|Valentine's Room|

Valentine lay in her bed, looking up at the ceiling in as if somehow the answers to all her problems were written on the white plaster. Ever since she had injected herself with the antidote she had tried to make, she hadn't felt like she was exactly herself.

She had tried to come up with a number of very logical reasons as to why she wouldn't be feeling like herself. For one, her heartbeat felt as if it didn't belong to her own body anymore. Instead it seemed to pound along to the rhythm of life outside as Haven's residents went about their own business. Every time she closed her eyes there were purple flashes dancing on the inside of her eyelids.

The second thing that was disturbing her was that she could actually feel the pockets where the most energy was being used. And above it all was the dome of Dark Eco looming above the city. At night it seemed to weigh on her body directly, making her feel as if she couldn't breathe anymore.

Her arm hooked around little Mar as he slept next to her, curled up in a bundle against her side. The most frightening part was It. She could hear the voice in her ears as soon as she relaxed a little bit. It spoke to her in terms of revenge and sweet bloodshed, promising her how good she would be able to feel if she just got up and took some action. Her foot jerked when the Eco in her body made itself more noticeable for a second, the same instant she thought about Jak.

The Kid woke up, rubbing his eyes as he looked around him. Seeing how Valentine looked as if was worrying about something as she lay there, looking up, he sat on his knees next to her. She turned her face towards him, smiling softly.
'Good morning kiddo. How are you doing today?'

'I'm doing okay, Valentine. But you look like you are having some pain.' He signed at her in his own special language. His big blue eyes were filled to the brim with worry about her, which didn't lessen when she patted his head before she replied.

'I'm only hurting a little bit. It's pretty normal now, isn't it? Please don't worry about it too much.' she offered him her hand, which he gave a quick stroke before he signed again.
'Are you still angry at Jak too?' he asked her.

Valentine raised herself up as well. 'Now where would you get the idea that I'm angry with Jak?' she asked, surprised at the Kid being able to see so well through her.
'You always look so sad when he is leaving to see his girlfriend. But you shouldn't be sad, Valentine.' He signed at her, trying to seem as serious as he could be. 'After all, I love you. And I won't ever let anyone hurt you when I'm bigger. I want us to be together forever.'

She wrapped an arm around Mar, letting him nestle against her once more, smiling demurely. How serious this child could be, when it came to her. She was his prime protector, until his father could be restored to the throne once more. The man had had to flee the city when Praxis had taken over. Right now, there was no telling where he might be exactly. There were rumors that he was in the Wasteland, being king over a new city. There were also rumors that he had died, or somewhere on the other side of the world.

'Forever sounds good, kiddo.' She muttered back. The boy's breathing had once again evened out, as he started to doze off again. She adjusted the blankets around him, trying not to use her still injured had. Torn had come by her house again to redo the bandages. With his military background he could still apply a good first-aid bandage. Breaking her hand had made it impossible for her to perform as DE-girl for now however, meaning they would experience a drop in sales. And with less sales, there would be less money she could donate to the Underground.

She kept staring up at the ceiling, wondering if perhaps she would not be able to find the answers written on there after all. The way her life had been going so far, she could use just a little bit of luck. If not for her, at least for the people she was supposed to be protecting.

|One Week Later, Haven City Outskirts|

'Everybody, come this way!' Valentine shouted from the top of the hill. They had found a beginning Metal Head nest just outside the city. Torn had deemed it too dangerous to just leave it be, and rounded up everyone he could, even Valentine who was supposed to be resting up.

'It'll be totally safe, my ass.' The woman muttered to herself, still waving for the men to come to the transporter vehicle. They had totally misjudged the situation in thinking the nest was completely new. Valentine could already see Torn would have them regroup in order to take care of this later. But for now, everyone had to get their asses out of this mess.

'Gale, you better be ready to get the ship up and running as soon as everyone is on board.' She yelled to the driver. The man made an okay sign towards her, before keeping his hands on the controls as soon as possible. A drop of sweat trickled down the side of his face.

Valentine pointed a gun towards the bigger Metal Heads, picking them off wherever she could to make sure the men would be able to reach the transport. She ignored the little ones, not trusting her aim enough to be confident she wouldn't shoot one of their own.
'If only Jak were here…' she thought gritting her teeth. Krew had him on an important mission for the past few days, making him unavailable for even Torn. The past few days they had hardly seen each other, but he did his best to be as nice as possible to her. She might even start to trust him once again.

She was so consumed in making sure the men were safe that she didn't notice the ground shaking softly as something moved towards her. A huge Metal Head shot up, throwing her off her feet. She fell backwards, rolling down the hill where she had been standing so she could draw the attention of the combatants.

She screamed every time her injured hand slammed into the ground. The thing followed her down, scampering it's huge body down the hill. Teeth clicking, saliva slobbering down on the ground, and tiny yellow eyes watching her every twitch and quiver.
Lying down on the ground, she raised herself on her good hand. The transport had lifting into the air, and everybody who could get a good aim started to shoot on the centipede-like Metal. Cold sweat formed on her back as she looked into the creature's eyes. She could feel the bundle of Dark Eco in the body of the creature. Deadly, pent-up intent staring her in the eye. On instinct she tried to morph into her Dark form. Dark sparks flew over her body, but nothing else happened. Stunned she lay there, watching the creature come closer to her.

It always worked. Even though she hated to be cursed like this, in the end she could always turn Dark and destroy anything that was threatening her. Why didn't it work this time?
'This is what you get for messing with things you don't understand.' It told her. Valentine could almost feel It smirk to her.

She rolled away from the creature as it dove for her, once again being launched away into the air before dropping back on the ground.
'Do you want to get us killed?' she asked the Eco in her body. She got the faint idea that the energy inside her shrugged at that remark.
'If you get eaten, I'll end up in a Metal Head again. We still have Jak, so it wouldn't be a total loss.'

Valentine scrambled up, running towards the wall. Shots were still being fired, but now the creature burrowed underground. Valentine looked around her, trying to ignore the painful stinging of her hand. If she did get out of this alive, she would tear Torn a new one.
The transporter kept circling above them, and now everyone with a gun started shooting a wave of smaller Metal Heads that were trying to scramble over the hill, leaving Valentine to fend for herself. She saw Gale, the pilot, glance towards her in what she thought was a rather pitying and apologizing look.

The ground started to rumble. Valentine started to fall back in time now, and didn't get knocked off her feet again. She emptied her gun on the centipede, but that seemed to only make it angry. She ended by throwing it at its head, buying her some precious seconds to get away. She ran away from the fighting, with every ounce of strength she had left in her. A few yards further, she stopped running when a normal-sized Metal Head blocked her way.

She considered hitting it. But even if she still had her speed, she didn't think she'd be able to kill it like this. Tears welled up in her eyes. She didn't want to die like this, eaten by some Metal Head just outside the city. She managed to throw in a lucky punch, knocking the Metal Head away from her.
The centipede had caught up to her however. She managed to fish out her dagger from one of her boots, stabbing the thing in the side of the head.
It screamed, dark blood pumping out from the side. Raising itself it clicked at her with its mandibles. It hunched over, diving straight toward her. Valentine raised up her arms, trying to shield herself from this inevitable sudden death.

And was knocked to the side by a mass of pure muscle. For the third time in less than an hour, she was knocked to the ground. Her hand felt as if the fractures had become even worse, and this time tears were really rolling down her cheeks.
She opened her eyes, looking at what had knocked her down. A Metal Head, sleekly built, was standing in front of her. Valentine blinked, not trusting what her senses were telling her. Dark skin, with wings that were slightly paler, outstretched in the harsh light. The Scout Metal screeched to the Centipede, sending the smaller Metal Head packing.

'Meta?' Valentine asked.
Meta turned her head, sending out a short cooing sound, before turning her attention back to the bigger Metal Head. The Centipede started circling around them, and Valentine thought that she could hear Gale coming up with an entire cavalry of guns.
'Meta, we need to get out of here!' she shouted, realizing the members of the Underground wouldn't be interested in trying to figure out if Meta was a friendly or not.

Meta didn't hesitate for a second at this command. Turning around smoothly, the Scout ducked her head underneath Valentine's legs, taking flight before Valentine could say anything. Valentine was seated backwards on her friend, but she didn't care. The Centipede tried to snap at them, catching nothing but air.

'Gale! I'll be fine!' she shouted, the wind snatching her words away before they had left their mouth. Meta kept flying away from the dangerous area, leaving Valentine to gaze about over the ground beneath them. With Valentine's weight pressing her down, Meta couldn't get up very high, but Valentine was still impressed to see how much the Metal Head had grown.

Valentine lost track of how long they had been in the air, but by the time they started to get closer to the ground the sun had started to set. They landed on a tiny space of land in the river, the walls of the city dimly in view. She let herself slide of the Metal Head, immediately being confronted by Meta who started to rub her head against Valentine's head, trying to get the most amount of attention she could get.

'Meta! You're okay! I missed you!' Valentine yelled, throwing her arms around the scaly creature. She was rewarded with more cooing sounds, and wings slowly stroking her.
Meta pulled her long neck back, blowing hot air in Valentine's face. Valentine nearly gagged with the smell of putrid flesh that came along with the breath.

'Meta, how did you know where I was?' Valentine asked. They had gotten away from Gale and the pursuing Metal Heads. Meta cocked her head to the side, pulling up the side of her lip as she seemed to contemplate this question. After a few seconds she shook her head, snorting.
'No really, how did you know? There must be some way.' Valentine insisted.

Meta turned in circles, as if she was trying to contemplate how she should explain this. Eventually she walked back up to Valentine, lowering her head towards her. When Valentine didn't react, she brought her head even closer, until the golden gem on her head touched Valentine's forehead.

At once Valentine was confronted with a tidal wave of images. She could see how Meta had been hunting in the river, followed by an image of herself working in the lab. Images of the Kid, Jak, Torn and Samos flashed by her eyes, followed by things Meta had been doing in the weeks that had passed.

When Valentine fell back on her backside, rubbing her head, Meta let herself sit up neatly as well.
'Meta… are you saying you can see what I see?'

The Metal Head let out a purr, and rolled it's shoulders. Valentine let out a shaky laugh, standing back up. Meta sitting was about the same size as she was standing now, and she put a hand to the side of her friend's head, stroking the dry scales.
'You've been seeing everything I've been up to, haven't you?'

Meta purred again, twisting herself around Valentine's legs. Then she hopped off excitedly, returned after a few moments with the carcass of a giant frog she had managed to kill a day earlier. She placed it at Valentine's feet, dropping to her haunches again as she looked up to the humanoid.
'And you can hunt for yourself now! How wonderful!' Valentine praised.

Meta subtly changed her stance enough for Valentine to get the idea. The woman held her hands out in front of her. 'Ah, no no. I don't eat that kind of stuff, Meta. I need to cook my food first.'
Meta snorted at this suggestion, curling her long tail around her.

Valentine's wrist computer started to vibrate, forcing her to divert her attention to the tiny apparatus. Meta decided to ignore the action, and started to eat on the dead frog herself.

'DE-girl speaking.' Valentine answered.
'Valentine! Are you okay?' Thor's gravelly voice sounded from the tiny speakers, dripping with worry. Behind him an entire chorus of voices sounded, not in the least Jak who demanded to know where she was.
Valentine answered slowly. 'I'm fine, I swear. Whatever Gale has been telling you, I can guarantee it's not half as bad. Though.. Torn, can I count on you to take care of my hand when I get back?'

A sigh sounded from the speakers, together with a lot of static. It seemed like she was just on the edge of where the transmitters in town could reach her.
'Will you be able to make it back into the city?' Torn asked her, after assuring her he would take care of her hand. Valentine suspected it would be after he chewed her out for making them worry so. She threw a look back at the eating Meta.
'Yeah, I'll make it back. Might not be tonight tough. I prefer daylight travelling, you feel me?'

There were some slight protests from the speaker, but Valentine didn't catch a word from who or what they were saying thanks to everyone talking through one another. She murmured some quick helloes and turned the device of.

She looked around, noticing the small hollowing out in the cave that suggested where Meta must have been sleeping. Walking towards it, she was followed by the Scout, who looked rather ridiculous having to walk instead of flying.

'Looks like it will just be us girls tonight.' She said out loud. Meta replied with a snort, lowing her head until it reached the ground. She opened up one of her wings, inviting Valentine to curl up together with her. As Valentine complied, she found that the Metal Head practically radiated warmth. She wouldn't freeze to death, that was for sure.

On top of that, she found the added comfort that here there was no added static from the city that her body could pick up. For once, she was practically alone in her body, except for the collection of Eco that was gathered in Meta's body. As Valentine relaxed, she imagined that she could feel a bit of how Meta felt, and that the Metal Head must be having the same sensations.

Meta raised her head as Valentine fell asleep. A tension had left her body as now part of her Swarm had been completed. Being alone wasn't good for someone of her kind, and the Caretaker had been alone for too long as well. There had been some images of beings Meta would be able to welcome in the Swarm : The Larvae, the tiny thing her Caretaker liked so much. And the Green One, who had sought to bring some relief from the Caretakers pain.

She had been surprised at the amount of pain the Destroyer had brought however. The female that had chased Meta out of the city was apparently causing her Swarm more harm than she could have guessed. Meta yawned, curling up with her Caretaker between her paws.
If the Destroyer or his mate came in her path again, she would be sure to take measures.