==Lap 20=

Chiya roamed the hallway of the base with an overjoyed smile. Earl had installed every necessary part for her F-Zero machine, now all that remained to install was a combat module. The Grand Prix was already half way through and everything seemed to be going positive. Neither gang was making progress in the gang war, her machine was almost competition worthy, and Seppuku still had the possibility of placing 1st overall in the Grand Prix.. Chiya was praying that she would not run into further predicaments until her shoulder healed. She was lucky in the sense that the bullet failed to penetrate through her bone, and thus, not even a cast was needed to support her arm. She took a deep flesh wound.

The gleeful woman twirled past her room and continued down the hallway with no specific direction. Compared to the previous day, she was in a great mood. Even if the F-Zero committee rejected her plea to join the Grand Prix, she couldn't be upset. She owned a working F-Zero machine and could call herself an F-Zero pilot with pride.

While spinning, Chiya took note of something somewhat surprising to her; there was a door she had yet to enter—even though it was across from her room. The question was raised as to whether she should enter, for this was a room she had not been told about.

There was a feeling of lacking significance while staring at the door, yet, she found herself turning the doorknob. After entering the dark room and turning on the lights, a bedroom was unveiled. The first thing that shocked her was how much more clean and organized this was than her own. One of the first things she noticed was that the room contained many expensive antique possessions, some military uniforms were hanging to her left. Close observation of the uniform revealed a sewn patch featuring Manchuria and the Korean peninsula. Behind the two land masses were angel wings. The patch had a title, but it was written in Korean.

She walked toward the bed while holding her chin, trying to figure out who's room she was in. "This must be Seppuku's bedroom…"

Seppuku walked down the hallway and noticed that the door was open. He stomped his foot down and marched into the room, "Dammit, Bendek! I told you to work on-"

Chiya, very alert, spun around, "Earl?"

The tall man was surprised to see her here, "Oh, it's you. Snooping around, as usual. Don't you have anything better you could be doing?"

"I could help Earl with the Red Dove," she proposed.

"No, you distract Bendek way too much."

Chiya dipped her head down and frowned. She gathered from this accusation that she bugged Earl too much. The truth of the matter was that she understood and accepted that she always wanted to be near Earl, but had a hard time controlling herself. She continued to contemplate on what to do.

"I don't know what to do. I'm just killing time until tomorrow's race."

Seppuku sent her a menacing look with crossed arms, "Both you and Bendek will be sneaking guns in this time."

"What's the point? The committee won't allow violence."

"The Lightning Area is filled to the brim with crime. There's no way in Hell I'm letting you two go in there without protection."

"Do we have to worry about having another confrontation at the track?"

Seppuku shook his head, "You two? No. But I've earned myself a few enemies now. Goroh and Blood Falcon may try picking a fight with me after what I pulled."

"Do you think you could beat them?"

The man took a few moments to think before smirking, "Sand Ocean wasn't representative of my usual toughness. This time, I'll make a pretzel out of the two."

All of a sudden, the two were surprised to hear the hallway door open. The sound of approaching footsteps could be heard. Seppuku raised an eyebrow while looking at the door in anger.

"Oh for the- Why is Bendek not working?"

Chiya glared at him for asking such a question, finding that he was treating Earl like some kind of slave. To Chiya, Earl was an amazing man for his team devotion and rational thinking; but Seppuku implementing a very harsh authoritarian style of getting work done. Work whenever possible or face punishment was the Seppuku way.

The footsteps were coming closer and an irate Man of Darkness walked toward the door with the intention of lecturing Earl. Upon reaching the door, however, he made a shocking discovery. This was not Earl. Standing before him was a tall muscular man wearing a muscle shirt and the Bloody Chain insignia. The jaws of both men dropped before Seppuku tackled the intruder. Chiya ran to the door and covered her mouth in absolute amazement, she could feel her heart beat at a rapid pace.

Seppuku was wrestling the goon for his shotgun, "How did you find this place!?" he demanded.

The Bloody Chain gangster did not respond, he was focusing on keeping hold of the shotgun. Chiya leapt out the door with her handgun, but instead of shooting the intruder, used her new taser attachment. A bright blue bolt fired off her gun and sent the gangster paralyzed with many blue electric bolts. Seppuku grabbed the shotgun and stood tall over the man. Chiya took aim at the gangster's skull.

"D- Do I kill him!?" she asked frantically.

"No!" shouted Seppuku. Chiya widened her eyes at Seppuku's rare moment of mercy. "You'll get blood all over my floors!"

The Bloody Chain member remained on the floor panting after his shocking encounter with Chiya's taser. Seppuku pinned the man down by placing a foot over the man's wrist.

For the second time, the demand was issued, "How did you find us?"

"Jody Summer... I saw her F-Zero machine here last night..."

Seppuku growled, "That damn bat. She just ha—ad to park in front of the base..."

The Mysterian glared at the gangster, "You're not going to kill Seppuku that easily!"

Seppuku affirmed this with a nod, the goon responded with a laugh. "Michael Chain didn't send us to hunt Seppuku, it would be suicide fighting him in his own base."

Seppuku raised both brows in shock, "What are you doing here, then?"

The goon threw his arm up into the air and pointed at Chiya, "He ordered us to capture the girl."

Gasps were expressed by both Chiya and Seppuku. Chiya widened her eyes in absolute shock. "M- Me? Why!?"

The goon beat against his chest, "I would never betray the Bloody Chain…"

Seppuku shot him in the face, killing him on the spot. Chiya had jumped far back the moment he fired and had now opened her envelope of fear. Seppuku felt provoked by his intention to capture Chiya, not caring that he had now made a mess on his own floor. Chiya looked up at him with a puzzled face, confused as to why he had a sudden change of heart toward the criminal.

"Shouldn't we have interrogated him or something along those lines?"

Seppuku clenched his fists while grinding his teeth, "We're out of time…" Chiya was startled by this response. "The Bloody Chain now know where we operate. It's only a matter of time before they decide to swarm this building by the hundreds..."

Chiya gasped, realizing the pressure they now had. Seppuku was correct; if the Bloody Chain knew the location of their base, nothing would stop Michael Chain from sending a few hundred gang members to assault the base. They were running out of time. Chiya began to bite on her finger while fretting over the situation, the only good news was that Red Star, in all likeliness, didn't have this information, yet.

The Man of Darkness grasped his face and made various disgruntled sounds, "We've run out of time. We're gonna have to push the envelope..."

Chiya remained still with a loyal expression, "What do we do?"

Seppuku rubbed his hands together, "Right after this next race, we need to attack the heart of the Bloody Chain and kill Chain."

For once, Chiya nodded in heavy approval of the plan to resolve issues through violence. She gave Michael Chain a chance to live, and in return, he ordered his men to find and capture her. As risky as fighting the Bloody Chain head on was, it was the best action they could take at a time like this. The threatening part of the operation was that the Bloody Chain had almost a thousand members. Coming out of the Bloody Chain HQ untouched seemed improbable. Seppuku soon walked away from Chiya and went toward his office. The gang war was about to get much hotter.

"Flower, go get Bendek."

Chiya nodded and began to tremble. She was wondering how anyone would be able to sleep knowing that an attack could be staged at any moment. Chiya walked down the hallway with her handgun ready to fire.

Chiya and Earl soon found themselves together in Seppuku's office. Both were awaiting orders as Seppuku gave both a solid gaze. He was tapping his fingers down on his desk in frustration.

"Alright, I know this is going to bug Flower, but..." Chiya glared at him, "The only way to ensure our safety for the night is by staying on guard—all night."

Chiya gasped and got a troubled look on her face, "All night? I can't do that!"

"So you would rather run the risk of Chain's men charging into your room as you sleep?"

The woman's eyes widened after considering this, she was quick to change her mind, "You make a good point."

Earl pointed forward, "What part of the base will you be watching over?"

"My bed."

Both Chiya and Earl appeared bothered by this, "What..?" both complained.

Seppuku shrugged, "Okay, I actually mean my desk. I don't sleep in a bed." He clapped his hands together and quirked his mouth, "My point being; If I don't sleep well tonight, I'll flunk the race tomorrow."

Chiya was not pleased with this plan, but had to agree with him. If Seppuku wasn't well rested, he would be unable to concentrate on the race. As of this moment, he was doing good in the Grand Prix and had a good shot at winning the one billion credits. It was within the interest of the whole team that Seppuku continues to win races.

"That's not fair," Earl complained.

But Chiya had a different thought process, "Fine, we'll watch the base for you."

Earl glanced at Chiya with a surprised face. For once she agreed with Seppuku, no questions asked. Seppuku grinned at Chiya and nodded with respect, Earl soon gave up and nodded at his orders.

Seppuku sat back and went on to explain his plan. "As soon as this race is over, we're going to throw ourselves at the Bloody Chain," he rubbed his forehead and sighed, "We're out of options…"

"Th- That's suicide," Earl argued.

The three couldn't stay on guard every single night until a better opportunity arrived, action had to be taken. Chiya knew this to be true, but Earl was having a hard time grasping the entirety of the situation. Seppuku wiped his forehead in frustration, he was showing much more concern than usual. Both Chiya and Earl understood that if Seppuku was showing doubt for a mission, that meant someone could very well die.

All three were silent, the fear of attacking the Bloody Chain was all around the room. Chiya and Earl were fearing for their lives, while Seppuku was more so angry at the desperate situation they found themselves in. He looked up and held the rim of his fedora with a look of doubt.

"If I die in the mission, you two are to retreat and take the two F-Zero machines. Leave this base for good." Both his associates were stunned by his doubt for survival, he was sitting without motion, "If I die, they win. You two will need to reorganize and continue this operation elsewhere. I recommend the Upper City."

Chiya rejected this by shaking her head, "Y- You won't die Seppuku, you can't die!"

Seppuku struck his fist down, "Idiot, what do you think I am, the Red Dove?"

Chiya and Earl exchanged brief glances at the mentioning of the Dark Million bird, but both were too concentrated with the situation at hand. The reality of Seppuku dying so early in life was unbearable for Chiya, not to mention she and Earl were at equal risk of getting killed.

Seppuku pointed at Earl, "You'll be the new leader if I die."

"No way! I'm not bearing that responsibility. If you're out, I'm done."

Seppuku took this response as both hostile and offensive. He gave Chiya a menacing stare, "I presume cower away as well?"

There was hesitance in her response, but she spoke her mind. "If Earl quits, I'm going to take my F-Zero machine and work on becoming an F-Zero racer."

Seppuku sighed at the two and spun his chair around so that he could not be seen.

"You two disappoint me." The room became quiet, Seppuku showed great disinterest in continuing the conversation. "Get out, the both of you. You have your orders. Either stay up and watch over the base, or cower out and leave me to fight alone. The choice is yours..."

Chiya lowered her eyebrows and reached forward, "Seppuku, it's not-"

The Man of Darkness launched himself out of his seat, grabbed a glass cup on his desk, and chucked it at the wall. It shattered into hundreds of small fragments.

"Get out!"

Chiya and Earl honored his order and rushed out the office together. Earl closed the door and moved down the hallway with Chiya. She appeared distraught after their conversation with Seppuku, he seemed very set on the idea that he would be killed, but for some reason expected his companions to survive.

"Earl, you should have at least lied and told him that you'd take over as leader..."

"Chi', I don't have the first clue on how I would go about running an illegal vigilante group. I engineer things, not fight crime. In fact, I don't kill; I don't condone killing."

Chiya swatted her arms against her waist. She was irritated by Earl, but couldn't find the strength to yell at him; not after all he has done for her. She exhaled to try and let out stress. Earl rubbed his forehead in a bid to calm down as well.

Earl sighed and looked down at the floor, "You mentioned that you'd leave only if I did?"

Chiya clenched her fists angrily, then surprised Earl by blushing, "O- Of course…" she admitted in a soft tone. Earl raised an eyebrow at her, flattered by her intentions of staying on his behalf. "I would leave the Lower City if you left, because, I would be alone again…"

"Again?"

"Seppuku's insane and has almost gotten me- us killed several times…" Chiya dipped her head down with an immense frown, "Yet, being here has brought some of the happiest moments in my entire life."

Earl had a surprised look on his face, the idea that Chiya actually enjoyed living in the dark base was beyond shocking. "What about your planet, Mysteria?"

Chiya shot him a disturbed expression, "I can't go back!" she panicked out of nowhere. Earl widened his eyes at her critical response, she hadn't answered his question at all. "I don't talk about that. I like to cast my memories there aside, as if I never even lived there."

The woman's frustration was very visible to Earl, she had started the day happy and gleeful, but was once again in a depressed state. The two entered the lobby, where Earl clenched his fists and looked into Chiya's eyes. She looked deep into his soul for a few seconds, then looked away. He now grinned with the desire to keep her happy.

"If Seppuku dies, you and I can save up for a place in the Upper City. We can start over from there. Except I'll run this organization in a different way than Seppuku has."

Chiya looked up and smiled, then closed her eyes, "Good. To be honest, I don't know where I would have gone…"

"Don't worry, though. Seppuku won't die, none of us will…"

Hours later, Seppuku was sleeping in his desk. It was far past midnight, Chiya and Earl had resorted to sitting down in the dark lobby with their guns ready. As Seppuku had guessed, Chiya was the weakest of the two and was ready to collapse out of exhaustion. Both had talked about casual things throughout the night and were now sitting still waiting for a situation to break out.

Earl pushed his thumbs together and glanced at Chiya, after making eye contact, he smiled, "So—o, what drove your interest in engines? Why engines?"

"Because I grasped the concept with ease and..." She quirked her mouth and sighed, "I had a lot of experience growing up in engines. My father assigned me to work on the engines of cars we fixed."

"Your dad was a mechanic?"

Chiya giggled, "No, no. He was a politician." Earl raised both his eyebrows in shock. Since Mysteria was, for the most part, a single-party planet, this confirmed that Chiya's father was either a socialist or communist politician. "But, you know, we did whatever we could to make the extra money. If someone needed their car fixed, our family acted as a team and got it done."

"So, you like working with engines because it reminds you of your father?" The woman lowered her eyelids and nodded without a response. She was then surprised to find his hand over hers. "That's interesting, I really like that."

Chiya looked back and forth between him and their hands. Earl noticed her constant head turning, and thus retracted his hand. Chiya then cleared her throat and rolled her eyes up toward the ceiling.

"I suppose my disability may also play a role in my love for engines."

This caused Earl to widen his eyes again, "Disability?"

She nodded, "I have autism."

Earl grunted and faced her with a surprised face, "You're autistic?"

"I have an obsessive behavior when it comes to things I love. Cats, food, F-Zero; things I love, I'll always want to be around, talk about, and so on."

The man was left scratching his chin and looking deep into her eyes. This time she remained staring at him. "Autism, huh..?" He chuckled and shrugged. "Truth be told, I would have never guessed unless you told me."

The Mysterian beamed and put her hands together, she was excited knowing that he accepted and tolerated this. But she didn't feel comfortable delving further into this, for she feared that he would treat her different, otherwise.

Chiya looked away and asked, "So, Seppuku was a soldier? Did he fight in any wars?"

"Soldier? Where'd you hear that?"

"I found some uniforms in his bedroom."

Earl widened his eyes upon hearing this, then looked down and grinned, "My bedroom," he corrected.

Chiya faced him with a questioning look, she then realized that it wasn't Seppuku's bedroom situated across from hers, rather, it was Earl's.

"Oh, I'm sorry! I was beginning to think that you just slept in the garage."

Earl nodded, understanding the misconception, "I wasn't a soldier, though. I was…" He hesitated to answer, but already grabbed Chiya's full attention. "I was a combat engineer..." he soon answered.

"So were you in any wars?"

He nodded, "I fought against a Manchu uprising wanting independence from Korea. They wanted to merge with the United Powers, but we didn't let them…"

Chiya laughed silently as she fought to keep her eyes open, "I have no clue what you're talking about. What's a Manchu?"

The man stretched and prepared to explain, "Well, you see. A long time ago, a communist dictatorship—much like Mysteria—was situated in the northern part of Korea. Before Earth began to unify, they managed to purchase the Chinese region called 'Manchuria'. Not long after, the southern part of Korea unified with the north. So, Korea encompassed both the peninsula and Manchurian land to the north. A few years ago, the Manchu arose in rebellion, seeking to separate Manchuria from Korea."

Chiya's eyes were spinning in utter confusion, "Uh, okay, hold on. What does Chinese mean, where is Korea and Manchuria, and what is the United Powers?"

Earl laughed, "Doesn't matter, let me answer that last one. The United Powers make up 95% of Earth. Korea and Japan are the last remaining independent nations, mostly for reasons pertaining to F-Zero." Chiya nodded with her eyes closed, she was trying to understand what he was saying. Earl shrugged, "I never got to see any combat, I just fixed tanks. I only volunteered because working as an engineer in war would make me look good when applying for a job. Plus, it gave me free tuition for college."

"And in the end, you ended up here..." she spoke in a dull tone.

"I guess you could say it like that, but this job isn't bad. I get paid a lot while protecting the people of the Lower City from gangs." He brushed her cheek and winked, "Plus, I get to see you every day."

Chiya crossed her arms and pouted in anger, "Except you're treated like a slave."

"Not really, he would treat anyone the same way. For some reason he's a lot less strict on you."

Chiya's eyes then shot open, "Oh God! You don't think he's in love with me, do you!?" she panicked.

Earl's immediate response was to laugh, finding her response so quick and judgmental toward Seppuku.

Chiya fell back against the wall again, taking his laughter as a way of saying 'no'.

Earl became silent again and took a brief moment to reminisce his past experiences with Seppuku before Chiya came along. "I've said it before but I'll say it again. Seppuku is weird, but has good intentions. If he could change the world in his image, I'm sure he would turn it into a perfect crime free place, while ruining Jody and Captain Falcon's career while he's at it…" Earl nodded to himself, "If I had to guess, I bet that he expects us to stay in the back during this mission against the Bloody Chain. I bet he intends on doing most of the work himself, just to keep us safe, knowing that we're the only family he has."

He waited for a response, but was not given one. Soon, he looked down at Chiya and gasped; for she had fallen asleep.

Earl glared at her, "Dammit, I'm going to have to repeat all of that?"

Chiya did not awaken, she departed into a deep slumber. The Mysterian wasn't used to staying up at such a late time. Earl patted her cheeks in an attempt to wake her up, but she showed no intentions of waking up anytime soon. Earl sighed and looked down at the floor, it was early in the morning and not a single gangster had shown up.

"I was hoping you were more of the party type…" Earl admitted to the sleeping Chiya.

He rubbed his eyes while shaking her arm more harder, but he only got frustrated mumbling from her. Earl realized that she was done for. Even if he had gotten her to wake up, she would just be a tired drag and of little help. Earl rubbed his forehead while contemplating to do something that may bother her. He nodded to himself and, with great caution, wrapped his arms around her. He proceeded to lift her up. Her eyes opened into small uneven slits, but she wasn't conscious enough to think with a clear mind.

Earl exited the lobby and walked down the hallway with Chiya secured in his arms. Chiya closed her eyes again and rested her face against his arm; she appeared to accept him carrying her, for she reverted back to a calm slumber. He opened the door to her bedroom and set her down on the bed. After stripping her boots off, he lifted her head up and moved her pillow into a comfortable position. He grabbed her feet and put them together, forced her hands together, and ended the night by tucking her in.

The man chuckled, wondering how he managed to do this without waking her up. He equipped his handgun and walked out of the bedroom, back to the lobby. Earl didn't believe that any attack would be coming, but was prepared to take the risk of defending the base on his own if one were to come. Though he seemed set on the idea that everything would work out, he had to wonder if this was the last night he would ever talk to Chiya and Seppuku.

To be Continued!