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// Kras: Red Eco Cup Grand Prix 
// Story: Jak and Daxter: Heirs of Mar 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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While Jak, Twilight, Starlight, Cozy, Midnight, and the others were relaxing, readying themselves for the next events, Rayn returned to the living area that everyone was resting in and informed them that the remaining events had been decided on, to which everyone stopped what they were doing and opened their ears so they could figure out what they would be doing next and who needed to participate in which event, since some Ashelin and Torn could aid them in and in the others it was best if it was just the siblings. What she told them was that the upcoming events were a Death Race through the Spargus track, a Turbo Dash that would take place in the Loading Docks, another Deathmatch that would bring them to a massive coliseum built in Kras which had been dedicated to Mar, and a Circuit Race that would take them through Haven's Sewers, though while there were several potential events in the Icelands she informed them that if they took gold in all four of those events they would have enough points to start the Grand Prix for the Red Eco Cup. To Jak and his sisters most of the events seemed rather straightforward, even easy in some instances when each of them thought about what they had done so far, and the extra ones were just a way to extend the Red Eco Cup for another day or two, depending on how many more there were, but since they were interested in putting an end to Mizo's plans for Kras City, by winning this for Krew as odd as it sounded to all of them, it sounded like now was the best time to move onward. Such a thing meant winning the next couple of events and tackling whatever challenges Mizo's team had in store for them, repeating what they had done since joining the KGC in the first place, though they had a feeling that if they won the first major race Razer would be forced to get off his high horse and join them on the track, which would be interesting to see since it would allow them to figure out if the tales of his skills were true or not.

When it came time for them to depart for the next event, which was odd since they were still on the same day as the second Qualifying Event of this leg of the KGC, Jak and his sisters made their way to the transport so it could take all five of them, as Midnight wanted to join them, for the Death Race event, and sure enough Mizo's team was nowhere to be seen, once more confirming that they could get by with Mizo's connections and not their actual racing skill, but they decided not to worry about that as each of them climbed into their vehicles and got ready for a fight. With just the five of them there wasn't much for anyone to worry about, as they just drove down the track and fired upon the yellow drones who showed up to provide them with points for the event, while mixing in their sibling rivalry to spice things up for the watchers, as it seemed to do wonders for their ratings and continued to trash the ratings of their opponents, as one even claimed that Shiv and the others were cowards, before UR-86 showed up anyway. The modified Death Bot seemed to do wondered for the ratings of Mizo's team, meaning those who were rooting for that team to win were happy to see one of the far more competent racers had joined the race and would be challenging Jak and his sisters, though it was possible that they were now hoping for Razer to join in on the fun and show those who opposed the current champion their place, despite the fact that Jak was hoping for a challenge when the man got on the track. Other than that there wasn't much for the siblings to even worry about, even though they continued their little rivalry while hunting down all of their targets, before the couple of announcers declared that this event was over and that all of them had, against all odds, overcome the event and won with flying colors, beating the one hundred and eighty score necessary to get the gold metal, with Jak scoring far more as he was over two hundred, Twilight and Midnight scored two hundred exactly, and Starlight and Cozy were five behind the rest of their sisters.

With the event complete the siblings returned to the garage, as it sounded like Blitz either had a new episode coming out or he might be interested in interviewing them for a time, though upon their return to their base of operations they found that it was a show and that he was talking about the competition heating up, including all sorts of wrecks as well, even if such a thing never happened during their events, before declaring that they had best watch to catch the fireworks before his screen went blank, though he walked into their living area not a few seconds later.

"It seems that you punks will have some serious competition today, and everyone is betting on which team will take the win during the Red Eco Cup Grand Prix," Blitz said, which wasn't much of a surprise to Jak or his sisters, or the rest of their team for that matter, as they figured that people would be betting on the Grand Prix and they were about to make Mizo lose a lot of money in a matter of minutes, depending on how many voted for his team winning, before Blitz growled for a few seconds as he focused on them once more, "usually the Odds Markers, those who watch over the bets and give me an idea on who the public is cheering for, would tell me that newcomers like you are bound to lose out and be forced back to the place you came from... but, being the underdogs that you are, apparently more people are rooting for you, because you bring some heat to the competition."

"That and their magic," a voice stated, where Sig stepped out of the opening that Blitz had walked through and took a few seconds to stare at the man that was beside him, who chuckled for a moment before turning around and leaving the rest of the team to prepare for the next couple of events that would be happening, though as Sig turned towards them, so he could speak with them, Twilight and Midnight sealed the room and made eavesdropping impossible, allowing everyone to speak without worrying about people figuring out what was going on, "King Damas sends his regards and wishes you well in the upcoming races... but I'm not here on his orders, rather I'm an independent racer whose joining your team, just like Kleiver will be joining up with Mizo's team later, again as a racer with no ties to Spargus. Wouldn't want to give our foes anything to chew on, would we?"

As Jak nodded, and they shook Sig's hand before taking him to the garage to see which vehicle he had brought with him, he understood that there was information that their father wanted to give them and sending Sig, under the guise of a new racer who was acting on his own, even though they suspected that Sig had a reputation of his own and his arrival would be on the news in no time, and that Kleiver was here under the guise to beat them in a race, though he was likely here to spy on Mizo's team and give them more heads up on what Razer and the others were doing. It was an interesting plan, as declaring that the pair were independent racers who weren't racing for Spargus, rather they were doing it for the thrill and for money respectively, meant that no one could accuse Damas of rigging the competition in his favor, despite the reality of the situation, though as he thought about that he and his sisters noticed that Rayn seemed happy to have Sig on their team as well, because it boosted their chances towards totally crushing Mizo's team and winning the KGC for her father, not counting the other Cups that needed to be cleared first. Seeing the selection of vehicles they had access to, which he claimed was lacking, even by Krew's standards despite all the gear Keira was working with, Sig went with the Howler 99, as it spoke to him, and not a few moments later he joined them in the transport as they headed for the Loading Docks once more, to tackle a Turbo Dash event, something that excited him since it had been a while since he had raced in a KGC, a fact they would have to ask him about at some point in time, before the siblings and their friends got ready. Sure enough Blitz made an announcement that revealed that Sig was returning to the scene, confirming that he had a racing reputation in Kras, not that anyone was surprised given the amount of years he had worked for Krew and had likely been involved in a few of these races before the bet with Mizo was made, though for now they focused on beating their opponents, getting another gold medal, and clearing out the Red Eco Cup at long last.

Facing off against Mizo's team in the Turbo Dash was even easier than it had been when it was just Jak and his sisters, as with Midnight and Sig joining them, to counter UR-86's skills, no one on Mizo's team was able to get their hands on any of the Power Cells, though despite the fact that it seemed unfair in Rayn's eyes, even if she wished for the downfall of Mizo's team, none of the other announcers and officials for the KGC seemed to care all that much, rather everyone appeared to be rather happy over this development. In fact, when she watched everyone in the higher positions, just to see if she might find someone linked to Mizo, Blitz seemed to be the only one who was outraged by what was going on and he seemed to be in a constant fight to regain himself before some of the cameras noticed, something that caused her to smirk for a few seconds as she pulled out a small recording device and made sure it was pointed at Blitz, so when UR-86 was bested again, and the rest of his team was passed by, she caught the rage that appeared on his face. When they reached the end of the event, with Jak and his sisters reaching first place and those behind it, Rayn found that each of them had scored more than twenty points each, with Sig scoring fifteen while Ashelin and Torn had ten, leaving Mizo's team with zero across the board, which was followed by a surge of rage appearing on Blitz's face, something she caught before it disappeared entirely, as it would be a good piece of information to share with the siblings and their allies. Of course Blitz was the only one feeling like that right now, as everyone else was cheering for Jak's team while some were even booing Mizo's team, which happened to be those who lost out on the bet that UR-86 could take down Jak and his sisters, something that would really infuriate the hidden criminal lord and put a smile on her face when she thought about it, all while Shiv and the others drove off with a look of shame on their faces, even if UR-86 didn't care that much.

With another gold medal earned the group took half an hour to rest, even though it wasn't necessary in the grand scheme of things, though she discovered that it was more to welcome Sig back to the team, who was happy to do everything in his power to help them 'obtain the antidote', showing that he knew her father more than she originally thought, though while Rayn was gone Jak kept his voice low as he explained things to Sig, just so he knew what he was getting into before they were called for the next event, but he was ready for anything they tackled.

Once their break was over they returned to their transport as it took them over to the Mar Coliseum so they could tackle the Deathmatch event, where everyone had four minutes to race around the massive arena and collect ten kills, focusing on all of the drones that were deployed, though the interesting thing was that Mizo's team decided not to show up for this event, meaning it was just a race between Jak, his sisters, and their friends, which still put on a show for everyone that was watching the event, even if Rayn noticed that Blitz was growing more annoyed with their success. As it turned out Jak, once more, claimed first place with a total of ten kills, while Twilight and Midnight scored nine each, Starlight and Cozy had eight kills apiece, leaving Ashelin, Torn, and Sig with five each, not that they were surprised by that since the siblings were skilled on the track and even in an arena event they were some of the greatest challengers Sig had ever seen, so he was fine with them beating him and the others to secure the gold medal. With that event done, and everyone was ready to continue the trend they were setting, Jak, his sisters, and everyone else were transported over to the next event and found that it was in Haven's Sewers, the Circuit Race to be exact, which caused them to glance at each other for a time, as they knew that Shiv and the rest of Mizo's team would be worried about their chances of beating them in a race, even with UR-86 joining forces to take all of them down. Twilight had built an opening in Haven City so that racers could be brought down into the section that the track was built in, an area that actually served no purpose and existed as a track for the KGC to use, and when the transport reached their destination it opened up and they descended into the depths of the city, allowing them to ready their vehicles for a few seconds as Mizo's team arrived a few moments later, who readied themselves for another beating, or at least Shiv's group did since UR-86 seemed to think he could still overcome them all.

Jak and the others discovered that the Circuit Race was only two laps this time around and found that the track was large, almost like the actual Sewers Krew had used in the past, and that UR-86 was far better this time around, possibly adapting to their skills and reacting accordingly, though the problem he ran into was Midnight using her emp attack on him and his comrades, allowing Ashelin, Sig, and Torn to get around them in due time, but what was hilarious in Daxter's eyes was that most of Mizo's team just gave up after that, as in they raced to make it seem like they were following their bosses' orders but didn't try to pass them. Only UR-86 tried his best to overcome them, their tricks, and their skills, as he felt that he had nothing to fear from Jak and his sisters, though he soon found that it was much harder to get anywhere with Midnight and Sig having joined the team, though soon he was facing the same problem that Shiv's group had faced so far, the inability to get anywhere near first place and the gold medal, and it wasn't long before the siblings crossed the finish line as the rest of their team followed after them. With that done they had more than enough points to participate in the Grand Prix of the Red Eco Cup, though that would happen tomorrow, an entire day being set aside for the race in question, though while Jak, his sisters, and their friends returned to the garage Midnight decided not to join them, rather she actually headed out and tackled the remaining events that were out there, just for the sake of showing everyone that she was just as skilled as the rest of her siblings, since most considered her to be another sister and she wasn't about to correct anyone. As such Daxter and the others watched as she tackled an event called Rush Hour in the Icelands, on the Timberline Track, which seemed to be crystalline caves and a frozen tundra, while the event caused one to drive into droves, green worth one point, blue worth two, and the flaming red ones were designed to harm a vehicle, but given the nature of her vehicle she smashed her way through all her targets without taking damage and scored over the two hundred points necessary to acquire the gold medal for her team.

With that done she stuck around the Icelands and dealt with two more events, she headed to the Frozen Speedway to take on a Death Race, where they watched as she scored over the five hundred points needed to totally win the event, and then she traveled back to the Icebound Citadel for a Circuit Race, where her mere presence seemed to intimidate Shiv's team, as UR-86 wasn't present, and it wasn't long before she scored the gold for that as well, earning their team the maximum points in the entire Red Eco Cup, before she returned to rest and prepare for when morning arrived.

When morning arrived Jak, his sisters, Midnight, and the rest of their team gathered in the living area of their base, eating breakfast and getting ready for the first of the four Grand Prixs they would have to get through to win the KGC entirely, all while Rayn was gathering whatever information she could before everything started, just to give them an idea of what the Grand Prix contained, even though the one thing they did know was that it would take place over three locations, but none of them knew if it was three races or three separate events. Of course not a few minutes later Rayn returned to where the group was relaxing and informed them that all four of the Grand Prixs would have three Circuit Races, so they would be facing off against Mizo's team once more and would be reaching for the first of the four trophies needed to win the entire thing so they could be given the antidote to the poison her father used on most of their team, not that she knew that they had taken care of that before reading Krew's will. One thing they were focused on was Blitz's show, as there happened to be a rerun of one of the Grand Prixs from the prior KGCs, though the locations were different every year so racers had to think on their feet and not rely on what happened the previous year, though it was interrupted by the man himself as he and Pecker appeared so they could begin their commentary on what would be happening next, which informed Sig of the fact that there was another ally in play. What was interesting was that Blitz informed them, or reminded those who were watching his show, that UR-86 has never lost the Red Eco Cup Grand Prix, in the years he's been employed by Mizo, and he claimed that the crowd was screaming for another round of him smashing everyone in his way, even though Pecker told him that most of the viewers were betting on Jak and his sisters right now, so they could move on and face Razer, a race all of them wanted to see, though Jak was eager to show UR-86 his own skills and put the robot in his place.

Once everyone was ready to go they took the transport out to the Kras City track and found that Mizo's team was waiting for them to arrive, most of them looking nervous while Jak found that UR-86 was ready for anything, to which they quickly set up their vehicles after being dropped off, all while Rayn joined the usual group she sat with when she watched Jak and his team tackle the events, but she kept her eyes on Blitz in case he showed more of the rage he had shown earlier, as that had to be a clue of some kind.

This time around UR-86 was ready for them and did his best to take them all down, even if it meant taking down each and every member of Mizo's team to do so, though once again he found his way blocked by Midnight and Sig, the latter using his weapons to blast the robot backwards before he could get too far ahead while the former made sure to trap both him and the others in her personal weapon, shutting them down for a time as it allowed everyone else to get further ahead of their opponents, causing the crowd to cheer for Jak and his team. In fact their skills allowed them to finish the three laps of the first Circuit Race without anyone from Mizo's team getting anywhere near first place, causing everyone to cheer for all of them once more as they were rewarded the points associated with their positions as Jak claimed ten points, though as soon as that was done everyone was taken over to the next location so the Grand Prix could continue, which happened to be the Spargus City track. Once more UR-86 tried his hardest to overcome all of them and get ahead of Jak, to prove that he was the better racer, and once again he found himself face to face with Midnight's abilities and weaponry that she had created to stop people from getting close to Twilight and her siblings, while Sig smashed anyone who dared to get close to him and his friends, something that allowed them to claim victory over their opponents and caused Shiv's group to frown for a moment as they realized an important fact, that they might not be able to beat the siblings. After that they headed over to the Icelands for what was called the 'Southern Tour', which involved racing all over most of the frozen continent, or at least bits and pieces of it, though this time most of them did a leisure drive through the track and found that no one on Mizo's team even attempted to get close, even UR-86 seemed tired for the time being and just wanted to get this over with, so it also gave them some time to show off the sibling rivalry for the crowd.

By the end of the Grand Prix Jak and his sisters had a better understanding of how things worked in the KGC, even if they had broken things to some degree and made off like bandits when it came to the first of the four trophies they needed to win the whole thing, and upon their return to the garage Pecker informed the public about what he had learned, that he had confirmed that someone was manipulating the entire sport, causing Blitz to curse him out before it was taken down, meaning they would have to keep an eye on him as they tackled the remaining Cups, though for now they decided to rest before the next Cup started and more dangers came their way.