ACT 8 – 8000RPM 'Revelations'

I wonder how the others are doing…

Minako remained in her car, even though she had told her sister that she would come and join her to keep her company. Yet she had the urge to stay with KYOKO, shaking off her worries and trying to find answers to her inner conflict.
She continued to wonder about the result of it all once all events have been played. However, not even KYOKO could give her an answer. Not even with KYOKO, she was never brought an answer to the very questions that led her into the racing world in the first place…
It was unable to calculate the result of the battle, thus leaving Minako with no future to look in to. The only way she could find these answers is to do it herself. She had to give an answer of her own.

Minako glanced through her window and looked at her sister who roamed around the diner mopping floors and wiping tables. I'm sorry, but I can't right now… You've been so good to me… I wish there was something I could do for you… But right now…
The NSX-R's lights slowly lit up. Minako had a blank stare for a moment as a slight glow from the car's interior lighting had pulsed slowly, along with the apparatus connected to her brain.

I see… the only way I'll find out… is if I do it myself…

( 'Rhythm Emotion' from Gundam Wing)

Minako started the engine, just after she had opened and closed the door making sure it was shut tightly. She wiped the visor slightly with two fingers and took a deep breath.
KYOKO… can you run tonight? Okay… let's go

Minako slowly clutched in and geared up. Leaving her other hand firm on the steering wheel, she suddenly and quickly launched her car straight out of the parking lot. Tyres screeched and revs soared as the bright white NSX-R shot out into the streets…

Ling Luan continued to struggle to catch sight of Kanae's taillights, and already disturbed by the fact that Stephen had just been eliminated just moments ago after spinning out in the middle of one of the intersections, cutting away precious time. He was still overwhelmed by Kanae's seemingly superior senses. He followed her through the trials of the city, raging from alleyways, flyovers, and tunnels alike.

The pursuit did not seem to end. Ling began to contemplate as to whether he had enough stamina left to keep going. The traffic did not help him with his frustration at all. He watched Kanae zoom past the other cars almost so easily, using such agile and precise movement and lane switching.

All of a sudden, Kanae had drastically changed the path yet again and made a hard U-turn. Still behind, Ling had no choice but to follow her lead until he gets in front. When that happens, it was his turn to dictate the pace again. But that was easier said than done. He pulled the e-brake, almost ripping it off as he slid his car at nearly a 180-degree angle and accelerated into Kanae's direction.
The car sprung back into direction, and as the car momentarily shook up, Ling had noticed the object next to him had fell into him due to the momentum caused from the powerslide.

This helmet… the Princess… I must not disappoint her…
Ling tossed the helmet back onto the seat next to him and geared up. Yet again, he had almost lost himself into the wrong direction, thinking that one car had the same taillights as an Evo VI. Though Ling could not afford any more mistakes. His panic grew thicker and struggled to retain as much stamina as he could.

I… have no choice…!
Ling still had doubts. His very life, and the life of others would be at risk. But then he had also realized, his life that he wasted living, training and working under Zui Hou R would be meaningless if he had given it up now…
In desperation, Ling quickly reached for the helmet and slapped it on swiftly with one hand, using the other to steer carefully.
In a loud cry, he demanded, "Please… help me… KYOKO!"

At an instant, all Ling could then see was his opponent. He gripped the steering wheel and began to fully ignore his fatigue, even though he began to cough into the helmet, he still accelerated on. Gearing up once more, the Evo VII shot past the traffic, switch to different lanes back and forth so swiftly and precisely, while Ling focused on nothing but the opposing Evo.

As Kanae was busy trying to quickly decide on a new path, Ling was able to buy some time and make his way closer, following right behind the Evo VI in the hopes to narrow the gap a little bit.
That woman is not using her pure skill…!

The Evo VII pulled up almost a few meters behind the VI. There was no car in between him and Kanae. I am rather certain… she was also using the program all along!
Ling was then shown the different strategies that AYUMI had shown Kanae, with KYOKO as a guide, Ling had strived to attempt a counter-measure.

The epic first clash of KYOKO versus AYUMI, Ling Luan split away from Kanae and took an alternate route which lead in the same direction of Kanae's path. Noticing the Evo VI making its way into a secret alleyway, cutting through the main road and avoiding all the traffic, Ling had decided to take an alternate path; a riskier path that took him to the flyover where cars came opposite his direction, but also cut a lot shorter than the other two paths.

Kanae took a peek at her mirror. She had also realized something had changed with her opponent's actions. The calculations in her brain came up with only one possible conclusion.
He is using the same program as I am…!

The Evo VI shot out of the alley, while the VII came down from the ramp, with its body slightly ahead.

( 'Fly' – Heartsdales)

Both drivers had throttled fully into the long straightaway. However, having his car slightly ahead, Ling Luan had the advantage of choosing the destination, as well as being the first to see things ahead.
The two headed into an intersection and the lights were orange. They both took notice, but did not slow down at all.
The lights had suddenly turned red, though Ling slightly caught glimpse of traffic approaching from the right, which was also a little obscured from Kanae's view.
Without time to think, Ling powerslided his vehicle so sharply sideways, as his tyres began to screech violently, as he set his car to blend in with the direction of the traffic, while Kanae had only just realized the cars coming from the right. However, it was far too late for her to react as she only just came in view. In desperation, she slammed the brakes and struggled to stop her vehicle, as the Evo VI lost a lot of speed and was blocked by the oncoming traffic, while Ling cruised in front of the pack, leaving his opponent behind as he settled down with his remaining grip and slowly but surely grabbed the win…

I… I guess I've done it…
Ling smiled to himself in relief, as he parked his car on the outskirts of town, clearly indicating how far he had defeated his opponents. This is awesome! I've actually done it!
Ling slowly removed the helmet and layed back still smiling to himself.
I guess there won't be a need for this anymore…

Ling exhaled once more and tossed the helmet to his back seat. He raised his hand slightly, and in victory, he cried out, "…For Zui!"

Bao Fu continued on to lead past Kumiko, as their battle had continued down at C4. They had almost reched the final section, and Bao Fu was in a lot better shape than his opponent. Kumiko relaxed a bit, and stayed calm as she prepared a counter-attack strategy to pull out the upset on Bao Fu's victory pre-determined by AYUMI.

I can't seem to shake her off. I guess she's still got some left. Oh well, doesn't matter. As long as I keep this up, I'll win, won't I, AYU?

( 'Duty' – Ayumi Hamasaki)

There was one chance, and only one chance for Kumiko to strike. She hoped desperately that Bao Fu does not know the course specialty of Route C4.

'Dare mo ga sagashite Hoshigatte iru mono
"Sore" wa itsuka no Mirai ni aru to
Boku mo mina mo Omoi konnde iru yo ne'

The 350GT dominated on, using Kumiko's own blocking tactics against her the moment she'd even make it look like her car was poking it's face like it was about to overtake. Though Kumiko used this as a means of re-stalling her opponent as he tries to stall her back.

'Nanoni ne masaka kako ni aru da nante
Ittai dore hodo no HITO kizukeru darou
Yosou mo tsukanai'

That was Kumiko's plan to ease off the pressure. She made Bao Fu try to slow her down, causing him to slow down as well. It was an ideal trick used for a course such as C4. Though it seemed that Kumiko's performance had become a little sloppy.

I'll end your career right here!
Bao Fu accelerated further, realizing Kumiko's plan and widened the gap a little more with the awesome power of his Skyline.

'Tashika ni hitotsu no jidai ga owaru no wo
Boku wa kono mede mita yo
Dakedo tsugi ga jibun no ban datte koto wa
Shiritaku na kattan da'

Kumiko was aware that the turning point of the battle was in her sights. The corkscrew was coming up and she had already braced herself for that moment ever since the battle had begun.
She followed closely at the 350GT, as she secretly set herself up for the jump…

Unexpectedly, the 350GT had then attempted Kumiko's own attack even before she could execute it. Just before the GTO turned into the gap, Bao Fu had already sent his vehicle shooting down the corkscrew and briefly slamming his ride on to the ground ahead, skipping a lot of ground.
In great shock, Kumiko flinched at what Bao Fu had unexpectedly accomplished, and with an FR layout to top it off. Before she knew it, she was struggling to plough through the sands, losing some speed as the 350GT faded from her view…

Haha… you thought I didn't know? And by the way, I knew about it all along, and that was not because of AYUMI!

One precise moment can mean victory or defeat in a battle, and it did. Bao Fu cruised along with his powerful 350GT and stole the win at the finishing point.
With a hideous laugh, Bao Fu amazed himself at the fact that the legendary Fukada Kumiko had just been outclassed and outmatched. "I have done it!" he kept repeating to himself, "I had finally done it!"

The Emperor felt extremely proud of himself, like he had not achieved anything better in his life. He was so thrilled at the fact that he had just defeated someone like Kumiko. "I don't believe it myself! Fukada Kumiko… actually lost a battle!"

Bao Fu parked his car to the side, at the end of the route and stepped out magnificently with such arrogance. The 3000GT pulled up shortly after, parking right behind the victor.

It was…fun. It has been a while since I have tasted the bitterness of defeat… so long that I… have begin starting to miss it…
Like the champion that she was, Kumiko stepped out of her vehicle patiently to congratulate the winner.
Strangely, Bao Fu continued to celebrate madly. He felt so high and mighty, so much that he continued to ignore Kumiko, who offered her hand.

"At long last! I have finally done it!" Bao Fu was so happy that he could almost cry.
"Um…" Kumiko felt very awkward suddenly.

"All this time… I've been waiting for this day. This one day that I would finally defeat you, Ku!" said Bao.

The expression on Kumiko's face had suddenly changed drastically. Wait a sec… there is… only one person I can think of who calls me by that nickname…!
"W-What did… you just call me?" asked Kumiko in hesitation.

"You heard me, Ku," said Bao, "I have wanted this even more after Operation: Zheng Fu!"
"No… it cannot be…!"

With great excitement, Bao Fu had ripped his mask off again and threw it at his feet. Strangely, his hair was a darker black colour, though with the same length and layered strips, but with fringes and brown tips. His face was also totally different, yet very strikingly familiar.

"…So very nice to see you again…Ku," said Bao Fu, looking down upon his former master. "Why do you look at me like that? It is like you've seen a ghost," he said, in his true voice, which had a deeper, more seductive tone.
"You're alive….?" Surprised Kumiko, examining Bao Fu from head to toe, and concluding without a shadow of a doubt that the man who stood in front of her was the individual who was once her favourite and best student, whom had been assumed to have died a few short months ago.

Whether she was hallucinating or not, Kumiko had no doubt that she was looking at the man she once knew as Chuan Fu Huo.
A little tear had ran down her eye, as Kumiko softly repeated to him, "You're… alive…"

"More or less," said Fu Huo.
"But… Bao Fu is…"
"No… I am the true Bao Fu. That kid that you met earlier today was an impostor. A decoy that I prepared all along just in case I would be forced to remove the mask…" explained Fu.
"But why… why… why have you decided to come back like this? Are the words that the imposter said true?"

"Partially," corrected Fu Huo, "But I have not much interest in unifying all three teams together. I am just here… to take back what's mine as the true undisputed champion of all road racers. And now I have just taken the title from you,"

So that's why he seemed to proud of himself… all this time… he just wanted to defeat me…
"So you've come all this way… done all this, only just to take your revenge out on us…?"
"Well doesn't that make more sense, huh…" confirmed Fu Huo, "After all… revenge is the meaning of Bao Fu…"

"Fu Huo…" cried Kumiko.
"No… I am no longer Chuan Fu Huo. That man is dead, along with his name. I am the Emperor of revenge, Bao Fu," announced Fu.

Moments later, the sound of a group of vehicles drew closer to the two, as they stood and waited under the glow of the moon. The Super Dreadnaught cavalry and arrived and stopped nearby both competitors, as Raide and the silver-haired Bao Fu pretender stepped out of the vehicle. Strangely, they seemed to be in quite a worry.

"It seems that you have taken it off," said the young silver-haired boy.
"Yeah… you know what that means," bragged Fu Huo.
"You're amazing, Fu Huo. Even the Neon Serpent could not stand up to you… By the way, did you like my little acting I did earlier?"

Raide had momentarily stepped forward, and had begun to interrupt on the conversation.
"Um… I'd hate to ruin your victory celebration, but…"
"What's wrong?" asked Fu Huo.
"Uh-oh…" said the fake Bao Fu.
"It's about Kanae… the Divine Unit Generals have managed to pull the victory somehow…" explained Raide.

"What…?" roared Fu Huo in a sudden rage. He had totally snapped and stomped on his mask, crushing it to pieces. "Kanae lost? This isn't meant to happen! But how? I gave her the AYUMI… unless…"

Fu Huo paced himself back and forth in frustration, "This complicates everything!"
With much anger, Fu Huo threw his coat off at Raide and stepped back into the 350GT, slapping his helmet on and slamming his door shut.

"I guess I'll have to take the whole matter into my own hands!" claimed Fu Huo, as he shut his windows and started his engine, accelerating madly off the line. Before he could reach back into town, AYUMI had shown him the quickest path back into the main downtown area.

However, that path was also along past Route D1…