|Metal Head Area|
"Hey there, pretty boy! You ready to rock and roll?" a piercing voice called out to the trio when they re-emerged from the altered Haven Forest. Valentine looked down to the side of the ramp in surprise, taking a double-take when she saw a face she hadn't expected to see again.
"Jinx, what are you doing here?" she asked, wondering why one of Krew's former henchmen was coming to pick them up. She had thought that all characters with a more dubious grounding would have left the scene a long, long time ago. Turned out she had been wrong on that account.
Jinx let out a slow whistle when he laid eyes on her. "Girl, they should toss people out in the desert more often. You're looking even finer than I remember, and I have an excellent memory." Valentine could feel how Jak tensed up at that statement and felt the corners of her mouth pull up in a grin. She coughed to hide her amusement at how he was trying to stare Jinx down all of a sudden.
"Still haven't told me what you're doing here." she reminded him, bumping her hip against Jak to snap him out of the one-sided staring match. Jinx looked between the two of them with a suddenly knowing look – was that amount of surprise really necessary? – before he started to tell them just what needed to be done.
"Well, ya see, Torn wants us to destroy the Eco grid, which is why Goldilocks here gets to drive me around and be my personal bodyguard until the mission is complete." He explained with a grin, pointing at himself with a thumb. "Sounded like Torn didn't want to lose his grade A bombing expert, so you saving my skin would be appreciated."
They skidded down to the ride, Valentine sitting in the back where she would have to be careful not to get thrown off the car in the more bumpy moments. Then again, she didn't feel like being drawn into a testosterone fueled contest, and Jinx was just the type to antagonize people until the point where they might be tempted to throw him out of the car. Daxter seemed to have the same idea, deciding against sitting with Jak and taking the otherwise more risky position of sitting with Valentine on the back of the big vehicle.
Jinx leaned back, the school example of a laid back suave guy as he looked at Valentine sitting behind them, lighting his cigarette. "So tell me, how does a girl like you end up back here? I thought you were supposed to be dead, or ruling the Wasteland. One of the two, people were pretty much divided on the subject."
"Neither, actually." She replied, suppressing a snort at the time old 'what's a girl like you doing here', or the variant on it. "Especially not the dead part." She added, resisting the urge to smooth down Jak's hair while she was sitting behind him. How it always did manage to stick up like that was a scientific riddle in its own right. She was saved from another poor pick-up line by the first power box, which was now warranted a rather sad fate.
Jak divided his attention between looking at her, Jinx and any Metal Head that might be approaching them. Valentine couldn't help but grin every time he let his eyes rest on Jinx for a moment, almost seeing the wheels turn in his head as he thought over how much of a threat the guy could be. Jinx was blissfully unaware of the attention he was receiving as his head was ducked in the box, every once in a while a rumble sounding from in there, or a low curse depending on how well he was doing.
"You're cute when you're jealous." Valentine said, resting her head on her hand as she sat cross-legged on the Zoomer. Maybe they should look for one of the three-seated ones when they were more in the HQ part of the route, though the smaller seats were their own kind of hell. Hardly enough space for an adult to get comfortable, not to mention they were even slower than the one they were using now.
Jak frowned, a single wrinkle forming on his forehead as he did so. "I'm not jealous." He said, sounding as if he were prepared to lock Jinx in the grid box for the crime of laying eyes on his girlfriend. "Just looking out for you."
"Yes, and I'm actually the princess of the sugar land, where magical unicorns fart rainbows and eat nothing but cotton candy." She snorted in reply, not able to take his statement seriously. The glare he sent her way set her straight again, though she still thought the situation was quite humorous. "Don't worry too much about Jinx. It's his way of telling people he's glad they're alright. I think he even used one of his pick-up lines on Krew once, though he was pretty drunk that time." Her eyes squeezed together when she thought back at that moment. "The day after he realized what he'd done and vowed to never get drunk again. That vow lasted for about three days."
Jak twitched his nose for a moment, trying to process the information. Before he could say anything Jinx popped back up again, jumping in the car before the two of them could react. "Okay kiddies, get in the Zoomer, quick!"
Before they had moved from their position the grid box blew up, shaking the Zoomer back and forth more than they had anticipated. Daxter immediately expressed his distaste for the situation. "The hell, can't ya use a longer fuse or something?" he growled from Valentine's shoulder, shaking a furry fist at the bomber. "You could've blown us up, you nutcase."
Jinx relit his smoke as Jak raised the Zoomer up to a safer altitude. "I gotta make sure I have enough fuse left for other days too, fuzzy. Besides, everyone here is tougher than getting shaken up by something like a small explosion. I remember Torn blowing his top about the gate you destroyed a few hours ago after all."
The three of them all looked guilty when they heard those words, Daxter even taking up a whistle as he looked up to the air. "I'm not blaming you guys, just wanted to be there when it happened. Two of the best things in this world are a beautiful woman and a big-ass explosion." Jinx leaned back as he thought about his statement, taking a long inhale on his smoke before nodding to himself. "Yeah, that's the life. And right now you've got both Jakiboy!"
Jak nearly lost control over the vehicle when Jinx clapped him on the back in what he supposed was meant in a congratulatory way. "Jinx, driving." He mumbled, before stopped next to the following box. Metal activity was increasing, something neither of the two heroes failed to notice as they entered the HQ territory. Daxter let out a low whistle, saying something about how the two of them were in big Trouble, capital T only there because he couldn't find a better way to express it.
Valentine had reached the same conclusion, fiddling with the collar of her top nervously when she thought about Torn's reaction when they finally got back. "Hot dang, he'll be ripping us to shreds. I'm just wondering which one he'll save for last." When she caught Jak's gaze she half-shrugged, not entirely sure she was joking right now. "Next time we discover a new power for either of us, let's do it in an area Torn doesn't want to keep in one piece. Let's say the desert." Then she remembered Damos would probably be wanting to have a word with her once she got back there as well. "Never mind the desert. There has to be some place on this planet where I won't get chewed out for screwing something up." She clapped her hands together as Jak took down a grunt Metal that had managed to slip past the freedom fighters. "Right, I was telling Daxter I wanted to go back to my old place. Once we finish this mission, let's stop there first for a spell."
"Your place?" Jak asked, suddenly wondering if he had left any mess on the last day he had spent there. He was fairly sure he had done the dishes, though exile had a funny way of making one forget about such day by day chores like that. He got back behind the wheel when Jinx shouted he was ready, not eager to get nearly blown up again.
Valentine nodded, though Jak couldn't see that while he was driving. "Yeah. There's some stuff I want to pick up there. Old picture books, one of my wrist computers, maybe have a look at my old research notes. While we're in town, I figured I might as well take advantage of the situation."
Both Jinx and Daxter thought they should make a comment on 'taking advantage of the situation', resulting in a message Valentine didn't think she'd be able to decipher if they gave her five minutes. Though judging from a few stray words, she should be happy she didn't catch most of Jinx's message. The parts that she caught were enough to turn her ears slightly pink, especially since they pertained to things that she actually wanted to do with Jak. Thankfully they reached the final box, Valentine resisted the urge to kick Jinx inside the damn metal contraption.
Jak kept a vigilant look-out for any robots that might be intent on attacking them, at the same time trying to make sure he would be able to talk to Valentine. "Guess there's no harm in stopping by your place." he finally admitted as Daxter retracted his claws so he wouldn't slip off the back of the Zoomer. He considered laying down low there until Torn had cooled off a little bit.
Meanwhile Valentine was considering other plans, and had she known of plans to lay low she would have blown her top. The longer they were gone from Spargus the more something was bound to go wrong. And the more time she had to consider the things that were bound to go wrong, the less she liked not being able to be there to keep a hand on things. Other than Damos probably getting more frustrated with two of his citizens – Well, citizen and a half, Jak didn't count fully yet – there was a high chance Ma'al would waltz into town. Somebody had to be there in case Ma'al decided to solve a problem for someone by eating the offender.
She slapped her hands in front of her face, thinking about how Spargus would look if she left her apprentices alone for too long, with the hatchlings that had yet to learn the basis of manners. And then there was the council, who would have a laundry list of chores and documents that had to be done and supervised as soon as possible and preferably yesterday. The monks might have some tasks for her as well, and she still hadn't found Seem and…
She stopped thinking about all of that for a moment, taking deep breaths. Right now she was in Haven, and she needed to get things sorted out here first. Calming down she thought about the most important things that needed to be fixed while they were here. One was gathering more clues about where the Kid could possibly be. Two was getting Veger kicked out of the council, not that he had much business being on it in the first place. Three was finding Seem and asking her some serious questions about the end of the world, without all of the theological bull that the monks usually added to it. Four… she glanced to the side, where Jak was discussing something with Daxter, leaning against the Zoomer casually. Four would be getting some more private time with Jak. There were some things left unfinished that desperately needed to find some sort of conclusion if she was to remain sane when she was around him.
Ah, the wonders of an overactive brain that enjoyed making her even more aware of all the things she could do to him, or he to her. When he turned to her with a smile she startled, suddenly extremely thankful he wasn't able to read her mind. Though her facial expression might have given something away, she thought with a panic as she tried desperately to think unsexy thoughts.
He poked her side, making her giggle out of nervousness. Before he could ask her what she had been thinking about Jinx popped up, ushering the both of them to 'hurry up before we get our sweet asses roasted'.
Jinx claimed to need the Zoomer for 'very important business', though he failed to stipulate exactly what that business was. He was however kind enough to drop them off near her old place before he buzzed off, leaving the faint scent of tobacco and coffee trailing behind him. Jak seemed to be particularly relieved to see the last of the man, taking a deep breath. "Don't forget to show up tomorrow for a new mission, sweet cheeks!" Jinx yelled as he took a sharp turn to avoid a robot that seemed to have lost its way slightly.
The trio made good speed towards Valentine's old place, thanks to Jak not taking any chances with robots that vaguely seemed like a threat. When the doors slid open, with a few hitches, they fell to coughing thanks to clouds of dust billowing out. "Oh boy, this place could use a clean-up. Or a clean-up crew, more like." Valentine managed to bring out, her eyes tearing up as she waved a hand in front of her face. Daxter started to sneeze so violently he flew of Jak's shoulder, the impact on the ground doing nothing to stop the sneezes.
They walked in, the security system announcing their names sounding oddly out of place as the dust settled down. Apart from the usual dust that gathered when people weren't in a home for a long time there was also the sort of dust that came from a home collapsing. Valentine's suspicions were confirmed when she noted how Jak's old bedroom was now a pile of rubble. Her own room had remained unscathed, thanks to the reinforcements she had made in case she changed without being able to control it. "Well, guess we know where we'll be sleeping." She said out loud, a pang in her stomach when she saw no signs of little Mar.
Jak was standing in the kitchen, mumbling something about there not being any dishes after all. She ignored the guys, who dug up some canned foods, and instead bent down to unlock the dresser where she stored all of the stuff that might have made her sentimental. Apart from a few keepsakes from her parents – a dented locket with their pictures and her dad's old screwdriver along with the casing of the first bullet her mother had fired – there were the picture books. She took out the top one almost reverently, smoothing the leather cover as she thought about what was in it.
Taking a seat in the now not so creamy white sofa she opened up the books, leafing through the pages. The other ones in the desk had pictures in them that uncle Vin had given her over the course of the years, but this one had pictures from after her escape. Not that she had been very keen on getting her picture taken mind, something which Torn had emphasized the one time he had looked through the book. She passed the picture where the both of them had an almost identical scowl on their faces.
And here the pictures with little Mar started. She bit the inside of her cheek when she passed the pictures where she had still been DE-girl, not believing she had ever dressed so garishly. He had snuck a picture of the first time she had attempted to cook for them, only memory serving to tell her the charcoal on the picture had been intended to be a piece of steak, with the vague white mess next to it the not so successful cake intended for dessert. Startled she realized her vision started to get blurred, causing her to rub her eyes violently. By the Precursors, she wasn't getting all weepy, was she?
Rubbing more violently she was startled by Jak placing a hand on her shoulder, both him and Daxter looking at her with worry in their eyes. "Something wrong?" he asked her, Daxter jumping on the sofa, releasing puffs of dust with every step.
Valentine shook her head violently, her ponytail swaying behind her. "No, I'm just being silly. I was thinking about little Mar and stuff… I mean, I'm just a bit… worried." Her eyes started to water up even more when she thought about how dangerous it was out there. "I'm supposed to protect him, and yet… he could be in danger, or cold, or sick." She snuffled, trying to calm down.
Jak took a big swallow, looking left and right in the room as if he was looking for something. He sat down, taking both her hands in his, covering them completely. He seemed serious, his eyes searching her face, looking for a clue. "Look, Val. There's something I have to tell you. You know, the secret I've been keeping? I knew you wanted to know, but I didn't really guess it was eating you up this much. You could say I'm really bad at estimating how much you worry about me."
Valentine frowned, blinking the tears away. "What are you talking about? Why would your secret be the cause of me being so damned weepy?"
Jak took a deep breath, closing his eyes for a moment. "Guess I should be happy you're sitting down already. Just hear me out, okay?" Seemed like it was time for all or nothing. He hoped that she'd believe him. He hoped this wouldn't screw things up. He waited until she nodded before he started.
So, yay, new chapter! Really excited about the next one to be honest ^^ One of the emotional key points of their entire relationship and all that... Though bear with me if it takes a little while, because I am now in the process of editing my novel (whoot whoot). So yeah, kind of excited about that, since I might actually be a *gasp* certified writer.
As always, thanks to Sage for proofing this for me.
M-Angel 05 : Ah, the joys of time travel in a relationship. It really gives so much potential, I can't believe people hadn't done it already. Or maybe they did and I just didn't read it, could always be. Hahhah, if you upload a chapter with Veger getting a nasty surprise, be sure to let me know! ^^