, lest he be choked to death. The ringing in his ears stopped, in time for him to hear what Erol was saying now.

'You will have this program finished by the end of this week, Jared. For each hour you go over the deadline, I'll start popping family members. Work fast Jared, and make sure you do it good. Even if the Baron would be charitable about mistakes, I am certainly not.'
Jared mumbled something, feeling his jaw tentatively, hoping nothing was fractured. Erol looked behind him, smiling in a pleased way for a change.
'I'm sorry, what were you saying? When you mumble it's so hard to hear for me.'
'I said : yes sir. I'll get started right away. It'll be finished on time.' Jared said louder. He hadn't broken anything, though that was probably more luck than intention from Erol's part. When Erol had left, Jared found himself sitting in his chair, holding his family picture in his hands.

He wondered about why his adversary was doing what they did. Was their family in danger too, or did they fight only for themselves? Did they fight for love or out of hate? What did they want with their lives?
Who was it?
Jared sighed as his fingers started moving on the keyboard, asking forgiveness from the person who he was fighting against.