|Valentine's Place|
Jak knocked on the door of Valentine's work place for the third time. When he still hadn't gotten any answer, he opened up the door and slipped inside, letting the door fall in the lock behind him. Valentine didn't want the Kid getting inside her workshop, in case he would cut himself – or worse – on all of the sharp objects in the room.
'Valentine, where are you?' he asked loudly, looking around for the woman. In his right hand he carried a plate with some food in it, the latest of his culinary exploits. Though he sucked at cooking, Valentine insisted high and low that he was getting better. He assumed she didn't count the near-food poisoning he had almost given her in that calculation.
He spotted a leg from underneath a table, and smiled. She probably was wearing her headset again, having the volume turned up so loud that she couldn't hear a thing. Apparently she was supposed to be writing a new song as DE-girl, much to her annoyance. Keeping up a superstar cover was harder than it looked, since she had to go out in public and perform regularly as well.
Jak tapped her leg once, before he took it and pulled her from underneath the iron mass when the hammering sounds had stopped. She rolled out on the Hoover Board, which she had conveniently borrowed from him after he had gotten it from the mechanic Krew had put them in contact with.
'Jak, what's up?' Valentine asked her partner, holding out a hand for him to help her up. He obliged, with his other hand keeping the food plate in balance. When Valentine noticed it, she clapped in her hands.
'Been cooking again? Well, let me try!' she said, reaching for the food. Jak chuckled, letting her have it. When she was locked up in this room she lost track of all time, and forgot to eat for the better part of the day. She nodded, rolling her eyes at him in delight.
'It's good!' she said, before smiling at him. 'You've improved again.' She added, making him smile. She was so hungry she was eating with her hands, although that also could have to do with Jak having forgotten to bring any utensils.
'Valentine, your uncle called. He said he has found a way to get us in the Palace, but I can't understand anything about the plans he sent us. Maybe you could-'
'Uncle Vin called?' Valentine said, before choking in the food that went down her air pipe. Jak patted her back a few times, but before he had covered the problem sufficiently she was already running of, taking the food with her. He ran after her, and saw her talking to her uncle over the computer screen, still stuffing chunks of meat in her mouth.
'… and then you should stabilize any fluctuations in the power current, but only if you're sure the outer sockets would be able to handle it. If not, you can divert the power to the cannons.' Vin explained, pointing to some dancing figures on the screen.
'But wouldn't that-' Valentine started to ask, before Vin started again.
'Yes, but that should be fixed after-'
'They fire three shots, max four. Of course!' Valentine said, though half of it was unintelligible, due to her mouth full of food.
It was amazing to Jak how Valentine and Vin communicated like that, finishing sentences before they were even properly formed in the other's mind. He had walked in on Valentine talking to Vin on several occasions, while one of them would be showing a piece of hard-or software to the other, asking advice on some tricky part. And yet he didn't feel excluded, since Valentine always invited him to join in the conversation, and perhaps even shed some light on the situation.
When he argued that he didn't know the first thing about mechanics, she told him that an untrained mind often came up with solutions neither she nor her uncle would ever think of. Valentine was forced to stop talking when she forced a rather large piece of vegetable in her mouth. While she was chewing on that, Vin motioned Jak towards him.
'Jak! Just the person I needed to see. Look, I've pointed out the location of several power switches on this map. These are the ones you should worry about, since these can't be accessed by the external grid, making it so that Valentine can't hack them. Take out the cannons above them and hit the power box with all your might. It just needs to break so the power won't be used up there anymore.'
Jak nodded, understanding what was expected of him. Valentine gave him a sideways glance, an encouraging smile on her face. 'I'll be waiting in the abandoned elevator, hacking the system as well. Keep your communicator with you, in case something should go wrong. I'll let you know when I'm done rerouting the power.'
Before she could turn of the power, Vin made a coughing sound. Valentine looked up, not certain what the man wanted.
'Uncle?'
'Valentine… does Torn know you're doing this?' Vin asked.
Valentine looked away from the screen, towards Jak. 'He might have an idea, yes. But he has bigger worries than taking care of the two of us.' She reminded the man.
'If the two of you get yourselves killed, the Underground would be in even more trouble. Torn needs the two of you, my dear. If one of you was missing, this fight would become so much more harder on everyone.' Vin continued, his eyes betraying that he didn't really feel it was his place for him to lecture them. Yet he knew that the eco coursing through their bodies made them rash in their actions, quick to anger and even quicker to jump when they should instead think. Even Valentine, who was supposed to know better lost all control when it came to defeating the Baron.
'We won't get killed, uncle.' Valentine answered in that self-assured way of her.
'Jak is here to protect me, and will keep him safe as well. As long as the two of us are working together, nothing can stop us from killing Praxis.'
How did she manage to sound so confident in his abilities? There hadn't been a moment yet where she had wavered in her belief in him, and no reason for them to stop their trust in each other. Jak could almost feel her heartbeat when they were out on a mission for the Underground, and somehow they moved in sync when in trouble. Where did she find that much trust in him, after all that had happened. And because she was able to put everything she had in his hands, he found himself relying on her as well. Next to Daxter, there was nobody in this world he trusted more.
Valentine turned off the big screen where her uncle had been displayed, before attaching her small computer to her wrist. She looked a bit tired from her constant work on the thing, and yet her energy did not waver one moment.
'You ready, partner?' she asked him.
Jak found himself looking away from her blue eyes. Sometimes they were too bright for him, even with the swirl of pain that made them seem smaller every so often.
'Valentine… how do you do it?' he said, softly.
'Do what?' she asked, finding her nerves stand on end. Jak seemed to really wonder about something.
'How can you still trust people?' he asked her. 'You trust the Kid, your uncle and Torn. You had no problems taking me in your house after I escaped, even if you didn't know the first thing about who I was. How can you be so… trusting in others?'
Valentine's smile seemed to grow a little bit sadder when she heard that question. Looking at him, her gaze seemed to soften, as if she could see past him to a different time and place.
'It wasn't like that at first.' She started. 'When I managed to escape from Praxis, I went straight for uncle Vin's place. But instead of finding him there, I saw Torn and some others of the Underground. I was afraid the Krimzon Guard had found me, and attacked on sight. Torn was lucky I was weakened, or else he wouldn't have survived my dark form.'
Valentine shuddered at the thought of what she might have done. 'They managed to catch me, without doing much damage. I was too dangerous to be let loose though, so I ended up from one prison into the next. Even though I wasn't being hurt anymore, my being was too integrated with the Dark Eco to let me think straight. It didn't affect you as much as me, perhaps because you are better at channeling it, perhaps because I was far younger than you when they started injecting me with the eco. Let me assure you… I was far more Dark than I was myself.'
She thought back about that time… cursing and yelling whenever Torn got near her, and trying to bite anybody who came too close. She had been so lost then, lost in the confines of her own fear and pain. More animal than girl, only interested in defending herself.
'And then, one day, the Shadow finally returned from a mission. I was too exhausted from trying to escape Torn only a few minutes ago, and he managed to bring a little balance in my confused mind. Somehow, he managed to lift the burden, a little bit.'
The Green eco that had been injected in her body had given her a little relief. Even that little bit helped, and she had grasped for those few moments of sanity. The man who had helped her had looked down on her as she lay on the floor, putting a hand on her head.
'That's when he told me the thing I needed to hear to become who I am now. As long as I am able to have trust in another person, they will trust in me as well. If I'm able to do that, my heart won't be that cold anymore, and the rage won't mess me up that badly. Because the people that I trust are also the people that are the reason for me to fight. Every single person in Haven who suffers under Praxis' rule trusts in the Underground. In return, we trust in them to help us. As long as we can have this faith in each other, there is no way that Praxis will be able to win.
The Shadow helped me through the weeks and months that passed. I was able to talk with people again, fight and laugh again. I need to believe that my trust in people will be repaid in kind, so we can make a wonderful world where we won't need to fight anymore. The Shadow is the person who put his trust in me, and that's what saved me. I wanted to trust in you, Jak, because I wanted you to have a goal like I have.'
Jak blushed, looking away. What she had said sounded so noble, and so unreal. To be able to be the first person to give trust to another, without being able to expect anything back… it was a wonderful, and yet so dangerous a thing. He wouldn't have been able to do it, he knew that for sure. The pain and anger still were raging in him so fervently. Only Valentine was able to somehow calm that inner storm down, but even she could do nothing against the pain. They shared this affliction, and probably the same fate.
'Valentine… what if they fail to live up to that? What if they end up betraying you?'
Valentine gave him a cold, hard look. 'Betrayal is a crime that can have only one outcome. Death, for me or for them.'
|The Castle|
'JAK!' Valentine cried out from behind a wall, before pulling her head back in when the Baron launched a few shots at her. The stone crumbled, huge lumps of it flying away over the edge before tumbling down, causing damage to the city underneath.
This wasn't supposed to happen! How had Praxis known that they were coming? There was no way he'd have that robot prepared at all times! Daxter sat between her feet, cowering at the sounds of shooting. Valentine took a few deep breaths, before grabbing Daxter and running over the rooftop, rain lashing against her face in violent streams. She was soaked to the core, and almost slipped three times on the slippery surface.
When Praxis turned to fire on her, Jak took advantage of the situation to fire on the robot's backside. Something was hit, and it clanked against the sides of the huge metal suit. Still, the Baron paid no heed, coming for Valentine in a relentless way. Like a deer trapped in headlights, she stopped running and turned around, looking in the barrels of the guns.
'So sad to see you go, my dear girl.' Praxis said, before he pulled the trigger.
In that tiny split second before the fire broke loose, Jak jumped, arms around Valentine and forcing them both to the side. The ground broke their fall violently, and they slid further a little while. Skin was scraped from her one knee, where the fabric of her pants had torn away five minutes earlier. Still, her anger overruled that small amount of pain as she scrambled back up, Jak already running to the other side of the roof.
'We're dead! How are we supposed to stop this thing?' Daxter screamed, having preferred to stay with Valentine, who attracted less gunfire than Jak. She swiped her wet bangs away from her eyes, feeling the pressure building as she needed to think of something so very, terribly fast.
Her eyes landed on the piece of hardware Jak had managed to shoot loose. It hung limply from the sides, but seemed to be providing the armor with its flying power still. 'Daxter, you see that thing?' Valentine asked, pointing at the brightly red colored piece of equipment.
'Uhuh.' Daxter said, his ears tilting since he could already guess what Valentine was about to do.
'We're going to destroy it.' She said coldly, grabbing the Ottsel by the neck, running for the metal giant.
'Nooooo! Wait, Valentine! STOP!' Daxter yelled, trying to break loose from Valentine's grasp. It didn't really work though, and he watched in fear as they got closer to the robot. Valentine threw him towards the red tube-like thing, the Ottsel flying through the air.
'Daxter, break it loose! Hurry!' Valentine yelled, as Praxis turned his robot around to face her.
Daxter was swung around, holding on tight. He caught a glimpse of the city far beneath them and gulped for air. If he was thrown down, there was no way he'd survive. Screaming he grabbed the tube, scampering up. Getting closer to the end, he could see it was being held together by small wires. He could stick his hand in and break them loose, but he'd probably end up electrocuted.
'Valentine, you gotta help me here!' he yelled.
Valentine sighed, running in circles in an attempt to avoid Praxis getting a lock-on.
'Jak, help Daxter!' she yelled.
When Jak turned around, he could see Daxter hanging there. Though he had no clue about what the Ottsel was doing, he decided it was worth a go. He jumped up, grabbing the tube. Before he knew what was happening, the tube let go, dropping him back down. The robot seemed to be going out of control, spinning as Praxis cursed. It tripped backwards, falling down while Praxis was yelling obscenities at them.
'Jak, Daxter!' Valentine yelled, running up to them. She kneeled next to Jak who was lying on the ground, still dazed by the fall. Daxter was on his stomach, grumbling about having to do crazy things.
'Are you alright, Jak?' she asked him. Jak nodded, wiping his long hair back, looking at her in relief.
'How about you?' he asked.
'I'm fine.' She replied, shakily.
'You think he's dead?'
She shook her head, placing her forehead against Jak's. His skin was cool from the rain, but she needed to feel some contact with him. The adrenaline had surged through her veins, leaving her shaky. Jak took a deep breath, and she did the same. A few seconds of rest was something they needed, but they shouldn't take too long.
'We should get going.' She said softly, pulling Jak up as she got back on her feet. For a second they held hands, before quickly releasing one another. Valentine looked away blushing, before she started to make her way to the lift. They should get out of there before the Guards showed up.
Suddenly her communicator started to beep, and before she had a time to answer it, the Shadow's voice poured out of the speaker.
'VALENTINE! What have you been doing!'
'Ah, sir… I … what are you talking about?' she asked, knowing full well what he was talking about.
'You're at the Baron's palace now, aren't you? Don't try to deny it, everybody has already seen a robot fall down from there, and there's only one person in the entire Underground who is capable of thinking up something so idiotic!'
'But sir, I really did… we almost got him, of you'd just let us…'
'And your partner is there too, isn't he? Well, the two of you can just report back to the base, it's about time I get to see this young man. And don't you even think of running away!'
Her communicator shut itself off. Valentine threw Jak a depressed look. 'You heard the man. Time to report to base.'
Jak looked at her in a dumbfounded way. 'We're meeting the Shadow? Finally!'