Authors Note: Wee for another chapter! XD I'm getting this done chapter by chapter, yay! I really don't have much to say this time, so, to my lovely reviewers!
Light-Eco-Freak: Aww, it's ok, that sucks about the grounding. Thanks! I shall try to keep up the awesomeness! Thanks for the review!
Jakgirl24: Lmao, I thought that would be a good addition. Lol, she's not coming into it really soon… I don't think. Can't remember off hand XD Thanks for the review!
Nostalgic Beauty: I'm glad you liked it! And you'll just have to wait and see now won't you? XD Thanks for the review!
Anyways, enjoy the chapter!
Through Another's Eyes: Book Two
Chapter Five: Welcome Vin
"Why do I keep letting you drive again?" Tera muttered as she climbed off the back of the single-seater zoomer, glaring at Jak the entire time. Said male simply grinned, jumping off after her and following his friend towards the entrance to the Underground hideout.
"Because I tend to grab a zoomer before you can," the girl huffed, knowing he was right. Heading down into the building, they found Torn, yet again, standing behind his table, looking over some documents. He didn't look up when they entered, simply continuing to look things over.
Finally, the Underground commander looked up, circling around to their side of the table as he spoke, "One of the Baron's mining operations is under attack by the Metal Heads."
"That's not our problem," Jak growled.
"It IS our problem when the foreman's one of the Underground's best informants!" Torn snapped, his gaze drifting to Tera briefly, "Eco knows him. His name is Vin, and he's just valuable enough to save."
Tera stiffened slightly at both the use of her code name and the information, ignoring Jak's inquisitive look, "You sent Vin out to the field?"
Torn ignored her, crossing his arms and looking to Jak again, "Find the warp gate at the Power Station, and use it to travel to the Strip Mine so you can rescue Vin's pathetic hide."
"Hey! Tattooed Wonder!" Daxter piped, jumping up onto the table and glaring at Torn, "how come we get all the crappy missions?!"
Torn leaned in close to the ottsel, frowning, "Because I. Don't. Like. You." He poked the ottsel hard enough in the chest to push him to the ground, Daxter giving a nervous laugh.
"Fair enough…"
"Whatever deal the Baron made with the Metal Heads," Torn rough gaze went back to the two teenagers, "the city's eco is almost gone, and his time is running out. If we don't get the kid back on the throne soon, there may not be a city left to defend!"
"We'll get Vin," Tera growled back, exiting the hideout with the guys, her shoulders still stiffened up.
"Why did he call you 'eco' Ter? And how do you know this Vin guy?" Jak questioned as they headed towards the zoomer they'd left parked outside, watching the girl intently.
"My full codename is Blue Eco," she explained simply, waiting till Jak had once more gotten on the zoomer then climbing on behind him, "And I've done a few missions with Vin; it surprises me Torn would've allowed him out on the field, Vin's really… well, you'll see. Just head for South Town; the power stations just a bit further in then my apartment."
Jak did as she said, gunning the zoomer in the direction of South Town. Though he would never say anything, Jak was looking forward to a break in the missions. Hopefully they would be able to actually get back to the apartment and sleep tonight. Reaching South Town's boundaries, Jak steered towards the power station and braked the zoomer just short of the metal walkway that lead up above the streets, hopping off and following Tera up the ramp. The power station was right there; the three walked in with no problem, blue grids and screens floating around them.
The trio quietly moved to the warp gate, unnerved by the mechanical whirring and beeping that surrounded them. Hopping into the familiar blue vortex, the three soon found themselves in a deserted looking area, lakes of dark eco visible throughout the area. The strip mine was quiet; way to quiet.
Jak and Tera both drew their guns, nodding to each other before slowly moving forwards. As soon as they approached the nearby KG crates, a group of metal head stingers jumped out of the ground and made a beeline for the underground operatives, taken care of easily by a few fun shots. Continuing on, they had to deal with a pack of metal head grunts, more coming as they rounded the corner.
Tera took down the Metal Jacket that swooped down over the grunts, the two running forward to take care of the next pack that awaited them. Torn had been right when he'd said the strip mine was under attack; there were metal heads everywhere! Finally managing to make it over to the conveyor belts, they made their way up and shot down the grunt that waited there, looking up at the top of the next belt.
Nodding to each other again, they rode it up, ambushing the metal heads that waited there before they could react to their presence. Once they were gone, they continued on, hopping onto a mine cart as it passed by the platform. Shooting down the two Metal Jackets that swooped down, the trio jumped off onto the other side of the platform and took down the few grunts that remained.
Approaching the door, Jak punched the button to open the seal, the gates sliding open easily.
"Agh! STAY BACK!" the three were forced to jump back and take cover behind the sides of the door as the frenzied foremen jumped out and started shooting randomly, not paying attention to whether they were metal head's or not.
"DO SOMETHING JAK!" Daxter shouted, "This guy's crazy!"
Tera leaned around the corner slightly, "HEY! VIN! CALM DOWN! IT'S TERA! TORN SENT US TO HELP!"
"STAY BACK!" Vin yelled again, letting off a few more rounds before diving down behind the control board. Jak scowled, also leaning around the side.
"LOOK, if we were here to kill you, you wouldn't be talking right now!"
The shooting stopped, Vin soon flopping down on the control cupboard with a weak grin, "Oh, friendlies?" he spotted the blonde girl, "Tera! Oh thank goodness! We… so… whe…" he paused, looking around frantically, "where's the army?!"
"Ah… we're it," Daxter grinned.
"What? Just you three?! What do they think I'm worth?!" he let his head fall against the consol, as if deeply wounded.
"I'm beginning to wonder that myself!" Jak growled, ignoring the look he got from Tera, "If you want, you can stay here and be Metal meat, but Daxter, Tera and I are leaving before those monsters get back."
Vin jumped out of the lab, aiming his pistol around wildly as he followed the three over to the warp gate, jumping in quickly to get away from the strip mine. They arrived back at the power station in a matter of seconds, the foreman immediately rushing over to the control consoles and checking things over.
Tera and Jak shared a look, approaching the foreman.
"Hey, I want to thank you guys for saving my butt out there at the Strip Mine," he began pushing buttons as he talked, dividing his attention between them.
"And we're like to thank you for being such a bad shot!" Daxter quipped, crossing his arms.
"Ah yeah, sorry about that guys," he turned to look at them fully, one hand still messing with the buttons, "Ah, I'm just a bit jumpy these days."
"Jumpy?" Daxter echoed, "We haven't noticed," the ottsel paused, then jumped, screaming, "Aaah! A Metal Head behind you!"
"AAAHH!" Vin freaked, his head snapping around, "Whatha?!... Whatha…?!? Wha!... Whhooooo…." The foreman slid to the ground, Tera rolling her eyes and shaking her head at her friends joke.
"Just kidding… nice reaction time though," Daxter grinned.
Vin jumped back up onto his feet, frowning deeply, "Not funny!" he turned back to his control panels, "Those Metal Heads have been attacking our mining operations and we're running out of eco! Eco power keeps the city shield walls up, and if the shield drops…" he paused, swallowing deeply, "well, we can all kiss our butts goodbye!"
"I've got a few surprises for those Metal Heads," Jak grinned, earning another eye roll from Tera.
"You've got to keep the shield walls up until the Shadow figures out what to do!" Vin exclaimed, "My readings show a drop in eco flow at the Drill Platform. Probably some Metal Head eggs sucking away power!"
Tera caught Daxter as he fell off the console, dizzy from watching the waves move back and forth in one of the screens. Her ears pricked as Vin continued to talk, turning back to look at the foreman as he motioned wildly at the warp gate.
"Use the warp gate to go to the platform and destroy every Metal Head egg you can find!"
"Let's go," Tera handed Daxter to Jak before turning to the war gate, jumping through with the male hot on her heels.
The Drill Platform was a fairly dismal looking place, especially since the sky had begun to get darker. Tera drawing her pistols and Jak taking out his Scatter Mod, the tree moved forwards slowly, jumping down to the next platform. As soon as their feet touched the ground, a pack of Roto Blades flew up from no where and sped towards them, the two quickly retaliating and taking them down. Continuing forwards, they dropped down to the next level, taking care of the Roto Blades that waited there.
Going right, they stepped onto the freight elevator and waited while it took them up, stepping off and finding themselves behind a Gun Pod when it stopped. Looking around, Tera easily spotted the various Metal Head eggs attached to the walls around them, biting her lip in surprise at how many there were. She jumped when Jak's communicator sprung to life, Krew's voice coming from the floating box.
"Jak, I need you for a… special job, immediately. I trust you'll get here as soon as possible," the comm. switched off before either could reply, floating back into Jak's pack. Looking back to the gun pod, Tera turned to Jak again.
"I'll take care of whatever Krew wants," she shrugged, "This seems kind of like a one-person operation anyways, so I'd just be in your way."
Jak frowned, "You sure you'll be ok by yourself?"
Tera huffed, crossing her arms, "I've been doing missions by myself for over a year Jak, I think I can handle it. Don't worry so much; I'll see you later." Jak watched his friend step back onto the elevator and disappear from sight, feeling anxious about her going out by herself.
Shaking himself from his thoughts, Jak hopped into the Gun Pod and got to work, trying not to think about how weird it was to not have Tera around.
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Tera entered the Hip Hog shortly after, having been able to drive a bit faster without Jak running into KG's every ten seconds. Approaching the bar, she paused, blinking at the blonde woman that stood behind it. Recognizing the girl instantly, she grinned, rushing forwards to slip onto one of the seats.
"Tess! Long time no see! Since when do you work here?" she fired questions off, the blonde laughing at her younger friend.
"Torn sent me to spy on Krew," she spoke quietly, still smiling, "I may be able to get my hands on a few secrets, so I can't have my cover blown. Where've you been lately?" she grinned here, staring inquisitively at the girl, "Been spending time with Jak have you?"
"Tess," Tera hissed, whapping her friend on the shoulder, her cheeks flushing red, "We've been getting missions non-stop, so shush about the Jak thing."
"Oh alright alright," the girl smiled again, though it faded shortly after, her eyes flicking to behind Tera.
"Eco!" Krew rasped, staring hard at the girl seated before him, "Where's Jak and his little pet?"
"Busy," she replied coolly, turning to face the crime lord, "I'm here in his place. What did you need done?"
Krew's frown deepened, "I guess you'll just have to do. I need you to go around and make a few collections for me."
Tera's eyebrow went up slightly, "Collections as in…?"
Krew grunted, "Listen, I have six 'clients' around town who are about to make money drops for me," Tess moved to wipe down the counter as the fat man continued, Tera listening closely, "I need you to collect each moneybag as fast as you can and 'take care' of any guards who get to curious, mmmmn! Get to a moneybag too late, and some townie might pick it up."
"Just collect all fourteen moneybags before they disappear and bring them back here. If you lose even one bag, then don't come back, 'eh!"
"I'll get your money," Tera snapped, slipping from the chair and heading back out into the street. She flipped her goggles down over her eyes and jumped onto a parked zoomer, taking off in the direction of the first money bag.
'Should be an easy mission.'
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"We showed those Metal Head eggs who's who eh Jak?!" Daxter grinned from his friends shoulder, the blond simply nodding as he walked into the Hip Hog. Worry struck him when he realized that Tera was not at the Saloon, the male wondering whether she was still on a mission or in trouble. Approaching the bar and the strange blond woman behind it, Jak rolled his eyes when Daxter hopped onto the bar itself, still worried about his friend.
"Hey sugarplum. You new here?" Daxter grinned at the woman, "Well, whatcha got that's, uh, hot and…" he paused, squinting, "Wait, I've seen you before. You're with the Underground-"
"Shh!" the woman hissed, pressing a finger to the ottsels mouth, "I'm Tess. Torn sent me to spy on Krew. Play along, and maybe I'll be able to get my hands on a few of Krew's secrets."
"Ooooh… I love 'undercover' work, baby! But, ah, two can work better then one. Let me help you out."
Tess giggled when the ottsel jumped down behind the bar, going through the various bottles.
Jak wondered if this was the Tess that Tera had mentioned before, the thought causing him to worry about Tera again. He turned when Krew floated up behind him.
"Where's Tera?" the fat man blinked at him briefly, as though wondering what he was talking about.
"You mean Eco? She's out making a money run for me… should be back by now, eh," the man grumbled, the sound of the doors sliding open alerting the group to the new presence.
Tera strode up to the bar, tossing the money onto the bar and taking the seat beside Jak, still silent. The male's eyes were drawn to her right shoulder, where a new white bandage wrap was just visible above her sleeve, covering the very place where she'd been bitten by a snake back in Sandover. He frowned, opening his mouth to question her but ending up cut off by Krew.
"Mmm, quite the money collector eh? Here's a gun upgrade," he tossed what looked like a scatter gun upgrade at the girl, then turned his back, "Now all of you get out! I need my beauty nap."
Daxter popped up from behind the counter, hopping back onto Jak's shoulder, "Trust me brother, there aren't enough hours in the day!"
Krew growled and floated off, the three underground operatives heading out after bidding farewell to Tess.
Tera glanced at her comm., sighing in relief when she saw that they had no more missions at the moment, "Looks like we actually get to head back to the apartment and sleep tonight."
Jak nodded silently, grabbing another zoomer and steering it back towards the apartment. They jumped off outside and headed in, Daxter once more scurrying off to his own little bed to sleep. Both teens shed their goggles, guns, belts, boots and eco rings, as they weren't very comfortable to sleep in. When Tera took off her sleeves and moved to go into her room, Jak stopped her with a hand on her wrist, tugging her back in order to get a good look at the injury.
"You're hurt," he said simply, giving her a piercing look. Tera flinched, attempting to shrug it off.
"It's just a scratch," she waved him off, moving to head to her room again, "A KG got lucky and managed to nick me with a bullet, it's no big deal."
Jak tugged her back again, forcing her to sit on the couch, heading off and returning with the first aid kit. He un-wrapped the bandage carefully; relieved to see that it was indeed only a scratch. Still, it wouldn't do to have it get infected, and he cleaned it with the kit, pausing whenever she flinched, and re-wrapped it in a new bandage.
"Thanks," she muttered, cheeks flushed red as she stood and headed for her room, "Night, Jak."
"Night, Ter," he called after her, watching his friend disappear into her bedroom.
Tera once more removed her other sleeve and her top shirt, along with all the little ties that littered her pants before climbing into bed. And yet again, just as she was drifting off, she felt a weight settle on the bed behind her, though this time, an arm was thrown loosely over her waist, her back against Jak's front. The girl fell asleep with a heavy flush across her cheeks, Jak completely unawares of how he was making his friend feel.
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Begin Introspection. Serial Code: Jak
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When Tera left to do a mission on her own today, I panicked. Maybe not outwardly, but mentally, I panicked. It felt… strange to not have her with me on a mission, to only have Daxter by my side as I took down the Metal Head's and eggs at the Drill Platform. And there was a constant nagging in the back of my mind that she could be in trouble, that I shouldn't have let her go off on her own. Instincts left over from Sandover, I guess. She was so weak back then; I felt it was my duty to protect her. The day that she got bitten, back in Sandover, I felt as though I had failed her; that I hadn't done my job.
And again, today, when she came in and I saw that bandage, I thought I'd failed her. Tera can take care of herself now, I know that, and it was only a scratch. Yet it still bothered me. Precursors, I've gotten over protective of the girl. She's been my best friend since… well, since I can remember. Other then my two years in prison, there just hasn't ever been a time that Tera wasn't there with me. Even when she couldn't come with me to certain places back when we were fighting Gol and Maia, I still knew where she was, knew that she was safe.
Heh. I'll just have to make sure that I stay with her from now on; Tera's my best friend, and it's my job to protect her. Whether she likes it or not.
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End Introspection
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