Hello everyone, back with the second chapter. I've done some basic edits to everything. Please note that nothing will be changing (drastically) until the point where ARM left off. Though I will be adding some little side things in here and there. Until then, enjoy, everyone!
Chapter 2. Helicopters and Parties.
6:00 A.M. in the Vytal countryside was currently a place of serenity and quietness. As the sun rose over the Eastern Mountains; the valley slowly came to life, animals awoke from their slumber, and early risers began their commutes to work. As these commuters made their ways to work, the only cars left behind in the lots, outcroppings, and garages; were those of the Festival. Cars of many manufacturers sat idly, waiting for those who drove them to return and begin another day of furious practice. Today was Tuesday and the Festival didn't kick off until the following Wednesday; allowing for rookies and veterans alike to acquaint, or reacquaint themselves with the environment.
As for one rookie in particular, one by the name of Ruby Rose, she had barely slept a wink last night, whether it was from excitement or nervousness; she didn't know.
The crimsonette had set an early alarm for 6:30 in the morning, as her sister had made a promise to take her out to the Mantle Valley to get some dire practice in, and dire it was. Ruby had never driven anything over 300 horsepower, she didn't even know what the Mantle Valley looked like, and never in the seventeen years she's been on this planet that she'd think her first pro race would be against a helicopter.
So here she was, silently pretending she was sleeping. Every few minutes she'd open an eye to peek at the time. 6 o'clock, then quarter after, and now the time rested at 6:28 A.M. The girl was almost sweating with anticipation as the seconds went by.
BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP
There it went.
Almost flipping off of her bed, Ruby landed on the floor with a silenced 'thump' wasting no time, she darted into the small motel washroom and prepared herself for today's endeavors.
Several minutes later Ruby was dressed in a red v-neck and white short-shorts with some casual loafers. Ruby diligently stepped over to the latter half of the room, and to the bed Yang was resting on. It appeared as though Yang had pushed the pillows off of her bed and resorted to using her mass of blonde curls as a replacement pillow.
Reaching the bed, Ruby began to jostle the sleeping blonde.
"Come on Yaannng, get up." Ruby said as she tugged on Yang's dangling arm.
"MMnnmmmRggnff" Yang groaned.
"Come on, we gotta go!" Ruby shouted, picking up one of the downed pillows; Ruby gently hit Yang with it.
"I'm up..." Yang didn't move an inch.
Ruby hit her again.
"I'm up..."
Again.
"I'm up..."
Once more
"I'M UP!" She screeched, unfurling herself from her hair; Yang glared at Ruby.
"Hurry up and get ready, you said you'd take me out to practice!"
"Slow down baby sis... gimme a minute."
Ruby left Yang to her morning rituals and exited the room; she had remembered seeing a small coffee shop across the street.
Returning a few minutes later with two extra-large cups of coffee in hand, Ruby entered the hallway to find a, now dressed, Yang chatting with a redhead Ruby had recognized from before. Yang noticed Ruby walking up in the background and decided to introduce them.
"Hey Rubes, I got someone I want'ya to meet."
Handing Yang her coffee, Ruby gave a nervous nod.
"Ruby this is Pyrrha. Pyrrha this is my little sister; Ruby." Yang backed away as she introduced the two.
"It's nice to meet you Ruby" Pyrrha waved "Yang has told me a lot about you."
"Hi Pyrrha." Ruby extended her hand to which Pyrrha shook kindly.
"Rubes, remember that Zonda R that flew past us yesterday?"
"Yeah, wait that was you?" Ruby astonishingly pointed at Pyrrha.
"Guilty as charged." Pyrrha said, sheepishly smiling
"Yeah Pyrrha was the tournament winner my first year at the Festival, and she still holds the record as the youngest driver to have ever win the festival." Yang explained.
"Wow..."
"Well Pyrrha I'd love to stay, but I promised Ruby here I'd get her out for some practice, she's participating in the kickoff showcase event."
"The helicopter one?"
"Yup" Yang's voice was full of enthusiasm to which Ruby rolled her eyes to.
"Well Ruby, I wish you good luck." Pyrrha said as she began to walk down the opposite direction of the hallway.
Ruby finally managed to drag Yang outside to her condensation-covered yellow F12. Before any door handles were touched, Yang and Ruby shared a glance, and proceeded to chug down the rest of their coffee, as Yang had a strict rule about liquids in her car.
Unlocking the F12 with the digital key fob, both the blonde and the crimsonette climbed in. As Yang shut the door she noticed that very same bright orange Agera that had nearly killed her the previous day.
She resisted the urge to step out and run her keys alongside the thing.
Putting her sandal clad foot on the brake pedal, Yang hit the steering wheel mounted start button and did up her harness to which Ruby followed suit.
Another one of the rules in Yang's car was safety first.
As the quiet cabin was now filled with the soft roar of the engine spinning up; Yang's senses had come to life, within seconds of Ruby finishing her harness, Yang put the car in reverse, doing a 90 degree reverse turn, Yang slammed her foot on the pedal and peeled out of the small parking lot. Yang hoped the loud roar of her engine combined with the squealing of tires woke every sleeping soul in the motel up.
Carson was located just a few miles from the Mantle Valley, meaning the drive was too short and didn't allow for much of Yang's antic infused driving.
As the blonde pulled her F12 to the side of the road where the start line of today's showcase events would take place she began to observe the road in front of her. The Mantle Valley wasn't a complicated set roads, it contained multiple straight side roads that split off from a single main road on which today's events would take place.
The road in question was a flat countryside road that ran along farmland and open fields, it had its straightaways and it's curves making the challenge range somewhere between the beginner and intermediate levels of driving. As Yang finished her observation she glanced to Ruby who was looking more nervous than ever... Maybe this wasn't the best way to get her sister to start racing, but Yang had the utmost faith in her sister's abilities.
"Oh! I almost forgot, here you should probably read this." Reaching into her pocket Yang handed Ruby a pamphlet on today's showcase events.
All that did was make Ruby feel even more pressured.
"Okay sis, lemme show ya how it's done." Yang brought the car back onto the road and gained speed. The course contained several pockets of turns divided by two straightaways, the still morning air was spit by the turbulent roar of Yang's F12, peeling down the first straightaway, the car picked up speed like nothing and flew past 120 miles per hour with extreme ease.
Hitting the paddle shifter again; the car glided into fourth, the sheer force of the F12 shifting pushed Ruby back in her seat. The F12 was rapidly coming up to the first set of turns when Ruby began to worry, Yang's foot was still, mashed on the gas pedal and looked like it wasn't letting up anytime soon. The red-clad girl squinted her eyes shut as the turn was no more than 50 feet away, suddenly the car wavered to the left, the ESP Premium stability control and F1-Trac traction control kicking in. Yang didn't even touch the brake pedal as she used the opposite side of the road and part of the shoulder to cut the turn short.
Luckily for them there was not a single car out here this morning.
As Yang approached the second and third turns, she actually used the brakes this time, the CCM3 carbon ceramic disc brakes allowing for short stopping distance. The F12's traction control kicked in once more as Yang drifted around the fourth turn and onto the second straightaway.
Ruby looked on quizzically as Yang had pulled the car over to the shoulder again and brought it to a halt.
"Uhh, Yang? Why'd we stop?"
Yang began to undo her harness, "Because it's your turn, silly!"
Ruby's jaw hit the floor, "W-Wha? My turn? You never let me drive this thing!"
"Well now's your chance!~" Yang sang as she finished getting her harness off. She exited the car,while Ruby's jaw was still flapping like a fish a what Yang had just said. The blonde reached the passenger side of the car and ushered Ruby out and over to the drivers side. With the soft slam of two doors, the girls had switched places, Ruby at the helm and Yang patiently sitting next to her.
"Yang? Are you sure about this?" Ruby said as she gripped the flat bottom steering wheel.
"Trust me, if you practice in this; that Lotus Evora will feel like nothing, now let's do this." Yang slipped on her aviators and gave Ruby the affirmative nod.
Ruby slowly but surely stepped on the gas pedal, as her confidence grew so did her speed, as she quickly accelerated past 100 miles per hour. When the car hit 155 the first turn came into view, deciding not to try that crazy turning maneuver Yang did earlier, she applied the brakes albeit a little to much and the car slowed down to a mere 80 miles per hour. Yang smirked a Ruby's careful driving. Ruby had cleared the second, third and fourth turns without going over 90 miles an hour whereas Yang had cleared them without going under 110.
Ruby slowly pulled the car to the shoulder again and came to a smooth stop.
"How was tha- mmpf." Ruby was cut off a Yang pulled her into a bear hug.
"I'm so proud of you!" Yang pulled away showing her eerily wide smile.
"Was I good?" Ruby asked again.
"You did great for someone who's never driven an exotic before; but you need to work on your cornering."
Ruby nodded and shared the same smile with Yang.
"Let's try that again."
Maybe, just maybe she could win this after all.
Lotus Lightning, Showcase Event later that afternoon.
Yang, along with Ruby arrived at the showcase event in Yang's F12. Pulling the Maranello into the driver's parking area, Both girls climbed out of the car, the sight they were greeted with was familiar to Yang but completely new to Ruby.
Where the two had spent hours practicing this morning; was now decorated in the Festival's signature neon red theme. Barriers had been set up to block off local traffic, each barrier showed the same HKS logo on them as they were the main sponsors of the event. There was a growing crowd at the starting line of spectators and fellow drivers alike. Ruby could see the camera crews from the popular show Speedrush TV interviewing some of the people in said crowd.
As she continued to look around she noticed the rotor-wing helicopter resting on a makeshift helipad just of to the side of the road.
"C'mon, we're over here." Yang beckoned as she gestured to a large white tent just behind the starting line.
Ruby noted that the tent had the signature ABC Lotus Emblem on the side.
Lifting the flap of the tent; Ruby came face to bumper with the car she'd be driven today. There sat a bright red Lotus Evora GTE with a matte black stripe running along the top. Ruby then noticed the drivers standing around the car, one driver in particular was none other than Blake Belladonna.
"Blake? What're you doing here?" Yang asked.
The raven-haired girl perked up "Huh? Oh I thought I'd come down a see your sister race."
Yang raised an eyebrow "Really?"
Ruby butted in "Well thanks for coming Blake."
"Y-You're welcome."
Yang decided to change the subject, one thing you should know about Blake is that she's a walking encyclopedia when it comes to cars, never has there been a time when she didn't know something.
"So Blake? What can you tell us 'bout the car here."
"It's a limited version of Evora GTE Road Car Concept, with increased engine power from 345 to 438 horsepower. Swapped out carbon fibre body panels including the front and rear bumpers, the rear wing and the doors; race-themed interior with leather and carbon fibre upholstery, Recaro carbon fibre seats, and a neatly wrapped magnesium trimmed race-spec steering wheel." Blake lectured without taking a breath.
"Wow... you know a lot." Ruby said.
"Yeah. If It wasn't for Blake's help I would've ended up buying a 599 instead of an F12."
Before the conversation could continue, a blue haired guy dressed in a form fitting Lotus jersey and cargo shorts entered the tent, clipboard in hand.
"Okay, are you a one Ruby-" He stopped as he recognized the blonde girl standing by.
"Yang?"
"Neptune! I though I saw a bright blue Jaguar out there."
Neptune backed away "Agh, you're not gonna hit me this time; are you?"
"Oh C'mon, we've been over this, you try to touch this." Yang gestured to her body "And you'll get slapped."
Neptune nervously laughed and turned to Blake, "Uhh, you must be-" Neptune checked his clipboard "Ruby Rose?"
"Wrong person." Blake tutted.
He then turned to the only other occupant in the room. "Ruby Rose?"
"Yup that's me!"
"So you're the sister Yang won't stop talking about, good to finally meet you in person." Neptune extended his hand and gave her a smooth smile.
Ruby didn't shake his hand and instead, nodded along.
"So Neptune I though you were racing this year?" Blake asked.
"Well I am, I just volunteered at some of the showcase events to help out." He said cheerily.
"Yeah right, you volunteered so you could hit on the drivers right?" Yang saw right through his cheap lie.
"Look we could go on with this all day, but the showcase starts in 10 so Ruby you should get ready." With that Neptune left the tent. "He's right sis, better get ready, Blake and I will be on the sidelines, good luck!~"
Blake and Yang left Ruby all alone in the tent, Ruby's mind began to wander as she slipped on her racing gloves, her thought mostly channeled to the raven-haired Blake, who was openly nice and decided to come down and cheer her on, Ruby was content that she was already making friends at the festival.
With a silent 'click' Ruby slipped into the racing seats of the Evora, they weren't comfortable like the seats in Yang's car, but they really hugged you in place giving the driver a more immersive experience.
In the cars passenger seat rested the keys to the car, which Ruby hoped she could keep by the end of the event.
Ruby started the car up, the engine coming to life in a low but intimidating purr, then Ruby could hear a second sound coming from the mid rear, the large 80 PS supercharger was spooling up.
The crimsonette set the car in drive and lightly tapped the gas pedal slowly inching the car out of the now open tent. As soon as the car reached outside; the crowd erupted in cheers, Ruby could see Yang along with Blake cheering her on, Ruby then noticed that even Weiss had shown up. To her right Ruby could see the camera crews filming her every move. Cameras had been set up all along the route and would broadcast to millions of viewers across the globe.
Meanwhile at the Rose/Xiao Long residence a middle aged brunette by the name of Summer, sat idly on the couch in the living room when she received a text from one of her daughters;
/Mom, turn the TV to channel 37 right now! Ruby's on!/
Summer followed suit, turning in the flat-screen TV and going to 37; her face lit up a she saw none other than her daughter Ruby pulling up to the starting line of the showcase event.
"That's my girl." Summer smiled.
As the crowd cheered Ruby's confidence and nervousness grew, that is until she heard a loud sound coming up form behind her.
SWA-SWA-SWA-SWA-SWA-SWA.
The helicopters loud rotors could be heard as it hovered a mere 50 feet from Ruby. In this race the helicopter had to keep a strict route directly above the Evora, in the straightaway's the helicopter had the advantage, but in the turns, the heli would have to greatly reduce it's speed to keep in line with Ruby and the Evora.
It was time, the starting light shined red signaling that the race was about to begin.
"Come on Rose, you can do this, remember what Yang taught you."
Her eyes averted to the starting screens.
3.
She tightly gripped the wheel.
2.
Foot on the pedal.
1.
Go! Ruby diligently launched the car forward, without peeling the car got an immediate head start of the helicopter, this didn't remain for long however as the heli quickly shot forward and ahead of Ruby along the first straight. The Evora neared 135 miles per hour, before coming up on the first turnpike. Then crimsonette saw the heli pull back with force as it slowed down to make the first turn. Ruby didn't use the brakes, Yang had taught her to come in wide, and then cut the turn using the shoulder of the road. So the red-clad racer did exactly that, letting off of the gas Ruby took to the apex of then turn, wide then narrow.
She repeated the same for the second turn, and smiled as she could see how much trouble the heli was having with keeping up.
Ruby popped the clutch and sifted into fourth as she glided around the last corner before the second straight. The heli was almost 100 feet behind her as she straightens the Evora out and slammed the gas pedal again.
However once more the heli's superior speed and acceleration won over as it passed her once again. Ruby was going 155 miles per hour mean in the helicopter was easily going 170.
Then next set of turns weren't as heavy as the first set, meaning this time the heli didn't need to slow down as much, with no brakes once more Ruby followed the apex of the curves, her face was flustered as the loud roar of the Evora's V6, combined with the booming sound of helicopter rotors put her on an adrenaline high. Never had she ever experienced something this exhilarating in her life, and all she wanted was more of it.
With the helicopter almost directly above her Ruby flew put of the final set of turns going a aroud 150. The heli had fallen behind a bit, as the two joined on the home stretch, gunning the throttle; the Evora's 3.5 L Toyota 2GR-FZE V6 enging roared to life, Ruby's only focus was the finish line just half a kilometer away.
As the sound of rotors began to drown out the engine Ruby gripped the wheel tighter the Evora's speedometer was almost redlining at 8500 RPM'S as the car shot down the street, spectators cheered as the car flew by.
Ruby was easily going 190 miles an hour. With a final shift into sixth gear and a flinch of her eyes The confetti shot out as the Evora blew past the finish line, the helicopter just half-a-second behind.
As Ruby brought the car to a screeching halt, her mind was still coming down from her adrenaline rush.
Did she just win?
The cheers of the crowd certainly meant she did in fact win.
As Ruby climbed out of the hot cockpit of the car, she waved at the crowd and without a moments notice Yang and Blake, along with Weiss had joined her at the finish line.
"Ruby! That was so bad-ass I can't even explain! I'm so proud of you!" Yang whooped.
"That was definitely exceptional." Blake added.
"I guess you are a better driver than I thought." Weiss tutted.
"Thanks guys" Ruby beamed, "Weiss? Why'd you show up?"
"I thought I was being a bit rash yesterday and decided to come and properly evaluate your skills."
Yang piped up "Well she did learn from the best."
"Second best." Weiss retorted.
As Ruby explained how she did it, Neptune walked up with another clipboard and an envelope.
"Well Ruby congratulations! That was so awesome. Here's the title to your brand new Evora, and your pass for tomorrow's events."
Ruby didn't speak a word as she looked at the papers given to her, she beamed with happiness as she read the last line of the title;
/Property and ownership of Ruby Rose/
This was shaping up to be the best summer ever.
Later on that evening, there was a massive party at the Carson recreational center, this party was to celebrate those who got into the new events this year as well as for some drivers to reunite with one another. Ruby had been dragged here by none other than the F12 owner herself as another one of her ploys to get Ruby to make new friends. As the party went on Yang had disappeared from Ruby's vision until she spotted her talking to, or rather arguing, with Weiss. Ruby wanted to leave, but her new Evora GTE had to be cleared to compete; meaning Yang was her ride back to the motel.
As the new member of tomorrow's events wandered around the party, someone tried to get her attention.
"Hey! Ya you, Yang's sister." Ruby walked over to the person and realized it was that Jaune guy from the booth yesterday.
"Jaune, right?"
"Yep, in saw your race today, that was awesome."
"So I've heard." Ruby said confidently. "What d'you drive?"
"Me? Oh a KTM X-BOW R."
"Ooooh."
"Yeah its actually a-." Jaune was cut off as a loud screech was heard from across the room. Rushing through the growing crowd and to the center, Ruby found Weiss getting into a pretty loud argument with Yang.
"Okay, Blondie, you and your little F12 would never win against my Huayra on the I-83."
"Prove it!"
Weiss backpedaled "There is no way I'm racing illegally."
"Come on princess don't be a Wussy, it's already past midnight so the roads will be dead, unless you really are a chicken."
"Please, like I'd be lured into your antics cause of your childish lingo, as if." Weiss crossed her arms and looked away.
Someone in the background yelled out 'KISS HER!' To which both girls blushed furiously to.
Almost everyone knew they had feelings for each other, just both of them didn't know how to realize it.
"Fine! Huayra versus F12, meet me on the southern ramp of the I-83 in five."
"You're on!"
With the mention of an illegal street-race almost everyone emptied out of the room, it wasn't every day you saw those two race.
Ruby hitched a ride with Blake to the I-83 ramp, Ruby checked the time, her phone showing that it was already past midnight and was nearing 1 o'clock in the morning.
The I-83 was the main freeway that ran from the southern hills, along the Mantle plains, and ended just northeast of Carson. The highway acted as a border between the main valley and the Redrock Cliffs. At the southernmost ramp Blake pulled her SLS AMG under the overpass; it's dark color almost making it invisible.
As they both exited the car, Weiss and Yang were already crammed onto the ramp, their cars almost touching mirrors.
"You ready to lose?" Weiss chirped.
"Eh, we'll see."
Yang smirked to herself; even if she lost, she'd still end up a winner with the plan she had in mind.
Both girls entered their cars and brought them to life, each one of the V12's fought for dominance over who could be louder.
Blake stood behind both cars and raised her arms, both Weiss and Yang could make out her shadowy figure in their side mirrors.
Within seconds Blake brought both of her arms down and in mere seconds the cars were already shooting up the ramp.
Yang manged to squeeze her car in front on Weiss' Huayra effectively forcing her to slow down. As they cleared the ramp; Weiss shot around Yang's F12, the platinum blonde tapped the paddle into third gear as the car shifted, a burst of flames shot out of its quad exhaust pipes, meaning that the twin turbochargers where hard at work.
"Show off..." Yang muttered.
Yang hit her accelerator harder and shot forward too. The blonde was right on Weiss' tail as they both exceeded speeds above 180 miles per hour.
Weiss could see Yang approaching fast on her flank, deciding it the time was right, Weiss activated the Huayra's rear flaps; both of them extended 4 inches above the rear bonnet and offered increased down-force and grip.
As the two neared the first slight curve on the highway, Weiss took to the outside and Yang took the inside. Using the apex of the turn Yang laughed as she passed Weiss and further down the freeway. It didn't take Weiss long to gain ground on her though as the bright headlights of Weiss' car illuminated the road behind Yang.
Down the freeway a bit, Yang spotted an eighteen wheeler on it's nightly commute, Weiss on the other hand didn't see the truck and so key focused on Yang's license plate, glaring at the letters that made up the word EMBER.
Weiss was drafting Yang's F12 until the blonde had severed out of the way, revealing a large semi right in front of her.
"Confound it!" Weiss shouted as she slammed on the brakes, the Brembo drilled carbon ceramic rotors were viciously clamped down on by matching twin-twin-piston calipers.
Successfully averting disaster; Weiss grit her teeth as she saw Yang's F12 shoot down the remaining freeway that was left.
Yang was patiently waiting at the Carson off-ramp for Weiss to show up. After sending Ruby a text; Yang slipped her phone back into her pocket as the white lights of Weiss' Huayra shined right on her.
Lifting the large gul-wing door; Weiss cut the engine and stormed out of her car.
"What was that! I almost died you oaf!" While Weiss was short she still could be as intimidating as anyone else.
"You're good Weissy~"
"I mean that wasn't even a fair race, I should've won, not you!"
As Weiss continued her rant Yang's mind and heart was racing faster than she just did. The blonde has been harboring feelings for Weiss ever since she laid eyes on her, and the race she just did was all apart of her plan.
"Come on Yang, this is your forte, go for it!"
"Have you heard a word of what I said? Just because were-." Weiss was cut off as Yang grabbed her by the collar and pulled her into a passionate kiss. The rich girl fidgeted at first but succumbed to her feelings and reciprocated Yang's bold action. Yang's tongue asked for entrance and Weiss obliged, the two leaned on the hood of Yang's F12 and passionately made out under the moonlight and stars.
As oxygen ran out; the girls broke apart their kiss, a single line of saliva is all that remained. Weiss squealed in surprised when the bigger girl picked her and immediately began to ravage her lips. Weiss moaned in response, unconciously wrapping her legs around Yang's. Yang bit Weiss's bottom lip before pulling back, her face holding a sultry smile.
"How was that for a consolation prize?" Yang quietly asked.
"That was... nice." Weiss said, her entire face flushed in embarassment.
Yang leaned into Weiss's ear, seductively whispering, "So now that the warmup is over... how about we start the foreplay?..." Yang finished, biting Weiss' s ear.
Weiss's whole boddy shuddered under the new feeling. She could only whisper back the words, "lets", before she roughly kissed Yang.
And so the two lovers continued to furiously make out under the stars.
They both ended up winners tonight.
Back at the overpass, Ruby pulled out her phone and noticed a message from Yang.
/Hey sis, I lost the race and Weiss won't stop gloating, I'll see ya later. Don't wait up! /
"I wonder what they're doing?"
"Hmm?" Blake noticed Ruby's confused expression and walked over. Glancing over the girls shoulder she saw the message from Yang and shared the same expression as the red-clad girl.
"Who knows..." Blake started, but quickly dismissed it. "C'mon, I'll take you back to your motel." Blake said, while she shrugged her shouler towards her car, signaling for Ruby to follow.
Blake and Ruby climbed into the SLS AMG and drove off into the night. As they drove Ruby began to doze off on her leather stitched seat.
Today had been a jam-packed day and all she wanted to do know was sleep.
Tomorrow would be even bigger.
I didn't really change anything this chapter, unfortunately...okay, I lied, I added more to a certain little part. Whoever notices the difference gets a cookie! But there will defnitely be some additions next chapter, so keep your eyes open for them! As always, Fav, Follow, and Review please!