"What do you mean he saved your life?" Jak asked, shock and confusion evident on his face.
"If it wasn't for him, I'd be chock full of holes right now," Daxter said. The ottsel recalled the simple act: During their escape, Veger had pulled him backwards and the bullets that were meant for him tore through the straw roof of the hut they were standing on. They had immediately started running again, so he didn't have time to dwell on it, but now…
At the time, it seemed like Veger had merely wanted to get Daxter out of the Marauders' line of sight for fear that he'd give away their position. Whether that was the real reason or not, whether Veger realized it or not, Daxter owed him his life.
"So, are you still going to let him die?" Daxter asked.
Jak thought for a moment. "One good deed doesn't excuse everything he did… But," Jak said, cutting off Daxter's protest, "it does give him the right to live. I'll do it."
As he approached the bed, his hands turned a vibrant blue, with a white glow around them. Seem, who had just finished removing Veger's shirt, held him out. Jak placed his hands over Veger's body and released the eco. Inside the ottsel, the lung repaired itself and the crack in his rib vanished. Suddenly the glow faded and Jak's hands returned to normal.
"That was all I eco I had," Jak said. "I think he'll be able to pull through, though." The hero started towards the door as Seem started to bandage up what remained of Veger's wound.
"You're not going to stick around to rub this in his face when he wakes up?" Daxter asked.
"No. I'm going to talk to Sig and see if we can find out why the Marauders kidnapped you two."
"Well, while you do that, I think I'll wait for him to come around so I can mock him relentlessly," Daxter said, pushing a chair up beside the bed and climbing on top of it. Seem set Veger down on the bed and covered him with the thin cotton sheet. Almost immediately after Jak left, Veger stirred. His eyes opened slowly and he was barely able to recognize the orange blur staring down at him.
"D-Daxter…?" Veger asked wearily.
"Welcome back to the land of the living," Daxter said.
"How… how did I…" Veger blinked a few times and his vision cleared enough for him to make out Daxter's facial features. He noticed his former cellmate seemed relieved to see him awake. "You… you saved me… didn't you?"
"Well, actually, Jak…" Daxter started.
"While it is true that Jak was the one who performed the healing," Seem cut in, "he never would have done so had you not convinced him. You may make of that what you will, but it seems, to me, that Veger owes his life to you."
Daxter scratched the back of his neck sheepishly. No, really. "Well, Veger saved my life, so I'd say we're even."
"I saved…?" Veger suddenly recalled the moment he pulled Daxter away from the spray of bullets that the Marauders unleashed. He hadn't acted out of a desire to save a life; he had acted out of instinct. His subconscious had told him that he would need Daxter's help to escape. As it turned out, Daxter ended up saving his life. And his therapist had told him to ignore the voices in his head. Pah. "Huh. I suppose I did. But… why did you return the favor? After everything I've done… Most people would have left me for dead."
"Well, in case you haven't noticed, I'm not like most people," Daxter grinned.
Despite himself, Veger cracked a small smile of his own.