An AcceleRacers Fanfiction
By: Wings of Speed
Disclaimer: Look in the first chapter, you'll find it there.
Summary: It's hard to tell the truth from the lies when you're in so thick you can't remember one from the other or what was originally a lie and what was originally the truth. Vert discovers in a rather dramatic fashion that those he considered his closest relatives are in all actuality: the enemy.
Warning: Nothing much mentioned in this chapter…just subtle hints of a violent nature. Or at least I think they're just subtle hints, one can never be sure in my demented mind. Then there's also the fact that I'm working on Chapters 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10 all at once…so things are completely muddled in my mind. No, wait, scratch that…I'm tweaking chapters 6 through 9 and working on Chapter 10…er…something like that. I don't know any more! What I do know is that I've got several chapters finished a head of time and am slowly working more information into them…er…yeah, shutting up now 'cause I'm confusing even myself on this issue…onto the show and enjoy what comes from my demented way of thinking.
And The Lies Continue to Crumble
Chapter 6: The Tightening of the Noose
Courtney had taken off at a dead run, not even bothering to pay attention to see if her cousin and the rest of his friends were following her. Dirt was kicked up by her shoes as she throttled into a full out run, but she didn't care; nothing else mattered but getting to Trinity, at least nothing at that point in time. The only thing that mattered was getting to her cousin before the older girl did something that she knew Trinity would regret for the rest of her life…that's if the Imperative would ever leave her out of its grip.
The rest of the racers were left standing outside of the manor, perplexed and confused as to the occurrence of the most recent of events. Some stared after Courtney while others stared at the unknown woman, wondering exactly what part she played in the strange things that were suddenly happening since the appearances of the Winds and their leader. While the rest just stared, completely baffled and unsure exactly where it was that they wanted to let their eyes rest: stare at the woman like a bunch of idiots or watch Courtney's retreating back like a bunch of morons? At that point in time one idea was sounding about as good as the other.
A westward wind blew, scattering bits and pieces of dirt and debris into the air. In the distance a dirt devil formed, kicking even more dirt into the air as the wind whirled around in a sporadic tornadic funnel. As quickly as the dirt devil had formed it disappeared, leaving a rain of dirt in its wake…the only sign of its passing.
Nolo sidled up along side of Vert and whispered in his teammate's ear, "Do you have the slightest clue on what just happened here, or are you just as much in the dark as the rest of us?" The wind gently caressed his skin and hair, threatening to spill a few stray pieces into his face. He irritably brushed them from his face, his dark eyes centered on Vert.
Vert shook himself out of his perplexed thoughts and looked at his leader. He shook his head in answer, "Your guess is about as good as mine at the moment." Things were muddled at the moment and he wasn't one hundred percent positive on which way was up and which was down. The world seemed to have titled on its axis and was leaving all of its occupants in a state of confusion.
Lani slowly walked up to Vert, but her eyes were constantly trained on the strange woman who had returned to the tow-backs, almost as if she believed that this stranger was the cause of the misfortune that had settled on the area. She briefly glanced away from the strange woman to look Vert directly in the face, then her eyes slowly turned to survey the rest of the gathered racers. Her eyes then came back to Vert and she spoke slowly, as if weighing each of her words before she said them, "Leti said to get Courtney, that she can sometimes get through to Trinity when she's in this type of mood…" her voice broke off as she considered Vert for a moment, an unknown look briefly flashing across her eyes. "Has this happened before Vert? Is Trinity a danger to herself as well as others?" There, she'd said it and now she waited patiently for the burst of anger she was positive was sure to erupt from Vert.
For a second Vert stared at her like she had grown a second head as the heat of his anger flashed in his eyes, "If either one of my twin cousins had been a danger to anyone, it would've been Serena. Serena was the one after all that used to enjoy ripping the wings off of flies just for the fun of it, or pouring salt on slugs just to watch them bubble up and disintegrate…if either of the two were evil it would have been Serena, not Trin. I've never heard of her acting like this before."
"I don't know Vert," Lani said softly, unconvinced, "The way Leti was talking, this has happened before. Maybe you don't know your cousins' as well as you think after all. It is possible you know, people do change as they grow older or certain events shape the outcome of who they'll become." Her eyes quickly darted to where Taro and Karma were standing near to one another, the two were talking softly, their voices barely carrying but their eyes kept darting to the strange woman that had now moved to unload both cars from their carriers.
Vert shook his head, not completely believing what she was saying. "I think I would know my cousins a little better then you would Lani, I've known them longer after all, no offense or anything. But what you're trying to say, it just doesn't fit with the Trinity I know. Like I said, I'd be more inclined to believe this of Serena, but she's dead."
"All is not as it seems," he heard the woman say as Bass Reflex rolled off of the carrier, suspension groaning as the car rocked as its tires carried it onto the unevenly paved driveway of the manor.
Vert stared at the woman for a moment and then ignored her, figuring she was just talking to herself or something.
Lani had turned to look at the woman as well, her eyes just briefly alighting on the stranger before turning to look at Vert once more. Her gaze jumped over the rest of the racers as her eyes returned to Vert and something suddenly occurred to her that she had forgotten before. "Leti also said to bring Shirako if I ran into him, she thinks he might be able to snap Trinity out of whatever she's sunken into…Something happened between the two of them, didn't it? More than what anyone was telling me?"
Vert shook his head, "You're guess is as good as mine. I'm not really sure, I just know he found Trinity after she wrecked Court's car…he didn't really tell me much more after that, but with Leti being his cousin, he might've revealed a bit more to her than he would the rest of us."
"Don't you think we should be following Courtney, if Trin's as much of a danger as Lani and Leti think-" Kara began, speaking up for the first time since the other girl had come running out of Tezla's manor. She was standing close to Vert, the fingers of her hand nearly brushing against his own.
Karma interrupted Kara with a snort, "If? Ha! That girl's more danger than any of us thinks. I still say she's working for the Silencerz and she's here to stab us all in the back."
Anger flashed in Vert's eyes as he turned them to regard his teammate, "I'd appreciate it if you'd keep such opinions to yourself." He ground out between clenched teeth, one of his hands fisting until the knuckles turned white. "She's still foremost my cousin, and unlike you, I'll give her the benefit of the doubt. She's done nothing directly to even give me the slightest notion that she's working for the Silencerz. The only things you have to support your ideas are the fact that she's been in the wrong place at the wrong time." He took an angered step toward Karma, only to feel a warm hand placed on his shoulder.
"I think it'd be in our best interest to follow Courtney. Maybe we can offer her some help." Kara said softly, trying to end the fight before it had the chance to get off the ground. The last thing they needed at that second was members from the same team going at each others' throats. "Besides, you heard what Lani said, Leti seems to think that Shirako can help in some way. We should be getting in there, besides, I don't want to miss a single thing as it unfolds." A wicked grin spread across her face, "I hate missing out on fights, especially if I can be involved."
Vert shook his head as he looked at her. "Fine, let's get going."
"What about her?" Nolo asked as he hiked a thumb in the general direction of the woman who had just finished rolling Livid Thunder off of one of the roll backs. "We just gonna leave her out here all by herself?"
Kara snorted, "I don't see what harm she could do. Besides, with all the security measures that Uncle Peter has in effect, I don't see her as being that much of a danger. A minor nuisance maybe, but nothing more."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
The woman laughed to herself as she watched the gathered group depart, not even bothering to leave someone out there to watch over her. They were inviting danger in via the front door and they didn't even realize it at the moment. Then again, danger had already entered and they weren't any the wiser in that regard.
She laughed wickedly as a sadistic smile crossed her face. "It'll only be a matter of time until you realize your folly, but by that time it'll already be too late and there will be nothing you can do to stop that which will inevitably destroy you all. This time Tezla, you and your rag tag band of racers will not win. The Silencerz will ultimately destroy you and the surprise will come when you realize that one you put your trust in will be the one wielding the knife that will slice through your heart." Her blue eyes sparkled with an insane madness.
She opened the door to Bass Reflex and hit a button that was expertly concealed near the driver's seat. "It'll only be a matter of time until the noose tightens around your neck, only then will you realize the folly of your ways. Only then will you scream for her to end this miserable existence you call a life."
Her laughter echoed through the stillness of the air, resounding off of distance hills to echo back to her. "Then the third Wheeler will be ours and our victory will be assured. Then there will be no possible way that we can be thwarted, our victory will be definite."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
Serena glanced with interest into the room beyond the door. Dr. Tezla sat on a swivel chair, a desk and computer terminal behind him. He was facing her, almost as if he were waiting for her to enter.
She took a cautious step further into the room, her eyes inspecting everything and anything. She watched for the slightest of movement, anything that would signal an ambush. Nothing caught her eye.
Along the walls were shelves of books, they lined each one of the walls, seemingly in an endless sea of bindings and pages. Even more books covered the computer desk and there were even some thrown on the floor, littering the space around the desk and chair. Computer paper, notebook papers and other debris were strewn about the floor, giving the impression that a two year old had wreaked havoc in the secluded space of the room.
"Rather interesting décor you have going on here Peter Tezla," Serena said snidely. "Housekeeper decide to quit on you or something?"
Tezla waved a hand in the air, dismissing her arrogant remark about the shambles his study was in. "Take a seat, please. I'll presume by your resemblance to Vert's cousin that you must be the dead twin. I can say that I'm really not surprised to discover that you're very much alive."
"Such wonderful powers of observation you've got there," she responded, her eyes turning into ice, resembling a lake in the dead of winter.
"I'll also presume that since you're here, there must be other agents within my home."
A wicked smile crossed her face, "At least two that you are familiar with and a few more you are not. We've got everything well in hand and it'll only be a matter of time until we've got what we came for."
"And just exactly what is that?"
"I'm sure you know."
"My first guess would be Vert, but something tells me that is not entirely the truth. If that were so, you wouldn't have come searching for me."
"Again, your powers of observation are rather astute."
"You've come for the AcceleChargers would be my guess. You should be forewarned that I do not have them. Vert did not return with them. Your superiors still retain them in their possession."
Serena gave a laugh, "If you think I'm going to believe that than you are sorely mistaken. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Silencerz do not hold them. They are here, within this building someplace and I will find them." Her eyes glared at him coldly, "Even if I have to tear this place apart piece by piece."
"You can tear this place apart piece by piece, as you so put it, but you will not find them here. I do not have them." He just stared at her, his eyes revealing nothing.
She stepped further into the room and closed the door behind her. Serena leaned back against the closed door, a look of malevolence crossing her face as she regarded Dr. Tezla. "Would you like to know what my expertise is with the Silencerz?"
Dr. Tezla regarded her with a raised eyebrow, he sighed in annoyance. "I suppose it matters not if I really don't want to know or care. Would I be right in that guess?"
Her smile widened, "Perhaps you are brighter than I ever gave you credit for. Of course you're guess would be correct, I care not what you want." She raised a hand before her and grasped the elastic band on the silver and purple trimmed glove that covered it. With a loud resounding smack, she pulled the glove more snuggly down over her hand, her eyes never once leaving those of Tezla's. "My specialty would be interrogation and torture, something that you'll be able to experience first hand if you don't tell me where the AcceleChargers are at."
"And again, I will tell you that they are not here."
Serena shrugged, "Keep singing that tune, soon enough you'll be screaming…no, actually you'll be begging to tell me things that are of no concern to me. Matters not one way or another to me, I enjoy what I do."
VVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVV
They arrived at the med-lab, only to find the door locked tight. The control functions had been fried and there was no way to activate the backup systems, whatever Trinity had done, she'd done a superb job of it. Everything pertaining to the functions of the door had been melted and was now just a molten mess of metal and wires. Completely and utterly unusable.
Lani had quickly set to work, before any of them had arrived. Now, with both Shirako and Monkey at her side, she was attempting to bypass whatever it was that Trinity had managed to do. In all honesty, it looked like she had set fire to the door controls.
Shirako's hands trembled as he held up a wire and watched as Lani peeled back some of the plastic coating from it, then spliced it into another harness deeper within the control's framework. She glanced up at Monkey and indicated for him to try the door release.
Nothing happened.
Time seemed to collapse in on itself as everyone waited with bated breath, watching as Lani peeled and spliced various other wires to other harnesses within the fire scalded framework of the door controls. After an eternity had seemed to pass, in reality only being a few minutes, she glanced back up at Monkey. She indicated with a nod of her head for him to try the controls once again.
This time there was a mechanical whine, then the door shuddered, but it didn't open.
"She seems to have known what she was doing," Lani said softly, her eyes once more focusing on the wires and connectors in front of her.
Courtney silently shook her head, a frown creasing her lips. "She was always the technical know-how, the mechanical whiz amongst all of us." As well as being the one that could sneak into anyplace undetected. A master of stealth…a deadly assassin.
"She can't still be in there," Nolo said softly, "not if the outside is fried. She'd had to of come out in order to do that, wouldn't she?"
Lani glanced up at him momentarily, then focused once more on the control panel before her. "Theoretically, I would have to agree with you, but she blasted this door for a reason and I want to know what that reason was."
"To throw us off," Courtney said softly from nearly right behind Lani. "She's not in there, she's somewhere within the house and probably knows exactly where all of us are at. She's probably linked up to the computer system and is monitoring everything that we're now doing. She'll remain a step ahead of us at each turn."
Lani turned for a split second to look at Vert's cousin. She silently shook her head, "That's just not possible. In order to get into the computer controls and the house monitors, she'd have to have the passcodes and encoders for the computer system. They're heavily encrypted and only a few now the codes to access them."
"Trinity's a whiz when it comes to things like this…she's what you would call a slicer, for want of a better word." Courtney responded softly. She was giving out to much information, but she had a gut feeling that things were going to be revealed soon enough. Her worst fears were being realized.
If Trinity was still in contact with the Silencerz, then she had everything at her disposal that she would need to hack into the computer systems…she'd be able to override everything and do what she pleased. Each of the three Silencerz agents had various areas that they excelled at: With Trinity it was her ability to slip into areas undetected, like a shadow and her innate ability with anything mechanical, including computers and their systems. Serena had excelled at torture and interrogation, if given the right amount of time she could get any prisoner to spill their guts and babble information that they hadn't even been asked about. Courtney's niche had been combat and battle schematics, if given an hour or so to study maps that showed the positioning of enemy and friendly troops alike, she could just about tell you in what way the battle would turn.
"What do you mean? Why would she do something like this?" Nolo asked, his gaze hard as he stared at Courtney. He was beginning to get the feeling that Karma's mistrust of the Winds, Trinity in particular, had a solid foundation. He himself was beginning to doubt whether they should be trusting any of these racers from Wyoming.
They hardly knew a thing about this group, other than the fact that a few of them were Vert's cousins and one of them was Shirako's.
"Because I'm almost positive she's not acting on her own anymore," Courtney answered softly. She visibly swallowed, the movement seeming to cause her a great amount of discomfort. "She's-" Courtney started, just as the lights went out.
Everything was tossed into blackness darker than even the deepest of night. The emergency lighting didn't come on and the backup generators didn't kick in either…just complete darkness as far as the eye couldn't see.
Several screams were heard as bodies collided with one another in the dark. There were the shuffling of feet and the sound of grunts here and there as someone either tripped over someone else or a foot or elbow came in contact with someone else's body.
"This can not be good," Tork said softly somewhere to the right of Courtney. "What's she up to now?"
At about the same time Mikey's terrified scream could be heard echoing through the otherwise silent hallway. His rough panting could be heard as he struggled for breath, his fear overwhelming all of his emotions.
"That's for me to know and you not to, Tork Maddox," a voice said over the PA system of the manor. Then in a more sinister voice, "Grow up for once would you Mikey, your fear of the dark does you no justice. It only serves to belittle you."
"What the?" Tork growled as he attempted to whirl around in the dark. His sudden grunt signified that he'd managed to run into someone else in the dark.
"Watch where you're stepping!" Kara's voice suddenly shouted out in the darkness. "That was me you stepped on you oaf!"
"Sorry," he muttered into the darkness, backpedaling a couple of steps but not being certain in which direction he was going. He came up hard against a solid form and felt someone reach out to steady him, "Thanks…whoever you are," he mumbled softly, his voice echoing in the silence of the dark hallway.
"Just me," came Taro's voice.
"Something touched me!" Mikey's shrill voice echoed in the darkness, but at this point it seemed no one was paying him any mind. There were more important matters to deal with.
"Hmmm…how interesting, the Maniacs actually do have manners and know how to use them. I'll have to make sure to let my superiors know this, we'd always wondered if you were all near Neanderthals or if you just acted like it." The same voice echoed over the PA system.
"Show yourself!" Tork growled into the darkness, his anger climbing in intensity with each insult that the unknown antagonist threw their way. "Or are you a stinking coward?"
A light laugh issued from the speakers hidden within the walls, "Me? A coward? Certainly not, as I'm sure you will come to find out. But this brash bravado that seems to be your façade will really get you nowhere with me…though it may get you to an early grave if you don't reign in your antagonism rather quickly."
Tork swore quietly beneath his breath, this person was really pushing his buttons and seemed to enjoy doing so. "I think you are a coward, otherwise you'd have shown yourself already. You're just too afraid to face us directly and have to hide behind those speakers instead of facing us head-on."
"I've already faced you Tork Maddox, more than once, and I think at one point you've even been inclined to maybe call me friend. Though that was a mistake that may very well cost you your life, as well as the life of the others."
"Who are you?" Vert called into the thin air, though he was inclined to believe he already knew who it was and he was sure the others knew as well. The voice was unmistakable, though the coldness that ran through it didn't really sound like his cousin…it sounded more like another one of his cousins, one that was dead.
"Tsk, tsk, tsk," the voice admonished. "Can you really tell me you don't recognize the voice of your little cousin Vert? Or perhaps your mind is to preoccupied with that little girl that wants to be a street racer…what's her name? Oh yeah…Cora…no, that's not quite right. Oh yes, Kara. Dr. Tezla's very own niece."
"Excuse me, but if you have something to say about me you can say it directly to my face you bitch!" Kara ground out in anger. She hadn't decided one way or the other on whether or not she liked Trinity, but this sure as hell had decided things for her. She'd rip the pansy-ass street racer to shreds if given the opportunity.
"Oh, sorry Kara, nearly forgot you were there as well. You are so easy to forget after all and it won't be long before Vert forgets about you as well. You'll just be a faded memory to him in the end, a faded memory that won't even cross his mind as time passes by."
"Why you-" Kara growled, her fingers itching to tighten around the other young woman's neck.
"Don't listen to her," Courtney advised softly, "She's just trying to goad you into a reaction. To fog your mind with anger will make you an easier opponent to deal with later. One's mind does not think rationally when hampered by anger or any other form of emotion." It was a basic rule amongst the Silencerz, one that had proven true on more than one occasion.
"Ok Yoda," Pork Chop mumbled beneath his breath. "Don't be going all Star Wars here on us."
"Shove it you oaf," Courtney snapped.
"Can it, both of you!" Tork admonished, his voice tight with anger. "We need to figure out where she's at and what she's up to."
"And why," Nolo added. "She's planning something and we need to figure out what and why."
"I still say she works for the Silencerz," Karma cut in. "That's all the reason she would need to do something like this. Besides, doesn't it seem a little strange that a Silencerz car shows up shortly after she and the Winds do? I think they're all in cahoots with the Silencerz." If she had been able to see, she would've directed her glare at Courtney and the rest of the Winds.
"Excuse me, I don't know who in the hell these Silencerz are or what they are, but I'll be damned if I'll have a hot head like you accusing me and the rest of the crew for working for them!" A male voice broke the silence, the anger in his voice apparent.
"Cool it Mikey," Courtney admonished.
"Besides, there's also the fact that Leti's missing," another male voice cut in: Jon's.
"She's probably with Trinity laughing at all of us," Karma growled.
"I doubt it," Shirako's voice broke the silence for the first time. "She wouldn't deal with a group like the Silencerz, their ideals are too shady."
"And neither would Trin or Court, right Court." Vert added.
There was no answer in the silence, not even a whispered response. "Courtney," Vert whispered, his voice barely discernable, even in the silence of the hallway. "Courtney, neither you nor Trinity would work for the Silencerz, tell them." There was a pleading note to his voice now, he desperately didn't want what Karma was accusing his cousins of to be true. But Courtney was not denying it…and her silence was an unspoken sign of guilt.
It suddenly felt like Vert's world was coming crashing down around him. First he finds out that his father is working for the enemy…and now this! What more could happen, what more could go so thoroughly wrong?
As stated earlier, chapters 7, 8 and 9 are complete, they just need some adjusting before I even contemplate posting them. I'd originally had this chapter completed several times, but lo-and-behold, I discovered some things that needed to be added so…yeah, I kept working on it even when it was 'finished'.
I stated in the previous chapter that I would no longer be responding to reviews via the ending of the chapter but Moriko was kind enough to point out that she doesn't visit the forums so for you, I'll make an exception. If anyone else doesn't visit the forums and would like your questions answered, feel free to let me know in a review. I'll make exceptions for those that don't visit the forums…or if by chance, no one uses them, then I'll forgo the whole thing all together and just keep the responses here.
Moriko: It's not actually Trin that's bloodthirsty, that's just one of the nice side effects of being in complete control of the Imperative. The rating probably should go up 'cause there are going to be some dark issues in one of the later chapters and you are probably going to kill me for what happens to Wylde, but you'll deal with it in the end. I don't kill him or anything so you don't have to worry about that. He's just a complex character in my opinion and I just love torturing those types. Yes, General Tyler (the woman) does indeed know what's going on…she has her hands in it after all. There probably will be some extreme violence, but I'm not going to go into great detail on it…I'll explain a couple nice explosions (say goodbye to the rest of the Winds' cars) and that'll be about the extent of it. So yea, extreme violence, but no graphic detailing.