Speed Racer: The 67th WRL World Championship (Part 2)
[Intro Music]
Chapter I: Comeback Drive 2
"Welcome back to the 67th WRL World Championship, and we're coming to you live from Vladivostok, Russia to begin the next leg of the biggest race on Earth! I'm Murray Runner and with me again is Ned Stockett!"
"Hey, Murray! It's been an interesting morning here in Vladivostok, Russia. A lot of developments were made in the last race, we're hoping for an absolute barn-burner of a leg today."
"Indeed, Ned. Today we're starting in Vladivostok, passing through China, crossing the Tumen River into North Korea, and down to Busan Port in the south. The cars will be ferried to Kitakyushu where their handling capabilities will be tested to the maximum as they race through winding mountain passes and tiny city streets as they hit checkpoints in Hiroshima and Suzuka, before reaching the finish in Tokyo. Once there, the cars will be brought in order of finishing onto a massive ship that will carry the remaining cars to Australia in the outback sprint."
"Another long day for them. But they better be on their best behavior in North Korea. We were told by the North Korean government, that if any of the drivers deviated from the route that was specifically designated to the WRL, there will be punishments dealt to the teams, and knowing how strict the north is, it won't be pretty."
"Quite right, Ned. Quite right. Only a few minutes until the race resumes now, so let's get in some interviews with the drivers. Our on-the-ground correspondent, Shea is talking to some of the drivers."
"That's right, Murray and Ned, we're going to start with the biggest story on the grid today and that's the drama that has been going on between the GO-Team and trying to catch up to Lovelace Goldminter who has run comfortably up front all race long. I'm here with reigning WRL champion, Speed Racer and his navigator, Trixie Shimura. Speed, what has been going on? You had to make a comeback drive all throughout Europe, and now you have to do it again in Asia."
Speed sighed and crossed his arms, "Yeah, it's annoying. We easily have the best machinery in the field but that one mystery car keeps pushing us back whenever we get close."
Shea brought her microphone to her, "Not afraid to call out another team it seems?"
"I'm not afraid to call them out. There's something weird going on with that car, it almost took Racer X out and it would've if X wasn't on our team so Pops could get him back into it."
"Any retaliation planned, Speed?"
"If I have to. You know I'm not above paybacks."
"Strong words from the champion. Thank you for your time, Speed, and good luck to the both of you."
"No problem, thank you." Speed smiled as Trixie turned to him.
"She didn't even ask me anything! I was born in Japan, I could've at least answered a question about that!" Speed laughed and shrugged as they checked the car over and performed minor maintenance.
"It's looking good, let's hop in!" Speed said as he and Trixie hopped in and buckled their red seat belts.
"Drivers to your cars! Start your engines!" The announcer said as Speed turned the Mach 5's over and saw some other drivers hurrying to their cars and starting them as a Russian woman held the green flag waiting until the marshal gave her the signal and she waved it causing all of the other cars to rush off in the direction of China. The pass-through wasn't much to talk about, a couple of hours of farmland when a couple of hours passed and the drivers would turn south of China and across North Korea's northern border. Trixie was glued to the map, knowing that one deviation could mean imprisonment and the destruction of the Mach 5. Needless to say, the planned North Korean route wasn't very exciting or interesting, the cars were only allowed to run along the main highway. This made gaining ground extremely easy for the Mach 5, Mach 4, and Shooting Star to accomplish as it was mostly a gigantic straightaway. Some cars had mechanical troubles from running flat-out for so long, the machinery not being able to handle the overly-extreme stress. As Speed and Trixie saw the helicopters of multiple teams set down on the highway for repairs, or to take their contestants out of the competition entirely.
"You hear that?" Speed asked as his ears perked up.
"No, what is it?" Trixie asked as Speed pulled over.
"We have a cylinder down. Hopefully, just a dead plug, stay here." Speed said as he opened the hood and took the header off, looking inside, "Yeah. We need a new spark plug. Good thing we brought the little essentials." He said opening their travel box and opening a compartment with a couple of boxes of spark plugs, Speed quickly changed out the burned-out one for the brand new one. Speed quickly jumped back in and turned the engine over as he rejoined the race, catching up to Hank and Racer X. The team is catching back to Lovelace and the ERX yet again as Speed takes point. He slammed into the rear of the ERX!
"Agh! That damn kid!" Ace yelled looking back before being jolted forward again.
Racer X looked in surprise, "I'm surprised Speed would maroon his competitors in a place like this."
Speed placed the central spike of the Mach 5 against the ERX's right-rear quarter-panel before flooring it and swinging the wheel to the left, spinning the ERX out of the way!
"There, that'll teach them." Speed said as he caught up to Lovelace and easily passed her.
"Oh!" Lovelace exclaimed, not having been passed for the entire race so far, so she decided to take it into high gear and at least put up a challenge, pulling up next to the Mach 5 but it was too much, the North Korean segment catered to the Mach 5's strengths with the long freeway being mostly flat-out.
The ERX's first driver talked to Ace as they got their bearings straight, "We gotta stop speed. Take out one of his teammates, put him in ultimate peril.
"We'll take out the cousin." Ace said as they drove up to the Mach 4 and deployed spikes that appeared from the center of the car's wheel. Speed has faced this trap many times, but Hank was not the same.
Sparky looked over, having seen this trick before, "Hank, look out!" Sparky called but it was too late as the ERX broadsided the Mach 4, popping its tires.
"Whoa! Whoa!" Hank shouted as the Mach 4 swerved as an exit of the highway was approaching, but he couldn't stop in time, sliding down the exit and off the highway, stopping on a rural road where the North Koreans would surround the car.
Speed looked in his rearview mirror and saw everything as he skids to a halt, "We've got to save Hank and Sparky!" he yelled, turning around to save Hank but Racer X stopped him from going down the exit, swearing in front of Speed as the cars stopped nose-to-nose. Speed and Racer X got out of their cars, "Racer X! Why? What's the big idea?!"
"I can't let you go down there to help them, Speed. The authorities are already down there to arrest them."
"But we've got to help them, Rex!"
"No, you need to become a double world champion. I'll help them." Racer X said as he waved Speed and Trixie away, "Go, go!" he yelled as Speed got back in.
"I hope you know what you're doing." Speed said, Racer X nodded and waved him away as Speed rejoined the race.
"This isn't going to be easy. But I'll get Hank and Sparky out of there with their lives, and with the Mach 4." Racer X thought as he looked to where Hank and Sparky were being taken as the Mach 4 was being loaded into a truck. Racer X hopped back into the Shooting Star and turned around, jumping over a ledge on the highway, using the North Korean authoritiy's distractedness to his advantage to go off the trail.
Chapter II: The Great Escape
Night fell on North Korea. There weren't as many buildings or bustling cities as other places in the world as Racer X drove up to a darkened warehouse. He turned off the Shooting Star's motor and hopped out. Walking towards the warehouse, he came upon a door; opening a crack to see the Mach 4 sitting on the bed of a truck with Hank and Sparky tied up with three armed guards watching them! Racer X made his way back to the Shooting Star to get his gear and make a plan.
Inside of the warehouse, the guards scowled at the two, "Look, we were sabotaged! We didn't mean to go off course!" Sparky shouted in distress.
"Shut up!" A guard yelled and shove-kicked Sparky's chair to the ground, the mechanic groaned as he landed on his side.
"Sparky!" Hank shouted, the other guard backhanded Hank.
"Your instructions were clear! The consequences were clear! It's just like you outsiders to break the rules of our country, well, your rules don't apply here!" The guard shouted, hitting Hank again causing the racer to spit blood which made the guard smile fiendishly.
Racer X heard the commotion from the Shooting Star and he looked back, "I gotta hurry." he thought to himself as he took out the passenger's seat of the Shooting Star which revealed a black briefcase embedded in the car's floor. Taking the case from the floor and opening it revealed a compact submachine gun in its individual pieces, and a combat knife. Racer X quickly took the gun and screwed its skinny barrel on by hand before attaching the stock and putting in the loaded magazine filled with 9MM rounds; he placed a spare magazine in his belt and placed the case back into the Shooting Star.
Hank coughed, "Sparky, are you okay?"
"I-I think my shoulder's broken," Sparky responded in a pained tone.
"Shut up!" One of the guards shouted.
"Let them go!" A voice came from the door, the guards as well as Hank and Sparky looked in surprise to see Racer X standing there holding his gun.
"Another rule breaker! Fire!" The lead guard shouted and they turned their guns on Racer X who jumped behind some pallets, scurrying towards the side of the warehouse. Racer X aimed his gun and fired while running, knocking down one of the guards! "Steal their car! Go!" The lead guard shouted to his underling, who jumped into the truck carrying the Mach 4 and began driving off.
"No!" Hank shouted as Racer X took out the lead guard with a quick squeeze of the trigger!
Racer X ran to Hank and Sparky, taking his knife and cutting them loose, "Come on, we have to catch that truck!"
Hank held his cheek, "I bit my cheek when that creep hit me." he complained as blood leaked from the corner of his mouth.
"M-My shoulder." Sparky stammered as Racer X helped him up.
Racer X examined it, "Not broken, just dislocated. I'm sorry, Sparky, but we have no time." Racer X apologized as he took Sparky's arm and set it back in place, wincing as Sparky howled in pain!
"Oh, that hurt!" Sparky whined as they ran to the Shooting Star. Sparky rotated his arm a little, "Hey, this isn't so bad, it's already feeling better!"
"Good to hear, Sparky. Hank, you get in the middle, you have to jump onto the bed of that truck and free the Mach 4." Racer X said as he jumped in the driver's seat, Sparky got into the passenger's seat, and Hank sat in the middle. Racer X held his combat knife up, "Take my knife to cut the straps from the rims." Racer X said.
"Thanks, Racer X," Hank said as they started to give chase!
It wasn't hard to find the old military truck with the orange sports car on the back. It was so dark that the truck driver couldn't drive without the lights. The Shooting Star easily caught up as Hank slowly rose to his feet while Racer X pulled up to the truck's bed. "Jump now!" he commanded, and Hank jumped! It was a weak jump since Hank had spent over a year in a wheelchair, his legs weren't very strong but Hank was able to grab onto the edge and pull himself up, Hank then grabs Mach 4, and gets to his feet. Before cutting any binds, Hank made sure the handbrake was pulled so the Mach 4 didn't fly off! But he had to worry about himself flying off as the driver of the truck swerved all over the uneven dirt road, trying to bash the Shooting Star! Hank got to his knees and crawled to each wheel and cut the ropes holding the orange machine, then got into the driver's seat and took out the key.
"I hope they didn't mess with anything," Hank said as he turned the ignition. The white headlights turned on as the engine turned over flawlessly! "Yes!" He cheered as he pressed the B and D-Buttons to deploy his grip tired and defensive canopy before letting off the handbrake and rolling off the truck's bed, bouncing violently on the ground!
"Hank, come in." Racer X's voice crackled over the radio.
Hank pressed the button, "What's up, Racer X?"
"We need to get out of this country so I'll keep Sparky with me for now."
"10-4. I'll follow you." Hank agreed.
"Good idea." Racer X said as the two peeled off, Racer X had memorized the way back onto the highway! The two low sports cars bounced along the dirt but they saw the highway's silhouette just ahead, but the exits were guarded! "The truck driver must've radioed into his men." Racer X observed as he took his radio again, "Get ready to use your jacks."
"Got it." Hank said as his gloved hands gripped the wheel harder.
Racer X reached down to his control panel and flipped a switch as he lined himself up with the guards. The headlights went down and four gun barrels, two per-headlights popped out. Racer X then reached for two paddles placed behind his steering wheel and pulled, causing all four guns to go off! The military men jumped out of the way as Racer X reached to his control panel and pressed an unmarked button while Hank pressed his A-Button, both vehicles jumping over the barricade and landing on the highway ramp, their fat tires squealing as they gripped the road. Hank pressed his B-Button, deactivating his belt tires as the two continued with an army of troop trucks on their heels!
"They're persistent!" Hank shouted.
"Hank, pass me." Racer X ordered.
"Don't gotta tell me twice." Hank grinned as he pulled beside the Shooting Star and passed by.
"I hope they're ready." Racer X said as he reached for a red lever and pulled it, an isolated compartment under the back of the car flipped open and dumped a slippery mixture of oil and transmission fluid. The military trucks ran over the fluids and skidded all over the road, crashing into each other!
"Alright!" Hank cheered as an explosion rocked the cars!
"Huh?" Racer X questioned as he looked behind, a tank was on their tails! "Hank, we have a tank at 6 o'clock!"
"We can't beat a tank!"
"We can't. Our only hope is to be hard to hit and get over the border!" Racer X said. The two cars began weaving across and around each other. Shells exploding chunks of the road around them!
"Are we fast enough to run out of range?!" Hank shouted into the radio.
"We're going to have to be on the limit. Get behind me, we'll slipstream all the way to the border!" Racer X replies.
"Then let's go!" Hank straightened his car out and depressed the accelerator with Racer X doing the same. The Mach 4 dove close behind the Shooting Star, the two cars punched a hole in the air, allowing them to drive faster via the slipstream!
The border to South Korea was in reach, Racer X took his radio, "Jump jacks! Now!" he called out as both cars jumped over the border guards and screeched to a halt as the North stopped at the border they weren't allowed to cross.
"Whew." Sparky rubbed the sweat from his brow.
Hank got out of the Mach 4 and walked to the Shooting Star, "That was close."
"It was. But now we have to get back to the pack. I'm tired of racing Goldminter and her friend with respect." Racer X said as he started driving away.
Hank and Sparky looked on before looking at each other, nodding, and continuing on their way to Japan.
Chapter III: Race of the Rising Sun
Meanwhile, far ahead of the rest of the pack, Speed, Trixie, Lovelace, and Ace are being ferried from South Korea to Japan after having battled through city streets almost all night. In the ferry's hold, the drivers took the opportunity to sleep, Lovelace was splayed across the seats of her car, Ace sat slumped over in his half of the ERX with his arms folded, and Trixie was resting her head on Speed's shoulder, who was laying back in his seat. The only noises were the waves and the clinking of the car's metals as they sat idly. However, the mysterious second ERX driver was wide awake. The canopy of his side opened, and the shadowy figure slowly stepped out of the ERX for the first time since the world race began. As he walked near a porthole on the boat, the light glinted off a clamp he was holding as he hobbled toward the Mach 5. The driver had a severe limp, having to slowly make his way to the white and blue machine as the loafer on his bad leg scraped quietly across the ground. Once there he got onto the floor and slithered under the car, using the clamp to just loosen the Mach 5's front brakes enough to make it look like an accident before he shuffled back away, and struggled to get back up, using the wheel of the Mach 5 for leverage. He looked upon the sleeping Speed and Trixie for a moment, a gaze of anger falling over him before he made his way back to the ERX, quietly getting back into his cockpit, and waiting for his race to continue.
Only moments after the mystery drivers got away, Trixie's watch started to beep, but she didn't wake up. Speed's eyes fluttered hearing the high-pitched beeping coming from his girlfriend's wrist. He placed a hand on her shoulder, "Trixie! Trixie, wake up, your watch is beeping, we're gonna be continuing soon!"
"Hmm?" Trixie opens her eyes, "Oh! How long has it been, is that really all the sleep we're allowed to have?" She whines as she presses the off button on her watch.
Speed shrugged, "It's a long rally, Trixie. I dunno what to tell you. What's our route today?"
"Hmph, straight to business, huh?" Trixie huffs as she takes their map from the glovebox. She leans next to Speed and opens it, "The Japanese government plotted out a route through these twisty mountain roads and we'll board a ship by a harbor on the other side of the island."
Speed studied the roads highlighted on the map and put his left hand on his chin, "It's a touge."
"What's a touge?" Trixie asked.
"A touge means 'pass' in Japanese. But it most popularly refers to narrow winding mountain roads. You need to know a couple of special techniques to drive fast through them… I hope the Mach 5 isn't too big to pull it off." Speed explains as the ferry's captain comes over the intercom informing the drivers that they'll be arriving soon and to get their passports ready so they can cross into the country.
Once the ferry docked, government and event officials came in, the government officials stamping the passports, and the WRL officials checking the cars for any new modifications they don't know about. An official approached the Mach 5 and leaned in, "Good morning, you two. I just wanted to let you know that Hank and Racer X made it through Korea overnight. They're arriving in Japan on the ferry after the next."
"That's a relief, thank you, sir." Speed said as the ferry doors opened.
"No problem and good luck you two!" The official said as the other officials finished with the other drivers.
The WRL Chief Official grabbed the intercom, "Drivers, start your engines and await the green light."
The cars all fired up except for the ERX where the overclock batteries only whined for a moment before the car fell silent once more. "It's so quiet, I dunno how they stand it." Speed comments on the ERX's lack of noise.
"I kinda like it. Being in the Mach 5 gets kinda loud after a while." Trixie says.
Speed shrugs and chuckles, "You can go ahead and have one. Definitely not for me." he says as his left-hand grips the wheel with his right on the gear lever which was slotted in neutral, the Mach 5's neutral mode activated a transbrake so he could rev the engine without the wheels spinning. Speed's right foot very gently pressed the gas, revving the motor up to one-thousand RPM, the exhausts emitting a low growl in response. As the red light on the ferry turns green, Speed's left foot pushes in the clutch, as his hand slots the car into first gear while his right foot drops down on the gas at the same time. The ERX got the launch on the other two thanks to its instantaneous torque, but Speed's launch technique was flawless as the Mach 5's power is so high that revving the engine anymore would cause the wheels to spin but with a slight puff of smoke from the rear tires, he was off as Lovelace really spun her tires hard and left last. The three cars fly into the dark morning, the sun would start rising as they begin ascending the mountain pass.
Trixie looks over to Speed who is smiling as he comes to a realization, "What is it, Speed? Why are you smiling like that?"
"The ERX might have trouble on the touge, all-wheel drifting isn't easy."
"Drifting?"
"It's the technique I mentioned before. I didn't say it back there so no one heard, but it's when you break the rear-end loose on purpose. Best for downhill touge driving. Uphill it's going to be all about grip so we might be following until then." Speed explains as the three cars rumble down the narrow Japanese streets with buildings so close on each side.
Lovelace, who had the smallest car of the three, was easily able to keep behind the Mach 5 and ERX who lumbered around the really tight turns through the town. Ace Deucey looked in his rearview mirror at the Mach 5 that gained on them by every corner and he groaned, "Lovelace didn't beat Speed out of the boat! Do we need to take him out now?"
His co-driver replied coldly, "I took care of it. Just focus on getting to the mountain pass, we'll let Lovelace through up there."
"I hate letting this rich girl ahead. I'm not some 'gentleman driver' wimp, but I still like winning!" Ace whined.
"Just do the job." The co-driver said, but as he was about to turn off his radio Ace shot back.
"Man! You're kind of a punk too. Who are you, anyway?!" Ace muttered as the road finally went to two lanes as they went up towards the mountain.
"The name's Gust. Acklam Gust," he replies.
"Acklam Gust? That sounds familiar…" Ace says, wondering where he heard the name before.
Meanwhile, Racer X and Hank pull up to the docks in South Korea, parking their cars on the ferry and getting out to stretch their legs. "Oh, finally. I thought we'd never get out of the car." Sparky said.
Hank looked towards a TV, "We are very, very far behind."
Racer X walked next to him, "It's not important, the end of the Japan stage is a grid reset because we're going to be dropped off in Brazil for the next stage. We just have to survive the mountain pass which shouldn't be hard." Racer X turned to Hank and Sparky, "Get some rest, we'll be in Japan soon. But when we do make it to the end, we can't get separated from Speed and Trixie like this again." He said as he went to the Shooting Star, taking a book from a glove box to read during their trip.
Sparky looked at the TV and thought, "Just be careful Speed. Please."
As the road started to go up towards the mountain ahead, Speed stayed in the ERX's slipstream and gained on them. Only milliseconds before Speed swerved to the left, the ERX preemptively blocked the position and did the same as Speed swerved right before sitting in the slipstream once more. "Okay, so we're going to block like that, huh?" Speed comments through gridded teeth.
Trixie points to the map, "I think we can fake them out, Speed. The first hairpin coming up is a right turn. If you can trick Deucey into going wide, we can take advantage."
"That's a good plan, Trixie. I'll use the belt tires to get a better launch out of the corner. We should be able to take the lead there!" Speed smiled but unbeknownst to him, the loose brake line rattled heavily when he swerved earlier, the nut on the brake line spun little by little with every bump Speed drove over as the top three made their way into the forest covering the mountain.
"I don't like seeing their mugs in my mirror!" Ace said as the Mach 5 followed close behind, its yellow lights flicked on as the dense forest darkened the road. They went around a left turn, Speed sticking right on them.
"Don't do anything too hasty…" Gust warned, noticing Ace's focus was slipping as they approached the right-handed hairpin.
"Here it comes, Speed!" Trixie calls out. Speed swerves to the right lane as the hairpin approaches.
"Hell no!" Ace shouts, covering Speed off.
"You idiot, watch the road!" Gust shouts as Speed swerves back to the left and pressed the B-Button while braking, allowing the Mach 5 to get along the ERX's inside as the electric racecar locked up its brakes going wide and smoking the tires. The treads covered the Mach 5's tires and gave Speed a much better turning radius, allowing him to perform a textbook outbreaking maneuver!
"Woo-hoo!" Trixie cheers.
"Alright! Now we just focus on the road ahead!" Speed responds as his heart and adrenaline race.
"Get the cut back on him, quick!" Acklam commands.
"I-I can't! I went in too wide!" Ace shouted as they were now staring at the Mach 5's taillights continuing up the mountain's winding roads.
"Fool! Give me the controls, now. I'm not messing around with your limited skill up here." Acklam said, taking over the driving control from Ace.
"Limited skill?! I thought you sabotaged the Mach 5? Why does it matter if we fall behind if he's going to be out anyway?"
"I hate losing more than you, Deucey. I won't let dumb mistakes allow Speed to beat me again."
"'Beat you again'? Who are you?"
"Someone with a grudge," Gust responds as he uses the ERX's torque to quickly catch up to the Mach 5 as they went up the next straightaway and into the next round of high-speed curves and hairpins. Acklam Gust refused to back down from Speed.
Speed tried covering him off as much as he could, "The second driver must be in control now. The driving style has completely changed." he commented, seeing the ERX following closely in the mirrors.
"Who do you think the co-driver is, Speed?"
"I don't know, but he's really good. Better than Ace, maybe even as good as me."
"Like an equal?"
"Uh-huh, and I'm willing to bet that I've raced him before. His moves are calculated, but he's very confident." Speed said as he covered off the apex of the next hairpin, the ERX's all-wheel-drive fails it as it understeers into the corner, but catches right back up along the straight and the light curves.
Lovelace was sitting anonymously in the back, watching the battle happen, "Oh, wow. They're really going at it!" she says to herself as the three cars were in a group now, the battle between Speed and the ERX was holding up the line.
"We're almost at the top." Ace relayed, "We're gonna let Lovelace by up there, right?"
"No," Acklam said as he bumped the back of the Mach 5, making the brake line loose enough that brake fluid began leaking on the pass! "The Mach 5 will crash and we'll let Lovelace through when it does."
"Welcome to Japan, you two! There's a pack of cars in front of ya from the ferry that just came in, but not too much left. Now, get going!" The official said as Racer X and Hank sped off.
Sparky grabbed the radio, "Mach 4 to Pops, are you up in the air?"
Pops, who was ascending the mountain in the team's baby blue helicopter, grabbed the radio, "Pops here, Sparky. I'm following the race up ahead. Are you guys in Japan yet?"
"We just left the boat," Sparky replied.
"There's a small pack between you and Speed. But it's not a lot of cars. Left Roardon is among them though so you'll have a challenge." Pops sighed and smiled, "Oh, Japan. I remember when I was visiting here when I was 'Dragon Racer' in my wrestling days."
Racer X raised an eyebrow and grinned at Pop's reminiscing as Sparky followed up, "Speed said you met his mom here."
"I did. Her father was the promoter and was a very good man to us. Too bad we don't have time to visit her family or Trixie's family for that matter." Pops lamented.
"As amusing as this all is, I think we should focus on the race." Racer X said.
"You're right, Re…I mean, Racer X. Call if you have any trouble, Pops out!" Pops replied, hanging up the radio as the yellow and orange GO Team cars sped off in the night to catch up.
Chapter IV: Downhill Drift
As the sky began turning blue/orange, the yellow lights of the Mach 5 shone through the forests as the top three cars crested the top of the mountain road. The asphalt evened out as the ERX started to gain on Speed and Trixie now that it was in more of its own element, the mystery driver swung the car to the left that Speed blocked off and then to the right, and Speed again responded in kind. "H-Hey! Calm down, I don't wanna crash up here!" Ace whined.
"It's fine, stop being a chicken! If you were driving this next part, we would be doomed anyway." Gust responded. "I'm gonna finally show you, Speed. I'm gonna finally show you that I'm your equal!" he thought. He had been silent, but Speed winning the Japan segment would be a huge morale boost, and he couldn't allow it.
The ERX's bright white lights filled up Speed's center-mounted rearview mirror, "Those headlights are so unnecessarily bright!" Speed commented as the ERX tapped the Mach 5's rear, "They're real jerks, we'll lose them down the mountain and they know that." Speed said, focusing forward as they found themselves on the other half of the mountain, and the even road started going into a decline.
The brake rotors of all three cars glowed bright orange as they took the sweeping turn going down the mountain, "Now we put pressure on him." Acklam grins.
Speed's eyes tracked the ERX in his mirrors, "Let's see if we can pull this off." He said.
"Speed, there's a left hairpin coming up!" Trixie warns, watching her map.
"Got it." Speed's left foot moves back to the clutch while his right foot moves to the brake. "I hope I remember how to do this right." Speed thought to himself. He knew how to heel-toe but it was getting the car sideways that was his problem. As the turn was approaching, Speed pressed lightly on the brake, using his toes to 'blip' the gas as he pressed in the clutch and downshifted for the turn. Once in the gear he wanted, his left hand moved to the handbrake. The Mach 5's handbrake was perhaps the only thing in the car that wasn't designed with much elegance, being a rectangular aluminum bar and that's it. Speed turned the car left and cranked on the handbrake which locked in place, "Damn!" Speed shouted as he had to slide and walk the Mach 5 through the turn very sloppily as the handbrake locked, forcing him to unlock it while also making sure he didn't fling him and Trixie off of the mountain!
"Wh-What was that?!" Trixie shouted, her heart metaphorically stopped for a moment as the Mach 5's right wheels were on the edge of the road, Speed barely caught it.
"Sorry, I did it wrong." Speed replied as he upshifted yet again, now the ERX was threatening to pass.
Having viewed the error, the two ERX drivers grinned, "Goofy kid." Ace comments.
"That error will prove fatal," Gust added as they moved to the next hairpin, the ERX was practically up the Mach 5's tailpipes!
"Okay… now for another technique. I hope I get it right now." Speed got the Mach 5 away from the edge and smoothly moved it over to the left side as the ERX swerved to the right, planning on making the move up the inside. Speed lifted from the gas to scrub momentum before he pressed in the gas and kicked in the clutch at the entry of the corner, causing the Mach 5's rear end to go loose! "Got it!" Speed shouted as he cranked the wheel to the right and touched the gas again, this caused the rear wheels to spin and the rear-end to move almost sideways! He then spun the steering wheel to the left to point the car in the direction he wanted to go when he was done with the maneuver.
"Time to pass!" Acklam grins before the Mach 5started skidding sideways! "Hey!" He shouted in response as suddenly his headlights were pointing at the red and gold numbering on the Mach 5's door! To avoid a serious collision, Acklam thought best of it and put on the brakes!
"What's that kid doing?!" Ace yells, his face turning red from the perceived reckless maneuver as if he had Acklam haven't been aggressively bending the rules for the whole race so far.
Gust smirks watching Speed drift, "He's learning is what he's doing. Expanding his skills on the fly. We won't be able to pass him as long as he's drifting like that… but I have tricks of my own." Gust's eyes dart towards the sides of the mountain, lines with brick or concrete walls as the idea formed in his head. His gloved hand moved towards a metal switch on his console and he flipped it to the right as they followed the Mach 5 through another corner that the pearly white and blue car drifted around once again through a left hairpin. As they approached the next right, Gust pressed the button on the ERX's jacks! The jacks on the right-side of the car activated independently, launching the car wheels-first towards the concrete wall! The ERX landed perfectly, driving on the wall as Acklam hit the jacks again and as Speed corrected his drift, the ERX soared above and landed right beside the Mach 5!
"No way!" Trixie yelled.
"They can switch what side their jacks activate on! It makes sense since the car can split in half." Speed thinks aloud. "Hang on, Trixie! I'm gonna pinch them if they try it again!" Speed warned as he hit the D-Button just in case of a bad collision. To Speed's own delight, the ERX did the same trick into the next hairpin and Speed slid the Mach 5 very close to the wall. The ERX activated its jacks again, soaring over the Mach 5, and Speed moved over to the left to scare the ERX into braking early! But Gust didn't back down, he doubled down, slamming into the Mach 5 and suddenly Speed could hear something come loose. He clutch kicked into the next corner but he was sliding too much and as he pressed the brake, his foot went almost to the floor, "The brakes! We lost the brakes!" Speed yelled as the Mach 5's fins scraped the wall.
"See ya later, Speed," Gust said as he slammed the Mach 5 hard and unable to stop, the Mach 5 was flung from the side of the road and down the mountain!
"No!" Speed shouted as Trixie held onto him! He slammed the C-Button, deploying the huge dual cutter blades that cut the trees down as the Mach 5 tumbled down!
"Speed! Oh no!" Lovelace shouted, having watched everything in silence until now. "I have to help!" She declares as she hits the gas, zooming down the curves and past the ERX who was inclined to let her go per Oriana's orders from the start of the race.
"Maybe… the… belt…tires…" Speed struggled as he pressed the B-Button. The red treads surrounded the tires and luckily as the Mach 5 landed on its wheels and the treads were enough to grind the car to almost a halt, Speed and Trixie slid down the next section of the pass slowly and ended up blocking the road, forcing Lovelace and the ERX to stop.
"A lot of good that did." Ace grumbled. Acklam, however, remained silent, watching Lovelace leave her car.
"Speed! Trixie!" Lovelace shouts out as she runs from her car to the Mach 5. "Are you alright?" Knocking on the deflector shield rapidly as Speed and Trixie's eyes flutter open.
Speed hit the B and D-Buttons and those powers deactivate as he pulls the emergency brake, this time, so he actually stays on the road. "L-Lovelace? You shouldn't have stopped. Racers aren't supposed to stop during a race." Speed says, his words echoing Racer X's from a couple of years prior.
"Well, I care more about you guys than the race. Also, you're blocking the road anyways. What happened? I saw you in a furious battle with the ERX." Lovelace says, looking back at the curious ERX that stood still.
Speed shook his head, "Y-Yeah. My brakes went, I don't know why." Speed pumped his brake pedal and it went to the floor. "No pressure… so the brake line must have been leaking. I think I have the right tools to fix it in the trunk."
"Let's get your car out of the road first, can you help me push it?" Lovelace asked.
"Yeah. Take the wheel, Trixie." Speed said. His voice was very quiet, definitely shaken up and out of it and so was Trixie who hadn't said anything since the car stopped. Trixie put the Mach 5 into neutral and disengaged the emergency brake, allowing Speed and Lovelace to push the car to the side of the road.
"I-I got the jacks," Trixie said, pressing the A-Button, raising the Mach 5 up. Speed and Lovelace looked under the car and sure enough, the brake line had come unscrewed. As they saw the issue, the ERX blinked its high beams, drove right around them, and continued down the mountain.
"This stupid problem again." Speed commented.
"You've lost your brakes going down a mountain before?" Lovelace asked.
"Uh-huh. That last time was worse, though. I can fix it from here, Lovelace, thank you." Speed said, holding out his hand that Lovelace shook right away.
"Anytime! I hope I see you at the checkpoint!" She said as she ran back to her car and continued the race. The ERX had stopped on the next part of the mountain's descent, Ace and Acklam watching above before continuing when they saw Lovelace's headlights start to move.
"Alright, Trixie, let's get this line back on. I think I have brake fluid in the trunk." Speed called up to Trixie, who brought the Mach 5 back down so they could do repairs.
Chapter V: Sprinting to the Harbor!
Speed rubs the sweat from his brow as Trixie lowers the Mach 5, "Can you find us a shortcut?" Speed asked.
"A shortcut? That's very unlike you, Speed." Trixie said as she popped the hood.
"I'm done playing nice with Ace. I'm not going to be walked on by his dirty tactics anymore." Speed said as he poured in the brake fluid.
Trixie nodded and pulled out her map, "If we use the belt tires, we can definitely get down the mountain faster, and then we can cut through the city by using these back roads, but they're narrow." She says, shuffling back over to the navigator seat and buckling her seatbelt.
Speed pumps the brakes until he can feel pressure again, "It'll have to do." He says, starting the Mach 5, "Let's get them!" He shouts, putting the car in gear, hitting the gas, and activating the belt tires. Now they were really screaming down the winding roads, and as soon as the trees cleared, Speed used the jacks to skip the entire last level of the mountain descent! Landing on the rubber, he activated the belt tires again and gripped up immediately, shooting forward into the city.
Trixie pointed to her map, "I think I found a shorter route, Speed. There's a point downtown where the WRL set the course to drive around some of the monuments. I'm thinking we could jump over some of the statues instead of going around… that's not totally cheating, right?" She shrugged.
"I have a feeling our brakes didn't go out themselves, so I don't care as much as I would. We're gonna meet them far before the checkpoint, we're gonna beat them to it." Speed showed how serious he was when he deviated from the approved course, spotting an alleyway with a walking ramp in front of it, Speed drove the Mach 5's left wheels up the ramp, perching his left-side tires on the wall of the narrow alley and driving between the buildings and speeding off! He took every small shortcut he could take, jumping over streets and driving through more narrow alleys.
"S-Speed, calm down! What's wrong?" Trixie questioned as she was thrown around the cabin.
Speed huffed, puffing his chest, "All I ever want to do is race. All I want to do is win and be a champion, but we keep getting roped into everyone else's silly plans and conspiracies. I always have a target on my back and the target grows whenever someone is around me. Rex, Hank, Sparky, Spritle and Chim CHim, even you, Trixie. I'm surprised Mom hasn't been kidnapped! If they want me to get serious, then I'm done playing fair and square with them, I'll race them as hard as they race me. If they want trouble, they'll get trouble!"
"I understand Speed. But being a fair racer is who you are, you don't want slanderous rumors about you to surface like they did for Racer X and Prince Kabala, do you?"
"I don't want those rumors to surface. But I'm tired of being a passenger to all of this. Either way, the Japanese leg of this rally is important to all of us, and I won't lose to the ERX or Lovelace. Not here." Speed vowed as he pumped the gas and changed gears as he went into a sharp turn, pressing the gas lightly through the middle of the corner and accelerating out, pumping the gas once more and shifting upwards once more.
Trixie resigned that Speed was too fired up to change his mind right now as she pointed ahead, "There! Jump that statue!" She said, pointing to a statue that was situated in the middle of a roundabout. Speed slammed the A-Button and the Mach 5 soared above it, landing smoothly and moving onto the next one!
Further down the road, Lovelace saw yellow lights filling her cabin, "No way!" She exclaimed as the Mach 5's horn echoed through the air and its lights flashed at her. She swerved to block off the Mach 5's pass, but Speed was inevitable. Speed threw a feint, half-heartedly swerving left as if he was going to pass Lovelace in that left lane. Lovelace bought it, taking the bait, she swerved hard to the left, allowing the Mach 5 to stick its nose alongside! The superior power of the GO-V12 meant that Speed and Trixie would eventually pass Lovelace under their own power, moving onto the bane of their existence, the ERX, that wasn't too far ahead since they were making sure Lovelace won the race!
"Oh, my word! The Mach 5 of Speed Racer has passed Lovelace Goldminter, he's been on an absolute tear through the streets of Japan, I've never seen anything quite like it!" Murray shouted over commentary.
"That's right, Murray, and he's headed over to the ERX as they're entering the docks, ready to finish the Asian section of this World Grand Prix!" Ned replied.
In the ERX, Acklam Gust sees the Mach 5 rapidly gaining in the rearview, "Persistent as ever, Speed Racer." He growls.
"No way!" Ace shouts in frustration.
"Alright, 'Mr. 100% torque' let's see how far that gets you." Speed says, his eyebrows furrowed as he was able to pull right up to the ERX, who immediately began to defend his position. "That's what I thought." Speed mumbled.
"What is it, Speed?"
"They can only go so fast. They leave harder than anything, but eventually, the weight of their batteries, drivers, and gadgets weighed them down. We have the top speed advantage!"
"The finish line is coming up! You better use that advantage quickly, Speed!" Trixie warned.
Speed's grip on the wheel loosened as he lifted from the gas for a moment to activate his belt tires, which afford extra horsepower! "Here it goes, hold on, Trixie!" Speed shouts as he floors the gas! The ERX weaves all over the dock, hoping to block the Mach 5, but Speed jams the A-Button at the right moment, soaring over the ERX and slamming down in front of them as they cross the finish/checkpoint! The Mach 5 screeches to a halt as the ERX admits defeat and slows down enough for Lovelace to at least pick up the second place before crossing the line itself in third.
"Speed Racer completely embarrassed the ERX there! What a stunning maneuver! Mifune Motors and the GO Team have won one of their two home races! Marvelous!" Murray cheers.
"Oh, Speed. Why does your driving have to be so intense sometimes?" Trixie hugs Speed who returns the embrace.
"Sorry, Trixie. In some races, you have to match the intensity of the competition." Speed chuckles. "Now let's go, I'm starving."
"Me too!" Trixie agrees as they hop out of the Mach 5.
Lovelace walked up to them, "That was incredible, Speed. How did you catch up so fast?"
Speed shrugged and rubbed the back of his head, "We used some… alternative directions."
"He has an excellent navigator, that's why." Trixie butted in with a wink and a smile.
"That's the truth from what I've raced against so far this season. Well played, you guys." Lovelace then leaned in towards them and whispered, "Also, I think something is up. Join me for dinner once you guys are all prepared… we have to talk."
"Sure, Lovelace. Sure." Speed nodded in agreement as Lovelace nodded in return and walked back to supervise the men transporting her car on the ship that would carry them to their next stage: South America. The ship departed as Racer X, Hank, and Sparky, and the surviving drivers made it an hour-or-so later.
The more answers we gain, the more we are forced to ask. The secret driver of the ERX is revealed as Acklam Gust for instance, but who is Acklam Gust? What awaits our heroes during the cruise to Brazil, and what awaits them on the South/Central American leg of the 67th WRL World Championship? Find out in the next episode of… SPEED RACER!
[Outro Music]