ACT 3 – 3000RPM 'Destiny'
The wind began to howl as the clouds hurled in to cloak the stars and the two vehicles lay side by side along the starting grid, revving their engines insanely as if they were playing a ballad. Emperor Zui Hou lay back within his NSX-S Zero, looking up highly up ahead into the light that shined from his headlights. Fu Huo sat in his seat comfortably, having all of his focus set onward and continued to cooperate with all his vehicle's features even before the battle had begun…
( 'Destiny' – Move)
' into the precious romance…
into the palace
we dance…'
The lights on the grid had finally flashed green and the two track beasts have shot straight through the line almost too fast for the naked eye.
'so finally what we
believe is destiny
we feel, feel our sweet heartbeat'
Zui Hou did not waste any time and fully accelerated his car, cleanly shifting throughout the rpms as precisely as possible. The S Zero screamed along its way, stealing the lead quickly and easily. Taking advantage of the boost on the low rpms, Zui Hou had prepared his shift-locking techniques for use against his opponent.
Fu Huo
strayed closely as he focused on his opponent slowly slipping past
him, staring at its golden chassis creep up from the side. He had a
good feeling and did not seem to be overwhelmed. Mother… I can
feel you close to me…
Putting his faith into both his
abilities and the tenacity within his heart, Fu Huo confidently
tailed the S Zero, flinging his car alongside it into the first mild
corner.
'gonna put you into trance!'
Zui Hou nonchalantly exited with such velocity out of the first corner, focusing on nothing but directly at the apex of the next corner further away and was already preparing his vehicle at such momentum. He quietly said to himself, as he quickly glanced at his mirror, "…Certain conditions must first be met before you are truely considered the undisputed champion…"
Zui glanced at his
son once more, then steered smoothly yet sharply without even
braking. His entry speed and line were almost intimidating. "First,
one must completely defeat all and everyone there is to defeat,"
With
a little more effort, Zui motioned his vehicle to tailwhip at his
desired direction, giving a sudden crack in pace in the attempt to
stall Fu Huo. "…And second, there must be absolutely no doubt in
people's minds that you are the best of the best and no one
better!"
'break to the beat and the bass line
break
to the beat and the bass line...'
The R lashed into the
straight-away, not letting up whatsoever to its elder counterpart. Fu
Huo had not been surprised with each twist of the battle, though not
even KYOKO could show him his future now. However, he had even
realized before even KYOKO had processed to him that there was
something rather different about his father's S Zero. Mother…
together… you and I will defeat my father!
The R followed
Zui Hou relentlessly right into the next wide and sharp curve as Fu
Huo clutched in to downshift then tapped the brakes with his toes and
the throttle with his heel.
'wow so many time I saw that
dream
asayake no naka ni machi ga nijin de'
KYOKO
transmitted more data, yet Fu Huo continued as if he had already
processed and was already on par with the system. He knew he could
handle excluding the less important information by ignoring portions
of his mind and focusing the rest on what he could use. There's
no mistaking it… That boost is not from a turbocharger system…
The S Zero ripped into another corner, though was rather sudden
and almost vague from view. Zui Hou accelerated madly once
again.
'now I'm sure that you're the one for me
mazari
au toiki KIMI ni yoi shireteku'
The S Zero pushed hard
right from the outside straight to the apex, with Zui Hou tapping the
brakes lightly and gearing down, refraining from any skidding in
which he did not seem to bother. He did not have to check his view
again, Zui could almost 'feel' how close his opponent was behind
him. I see you've mastered the system.
Gearing down, then
quickly gearing up, Zui Hou smiled at himself and finally realized
that he also needed to give this battle everything he has and perhaps
even more. However, that did not stop his confident onslaught.
Fu Huo nearly crabwalked his vehicle next to his opponent, flying at an angle through the outside line as a means of a counter-strategem for his opponent's seemingly unusual low-rev acceleration and boost. Fu Huo continued to contemplate with KYOKO. Mother… how long can we keep this up? This is the only point of attack I can think of, but it barely even gets us ahead. The tyres will give out if we can't capitalize everytime we do it…
The audience continued to watch on at the monitor, as the cameras struggled to even keep up with the battle itself. Many of the galleries had their own opinions of the battle, though even for some who had no idea or had no previous interest in motorsport, they too have been hooked in into the match.
"Could the Zui Hou's alternate induction
upgrade be too much for Fu Huo?" wondered Alex.
Reiko observed
closely once more, then asked, "What is it do you mean?"
"To
put it simply, we all know how turboes provide in boost during the
higher rpm levels, right? It appears that Zui Hou has something that
does quite the opposite," explained Alex.
"Just split it
Alex," said Fao, "The Emperor's NSX is loaded with an s-charger
unit."
"That's right," confirmed Alex, "Since most
VTEC-equipped weapons such as the DC2, AP1, as well as the NA2 we see
right in front of us are almost unaccepting to any force induction
approaches such as turbo, Zui Hou figured the most obvious way to
provide his vehicle with an extra bit of power, and at the same time,
without sacrificing much of the NA2's lightning responsiveness was
to install a supercharger into its C32B unit."
"Isn't the
C32B the newer NSX engine?" asked Reiko.
"Actually, that's
quite correct. I'm not really sure what that old type of S Zero is
loaded with. Though apparently the previous one was more focused on
power output, and today's unit focused more on efficiency," said
Fao.
"In any case, Chuan Fu Huo is at a disadvantage… even
with the KYOKO System… a maniac driver like Zui Hou coupled with a
racing unit like that… it seems that the package was a lot bigger
than I had expected… perhaps maybe even bigger than Fu Huo could
chew…"
'RUURU yori fukai basho e iku koto to ikanai koto (yo! ho!)'
At this point, neither competitor could afford to hold back. And they were allowed to continue to pour everything they have without the distractions, worries, risks and burdens one may be more prone to experience on the highways and mountains. The two NA2 drivers did just that, as they relentlessly held their positions against each other throughout the first lap of the race.
'eraberu jiyuu ga areba with my
heart!
(Gotta get your destiny, love your soul with the flow!)'
Fu Huo figured he required to consistently attack his opponent with the only strategy that could even at least get him slightly closer, yet he had to make rather significant sacrifices each time. If he were to keep this up, he would eventually need to pit his car for a tyre change. However, he did not remember organizing his back up along the pit lanes to change his tyres for him. This is bad…
Without hesistation, Zui Hou released his throttle suddenly during such a quick and fast pace into the curve, not even braking as he steered hard and applied the throttle again, flinging his car right across the apex. Fu Huo's incredible reaction time saw him tap the brakes mildly and strafe from the outside to inside in hopes of covering much of the lost ground from his father's drift and try and steal the lead on the exit.
'hold me in the sunrise, your destiny
deatte
sugu ni kanjitta'
The S Zero suddenly boosted its way after setting itself back into direction and Zui Hou quickly tailwhipping his vehicle again to counter-maneuver his vehicle right after the R had even come close to reaching out past the S Zero's front bumper.
'kitto breakaway kiseki wo okoshite
sixteen
beats of my love'
Zui Hou then followed up with yet another well-executed high-speed counter-motion tailslide, which Fu Huo accurately anticipated and was already prepared to have him perform such a maneuver. The S Zero once again slid across the apex along the even sharper left-hander, though this time, the R followed almost completely in its line and swayed right into the same direction, pitting them side by side along the inside.
"Wow,
did you see that, Auntie?" said Roni overwhelmingly, as he tried
to keep up with the monitor.
"Oh my…" Kanae continued to
watch on in awe, both amazed and impressed by the shocing display of
both competitors, as the NSX R and S Zero twin drifted their way
through that last turn.
"I am watching the same guy I had met all the way back then at those tunnels… The same guy who shared me his bed when I couldn't get back home… the same man who proved to me and everyone else time and time again just how 'real' his skills were… But now as I watch you, Fu Huo… the skills you display now… are almost too unreal! Go for it, Fu! I finally understand what you meant that time when you forced me to use the AYUMI to defeat Reiko… When you said it was all worth it… I finally understand now," said Kanae, watching and cheering for her unexpected late night hero.
'hold me in the sunrise,
you're destiny
MORARU ga jama wo suru nara'
Zui Hou held back his anxiety very effectively, ignoring the struggle to keep his son at bay and continued to focus on pressing forward without having to stall his opponent. He knew that he needed to keep re-setting out his strategy each and every moment as his own way of counter-reacting to his opponent's KYOKO System. Yet with such power of a car like his supercharged S Zero, Zui Hou continued to establish his dominant ride to couple with his finely honed abilities over the past decades of his experience behind the wheel.
'why
don't we run away
sutesatte ii hazu ima ni ikite
(Hey that's
your final fate, baby that will never wait)'
Kumiko and
the others observed closely. Not only were they far beyond impressed;
they had felt the intensity from all the way in the lounge and
continued to survey all the monitors and camera angles. Shijian had
also been busy with Stephen with various screen captures and battle
data, from the lap times, section times, as well as recording the
entire battle in order to replay for others to view in the future.
So
good…. So impressive… by that time that you had defeated me back
at Route C4, I knew that you've already far surpassed me, Fu Huo.
I'm so proud!
Kumiko could not take of the big smile on her
face. A moment later, she took a quick glance at Minako, who seemed
to be in a rather strange and different mood. What's wrong with
her?
Minako and her sister continued to watche very
closely. However, it had seemed that she was the one who payed
attention more closely.
"What's up, Minako? Are you not
impressed?" asked Maya.
"No… it's not that," told
Minako, "Look…!"
Minako had already noticed before
everyone else, and pointed closer at the monitor. Screeching sounds
continued to echo across the booth while the others observed just
what she was trying to point out.
"He's been struggling this
whole time!" claimed Minako, as she quickly ran out of the room in
a hurry.
In an instant, Kumiko realized what Minako had in mind. "Wait for me!" she called out, as she ordered the other Generals to follow her hastily on their way out.
'yeah!
kindan no DOA wo hiraite to the fate yeah!
kyuukyoku no ai motome
bouken sa
into flame yakitsuku sareteku setsuna ni you
kono
kandou wo ajiwaou nando mo come on!
don't stop, don't stop dancin'
teppen made PIKItto trancin'
ittokuka? hey yo! sanzen
DESHIBERU de
ANPU bukkowashite bahhhhh-ng!
shuushuu tsukanai
kurai HADE ni ikou
murete kurasu jinsei juukaibun no kaikan wo'
The next lap had been nothing short of intense. Zui Hou had managed to keep at his commanding lead the whole time ever since the match had started, with Fu Huo still holding his position right behind him for the time being.
'yeah we're gonna
come together now
yokei na kazari wa subete hazu shite'
Fu Huo ignored all fatigue and stress throughout the duration of the match, setting back all his worries of the past, present and future having nothing else drive him but his heart. Nothing else could put a stop to that – not with his mother by his side. They continued to follow Zui Hou's unpredictable line strategy with such precision, as they worked together to try and form a new counter-strategem to at least even get closer and completely close the gap.
'no
more... najimi sugita flow time
wasuresou na yume wo yobisamasu
new energy'
As Fu Huo spent much of his time trying to find a solution to his problem, he had also realized how much of his tyres' grip had already been sacrificed in order to keep up. However, both competitors were also aware that Zui Hou had also made big sacrifices in order to keep his position and intimidate Fu Huo by not letting him a single chance after already a few laps.
'donna toki mo kako wa subete MABOROSHI to kieteku kedo (yo! ho!)'
Both drivers had tried to conserve their resources by taking the corners a little slower than previously. However, as Fu Huo tried to take advantage of Zui Hou's drop in pace and accelerate beyond his opponent to slightly stretch out ahead of him, Zui got an accurate read of Fu Huo's moves and quickly pushed on further in order to fail his son's attempt.
'kokyuu wo tometeru futari to
the light
(gotta get your destiny, love your soul with the flow)'
Fu Huo strongly called out, "Mother… please I need
you… lend me your power…!"
He could feel his NSX-R's grip
slipping away through each sharp corner, and the quicker it seemed to
deplete everytime he pushed on just to try and keep up with his
father's pace. It was only a matter of time before the R would need
a tyre change, yet Fu Huo had already ran out of options, as he
miscalculated on the battle and never expected to need to pit in at
such rate. Thus, Fu Huo had not arranged his own pit garage, which
was a grave mistake in that type of battle.
'hold me in
the sunrise, you're destiny
futari dake no kono SUTOORII'
Zui
Hou had also began to realize that he needed to pit at least once
during the battle, but was stunned at the fact that Fu Huo could
still go on with his NSX-R and keep up with him. What if he still
keeps going, while I pit in?
He knew he had to take a chance,
and he knew he already had organized his team to back him up in the
pit lane and change his tyres for him.
'nobody can stop
love odorenai basho e
fly me to the heaven!'
Fu Huo knew he absolutely could not afford to make any mistakes. With such meager amount of resources on his side, he still had enourmous amount of faith and determination backing his will to stay and keep driving. He remained blind to the fact that he was already losing the battle, but the adrenaline clouded his urge of quitting. Although he had no chance of winning, there was also no chance for him to give up and say die.
'hold me in the sunrise, you're destiny
tatoe
sore ga oroka demo
don't wanna take away
ai suru jiyuu wo
dakishimetai
(Hey that's your final fate, baby that will never
wait)'
Zui Hou had made up his mind. If Fu Huo passed
him during his pit stop, he would not have enough grip to outrun him
anyway. Fu Huo trailed behind from the remainder of the lap in
struggle, as the NSX-R had and did nothing to trifle with the S
Zero's continuous dominance.
It's not enough… Mother… I
do not think you and I can…
Both NSX's had a slightly
significant drop in pace, yet it was clear that the S Zero was still
and always had been on the upper hand. It's not good enough,
mother… he's too much for us… I don't think I can… win this
battle after all…
As the pit lane came to his sights, Zui Hou quickly swerved to the side and lowered his speed. Strangely, Fu Huo did the same. The fire of his passion had seemingly trickled and remained fragile. After a while, Zui Hou's overwhelming abilities seemed too much for Fu Huo and finally pushed him into calling it quits. He planned to follow him into the pit lane and finally announce his defeat directly to his face.
Fu Huo
watched on as his father's car geared in preparing to park in his
pit stop. All of a sudden, he caught eye of another opening, a free
spot that was clear and prepared as if for another vehicle. He
slightly caught sight of a familiar female figure, waving to him at
the pits. He slowly drove up to her and rolled in by her side, as he
set down his windows.
Minako stood outside of the pit, signaling
Fu Huo to come her way.
"What are you doing here?" wondered Fu Huo in a pitiful tone. Minako had realized the strange change in attitude from Fu Huo and did not allow him the slightest chance of turning down the battle.
"We figured that you might need a change of tyres during this match, Fu-Boo!" claimed Minako cheerfully.
Kumiko and Maya, along with the rest of the
Divine Unit Generals accompanied by almost a dozen mechanics rolled
out a new set of tyres and began to work on Fu Huo's NSX-R.
"Just
leave it to us!" said Kumiko.
"Damn… you guys are awesome,"
muttered Fu Huo. "I don't believe it… thanks a lot…"
'realize
sono ai no SUTOORII taihon no nai monogatari
tada mou zutto
futari houkouu sougen na RPG
kibou nora wazuka ni kono setsuna no
naka ni
won't you please just hold me in the sunrise, you're
destiny'
Fu Huo had finally realized that it was not only he and his mother who had to face the legendary Zui Hou. With the continous support of his comrades, he totally confirmed within himself that he was never to be alone in this battle. As the combined efforts of him and his loved ones had finally set in, exploding into the determination within his heart once again, Fu Huo decided that him and the others are working together to put an end to his father's reign. Thank you… You're all with me in this…
Moments later, both cars were now all set to continue the
bout and both had shot straight out of the pit lanes and once again
crossed the grid and into the final lap of the match.
The father
and son clashed like titans once more along the vast stretches and
obstacles of Neo Route 246. The naturally aspirated NSX Type R
continued to lash at the supercharged NSX Type S Zero, with both
racers holding each other's ground against each other, not letting
one another capitalize on anything.
'hold me in the
sunrise, you're destiny
deatte sugu ni kanjita'
The audience had already given a standing ovation and gave it up for Fu Huo's determination and all were inspired by his efforts to remain in the battle.
'kitto breakaway kiseki wo okoshite
sixteen beats of my love
(Give it up, give it up, come on)'
"It won't take much longer for him to figure it out,"
said Raide, who had already made up his mind on the battle.
"What
are you talking about?" asked Hokuto.
"It's a little tricky,
but Fu Huo will finally figure it out for sure and win this match,"
continued Raide.
"Figure what out?"
"…the weakness of
the supercharger," said Raide, "You see, turbocharged vehicles
tend to lag sometimes during pick up along the lower rpms, but gives
exceptional power and boost along the higher rpms…"
The
two had remained in their seats, observing the huge monitors once
more, and Raide continued to explain, "The supercharger does quite
the opposite, and provides power and boost along the lower rpms,
unlike turbo… which means… on the higher rpms…"
"Oh… I
get it now!"
"My S2000 is supercharged after all. I know of
this quite well…"
'hold me in the sunrise, you're
destiny
MORARU ga jama wo suru nara'
Fu Huo had already adapted to his father's style and strategy along the corners due to the other previous laps. All that time, he spent his effort trying to learn on his father's flow. Fu Huo smiled to himself, shooting his NSX-R straight into the exit of the corner at a much different, and unexpected method from Zui Hou, catching him off guard. Fu Huo's kansei drift out of that curve brought him side on with the S Zero.
'why don't we runaway sutesatte ii
hazu
ima ni ikite
(hey that's your final fate, baby that will
never wait)'
Fu Huo confidently fought side by side with his father as he and KYOKO had already realized their battle strategy. His car… doesn't top end as good as I would have expected… I could save this for the last attack, as he tends to stall a bit on the higher rpms, I have to come on top at the exit!
With much of his tyre's freshness remaining, Fu Huo patiently anticipated his opponent to take a solid line through a desired corner. Taking advantage of Zui's distance to the apex, Fu Huo accelerated and without slowing down, executed with all his faith poured into his kansei drift when Zui had least expected it and sent his car with more velocity throughout the corner.
'break
to the beat and the bass line...
break to the beat and break down'
Slowly, but surely, the NSX-R had slightly begun to poke out, shortly passing the S Zero's side mirrors and slowly thrusting forward, pushing further slightly ahead of the its front end…
