Sorry to be so late with this chapter. I have a bit of bad news; the story is all caught up to what was pre-written now, therefore I won't be putting up a new chapter every week like before. Now, I'll put them up as I finish them. Of course you could fav the story so you're the first to know when a new chapter is up. =p
Bwah ha ha ha ha haaaa!
"Hey EC, it's too early to be turning in! Come to the beach with Dusty and me!" Alexis called to the Mexican racer.
"No, that is quite alright," he replied. "I do not want any part of your juvenile games."
"Actually, I know of this really nice bar there I thought we could all chill at. Is that mature enough for you?"
"Come on, compadre!" Beckoned Dusty. "I'll buy you a drink!"
El Chupacabra grudgingly rolled from his hangar to join his friends.
"Yes! Now it's a party! Let's go, fellas," Alexis beamed, eagerly racing for the runway.
Dusty could see that their night was going to be influenced by two very strong energies and he had to make a choice. He could stick by the strangely uptight El Chu thereby forcing Alexis to slow down and conform to the group, which would most likely result in them all having a dull time. Or he could try to match Alexis' exuberance thus encouraging El Chu to keep up with them so they could all have fun. It was an easy decision.
"Wait up, Lexi!" Smiled the crop duster as he sped after her and left El Chu in his dust.
The Gee Bee contemplated going back to his hangar but instead sighed and picked up the pace to catch up to his friends, "Why are we in a hurry?!"
The three pals flew to the beach, which in the night, glowed bright with festivity. The boardwalk was packed with tourists.
"Uh, Lexi, where are we going to land? There's too many vehicles on the boardwalk," said Dusty as they flew past the bright shore. As they approached the pitch-black expanse of the ocean he and El Chu circled back around to continue searching for a good place to make a landing.
"Yeah, not to mention a lot more police officers," added Alexis as she watched the ground so intensely that she no longer paid attention where she was going. When she looked up and saw herself flying into the dark nothingness over the sea she began to freak out. "Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!" She panicked as she swiftly executed her sharp U-turn back towards the shining coast and then rolled to right herself.
"Whoa! Lexi, Relax!" Soothed Dusty. "We're not even over the water."
"But we were close."
El Chupacabra was confused. He wasn't sure why nearly being over the ocean would elicit such a response from the stunt plane but he said nothing of it.
"We're going to have to work on that, you know … real soon," said Dusty.
"I know, but not tonight," she panted.
As they passed over the busy strip again, Alexis spotted a near empty side street.
"We can land there!" She said as she headed towards it.
"On a street?! That is against the law!" Alerted El Chu. "There are cars on the road!"
"Not that many."
"Alexis, don't!"
"Too late!" She yelled, lowering her landing gear.
She touched down on the street and engaged her brakes. The few motorists honked angrily and swerved to get out of her way as she careened, brakes screeching and tires squealing, down the center of the road. Alexis had to lift her wings to avoid hitting things along either side of the street such as signs and fire hydrants. When she finally came to a stop, she had to catch her breath from her harrowing, near disaster of a landing.
"Come on, guys! I cleared the path for you!" She laughed. "Hurry up before the cops come!"
"She is crazy!" Shouted El Chu in response to the recklessness he'd just witnessed.
"Yup!" Agreed Dusty as he took a deep breath and flew down for a landing.
Although he was nervous, his descent was without incident and was even smoother than Alexis' since she had already dispersed the traffic. El Chupacabra was shocked. He couldn't believe that Dusty had just followed Alexis' foolish example.
"Come on, El Chu, it's not so hard!" Comforted the crop duster.
The Gee Bee was uneasy. He had grown up landing on runways more difficult than this narrow street but that was a long time ago. Still, a part of him was up for the challenge. He, like Dusty, took a deep breath and went for it and found that it was truly effortless. In seconds he was on the ground with his pals.
"That … was … exhilarating! Right, amigos?!" He cheered with pride and received no reply. "Dusty? Alexis?"
The crop duster and stunt plane had vanished as the sound of sirens drew near and the red and blue lights lit up the night.
"EC, don't just stand there! Come on," Alexis whispered loudly from a wide alley nearby.
The males followed her through the streets and to an enormous beachside Hilton. The atmosphere inside the huge hotel was a clamor as tourists checked in and out and the staff raced to and fro to help their guests. The lobby was decorated with a black and gold theme and everything, including the employees, was painted to match it. That is, everything except a blue elevator in the far corner marked 'Sky Bar'. Quite a few hoity-toity couples, adorned in their jewelry and glossy, flawless paintjobs, had gone into it already. A beefy black and gold tug guarded the elevator doors and made sure only the upper class made it through.
"Are you sure we're allowed up there, Alexis? Everyone going up looks a lot fancier and more important than us," El Chu said.
"Don't worry, I have a friend who works here," she said as she approached the bouncer. "Hello, we are friends of Rodney and we'd like to go up to the Sky Bar."
"Let me see your VIP passes?" The burly tug replied in a deep African accent. His voice was full of so much bass Alexis could feel his every word rattle through her body.
"We don't have passes but we are very important planes."
"No passes. No entry."
Suddenly, a Cessna 340, painted the typical black and gold of all the hotel's personnel, came over to them, "Alexis?! I thought that was you!"
"Rodney!" The stunt plane cheered, zipping up to the male and rubbing noses with him in a friendly aircraft 'hug'.
"Hey, how are you? I hear you've been really turning the qualifiers upside down over there."
"Hehe, yeah … sort of," she chuckled.
"So, what's going on? What are you doing here?"
"Well, I wanted to come see you and show my friends the Sky Bar, but Mufasa here won't let us in."
The black and gold African tug just rolled his eyes and said, "Very important planes only."
"My friend, this is Alexis Tigerfyre! She's the heiress to the TigerFyre legacy and the most important plane I know!" Said Rodney before circling around the group to Dusty, "And this guy, I know you! You're Dusty Crophopper, the current Wings Around the Globe Rally champion!" Then he came to El Chu, "And you are … um …"
"Rodney, bro, this is El Chupacabra!" Laughed Alexis.
"Oh! You're the monster who siphons the fuel from other vehicles down in Puerto Rico!" Said Rodney.
"No, no, no! It is just a stage name!" Smiled El Chu, trying to hide the fact that deep down he was hurt that he was unknown.
"Dude, he is the Mexican indoor racing champion, the number one mariachi recording artist, and a leading romantic novelist," Alexis informed.
"Oh yeah? Is he really all that?" The Cessna 340 asked dubiously.
"Yeah, he is so all that," she swooned as she stood beside El Chu and dreamily looked up at him.
"Oh, I see it now," grinned Rodney, able to tell right away that his close friend had a thing for the Gee Bee. "Wow, Lexi, it's so good to see you again! It seems like it was just yesterday that your brother and I were teenagers practicing all kinds of dangerous stunts and you were just a measly little brat trying to keep up with us. Remember how I was always like, 'Lexi, stunts are for boys so go play with your dolls'?"
"Yeah, and remember how I took one of the dolls and shoved it so far up one of your engines, you couldn't fly for a week?"
"A week?! I can never fly again!" He chuckled. "It's still in there you know."
"Oh my god, Rodney, I'm so sorry!" Alexis cried, genuinely starting to feel upset.
"Gotcha! I'm just kidding!"
"You asshole!" The stunt plane laughed with him. "Can we go now?"
"One more thing; have you spoken to your brother at all recently? I haven't been able to get in contact with him for like a month. I hope he's okay."
"No, I haven't talked to him but I'm sure he's fine. He's Phoenix Tigerfyre … he's unstoppable!"
"Yeah, that's true," agreed Rodney. "Alright, you three have a good time. I have to get back to work."
"But Rodney, what about that guy?" Inquired the deep voiced tug, referring to El Chu. "He still needs a pass."
"No he doesn't. 'That guy' is obviously a guest of the very important Alexis and Dusty. Let them all through."
The brawny tug reluctantly let them into the large elevator. The interior of the lift was lit with soft blue lights and the floor was covered in lush burgundy carpeting. The posh elevator was also quick. In seconds it had ascended to the roof of the humongous Hilton hotel. When the doors opened all the three friends could do was gasp in amazement. The Sky Bar was gently illuminated by blue rope lights that went along the railings of the roof's edge, the bar, and the outside of the elevator doors. There was a large, shallow wading pool, an enclosed dance floor with a personal DJ, and lots of plush parking mats placed around the perimeter of the roof, which more than a few couples were making out upon. The view of the entire beach and all the little vehicles on the boardwalk way down below was breath taking. Up above, only a few stars could be discerned in the night sky as a result of the light pollution radiating from the strip. Despite being called the Sky Bar, there were quite a few cars and even non-staff tugs relaxing in the exclusive tavern. However, it was easy to tell that they all were extremely wealthy and had bought their way in.
The three friends picked a table to park at and ordered some drinks.
"So, Lexi, I heard from a certain little orange tug that you're in 40th place now. Tell me that's a joke," said Dusty.
"I wish it was. I can't believe it, from first place to almost last after one round! That's got to be a record," she replied.
"It's not that bad. You still have the speed and navigation rounds to make it back into the top 22."
"No lie, Dusty, I suck at navigation."
"Everyone does," chimed in El Chupacabra. "Nowadays, we all have technology to help us get from place to place. Take that away and we all 'suck' at navigation."
"El Chu's right," Dusty corresponded. "So all you have to do is suck less than everyone else."
"I'll do my best," sighed Alexis.
A server brought them their drinks and they all were silent for a while. As usual, Dusty was the one to break the stillness.
"You guys should be asking each other questions and getting to know each other better," he said.
"You're right. Let's make it into a drinking game!" Grinned Alexis mischievously. "We each ask a question. After all the questions have been answered we take a shot to finish the round. Whoever can last the most rounds wins!"
"That sounds like a terrible idea," El Chu frowned.
"Yeah, let's do it," laughed Dusty.
Alexis asked the server to bring them three Nitro Bombs, the bar's strongest shots. The drinks came in three tiny oilcans with long, rigid spouts.
"Ladies first," said El Chu.
"Oh, well, go ahead then, Dusty," teased Alexis.
"I'll be a lady tonight because I am all too happy to be the first to ask a question," he replied. "Alright, Lexi, what's this so called 'Phoenix' like?"
"Somehow, I knew your first question would be for me," she laughed before answering. "Okay … if Grandpa Leone was the greatest plane in plane history, that'd make my older brother, Phoenix, the second greatest. He's athletic, brave, artistic, smart, and handsome. He's my hero! I first got into aerobatics because of him. He would do the most amazing stunts all the time but when he turned 18, he left and joined the Navy. Still, his agility in combat was so highly valued that he won tons of medals."
"So, where is he now?"
"Come on, Dusty, you only get one question per round!"
"This is part two of my one question!"
"I don't know. He got injured and was retired from the Military. After that he became a regular Indiana Jones, travelling the world and getting into all kinds of adventures. He'd always come back with little more than some ridiculous artifact, a bunch of new scars, and lots of damn good stories."
"Whoa, sounds like I guy I'd like to meet," Dusty reflected on her anecdote.
"Yeah, he's quite a character to be around but you'd never guess all the things he's done just by looking at him. He's pretty quiet and doesn't really talk about himself much. He says he prefers to listen to the everyday exploits of normal vehicles than talk about his own. Once I asked him where he got the courage to do all that he does and he told me that he does all that stuff because he doesn't have any courage at all. He said he could never have the guts to ask a girl out or settle down and get married. He says he goes on all those crazy quests as an excuse not to socialize with people regularly. He's so goofy! Anyway, enough about him, it's my turn to ask a question now. EC, why are you so sexy?"
When El Chupacabra first heard the inquiry he prepared to blow it off as another one of her attempts to hit on him, but then something strange happened. Her compliment disguised as a question touched him deeply in a place that hadn't been stirred in a while. Suddenly, he felt some of his tension dissipate and a feeling of gratitude enveloped him. Even though it wasn't running, his engine began to heat up in a vehicular 'blush' and he gave her a tiny smile.
"Just lucky I guess, but gracias," he thanked her. "It really means a lot that you think I am good-looking."
"No problem, Boo," she grinned back.
"Boo?"
"That means you're her man," Dusty explicated.
"Oh," the Gee Bee chuckled nervously before clearing his throat and turning to Dusty to ask his question. "Speaking of relationships, compadre, what is it about Senorita Ishani that has got your propeller spinning?"
Dusty stammered as he tried to explain without sounding too sappy, "Well, … uh … she was the first girl I met outside Propwash Junction who was nice to me and she's so smart, and aerodynamic, and beautiful."
Alexis silently mocked him as he went on and on about the Indian plane before interrupting, "Didn't she try to kill you in your last race?"
"Hey! It's not your turn to ask a question!" Snapped the crop duster. "Besides, that was Ripslinger's idea."
"She still chose to carry it out."
"Yeah, but she apologized and I forgive her."
"I guess that's all that matters," the Grob 120TP scoffed. "Well, that's round one. Bottoms up!"
The three friends quickly sipped up their shots. El Chu and Alexis brushed off the alcohol's sting with a sigh while Dusty made the most agonized of expressions.
"Ahh!" He chuckled as his eyes watered. "It burns so bad!"
Alexis quickly fetched her friend some coolant from the bar to wash the liquor down before she and El Chu began to laugh at his expense. Then the tug server brought them another round.
"All right, my turn again," Dusty squeaked, his throat only slightly soothed by the chaser. "Alexis -"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa! You're not going to bombard me with questions all night, homeboy!" The stunt plane interrupted swiftly. "We'll change directions each round. This time you ask EC one, he asks me one, and then I'll ask you one."
"What kind of guys do you like?"
"Compadre, she said you are supposed to ask me a question," said El Chupacabra.
"I am asking you!" Teased the crop duster.
The Gee Bee scoffed in offense.
Struggling not to join in his laughter, Alexis snickered through clenched teeth, "Dusty, you're obviously already drunk."
"Is it my turn now?" El Chu grumbled.
"Not until you answer the question," Dusty prodded.
"I do not like guys!" He hastily huffed. "Alexis, are you from New York? Do you live here?"
"No, I don't really live anywhere," she answered nonchalantly. "I'm originally from Virginia but I typically just hop from place to place, getting paid to do stunt shows with a travelling team of daredevils."
"Don't you ever go home? I am sure your family misses you."
"That's one question too many, EC."
"No, no, no. This is 'part two' of my question."
She rolled her eyes and then sighed, "I bet they miss nagging me to conform to what they want me to be. I'm never going back home. Okay now, no more of this 'part two' shit."
The boys chuckled briefly.
"Dusty, what does that little piston and cross-wrench symbol mean? You better not be a pirate because I'll kick your ailerons," Alexis said.
"It's the symbol of my flight instructor's Navy squadron, The Jolly Wrenches. They're all heroes, not pirates, and it means a lot to me that they accepted me as one of them," he answered proudly.
"Cool. Round two down! Cheers!"
Alexis and El Chu hurriedly swallowed their drinks just like before. Dusty hesitated a moment before finally gulping it down and rapidly following with his coolant chaser.
"Your turn, Dusterino," smiled Alexis as their server brought the next round of drinks.
The crop duster whined piteously as the liquor assaulted his throat on its way down and then scowled at his friends' derision. After choking down the second drink, Dusty's could tell his senses were noticeably dulled. His tongue felt numb and lazy, consequently his speech followed suit.
"Ohhh-kay, Lessy. Ahem! LEX-see …," he cleared his throat in an attempt to correct his own slurring. "Why don't you ass why ah'm sessy? A-heh-hem! … sexy?"
El Chupacabra thought his inquiry was a bit strange. Alexis, apparently feeling her drinks as well, was hysterical with laughter.
"I don't need to 'ass' you," she playfully ridiculed with a wink. "I know why you're sexy, Dusty. You're funny, trustworthy, and the best friend anyone could have. Plus, what girl could resist the smell of Vita-minamulch? I don't see why Ishani hasn't swooped you up already. She better hurry up before I decide to."
Dusty's eyes widened a bit and then he gulped before a sheepish smile overtook his face.
The stunt plane then turned to El Chu, "Wanna make out, boyfriend?"
"We are in the middle of a game," the Gee Bee reprimanded. "Now ask me your question."
"That IS my question!"
"Oh," he realized. "In that case; no thank you. I am not drunk enough to do that yet. Dusty, why did you want to become a racer?"
Dusty was quiet for a while as he seemingly collected his thoughts, "Ah wanted to s-see the worl' an' prove ah can do more than crust dops. Ahem! Dusts … crop!"
Both the Gee Bee and the stunt plane burst out in laughter at his incoherent reply. Dusty just glared at them in mild annoyance.
"That's round three!" Alexis called, signaling for the boys to empty their oilcans. "Wow, Dusty, you ah're lastin' much longer-er than I thought."
"Tap … tap … tap tap," murmured the tipsy crop duster as he sunk to the floor after finishing his third drink.
"Compadre, are you … alright?" Asked El Chu.
"No mo'. Ah'm tap-tappin' out."
"Duh-sy?" Slurred Alexis, kicking one of his tires with her own. When she got no response from him she jeered, "Three shots an' he's done? What kine o' lightweight Navy squadron ah're tha Jolly Wrenches anyway?!"
El Chupacabra shrugged and then the couple was silent for a few moments.
El Chu was starting to feel a bit buzzy himself yet when he finally spoke, his speech remained perfectly clear, "I guess it is my turn. Alexis, um, how long have you known Arianna?"
"Since we were lil' kids. 'Cause she's two years ol'er than me she's always been like my ol'er sister," she responded before asking her next question. "EC, … why don'chu like me?"
"I do like you. We are good friends," he answered as he looked at the view out over the city to purposely avoid making eye contact with her, but in his intoxication the height began to make him dizzy so he simply shut his eyes instead.
"No, I mean 'like me' like me."
"Alexis, I -," He began.
Unexpectedly, Dusty interrupted him with a loud, agonized groan as he awoke from his brief stupor, "This isn't th' library!"
El Chu and Alexis looked at him, then to one another in confusion, and then back to the crop duster before erupting in laughter at Dusty's expense once again.
"Wha's so funny?" Dusty asked, frowning at his friends' mockery.
Many of the affluent, snobbish vehicles in the Sky Bar shot disapproving glares to the racing trio and whispered about them to one another.
"This used to be such a nice bar but now it seems they'll let any riff raff in here," said one arrogant plane to his female partner.
Alexis had overheard and was furious at the remark.
"We are not 'riff raff'!" She roared.
"I wasn't referring to you," clarified the male plane. "We know who you two are. Everyone knows Dusty is the current Rally titleholder and Alexis, we've all seen your death-defying feats auto tuned and remixed to just about every song imaginable on FlewTube."
"Really?!" Alexis and Dusty said in unison, the sobering glimmer of stardom recognizable in their eyes as it pulled them from their inebriation.
"Mr. Crophopper, would you sign this glass for me?" Inquired one spiffy tug as he came up to the crop duster.
"Uh, sure, I'll try," he beamed.
Just then, a male yellow 2012 Nurburgring Edition LFA with stunning green eyes approached the stunt plane.
"Excuse me, miss, but I couldn't help noticing that … you're Alexis and I'm a Lexus. What do I have to do to get you interested in me?" He coolly asked.
"W-whoa," she stammered as her eyes roved over the body of the sleek and powerful supercar. "Oh, if I wasn't a plane - I mean … I … actually have a boyfriend, but I would love to swap phone numbers if that's cool."
"Yeah, that's cool. I'm Travis by the way," he said with a smile so sexy it could've melted the paint off of just about anyone.
They exchanged numbers and he went back to his group of friends while Alexis just stood there in a daze watching him go. Dusty came over to her after he had witnessed the whole scene unfold.
"I feel kind of funny saying this because I know he's a dude, but that car was hot!" The crop duster admitted. "Like $445,000 hot!"
"Yeah," she sighed happily. "And the hottest part is he knows I'm a girl."
"See what I mean? You two are welcome here. It's that guy who doesn't belong," said the haughty plane from before as he pointed with a wing to El Chupacabra.
El Chu was terribly wounded by his words and parked at the bar by himself. For Alexis, the fame felt fantastic but not at the expense of her beloved El Chu's feelings and she'd had enough.
Not bothering to think twice about it in her drunken state, she leapt up on to their short table, which drew many a gasp from the aristocratic throng, and shouted, "Hey! You can't talk about my boyfriend like that! EC may not be snob rich like the rest of you but that's because he's … uh … a great philanthropist!"
"Oh, is that so?!" Asked the male plane's female friend excitedly. "Charity work is always notable among us successful folk!"
"Good, because El Chupacabra is the most charitable and generous plane on Earth! He's a true hero of the people! Go on, EC, tell 'em."
"Yes, 'El Chupacabra' was it? Please tell us of your humanitarian efforts," the formerly snooty male plane begged.
"Uh … well … back home in Mexico I help out at the local shelter twice a week," he confessed meekly.
"You brave, brave soul!" Exclaimed the other male plane in shock. "You live in such a dangerous, crime-riddled place just to help the less fortunate?!"
The crowd of rich vehicles surrounded the Gee Bee to hear what he had to say and they hung on his every word. El Chu readily soaked up their attention.
"Also, 10% of my CD sales go to keeping children off drugs," the Mexican continued.
"A whole 10%?!" Gasped one overindulged tug. "Madness! There is such a thing as being too generous, you know! How do you afford top-quality fuel for yourself?!"
Suddenly, the affluent female plane came forward, "He isn't mad, he's a genius. That 10% can be written off and he'll get it back as a tax rebate."
They applauded his brilliant altruistic ideas. El Chupacabra was beaming and he gave Alexis a grateful glance. For the next couple of hours, Alexis, Dusty, and El Chu were guests of honor and when they were finally able to leave the Sky Bar and get away from the new fans, they'd found that they hadn't paid for a single drink.
"Well, that was fun. Are we calling it a night?" Asked Dusty as he and his friends stumbled out of the Hilton.
"The night is still young, guys. Let's check out the shops," Alexis suggested.
The three planes studied the various storefronts as they taxied down the boardwalk. When they came to one called 'The Lube Shop' Dusty stopped.
"I wonder if they have TigerFyre in flavors other than strawberry and blueberry," he teased Alexis.
"I highly doubt they have it at all, but we can check it out," she grinned back.
As they all rolled inside, a bell chimed. The single shopkeeper was a purple and black Scion tC.
"Welcome to The Lube Shop. My name is Eugene, how may I help you?" He asked, not even bothering to look up as he addressed them from where he was parked behind the counter reading a book.
"Do you have any TigerFyre brand engine conditioner?!" Dusty called out to Eugene.
"No, we don't sell that kind of thing here."
Dusty, Alexis, and El Chu took a closer look at the shop's wares from where they stood in the doorway. One wall was lined with an assortment of wing, strut, propeller, and tail covers in leather or lace. Another contained a variety of books, magazines, and videos. Yet another was covered with whips, chains, tire cuffs, and gags. The air was heavy with the scent of latex.
"El Chu, what kind of lube shop is this?" Whispered Dusty softly in confusion.
"Uh oh, … this is an adult novelty store," the Gee Bee gulped quietly in horror as he slowly turned to verify that the shopkeeper hadn't actually looked up and seen all of them yet. "Amigos, it is not too late for us all to calmly roll back out and go-"
"A sex shop! Alright!" Cheered Alexis raucously before darting elatedly inside.
"Alexis, no!" Shrieked Dusty and El Chu in unison but it was already too late.
