I do not own F-Zero or its characters, nor do I intend to garner any profit from their use.

Zero Robin

Written by: Reizod

Chapter 3: Enter Leon

Light blanketed the Sonic Oval as morning arrived. After finishing an impromptu race with a new opponent in the pack of thirty, Jack felt his confidence rising with the sun.

"I can do it. I can win the grand prix" Jack thought as he returned his machine to his garage "I have the skills. I've just got to use them when I get out there"

Deactivating the Astro Robin's engines, Levin ran a quick diagnostic check. The engines were in working order, and the shielding was in top form. There didn't appear to be any damage to the outer chases. All Levin had to do before the upcoming race was replenish the fuel reserves of his machine, and he'd be ready to go.

When the machine was fully powered down, Jack turned to exit the garage, and found that someone was blocking the way. A canine of humanoid form glared at Levin with one eye.

"Who are you?" the bipedal canine demanded.

Levin put on his celebrity smile. "Surely, you've heard of Jack Levin."

"Can't say that I have" replied the humanoid dog gruffly

Jack crossed his arms "You can't?"

"No"

Outwardly, Jack's smile didn't move an inch. Inwardly, however, the gears in his mind were turning madly. "He doesn't know who I am? That's different. You'd think after the string of hit songs I did, my name would be everywhere. Guess there are parts of the galaxy even a celebrity can't reach. Still, this is a great opportunity."

"Well, Jack's my name, whether you've heard of it or not." said Levin "I don't think I caught your name"

"I didn't throw it"

"Not very friendly is he?" thought Levin keeping his smiling façade intact. "We'll skip the introductions then." He ran a hand through his hair "What brings you to my humble racer's pad?"

A disgruntled expression appeared upon the other's face. "I want to know. How did you get so good?"

Surprise registered on Jack's visage for only a moment. Jack hadn't expected the canine to verbally recognize his skills. He'd seemed too proud for that. "But then, I should know better than to go off my first impression of anyone" Levin's smile had faltered for a split second, but his opponent didn't seem to notice. "I've been racing for most of my life. For me not to be any good would be impossible."

"But you beat me."

"So?"

"I'm the best pilot on my planet, handpicked to race in the grand prix"

A word in that last statement caught Levin's attention. He held his hands up as he said "Hold on, the best pilot on your planet? You mean air ships and like that?"

"Yes." The opponent replied, "Does that matter?"

"Are you kidding me?" Levin replied "Racing an F-zero machine, or even a standard hovercar is very different from flying an airship. You can't use one and expect to automatically excel at the other"

"You've flown an airship before?"

"I've had experience with them" In truth, Jack had quite a few piloting hours under his belt, due to a number of publicity stunts involving space travel sponsorships. He wasn't about to tell this new comer about them though. This was one of the few times someone other than his butler didn't treat him like a celebrity. Levin was enjoying the change of pace.

" It helps in some areas, but you've got to know your way around both an F-zero machine and an airship if you're going to use skills with one on the other"

The canine pilot scowled. "I knew it." he muttered, " I knew they'd made a mistake in choosing me." His eye narrowed. "My first taste of the competition and he toys with me on the race track."

Levin scratched the back of his head sheepishly. "Did he mean to say that out loud?"

"I can't represent my home like this." The canine grumbled as he turned to leave.

It was a kind of a pathetic sight really. Levin was almost certain this guy hadn't raced against any of the pro pilots before this morning. Hell, the guy probably hadn't raced against anyone that wasn't from his home planet. Now, after one demeaning race he was deflated. "That's not how a racer should be. At least, that's not how I am." A brief flash of the dream he'd had the night before appeared unbidden in his mind "Well, at least that's how I try not to be." Levin thought as he pushed the image of the Astro Robin spiraling into oblivion out of his mind.

"Hey, Fuzzball!" Levin called

At this, the canine turned and glared daggers at the celebrity. "Don't call me that."

Levin shrugged "Just working with what I've got. You didn't throw me your name after all."

The canine pilot gave Levin an annoyed look before growling "My name is Leon."

"Alright Leon" Levin said with a smirk "I think you're being a little hard on yourself. After all, racing like this isn't easy. You can't expect to be the best without a loss here and there. Besides," Levin puffed his chest a little "I'm actually a pretty good racer. You'd need a lot of practice to beat me."

At this Leon's expression hardened. "To boast like that, you're either very good, or a terrible judge of your own skill level."

"Might be a little bit of both" Levin thought as he broadened his camera ready smile "Judge for yourself at the next race. I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed."