Chapter XII: Mortality

LES: Whoa… creepy chapter name. Keira chapter. Character death.

Bease stood next to the Trophy Shelf in the empty garage, admiring the collection of trophies that their team had managed to win. Tigran had taken Keira out for lunch. Bease laughed to himself, Tigran was wasting his time. Every time Bease saw her, he knew her heart was with another.

Keira considered Tigran a close friend and nothing more.

Bease spotted the newest trophy, for the Class Three Races. The small engraved plaque read. 'First Place. Bease Racing.' Bease wiped some imaginary dust off the trophy face, admiring his reflection in the polished bronze metal.

"I can't wait 'til Tigran faces Erol!" Bease said out loud to himself. "I know that kid is going to be the one to beat him!"

"Is that so?" A new, cold voice asked. Bease spun around and found someone lurking in the shadows… someone with orange hair and yellowish eyes.

"You!" Bease yelled accusingly. "What are you doing here?"

"Be careful, old man, don't give yourself a heart attack." The man laughed. "Now, your pretty boy racer wins a few races and he's already ready to take the top racing spot in the City?"

"That kid has talent, and you know it!" Bease said, pointing a finger at the shadow.

The figure laughed, shaking his head. "That may be so, but talent is no good if you are dead." The figure pulled out a gun, it gleamed in the light.

"No!" Bease said, backing away from the figure. "The Baron…"

"The Baron and I have… an understanding…" The understatement of all time. "The Baron needs me." The figure pointed the deadly weapon straight at Bease's heart.

"You'll regret this." Bease said.

"Really?" The man asked. "Well, I'll have to deal with that later." The man pulled the trigger. The bullet found its mark in Bease's chest, piecing his heart. The old man never even had the chance to cry out. He fell to the floor and his pale blue eyes, even in death, were wide open in shock.

The man stepped out of the shadows, revealing that it was, in fact, Erol. He walked over to Bease's body. The staring, pale blue eyes gave him the creeps and he closed them.

Erol quickly surveyed the scene. Once he was satisfied, he pulled out his communicator. "Captain? Report of Garage Three immediately! There has been a murder!"

(Restaurant in Main Town)

Tigran and Keira, like Bease knew, were having lunch together. However, while Keira went as a friend, Tigran tried to pretend that it was a date.

"I love you, Keira." Tigran said.

Keira sighed as she used her fork to play with her salad. "Tigran?"

"Yes?"

"I… I can't." She put the fork down. "Every day you tell me that you love me, but I love someone else…"

Tigran shook his head in amazement. "Amazing… you show this kind of devotion to a guy you haven't seen in over a year!"

"A year and a half." Keira said. And how she hated every moment of that time.

"Whatever." Tigran said. "You don't even know where this guy is! For all you know, he could've run off with someone else!"

"Jak wouldn't do that!" Keira retorted. "I've known him since we were children. Jak's too kind, noble, and honest to do that."

"People change, Keira." Tigran said. For some reason, that phrase echoed in Keira's mind like it was important.

"Uh… Ms. Keira and Mr. Tigran?" A new voice asked. Keira and Tigran turned around and saw that the speaker was a young Krimzon Guard, one who seemed no older than eighteen.

"Yes?" Keira asked, worried that they were about to get arrested. "What is it?"

"You two work for Bease Racing?" The Guard asked.

Keira glanced at Tigran, and then back to the Guard. "Yes. Is something wrong?"

"Yes. Something is wrong." The Guard said. "Bease was found a little while ago in your garage by Commander Erol…"

"What are you getting at?" Tigran asked. "And what do you mean 'found'?"

"Mr. Bease… was found dead with a bullet wound to the chest." The Guard said as Keira and Tigran gasped in unison. "He was murdered."

Several days after Erol murdered old Bease, there was a quiet funeral at Haven Cemetery. The Priest read passages from the Holy Book which spoke of death.

Keira wasn't listening. She was sure that the ceremony was beautiful, but she was filled with grief. She stood there, in the rain, with a black dress on, and wept silently for the man that gave her a job when no one else would.

Tigran was standing beside her, also dressed in black, but he didn't cry. He just carried a solemn look. It must be hard. Keira thought. Tigran knew him better than I did.

Finally the service was over and the people began to mingle and console one another. Krew was there, talking about the 'Glory Days' he had with Bease as a 'partner.'

Tigran wordlessly gave Keira an affectionate hug, which she didn't protest this time. She figured that Tigran needed all the comfort that he could get. Finally, he let go, gave Keira a slight nod, and walked away.

Keira was left alone… for about three seconds. "Keira?" Keira spun around and saw that it was Erol.

"Commander?" Keira asked.

"Please, call me Erol." He said. "Titles are for people you work with, not your friends."

Keira almost told him that he was most defiantly NOT her friend, but she caught herself. Erol was the Commander of the Krimzon Guards and the Baron's Right Hand Man. He was not a man you would want to provoke. "Erol? What are you doing here?" She asked instead.

"I've come to pay my respects to Bease, of coarse." Erol said with a laugh. "He was a great manager… hell, he started Bease Racing. But… you know… there isn't much of a future for a Race Team without a manager." Erol paused to let this sink in. "But, you know, I happen to have an opening on my Racing Team… I need a good mechanic. You may be a girl, but you are one of the best mechanics I've ever seen." Erol rested a hand on Keira's shoulder. To a bystander, this move would seem innocent, but Keira felt his finger rubbing her neck in an intimate sort of way.

Keira immediately panicked. "Uh…" She said intelligently, pulling away from him. "I'm sorry, but I'm not going to join your Race Team."

For the first time, Erol seemed to become angry. "You'll never make it without a manager!"

"There will be a manager." Keira said calmly.

"Who?" Erol asked.

"Me." Keira said, smiling.

"You?" The Director of Haven Racing asked. Keira had gone straight to the Director of Racing right after the funeral… heck, she was still wearing the black dress!

"Yes, is that a problem?" Keira asked.

"Well… uh… no offense, but… you're a… girl." The Director said.

Now Keira was beginning to get ticked off. She was getting sick of all this 'But you're a girl' crap. Keira, in one word, exploded. "So, a girl can't be a Racing Manager, huh? What makes men better at managing a Racing Team? Just because I have breasts doesn't mean that I can't do that job as well as any man can!" Upon Keira's 'breast' comment, the Director was having a very hard time not looking at Keira's chest. Keira glared at him and his eyes instantly went back to her face. "I'm still going to be the mechanic, but I'll manage the team also." Keira said this as though it ended the matter.

The Director nodded dumbly and Keira left. Man! The Director thought to himself. One girl mentions the word 'breasts' and you crumble like a cookie. I've got to learn to be more assertive!

So it was that Keira became the very first female Race Manager in Haven's history. This surprised many of the other (all-male) race teams, and many doubted that a mere female could handle managing a race team. That was, until they raced against the duo of Keira and Tigran, the Manager/Mechanic and the Racer. Bease Racing (Keira opted to keep the name in memory of Bease) quickly became one of the top racing teams in the city, second only to Erol's team.

Two months after Bease's death, Keira had transformed Bease Racing into a top team, even though it had the least amount of members out of all the teams. They worked hard, but things were beginning to come together for Keira. And she enjoyed the support she got from the females of Haven City.

She was even taking on a few side projects, one of which was her prototype JetBoard and the other was something slightly more important.

Keira couldn't figure out why she didn't think of starting this type of project earlier. It was, in fact, a replica of the Rider that took Samos, Jak, Daxter, and herself though the ring over one and a half years ago. She had thought so much of finding her friends that she hadn't really thought beyond that. 'Daddy! Jak! Daxter! I've missed you so much!' And… what then? They'd still be stuck in the wrong time. They would need a Rider to get home and Keira was just the girl to build another one.

She refused to tell anyone what the machine did and she eventually took to calling it her 'Secret Vehicle Project.'

"So… will you tell me what this thing does?" Tigran asked.

"If I did, then I'd have to kill you." Keira replied jokingly, welding two pieces of metal together with a blowtorch. She was lucky, most of the pieces were easy enough to find. However, she was still missing three pieces: the Time Map, the ruby button that Keira now knew was called the Heart of Mar, and, most importantly, a Precursor Ring.

"This project is way to big to just be a hobby." Tigran said. "What does it do?"

"Hopefully, it will make you shut up." Keira laughed.

"It's hard to keep quiet." Tigran said, pointing towards the trophy case, which was considerably fuller than on the day of Bease's death.

"Yes, you've been doing very well, but we haven't beaten Erol yet." Keira reminded him. "Once you do… then we'll be the Champions!"

"Speaking of champions…" Tigran said, looking up at the clock. "It's almost time for my big race against Erol." He winked at Keira and spouted a familiar message. "I love you, Keira."

And then, to his ultimate surprise, Keira replied. "I love you too." Tigran stared at Keira, hardly daring to believe that she had finally moved on from her 'Jak.' But then Keira cracked a smile. "As a brother." She finished.

Tigran made a motion like someone had just stabbed him. "Ouch, that really hurt! When did you get so good at sarcasm?"

"I knew the master." Keira said, thinking of Daxter.

"Well, I'm off… for the race of my life." Tigran walked out. Keira shook her head slightly before following him out.

"Go, Tigran, go!" Keira screamed from her track-side seat in the manager's box as Tigran began the fifth and final lap of the race, just a few seconds behind Erol.

However, little did she know, disaster was about to rear its ugly head and strike.

Back in the shadows, a figure waited, hidden from view of everyone in the stadium. Sniper-rifle in hand, he flipped of the safety, flinching slightly at the same 'click' sound. However, with all the shouting in the stadium, it was unlikely that someone would hear the noise. He lifted the rifle up and peered though the scope, aiming at his target. He didn't know why this guy needed to be taken out and, frankly, he didn't really care. That was what assassins were for, to take a hit on somebody without question. This guy had a hit placed on him, and the assassin was going to get a sweet payoff for his death.

The assassin took careful aim. Hitting a racing zoomer going full speed around a track was not an easy task, and he was the only one who could attempt such an impossible shot. The target was approaching the finish line. He would need to act fast. The deal was to kill him before he finished the race. Any later, and he wouldn't get paid. He made a quick calculation and fired. Lucky for him, the gun was silenced, so no one could've heard him. He watched as the bullet found its mark on the target's fuel tank…

It all happened so fast. Tigran had past Erol in the turn for the final stretch. "Go!" Keira screamed her head off as Tigran got closer to the finish line. This was it! He was going to defeat Erol and become the City's next Grand Champion of Racing in Haven City!

Quite suddenly, all her hopes were blown up… literally.

Twenty feet from the finish line Tigran's zoomer exploded, raising quite a commotion from the crowd. "No!" Keira scream as she watched Tigran's body become engulfed by flames. The zoomer skidded to a halt just ten feet short of the finish line.

"What was that?" The announcer roared over the crowd. "Tigran's zoomer has exploded not twenty feet from the finish line! And here comes Erol! Erol wins! Medics are rushing down to the track now to recover what is left of Tigran!"

Keira joined the medics in running over to the smoldering pile of what used to be a zoomer. "Tigran!" She cried, running around to the other side of the zoomer. Tigran was trapped under the zoomer. "Tigran!" Keira cried.

"Keira?" Tigran asked weakly. His body was badly burned; only a racing mask protected his face.

"Come on, men. Let's get this thing off him." The head medic ordered his helpers. The men began to work together to lift the zoomer off his body.

"AUGH!" Tigran cried out as the zoomer moved.

"Wait!" Keira cried out. "There's something wrong!" The men stopped and Keira inspected the scene. She gasped. "Oh my God!" The covering of the zoomer had pieced right though his stomach all the way though and embedded itself in the concrete racetrack, effectively pinning him to the track. To move the zoomer would only speed up his inevitable death. "Tigran…" Keira breathed, removing the mask and finding that his face was pale, but not burned.

"Keira…" Tigran gasped, winching with the pain as his brown eyes glazed over. "Keira…"

"I'm here." Keira whispered, tears running down her face.

"I'm… dying, aren't I?" He asked.

Keira hung her head. "It's very bad." That was all she could say.

"Please… Keira… grant me my last… wish." Tigran gasped.

"Anything." Keira said tearfully.

"Just one… kiss." Tigran said.

"I—I can't." Keira said.

"Please…" Tigran begged. "I loved you, even if you never loved me in return. Please… kiss me as if you were kissing your Jak."

Keira looked up. Was it really her right to deny one of her friends his dying wish? It wasn't like he was asking for sex or anything. But… what if Jak came back and found out? Would he be upset? Not if he knew why I had done it. Keira reasoned with herself.

"Okay." She said. She lifted his head slightly, because he was unable to do so on his own. Keira closed her eyes and told herself that it was Jak. His smile… his eyes… She lowered her face to his and kissed him. She knew that she was kissing another man, but she just kept telling herself that it was Jak, and it sort of worked. Sure, his kiss was very weak from imminent death, but it was passionate all the same.

Slowly, the kiss slowed, and then stopped all together. Keira sat up and opened her eyes. She looked down, Tigran was dead.

"No." Keira breathed, more tears running down her face. She may have never had any romantic feelings toward him, she cared for him deeply… he was her friend in this strange world.

"Ms.?" The head medic asked. "We need to get his body off the track."

"Okay." Keira said, getting up off the ground and stepping back.

The men lifted the zoomer, revealing the extent of the damage. His body was burnt to a crisp and there was a large hole where his stomach should've been. There was nothing that could've been done.

"My God!" Keira turned around. It was Erol who had spoken. "First Bease, and now only two months later, Tigran! This team seems to be riddled with bad luck." Erol paused. "That place on my team is still open if you are interested."

"Sorry." Keira replied. "But I won't let Bease Racing fall apart."

"You can't manage, build, and race! No one can, it's impossible!" Erol said.

"Yes, it is." Keira said. "That's why I'm going to find a new racer."

"That could take months." Erol said.

"Then it will take months." Keira said, spinning on her heel and walking away.

LES: Holy crap! Almost all of my OC's are dead! The only one left is Carla. She's a little survivor, the only OC to survive the mysterious illness that kills OC's. It's an epidemic.