Chapter three
100% accurate
"Yahoo!" Stroheim screeched, careening through the forest. "I am the ubermensch!"
Behind him, Koichi, Hol Horse, and Wammu could only watch as the Volkswaffe charged ahead, guns firing in every direction. He skidded around each turn, his treaded tires gripping well to the road.
"He certainly is enjoying this," Wammu said. "It would almost be a shame to ruin it for him."
"I think I could live with it," Koichi said, pulling ahead. "Echo! Act 2!"
Stroheim thundered on, unaware of the conversation behind him as he approached the next corner. As with the previous corners, he angled his tires well in advance of the turn, well-prepared.
This time, however, his tires failed to find traction. Stroheim's screeches of glee turned to surprise as he skidded off the road. "WHAAAT?!" he shouted as he crashed into a tree.
"Watch those hairpins, ubermensch," Koichi said, smirking as he drove past.
"Good job, kid," Hol Horse muttered under his breath. He rounded the same corner, taking care to avoid the word Slip! written in the center of the road. "That's a powerful Stand you have – way more useful than your Act 3 if you used it right. Too bad I'm not here to be your life coach."
He pulled out his phone and speed dialed the familiar number. "Okay, Boingo, is the manga working?"
Boingo's voice came in loud and clear. "It is, yes! The pages are filling in, yes!"
"Great! Now what is it I have to do to overtake this kid?"
From his home, Boingo read the newly materialized panels. "Hol Horse and Koichi go around the corner and reach a stretch of straight path! When Koichi isn't looking, Hol Horse pulls out his gun and shoots Koichi in the back! Koichi loses control of his vehicle and hits a tree! Easy overtake for Hol Horse!"
"Perfect!" Hol Horse declared. "Just what I'm best at – attacks the enemy can't see coming!" He summoned his gun and fired straight at Koichi's back.
Moments later, it impacted, hitting Koichi just below his left lung. Koichi lurched, slumping over his steering wheel. As his car swerved off the road, he managed to find the brake pedal and slow his car, but he couldn't stop in time and slammed into a tree.
"Yes!" declared Hol Horse, pumping his fist. "Just like that, two strong competitors out of the race – or at least very far behind me. Races like this are highly unpredictable in nature, so Boingo's foresight combined with my long-range weapon will be perfect!" He picked up the phone again. "Boingo! What's next?"
Silence answered him.
"Boingo? You there?"
A shaky voice answered. "I'm still here, yes."
"Then what is it? What happens next?"
"W-While Hol Horse is gloating, his bike skids off a rock and he also crashes into a tree! I-Instant payback for Hol Horse!"
"WHAT?" Hol Horse shouted.
"Y-You heard me, yes."
Hol Horse began to sweat.
God dammit, now I'm supposed to crash too? This wasn't supposed to happen! This should've been my chance to win!
Sweat rolled down his face and shirt, slicking the handlebars.
So what happens if I try to avoid it? I know it's guaranteed to happen, but it could hardly get much worse for me than hitting a tree! Maybe if I try to steer towards a smaller tree, it won't be so-
Suddenly, Old Flames lurched to the side. The bike nearly skidded off the road, but Hol Horse reacted instantly, pulling back towards the center. An instant later, he realized what he had done.
"That was the rock!" he realized with horror. "I hit it! But I didn't crash because I was so on-edge about this whole thing!"
His teeth started to chatter. "W-What's gonna happen to me now?"
As if to answer him, he heard a horrendous cracking noise from behind. Before he could turn to see the cause, a tree flew over his head and landed right in front of him.
This time, Hol Horse had absolutely no time to react. He plowed straight into the tree, launching himself head over heels off the bike. He sailed through the air and slammed to the ground, rolling maybe 30 feet before skidding to a halt.
"W…What the…" he managed. He looked behind him just in time to see Wammu plow through what was left of his bike, utterly disintegrating it.
"What a vile human," Wammu said with contempt, "to use such a sneak attack – on a child, no less. You should've just hit the tree to begin with, and I would've considered it fair." With that, he drove away, brushing pieces of bark off his hands.
Hol Horse lay on the ground, groaning as other racers drove around him. Eventually, he heard a voice coming through his phone.
"Hol Horse! Hol Horse! Are you okay? Do you hear me?" Boingo shouted.
Hol Horse picked up the phone. "I hear you, Boingo, loud and clear."
"See, this is what I-"
"Boingo, I don't think this partnership is going to work out," he said.
"What? Why?"
"I'm willing to take any help I can to succeed," he said. "But if I'm destined to failure – I think I can do that on my own."
He hung up the phone, letting his arm fall to the ground. "Ow."
xxxxxxx
"And with that, Hol Horse is out of the race!" Speedwagon declared. On the big board behind him, Hol Horse's name turned red. "Barely out of the gate, and we're already down to 13 racers. But with Stroheim crashed and Koichi gravely wounded, it seems they might also be out soon!"
Johnathon interrupted. "Perhaps you've spoken too soon, Speedwagon," he said. "Switch to camera 3."
The camera jumped to a new display, and so did Speedwagon. On the screen, Koichi was already on his vehicle and driving again.
"Impossible!" Speedwagon shouted. "Koichi, who had suffered a crash and a gunshot wound, is already back in the race! But how?"
On the track, Koichi smiled. He lifted his shirt to look at his injuries, which were already stitched shut.
"Yukako was worried about me," he said. "Worried enough to ride alongside me – in a manner of speaking."
Even as he spoke, a strand of Yukako's hair inched up the side of his face, stitching a gash on his cheek closed. Within his car, intertwined locks of her hair pulled key pieces of machinery back together.
"Amazing!" Speedwagon bellowed. "A person with free, independent control of their hair! Johnathon, have you ever heard of something so strange?"
Johnathon smiled weakly. "I…don't suppose I have, Speedwagon."
"It just goes to show, anything can happen in this race!" Speedwagon continued. "And we're just getting started! Who will be eliminated next? What amazing developments will unfold? And just who will win this truly bizarre venture?"
=To Be Continued=
