NOOOOOO! My perfect Monday release record! I've soiled it! Soiled it! SOILED IT! Q_Q

Eh, oh well. Like anyone reads this besides me anyway...

Songs: Locked Out of Heaven by Bruno Mars

After Alexis rushed into her hangar to tell Arianna her news, Dusty came over to El Chu and said, "So, doesn't it feel good to do the right thing? Look at her, she's so thrilled."

"It is nice to see her happy but I just know she is going to drive me loco with her energy or beat me up when she gets angry," El Chupacabra replied.

"You obviously don't know her at all, compadre. What you two need is to do some stuff as a couple so you can learn about each other and create some memories together."

Alexis zipped from the hangar and off to tell the world of her joy.

"Hold on, Lexi!" Cried Arianna as she followed her from the hangar. "Don't you think we should tweak your engine a bit if tomorrow's round is speed, or practice a little if it's navigation?!"

"Now there's an idea! Lexi, come back!" Called Dusty. "Let's all train together! Just me, you, and El Chu!"

The stunt plane rocketed back to her friends.

"Sounds great. Can't wait," she rhymed.

It was around noon when the four friends headed to an empty area of tarmac to run some drills.

"So, what are we practicing, fellas?" Asked Alexis. "I say speed, it's more fun!"

"You'd better practice both. You don't know what tomorrow's round will be," said Arianna.

"Fine, but speed first!"

"What are we going to do? Laps?" Questioned Dusty.

"Boring!" Opposed the stunt plane.

"We could race each other to make it more interesting," suggested El Chu.

"Now you're talking, boyfriend, but not laps. No, we'll do … suicide drills!" She smiled.

"S-s-suicide drills?!" Gulped the Mexican racer. "That sounds painful."

"I'm sure it's not as bad as it sounds," hoped Dusty. "How do you do it, Lexi?"

"Simple. We'll takeoff from one end of the ancillary runway and fly to the opposite end. Next, we'll fly back to the starting end and then turn and go to a farther point, like JFK. Then, we fly back to the starting end of the runway and turn to go to an even farther place, like the cemetery. Lastly, we come back to the starting point," she explained. "First one back wins."

"Whoa, that sounds … dangerously exhausting."

"Yup, that's why they're called suicide drills. They're a great exercise for speed and dexterity. Now, let's get started."

Alexis, Arianna, El Chu, and Dusty taxied to the ancillary runway. Dusty was excited to be trying one of Alexis' training methods, and he hoped it would give him super agility as well.

As the three planes lined up on the runway, Dusty finally noticed something, "Wait! We can't all depart at the same time which means we can't all start at the same time."

"Relax, Dusty. Once we're all in the air, we'll line up side by side and circle back over the starting point to begin," clarified Alexis before starting her engine and taking off into the air.

Dusty eagerly ascended after her, then El Chupacabra followed suit. Once all together they circled back to the starting point where Arianna waited as planned.

"Ready, guys?" Alexis asked as she flew betwixt her friends. "Today we shall find out who is fastest, and who is dead!"

"What?!" Dusty and El Chu shrieked in unison.

"I meant … who is slowest," she jeered with a mischievous chuckle as they rapidly approached the starting place.

"GO!" The little tug shouted as the three planes flew over her. The crop duster and the Gee Bee accelerated rapidly. Both El Chu and Dusty were surprised as they easily overtook the Grob G 120TP. However, the end of the runway came so quickly that they both greatly overshot it. Alexis laughed at them as she reached the end of the runway, and u-turned on a dime by looping upside down and back towards the starting point while simultaneously rolling to upright herself. When the boys finally got turned around they raced one another to see who would reach Alexis first. El Chu was fast but Dusty had no problem beating him back to the female and as they both sailed past her, they inadvertently sailed far beyond the starting point where they should have turned again! The stunt plane laughed so hard at her friends' antics it seemed almost like she would fall out of the air. She turned on a dime again and headed to JFK, effortlessly keeping the lead.

"What are you guys doing?!" Yelled Arianna. "You need to slow down to make the turns!"

"We know! We know!" Replied Dusty as he copied Alexis' turn but much more slow and sloppily.

"We just got caught up in the speed!" Said El Chu as he followed him.

Almost to JFK, the males caught up to her again. This time though they slowed down as they approached the airport and began their turns.

"Very good! You guys are finally catching on!" She commended as she watched them.

The boys were quick when it came to flying straight but, without her level of agility, they needed too much space to make their turns and that took up precious time. When she executed hers, it was so tight and swift that she was still ahead of them as she headed back to the starting point. They once again passed her with ease when they came out of their turns and she decided it was time to quit fooling around and put on some speed. As she pushed her grandfather's engine to go faster she became increasingly aware of something; maybe catching them wasn't going to be as simple as she had thought. She was able to get a little ahead of them again when they turned at the start point to make their way towards the cemetery, but Dusty caught and zipped by her once more even though he was obviously getting tired. Alexis had energy to spare but it was taking her to the redline just to stay even with El Chu!

"Come on, Gramps! Come on, Stanley!" She growled as she struggled to pull more horsepower from her engine.

Suddenly the old engine put out an additional burst of speed which was just enough for her to pass El Chupacabra, but it also began to overheat and smoke. As the three planes came out of the final turn and went into the homestretch, Alexis was right behind Dusty but she couldn't make herself go any faster. Her whole engine compartment was so boiling hot that it glowed bright red. A moment later it caught fire but, bizarrely, she couldn't feel a thing though and it was an eerie phenomenon in itself that she hadn't stalled out yet. However, the gap between her and the crop duster was rapidly shrinking. Dusty was exhausted from this exercise drill that had previously been foreign to him and consequently he was losing speed fast. As the starting/end point drew near, Alexis and Dusty were wing to wing with El Chu right on their tails. The crop duster's pace steadily continued to decrease and as they crossed the end point, Alexis was ahead of him by a nose! It wasn't until she was infront of him that Dusty notice the extreme condition of her engine and the two males quickly landed to catch their breath while Alexis celebrated.

"Whooo hoooo!" She cheered breathlessly as she flew high straight up into the air in victory, the smoke from her engine creating trails behind her.

"Is that-?" Wheezed the weary El Chu as he worriedly watched from the ground.

"It better not be-" Growled Arianna warningly as she looked as well.

"It is-" Puffed Dusty in delight as the three of them observed Alexis when she fell backwards out of her vertical climb and tumbled in a free fall towards the ground. As she spun, her engine smoke drew intricate swirls in the sky.

"The Lomcevak!" They said in unison, the tug and Gee Bee clearly not as thrilled about it as the crop duster.

Arianna quickly fetched the qualifier grounds' fire engine for assistance. When Alexis finally touched back down on the runway, her engine was smoking severely and was so searing hot that the others had to back away as the heat radiating off of her began to burn them as well. The fire truck sprayed her with foam to cool it.

"Are you crazy?!" Hollered Arianna. "I thought you agreed not to do that!"

"Hey, the engine trouble started way before I did the Lomcevak!" Defended Alexis as she panted heavily. "Besides, I couldn't help it. It's been such a long time."

"It's only been a couple of days!"

"That is a long time! Anyways, Stanley likes it."

"Who?"

"Stanley. You know, the dude who owned the compressor before me. I named it after him. Sometimes, I think I feel his presence when I fly."

"Oh, shut up!"

"I'm serious! I know things look bad when I'm up in the air, but check out my engine. It'll be just the same as always."

Arianna opened Alexis' cowl and took a look. Despite the smoke and the flames she and the others had clearly seen, the still ancient engine was otherwise normal with nary a scorch mark to be found.

"That's impossible… ," the mechanic said in disbelief.

"Isn't it great?! Now I can do the Lomcevak as much as I want!" Alexis squealed in glee. "Thank you, Stan, you the man!"

"No, Lexi, you made me a promise! Now I don't know what's going on here, but we can't afford for you to mess up this engine. Even if your engine did suddenly have some sort of supernatural healing power or whatever, I'd say it should be used to qualify for and survive the Rally, not for you to show off your tricks with no consequences. So, don't do the Lomcevak anymore!"

"Alright, alright! You're worse than Roper."

It took a moment for Arianna to regain a sense of calm once she shut Alexis' cover. Dusty and El Chu were a little confused by the talk of supposed supernatural powers, but they chalked it up to the girls being silly and dismissed the notion altogether.

"Lexi, are you alright?" Inquired Dusty in concern when he finally caught his breath.

"Yeah, bro, I'm fine," she grinned. "Are you guys alright?"

"Yes ma'am, that was pretty intense though. I feel faster and stronger already!"

"I can't believe how fast you guys are. In the beginning I was playing around because I knew my turns would give me an edge and because I thought I could easily keep up with you two. I guess I forgot this engine doesn't have the power I'm used to."

"What do you mean?"

"Uh, nothing," she quickly suppressed. "Nothing at all."

"Whoa, was that there before?" Asked El Chu, interrupting their conversation and turning their attention upon an enormous hangar that had been assembled at the end of the competitors' quarters.

"They must've put it up sometime last night. Come on, let's go check it out," suggested Dusty.

The hangar's two entrances had heavy drapes over them to keep the air-conditioned air inside and the summer's heat out. El Chu went in first and immediately spotted Rochelle. He sped to her side, allowing the thick curtain to fall back and smack Alexis in the face.

"Rude much!" Yelled Arianna.

"It's okay, Ari. It's just a curtain. It doesn't hurt," excused Alexis to justify the act.

The stunt plane entered, followed by the tug and the crop duster. The hangar was nice and cool compared to outside. Next to the entrance of the shelter was a table with refreshments which two WATG tugs managed. The rest of the perimeter was lined with booths of various enterprises operated by either a tug or some model of car. The largest and most extravagant booth was that of a syndicate called Dinoco.

"Cool, it's a sponsors tent!" Beamed Arianna.

Nitroade, Gask-its, Allinol, Lightyear, Hostile Takeover Bank … all the big companies were there to try and buy the stars of the air racing world. Alexis followed Arianna as she went from booth to booth, but her eyes stayed on El Chu as he chatted up Rochelle with his cheesy pickup lines and even brought her a drink from the refreshment table. The stunt plane sighed dejectedly then, suddenly, she ran into someone. It was a golden 1975 Cadillac Coupe de Ville with bullhorns above his grille.

"Sorry, sir," she apologized.

"It's alright, little lady. No harm done," replied the little car in a deep Texan drawl. "Say now, aren't you Alexis Tigerfyre?"

"Yes sir."

"Well, I'm Tex Dinoco and I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Tigerfyre. I've heard a lot about you lately. Some good, some bad but I'm not interested in what I've heard. I'm interested in what I've seen. There's been a lot of videos on the Internet of your feats of aerial skill and I know for certain people are going to be far more captivated watching you defy death with your aerobatic flair than by who crosses the finish line first."

"You really think so?" Alexis asked, beginning to feel better.

"I didn't say I 'think', I said I know!" He corrected enthusiastically. Even though he had to look up to her to make eye contact, his energy and commanding demeanor radiated confidence and prestige. "I'm starting a new line of high octane fuels for piston powered aircraft such as yourself. So now I'm wondering; how would you like to be the official spokes-plane of Dinoco?"

Naive Alexis was unfamiliar with the powerful gasoline corporation and humbly questioned, "If I have Dinoco as my sponsor, does that mean I'll be able to afford new parts?"

"Darling, having Dinoco as your sponsor means you will be able to keep you, your family, and all your friends in new parts for the rest of your lives."

"Sweet! Okay, where do I sign?"

"Before we actually start any paperwork, I need to see more of what you can really do especially after your … less than impressive performance in your first Rally. Complete the Rally and then we'll talk more. Win the Rally and I'll sign you up on the spot. Take care, Ms. Tigerfyre," said Tex before returning to whatever he was doing before she had almost ran him over.

Wow, Mr. Dinoco really knew how to motivate someone! Alexis had never been interested in trying to actually win the Rally before. She was just happy to spend time with EC and her racing pals. In fact, she'd consider it a miracle if she even made it across the Atlantic. At the same time she couldn't help wondering if Tex gave the same pitch to all the racers. Her eyes went back to the Gee Bee and her heart sunk as she watched him hold the curtain open for the French-Canadian and then follow her out.

"Look, at all this stuff!" Exclaimed Dusty as he came up to Alexis decked out with free gear from each of the sponsors. When he noticed her desolate expression he inquired, "What's wrong?"

Alexis just shook her nose.

The crop duster looked around and saw that El Chupacabra and Rochelle were gone before asking, "It's El Chu, isn't it?"

"He didn't even get me a drink," she sighed as she turned and left the hangar.

"Maybe if you hold open doors for him and bring him drinks, you can sort of shame him into doing it for you," suggested Dusty as he followed her out.

"I don't want to embarrass him into caring about me. I want him to do it because he truly cares about me. The truth is, he doesn't because he's simply not interested in me."

"I've already told you that you're the most interesting individual around, remember? He's only not interested because he doesn't know you yet and that's what we have three days to work on. So, he needs to actually put in some effort to learn about you and you need to be strong and not give up or get discouraged when he seems to rebuff your affections. Alright?"

"Alright."

"I'll be right back," he said before darting back into the sponsors' hangar. He returned a moment later with a can of Full Synthetic Pennzoil, "Here's your drink."

"Thanks, Dusty. You're my ace, man," she smiled.

In surprise he asked, "I'm your ace?"

"Yeah, next to Ari."

"Still, that's really good! Arianna's your ace-ace, so for me to be like your second ace is … it's an honor. Do I get like a medal or something?"

"No," she giggled. "But … I'll answer whatever questions you ask. No fuss. I know you're full of them."

"Really?!" Said Dusty eagerly. "Okay then, first question; … will you teach me to do the Lomcevak?"

"Dusty, my man, I will teach you any and everything you could ever hope to know about aerobatics. You'll just have to wait a while."

"Of course, after what happened earlier I'm surprised you feel well enough to still be out with us. Which actually brings us to my second question; what's wrong with your engine?"

"My engine is fine," she answered quickly in hopes the inquiry would be dismissed.

"'Fine'?! It was on fire!"

"I didn't feel anything and if you don't believe me then look."

After she opened her cowl the crop duster looked upon the antique engine.

"Watch yourself," she gently warned as she fired it up.

Dusty rolled back a bit to make sure he was clear of her propeller then watched as the old engine started. As usual, it wasn't smooth but it ran.

"No way. It … looks … fine. Ancient, but fine," he said in awe.

"That's exactly what I told you," she replied, rolling her eyes.

"That doesn't quite seem possible. Alexis … are you cursed?" Dusty joked.

"I prefer to think of it as 'haunted'," she smiled before giving her body a shake to make her hood fall closed.

"Okay, so it's undamaged. That's good, but it doesn't explain why you have the engine of an old man."

"It's funny that you should say that. It is an old man's engine."

"What?"

Alexis took a deep breath, "My grandpops, the greatest plane in plane history-"

"And creator of TigerFyre engine conditioner," added Dusty.

"Yes. He was only given a year left to live and he wanted to spend it traveling the world with my grandmother, but his engine wasn't strong enough to make such a journey. So, I offered him mine. He told me no because an engine like his would be an affliction on someone young like me, but I insisted. I wanted him to fulfill his last wish and the swap was only supposed to be temporary."

"So, what happened?"

"He … uh … got shot down over the ocean … by pirates. My grandmother was held hostage and my family had to pay a ransom to get her back."

"Pirates?! That explains one of your fears. I'm so sorry to hear that. Why did he think his engine would be an issue for you?"

"My gramps' engine, this engine right here, actually belonged to his dad," explained Alexis.

"What?! Your engine is four generations old?!" Shouted the crop duster in astonishment.

"Yup, preserved with TigerFyre."

"That stuff is insane!"

"Yeah, now you know why everyone is so grateful when I give it to them. Also, this engine is part of why I'm so good at aerobatics. A mid-air stall out was how I first learned to do the Lomcevak and how I learned to make gravity work for me."

"That's fascinating! But … does that mean that you only have a year left to-"

"No! My grandpop's CPU was severely corroded. That's why he was dying, it wasn't the engine."

"Oh, that's good! I mean - I don't mean that it was good that he died! But that-," he stammered.

"Be cool, Dusty. I get it," she said to put him at ease.

After apparently being told off by Rochelle again, El Chu returned to Dusty and Alexis.

"So, what are you two whispering about?" The Mexican racer chuckled.

Both planes glared at him in condemnation before Dusty cleared his throat and said to Alexis, "We shouldn't leave Arianna in there by herself. You should go check on her."

Alexis gave him a curious look before doing as she was bid. Alone with El Chupacabra, the crop duster just shook his nose in disapproval.

"Que?" El Chu asked.

"You are supposed to be Lexi's boyfriend for the next three days. That means you are supposed to be a gentleman and not run off with other women," reprimanded Dusty. "Come on, compadre. You're not even trying!"

"I know, I know, and if it had been any other woman I would not have done it, but amigo, it was … Rochelle."

"What is it about her that has you so obsessed?!"

"I must confess … she was … the best."

"The best at what?"

El Chupacabra turned to Dusty and crooned in his thick Spanish accent,

Never had much faith in love or miracles
Never one to put my heart on the line
But flying in her world is something spiritual
I'm born again every time she spends the night

"We're not talking about what I hope we're not talking about, are we?" Questioned Dusty in confusion.

Cause her sex takes me to paradise
Yeah, her sex takes me to paradise
And it shows

Yeah, yeah, yeah

The stunned crop duster interrupted again, "I can't believe you're saying this right now."

Cause she makes me feel like,

I've been locked out of heaven
For too long

For too long

"I think I'm going to be sick," Dusty groaned, a look of disgust on his face.

"I am sorry, Dusty, but as a man you know we men have needs and now that I am no longer with Rochelle, there are certain needs that are not being met."

"El Chu, that's very shallow… "

"Not so much. In addition to the physical desire, there is also the emotional longing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean every time she turns me away I feel so … unattractive. I want to be made to feel sexy and good-looking. I am sure the same need dwells in you, amigo."

"But Lexi thinks you're very-"

"'Lexi this'! 'Lexi that'!" Growled the Gee Bee. "Rochelle is where my attachment lies! She is the one I want!"

Alexis returned from the hangar with Arianna who had managed to collect so much sponsor swag that she could hardly be seen beneath it all.

"What's wrong with Dusty?" The tug asked, her voice muffled by the gear.

"He will be fine. I should probably get him back to his hangar though," answered El Chu.

"No!" Responded Dusty. "The happy couple needs to hang out more. Let's go do something fun."

"You planes go ahead, I'm going to put away this stuff," said Arianna before heading back to her hangar.

"So what do you want to do, Dusty?" Inquired Alexis.

"Follow me," he replied and then he led them to the ancillary runway, which was deserted in the early evening.

The stars were just barely out. The crop duster lined himself up with the mud and then accelerated. He hit the puddle at top speed and was sent spinning down the runway.

"What was that?! Let me show you how it's done," laughed Alexis excitedly as she prepared to join her silly friend in the mud.

"Playing in mud is for children," scoffed El Chu.

Just like that, the fun was over. Alexis stopped in her tracks, not wanting her new boyfriend to think of her as childish.

"Yeah, Dusty. Come on, man, get out of the mud," she reluctantly agreed.

Dusty saw through Alexis' pretense and in hopes that she would get irritated and come out in the mud to get him, he used his propeller to fling the muck at her. When the grime smacked against her side he chuckled delightedly. The Grob 120TP was indeed annoyed, but not enough to do anything that would damage her standing with El Chu.

"I am going to head back to my hangar," said El Chu, not amused. "Adios, amigos."

Alexis called after him, "Oh, EC wait up! We should totally exchange SkyPhone numbers."

"Why?"

"Because that's what boyfriends and girlfriends do."

The Mexican racer was hesitant but finally, he grudgingly gave her his number.

"Sweet! This is your real number right? Because if it's not, I'll totally kill you," Alexis joked.

El Chu's gulped and his eyes widened in terror.

"She's kidding of course," clarified Dusty with a laugh.

The three planes laughed tensely for a moment.

"Okay, well I am going now. Adios," said El Chu, leaving quickly.

"Adios, boyfriend!" Shouted Alexis before asking Dusty, "Sheesh, why is EC so cranky all of a sudden? Man period?"

"Yeah … uh, it's something like that … but at least now we can have fun," replied the crop duster.

"No, I'm going to go take a shower … like a boring-ass adult."

"Seriously?! You're going to leave me out here by myself?!"

She continued leaving with no reply.

"Fine! I guess I'll go too," he sighed before rolling out of the mud and tailing her.

This time the showers were mostly empty. It sounded as though only one other bay was being used. A tug from team 6 stood outside holding a towel but neither the crop duster nor stunt plane thought anything of it. Alexis went in and claimed a stall and Dusty followed her into it.

"Dude! What are you doing?!" Asked Alexis with a laugh.

"I'm collecting that shower you owe me," he replied pragmatically.

"So go use another stall!"

"No, I'm showering with you because it's your fault I need one in the first place. If I had known you were going to leave me hanging in the mud looking like a loser, I wouldn't have gone in at all."

"I'm sorry, Dusty," she sighed, genuinely apologetic. "EC was just so disapproving. You know I want him to like me."

"Speaking of that, during the most … disturbing conversation with him, I learned of a way you can peak his interest."

"Really?! Tell me! Tell me!"

Dusty took a deep breath, "Apparently, El Chu is … hungry …"

"He's hungry? I fix you fools breakfast everyday!" Alexis interrupted.

"No, he's hungry for … intimacy of … a …," Dusty continued his faltering.

"Dusty, just spit it out, bro!"

"He's hungry for intimacy of a physical kind!"

"So … he's horny?" She asked before giving him a curious look.

"Um, er, … for lack of a better word, yes," he blushed as he was made uncomfortable by her bluntness.

"Why didn't you just say that?"

"Because I didn't want to say that."

"So I just need to seduce him?"

"Pretty much, but … I mean … can you?"

"What does that mean?!" Alexis asked sharply, a hint of offense in her tone.

"Nothing! I'm just saying that you're not the most … uh … feminine female … so it might be kind of hard," Dusty tried to explain.

"You don't think I can be sexy?!"

"I'm not saying that!"

"I'll show you sexy!"

Alexis placed a wing over Dusty's and leaned into him, pressing the front of her wet fuselage to his.

"Oh, Mr. Crophopper!" She moaned, her voice suddenly higher and much more womanly.

"Lexi, don't do that, especially not here," pleaded Dusty, now more uncomfortable than ever as his oil pressure began to rise.

"What's the matter, papi? She teased, repeatedly smooching a corner of his mouth.

"Lexi, stop it!" He demanded even though her kissing encouraged him to try to turn so her lips would actually meet his.

However, she laughed meanly and kept moving away from them as he rolled to her. Her eyes caught his and she slowly licked her lips before inaudibly mouthing his name. Then she turned and, swaying her tail, she danced erotically away as she covertly used her wing tip to move the showerhead so that it only sprayed him.

"Oh yes, Dusty!" She moaned before turning the temperature control all the way to cold.

The little crop duster screamed in shock as the ice cold water doused him and he stumbled out of the stall. Alexis laughed uncontrollably at him.

"Yeah, boy!" She cheered in her normal voice. "Say hello to 'Sexy Lexi'! El Chu is mine!"

"You're a terrible person," muttered Dusty.

"I'm sorry, bro. I had to prove a point."

"You said if we showered together it wouldn't be like a porno."

"That wasn't porn. You want to see porn?!" She asked playfully as she stood beneath the dryer.

"No, I DO NOT want to see 'porn'! Stay away from me!" Dusty snapped as he attempted to regain his composure.

Alexis chuckled, "Then quit your bitchin' and come on. We have to go seduce EC."

"We?!" Asked Dusty apprehensively.

Alexis dragged the crop duster to team 5's hangar.