~Awake~ (Scriven Inscribbler #8)

The idle thrum of hover engines and pedestrian traffic only served to feed Jak’s unease as he moved for the racing garage that belonged to Keira.

It had been a couple of weeks since he brought down the Baron, Kor, and helped push Haven City into a new period...yet not much had changed after the celebrations were over. Folk still had their jobs to scurry to, and even if Praxis was no longer in power, his small army of councilman were; Haven’s long standing affliction of political corruption was -far- from over.

He put it from his mind as he stepped inside and knocked on the metal blast door.

“Keeeiraaa?” he called out, resting a satchel on one of two maintenance docks, “Brought you dinner.”  

There was some commotion behind her green canvas drape as she stumbled over a pile of refurbished parts, cursing quietly and dusting herself off.

“H-Hi Jak! Sorry for the mess, I’m…”  she made a face at the clutter, “Between projects, bit off more than I could chew.”  

Jak nodded slowly and raised a brow at her. He’d seen her when she was putting her nose to the grindstone before and it’d never resulted in such disorganized camaraderie. Not to mention the hint of red in her eyes...

“Are you okay?” he asked, unpacking one of two sandwiches and handing it off to her.

“Huh? Yeah, y-yeah I’m...I’m fine. Just uh...Have a lot on my mind. All the partying while others were still working hard, a-and…” she shook her head, “Can’t stop thinking about those we lost. At least Lyani pulled through. She was awake and lucid, last I heard.”  

Jak’s eyes went a tad wide, halting in taking a bite of his sandwich.

“That’s great! When’d you get the news?” he beamed.

Keira eyed him with scrutiny, a look he’d gotten used to since their lives had been changed forever. Even if he was starting to act more himself again, he’d probably never be the friend he once was to her.

“Um...Few days ago? Torn let everybody know.” she muttered.

“He didn’t let -me- know.” Jak observed, a slight growl to his tone.

“Well, that’s not really surprising, given the circumstances.” she mumbled.

Jak paused, setting down his food and crossing his arms.

“What’s -that- supposed to mean?” he questioned, the sudden friction in the garage palpable.

Keira’s expression deflated, the young woman fidgeting in place.

“I-I, I’m sorry Jak…” she said, looking down at her feet and shrinking away from him.

The anger was easy to hold onto, but where would that get him? Jak knew all too well, centering himself and exhaling slowly.

“Is she still in hospice? Or do you know where I could find her? The two of us need to talk.” Jak said quietly, “We left it on a bad note.”

Keira just shook her head, shrugging her shoulder.

“I don’t know. I would ask one of her unit...Anya maybe.” she murmured, swallowing as Jak just nodded and turned to leave in a hurry, “Jak…? Before you go, would you be willing to do something for me?”  

He stopped in step, rolling his eyes. Not that he hadn’t already run errands for her today…

“Sure.”

He turned to see her climbing up a ladder, pulling something out that was wedged behind a set of trophies. Hopping back down, she offered it to him. The object immediately evoked a sense of bitter anger as he peered at his own reflection in the crimson lenses.  

Erol’s racing mask.

“I found it on the track after the race, just before the shield walls came down…” Keira spoke quietly.

“Why are you giving it to me?” Jak growled, narrowing his eyes at it.

“I’m not!,” she snapped, swallowing, “I-I’d like you to give it to Lyani. I feel like she should have it.”

Jak scoffed.

“She’s convinced I’m the reason he’s dead, you know. I have a scar to prove it.” he protested.

“So does she, you threw her down a canal after beating her to hell and back!” Keira barked.

“She was trying to -kill- me!” Jak snarled, the anger rising quickly.

What he didn’t see was the flash of amethyst in his eyes, Keira taking an instinctive step back as her fury turned to fear in an instant. She settled for looking back down at the ground, Jak glaring and baring his teeth.

The silence persisted for longer than it needed to, as if Keira was afraid to say anything more. The sight just made Jak angrier...It wasn’t like this between them, ever. Not until Erol had filled her head full of lies and played her like a fiddle, like the bastard did to everyone.

Yet perhaps there was some merit to how others saw the man...Jak noticing the tears that rimmed Keira’s eyes and her knuckles turning white with how hard she gripped the fallen Champion’s mask.

Once again, he sighed and mastered his anger, taking the mask in hand and putting it into his ammo satchel.

The two said nothing more to one another as he turned on his heel and moved for his zoomer, swinging over the top and kicking the engine into turbo even before it had completely left the ground.

Guard and civilian alike paid little mind beyond initial surprise as their savior wove through traffic, dipping dangerously low at times to avoid jams as he jetted his way to the Naughty Ottsel. It wouldn’t have been his first choice in places to visit when he was this revved up, but many of those who’d played smaller parts in Haven City’s hard earned peace now frequented the venue in their off time.

If there was any easy place to find any of Lyani’s comrades, it was there.

As the automatic door opened slowly, the practical wall of food smells and noise hit him, his stomach reminding him that he’d left his dinner in Keira’s garage. Maybe Dax had something he could steal quickly-

“Oh, Jak! Hey dude! You wanna play Metal Heads n’ Mayhem? We just started, but I can tag you in super fast!”

The sound of Ximon’s voice was still grating on the ears, and carried with it a nostalgia for a man Jak knew as a child. Maybe that was why he’d made such a fast friend in Daxter.

All around the casually dressed fellow were the other players, and thankfully, exactly who he was looking for.

To the left and dressed out of his usual heavy specialist armor was Tank, and to the right was the bright red tressed Anya, both now eyeing him with keen interest.

With his patience wearing thin as it was and the noise of the Naughty Ottsel’s full house getting to him, Jak just shook his head and pulled out Erol’s mask, holding it up.

“I need to find Lyani.” he stated firmly.

Tank and Anya looked to one another before Anya spoke up.

“She’s been pretty scarce since she woke up, even with us...I’d try the Stadium. -Maybe- the old HQ in the Slums.”

Jak nodded and moved for the door, Tank coming up out of his seat.

“I should go with you, she might-”  he started.

“It’s probably better you didn’t.” he said, his statement touching a nerve as Tank’s eyes narrowed.

Jak just couldn’t win today, the young man shaking his head.

"Not that I can stop you.”  

There was an awkward tension before Anya snapped her fingers at the taller man and gestured for him to sit back down, Jak taking his opportunity to leave.

With no small amount of frustration, Jak pulled himself back onto his zoomer and kicked it into gear, turning back the way he had come. He should’ve taken the time to check the Stadium before making the trek halfway across the damned city, but with Keira acting the way she was, he just wanted to get out of the situation before something -else- terrible happened that he’d be blamed for.

The anger rose and fell in waves as he streaked through traffic, recalling the chaotic night that had begun the fight for the city. All had gone wrong so quickly after the way the 1st Class race ended, and all throughout, Lyani had found the drive to go after him.

With a fury he could scarcely fathom, that woman drew blade in the middle of a warzone between Metal Head, Krimzon Guard and the Underground; content that no matter what happened, if she killed him, all would be made right...or at the very least, the scales would be balanced.

Even still, Jak had come out victorious and relatively unscathed to continue the fight...but Lyani had only survived because Torn got -lucky- and found her bleeding and washed up in a gutter in the Slums.

Some of the anger diminished as Jak thought of how often Lyani had kept Erol from sabotaging his work with the Underground and Krew, feeling the slightest tinges of regret with how it had all turned out. If -he’d- put that much work into doing something; into trying to save someone he’d cared for more than anything in the world, only for it to blow up in his face...In her position, where would he have been in that moment? Where would he be -now-?

He pushed it from his mind as he came to the steps of the Stadium, heading inside. Just in the time he’d been gone, most of the garages had closed up for the night, including Keira’s. Probably for the best.

Not much of the place was accessible to him at this point, the young man trying several doors and finding them locked by the automated eco grid.

He thought to give up the search as he strode for the exit, before something caught his eye.

Just at the corner of his vision, he saw what looked like a ghost lingering by a safety railing, finding upon closer inspection that it was his quarry.

Well, locked doors hadn’t stopped him before when there was something that needed doing, the young man clambering up onto a pile of arranged crates and yanking open the screen of an air vent, crawling his way through to the other side and dropping nimbly to the concrete ground below.

Lyani hadn’t noticed him yet, Jak taking in the details from below.

She was bereft of her usual attire, dressed in a dark gray jacket and loose pants. Her weapons were absent, and she looked paler than usual, her brown eyes dull and sunken in like she hadn’t gotten any sleep in days. He could see the slight shimmer of tears glinting in the stadium lights as she stared at the final turn of the track like she was waiting for someone to come around it.

Any semblance of anger in him drained away at the sight of her, replaced by a pang of genuine regret, Jak making his presence known as he jumped up onto the bridge above and pulled himself up.

Lyani looked to her left slowly, like that was the only speed she could manage in her state, her raven bangs falling in her face.

“...Are you...okay?” he questioned, for a moment forgetting entirely why he was there as he saw just how weak she looked.

Lyani didn’t quite seem to understand the statement before clearing her throat.

“Dark eco poisoning...It’ll pass.” she grated out, her voice so hoarse it barely sounded like her, “Brought it on myself.”

Jak felt a heavy weight on himself as she spoke, unable to find the words.

The barely recovered Underground agent coughed once, drawing into herself like being near another person was physically uncomfortable, looking back out over the track.

“Did Torn send you?”  

“Keira, actually…” Jak answered, remaining still.

“For what?” she slowly looked back to him again, her company noticing her trembling hands.

Jak’s fingers twitched over the leather lip of his ammo satchel as he remembered the mask, his next words coming out without thinking.

“Your friends are worried about you…” he muttered.

Lyani tilted her head at him, blinking once and shaking her head. She had to pause as dizziness washed over her just from that simple movement.

“I understand you’re just trying to help, Jak...For you and the others, this is a time of celebration and peace. For me, it’s a time of mourning...so please. Leave me to it.” she said tiredly.

Jak fell silent and chose to just follow her gaze out over the track. They both thought of the same moment and felt something different.

“I’m sorry that-” he started.

“No, Jak. You have no reason to apologize…” she croaked, “Erol couldn’t set aside your rivalry...Just -had- to win, no matter what I said or did. He tried to run you down, you were faster. He paid the toll.”

The defeat in her voice was just making him feel worse and worse.

“Lyani...You don’t have to pretend for my benefit. I know how much it hurts.” he attempted.

Quite suddenly, she tensed up and gripped the railing, her lips turning up in a snarl.

“You have -no- idea.” she bit back with a startling venom.

Jak did know, frankly...and she knew he did, but he wasn’t going to start an argument with someone who shouldn’t have even been standing. He’d only be rubbing salt in wounds that hadn’t begun to heal; having an inkling of how close she was to Erol, how -hard- she’d fought for him...It wasn’t worth kicking her while she was down just to be right.

After a moment of silence, Jak simply reached into his satchel and pulled out the mask into plain view, offering it to her.

“...He might’ve tried to kill me more than once...Tortured me. But I know Praxis made monsters out of anybody he touched. You...knew him better, and he was important to you.” he began, stepping nearer to her.

Lyani’s glare wavered as she set her eyes on the mask, swallowing hard. She didn’t stop him as he put his hand on her shoulder and set the object in her hand.

“I’m sorry for your loss.” he finished, his tone sincere as he squeezed her shoulder.

She shook visibly as she took the mask in both hands.

“...Thank you.” she managed, sighing sharply, “I-I’m...sorry, that I attacked you. I wasn’t myself.”

“It happens to the best of us.” he shrugged, putting his hands in his pockets, “Trust me, -that- I do know.”

She didn’t reply as she ran a thumb along the steel edge of the mask.

Jak could tell she was fighting the grief from her posture and the way she held her breath. It was time he left.

“If you need any of us...Don’t be a stranger.” he muttered quietly, heading back toward his self-made entrance and disappearing into the vent.

Lyani held it together until she knew he was well and truly gone before drawing the mask close to her chest and screwing her eyes shut. The sobs came a moment later, the woman crumpling to her knees.

In her time recovering from her clash with Jak, having fought him hard enough to push him into one of his fury driven transformations, she had dreamed of better times.

Memories of her family, of all the times she and Erol had kept each other standing. Of the small little vacations away from it all, long before Praxis had ever sunk his claws into her dearest friend.

She had spent every breath since trying to undo that damage, to bring back the man she knew and -loved- like nothing else, coming -so- close...Only to lose him.

Her dreams had taken her from that reality and returned her to the blissful past...Why then, did she have to live in this dreary place she had only strove to live in for -him-, now that he was gone?

Why did she have to wake up…?  

~Fin~