"That is all just wonderful. I always thought you were more like your father, but it turns out that you got quite a bit from my side of the family too!" Vin exclaimed, prouder than Valentine had ever seen him after they had finished telling him everything that had happened.
She grinned, trying to seem as if it wasn't all that big of a deal. "Thanks Uncle. And I got a ton of research done on the whole Metal Head situation so if you'd like I could easily get that info in the Haven system before you can say mega-byte."
If it had ever been possible for a hologram to pale she could have sworn that was what her uncle did at that moment. "No thank you, my dear. After the whole invasion of the city I can't quite say I'm that fond of them. Not that I ever was. I'm sure you have done some admirable research, but I- I simply… well, you understand, don't you?"
Her smile grew lopsided as her uncle stuttered his way through the sentence, blinking around the room as if that would make him more understandable. "I get it. I'll just keep researching them on my own."
"Vin, haven't you thought about contacting the HQ? I'm sure they would love your help." Jak offered, gesturing to the room. "I know you didn't want to bother anyone, but people would be happy to know you're alive."
He just managed to swallow the 'and kicking' part of his sentence, not sure if that would be an appropriate remark. He hadn't exactly counted on this sort of in-laws when he started dating Valentine. And they would still have to tell Damas. Maybe the man would be more understanding to his recent daughter dating if he saved the world, again.
Vin blinked around the room as he started to transfer the necessary cyphers to the HQ, trying to look extremely busy. "Well, I'm not going to say I never thought about it. But let's be honest here, what can I contribute to the fight? I don't even have a body for crying out loud, and I've never been a very decent shot."
Daxter appeared from behind the consoles, looking grimier than ever. "And I for one couldn't be happier about it. You could have shot us the first time we saw ya."
Jak gestured to Valentine, trying to clarify his thoughts in a way Vin would understand. "Well, look at Val. She wasn't a fighter either - no offense, Val - but she still managed to help out the Underground best she could, and so did you. You don't have a body anymore, but you can still do what you used to. Can you?"
More flickering as the hologram appeared next to Jak. "Well, I could almost say I've become better at what I do. Used to do. Could do. But I don't want to get in the way."
"Uncle, you've helped a lot of people. I'm sure you could help save the city again." Valentine interjected, hoping that the man would see reason. The more she had heard about what was going to happen to the planet the worse their prospects seemed. Veger was an idiot, but that didn't mean he couldn't be dangerous. And there were a ton of other things that could spell doom for everyone. They still had to find out where Erol was as well.
Vin bit on his lip, eyes flashing between the corporal beings in the room. "I suppose I could contact Ashelin. She's the one in charge now, isn't she? Maybe I could offer some help. I do have a few skills at my disposal."
"Uncle Vin, I could just kiss you!" Valentine shouted, though the lack of a body to kiss stood in the way of such an act.
The hologram chuckled. "Thank you, Valentine. I'll send them a message right away. Oh, don't forget to use the cyphers to get up there. And be careful!"
Jak shrugged, a cocky grin on his face. "Please, Vin. We're heroes. It's not like anything bad can happen to us."
Valentine shook her head at the bravado. You'd think that after all this time Jak would know just about how poorly things could go when he stopped paying attention. She poked him in the side, making him double over in surprise. "What Jak is trying to say is that he will do his best to make sure nothing happens to anyone. Right Jak?"
"Yeah, that's what I meant." He agreed after seeing her raised eyebrow. He rubbed the spot where she had poked him, making her resist the urge to roll her eyes at him. She hadn't poked him that hard.
They said their goodbyes to uncle Vin, only to be surprised by a familiar face when they were outside.
"Goldilocks! Did you miss me?" Jinx's face was revealed through a haze of cigar smoke. He was sitting behind the steering wheel of one of the newly painted HQ combat vehicles. "Like the paint job? Torn said he wanted to keep it like this, which is why I'll be doing the driving."
Jak scowled at the remark. "Jinx, what are you doing here?" He had not forgotten how Jinx had behaved the last time he had seen the man.
"Following orders, same as you. They want me to bring the three of ya all the way up to the factory, and I haven't got all day. Hop in."
Valentine placed her hand on Jak's arm, feeling his warmth underneath her hand for a moment. "There's no need to be jealous." She whispered in his ear. When he rolled his eyes, clearly intent on making clear she was imagining things she continued. "Yes, it is that obvious. But there's no need."
"Helloooo, love birds? If you want you can continue business while we're on the way, but get in the car." Jinx urged them, lighting a new cigar.
Valentine shuddered, not too keen on having an audience when she and Jak would finally have some time alone. "Yeah yeah, here we are."
"No really, what are you doing here?" Daxter asked the man, squeezed in the middle with Valentine while Jak preferred the outside seat. Valentine suspected he thought she might accidentally tip out of the car. Which had only happened one time, so the fear was practically ungrounded.
Jinx sucked his cigar, clearly deriving a sense of peace from it. "Turns out that computer gizmo the two of you just sent to HQ disables the outer defenses, except for the towers. You'll need someone to steer while someone else shoots and I happen to know that you were lacking one of those elements."
Jinx winked at Valentine, letting her know exactly who he was referring to.
She crossed her arms over one another, looking up at the sky with a huff. "Pfeh, I can do plenty of things. So what if I can't drive a car."
Jak squeezed her knee. She loved his smile, but sometimes it got just a little too self-assured for her tastes. Sadly enough her preferred method of wiping that grin of his face would probably bring a grin on Jinx' face so big there would be a chance the man would split his face in two.
Daxter made sure to keep a tight grip on her hand, not feeling to confident with the way Jinx was taking turns. When they approached the floating factory automated Zoomers started to head their way. Before anyone could say something the vehicle made a nosedive. Valentine was pressed against the chair, keeping her lips pressed tightly together. She got around by flying with Meta for crying out loud, she wouldn't be make a fool of herself by screaming in this situation. But boy, did that ground come close really fast or was it just her.
The way Jinx yanked up the vehicle wasn't any better, going in a spin to boot. "Jinx, this bloody thing doesn't have safety belts!"
"I know, isn't it great?" he shouted back at her.
At least Jak had taken it on him to start shooting the power nodes. "How many… in total?" she managed to squeeze out in between two maneuvers.
"Twenty four, at least that's what the boss lady said." Jinx replied, sounding as if he made this sort of death drive every day. Valentine's pony tail whipped in the air when they went down once more. Her stomach felt tingly, and not in the way it felt when she was around Jak. More the sort of tingly she got when she was in a situation where she really, really wanted to get away from.
"Don't worry, we already got half." Jak reassured her. Valentine nearly squeaked when she saw he was half-crouching in his seat. She decided she would be having a talk with Keira about installing safety belts in any new vehicle from now on. For the time being she had to settle for grabbing the top of Jak's pants, accidentally pinching him in the process.
After this she needed a vacation. Somewhere where there wasn't an ongoing war. After they had saved the world from whatever was heading towards them. Her, Jak, maybe Daxter and a lot of good drinks and even better drinks. Yes, that's what she wanted. She clenched her eyes shut tight when they went into another spin.
"You want a what?" Jak shouted over the sound of gunfire.
"I was going to say a drink, but I don't think that's a good idea after this!" she shouted back. The view would have been nice if it wasn't constantly whirring about. Jinx pushed something in her hands.
"Keep your damn hands on the wheel!" she yelled, grabbing the offered item quickly. Opening one eye she could she a drinking flask engraved with Jinx's initials. She shook her head, handing the bottle to Daxter the moment he asked for it.
After that the bots stopped coming, most likely before they had destroyed the towers that guided their movement. Jinx dropped them off, laughing the entire time as Valentine nearly had to crawl out of the Zoomer. If Jak hadn't been there to support her there was a good chance she would have tumbled off the tower.
"Have fun, ya crazy kids." Jinx waved goodbye as he turned away, flying towards safer regions.
"You okay?" Jak asked her. She assumed the question had something to do with the way her fingers dug into his skin. She relaxed her grip, taking a few deep breaths.
"I'm… fine. Not fine fine, but relatively good. I like it better when you're driving. Tell me you're driving next time." She said, her knees feeling dangerously unhinged.
Daxter climbed up to Jak's shoulder. "Wow, you look like you've seen a ghost."
They walked inside the factory, Jak making sure she wasn't about to drop to the ground in pure exhaustion. It was crazy since she hadn't actually done anything. Must be the impact of fearing for her life that was hitting her at the moment.
"Pretty sure I nearly became one. Someone should get other people to drive. Jinx can't be the only one they have."
Jak chuckled without sound, impressed at how Valentine went from confident and strong to something that looked to be seasick thanks to a ride in a car. "I suppose you won't be taking any more driving lessons then?"
Valentine looked around the room they had entered. The room was cold, dressed in steel and blinking diodes. The Dark Eco that powered everything was almost tangible in the air. This room had been built by someone with impressive knowhow. "I don't think Erol is the one who built this thing."
"What?" Jak asked her, surprised at the sudden jump from subject.
"Erol… Ashelin and the others thought he might be up in here. But I don't see it. The Baron had him running everything he couldn't be bothered to check but… if you ask me, I doubt Erol wouldn't have known how to turn on a computer. Someone's been helping him." Valentine explained her suspicion. This place had not been built by one man - or one bucket of bolts - alone. Not this kind of tech, and not in this amount. It would have taken the Baron years to build something like this even if he had thrown all he had into it.
"Just because he can't have built it doesn't mean he can't still be lurking somewhere around here." Jak muttered when Valentine released his arm. She looked around the corridor. The sound of machines could be heard, dull as if several layers of metal were between them and the source of the sound.
Jak had a point. Not a point she liked to hear, but one's opinion mattered seldom in life. She ran her tongue across her bottom lip, feeling more and more nervous about actually being here.
"Not a problem, Jak beats him up, we make the place go BOOM and skedaddle back to Spargus where the both of you can get your asses kicked by Damas." Daxter made clear, checking the surroundings. Things were being peaceful.
"Charming prospect." Valentine mumbled, following after Jak while trying to focus on what was happening around her. The Eco was flowing steadily over the whole, but the further they walked the more she felt her skin prickle. Perhaps the flight here had taken more out of her than she would like to admit. Perhaps.
Daxter looked back at her, nearly slamming his tail in Jak's face as he did so. "Well, what were ya expecting? Let's just be grateful this trip is going to be a walk in the park. After all, it's not like something can stop us now."
There were moments in her life Valentine was convinced that words could severely impact someone's life. Finally telling a person you wanted to be with them. Finding out a person wasn't who you thought they were. Stuff that you already feel is going to be important before you say it. 'Nothing can happen' and any variant thereof also fell in that category.
Right after Daxter had finished his sentence they could hear a door slide open, followed by the metallic clanking of footsteps. Before they had gone far the distinctive red paint of enemy bots was visible, followed by enemy fire. Jak pushed her to the side, going the other way not a second too soon. The place where they had been standing was sprayed with bullets.
"I take it back!" Daxter shouted, pressing his paws to his ears as Jak started to shoot from behind the corner.
"Door, behind you!" Valentine shouted, looking for a way out herself. If only things could be easy for one single time.
One bullet and the glass on the door shattered. Jak didn't immediately jump through, looking at Valentine. "Val, come on!"
Valentine pulled up one corner of her mouth. Both of them knew she couldn't jump through a spray of bullets and come out alive. Instead she pointed up to a vent above her. Jak caught the hint and made short work of it thanks to excellent aim.
"Val, I'd better see you again!" he shouted, his voice a tad hoarser than usual.
She took a moment to wink at him. "Please, as if you could get rid of me. I'll race you to the main control room. Last one there has to give the other a body rub."
The robots came closer, putting an end to their banter. Thanking the Precursors for the way she had been trained in Spargus she jumped up to the vent, pulling herself up just in time. The air wafting through it tasted metallic, sending goose bumps up and down her skin. At least the robots hadn't figured out where she had gone. Probably still had the basic programming that led them to think in less creative terms than humans.
She started to crawl forward, dragging one leg forward and then the other. Withing seconds her body started to heat up. Strands of hair sticking to her face made her wish she could somehow re-do her ponytail. As she crawled the sound of gun shots faded away, replaced by the steady thumping of the factory that was occasionally interrupted by more unexpected sounds. The only thing she couldn't hear was an alarm sounding. Logical actually, since an alarm was only useful to alert living beings. The bots were all connected to the main frame.
Great, there was an entire factory looking for both her and Jak. With a huff she pulled herself forward, glancing back on her wrist computer every once in a while. Her progress was slow, but she was certain she was safer at the moment than Jak was. There weren't any robots after her at least. Thank the Precursors for small blessings.
"When I get my hands on Erol…" she muttered to herself when she bumped her hip against the side of the vent for the umpteenth time, "I'm going to disassemble him into tiny pieces. And then I'll use those pieces to make chew toys for Metal Heads."
She hadn't even finished her sentence completely when the grate beneath her hands made a rather ominous sound. She had time for a second of panic before she found herself hurtling head first down a chute, the air whooshing around her in violent rips.
She screamed. Maybe Jak would hear her and know where she was. At the very worst the bots heard her and she'd be forced to get away really fast when they found her. At least that had been her worst case scenario, until the shoot started to become more horizontal. A few seconds later she found her legs dangling on the top of an iron chair, upside down and extremely disoriented. It took a few seconds for the panic to decently kick in when she was introduced to the real worst case scenario.
"Didn't think I'd find you alone without the other freak. Did you miss me, my little bitch?" Erol didn't wait for an answer before he moved to catch her.
First of all, a very happy new year to each and every one of you! Of course I'm including the very cliche wishes of good health and happiness but hey, that doesn't mean those are bad things.
Oblique Strategies : Yeah, Vin basically being a computer program opened up a lot of possibilities for him, not too mention he was a pretty cool side character. But that's what fics are for, giving those characters some more screen time ^^
M-Angel 05 : Heh, didn't realize people would want Daxter to turn back to his former self again. I always assumed he would wish to be human again, but his snazzy pants wish was pretty awesome as well. Maybe if other people want him to turn back as well I'll create a new poll for that. (Pssst, this is the cue for the other people who want Daxter back as a human to let me know in some way)
ayyLmao : Classes suck but cramming period is worse in some aspects. As in, I'm supposed to be a productive member of society and all my brain can do is 'hey look, a leaf. There's another one.'
As for Damas actually staying alive or not... Well, let's just say the poll I have up for that one is pretty one-sided on that regard.