It was a normal night in Port Town. Walkers walked the quietest roads. Shoppers shopped at the stores with the lowest prices, whether they were discounts or otherwise. And a few F-ZERO racers watched the big-screen 80" plasma TVs in the display window of an electronics store. All those screens showed a scene of destruction in the Lightning Area, about twenty kilometers to the south. In the forefront of the picture was the cause of all that destruction: the Emperor of Brutality, Black Shadow. He was a tall, muscular man dressed in a black demon's outfit. He was known by many to be pure evil with a single goal: to ultimately rule the universe. Little did they suspect that he was working for somebody who made Black Shadow look like Captain Douglas Jay Falcon, who was walking up the street towards them.
Falcon saw the F-ZERO pilots in front of the window, one of whom he recognized immediately as Pico, a 120+(or so he said)year-old turtle who worked as a hitman for a big crime syndicate based out of Aeropolis. He was one of the most reckless drivers on the F-ZERO circuit, thought to have caused the gigantic crash four years prior that almost killed six other pilots and temporarily suspended the F-ZERO Grand Prix races. Dr. Robert Stewart put his medical training to use, and it was thanks to him that nobody died that fateful day. But that was then, and this was now. Falcon looked up at the same TVs that Pico and the others were watching. He saw Black Shadow and the destruction he was causing over in the Lightning Area.
Damn, thought Falcon. Black Shadow's at it again. When will he learn? He set off again. When he came to an alleyway that branched off to the left, he checked to see if anyone was waching, and then turned down the alleyway and turned to his left at the end. Nobody else knew it, but this was the entrance to his base. His face was scanned, and he was cleared to enter. He did just that, and walked down the hallway to the main control room. This was also where he kept his prized machine, the Blue Falcon. The destruction he had seen was still on his mind, but he pushed it aside. It was time to train.
He jumped in the Falcon and set it to Simulation Mode, level E. It activated, and suddenly he was on a practice track, ready and raring to get going. This simulation was the same as the sim he had done yesterday, but with a new twist: Not only did he have to complete five laps within one minute, but there were 35 capsules scattered around the course. He had to collect all of them while doing the five laps to clear this simulation.
He got the "go" signal and the Falcon disappeared in a cloud of smoke. He raced around the track and got 15 capsules on the first lap. As soon as he crossed the start/finish line for the first time, a message appeared on his control screen: His booster was ready. Using it, he got 19 capsules in 3.4 seconds on this lap. The third lap saw him collect the last capsule.
That's all of the capsules, thought Falcon. It's just flat-out speed from here on in. He used his booster almost nonstop from that point on. On the fourth lap, an alarm started going off.
Almost out of energy, he thought. Better hit the repair strip next time around. He sped through the arena and on the final lap, when he came around the first turn, he aimed theFalcon at a purple, red, white, and blue strip along the center of the track. This was the repair strip. His booster was full by the time he reached the end of the strip, at which he checked his control screen to see how much time he had left.
Yikes! he thought. There were only six seconds left on the clock. He put his boosters on full power and darted across the finish line with only 0.852 seconds left on the clock.
Whew, thought Falcon. That was too close for comfort. He took a victory lap, and as he came to a stop just before the finish line, the simulation faded away, and he was back in the main control room of his base. The control screen read, "SIMULATION CLEAR". He jumped out of the Falcon. As he walked towards his TV, a notice on the pedestal where theFalcon rested caught his eye. It said that F-ZERO officials were now accepting registrations for the next F-ZERO Grand Prix, which, this year, was being held in Mute City. He took a look at the TV. Black Shadow was saying, "This time the prize will be mine!", & he was laughing.
Hell, thought Falcon, I don't think he'll ever learn. He left the base for Mute City to register for the next Grand Prix. When he got to the registration office. there was a table set up with an official sitting at it.
"I'm here to sign up for the F-ZERO Grand Prix," said Falcon.
"Name, machine, & city of residence," said the official.
I don't think I should give my real name, thought Falcon. That may be too much of a giveaway for my enemies.
"Captain Falcon. I live in Port Town, & I will be piloting the Blue Falcon."
"Thank you. The $300, please."
The cash changed hands.
"Thank you again. OK, you're good to go. You'll start in spot #22. The race starts at 9:00 next Saturday night."
"Thank you. I'll see you then."
Falcon left the table and went back to Port Town, knowing full well that Black Shadow would soon enter the race, if he hadn't already. That meant that this year would be his toughest race as of yet. He arrived at his base, went in, found his bed, and fell asleep almost at once.