Authors' Note:

Nik: YAPARI! This is chapter two! Where Razer starts to show where he stands, and the two start to get to know eachother.. AND theres a drunken manipulation scene! 'Cause all fics need a little drunken manipulation ne Kyo?

Kyoko: nod nod They do, they do! I kinda figured that Erol would be the kind of person with more of a high alcohol tolerance. Unlike me, who can get half-drunk in one glass of wine. But anyways, we both figured there needed to be a scene where the two could converse, and there wouldn't be such a suprime argument.

Nik: So Kyo decided that a good idea for that is to put them in a situation like the bloody hook! Kind of ironic really.. I kind of think of bars as a place of brawls... but then its rather hard to properly beat somone up when there are four blurry ones to choose from... Hmm... "is now thinking more along the lines of Kyo drunk than the actual story..."

Kyoko; -is distracted by singing Phantom of the Opera again- Well, I've talked to drunk people at bars. It's very amusing at times to carry on a conversation with them. They'll tell you anything! Which is sort of what we were aiming for here.

Nik: Oo You've been to bars?

Kyoko: Yes, I have! It's part of living in a redneck town. I go to the local bar to get food sometimes, too.

Nik: mumblesTate... Michigan is northern...

Kyoko: Kyoko; Yes... well, anyways. -laughs- We get Erol slightly drunk in this chapter. We hope you enjoy it!

Razer jumped into his car, the scraped up machine bouncing with his weight, and nearly laughed aloud when he saw which one Erol used. The damn thing looked brand new! "You sure you know how to ride that Erol? Could be too much for you eh? I hear the Haven races are usually on zoomers, I'd like to see how long you last before you get blasted to the back of the track!"

Saying nothing at first, Erol turned to look at Razer, smirk on his thin lips and determination in his eyes. "Shut it, pretty-boy. We'll see who's a better racer when you're left in the dust." The smile never left his lips as he turned to sit forward in his car, pulling his blood red racing goggles over his eyes, focusing on the starting lights ahead of them.

The cars shot forward and Razer's face was suddenly ablaze with surprise as he saw how quickly Erol's car sprung to life and leapt past the other cars as if on its own pair of legs. He quickly got over his initial surprise and shot forward. Smooth car or not, the speed of it said nothing of Erols skills and soon the race seemed as if the only ones racing were just Erol and Razer. Things only started heating up when the first weapons were obtained…

Erol heard a weapon firing on the vehicle behind him, and instinctively placed his red eco shield up, and held it for ten seconds. As soon as he let his shield down, the firing settled down as well. He laughed to himself. A T-87 model weapon cage, he saw while observing his opponents car before the race that morning; great for accuracy and high-power weaponry, except for the fact that they overheated so quickly. He turned on the mic in his car. "Great weapons, Razer. I'm surprised you didn't fix their over-heating problem though. A racer of your caliber should have modified his car to perfection, but you left it as it was bought."

"Don't be so sure." Razer gunned the turbo and his engine started to smoke just as he was passing by Erol, and though Razer was protected by a plastic windshield, under the bars of his machine, Erol's car had no such protection and he got a full blast of searing hot air, forcing him to slow down and turn away from Razer's car.

Coming up into a sharp turn, Erol curved close to the inner edge with no problem, catching up with Razer and pulling even to him. "Never suspected you as the type to play dirty, Razer. But I suppose most of you do here for ratings, and even those who are indifferent to publicity have learned to cheat back." He accelerated, pulling ahead of the dark-haired racer. "But what do you say we have an honest race? After all, a child can defeat most of the pack if he goes trigger-happy. It takes actual skill to win without aid of weapons."

"This place isn't as honest as Haven. The entire sport is entertainment, and nothing is cheating when it's a free for all." Razer paused for a moment before continuing in the speaker. "But perhaps I will take you up on that offer sometime. I suppose you must be used to safe races without weapons and such, it seems rather tame, but It's a good way to prove just who is the better man no? That is, if the better man doesn't win right now…"

"Don't worry, Razer. I will. " The smirk he had at the starting line was obvious in his voice, as he sped up again, kicking up a storm of dust, and dropping a rear weapon in the disarray. "It's not saying Haven is honest, either." he continued over the intercom radio, laying off the acceleration slightly. "Haven likely has more sabotage than these high-class races. People would do anything to get a bit of cash there, which is why they strive so hard to win. I race for the thrill; for the adrenaline rush. For the love of the sport. Why is it that you race?" he asked. "I hope for the same reason. Otherwise you'll never stand a chance against me."

"They say nothing can defeat a man who is at both work and play." As they neared the finish line Razer grinned, allowing Erol to come as close as he could before he released a peacemaker on him and stole the gold right from under his nose. As the race finished he waited patiently for the other racers to set their marks in the rankings and grinned as Erol placed second to last due to the laggers who were clinging to the wake of the two racers in order to do exactly what they managed to.

Erol climbed out of his car, landing heavily on his feet and striding over to Razer, eyes angry and breathing heavily in anger, while the other racer sat calmly on the side of his car staring amusedly at the shorter man. "You bastard!" Erol yelled out when coming close to the dark-haired man. "You... disgrace of a racer! " he stormed up close, waving an accusing finger in Razer's face, his own tattooed face coming close to keep yelling.

"Haven't you ever heard the phrase, 'alls fair in war'? I was merely showing you your place. For all your posturing you're still falling behind me." Razer chuckled darkly at the redheads expression of pure hatred. Though he frowned abruptly when Erol took hold of his collar.

I'll show you your place!" He yelled. "A fair race this time, how about?" Shoving Razer backwards onto his car, Erol calmed down considerably, still holding onto the dark-haired man's collar. "You set the time and place, if you think it'll give you any advantage over me."

Erol still fumed, though Razer appeared to be only moderately miffed by the hands that clawed at his shirt. "The next race is going to be tomorrow at noon. Why don't we have our race to warm up. No weapons, at the sewer track." Erol finally released his grip on Razer's shirt, knowing that the main Kras track had the most sharp turns of any of the speedways they'd raced so far.

Taking a step back, a slight smirk reappeared on Erol's face, his confidence slightly regained. "Fine by me." he said, turning and walking away, before his expression returned to a glare. Erol slammed down his third glass of the night, yelling at the bartender for another drink. He sighed, letting his head hang back to look at the upside-down (from his point of view) inside of the Bloody Hook. He had been distracted when he had been in here the first time several days earlier, by the hyperactive, overdramatic sports announcer, and then had an argument with Razer for the first time, two minutes after meeting him, after which he was altogether too pissed off to take notice of his surroundings.