Summary: An alternative sequel for the World Race movie. Written after I saw WR many times, but before I knew about AcceleRacers. Hope you find it interesting, and feel free to review!
Disclaimer: I don't own any of it, so don't worry.
Author's Note: Just to warn you all, I won't be describing every moment of every leg/track of the race in great detail. Don't worry, you'll get everything important, but not much by way of "play by play" action. So, sorry if my writing style isn't your favorite, but I hope you still enjoy the story itself. Thanks a bunch for your patience and understanding! And hooray for more quick reviews, you guys make my day! I look forward to hearing from you again soon! Enjoy!
Chapter Eight
The portal deposited the remaining drivers, all of them now male, onto the second underwater track. They had previously decided not to include the initial practice run in their list of completed tracks since its outcome hadn't really mattered. So even though this one was technically the third of the submerged tracks they had run, it was really only the second in the drivers' calculations.
The second track continued on very much like the one before it, though a complex new layout kept the racers on their toes. Banjee had gradually reverted to his old care-free driving habits, much to Taro's annoyance and dismay, yet there fortunately were no collisions or other such mishaps.
Alec was eliminated after the track, finishing just behind Markie who darted past him at the last possible moment.
After he had been dropped with the others onto the start of the third track, Kurt looked in his rearview mirror and couldn't help feeling disappointed. Markie was still with them.
What happened? he thought impatiently. Markie was in last place for that entire last track, how is he still here? He must've gotten past Alec at the last second.
Kurt shook his head, imagining how upset the disqualified teen had to be. Kurt could almost feel sorry for Alec. Almost. Though they had agreed to let Taro reach the final track, all the other drivers wanted to stay in the race for as long as possible. An early elimination would be potentially disappointing for any of them.
Oh well, at least Lani has someone to keep her company now. I hope she's in a good mood. A sly grin slowly crept over Kurt's face.
Yesterday, Taro had told him that Lani was being rather "emotional" lately. Personally, Kurt had seen her be nothing but pleasant so far, but perhaps the anxiety of helplessly waiting while her husband raced fearlessly to save their lives would be just enough to push her over the edge. If so, Kurt pitied Alec. Definitely pitied him.
A large loop was coming up fast, and Kurt downshifted to get an extra burst of speed on the approach, also managing to pass two drones as he came down the other side. Only Taro and the drone Captain were still ahead of him.
Meanwhile, Banjee had been closing in on Kurt just as the other driver made his move on the two drones. Banjee followed him around the loop but scowled at his own inability to pass. With a light punch on his steering wheel, he pressed the button for a Nitrox injection, and his car immediately lunged forward past one of the drones.
The Nitrox boost still affecting his car's speed, Banjee hugged the inside of the next turn, fully intending to fly around it. But at the last second, another drone also swerved to the inside line directly in front of Banjee, cutting him off.
Banjee let out a strangled exclamation of surprise, and slammed on his brakes to avoid rear-ending the drone. But quickly realizing that it wouldn't be enough to prevent contact, he jerked his car sharply to the right.
"Banjee, look out!"
Vert's warning from behind came too late. In his frenzied attempt to avoid hitting the drone in front of him, Banjee hadn't realized that the drone he'd previously passed was now coming up again beside him. The rear portion of Banjee's car slammed into the front of the drone's vehicle, sending it spinning madly out of control until it finally collided against the track's transparent wall and was still.
"Uh, oh," Banjee whispered. "Not good."
Taro's anxious voice suddenly cut in across the communicator. "Banjee, what's wrong? I couldn't see what happened. Are you all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Banjee replied, breathing hard. "But one of the drones isn't. I accidentally crashed it when I was trying to pass a different one that cut me off all of a sudden."
"Well be careful," Taro hastily instructed him. "The drones'll probably try to crash you next. Keep your eyes open, and.…WHOA!"
"Taro?"
Apparently, the drones' programmed sense of vengeance was not restricted to the errant human being. Rather than retaliating against Banjee, they had decided to take out Taro. Directly in front of him, the drone Captain suddenly hit its brakes, and an unsuspecting Taro rammed right into the other vehicle as his own car began sliding out of control. Another drone then hit him from behind. Hard.
Taro's car skidded sideways, but before he could straighten it back out, the momentum of his previous speed continued to propel the car forward, and it completely rolled over twice, barely landing back on its wheels. Taro didn't respond to Banjee's frantic calls.
Kurt nearly slammed on his brakes the moment he saw the crash in front of him, yet he hesitated. He wanted to go back and see if Taro was alright, but if he did, the drone Captain would be virtually unopposed in the coming tracks. What was more, if Taro was unable to finish the race, the responsibility for winning would fall on him, and wasn't that more important in the grand scheme of things?
"Keep goin', Kurt," Banjee spoke up, as if reading his thoughts. "I'll check on Taro. You go finish this thing."
"Right, Banjee. And thanks." Confidence restored, Kurt floored the accelerator and sped toward the rapidly approaching end of the third track, steadily closing the gap between himself and the Captain.
And once the other drivers saw that Banjee had stopped to help Taro, they followed Kurt's example and continued on with the race.
Banjee screeched to a halt next to Taro but waited until all the other racers had passed before getting out of his car and rushing to his friend's side. Taro was slouched back in his seat, unconscious but showing no other sign of injury. Banjee gently removed him from the car and eased him onto the ground.
"Taro?" he called anxiously, softly tapping him on the cheek. "Taro, can you hear me? Wake up!"
Taro stirred and blinked his eyes open, reaching up to rub the back of his neck.
"Are you okay, Taro?"
Taro looked up, startled, as though noticing Banjee for the first time.
"I'll be all right," he finally said after accepting the other's proffered hand and rising unsteadily to his feet. He looked around and leaned back against his car. "Where's everyone else?"
"They're already in the next track," Banjee told him, his usually jovial face now grave with concern. "Can you keep racing?"
Taro grimaced. "I don't know, we're awfully far behind now. We're probably better off just letting Kurt finish."
Banjee nodded in reply, then sighed and hung his head. "Taro, I'm sorry. It was my crazy driving that got you into this whole mess. I know I should've listened to you from the start, but I swear I never thought the drones would go after you because of something I did wrong."
"It's all right, Banjee. I know you didn't mean any harm, but it doesn't change the fact that we're both pretty much out of this race. I'm finished, and not even you will be able to catch up with the others in the next leg after losing so much time."
But Banjee firmly shook his head at the thought. "No way, Taro, that's not fair to you. I'll lose this leg, and then you can go on to the next one. Kurt and the others will wait for you to catch up."
"They'll wait, yes, but the drones won't," Taro insisted. "They'll keep going, and our guys need to stay with them. Besides, my car's in no shape to keep racing after that crash. It'll get me to the end of this track and through the portal, but that's about it."
"Okay, if you insist," Banjee complied as they both got back into their cars. "I'll see you soon, Taro. And, I really am sorry."
"Don't worry about it. Kurt'll get the job done. He's a great driver, as long as he stays focused."
A few moments later, and Banjee was flying through the portal. Taro followed and unconsciously released a long sigh. It was rather disappointing to be eliminated after only the third leg of the race. But at least he would be reunited with Lani much sooner than expected.
