"I'm such an idiot," Daxter grumbled to himself. He ran down the road, away from the gate, away from freedom, and towards near-certain death. The Marauder fired his shotgun. Daxter ducked and the bullet barely nicked his ear. He knelt by Veger's side and pulled his arm around his neck. Daxter stood, taking Veger's helpless body with him.

The Marauder swung at Daxter with his gun, sending them sprawling down the dirt path. He cocked his gun and aimed at Daxter again. The ottsel was struggling to get his feet, his cumbersome load weighing him down. Daxter barely managed to dodge the bullet headed his way. Daxter hurried to the gate and looked up at it. How was he supposed to open this thing?

The Marauder stood menacingly before them. Daxter, his back against the wall, swallowed hard and subconsciously tightened his hold on his wounded cargo. The Marauder aimed at the ottsel. One shot, right between the eyes, that would do it. He started to squeeze the trigger.

Suddenly a great shadow fell over them. They looked up and found themselves staring at the bottom of a vehicle. It was the Dune Hopper! The buggy bounced a bit on impact with the ground. The Marauder, recognizing the vehicle as that of a Wastelander's, fired his shotgun into the back of the car. The driver retaliated by driving in reverse and running him over.

"Jak?" Daxter ventured. The driver looked over his shoulder at the ottsel. It was Jak! "Oh, thank God!" Daxter hurried over to the passenger's side and started to climb in.

"What are you doing with him?" Jak asked bitterly, glaring at Veger.

"He's hurt; he might not make it. We've gotta get him some medical help pronto," Daxter explained. He carefully set Veger down on the car seat. Veger's chest, which had a hole in it (courtesy of the Marauder), rose and fell shallowly. The bullet had missed his heart, but tore through his left lung.

"No, I mean, why are you bringing him along?" Jak asked. "He left us to die out here, remember? I was hoping to give him a taste of his own medicine."

"And sink to his level?" Daxter countered. If that didn't convince Jak to help Veger, nothing would. "We're the good guys, Jak. Saving people is what we do."

Jak looked down at Veger, his nose wrinkled. Daxter had a point, although he never used the whole "doing the right thing" excuse before. Reluctantly, Jak launched the Dune Hopper into the air and pulled a 180 before landing. He fired the grenade launcher, blowing the gate to bits. He floored it and the Dune Hopper screamed onto the desert.

As they tore through the Wasteland, Daxter glanced nervously behind them. No Marauders in sight. Soon they arrived at Spargus. The city gates creaked open and Jak parked the Dune Hopper in its spot. Daxter again pulled Veger's arm around his shoulders and lifted him up. A dark red stain was now on the seat. Kleiver would be thrilled.

Daxter jumped down and followed Jak through the city streets. The closest thing Spargus had to a hospital was an infirmary run by the monks. Hopefully they'd have the green eco Veger needed. If they didn't…

Jak opened the heavy wooden door and stood aside, allowing Daxter to carry Veger in. Daxter looked around the lobby, looking for a familiar face. He spotted her by the window. "Hey! Seem!"

The young monk turned around. "Greetings Daxter, what…" Her eyes caught sight of Veger's wound and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my…!" She hurried across the room to Daxter's side and gently took Veger from him. She placed two fingers on his neck, searching for a pulse. The rhythmic beating was faint, but it was present.

"Come with me. Quickly!" Seem said to the visitors as she hurried down the corridor. Jak and Daxter looked at each other before obeying. When they finally arrived at the right room, Veger was already on the bed and Seem was fighting with her monks.

"We don't have enough!" one of them argued. "We can't waste it on him!"

"But he is a Precursor!" Seem countered.

"Then he should be able to heal himself," another retorted. "Our green eco stores are low; we need them for the warriors. We can't spare even a single drop."

Jak snorted. "Oh, well. Looks like he's gonna bite the big one anyway, Dax." Jak looked down at his friend and was surprised to see a look of anxiety on his face. Why would he be worried about Veger's imminent death?

Suddenly the little ottsel was hit with inspiration. "Jak!" He looked up at his friend. "You've got Light Eco, right?"

"A little…" Jak said, suspicious of where this was going.

"And you can heal yourself, right?"

"I'm not going to heal Veger. And I don't even know if I can!" Jak said sternly.

"You've got to. Otherwise, he'll die," Daxter replied.

"Why should I care?"

"Because he saved my life!"

"…What?"