This is to JayneParker (sp?) you have no idea how happy I was when you started reviewing again :} Short chapter, but less than a day between updates!

Semi-Automatic: Final Draft

Part One: Misplaced

Chapter Six: Part II, They Got their Eye on You Son

The bodies of the Metal Heads, scattered in pieces on the blood-soaked sand, took only seconds to burst into sparks. Jak flinched away in fear as they bounced towards him before melting into the sand. Harry doubled over panting desperately - his vision blurred as each breath seared his throat. He was exhausted. His arms were barely strong enough to keep his gun raised and his calves burned with each step.

"How can you not be the least bit tired?" Harry wondered bitterly, licking his chapped lips. They had been at this for hours, the sun nearly touching the horizon at this point. The Metal Heads weren't all the same size as the 'Rider' they had come across in the first hour. Some were as small as insects, while others had been larger and sturdier. Jak had nearly been disemboweled by one that came screaming out of the sand in front of them without warning.

What neither Harry or Jak understood was their avid interest in Harry when they became aware of him. Jak was practically ignored as he filled them full of bullets and Harry attempted not to be slaughtered secondhand. It ended up being a game of cat and mouse; how long could Harry outrun it while Jak came up from behind to kill it. The amount of trust he had to put in Jak was startling, and to his appreciation, he hadn't let him down yet.

"Lurkers always ran in small packs," Jak told him, running a hand through his hair to rid it of the sand. "They were nothing like these, I think the largest one I ever saw was Klaww and he wasn't…" He trailed off suddenly and cleared his throat as he turned to face Harry. "How's the chest?"

"Trying to forget about it, actually." He wheezed.

One of the grunts had gotten too friendly and Harry wasn't quick enough to dodge its front claw when Jak shot out its back legs. It had sliced him from his shoulder to his hip, the largest of the three cutting diagonally down his stomach. Like Jak, his entire front was covered in blood slowly drying against sun-burnt skin.

Jak snorted, smirking as he clawed off the flakes of dried blood on his chin. "One more and we're done, at least that's something cheerful to think about."

His retort died on his tongue as the ground beneath them shuddered. Both of them were alert, guns in hand, and frantically searching for the source. The stone pillars were sixty paces back and the telltale roars of the Rider were at least half a league in front of them. "Back to the pillars," Harry suggested, Jak following as they jogged for the relative safety of the sandstone rock face. Tense seconds passed as they waited for it to clear the ridge. This one was smaller, its saddle just as empty, but far from wounded. It stood taller, prouder, than the other as it stomped a few paces before halting to sniff the air.

"I got this one-" Jak started, hands on the stones.

"No," Harry interrupted harshly, "My turn this time."

"You're injured." He motioned to Harry's chest, "A broken nose won't get in the way of-"

"No," Harry growled this time, shaking his head vigorously. "I have it."

"Harry, c'mon, don't be so stubborn." He ignored the exasperation in Jak's sigh as he mounted the rocks.

Harry knew he was pushing his limits, his chest burning and weeping each time he made for another foothold. He refused to helpless while Jak took all the risks for the both of them. At this point, Harry had something to prove to himself if nothing else. He reached the top breathless, clutching at his chest, but focused on the task at hand. He acted as if he was fine when Jak cast his eyes upward, throwing him a thumbs up to show he was ready.

When he disappeared over the dunes, Harry let out a shaky breath. 'I can do this.' He thought briefly of the Basilisk in his second year and the Dementors in his third. He had faced some truly terrifying things in his life, like Jak, but he had magic on his side. Out here, in a hot wasteland, he had a gun. That's it. He had a gun and Jak's experience to rely on.

A bleated roar brought him back to the moment. Jak was stumbling over the dune, practically falling over himself to get into the valley. The Metal Head was close behind, barreling through the sand with intent. Jak cleared the line and Harry forced himself up into a crouched position. The way it came, the jump wouldn't be far. It would be less than five feet. He could make five feet. He held his breath as he pushed off the platform. For a terrifying second, he thought he would miss. The saddle brushed his fingertips and he was going to fall. His hand clenched on reflex and he felt the burn of the leather against his hand. He locked his arms together and was knocked breathless as he slammed into the metal armor.

The beast halted with the force laid in its reigns, the torque behind it tossing Harry into the air before throwing him onto its back, ridged spines crushing against his sternum.

Harry was dazed and the Metal Head huffed in confusion.

"Harry, hold on!" The sound of a Blaster woke them both, the creature's head craning around to look at Harry. It barred its teeth as Harry stared back, white-knuckled around the leather. It let out a keening screech, throwing its body weight into bucking him off. Harry was tossed repeatedly back onto the armor, flying feet in the air before careening back down into bone plate. He crawled inches at time, gripping where he could towards the gap in the armor. He could see it, inches ahead of him, grinding together with each frantic movement it made. His chin smacked against the plate as his fingers curled around the serrated lip. It cut into his hands, stinging, but he held fast to it as he pawed for his gun at his side. He shoved the barrel into the gap and emptied the clip.

It howled, jerking wildly, and Harry's face was splashed with purple blood.

A sharp yell erupted from behind him, Harry twisting in time to see Jak get side swiped by the Metal Head's monstrous tail. He sucked in breath through his teeth as his blood ran cold. His blaster was out, Jak was most likely unconscious – if not dead – and the beast was still thrashing beneath him. Harry did the only thing he could think of. He grappled for the flailing reigns, wrappings the straps around his bleeding hands to force himself into the saddle. The Metal Head had stopped the last time; Harry prayed it was conditioned to obey. He planted his feet on the riding horn and pulled back with everything he had left. 'Run it into the ground, run it into the ground and find Jak.'

"Come on!" He shouted, arms nearly pulled from their sockets from the force.

The Metal Head yelped in surprise and its head snapped down instantly. Its legs buckled as Harry heard the hideous snap of bone. On impact, the gem when flying as Harry was flung into the sand face first. His head spun, the world inverted as he fumbled back to his feet. He'd lost his gun somewhere, his chest was bleeding profusely,and he couldn't breathe properly.

"Jak..." He gasped, pushing into a run. He searched frantically, retracing the Metal Head's footprints in the sand. "Please don't be dead, please don't be dead." Harry whispered, dreading the idea of trying to survive Invisera without him. Yes, he hated relying on him at times, yes he hated being so weak in comparison – but please God don't let him be dead. Please.

He found him on his back among rocks thirty feet behind. He was bleeding from a gash on his forehead and his arm was awkwardly bent beneath him. Harry shouted his name, but he didn't respond – blonde hair almost completely red with blood. He dropped to his knees, cold fear in his gut, and shook Jak's shoulder desperately. "Jak, can you hear me? Jak?"

His eyes began to flutter open, a hoarse groan escaping his cracked lips. "W-what…" He stared at Harry, unfocused and baffled. Harry helped him into a sitting position while Jak's fingers tenderly felt the open gash across his forehead. "Did… Did you get it down?"

Harry laughed in spite of himself. "Y-Yeah."

Jak spat a moan of relief, grunting as he rubbed his eyes clear. "… Have I ever told you how much I hate the desert?"

"Only fifty times since we've been out here."

Jak mumbled under his breath and Harry wondered what a sight they would make walking back into Invisera like this. Both covered in blood, dirt, and sweat with skin red and blotchy from too much sun. Jak with a broken nose and gashed up face while Harry nursed his slashed up chest – both bruised to Hell and carrying Metal Head gems on their backs…

Harry helped Jak back to his feet, grasping his left forearm to do so. The bandages slipped in the blood on his hand, coming loose and causing Jak to nearly lose his balance with a weak laugh. Jak constantly wore the wrappings, he had since they were in the hospital and Harry noticed he wore a ratted version of when they first met. He had never thought much of it, but he noticed then the ink scribed in their letters and numerals. Jak noticed his pause, realized what he was staring at, and snapped his arm out of Harry's sight to quickly re-wrap it.

"… Jak?" Harry questioned lightly.

His expression became dark, furious even, as he pulled the wrapping tight. "They… did it the second night I was in Haven. I think…" He muttered bitterly, "It's a serial number… The others had them too." He clenched his fists at his side, grinding his teeth together. Jak never spoke of Haven, of the others that had died to the experiment. Harry had often thought Jak too … adjusted to this. Too happy, too high functioning for the sort of things that off-handed comments had suggested. He thought Jak braver than him, better at coping.

In the rare moments that Jak let himself hate and be angry – Harry understood something very important about him; he was a far better actor than he let one. Jak took a calming breath, putting his mask back on, and knocked his knuckles against Harry's shoulder. "So, how was the ride?"

Harry let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. He watched Jak silently as he walked towards where the Rider's gem had fallen. He knelt down to pull it out of debris and brushed off the sand like he hadn't just gone to pieces for a moment.

Harry let out a quiet sigh. "Like riding a cursed broom."

"A what?" Jak laughed incredulously.

"Don't worry about it," He muttered with a shake of his head, bracing his chest as the pain crawled past the adrenaline. It was then, when his eyes flicked over the creature, he saw it. A camera was hovering fifty or so feet above them, almost invisible against the sky save for a shimmer of iridescent film that gave it away. He snarled at it, growling. "They're watching us."

"When aren't they," Jak surmised, eyes never leaving the glowing gem in his hands. "Let's just head back. I doubt this place gets any better when the sun goes down."