==Lap 33=

The day had finally ended. Chiya, Earl, and Seppuku were together in the ship once again, Seppuku being there merely because of the fact that he burned the Red Light District away. Fortunately for Chiya, she had only been a slave to Vax's pimp, Sarge, for a short while. Overall, no damage had been done to her; if anything, all that came out of the experience was shaved legs and intense romantic action with Earl.

The two were now in bed together practically repeating what had been done in Vax's compound. Earl and Chiya were holding each other under their blankets while sharing lips. Chiya was now in her nightgown and showered off after a sweat inducing day. Earl was rubbing his hand around her constantly as they enjoyed the night together.

Earl backed away from her and dipped his head down after exhaling, "God, I'm just so relieved that you're okay."

Chiya returned a challenging look, "Well, even if someone were to pay for me, I wasn't going to let them have me without a fight."

He put his chin over her shoulder and hugged her more tightly, "It's days like these where I feel like a failure most. I'm supposed to protect my home, family, and those I love. I didn't do any of that today…"

His chin was lifted up by Chiya, she had a puzzled smirk, "What are you talking about? You saved me today."

"Barely…" he responded in a sullen tone.

Earl brought his head down into the pillow and sighed, Chiya grasped her waist with puckered lips, "What are you so worked up about? I'm fine."

"I know, I just wish I could always be there to protect you. During the Grand Prix anything could happen to you, and I can't do anything about it."

"I don't need protection in the Grand Prix, Earl. Grand Prix is my game, I know the ins and outs better than most people," she pointed at him firmly, "If you were a new racer, I would be the one protecting you."

Earl smiled and closed his eyes, "I guess I shouldn't be too worried, besides, you have Seppuku watching over you on the track."

"And Captain Falcon!" she responded excitedly. Earl's eyes opened after hearing this, Chiya raised her foot into the air proudly, "Not many people can say that they know Captain Falcon personally…"

Chiya continued to stare at Earl happily, he turned his head away from her and groaned. She brought her foot down and raised an eyebrow at Earl. He now appeared even more glum.

"Hey, didn't you hear me? Seppuku and Captain Falcon's got my back. You don't need to worry about me, just focus on helping me earn the gold!"

A tear dripped down Earl's shut eye, but he was refusing to reveal this to Chiya, "Yeah…"

"Of course, I'll need to really step up my game tomorrow. Now I have Blood Falcon, Princia, Goroh, and possibly Guster out to get me."

Earl wiped his tear away and turned towards her with a smile, "Well, I have confidence in you. You had complete control over the first race, I'm sure you'll honor everyone with a similar performance tomorrow."

"I don't mean to boast, but I'm starting to agree with everyone. I feel like I just may be the new Captain Falcon on the circuit!" Earl's smile faded away once more, "Move aside, Falcon! That Model Racer title is as good as mine!"

And so the two had fallen asleep. Seppuku remained in his quarters reading up on a book, while Earl and Chiya rested for the race. The interior of the ship was pitch black, and only the sound of the ship's AC could be heard. The two lovers remained tucked softly under their blankets. The look on Chiya's unconscious face was that of great excitement, one that appeared to seek adventure. Every race she entered was a new adventure to her, so waking up and hitting the racetrack was all she could possibly dream about. Earl, on the other hand, was not enjoying his slumber.

Earl tossed and turned in bed with a frantic expression. He was constantly grunting, gasping, and whimpering in his sleep. As if the thought of being unable to protect Chiya wasn't stressful enough, Earl suddenly found himself trapped in the web that would never truly disappear. The Web of Guilt.

In Earl's dream, he found himself standing in a very familiar environment. He was beside Chiya inside Vax's compound holding a gun. Earl was distraught, the world was black and white, the only color visible was red. The world was much darker feeling than reality, as if he were in Hell. The sky outside of the building was completely blood red, and the moon shined a bright pinkish color.

Earl was trembling greatly, his aim was centered on the same two pimps he had killed while searching for a hat. Chiya stood closely behind him, waiting for the shots to be taken on the pimps. Earl's eyes were quivering fearfully as he stared at the two men. They were defenseless and merely chatting with each other, as they were in reality. This time, Earl's heart was in a different place. He was resisting the urge to pull the trigger, finding no reason to end the life of two men he doesn't know. He began to hyperventilate softly, despite how hard he tried, he couldn't manage to lower his weapon. Chiya was shaking her fists excitedly, almost evilly, as she anxiously waited for the blood of the pimps to spill.

His gun continued to shake wildly, he was trying everything in his power to stop himself, keep himself from killing. He shut his eyes tightly and grinded his teeth.

"God dammit, stop it!" he demanded aloud.

His heart began to beat wildly, and his finger began to push against the trigger. He opened his eyes and grunted more, his finger was now trembling. Stop it, stop it… He began to hyperventilate more heavily. They didn't do anything to us..! His hyperventilation became rapid, and finally, his finger pressed down on the trigger beyond his control.

In slow motion, the bullet from his gun soared through the air, without knowing what hit him, the pimp's throat was completely mutilated by the sharp bullet. A massive amount of dark blood spewed out the back of the pimp into the air, Earl's eyes were watering as he watched this. The other pimp slowly looked over at Earl with a frightened expression, but before he could plea for mercy, Earl took an uncontrollable shot towards him as well. The pimp was hit between the eyes and immediately spewed blood out of his mouth, he hit the floor roughly.

Earl swallowed with a dumbfounded expression. His eyes continued to water up greatly. He turned his head and grunted as Chiya merely walked towards the bodies with her fists tightly clenched.

"Chiya!" he shouted.

She didn't respond, she merely approached a body and kicked it roughly in the head. She then grasped her waist and gave Earl a thumbs up.

Earl closed his eyes tightly and dropped the gun. He grasped his forehead and barred his teeth in great frustration.

"Dammit, why did I do that!?" he panicked aloud.

Even with his eyes closed, he was forced to observe horrible images. The very dark and cryptic images of innocent Manchurians screaming clouded his mind. He began to whimper loudly and shake negatively. A specific image of a mother and child screaming violently struck his mind. It wasn't my fault, I was too young..! These images wouldn't leave his head. He was forced to view these fake images of Manchurians suffering and panicking as a tower collapsed over their heads. Killing is bad, I know this, I didn't want to kill them. I didn't mean to kill all of those people..!

Chiya opened her eyes and gasped slightly. She turned her head and covered her mouth in awe, Earl was constantly swinging his hands into the air, his forehead was very sweaty.

"Earl!?"

Earl began to hyperventilate loudly while swinging, "I don't want to go to Hell! I don't want to suffer!"

Chiya gasped and immediately grabbed his shoulders, "Earl!" she shouted while shaking him. Earl continued to hyperventilate loudly while sweating, "Earl, snap out of it! It's just a dream, wake up!"

Earl was fortunately freed from this terrible nightmare, he woke up gasping and flailing his arms in shock. Chiya was looking deep into his eyes with a very panicked look. Even after waking up, Earl continued to hyperventilate. His first reaction was to grasp his forehead and sit up.

"Oh my God, oh God…" he muttered faintly.

"Earl! What the bloody Hell is wrong!?"

He dipped his head down and closed his eyes tightly, "They're dead, Chiya. We killed three of them!"

"What?"

"Why did we kill them!? Those pimps!"

Chiya lowered her eyebrows in confusion, but momentarily caught on to what he was panicking about, "Uh, who cares. They were in our way."

Chiya was even more disturbed to see begin to cry, he covered his face up and shook his head wildly, "That's what I thought in the Korean Civil War…" he moved his fingers aside, revealing very widened eyes, "Shoot first, ask later. That tower was an obstacle in my mission, so I brought it down. And in return, countless families were broken apart!"

"Earl…"

He continued to shake negatively, "What's an apology really worth, anyways? Yeah, I spoke my mind to the Manchurians. But that doesn't bring back the mothers, fathers, children..!"

Chiya finally turned on the lamp and returned a very serious look, "Earl, that was a long time ago!"

"There's no expiration date for my sins. I've committed murder all my life, and I'm going to pay the ultimate price for it eventually, I just know it…"

Chiya slightly shoved him back down onto his pillow, he continued to whimper and tremble in shock. She grabbed a tissue from the drawer next to the bed and grabbed Earl's face, she proceeded to wipe his forehead off. Earl continued to hyperventilate softly, but he finally settled down and glanced over at Chiya.

"It's over, Earl. We won't kill anymore, no one else needs to die ever again…" he swallowed and nodded somewhat, "Killing those pimps was necessary to free all of those captive women. We had no choice. Not to mention, one of them was about to shoot us."

"…the Manchurians…"

"Forget about the bloody Manchurians! That's over with! Mistakes were made, but the Manchurian people will recover…" she pointed at him, "If you want someone to blame for that fateful day, blame the guys who started the war, or something…"

Earl exhaled loudly and closed his eyes, "But none of this makes sense…" he opened his eyes slightly, "Why would God reward me with such a great life, if all I've done throughout my life is end the lives of others..?"

Chiya finished wiping his forehead and shrugged, "Dunno! That's the mystery of life!" she patted his cheek and exhaled with a slight smile, "Look, just be thankful. Maybe you're destined for greater things, perhaps that's why you've been spared."

Earl sniffled and nodded, "You're right. Perhaps I'm kept around still merely so I can protect you…"

Chiya turned the lamp off once more and yawned, "Just, try and think about nice things. Think about lying naked in a field with fuzzy cats crawling all over your body."

Earl smiled and rested his head once more, "You're right-" he puckered his lips, "Wait, what?"

The F-Zero TV logo began to flash wildly, followed by the bold words 'Pre-Race Chatroom'. The day was here at last, Chiya had won the first race, and now she was looking for a second win. Chiya wasn't the only one who was optimistic about her winning, much of the F-Zero committee was gambling on her, along with a great portion of the F-Zero fan base. With one victory out of the possible five, Chiya still had many opportunities to bounce back if she were to fall behind in the rankings. Falling behind, however, was the one thing Chiya didn't plan on doing.

A group of men were sitting at a table once again. Several screens behind them were showing video clips of past F-Zero races, most of which were focused on Captain Falcon. One of the well dressed men put his fingers together with an excited grin.

"Today we're brought to Port Town, one of the original homes to F-Zero. Chiya Flower currently holds first with an easy one-hundred points, someone who was a rookie not too long ago."

"Chiya Flower has likely been the most successful rookie to have ever entered F-Zero. The Grand Prix was certainly hers for the taking last year, but she was betrayed by Lieutenant Seppuku, who was on friendly terms with her at the time."

"Man, imagine, Chiya Flower was a rookie at that time. She could've made F-Zero history had she crossed that finish line."

Mr. Zero tugged on the collar of his shirt, "To be honest, I'm not surprised that Chiya took first place on Big Blue," everyone looked over at him, "This isn't your average egoistic racer. Chiya Flower is a war planner. She keeps her machine at optimal condition, studies the track she races on, and keeps track of her friends and foes."

One man chuckled and crossed his arms, "She's launched herself up into the popularity chain. Many of these racers have been going at it for years, and in a mere year, Chiya has brought herself up into the top fifteen favorite racers."

"A Mysterian," one added.

"I know! The fact that someone from the most hated planet in the universe is becoming a common fan favorite is amazing. Especially, since she supports that trigger-happy planet!"

Mr. Zero nodded respectfully, "Quite the charming and admirable racer. Unfortunately, she'll get older one day and lose that bright and energetic person."

"I don't know what you guys are talking about. Chiya's a good racer, but she barely got past Mighty Gazelle. And Blood Falcon only fell behind because he was showing his moves, you feel me?"

"True, Chiya has had a history of non-violent rivalry with Mighty Gazelle. For reasons unknown, he's always dealt with by another racer whenever she finds herself in a frenzy with him. Despite that Mighty Gazelle trails her by a sliver of points, I think Chiya's got the leash on him."

"And finally, how about this Seppuku-Jody rivalry? Looks like Captain Falcon was getting softly aggressive with Jody, and Blood Falcon was hating on all three of them."

Mr. Zero shrugged, "I don't know what to tell you. Jody and Seppuku are both acting foolish. The three should merge together and fight the greater evil at hands, but for some reason, heroes are clashing. One thing is for certain, this rivalry won't end well…"

"I see. And how about the other twenty-four racers? What might James McCloud and Baba be up to?"

"No one cares about them."

The man puckered his lips in shock.

"Alright, then I think it's time to switch over to the commentators, as we prepare to kick off the second race of the annual Grand Prix!"

Chiya was sitting in her machine with a profound look of nervousness. She was in her personal garage in Port Town, awaiting for the signal to drive towards the starting line. Since she got first place, she would be the first to be called up to the starting line. Chiya adjusted her headset and brushed her hair back before starting her machine. As with every race, Chiya was wearing her black and blue racing attire.

"Does everything check out okay?" asked Earl.

Chiya examined her dashboard, then gave herself a thumbs up, "Everything looks to be in order."

The crowd was cheering loudly. Chiya was beyond nervous merely because of the fact that she and Earl were completely unfamiliar with the track's layout. Usually, Bart Lemming would have given them a detailed rundown of the track, but from here on out, they were in the dark.

"Alright, it looks like this track has some pretty constant jumps. On the map, I see several small platforms that you'll need to hop from. There's one large jump you'll have to use the airbrakes on. But this track appears to have a never ending series of small jumps."

"Boost pads?"

Earl took a few moments to respond, as he looked over the map for the installments of the track. Chiya bit her lip nervously and glanced outside once again.

"A lot of boost pads, but only one restoration pad right behind the starting line."

Chiya lowered her eyebrows and rubbed her chin while thinking, "So I'll need to play a conservative game…"

"Lastly, be careful of the many turns. The Purring Kitten is built for straight racing, not curvy situations. Consider converting power towards acceleration, rather than maximum speed."

Chiya swished her hand in the air and proudly chuckled, "The Purring Kitten was built for maximum speed, Earl. This is a legendary engine that can handle high degree heating, so of course I'm going to go with the maximum speed."

"Your call, I'm just laying out some suggestions."

"You just keep me posted with updates, statistics, and boost pad locations. Leave the racing to me."

Silence ensued after Chiya said this, Earl was slightly irritated that Chiya refused to have an open mind to such an important suggestion, but he would trust her none-the-less.

"At this time, all racers may start their engines!"

Chiya smirked and got a tight grip on her wheel, "Time to give these people the show they paid for!"

The crowd was cheering loudly, the stands were stacked with some of the greatest F-Zero fans in the universe. The surprising statistic, of course, was that only a small portion of the F-Zero fan base could actually get into one of these races. Most F-Zero fans watched from bars, restaurants, offices, and the typical homestead. Even someone as poor as Fiona Flower was able to watch-after the Mysterian government developed a military approved version of the race.

"Born on Mysteria, the charming and beloved, Chiya Flower!"

Earl grasped his waist firmly as the Purring Kitten came rushing down the track. The machine was offered much cheering and whistling, with some occasional booing from Blood Falcon and Samurai Goroh fans. Chiya waved to the cheering F-Zero fans proudly, once stopped at the starting line, she opened up her cockpit and took a bow. Earl smirked and proceeded to clap for her. As the cheering continued, Chiya became more sucked into the moment, as she now began to blow kisses.

Seppuku shook negatively from his cockpit as he watched the TV screen that was in the garage, "Such an attention slut."

Chiya soon began to jig around and dance, now clearly overdoing her entrance.

"The living machine, racer number one, Mighty Gazelle!"

The Red Gazelle drove up beside Chiya's machine. He had gained a bit more cheering than Chiya did, as to this day he was still one of the most beloved racers on the track. His decision to side with Dark Million for the final race the previous year had a slight negative impact on his popularity, however.

Mighty Gazelle turned his head and caught Chiya swinging her body around excitedly. She turned around, now swinging her rear constantly in his direction. Gazelle continued to stare at her as she swung her rear, his eyes than began to decrease in size. The numbers 'x6' appeared on his visor, then 'x12'.

"Damn," he commented robotically.

"The Princess of Magica, returning F-Zero racer, Princia Ramode!"

Chiya stopped dancing and turned her head with a fierce expression, the Spark Moon rushed down the track and got beside the Red Gazelle. Chiya narrowed her eyes and grasped her headset.

"Be right back…" she said before dropping the headset inside of the cockpit.

Princia unbuckled her seatbelt while humming a joyful tune, just before she could open her cockpit, Chiya began to pound on her window. The princess turned her head towards her and rolled her eyes. Chiya gasped angrily, then rolled her eyes as well. Princia opened her cockpit up and leapt off the body of her machine onto the ground.

"Can I help you?" she asked hostilely.

Chiya glared, "You're damn right you can help me!" she poked Princia in the belly, but this caused her to gasp loudly, Chiya grunted and took her finger out of Princia's bellybutton. She waved her finger around with a shy look, "Sorry, y- you're so tall. I didn't know that your bellybutton was-"

"Hey, sorry about what happened on Mysteria with the bombing and all of that."

Chiya raised her eyebrows in shock, "Oh?" she narrowed her eyes in suspicion, "You better not joke about that. That was a tragic event, I probably lost some old friends in that attack…"

Princia shook negatively, "Oh no, by all means. My heart goes out to the many who died in such a barbaric attack," Chiya smiled at her, Princia shrugged, "But I suppose any irrational human being might make a crude remark; like that the people of New Edinburgh are better off dead, not having to live under such tyranny any longer…"

Chiya's smile faded, she raised an eyebrow as she looked Princia in the eyes. For some reason, it took Chiya several moments to realize that Princia had just made this very rude remark. She glared heavily at Princia and raised her finger.

"Why, I oughta-"

The two were interrupted by the announcers loud speaker, "The living legend and icon of F-Zero…" Earl's eyes shot open upon hearing this, "Captain Falcon!"

Earl grunted and swished his head towards the garage area quickly, his eyes began to quiver upon seeing the shiny blue machine make its way down the track. Seppuku raised his eyebrows for a moment, but then lowered them again. Chiya turned towards the machine, she felt a heavy shock go down her spine. A massive frown momentarily overtook her as the Blue Falcon parked behind the Purring Kitten.

Earl grasped his forehead as his eyes continued to quiver. Chiya had quickly returned to the Purring Kitten to pick up her headset, she put it on her head for a moment and sighed loudly, her sigh was very unclear, as she tried very hard to keep herself from crying.

"Okay, this is it. I'm going to go tell Captain Falcon the bad news…"

Earl slowly looked down at the Blue Falcon, Captain Falcon had stepped out of his machine and surprisingly began to walk towards Chiya. Earl blinked a few times, wondering how this talk was going to go. Earl was only able to construct one simple response.

"Alright…"

Chiya tossed the headset back into her machine and began walking towards Captain Falcon, the two momentarily faced each other alone. Captain Falcon and Chiya Flower were alone together, a scenario Chiya had always dreamed of in high school. Now her dream meeting with Captain Falcon had become a reality, but she couldn't enjoy it.

Chiya raised her finger up as her eyes began to water greatly, "C- Captain Falcon…" she whimpered.

The tall man stood very still, a bland expression was on his face, much like Seppuku's usual look.

"Ms. Flower," he responded calmly.

Chiya gritted her teeth and closed her eyes, water began to spill out of her closed eyelids, "Captain Falcon, your good friend, Bart Lemming…" she slightly opened her eyes and looked up, "B- Bart is dead…"

A cold silence ensued, Chiya immediately began to cry softly. She presumed that the hurt feelings were over with now that days had passed, but unfortunately, revealing this to Captain Falcon had torn open this stitched wound. Captain Falcon slowly slipped his hand under her chin, this caused her eyes to widen greatly. She gasped as he raised her chin up. Several photos were taken at that moment. The image of Captain Falcon forcing a young woman's teary face up was truly inspiring to many.

Chiya's glimmering eyes proceeded to quiver as she looked deep into his visor. Captain Falcon retained the same calm look, lacking any signs of optimism or sorrow.

"The man of darkness, and greatly despised figure amongst the Federation, Lieutenant Seppuku!"

Both Chiya and Captain Falcon dismissed Seppuku's call up and continued to look deep into each others eyes. Captain Falcon put his hand on Chiya's shoulder and patted it.

"Bart Lemming was a good man. But your tears should not be shed…"

Chiya shook negatively, "What do you mean?"

Captain Falcon looked up at the sky and hummed softly, "Much like a caterpillar, those whom are cared for by many will go through different stages of life. Bart has entered the pupa stage of his destiny, now, he awaits the butterfly stage…"

Chiya's eyes only began to water more, "Is that your metaphoric way of saying that he's gone to heaven?"

"You will find, Chiya, that those whom you care for will never truly be gone. Whether they continue to live, or live on through memories or spiritual encounters…"

Like Dark Rose… she thought brightly.

Seppuku began to approach the two with a curious expression, he cracked his knuckles while gazing towards Captain Falcon angrily. Chiya and Captain Falcon were still speaking emotionally, but Seppuku was prepared to interrupt the peace by dropping an obnoxious question onto the man.

"Seppuku!"

Before Seppuku could reach the two, his interest had immediately been drawn towards the person he disliked just a bit more than Captain Falcon. He came to a stop and chuckled maniacally as Jody Summer charged towards him.

"Why, hello…"

Jody grasped him violently by the scarf, provoking a grunt from him, "What was on the disc, you slime ball?"

"Slime ball? That's a new one…"

"What was on the disc!?" she shouted.

Captain Falcon patted Chiya's back, "Just keep your chin up for now, things will get better. This, I promise you…" Chiya smiled at him, "Oh, and make sure you tell Earl that I'd still like him around to fix my machine. I'll pay him twice as much since Bart's gone."

Chiya beamed excitedly, "Oh, you don't have to pay him twice as much…" he raised an eyebrow at her, "I'll work alongside him!"

Captain Falcon puckered his lips, then smiled after patting her back again, "Good luck out there!"

Chiya frowned, taking this as an immediate rejection. So Earl, Bart, and Captain Falcon all dislike the idea of me working in the Falcon Garage? I guess if Captain Falcon rejected my offer, that spells it out for me… She sighed, but gave him two thumbs up.

"Alri-ight!" she said with faint enthusiasm.

Captain Falcon turned his head and growled, Blood Falcon was approaching him in his black and silver racing outfit. Chiya gritted her teeth and got closer to Captain Falcon, she puckered her lips excitedly and hesitantly wrapped her arms around his waist.

"Oh God, he's going to hurt me..!" she fake panicked.

Chiya lowered her eyelids and began to rub her hands all over his waist, she was pushed away immediately, however.

"Head back to your machine, prepare for the race."

She frowned, but nodded affirmatively.

"Right!"

Seppuku and Jody were shoving each other constantly, each trying to intimidate the other. Seppuku stomped his foot down, "I can't believe you're complaining about that little kiss!" he quirked his mouth and put his hands in his pockets, "That kiss that meant nothing, if I may add!"

"You stole that disc from me; so you stole. You forced a kiss onto me; sexual harassment. And overall, you interfered with police business, again; which is technically fighting the law!"

Seppuku smirked, "How about when I walked in there, asked for the disc, then you begin to beat me up?" Jody widened her eyes and gasped, "Yeah, as I recall, you assaulted me before I did any of this…" he got a warm smile and shrugged, "So why don't we just call it even, I buy you a beer, and we watch those crazy Germans face off against the Green Planters in the Universe Cup this week?" he joked.

Seppuku shouted in agony as Jody then stomped on his foot, "Go to Hell! You were a French fan then, and you're a French fan now!"

Seppuku began to bounce slightly while holding his crushed foot, "D- deviating a bit, aren't we?"

"I'll kill you if you don't tell me what the disc said, Lieutenant!"

"Uh, yeah, that's kind of why you put that bounty on me, isn't it?" he shrugged helplessly, "Honestly, until you bring down that bounty and allow me to roam free again, I don't see any reason to help you…"

Jody glared at him, "Do you have crap in your ears? I dropped the bounty already!"

Seppuku's lips immediately dropped, "You did?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean you're safe, yet…" she shut her eyes and cracked her knuckles, "We can do this the easy way, or the hard way; so here's your options…"

Seppuku clapped his hands childishly, "Oh boy! Teacher's giving me my options! I'm sorry for pushing Tanaka down on the playground, Ms. Summer, really, I am!"

Jody dismissed this childish response and raised a finger, "Option A; you surrender and allow me to lock you back up in one of our most top secret underground prisons."

"Will there be beer?"

"There will be water!" she shouted.

Seppuku quirked his mouth, "Eh…"

"I won't kill you. You'll remain in this prison, where you will live. You will stay here until we destroy Dark Million and discover how to weaken you back into a regular human being."

"And my other option?"

Jody poked his forehead, "I personally hunt you down like a rat and destroy you…"

Seppuku got a cute smile and shrugged, "I'll go with Option B," he put his finger on his lip and shrugged, "I'm okay letting you ride my ass for a change."

Jody nodded slowly, but then widened her eyes briefly before turning away, "Oh, I can't wait to finally take you down…"

"Oh, but of course, if you kill me, you'll never hear about my recent discovery…"

"Discovery?"

"Oh, yes. Before I destroyed the Red Light District-"

"Of course that was you!"

Seppuku smirked, "Before I destroyed the Red Light District, I ran into someone neither of us can stand…" Jody raised an eyebrow, "The super bat, Megan."

Jody gasped with a heavy glare, "Megan..?"

"Oh well, but I guess if you're going to try and kill me, I shouldn't tell you anything…"

Seppuku was momentarily grabbed by the scarf once more, "What was Megan doing down here, Seppuku. Tell me!"

"Oh no, first I want the obvious," he shoved her away and growled, "I want cooperation. All I'm going to say is that the disc has given me a lead on Black Shadow. You and I working together again would unfortunately be the best course of action to take."

Jody narrowed her eyes, "So you claim to have some information on Megan, and a lead on Black Shadow?"

"Affirmative."

"And you're prepared to share all of this with me, for my partnership?"

Seppuku wrapped his arm around her, forcing a grunt and blush onto her face, "Let's be honest, Jody…" he began to walk down the track with her, she struggled to escape from his wrapped arm, "As much as we now dislike each other, you and I were and still are the smartest individuals in Mute City, if not the universe. You've just let this hilarious rivalry between us cloud your vision and cause you to make stupid decisions."

Jody narrowed her eyes, "I appreciate the compliment, but considering its you, your compliment holds little-to-no value…"

Seppuku let go of her and looked into her eyes, "Come on, deep inside you know that I'm still the good guy. And come on, you know that we both have a common goal, I'm not some Dark Million fanatic. You and I both desire to destroy Black Shadow for different reasons. I seek the ultimate revenge, and you desire to save the universe." Jody gritted her teeth strongly and looked down at his boots, "So, what's it going to be?" he held his hand out, "Truce?"

Jody stared at his hand for a few moments. She glanced up and found that the mega screens in the track were focused on the two, everyone was anxiously waiting to see if she would accept his offer for peace. There was no volume being recorded on the cameras, however, so no one would ever know what proposition. She looked back down at his hand and lowered her eyebrows slowly.

"Alright, I'll prepare one counter-offer. I will only make this offer, however. Decline it, and we both walk away…"

Seppuku nodded with a serious expression, "I'm listening for once."

Jody pointed a straight finger at him, "You tell me everything you know about the disc and Megan. In return, I will let you accompany me to any of these supposed leads…" Seppuku's eyebrows raised in shock, surprised to hear what sounded like a generous offer, "However, you will still be locked away in the underground prison. You will be isolated away from all of the other prisoners, I will compliment any of your desires; such as a TV, computer, beer, pizza, whatever…" She pointed her finger up, "After we kill Black Shadow, you will be banned from entering any Federation planets ever again, with the exception of F-Zero races…"

Jody now reached her hand out, "Is this a counter-offer you are willing to accept?"

Seppuku took several seconds to consider this offer. Throughout the entire conflict he had been in with her, this was by far the most generous offer he had ever heard come out of her mouth. On one hand, while it was true he would be staying in a prison, the agreement was that his every will would be catered to luxuriously. He would still be able to leave the prison to go on missions with Jody, but not Chiya and Earl. And lastly, the two would once again be working together with the common goal of stopping Dark Million. The obvious drawback, was that he would never get to see Chiya and Earl outside of races once Black Shadow was defeated, as Seppuku would only be allowed to live on non-Federation planets such as Mysteria.

Jody waved her hand with a strict raised eyebrow, Seppuku was smacking his lips side-to-side, trying to balance out his options. Ultimately, he nodded his head at her.

"No."

Jody blinked once at him, then dropped her hand down. Of course, Seppuku couldn't tell Jody that his reason for declining was over Chiya and Earl, but he quickly came up with another reason as to why he wouldn't accept this offer.

"I'm a free man, Jody. I deserve every right that any one of these F-Zero fans have, I should be free to roam Earth, Aeropolis, Port Town, Big Blue, Sand Ocean, and all of these places any other individual can," he dropped his hand, showing that he was unwilling to continue on with this deal. Jody sighed and dropped her hand as well, "I may have killed a lot of people in my life. But I've only killed those who deserve it, whether it be a punishment for rapists, murderers, evil beings; or for those whom deserve freedom from suffering, like Dark Rose. If I had to kill all of these people again, I would..."

Jody lowered her eyelids and blinked once more, "I see…"

Seppuku turned away from her, "I wish I could accept this offer. But believe me, as generous as you're being right now, I simply cannot accept a revoking of my rights." He poked her roughly and growled, "If my desire to be a free man means you need to kill me, then go ahead and try. But don't expect me to simply lay down my gun and let you have at me…"

Jody closed her eyes and sighed after exhaling, "Well, it was a nice thought, you and I working things out for once…" she slowly began to walk away from him, "You can glorify your killings all you want, and no matter how much poetry you may use on me, I know who you are. I've seen your tricks, and I know when to keep my eyes on you…"

"Might that be your way of saying, there will be no truce?"

Jody came to a stop before dipping her head down, she was still turned away from him, "Truth be told, I've never wanted you dead. Not since the beginning have I ever wanted for you to die…" she relaxed her fingers and watched as the last few racers drove up to the starting line, "I may look like a fool, trying to take you down when you claim to be on our side. But I know that if you find Black Shadow, he'll capture you, and if he captures you…" Jody felt as if a stone had suddenly dropped into her stomach upon thinking about this once again, a distraught look overtook her as she clenched her fists, "Then, we all die…"

Seppuku remained still as Jody walked away from him, he momentarily turned his head with a look of dead passion. He sighed and shook negatively as Jody climbed aboard her machine and closed the cockpit.

"Say whatever you want, Summer. But I can tell, you're softening up on me…" he crossed his arms and revealed his sharp teeth as he growled, "It's only a matter of time before you give up and let me have my way as always…" he dipped his head down and chuckled, "Either way, in time-"

"Racers! You may start your engines!"

Seppuku gasped and slapped his cheek, he immediately ran towards the cluster of machines, "Hey! Idiots! I'm not in my machine yet, hold on!" he shouted desperately.

The race was on. F-Zero diplomacy failed yet again, but this time more feelings had been shared between Seppuku and Jody. This race wouldn't be any different, Chiya vs. Princia, Captain Falcon vs. Blood Falcon, and Seppuku vs. Jody. Despite the burning rivalry that continued on, Seppuku was determined to fulfill a personal promise to himself. The promise he made to himself was; by the third race, Jody and Seppuku would be allies once more. But for now, yet another throat cutting rivalry match…

To be continued…