Lap 05

The Straight Up Greatest Day of my Life

I woke up the following day at around 10am. I was still in the Falcon Lair, laying face down in the bed without a shirt or pants on.

"Morning Andy," Fal's voice said from the computer.

"Mornin' Fal," I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes. "What time is the Sapphire Cup today?"

"I believe it's at 2pm. A few hours before your date with Sam tonight," Fal responded. I got out of bed and walked into the bathroom to shower. There happened to be yet another TV screen above the shower and I turned it on. As I expected, literally every news station was talking about the return of Captain Falcon. Some of the anchors were crying slightly as they read the report. I smiled to myself as I watched a pre-recorded video of Jody being interviewed by one of the news stations.

"I always knew he'd come back one day. He and my late father are the ones that inspired me to join the GSF. My father died when I was a baby so I never knew him really but I still want to honor his memory," Jody was saying.

"Me too Jody, me too." I said to myself as I turned off the shower and got dressed. I think I could get a workout in before the race. I couldn't take the Blue Falcon obviously so it'd take me about an hour to get there and an hour to get back.

"Keep the place safe for me Fal, I'm gonna go hit the gym," I said as I walked up the stairs.

"Affirmative Andy, I will keep you posted on anything that comes up," Fal responded. I walked out the door onto a beautiful day. It was sunny but not blazing hot out. A cool breeze wafted my way every so often. As I made my way towards the gym, I couldn't help but smile to myself as I heard just about everyone talking with each other about Captain Falcon.

"Did you see him Brit?! He's got a new look!"

"And the way he just dropped the guy with one kick? Dude, that was AWESOME!"

"Did you hear about the young woman he saved from suicide? She spoke with a reporter about it this morning."

When I got to the gym, I noticed that it was slightly more packed than it usually was. Maybe people were trying to build up a physique like Captain Falcon's. I politely greeted people and answered their questions about whether or not I'd seen Captain Falcon. As I was finishing chatting with a college aged dude on one of the leg machines, I heard a familiar voice from behind me.

"Well hello Mr. Lemming. Come here often?" I turned to see Sam standing there because of course she was.

"Only if you do," I responded and attempted to lean against the unoccupied machine I was standing near. I missed and nearly fell on my face. Sam smirked.

"Smooth. Like butter," she said but still hugged me. "Did you get that text from your aunt?"

"Hmm?" I asked taking out my phone to see that there was a message from Aunt DJ that read

"Whole staff is going to the Sapphire Cup today! Kathy and Mason will be there too along with Dr. Stewart, Roy and Lisa. Are you coming? It would be a great start to your date with Sam tonight" Crap. I hate having to lie to people I care about but I'd have to do it.

"Wait, the Sapphire Cup is today? Dammit, I have to go renew my bartender license and attend a new mixing class this afternoon. I don't think I'll make it but I can still meet you at Falcon House at 4:30ish if that's ok?" I lied. It wasn't a very good excuse but it was the best I could come up with in 30 seconds. Thankfully, Sam looked like she bought it but still looked sad.

"You think I want to go to this class instead of being with you? I'd much rather watch F-Zero with you. You can tell me all about it later, deal?" I told her. She smiled and then kissed me on the cheek again.

"I'll hold you to that Andy. I'll see you later. Don't forget the jacket!" She said and left the gym. I told Aunt DJ the same thing. Unlike Sam, she didn't buy it immediately. Aunt DJ had the ability to know if I was lying, even through texts. Reluctantly, I ignored her following messages but as I finished my workout, I had responded to her last message with just 2 words. "You'll see."

I made my way back to the Falcon Lair making sure that no one was following me or had seen me enter. I was in the clear.

"Greetings Andy, right on time. You prepared for the Grand Prix?" Fal asked. I gulped. Yes I was comfortable with the Blue Falcon's controls but I had never been in an actual F-Zero race so I was a tad nervous.

"As I'll ever be. I'm assuming I can't really use you for guidance as that would be cheating?" I asked Fal as I began to suit up.

"Yes and no. I believe I would be allowed to act as your spotter but taking the controls would indeed be cheating," Fal responded. I had just finished strapping up my boots and checked the clock. It had just hit 1pm. I glanced over at the Falcon Flyer and grinned.

"Hey Fal, how about we arrive in style?"

"I like your way of thinking, Andy. Plus we'd shave off about a half hour of commuting time," Fal responded and she had powered up the Falcon Flyer's engine and opened the skylight above it. I drove the Blue Falcon into the ship's cargo hold and then made my way to the bridge. I took a seat in the very comfortable pilot's chair.

"You can drive Fal, I'm not familiar with ship controls. Oh, did I get a message from the committee containing Grand Prix info?" I said as the Falcon Flyer lifted off the ground. Fal had pulled up a message from the F-Zero Committee. I'll be honest, I was surprised I was even able to get a spot. Apparently someone had dropped out or the Committee booted someone. I had been going on this assumption all morning and thankfully it had paid off. The message contained the tracks included in the Grand Prix. It started in Big Blue, then went to Port Town, then to the Green Plant, then back to Port Town and finished in Mute City. I was given the number 7. The message was also clearly written by a fan of Captain Falcon as the postscript asked for an autograph. I smiled to myself and took a quick photo of me saluting and digitally signed and sent it to the author of the message along with my chosen theme song. I had selected a track titled "Forever He Will be my Hero" because I had been thinking of my dad. I had Fal drop me and the Blue Falcon off a few hundred meters from where I was supposed to check in. I wanted my arrival to be a surprise to the crowd. I drove up to the race organizers and half of them had dropped their papers in alarm when they saw me.

"Jesus Christ, I thought it was a joke…" one of them said. Another one squealed in delight and took a photo of me with her phone. The third one cleared his throat and addressed me.

"Yes well, uh just wait over here with the others until Mr. Zero calls your name and then you just drive to the number 7 spot," he said. I nodded and parked the Blue Falcon near some of the other pilots. I had noticed a samurai looking dude eying me as I made my way over to them. He was wearing a white sleeveless t-shirt and a brown leather vest. He was also wearing blue pants and dark green boots with buckles on them. His helmet was black and had the Japanese rising sun on it and he was wearing some sunglasses.

"Think you're a big shot hero?" he said to me as I instructed Fal to scan for threats.

"And who's asking," I asked him.

"Name's Goroh," he said, pounding his chest. "You won't be stealing the prize money from me. I can't lose in my Fire Stingray!" Goroh pointed to his own pink F-Zero machine with hot rod flames on the back of it.

"I'll be sure to keep that in mind," I said as Fal sent me the results of her scan. I was in the clear. Most of these pilots were just that, pilots. None had major bounties on them. Goroh started to talk to me again but a voice came on over the speakers above us.

"All Pilots, to your vehicles. The Sapphire Cup is about to begin!" it said. I nodded at Goroh who just scowled at me and I jumped back into the Blue Falcon.

"Deep breaths Andy. You've got this," Fal said in my ear.

"I know…My dad's watching over me" I responded.

Mr. Zero came on the screen again just like when I had watched Roy's race. Mr. Zero gave the crowd the rundown of the tracks we'd be racing on while the crowd cheered in anticipation. Mr. Zero started introducing the racers starting with some guy named Terry. One by one, pilots blasted out of the holding area towards the starting line. That Goroh guy was the 5th one introduced and before he blasted his way towards the track, he smirked at me. Oh, is that how you wanna play wise guy? Fine! The pilot before me was introduced and I felt my heart rate increase drastically. This was it. No backing down Andy. My chosen theme music began to play

"In the number 7 slot, we have -" Mr. Zero suddenly stopped talking as if he was in shock. He listened to the song for a bit before he looked off to the side. I looked around the holding area and noticed his booth was nearby and I could see him looking right at me in the Blue Falcon. I saw him gasp before he began to speak again. He even restarted my theme song for dramatic effect.

"Ladies and Gentlemen….he's here. The song you are hearing is not a coincidence. The rumors are true. For the first time in 15 years…. THE MAN, THE MYTH, THE LEGEND. CAAAAAAPPPPPTAAAAAIIIIINNNN FALCON!" I gunned the Blue Falcon's engine into gear and blasted onto the track. I was nearly blinded by the sun's reflection off Big Blue's ocean but I managed to make it to my assigned starting position. I could hear the roar of the crowd and saw a good amount of them jumping up and down while pointing at me. I decided to give them a show and popped the glass as the music went into the chorus of "Forever he will be my hero, and not just only for tonight…" I stood up from the seat and pumped my fists and spread my arms as if welcoming everyone to the Grand Prix. I even flashed a few salutes before exiting the Blue Falcon and starting looking around the crowd. I had never seen this much excitement in one place before. It felt amazing. I turned to my right and nearly fell over in shock. My entire family, plus Sam and Chisato, plus Dr. Stewart, PLUS Roy and Lisa and PLUS the entire Falcon House staff were sitting in the floating bleachers pretty much right next to me. I knew that they were gonna be here somewhere but I didn't expect to find them so fast. I saw that Aunt DJ had her hands over her mouth and she looked like she was crying very hard. Seeing me dressed as Captain Falcon with my face disguised to look like my dad's must have been too much for her. Aunt Josslyn had her hand across her shoulders and she was also crying but had a large smile on her face. Dr. Stewart, who was next to Aunt Josslyn, also had a grin on his face as he stood with one of his hands stroking his chin, something he did all the time. Aunt Kathy, who was my mother's twin sister but she had blonde hair instead of brown, was cheering next to my Uncle Mason, a middle aged man with short black hair and a pair of glasses. Jody was standing next to Uncle Mason and she was trying to get my attention. I pretended to just notice her and smiled, tapped my chest, mouthed the words "1st place" and pumped my fist. Jody smiled back. I turned my attention to Sam and her family. Sam was cheering loudly at the sight of me. She was seated next to her cousin, Chisato, who I had saved the previous evening. I caught Chisato's eye and nodded at her. She nodded back and mouthed "Thank you." She was even looking considerably more happy. Meanwhile Roy's reaction surprised me, he was just standing there completely silent just staring at me. Lisa was clutching Roy's shoulder, shaking Roy excitedly. I decided to have a little fun with Roy plus I felt like interacting with the crowd. Mr. Zero was busy singing along with my theme song and listing off the previous wins Captain Falcon had achieved anyway so I think I had some time. I looked at him with a quizzical expression and began to walk towards him. I noticed him start to breathe rapidly. I studied him some more before snapping my fingers before saying

"Roy Hughes right? The Mighty Gazelle?" Roy nodded. I had chosen the same voice I'd used the previous night. Roy had no idea it was his best friend in the Captain Falcon outfit.

"Saw your race yesterday. You got some moves my friend" I told him. Roy nearly fainted but Lisa caught him.

"Afternoon ma'am, keep an eye on him for me will you? I hope to race against him one day," I told Lisa and she nodded excitedly. I turned my attention to Jody who was a little ways up the bleachers.

"You seem surprised to see me, Jody. I promised you that I'd enter, did I not?" I told her. She nodded. Aunt DJ had come forward to get a good look at me. I couldn't figure out how she was able to see through her tears of happiness. She threw caution to the wind and hugged me. I could hear her whispering "I love you" over and over in my ear as she did so. I awkwardly patted her back as other fans watched.

"Gotta love the fans, am I right? Young lady, I have a race to win." I said to Aunt DJ. She let go of me but still caressed my cheek before she went back to her seat next to her wife. Mr. Zero had to wait quite a while for the commotion to die down before he continued to announce the pilots. After speaking with a few more fans, I had leaned up against the Blue Falcon with my arms crossed. I could hear Aunt DJ scream from the crowd and I looked over to see that she had buried her face in her hands. I think I had just reminded her of my father again, her baby brother. Her brother that was taken from this world by a maniac because a corporation wanted him dead. Her brother that had chosen her favorite nephew to continue on in his place. I waited for Aunt DJ to look in my direction again and I flashed her the scarf my father had given me all those years ago that I was wearing around my neck. I then mouthed "for dad," before glancing towards the sky. Aunt DJ, being the amazing person she was, understood what I had said and she had also mouthed "For Doug."

The rest of the pilots didn't get quite the ovation that I did but the crowd still cheered politely. I had meanwhile started reading the messages everyone off to my right were sending me on my helmet's display screen.

"YOU. LIAR."

"Andy, you look just like him...oh my god…"

"Tell Fal I say hi!" (Fal had typed a response to this one)

"Show 'em what the Blue Falcon can do!"

"ANDY! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'RE MISSING THIS! WE'RE SEATED RIGHT NEXT TO CAPTAIN FALCON!"

"DUDE! TURN ON THE F-ZERO GRAND PRIX RIGHT NOW!"

"You better have something big planned tonight because I am currently within 10 yards of Captain Falcon ;)" I smiled to myself as I read these messages. Kate Alen then began to sing. This song was called "High Stakes in Mute City" and was one of her more popular ones. I knew it too. The whole crowd had joined in on the chorus where they just kept repeating "F-Zero, F-Zero, F-Zero" rather nicely. You can look up the song if you want. Like I said, it's pretty popular. Mr. Zero told all pilots to get into their machines. I took one last look at my family and friends before I climbed back into the Blue Falcon and strapped myself in. The countdown began. My heart started beating rapidly as I powered up the Blue Falcon's engine when Mr. Zero had said "2".
"Good luck Andy. I'm rooting for you," Fal said but she said it exactly like how my mom used to say it before my Zero G baseball games as a kid. I nearly said "thanks mom," but Mr. Zero had shouted

"GO!" and 30 highly skilled pilots blasted forward at Mach 1. It was as if I had left all my worries back at the Falcon Lair. This was easy. This first track was called "Drift Highway" and it was pretty straight forward. It started with us going through a tunnel with some S curves before a jump and a quick little turn to the left leading into the final jump before the finish line. Even though I had never piloted an F-Zero machine in a race before, I was still able to pull ahead pretty fast and maintain my lead throughout the entire race. One or twice, Goroh tried to pass me on a jump but each time, he was unsuccessful as I used my Boost Power to over take him. On the final lap before the last jump, he had pulled ahead which worried me but I noticed that his power level was low as he had bypassed the power recharge pad on the right in order to pass me. This meant that after he cleared the jump, he would be unable to boost again lest he'd be retired. I let him pass me and we both cleared the jump with minimum effort. I engaged my boost and shot past him as we landed, crossing the finish line and winning my first F-Zero race. You'd think I'd be jumping up and down in my seat unable to contain my excitement but no. I remained calm but smiled to myself. I felt like that was what Captain Falcon would do. Win but not brag about it. Aunt DJ wasn't as calm as I was. I had taken my new position at the back of everyone (as the person who finishes 1st, starts last and so on and so forth) as we all moved over to the next track and saw that Aunt DJ was cheering loudly along with the rest of my family. The crowd had also started chanting my name. One half was shouting "Cap-tain!" and the other half answered "Fal-con!" We arrived at Port Town moments later and this track was called Aero Dive. It featured a rather huge drop near the end of the track. I had decided to take this race a little slower than the last one and it had nearly cost me. I nearly threw up everywhere when I got to the famous drop. I struggled to regain 1st place but at least I was in the top 10. Even on the boost laps, I was still struggling to catch up. On the final lap, I still found myself in 9th place and rapidly approaching the drop. There would be no way I'd be able to catch up at this rate...unless. The night from college came back to me and I could hear Roy say something about a Momentum Turbo Slide. What is that you ask? Essentially, it's a drift turn where I could gain quite a lot of speed in a short amount of time. It was very difficult to pull off and I had only done it once while filled with booze. I decided to give it a shot anyway. I pressed down on both of the hand brakes and wrenched the wheel to the left. At the same time, I took my hand off the accelerator and just held the right hand brake button. To my surprise, I felt myself gaining speed and started to pass some of the other pilots. My excitement was short lived as I wasn't paying attention to where the track dropped off and I flew off the top at a high speed. I even veered off the track to the left.

"Shit!" I yelled and tried to correct myself. I tried mashing the side shunt button I used against the Bloody Chain Gang and to my utter amazement, this tactic worked and I landed back on the track pretty far ahead of Goroh, who was formerly in 1st place. Out of my rear view, I could see his face contort with rage as I landed several meters in front of him. I held on to this lead with no effort and came in 1st once again.

"OH MY GOODNESS! DID YOU SEE THAT FOLKS?! I HAVE NEVER SEEN THAT MOVE BEFORE! CAPTAIN FALCON JUST COMPLETELY JUMPED THE AERO DIVE DROP AND ACHIEVED AN AMAZING COMEBACK! THIS TRULY IS A GREAT DAY FOR F-ZERO!" I heard Mr. Zero's voice say over the speakers. I turned in the direction of my family and friends again. Aunt DJ was clutching her chest, Aunt Josslyn had a hand over her mouth, Dr. Stewart was applauding enthusiastically, Uncle Mason was jumping up and down with Jody while Aunt Kathy appeared to have fainted. Uncle Mason noticed pretty quickly and attempted to wake her.

The next race took place at Green Plant which essentially was a large arboretum. This track was called Mobius Ring and it looked like your basic elliptical shaped racetrack but we essentially had to go around it twice to complete a lap. At about the halfway point, the track twists and we end up on the part above the finish line. Ever see an actual mobius ring? Got that image in your head? Ok, now just add a shit ton of trees everywhere. This track was easy for me to win as well, the only thing that caught me off guard was the mines but I avoided them. A few others weren't so lucky. I finished in first yet again, easily beating Goroh as he was one of the unlucky ones that were tripped up by the mines. We shipped back to Port Town afterwards which made no sense to me as we had just left for the 4th race in the Grand Prix, Long Pipe. Stop sniggering. That's what it was called...but I'd be lying if I didn't say I sniggered a little too when I saw the name pop up on the overhead screen. Meanwhile my messages were going insane. Multiple ones from Aunt DJ and Sam. I answered Sam's latest one asking me if I had been watching the Grand Prix wherever I was. I said yes and had indeed seen Captain Falcon's death defying leap over the Aero Dive. This track was pretty much enclosed in a tube for the entire length of it. There was a part in the middle where you had to dodge some really slow moving fan blades and another part near the end consisting of a lot of short bunny hops. Good thing I only had a protein shake and a few bottles of water before this or the cockpit of the Blue Falcon would look and smell pretty gross right now. Again, I had won this race. I think I pretty much had the Grand Prix won but I didn't let that thought over take me as we approached the final track, Mute City Serial Gaps. As you could probably expect, this track was full of a lot of jumps and even sported a few jump pads. I decided to test my luck with another MTS and gained so much height and speed after hitting a jump pad, I nearly missed the track. I did it again on the boost laps and increased my lead to an uncatchable amount. This was it. I was about to win. I lost my calm nature as I crossed the finish line and started yelling and cheering in triumph. Fal had started congratulating me as well after being pretty much silent the entire time. My theme song began to play on the speakers again and the crowd erupted and started singing along. Apparently, this song was synonymous with Captain Falcon but I didn't have time to think about that. I JUST WON THE SAPPHIRE CUP YO. I popped the glass of the Blue Falcon and was greeted with more shrieks and cheers from the crowd. I looked over to see Aunt DJ crying against Aunt Josslyn's shoulder, Aunt Kathy doing the same on Uncle Mason's, Sam and Chisato hugging each other and jumping up and down, Roy and Lisa cheering and Jody pretty much about to collapse against Dr. Stewart who had caught my eye and given me the thumbs up. For a moment, I thought I had also seen my parents in the crowd. Dad in the old Captain Falcon outfit and Mom in the clothes she had died in. Both were just standing there, Mom leaning against Dad and smiling at me while applauding. When I looked again, they had vanished to be replaced by Goroh, who was glaring at me maliciously from the winner's podium. I walked over to the podium where Mr. Zero had handed me the Sapphire Cup. It was a traditional looking trophy made of, well, sapphire. It was a little heavier than I expected but I still managed to lift it in the air with one hand while smiling broadly. Mr. Zero had also handed me my credit chip which I came to find out was about 20 million credits. Jesus. What the hell was I gonna do with all that money?

"Captain Falcon, do you have time for an interview?" Mr. Zero asked hopefully. I could see him struggling not to fanboy in front of me. I nodded and he walked over to stand next to me.

"We're here with the legendary Captain Falcon, winner of the Sapphire Cup here in Mute City. Captain, where have you been these last 15 years?"

"An interesting question Mr. Zero. I am the latest in a long line of people who have held the title of Captain Falcon. I have spent the last 15 years training to be able to live up to the title. The previous holder has passed on," I answered. Mr. Zero seemed to realize that I was younger than he had expected.

"Interesting. I think that I and the assembled fans agree that you have lived up to the previous holder of the Captain Falcon name. I want to talk about that incredible jump you pulled off back on the Aero Dive track. Do you think you got lucky?" he asked.

"You don't win by being lucky, you win by being bold," I responded and glanced at Aunt DJ who smiled warmly at me. I had remembered when my father told me that after one of my games as a kid and thought it applied here. Aunt DJ must have remembered as well hence the smile.

"The city was alerted to your return last night during a high speed police chase, and there was also reports that you saved a young woman from suicide Are these claims true?" Mr. Zero asked.

"Yes, both of them are. The young woman I saved happens to be in the crowd," I said, not drawing attention to Chisato to which she appreciated. Sam had turned to Aunt DJ and must have told her the woman I saved was Chisato because my aunts and Uncle Mason all looked at me with pride clearly visible in all of their faces.

"You are aware that the Falcon House staff is in attendance today? Did you win the race for them?" Mr. Zero asked and gestured to my family, friends and co-workers.

"I thought I had recognized the young blonde woman that hugged me earlier. She's the owner of that place I believe. I have been to that place a few times in my civilian attire. I am also aware that a local bartender recently stopped an armed assault at the place a few days ago. I actually saved and spoke with that man's sister, GDF Cadet Jody Summer, last night. I made a promise to her. That I would enter and win this race. I understand that I am an inspiration to her as well. This one was for you Jody!" I said and pointed right at Jody. Jody collapsed against Uncle Mason and began to cry in happiness.

"Thank you for the interview Captain. I assume you have bounties to chase today?" Mr. Zero said.

"Indeed Mr. Zero. There are still rivals to be defeated. The battle has just begun" I responded and called the Falcon Flyer over. I walked over to the Blue Falcon and stood on the back of it as the tractor beam on the Falcon Flyer lifted me and the Blue Falcon into the cargo hold. The Falcon Flyer gave a falcon screech to the cheering crowd before blasting off into the sky.

I was unloading boxes of supplies in the back of the Falcon House when I heard a group of people walk inside. Why was I not at the Falcon Lair? Because it was almost date time with Sam. I had changed back into my civilian clothes on the Falcon Flyer and had Fal take it and the Blue Falcon back to the Falcon Lair. When I got to Falcon House, I had noticed that we had just got a new shipment of supplies and I started to unload it for Aunt DJ so she didn't have to. I had keys to the place of course as I was the owner's nephew/son. I came out of the back to tell the group that we were close and saw that Aunt DJ, Aunt Josslyn , Aunt Kathy, Uncle Mason, Jody, Roy, Lisa and Sam were all standing there conversing about the race. Roy noticed me first, karate chopped the air vertically so his hand was pointing at me and said

"There he is!" I placed the box I was carrying on a table and walked over to everyone. I could tell that Aunt DJ was struggling with her desire to tackle me in a rib cracking hug.

"'Sup? Apparently I missed an entertaining race?" I asked the room. I caught Aunt Kathy mouthing the word "liar" at me.

"Captain Falcon won. He said he did it because he promised me he would," Jody said to me.

"Well, that's nice of him wasn't it?" I answered but Jody looked upset. "What's wrong,"

"He kept the promise he made to me but he didn't keep the one he made to you," she said.

"Jo, stop worrying about me. I actually spoke to Captain Falcon. He stopped by here to drop something off and he found out who I was. Apparently he had heard of what happened to mom and dad and was deeply saddened by it. I shouldn't have blamed the whole thing on the other guy for all those years. Captain Falcon told me that his predecessor was only doing what was right and that he had regretted not helping me for years. We still have each other and our aunts and uncle. I'm ok sis. Trust me," I said to her and gave her a hug. Jody returned the hug and then walked over to Sam. She took Sam outside to speak with her about something.

"See that, that's called GROWTH!" Roy said, clapping me on the shoulder. "We can talk about the Grand Prix later. Right now, a certain bespectacled blonde haired woman is itching to take you out for some reason even though we all know that I'm better looking." Roy motioned to Lisa and they started making their way outside. Aunt DJ nearly blew it but I held up my hand and made sure that Roy and Lisa were outside before I held my arms open and Aunt DJ collapsed into them.

"I...you...Doug...Captain Falcon...love you...So much" It was hard for me to make out what she was saying through the tears but I patted her head and let her cry on me until she was done.

"That jump was AWESOME. How did you get the Blue Falcon's speed up that high? It looked like you were going like 1600 kph" Uncle Mason asked me. I began to tell him about the MTS and he started to take notes.

"Interesting, I might have to run some tests. I'm surprised that that was even legal," Uncle Mason said.

"Aren't the rules pretty lax? Just don't have a hyperdrive engine like the one on the Falcon Flyer right?" I asked as Aunt DJ still clung to me.

"Still though, that was incredible. I'm glad we came to watch you Andy" Aunt Kathy said, patting my other shoulder.

"Thanks Mom er, uh Aunt Kathy" I said starting to turn red a little. I hadn't done that in a while. Aunt Kathy was used to it though. She kissed my cheek.

"It's ok Andy, I know you miss her. I do too," she said.

"Hey, the song I picked. Was it connected to Captain Falcon or something?" I asked. Aunt DJ made a noise between a laugh and a sob.

"That's the song your father and Aunt DJ used to listen to after your grandfather died. Your dad used it as his theme music as well" Aunt Josslyn said.

"Oh...I just picked it because the title reminded me of him" I responded and I felt Aunt DJ squeeze me tighter. She was still pretty much an absolute mess.

"Did you really save Sam's cousin last night?" Aunt Josslyn asked.

"Yes," I answered. Again, I felt Aunt DJ squeeze me.

"Are you going to tell her eventually," Aunt Josslyn inquired and patted me on the other shoulder.

"Eventually, yeah. But not tonight" I answered. Aunt DJ continued crying against me before Aunt Kathy had turned to Uncle Mason.

"Come on Mason, let's grab Jody and go home. Isn't she supposed to help you with some project today?" Aunt Kathy said and grabbed Uncle Mason's arm.

"Oh yeah! That's right, I did promise. Let's go," Uncle Mason responded and they both left the building. Eventually Aunt DJ stopped being an absolute mess and grabbed my face with both of her hands.

"I know he was watching. I also won that for dad" I said and removed one of Aunt DJ's hands from my face. I placed a credit chip in her palm. I had split my winnings in half and decided to give 10 million to Aunt DJ. She tried to protest.

"Andy, this is ten million credits. I can't…" she said, trying to give it back. I pushed her hand away gently.

"You can, and you will. You guys are probably going to be very busy now that I've made a public appearance. Might want to expand or something. Hire some more staff. I'll stay on but I'll need less hours. Heck, maybe I'll show up once or twice as Captain Falcon. You'd probably like some new pictures. I owe you everything for raising me after mom and dad died. Take it. I'll start taking my stuff out of your house too. You don't need me there anymore. I'll live at the Falcon Lair," I told her.

"But...but…" she protested. I know she didn't want me to leave. I had been living there since I was 9.

"Kidding, but I'll be at the Lair more often though. Depends on how the night is going. Aunt DJ, take the credits. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date with a bespectacled lady that Jody is currently threatening," I said. I kissed both Aunt DJ and Josslyn on the cheek and went to go grab Sam.

Sam had immediately grabbed onto my arm when she saw me leave Falcon House. Jody had indeed "threatened" Sam with the full might of the GSF if she ever hurt her big brother.

"She's feisty isn't she?" Sam asked me as we walked along the streets.

"Yeah, always has been according to Uncle Mason." I answered. "So, what are we doing? Food then walk on the beach over by Big Blue?"

"That sounds wonderful," Sam said, smiling at me. "I'll pick the place, I know a pretty good pub nearby"

"Don't tell my aunt," I said. Sam giggled and led me to a local pub called the Port Town Ale House. I'd passed it a few times while growing up but had never been inside until now. Sam and I sat in a booth near the window that was facing Big Blue. We ordered some appetizers and a few cocktails and got to chatting about our private lives. I made sure to not mention her cousin or how her parents were also dead. I'd let her bring that up. Eventually she did after our entrees came.

"About that family emergency the other day," she began.

"Yeah, is everything still ok?" I answered, cutting my burger in half.

"Yes, everything's fine. It's just...I'm worried about my cousin Chisato. She nearly killed herself," Sam said.

"Holy crap," I said, doing my best to sound surprised and worried.

"I know. Captain Falcon saved her but I find myself thinking about what would have happened if he didn't show up. I've already lost my parents, I can't lose her too" Sam said and started to tear up. I got up from my side of the booth and sat next to her and put my arm around her. She leaned against me and sighed deeply.

"Sam, if there's anyone that knows how you feel about losing their parents, it's me. I never knew that about you. I'm so sorry. How did it happen?" I said. Sam kissed my cheek again.

"You are something else Mr. Lemming. My Aunt Cho tells me that they were killed by pirates. I was rescued by her and she raised me my entire life. I never knew my parents unlike you. You must have been devastated when your mom died," she said.

"I was, I watched it happen." I responded.

"Come on Andy, let's not talk about depressing stuff anymore. Tell me about yourself," she said. I returned to my original seat and we chatted about various things for the next half hour before paying the bill and leaving.

Like I stated earlier, we decided to take a walk along the beach at Big Blue. Sam began to shiver from the breeze coming in from the sea and I draped my leather jacket over her shoulders. As we walked, we continued talking about our lives and ambitions. I had found out that Sam wanted to be a computer forensics person. We walked for so long that night had fallen in earnest and it became hard to see the sandy part of the beach. We decided to call it there for the night and I offered to walk her home. Turned out to be about a 20 minute trip. As we got close to her house, Sam grabbed me and kissed me full on the lips. Something I had dreamed about since I was 17. It was everything I had imagined. Her lips were so soft and tender. We kissed for about 30 seconds before breaking apart.

"I had a great time, Andy. We should do it again. Promise?" she asked, looking at me with her beautiful blue eyes and pretended to pout. I was still a bit shaken up by the kiss she had just planted on me.

"Uh yeah, sounds great. I'll, uh, I'll text you later?" I said. Sam giggled at me. She even gave me another kiss.

"Good night Andy," she said.

"Good night Sam" I responded and was granted with yet another kiss.

"Check on your aunt for me, she was very emotional for some reason earlier," Sam said, giving me a final hug before going inside. Holy shit. That just happened. I had won the Sapphire Cup in front of the people I cared about and I had finally kissed Samantha Narasu. THREE times.

This was the straight up best day of my entire life.