Lap 4- On The Road With Purple Tabby
The race on Mute City: Serial Gaps had reached its final lap. Tensions were high among the racers, and the excitement of the crowd was through the roof. Blue Falcon held the lead, followed by Spark Moon in second place. Destini followed close behind in third place, piloting her purple machine. As Spark Moon and Blue Falcon were slowed down by explosions from the mines at the end of the tunnel, Destini seized the opportunity to pull into first, slamming the boost and sending her purple machine soaring majestically through the air and landing on the track below. She drifted around the turns and dropped from one section of the course to another. She could vaguely hear Mr. Zero's excited commentary, but paid him no attention as she reached the final stretch and victory was in her grasp. Destini smiled as she went off the final drop and saw the finish line not too far off. Suddenly, an all too familiar light blue machine pulled up next to Destini. Fat Shark. Its massive and imposing body slammed hard into Destini's purple machine, just as it had done to the small street car that one night in Vegas Palace. The purple machine didn't fare much better, and was crushed against the course's side rails, sparks and machine parts flying through the air. The last thing Destini saw before her vision went black was Fat Shark crossing the finish line to victory.
Destini startled awake. It was only a dream. She sat up, her long and sleep disheveled black hair falling over her shoulders as she took a moment to collect her thoughts and allow her speeding heart to return to normal. It was a dream that sure felt real. But Destini was in her flat, posters on the walls and old toys on the small dresser. Not injured or dead in the wreckage of a purple F-Zero machine. She kicked her blanket off of herself and got up from the futon, walking into the bathroom and grabbing a towel hanging from the door. The young woman took a quick shower and washed her hair to freshen up for an important day. A month had passed since the heist in Vegas Palace, and now that Destini was able to pay for her machine, Dr. Clash was working hard putting together her machine from parts she had chosen for it. Last she checked, her machine was almost complete. The same machine she was piloting in her dream. A dream that left Destini both excited and rattled. She was excited to race, of course, but the thought of being targeted by Don Genie during a race worried her. Hopefully her machine would have a strong enough body to withstand attacks, though that would be difficult since Fat Shark is one of, if not the biggest bruiser on the F-Zero circuit.
Destini pushed those thoughts aside, got dressed, and closed the toilet lid so she would have a place to sit as she blow dried her hair. The poster of Captain Falcon was visible from where she was, and as she dried her hair, she read 'Show me your moves!' over and over again. Destini couldn't help but wonder if she would end up becoming one of the F-Zero greats. Names like Captain Falcon and Mighty Gazelle would go down in history, would Destini Crane end up being one of those names someday? At the very least Destini wanted to be on a poster like Falcon and Dr. Stewart.
Once her hair was dry, Destini stood in front of the mirror to braid the long portion of her hair. "Good morning, Destini." Mother Q greeted. "How are you feeling?"
"I feel good," the young woman answered. "Can you call me a cab? I'm heading to Mute City soon."
"Of course."
When she was done, Destini tied the end of her braid with a magenta hair tie and headed out, after asking Mother Q to lock up of course. The requested cab and its robot driver were waiting just up the street. Destini wasted no time hustling over to the cab and hopping in. "Hey, can you take me to-" she began but was interrupted by the robot. "Bet Race Dollars in Mute City, as instructed by Mother Q. Please buckle in and enjoy the ride. Fare will be calculated when we reach our destination." The young woman did as instructed, and the cab took off down the busy streets of Aeropolis. It wasn't very long until the skyscrapers began to disappear and were replaced with a concrete jungle of warehouses and factories that lined the highways outside of large cities like Aeropolis. Destini leaned her head to the side and lazily stared out the window, her eyes starting to close as she began to doze off out of boredom. A nap would make the hour and a half long trip to Mute City feel a lot faster anyways.
When Destini opened her eyes, she was greeted by the neon lights of Mute City that dazzled the metropolis even during the day. She rubbed her eyes as she adjusted to the sudden bright light. "Did you have a nice nap?" The young woman was startled awake by the driver's question. "It was fine. Are we almost there?" she asked curtly. "Approximately four minutes," came the robot's answer. Destini impatiently sighed and stared out the window again, watching the brightly lit buildings go by. As expected, it wasn't terribly long until the cab pulled up to the black, neon lit building that had become all too familiar to Destini. The driver held out its hand. "Your fare is 4780 credits." Destini fished the credits out of her pocket and placed them into the robot's cold, metal hands. "Thank you. Please choose Galaxy Cab again!" Destini didn't answer and simply closed the door. The cab drove off as she turned and walked into the bar. As the doors slid open, she kept her eyes and ears open for any sign of Don or Ankoku, but thankfully neither of them were there. Destini hadn't seen them since that one night a month ago, and she wasn't in a hurry to see them again. The bar was relatively quiet; only a few racers were sitting around having a drink. Roger Buster and Draq were talking and laughing with each other, and appeared to be having a good time together. Samurai Goroh and his son Dai were watching replays of the previous week's race on Sand Ocean: Surface Slide, where the father and son pair had competed alongside each other. Mighty Gazelle sat in a corner, quietly observing everyone and everything around him. The cyborg didn't seem to be lonely, but then again, his lack of any facial expression made it difficult to tell. The last racer in the bar was, of course, Dr. Clash. He stood behind the bar as he always would, polishing a glass with a white cloth as he sang an old school rock and roll song to keep himself occupied as he worked. Destini smirked slightly at the elderly man's eccentricity as she approached the counter.
"Hey," the young woman greeted as she took a seat at the bar. Dr. Clash smiled at her and set the glass down. "Good day, Miss Crane. What brings you here?" he asked, leaning against the reflective countertop. "My machine," came the young woman's simple answer. Dr. Clash couldn't help but laugh. "Always straight to the point, aren't you?" the portly man chuckled as he walked to the end of the bar to exit out to the other side. "Come with me," the engineer gestured for Destini to follow him, and she obliged. He led her through a set of locked doors at the back end of the bar that led into a hangar that housed both the Crazy Bear and countless spare machine parts. Destini felt as if the eyes on the Crazy Bear were staring at her as she walked by, following Dr. Clash to the rear corner of the hangar. The walls and floor were the same reflective metal as the countertop of the bar, making it appear as if the two were walking on a mirror.
Dr. Clash stepped to the side, revealing the same purple F-Zero machine that Destini had seen in her dreams. "Well? What do you think?" the engineer asked.
Destini's eyes widened. The machine was even more incredible than she had expected it to be. It was mostly purple, but some parts were accented with black. The cockpit was a sleek and smooth Aerial Bullet, the body was the winged and sharp nosed Fire Wolf, and its booster was the powerful Triple-Z. Between the wing and the cockpit the machine was emblazoned with the number 41; the number Destini would be registering under in the Grand Prix. "It's... wow..." The young woman was at a loss for words. Dr. Clash smiled proudly. "Its got three CT-1998-828 engines and weighs 1740 kilograms," he informed her. Destini struggled for a moment to find something to say. "It's even better than I thought it would be," she managed to say in the midst of her awe. She walked over to her new machine and placed her hand on the smooth, cold metal of her machine's wing. Dr. Clash rubbed his hands together excitedly. "I'm overjoyed that you love it!" he gushed, wriggling his upper body in happiness. "Ready to try it out?"
Without taking her hand off of her machine, Destini smirked at the engineer. "I am beyond ready."
It wasn't very long until the two arrived at Sonic Oval, a very simplistic course at the edge of Mute City. Thanks to this course's extreme simplicity it was rare for a Grand Prix to be held there, so it was mostly just used as a training ground. The statues and bright lights of Vegas Palace were visible from the course, so it was often disputed as to where this course's venue should be listed under. Dr. Clash stood in the stands, ready to watch Destini test her piloting proficiency. The young woman climbed in to her machine and felt nothing but excitement as the cockpit closed and she strapped herself in. As the machine roared to life, Destini could feel the G-Diffuser kick in and slightly lift off the ground. Dr. Clash gave her two thumbs up, and she hit the pedal, feeling a jolt in her body as the machine went from hovering in place to roaring down the track at nearly 1000 km/h. This course might not be the best to practice on, Destini thought as she simply turned the steering wheel slightly to the left to hug the track's curve. There was a fair bit of resistance though, so it would be difficult to maintain a turn without drifting. But how do I drift again? Was it brake while turning or something else...? Destini thought, trying to remember what she had learned in pilot's school. She tried the first option she thought of but ended up slowing down significantly. Ok, not that...
"Having some trouble?" Dr. Clash's voice buzzed over the com-link. "Your machine's handling isn't the best, but you did say you were willing to sacrifice control for speed."
"I've got this," Destini snapped at him. She put the pedal to the metal and hit a boost plate, feeling another brief jolt through her body. The young woman felt alive. The anticipation of actually competing in a race made her feel even more excitement. She would challenge Dr. Clash to race her, but she first had to get the hang of her machine.
"Hold the brake lightly when turning to drift." Dr. Clash's voice buzzed again. "I know. Leave me alone!" Destini growled at him annoyedly. In spite of her irritation with the elderly man, she listened to his advice. It worked, and Destini was able to make her machine drift for a few seconds. It would take some time to master that technique, but she had all day to practice.
During the two hours she practiced, Destini was able to get the hang of a few basic techniques. She could maintain a drift for a few seconds, though it wasn't very steady and she had a tendency to lose control. She could spin attack, but of course there was no way for her to know just how good she was at it. Same with side attacks, but she didn't know how accurate her attacks would be. Destini pulled her machine over and jumped out as Dr. Clash smiled at her, his robot hands clapping. "Well done!" he congratulated. "You're getting the hang of it." Destini folded her arms and smirked. "I'm surprised you stuck around this long."
"Well, you weren't the only one who wanted to see how the machine would perform!" Dr. Clash paused for a second, and then he asked, "What are you going to call it?"
Destini didn't hesitate for a second. "Purple Tabby," she said definitively. The engineer gave her a somewhat puzzled look. "You know, a tabby. A striped cat." The young woman elaborated. Dr. Clash nodded slightly. "I see. Not a bad idea for a name. Here, let's go register you and your Tabby with the F-Zero Committee." The pair returned to the hangar they were in a few hours before, and Dr. Clash powered up a computer console on the wall, a holographic projection of a screen appearing in the air above it. As the engineer typed, Destini walked over to watch him. "Hey, can I see my machine's stats?" she asked. "Sure, just hold on a moment," the portly man answered as he typed with amazing speed. After a few minutes, Dr. Clash tapped on a few things on the projected screen. "All right, here we go." He stepped aside and allowed Destini to have a look. "Purple Tabby #41" was displayed at the top of the screen, with a picture of it below. She scrolled down slightly, and the stats were displayed below the picture. Body level was listed at B. Not bad, Destini thought. Could probably take some hits if it has to. Boost level was listed at A. Not terribly surprising. The Tabby sure could go when I hit the booster. Finally, Grip level was listed at E. Another stat that didn't surprise Destini. Purple Tabby had a very difficult time taking even small turns without drifting, a technique that she was going to have to master. Destini smiled. "I like it. I like it a lot." Dr. Clash returned her smile. "You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear that, Miss Crane. Now if you would politely excuse me, I have a bar to run." The portly man shut off the computer and returned to the bar. Destini stayed for a few moments, admiring her machine, before she turned to go in to the bar to get herself a drink. Dr. Clash was more than happy to give the young woman a drink on the house, in spite of her insistence that she paid. "No, no, take it!" The engineer insisted. "You earned it!"
Destini sat and relaxed for a while. At this point the bar was empty, so it was quiet aside from the television sets mounted up on the walls. She couldn't help but stare at the small table that she and Don had sat that fateful night a month ago. At this point, it felt like a lifetime ago. Destini shivered again as she remembered pulling herself out of Don's grip on her shoulder. She never liked being touched, especially not by a fat old man who was 46 years older than her. After her drink was gone, Destini returned to the hangar to drive her new F-Zero machine back home to Aeropolis. She had only just walked in when she heard fast footsteps and briefly saw a dark reflection move across the reflective metal floor. Destini quickly drew her revolver from her thigh holster and cocked the weapon, rapidly looking around. "Who's there?" she demanded, holding her gun at arms length. No answer. She searched the hangar, but it was empty. There weren't very many places for somebody to hide, just behind one of the machines. Destini even looked underneath the Crazy Bear and Purple Tabby, but there wasn't a soul around. Who on Earth was prowling around? And what were they doing? The young woman didn't holster her weapon until the cockpit of her machine was closed and the main door of the hangar opened. Purple Tabby's engines roared to life, and the newly built machine took off down the streets of Mute City. She entered the coordinates for Aeropolis into the navigation system and followed the given directions. Thankfully, F-Zero machines don't go as fast on a regular street as they do on the circuit. If they did, Destini probably would've caused several accidents on her hour and a half long road trip back to Aeropolis.
Upon returning home, Destini lazily flopped down onto her futon before searching through the messed up blanket for the television remote. She pointed it at the wall, and a small hologram of a screen appeared. One advantage to living in a computer powered city like Aeropolis was that every flat, no matter how small, had a small television set built into the wall. It was a good thing for Destini, since she wasn't willing to shell out the credits to buy a television set. Not like there was anywhere to put one, anyways. She looked through the guide to find something that she would be willing to watch while lazing around and eating her dinner. There was one movie that interested Destini, a crime-drama set in the 22nd century and apparently inspired by true events. She dropped the remote onto the futon, got up, and headed to the pantry to see what she could eat for dinner. To the young woman's dismay, there were snacks but nothing that could make a full meal. Slightly frustrated, she looked in the mini fridge. Nothing but a few bottles of blueberry marble soda. Destini sighed through her nose. Looks like I'm eating take out tonight, she thought as she strapped on her thigh holster and headed out the front door. It was as silent as an evening could be in Aeropolis. Destini had only approached the Purple Tabby when she heard the clicking of three guns behind her, followed by an all too familiar voice.
"Took long enough to find you."
Destini drew her own weapon and spun around, now face to face with somebody she hadn't seen in a month.
It was Ankoku. She held her gun level to Destini's chest, as did the two men that stood on either side of her. Ankoku's red hair seemed to glow in the city lights and casted an air of ferocity to her visage.
"You again?" Destini growled. Keeping her finger a millimeter from the trigger, she backed up until her back was against her machine. "How did you find me?" She demanded.
Ankoku smirked. "You didn't see what I put on your machine?"
Destini hesitated. Did her assailant want her to turn around so she could shoot? As if she could read Destini's thoughts, Ankoku said to her, "Go ahead and turn around, I won't shoot. After all, my boss wants you alive. You're no use to him dead." Of course. Why would Don Genie want his underlings to kill Destini when he could exact his revenge on the young woman with his own hands, possibly quite literally? Keeping a close watch on her assailants, Destini skimmed her eyes over Purple Tabby's hull. Sure enough, it was almost invisible thanks to being black on black, but a small tracking device had been planted near the nose of her machine. Destini pried the small metal object off of her machine before throwing it onto the ground and crushing it beneath her heel. "What do you want?" The young woman demanded, turning her full attention back to Ankoku and her cronies. "You know exactly what," the redhead answered. "Just come with us and we won't hurt you. Then we'll see what Don wants to do with you."
"Forget it!" Destini shouted, the sound of a gunshot echoing through the evening silence as she quickly turned and shot one of the men, hitting him in the shoulder. She dove behind the Purple Tabby as Ankoku and the second man opened fire on her. Destini peeked our from behind her machine to fire off a few shots as the cockpit opened up. She jumped in and started up her machine as several bullets struck the windshield. Thankfully for Destini, the glass used for the windshields of F-Zero machines was made to be incredibly strong and difficult to shatter. After all, it wouldn't do any good for a windshield to shatter in an accident and cause further injury to the pilot. She put the pedal to the metal and tore down the street as fast as she could while also avoiding traffic as best she could, but thanks to the Tabby's wings and poor handling she inevitably caused some collateral damage. Thankfully, the damaged vehicles would serve as obstacles to slow her pursuers. Escape would be much easier this time, since Destini knew all to well that an F-Zero machine could easily outspeed any street car. The young woman took as many turns as she could, albeit with some difficulty, but she could still see her pursuers some distance behind her. Purple Tabby was rapidly approaching the end of a main road and the beginning of the highway. Destini had only one option left to lose her pursuers for good. She drove straight towards a cluster of computer controlled vehicles and launched a spin attack. It wasn't the best one, but a good number of vehicles were hit and scattered about the road haphazardly. Destini could hear the skidding of her pursuers' brakes as she floored it onto the highway. She didn't know where it would take her, but that wasn't an issue. Don Genie and his organization now knew where Destini lived and possibly knew that she used the stolen money to have her machine built. One thing was for sure. Destini wouldn't be returning to Aeropolis for quite some time.
As she took a moment to get her bearings together, Destini saw a hologram of a sign on the side of the road. It read "Port Town- 4500 kilometers"
Time for a road trip.