Chapter 8: Death Race

Thinking back at the last time three people had to crowd into the Spark Moon, I'm sure that Ruffas is much more comfortable in the driver's seat rather than having to be pressed against the windshield of the machine. Ness and I were easily able to fit, each occupying a corner behind the cockpit chair. Sometimes we would stand up so we could see where Ruffas was driving, and taking a peek right now I can see that we've driven across most of Mute City. The Falcon Flyer stood out like a sore thumb among the buildings and other aircraft in the skies; we made to at least make sure it's silhouette was visible, rather than get too close and risk detection from either its sensors or Mewtwo's psychic powers… or at least we hope we're far enough away not to be caught.

"Hey, looks like they're stopping…" Ness suddenly says, and both Ruffas and I look at the Falcon Flyer. The aircraft's shape is rapidly getting bigger, meaning that it's stopped flying forwards. It's now hovering over a collection of buildings, descending little by little.

This district has none of the luster or maintenance of the rest of the city; it's as if an inferno raged through it and was left to burn out, scorch marks, soot and dilapidated buildings present everywhere I could look. A beam of white light suddenly shoots out of the bottom of the Falcon Flyer, and I can see two things float down it. I can't see exactly what they are from here, but I have a hunch that they're Master Hand and the Blue Falcon – Captain Falcon's F-Zero machine – judging from size. I know what's going on. "They're going by ground. If we don't hurry, we'll lose them." I tell Ruffas.

"Alright, brace yourselves." he warns us. Ness and I crouch into the corners and press ourselves against the metal cockpit walls, having seen enough F-Zero races to know what's about to happen. A sudden, quick lurch of G force rocks me as the engines of the Spark Moon go full blast. I can see the speedometer climbing up above 1,500 miles per hour… I really hope that Ruffas knows what he's doing; he may have helped build the machine, but I can't help but wonder just how much experience he has driving it.

Regardless of his driving experience though, he gets us to where they touched down, just in time to see them driving off in the opposite direction. Now we can see them; it was indeed Master Hand and Captain Falcon's machine. There was no sign of Mewtwo… he had to be either on the Flyer or with Falcon in his machine. I hope he's with Falcon, or he'll have found us by now. Ruffas follows the Blue Falcon from a good distance, trying to make sure Captain Falcon doesn't notice us.

I'm relieved that he doesn't turn around or try to divert us from his path, and that neither Mewtwo, Master Hand nor the Falcon Flyer have done anything to impede our progress. It seems we haven't been noticed yet. Still, we have to be careful; being with the Super Smash Brothers has taught me that even the best situations can turn into the worst case scenario in the blink of an eye.

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What I estimate to have been a half-hour of driving has made us follow the Blue Falcon and Master Hand through this seemingly endless section of destroyed buildings. We were eventually led into a cave, and thusly robbed of our vision; except for the headlights of the F-Zero machine ahead of us, we only had the Spark Moon's onboard sensors to guide us – or at least that's what I assume Ruffas is using to drive, since we haven't crashed yet and turning on our headlights would alert Captain Falcon of our presence behind him.

Therefore it's a little unnerving when, after a few more moments of blind pursuit, our surroundings are lit briefly but a conveniently-placed street light illuminating a sign that says, "BLOCKABLE AREA." An aura of unease fills the cockpit when we see that we're no longer riding on a typical cave floor. The path has been replaced by a sort of bridge made of cold, cracked, grey stone suspended over a pit. The safety-railing is made up of what I can best describe as bones with mummy bandages wrapped around it.

I'm too busy taking in this disturbing scenery to prepare for the Spark Moon's abrupt stop, nearly flinging me into the dashboard. The Blue Falcon's headlights have illuminated a massive door comprised of thick, long bones, strong iron and the skulls of what look like two demons. The first skull is placed about two-thirds up the door and spans about two-thirds its width, donning large horns that are curved slightly downward. The second skull is directly above the first, about half the size of it with smaller horns curved in the opposite direction, with a bright red glow in its eye sockets. The center of this massive door is leaking out a bright, yellow light.

I hear Ness gulp. "Wh-whoa… if that's not a gate to Hell, then I don't know what is…" he says in a shaky voice. I can only nod in agreement with his sentiments. We're not even in the Underworld yet, and we're already anxious… but I swallow my fear. If this is where Princia is, then that's where I'm going. Whatever lies beyond these gates isn't going to stop me.

With a loud rumble, the massive bone-and-iron gates start to open. The light that floods in from the other side is blinding at first, but only temporarily. Master Hand and the Blue Falcon drove through, and we followed from a distance. The road hasn't changed, but as we go along the path we can see that our surroundings are gradually changing. Smoke is billowing out from around the bridge, and this cave isn't looking much like a cave anymore… more like the inside of a massive, living creature. Archways of bone are lined up along what looks more like bloody skin tissue than earth.

Eventually, we exit this tunnel and find ourselves in a large cavern. The grey stone is now orange, illuminated by magma below us. There are other bridges running along all over the place… like a race track. "Lucas, look! Is that your kidnapper?" Ness asks me, snapping me out of my daydreaming. I get up from behind the seat to get a closer look down the road we're on.

I wouldn't be surprised if Ness can feel my surge of malice. "Deathborn…" I growl. "Yeah, that's him." The half-dead robot is standing there, arms crossed and standing beside his F-Zero machine. The cockpit of the Blue Falcon opens up, and out hops Captain Falcon… and Mewtwo. So he was riding along. It looks like Falcon and Deathborn are conversing… while Mewtwo is looking straight at us with a look of clear disapproval. I'm really not surprised, in fact I was expecting him to acknowledge our presence by now. There is nothing but silence for a few moments. "Pull up so we can listen in." I suddenly say. "No point in trying hide now."

Ruffas hesitates for a moment, but complies. We pull up next to the Blue Falcon and open the cockpit to climb out. The scorching heat of the Underworld makes itself known. Mewtwo immediately contacts us. "I knew you weren't still sick, but nonetheless I was hoping you'd have more sense then this."

I only wait until I'm out of the Spark Moon before I retort. "It doesn't matter where or what I'm facing, I'm not going to just sit idly by while my friend suffers. Maybe if you had any real friends, you'd understand."

Mewtwo's resulting aura of anger makes everyone but Deathborn and I shudder, the former because he probably doesn't care, and me because I know I'm right. And he knows it too. "L… Lucas! That was harsh!" Ness scolds. I only shrug; someone had to say it.

"So you are Lucas…" I look at the source of the voice; Deathborn's speech is monotone, deep and cyborg-like. "I've been waiting for you…"

My fist clenches; it takes all the restraint I have not to smash this evil man's head in right now, but I have a question he needs to answer: "Where is she!?" His arm raises to point to a section of the flaming cavern, and I look along with everyone else. There, suspended on a pillar of rock sticking out of the magma… there was no mistaking that hairstyle. "Princia!" I shout.

"Lucas!" I hear her shout back over the bubbling magma. Suddenly, my attention is drawn to something perched on top of the pillar. I can't make it out, but it seems to be holding something up to her neck. Probably a weapon of some sort.

"There is only one way that she will walk out of the Underworld alive…" Deathborn says. "You and I are going to race… three laps around the Underworld circuit…"

I look back at the cyborg with wide eyes. "Wh-what!?"

"Are you kidding me!?" "What!?" "Outrageous!" Everyone makes their concerns known, and for a very good reason: I don't know how to race!

"If you do not race, then Princia Ramode will die… if you try to rescue her without racing, she will die…" Deathborn says simply.

"But Lucas can't race!" Captain Falcon roars. "He's only a kid! Hell, he's never been behind the wheel of an F-Zero machine! Let me race you instead!" he pleads.

But his pleas fall on deaf ears, if Deathborn even has any. "Do you accept?" he asks me.

I don't know what to do… I wasn't expecting to have to do something like this. I was expecting to have to fight Deathborn or some kind of hellspawn, but racing him? Captain Falcon is right, I've never drove an F-Zero machine before, nor did I have any plans too… I look back at her and the silhouette holding the weapon at her throat. She was pretty far away… there was no way that we could get her away from there without being seen, and that would be the end of her. I came here dead-set on saving her life… it doesn't look like there's any other way. I swallow my fears once again and look at him with determination. "Let's go."

Everyone looks at me with pure shock, save Deathborn. "D-dude… are you serious!?" Ness stammers.

"I don't have a choice…" I tell him. "Look at the distance between here and where Princia is, there's no way we can rescue her before that ghoul kills her."

"But you could die!" he screams. "Please, think about this!"

I look at Ness with rage; I already know the danger I'm putting myself in, I don't need him pointing it out. But… if I do die, maybe it wouldn't be such a bad thing… I'm already in Hell, and I'll probably wind up here because of all the blood on my hands anyway… as long as I have the chance to save her, I think it's worth it. "I'm going. My mind's made up." I say simply.

"But… but…!" Ness is starting to cry. He clearly doesn't have much confidence in me… and frankly I can't blame him.

"This is not a good idea Lucas, you haven't actually drove an F-Zero machine before." Captain Falcon reminds me.

I growl. I've had it. "Damnit, I know what the risks are! Do you have to keep reminding me every two seconds!?" I explode. Everyone except Deathborn – again – and for some reason even Mewtwo backs off. It's no secret that I'm not confident about this, and they really aren't helping.

Silence follows. "Choose your vehicle…" Deathborn interrupts. Choose a vehicle? It takes me a minute to realize that both the Blue Falcon and the Spark Moon are without a pilot right now.

"The Spark Moon." Mewtwo's sudden telepathy surprises me. "I have an idea."

I look at Mewtwo with surprise, but eventually smile; at least someone is willing to help… I turn back to Deathborn. "I choose Princia's machine, the Spark Moon." I tell him. He turns around, lumbering towards his vehicle and climbing into his cockpit, the windshield closing. I turn back to Mewtwo. "It better be a good one..." To my complete and utter shock, I see him crack a smile. I've never, ever seen him smile before… he must be confident. That eases my anxiety a little.

I run over to the Spark Moon, which Ruffas is hopping out of… wait, didn't he get out of it with us? Why was he back in it? "Be careful…" he says simply. He knows it's out of his hands now.

I nod to him as I climb into the machine. "I'll save her, I promise." I tell him. I press the button to close the cockpit, and drive up smoothly beside Deathborn's machine… how did I do that? "What the…" I mutter, looking at my hands in disbelief… I've never been behind the wheel of this machine before – or any F-Zero machine for that matter – but it feels like I've done it a million times… and how can I even move it? I thought Ruffas said it was keyed to Princia's DNA? I guess he turned that security feature off… that would explain why he'd jumped back in the machine and out again.

"I'm acting as the medium for a mental link." Mewtwo's voice invades my mind once again. "I've connected both Captain Falcon's and Princia's thought patterns to your own. You have the racing experience of two F-Zero racers behind you."

"I don't like it, but I don't have a choice." Captain Falcon?

"Be careful, Lucas!" Princia?

Now I understand Mewtwo's plan… he's giving me their reflexes and skills so I have a fighting chance against Deathborn. Between Princia's experience with this machine and Falcon's experience from racing Deathborn before, this might not turn out so bad after all. I smile and telepath, "I won't let you down..." I'm ready now.

Something moving out of the side of the road draws my attention; it looks like bones are flying out… molding themselves into some kind of archway. Falcon's experience tells me that this is a starting gate.

A metal object floats down from above, holding three television screens… each one lights up with a three over a blue background. This must be the countdown before the race begins. I rev up the engines of the Spark Moon and see Deathborn doing the same when his Dark Schneider… Falcon's mental link is the only reason I know the name of his machine.

The television sets count two… I get ready to floor the gas pedal… or at least whatever serves as the gas pedal for this thing.

One… there's no turning back now. God, I can't believe I'm about to do this… I'm not sure whether to be afraid or excited.

The screens light up with a "GO!" in front of a red background. I stomp on the acceleration hard. Both of our machines rocket forward, the speedometer climbing up to five-hundred miles per hour in a matter of seconds. I take a brief look at the radar and see that the Dark Schneider is behind me. The Spark Moon has better acceleration, making me smile; I have a bit of an edge.

All too soon does the first obstacle present itself in the form of a pylon-shaped mine on the track. I absent-mindedly hit it, and the resulting explosion doubles my speed, sending rocketing right towards the railing. I hastily turn the Spark Moon to the left to stay on the track. A chill goes down my spine; if I didn't have Captain Falcon's memory of this track, I would've crashed right through the railing and into the boiling magma below. My amateur mistake has put Deathborn in front, and I inwardly curse. But all is not lost, this is only the first lap out of three, so I have plenty of time to catch up.

Unfortunately, this is much easier said than done. Captain Falcon's experience can only help me so much since he's only raced on this track once, and there was no telling how many times Deathborn has practiced here. With each turn I take, Deathborn inches ahead little by little. And the track has a great deal of winding twists and turns; it seems even more complex then it looked when I arrived, even more so than the Spiral track that was destroyed a couple of days ago, and that's saying something. I'm able to draw from Falcon's and Princia's experience enough to keep the Dark Schneider in sight, but I can't catch up with it and it just keeps getting further away…

This isn't helped by the magma that has found its way onto some parts of the track, which Falcon immediately informs me is bad news. I have to engage the side-boosters to move around it without turning and losing speed. It gives my reflexes the ultimate test. Of course there are shimmering, indigo "pit strips" on some sections of the track that repair the Spark Moon as I drive over then, but I need to conserve as much of the machine's stamina as possible for when I complete the first lap.

And when I finally do complete the first lap, Deathborn's machine far down the track already. Regardless, I engage the boost in an attempt to gain ground. I'm starting to get annoyed. I need to try something other than simple racing skills if I'm going to win this race and save Princia. This is a time where I really need to ask myself, "What would Captain Falcon do?" The answer I get is to boost into a mine… were the transfer of thought patterns not almost instantaneous, I would've screamed "WHAT!?" But I understand his plan. Once I get to a suitable part of the track, I fire the boosters and drive straight into a mine. The result is that I go flying over the railing…

But not into a magma pool. I land on a lower part of the track, having skipped a section the course and wind up ramming the Dark Schneider upon landing. I don't wait around to see the result, I turn in the direction I'm supposed to drive and hit the boosters like there's no tomorrow. If only the F-Zero machine's stamina wasn't decreased with each boost… but this problem was remedied with a pit strip. But when one problem is solved, another arises. It's not as if I'm the only one who can use the pit strips, as is evidenced by the Dark Schneider approaching from behind like a rocket. He can't be happy.

For a good amount of the race from this point on, Deathborn seems intent on destroying the Spark Moon whether than just winning the race. I have to slow down, speed up, and drive all over the place to avoid the frantic side and spin attacks from him, but I still press on. I enter the third lap and pray that there's another mine I can use to do that trick again; I'm lucky I made it a point to avoid them at all costs so I wouldn't wreck the machine before, because that means there are plenty to use. Anything to get me away from this cyborg dead-set on my demise; I boost into another mine and get onto the same section of track as before. I don't see him doing the same thing, meaning he is either backtracking to prepare for it or going along the track normally. I highly suspect the former, so I put the pedal to the metal, so to speak.

I use every bit of boosting energy I safely can on this final lap, wanting to keep away from Deathborn as much as possible. Not just because he was trying to kill me, but if he were to pass me now, I don't think I'd be able to catch up. Alarm sirens are blaring all around me except for brief moments for when I'm driving on, or have just recently drove off of, a pit strip. I put it in the back of my mind, knowing that I have to win this race at all costs.

When I cross the finish line, I feel relief like you couldn't believe. The race is done and over with… I slump into the pilot's chair, having come down from an adrenaline rush I didn't know I was having. I can no longer hear Falcon's or Princia's voices in my head, but Mewtwo's is still there. "Well done, Lucas." I can feel a bit of his own smugness behind his words…

I blink, finding it somewhat hard to believe what he just "said." Well done? It takes me a minute to realize that I had actually won the race… and it takes me another minute to even really believe it. I actually won an F-Zero race…

I don't even have a second to revel in my victory. A strong surge of malice draws my attention to the Dark Schneider, approaching from far down the track. Deathborn is driving right towards me, and a trigger of the machine's boosters – indicated by a brief, bright light from behind the machine – tells me he has no plans to stop. Panic fills me; I won't be able to get the Spark Moon out of the way in time. With no other options, I open the cockpit and leap out just a second before the Dark Schneider spin attacks it from under me. I look on in slight horror as Princia's machine, having already taken a great deal of punishment, bounces and crashes along the track and ultimately explodes in a fireball.

I feel a sudden darkness coming up from my own heart at the sight of it… that machine… it wasn't mine, but it belonged to my friend… racing was pretty much everything to Princia, the only thing close to freedom she had…

"Holy crap! Talk about a sore loser!" I hear Ness yell as he walks up beside me. Other sets of footsteps from behind me indicate that the others are flanking me too.

The Dark Schneider turns around, facing me. I can't see into the cockpit of the scorched machine, but I can still feel Deathborn's hatred. His is nothing compared to mine. The Spark Moon, the ability for Princia to race, was one of her favorite things for one very good reason: freedom. Deathborn had just destroyed that freedom… and he was going to pay for it. He was going to pay for everything he'd put Princia and I through. "If no one minds, I'd like to do the honours…" I tell my companions. I hear them back of wisely, and I start to charge up my PSI. The machine starts charging at me. "PK…" I wait until it's right in front of me. "LOVE!"

I thrust my hands forward and let loose an explosion of bright-green PSI energy, and my vision is quickly obscured by smoke. I don't know what became of Deathborn yet, but I haven't been run down by his machine, which is a good sign. When the smoke clears away, I see the flaming, mangled wreckage of the Dark Schneider just a couple of inches in front of me. Silence prevails for a moment as I look at the wreckage, until it finally moves. Deathborn's purple-gloved hand bursts out from it and plants itself down on the ground so he can pull himself out, and when he succeeds, I can see that he isn't in good shape. His clothing is torn up in numerous places, exposing some of the mechanics, wires and hydraulics that make up most of his body. He looks up at me, not out of fear or regret… but I can see defiance and rage in his eyes.

I growl and charge up PSI in my hand. "This is for hurting Princia." I mutter before bringing my hand back and then thrusting it forward into Deathborn's head, leaving a nice new crack in the glass that protects his blue brain. He slumps down to the ground, unconscious. My hand is throbbing from the impact… but being able to do that myself was so satisfying that I don't care. I can only imagine how good it would feel to tear him apart limb from limb, but I decided not to make a spectacle of myself any more in front of my friends.

"I wish I could've done that…" I spin around hurriedly upon hearing that voice. I see Princia no longer on that pillar jutting out of the lava, but in front of me having been carried here by that creature that was threatening her before. Now I can see that it was a small, black-coloured gargoyle with yellow eyes holding a hunting knife. Happiness consumes me as I see her alive and well…

But that happiness is replaced with horror when I see a savage glee on the gargoyle's face as it raises the knife above Princia's head. Its skin has turned blue and its eyes red, but I don't have time to ponder this nor to tell her about the danger about to befall her. I rush to her and tackle her out of the way… but I'm not so fortunate. I cry out in agony as a staggering, blinding pain pulses from my back. I fall to the ground on top of Princia, who shrieks in terror. I hear the shocked yells of my friends as they try to rush to my aid, but the little fiend gets to do more damage to me before they reach me. I can feel the knife cutting upwards and over my left shoulder before someone knocks the thing and its weapon away. Being a selfless fool, I open my eyes through the pain to see if Princia is alright. She doesn't appear to have any wounds, but some of my blood has found its way onto her body…

Blood...

I quickly jump off of her with a shriek as the painful memories of blood, gore and destruction rapidly resurface. It's happening again… that bloodlust is returning… and at such a time! I can't very well dispel random PSI attacks in Hell, or I could attract trouble of all shapes in sizes… but I have to wonder what the blood of demons would look like… or maybe I should go and tear up Deathborn to see if there's any human parts of him left… NO! I could put my friends in danger… but… I want to… I… want to…

I grasp both sides of my head tightly, the pain in my back and shoulder starting to take a backseat; now my head is throbbing, like it's splitting in half… I feel a quick impact on my forehead before the pain subsides and I slip away into unconsciousness…