Terry sat dejectedly on a small stool in the area where Mr. Zero had introduced all the racers. He stared at the ground and sighed. "I can't believe it... my first race... and my poor Dolphin..."

A palm slapped him in the back of the head. "Four-eyes! Suck it up!" Terry looked up and found that Daigoroh was sitting next to him. "I was disqualified, too! But do you see me whining? No! It's not the end of the world!" Daigoroh thought for a moment. "But I should hurt you for KOing me..."

Before Daigoroh could finish, Mr. Zero took the platform. "Ladies and gentlemen!" he yelled. "That was the first race of this year's Grand Prix! And was it not fantastic?" The audience screamed in response. "Now, it is time to declare the winners! In sixth place, we have the beautiful Jody Summer!" Jody stood near Mr. Zero, on a platform emblazoned with the number six. She waved to the crowd.

"Coming in at number five... the mysterious, unfathomable Skull!" The Skull slowly walked onto the number five platform and joined Jody in waving to the crowd.

"The fourth place winner... the new racer, Blade!" The young man with messy hair clambered onto the slightly taller number four platform and gave a peace sign to the audience.

"Number three is..." Mr. Zero began to snicker. "Dewey... Cheatum..." Much like at the opening ceremonies, he collapsed into a fit of irrepressible laughter. Cheatum fumed and left the racecourse, leaving the third platform empty. One of the audience members threw a rolled-up ball of trash at the hysterical emcee, and he regained his composure.

"Ahem, sorry. Ah, our number two winner is the famous, celebrated Captain Falcon." The world-renowned bounty hunter took the second platform and struck a series of poses, each one eliciting more and more cheers from the audience. Don Genie, Blood Falcon, and Samurai Goroh simultaneously snorted.

Mr. Zero grinned. "Ladies and gentlemen... are you ready?" He gestured to the group of racers. "One of these racers is the winner of this race. Do you even know who they are? Was the race too close to see?" The audience began to roar. "Well, folks, the winner of the first AX Cup race, Aeropolis: Screwdriver, is..." Despite being loud five seconds ago, a pronounced hush fell over the observers. "DON GENIE!" Mr. Zero yelled. Genie stepped onto the number one platform amidst a tsunami of cheers and applause.

"Now then, Mr. Genie, since you are the victor of this race, I'd like to ask you something." Mr. Zero stepped closer to Genie and held the microphone to his face. "If you win the Grand Prix, what will you do with the prize money?"

Genie scoffed. "Bah! That won't even pay for my cigars. I suppose I'll... I don't know, donate it to charity or something." For the second time in as many minutes, a distinct silence fell over the crowd. Genie snorted, then fell over. "BAHAHAHA! Right! I'm actually going to use my own money to pay for those sniveling wretches!" He continued cackling.

Terry and Daigoroh looked at each other. "Look, crap-for-brains," Daigoroh said, "Let's agree right here that one of us will beat that chump." Terry thought for a moment, and put his hand out. Daigoroh shook it.

"Deal."

A few hours later, Terry meandered back to the starting line of the course, where the results had been posted. He glanced at the list and noticed that he had come in 27th place instead of 29th – Daigoroh, QQQ, and John Tanaka had all placed below him, presumably because their crafts had blown up as well. He looked at the ground again. "My precious craft..." he thought. "It's wrecked; I'm going to have to put a lot of time into repairing it. It's a good thing that the next race is a month away..." He pictured Mr. Zero detailing the next course.

"Now, racers, the next course is in outer space. The course is, as you know, the Meteor Storm. Watch out for the meteors raining down from the heavens!" He grinned. "This race will be held exactly one month from today, at 1200 hours sharp! Good luck training!" Suddenly, a loud crash jarred Terry out of his memories. He whipped his head around.

A greasy man in a mechanics uniform, who Terry identified as Tanner, was pushing a large object with a cloth over it and had dropped a toolbox on his foot. He began to curse loudly and adeptly. Terry covered his ears as a mechanical arm extended from his belt and stuck a small button on Tanner's forehead. Tanner failed to notice anything and continued to curse.

"Stupid toolbox!" he yelled. "I ought to ORANGE your MINTY CROISSANT into the ground!" Tanner stopped. "Wait, what did I just say?"

"You've got a cursing chip on your forehead," Terry interjected. "It will replace your cursing with completely nonsensical phrases. The genius Dr. Aaron Williams invented it." Terry grinned. "What do you have under the sheet?"

"Well, kid, I tell you," Tanner began, "I think it's a RHODE ISLAND shame that a kid with your talent lost in the first FUN-FUN race. So, I decided to do you a favor." He pulled the sheet off, and underneath it was the Cosmic Dolphin. "I may be from the FINLAND 20th century, but I know a thing or two about mechanics! I fixed your machine, there!" Terry ran over and hugged Tanner.

"Thank you so much!" Terry said, "It would have taken me a month to fix it myself!" He climbed into the cockpit. "I gotta fly! Thanks again!" He accelerated and zoomed out of Aeropolis.

Tanner grinned. "That kid is going to win the whole SCARLET Grand Prix!" He frowned. "And maybe I can learn to stop cursing soon... I sound like a STAPLING moron..."

Terry drove out onto the open road. All of the spectators and other racers had left hours ago, so he had the entire highway to himself. He gunned his engine. "Okay, Dolphin," he murmured, "let's kick it up a notch." Terry stepped on the gas, and the Cosmic Dolphin shot off into the distance, blue flames licking the road behind it.

Soon, however, Terry heard a siren behind him. He looked, and a red craft with small wing-like appendages on the sides was following him. A red and blue light was flashing out of the windows. "Oh, no..." he thought. Terry pulled over and stepped out of the craft.

The police officer began to speak before Terry could see him. "It's not too often that I see children racing down the main Aeropolis road with such recklessness, eh, Terry?"

Terry was puzzled. "Who are you?" he asked.

"Has it been so long, Terry?" The officer stepped into the light.

"Phoenix!" Terry ran over to him. "Oh, you have no idea how relieved I am to see you!"

"Heh, don't worry. I'm not going to arrest you. I knew it was you when my speed radar first went off." Phoenix pulled out a clipboard. "However, I am going to have to warn you to cut down on the speed. Not all officers are as nice as I am." He smiled.

Terry smiled back. "Hey Phoenix, how about a race? Just for fun. This entire stretch of road is empty..."

Phoenix thought for a moment. "Okay, sure. I can never resist a challenge." They both got back into their respective vehicles and moved them so that they were sitting right beside each other. "The convenience store about five kilometers down will be the finish, okay?"

Terry nodded. "Let's get this show on the road!" They both started their engines and zoomed off into the distance. They twisted and weaved around each other, both trying to maneuver their best on the narrow road. Phoenix boosted ahead but was quickly cut short as a small dog ran out into the road in front of him. As Phoenix was stopped to let the puppy by, Terry rushed past.

"Oh, tough luck, Phoenix!" Terry called out as he passed his opponent. Phoenix glared and burst into activity once more, hot on Terry's tail. Terry pressed a key on his dashboard, and the Cosmic Dolphin glowed. A small orb circled around the craft once, knocking Phoenix back more.

"You will pay for that!" Phoenix laughed. Suddenly, the wings on Phoenix's craft opened and the craft itself became airborne. He flew over Terry's head and landed neatly in front of the Cosmic Dolphin. Phoenix waved at Terry. "The store is in sight!" Phoenix muttered. "I'm going to make it!"

With no warning, a small, green, tank-like vehicle burst past Phoenix and crossed the finish line first. Phoenix stared, amazed, for a moment and crossed the finish line too, at the exact same time as Terry. They both got out of their crafts and walked over to the green mystery craft. A small white robot got out.

"QQQ!" Phoenix yelled. QQQ clicked in affirmation. "Why did you ruin our race?"

"Well, sir, it seemed the best option at the time. Had I not interfered, you and Terry would have likely destroyed each other's vehicles in your respective bids to win."

Phoenix looked at the ground. "I guess you're right. I can't stand losing, and I bet Terry can't either." Phoenix turned around and shook hands with Terry. "Well, Terry, it looks like this is a draw."

Terry nodded as Phoenix and QQQ climbed back into their vehicles. He watched them as they zoomed off into the distance. "Oh well," he thought, "Losing a race isn't so bad. At least I can have some fun along the way..."