A/N: Okay, so I wish someone had done this before me. Writing about something and reading about it are two completely different ways to enjoy something. And I wanted to read something like this (laughs). But I doubt it'll happen any time soon, so I'm writing it. If someone has done it before, well then, I clearly suck!
This is basically my play on what happened before the first episode of Oban. It'll get quite angsty later on obviously, but it has a happy ending, also obviously. (grins)
Author: Yoru Ryu (Rainy Day)
Rating: K/ PG-13 (Rating will most likely rise later)
Disclaimer: Hahahaha!
Summery: Everything started when she signed up under the Wei corporation. The rest is history.
Listening to: Not Gonna Get Us -- Tatu.
Warnings: Main pairing Don x Maya. Quite a large number of OCs too.
Our Champion.
"Here we are at the beautiful Crystal Case race track in the heartland of Star-racing, Vapid City! And what a glorious day it is! Phoenix Studios is proud to announce we have the best coverage of the races on Earth! We're down to the last three teams! Who will be declared Earth Champion and travel to Venus for the finals of this inter-planetary challenge? It's only a matter of minutes yet!"
The atmosphere around the Crystal Case track was unbelievable. As the announcer and sponsor of the Earth races had just announced, only three teams were remaining. The booming voice was hardly even heard over the roaring crowd. Yes, it was only a matter of minutes till the Semi-Final race was underway.
A team from the South of the planet, a team from the West and a team from the East. Out of the fifty teams that had made it this far, only these three remained. Some better off than others. It had been a particularly nasty and dangerous competition this year; with many more casualties and deaths than previous times. But the pilots seemed to love it more. It was such a rush.
The team from the West were mostly wearing odd colourful suits of some kind - obviously an attention grabbing gimmick of some sorts. Very tacky indeed. The East team were more traditional in the Star-Racing circle, with a clean smooth metal ship and sharp uniforms. But it was the South team who were the most intriguing.
It wasn't that female pilots were rare anymore. On the country; women seemed to make better pilots than men. The men would mostly handle the offensive end of the tactics and the mechanics of their machines. It was the way they raced.
Almost every one of their races they seemed to be on the loosing end yet pulled a complete turnabout to win, thus making it this far. They were simply a marvel to watch and the crowd seemed to agree; they wanted the South to win and represent Earth.
The pilot herself was particulary tall with long waving pink hair, with strange but alluring tattoos on her cheeks. She wore a rather revealing uniform slightly altered from the other purple uniforms her team mates wore, but it must work for her if she'd made it this far without injuring herself in any way. That was quite a feat in itself. Many pilots would pull muscles, sprain things but carry on racing like nothing were wrong. Though, from the way they acted it'd be hard to tell if they were injured or not, but he'd been in this business a while now, and it was more obvious to him. So far, he noted, she'd not hurt herself… not that he'd been looking or anything like that…
"Hey, Don! Get the lead out man, c'mon!" He turned around at the voice coming from behind him. "Stop staring at the contestants; we're out y'know. Isaac's got us some great seats. Better than our stand anyway!"
Yes, his team had been knocked out in fifth place. That was both good and bad. Coming fifth out of fifty was a huge achievement, but to lose so close… arg. Still, fifth place would get them quite a bit of coverage. Any media attention was good really. But it wasn't like the Wei Corporation was a small company anymore; it'd grown considerably since he'd signed up Granvil Marisol who was an amazing pilot, just not a top-notch one.
Looking at the back of his blonde head as he led the way to these, apparently, 'great' seats, he seemed to be taking the loss well. It was probably all the public support he got. Small children looking up to him and admiring him, women swooning under his green eyes and men respecting his flying skills. If it weren't for them, or his lucky red scarf, it was doubtful he'd take a loss like this so well. When they neared the seats a white haired boy waved them over.
"See, aren't they great seats, sir?" The white clad boy, Isaac, smiled expectantly.
The kid was so innocent for a photographer. It was hard to believe he was the person to go to, to dig up dirt on other teams, or if they needed certain information on something. But it must be he looks that cause the other teams to allow him into their buildings. It was quite a vicious tactic to have to pull, but all the other teams had their moles too, some of which had buried themselves in his own company, unknown at the time. But no matter who the mole was or from which team, they always got found out and all Hell would break loose for a short period. As manager it was his responsibility to deal with caught moles.
"Fantastic, Isaac," Don nodded. And they were good seats too; not too far back so details were lost, but far enough to see over most people's heads.
Granvil rubbed his gloved hands almost excitedly. "It's between the South team and the East team, this is going to be great!"
"Maybe you could learn something from them" a girl with bright pink hair leaned forward and snorted at him.
Slowly turning his head Granvil stared at the girl. "Shut up, Zoë."
Zoe Stoot was the sharp-ended head mechanic of the Wei company. Always speaking her mind and shouting at any pilot who dared break any of her work during a race, she was quite a menace. But she did good work and that's what it came down to in the end.
Flicking her big bangs out of her face she smirked back at the pilot. "Touché aren't we, Granny?"
"Granvil did great, Zoe!" Isaac snapped. "It wasn't his fault he turned left when everyone else went right!" Granvil covered his face and groaned.
"Of course not, it's never his fault. And after I'd spent days making that turbo drive too! You ripped it clean off, now it's only good for scrap!"
And it was true. Don himself was using a small part of it as a pencil holder in his office. Speaking of which, he turned around, "knock it off Zoe, just enjoy the race."
"Yes, sir" the mechanic grumbled bitterly.
"The Semi-Final of the Earth branch of this competition is about to start, please be seated!" The announcer spoke through the loud echoing speakers. "The lots have been drawn so we're honoured to bring forth the… South team!" The crowd launched themselves to their feet and thundered their applause.
"This is it, this is it!" Isaac chattered as he clapped his hands over his head.
"Oh, this is going to be so good," Granvil mentioned as stood on his toes despite being tall enough to see over everyone anyway. "That girl is so awesome!"
Don nodded to himself while clapping politely, "yes, very."
The crowd roared as the South team's ship came whirling into the starting arena and performing a full 360 degree spin for the already excitable audience. Granvil and Isaac 'whooped' at the skill and cheered harder.
Without waiting for the people in the stands to simmer the announcer continued. "And introducing the honourable East team!" There was less applause as the second Star-Racer whizzed into the arena, but they still received a mighty call. "Piloting for the South team is Maya Sign! Piloting for the East team is Ivan Bane! The race will begin when the lights turns green, get ready!"
All dozens of lights around the opening gate turned red as sections of the solid wall dropped to reveal a long narrow route. Don had his eyes set on the huge vision-screen as the picture flickered between both Maya and Ivan. The look on their faces was so intense. Maya had her long hair pinned back out of her face and a neat brown flight-cap pulled down, pink lens goggles covering her eyes. She wrapped and unwrapped her fingers over the control handle of her ship as she leaned back in her seat ready for the sudden force that would otherwise push her back when she set off. The determination in her eyes was simply amazing. Ivan looked… well, to be honest, Don wasn't watching him. He supposed he looked fine.
The crowd hammered their fists on the seat in front of them, chanting as the lights turned to orange - the engines rumbled.
Even Zoe jumped to her feet as the lights turned green and both racers rocketed forward and the race began.
"Oh yeah!" Granvil shouted, pumping the air as Maya immediately took the lead. "That's the way to do it, girl! Put your foot down!"
Now, it wasn't that Don was a total pessimist, but if anything could be said with the way Granvil raced, the East team could very well overtake and win the race with ease. They had a smaller ship and the gunner on Maya's ship seemed to be having trouble targeting it.
Just as he'd thought, the smaller ship came up closer to the South's at an angle where the gunner couldn't reach. If the vision-screen showed the pilot's faces now he was sure Maya'd be frowning or cursing lightly.
Her ship darted left and right trying to dislodge the parasite that was clinging to the leader, but it was in vain. The smaller ship was more manoeuvrable and obviously had to resort to sneaky tactics to even stand a chance of surviving the race. It was so pathetic Don almost had to frown. It seemed Maya was now using the rubble on the track to throw off her opponent.
"This is quite a shock!" The announced said. "Not one minute into the race and we've already got a battle of wits!"
Don snorted at the man in the box high above the stands. He obviously knew nothing about racing and was just glamorising it. Sticking to another ship was such an underhanded way to race, and apparently the crowd thought the same as they voiced their disapproval. He almost felt like covering Isaac's ears as the people around them hurled curses and insults to the Eastern pilot.
Granvil waved his fists around. "C'mon Maya, shake that loser off!"
"You can do it, Maya!" Isaac shouted.
Gritting his teeth, Don gasped as Maya piloted her ship into a flat rock surface successfully tossing the other ship away.
"What a pro!" Granvil cheered.
Zoe practically wailed as the screen showed all the bits of Maya's racer being ripped clean off from underneath. "I really feel for her mechanics," she shook her head.
The East's racer came screeching up on the larger ship only to get blasted back violently but Maya's partner at the guns. It seemed they'd had enough of the other pilot's cheap tricks too. Several more attempts to pass the leading ship failed so Ivan pulled his racer back. The crowd held their breath as they sat on the edge of their seats. Don Wei, Granvil and Isaac were all on their feet watching the screen intently while Zoe sat back looking redundant.
They were so close to the finish now and Maya was pulling away further into the lead. Isaac chittered about how she was going to win, Granvil pounded his hands together cheering hard and Don held his breath, just watching. Something bad was going to happen.
As the people in the stands celebrated Maya's certain victory the East's ship dropped a pillar from it's structure, a bright light emitting from within it. As both ships reached the finishing straight a long thin missile shot forward piercing Maya's ship and throwing it off course. The crowd stopped their cheering for the most part at the vision on their screen. If one had good eyesight both ships could be seen from the stands too.
"What the Hell was that!?" Granvil exclaimed. "A missile? Why didn't he just do that before when he was right under her!?"
"Don't encourage them, Granvil," Isaac frowned.
"Stupid, kid," Zoe mumbled at Isaac, "the pilot can't hear us from here." The young mole scowled at her.
"I hate to rain on your parade, but that's no missile," Don mentioned in a quiet voice hardly reaching over the roar.
"Then what is it?" Zoe asked.
Taking a closer look at Maya's racer showed the 'missile' had indeed impacted, but had not fired off. "It's a needle on thread," Don growled.
"What!?" The people around the manager who'd heard him shouted.
"I-it's a harpoon!" Isaac pointed accusingly at the screen.
The object imbedded in the lead racer did indeed have a long chain attached to the challenger's ship. Knowingly or not, Maya was pulling along the other pilot towards the finish line. As the pair travelled closer to the end of the race the Eastern ship roughly retracted it's harpoon sending the South's ship into a sudden stumble.
Maya's ship rumbled and a jet of fire blasted out from the back.
Don's eyes widened in horror. "W-what?" Fire was not good.
Isaac jumped back, almost hitting Zoe in the face with his white ponytail. "N-no, Maya."
"Grrr, oh, this can't be good," Granvil growled, hands clenched.
It was obvious from the damaged racer's movements that Maya was trying to set the ship down as carefully as possible, but with a roaring flame and unsteady controls it was something only a supreme master could do. And as misfortune would have it, she was not one.
The racer crashed into the rubble littered track catapulting sharp rocks in all directions, some of which pierced the hull of the opposing ship as it passed. The large racer somersaulted several times before it came to a stop in a wreaked heap. The vision-screen switched from the finish line to the accident site to show both Maya and her partner struggle away from the mess before the whole machine went up in flames. Paramedics would soon be on their way.
The winning ceremony for that race was a bittersweet experience. At least Maya's team were guaranteed third place. Surely if the opposing team hadn't have resorted to such low tricks they'd have won the competition and be sent to Venus for the next leg.
"This was quite a surprising loss," their team manager was saying in and interview.
Don Wei's team were currently seated in the tiny restroom their personal dock had watching the interview on TV. Granvil was trudging around throwing his arms about and shouting nonsense about how 'unjust that race was'. While it may have been true, he was getting on everyone's nerves. But with him also being a pilot it was understandable why he was overacting a little.
Maya's manager was being quite calm and refined, and Don had to wonder how he'd react to such a situation himself. "We have learned a valuable lesson, and that is not to underestimate our opponent at such a crucial time. They truly had a… unique plan. We wish them luck in the final. Thank you." With that he turned to leave all the flashing lights of the photographers and the microphones being shoved at him.
"The paparazzi are merciless," Don noted, watching them on screen following the manager.
Granvil suddenly turned the set off. "Oh, this is a bad final. Either the Kings of Tacky Town, from the United States of Tacky win, or those tossers do, bah!"
"Why didn't they get penalised, Sir?" Isaac looked up at his manager from the floor.
"However cheap their tactic may have been, it didn't break any rules," Don replied tiredly. "It may seem unfair but that's how it goes I'm afraid."
"Sucks," Isaac mumbled.
"I like the way their manager said 'unique'," Zoe quibbed, leaning over the back of the sofa. "I guess he couldn't say 'cheat' eh?"
"I think everyone got the gist of it," Don replied.
Slamming his fists on his knees Isaac smiled. "Did you see how the audience took it? That was the best celebration I've ever been to!"
"You really shouldn't have helped them graffiti their dock," Don referred to how Isaac had gone along with a group of spectators to deface the East's dock. He'd had to laugh when he'd seen what the little vandals had done though.
"Say, Don…" Granvil started, everyone looked at him. "Are you going down to see how they are? I mean, I think Maya and her gunner are fine, but it must've been quite a shock, y'know?" The manager looked at him quizzically. "You know their manager, right?" he elaborated.
"Oh, you mean, Taylor. I don't know him personally, if that's what you mean," Don said slowly. Granvil was up to something. "We were only at school together… not even in the same year." While he may be the oldest in the room, they were all in the same age bracket, save from Isaac who was still a teenager.
Granvil taped his chin. "Maybe we just want to go down there to share the pain of both our losses."
"You're strange," Zoe pointed out.
"And you're a whiney bitch" Granvil replied nonchalantly.
The only warning the blonde pilot got of his impending doom were the dilating of the girl's eyes.
Sometimes Granvil did come out with some good ides, though they were rare and far between, and they'd become even rarer now he was a gooey puddle of human on the floor, Don mused as he made his way across the fields to the South team's dock. His team were from the north of Earth and had been the last from that region to qualify, so even if it hadn't come to anything they'd get a warm reunion upon their return. He hoped.
"Hey, sir! Buy a memorable cup?" a vendor at a stall shouted over at him. He wasn't famous enough to be recognised by people who had no interest in Star-Racing, but his attire sure gave the impression he had a fair wealth.
Now Taylor was a man everyone recognised, interested in racing or not. He was just that famous. And his temper was almost as potent as his race tactics. But he wasn't exclusive to Star-Racing like Don himself was. Taylor managed teams from all other different sports too.
As he neared his destination he passed by the East's dock and laughed again, he could even make out the little doodle Isaac had left. Honestly, they deserved it, but he'd never admit it out loud.
The South's dock was exactly the same as any of the others. Tall, grey, boring and imposing. As he stood in the massive doorway for the racer he noticed it was missing. Their mechanics were probably out fixing it at a shop. Not that there was much to fix. Actually, maybe they'd just sold it all off as scrap and parts.
"Man, such a jerk…" the South's pilot was murmuring to herself as she paced around her tiny room. Taylor had just given her and Alex, her partner, a good chewing out. But really! How were you meant to dislodge a harpoon? The whole point of one was that you couldn't. "Such a jerk," she repeated. "A little support would have been nice."
The brown haired Alex had stormed off the moment their manager had finished yelling at them, and if she hadn't have been a professional, she would've too. Now she was just boiling her anger in her closet-room. He hadn't even cared they might have been killed.
Throwing her arms up and wincing as pain shot through her, she made a snap decision to go down to the lake nearby to cool down, literally. Hurling her door open she stormed across the metal plated corridor to descend the stairs. She caught her feet and stopped suddenly when she spotted a figure in the doorway.
Positive she'd never seen him before she studied him as he hadn't seemed to have noticed her despite her clumsy footfalls. He wasn't the tallest man she'd seen before but he was dressed quite smart so he was obviously a business man of some kind. He also had jet-black hair and was quite thin. Did he not eat? But his stance showed he was quite confident. Still, why was he here? He certainly didn't look like someone from the papers.
"Hey, you!" She finaly shouted gaining his attention. "If you're looking for Taylor he left a bit ago."
The man looked up at her. "Oh, I see. Well, do you know when he'll be back?"
Huffing she walked down the stairs to stand next to him, at his height. "I don't know and I don't care."
He paused, quite shocked by her blunt answer. "How did you know I was looking for him?"
"Everyone is," she sighed. "Sorry, I shouldn't have snapped. You can hang around if you like; I'm sure he won't be too long."
This guy didn't seem haughty like most of her manager's other acquaintances so what'd be the harm in letting him stay around for a bit? It wasn't like there was a racer to protect anymore.
She held out her hand, "I'm Maya by the way, but if you're looking for Taylor then you probably saw me race." She looked so downtrodden.
"Yes, I'm sorry about that. I hope everything is okay," he said as he motioned to take her hand.
"Donald!"
A/N: LOL Donald's a funny name! But it's not Don's real name. Maya's surname is sorta random, but she does have signs on her face. Those tattoos are signs… hush you!
I love writing this, but I'll only update it if people review, otherwise it'll be just for my own enjoyment (frowns). Oh no! The dreaded review button!
And now I've had enough of writing it's time to read some others (grins).
