"How long am I going to have to sit in this stuff again?"
"Long enough for the mold to set, about half an hour."
"Great, here goes nothing I guess."
Without further preamble Link let out a discomforted groan as he sat down, his rear sinking into a block of gel. It felt as though he were sinking into a pool of mud that was finding a way to get everywhere. He shifted his weight around, trying and failing to find a position that was comfortable. The whole time the gel clung to him like glue.
"There's no use complaining. It won't make that stuff harden any faster." Robbie said as he walked around Link inspecting the gel block to ensure it was functioning as intended.
"And be thankful you're not a Rito." Piped in Puah, who was within earshot a couple feet away tinkering with a gearbox, "He still occasionally complains about how hard it was to wash the excess gel out of his feathers."
Said Rito wasted no time before interjecting, "I mean really could you really not have covered that stuff with something before I sat down? Forcing me to spend Hylia knows how much time restoring my ploom to its perfect state was just asinine."
"No we could not." said Robbie seemingly trying to suppress laughter at the memory, "This is a vital part of getting a car ready for a driver. The seat needs to fit you very snugly, both for your comfort and your safety." It was an argument that had little sway on Revali, who waved it off with a dismissive flap of his wing. Robbie paid little attention to Revali's attitude however, instead turning back to Link before continuing to speak. "As long as you don't go putting on or losing excessive weight we will only need to do this once. Then we will be able to take the mold and make extra seats as needed."
It was a small comfort but it at least made the next thirty minutes more bearable. He tried to spend the time making small talk with the mechanic but Robbie had gone off to assist Purah as soon as he was confident that the mold was properly setting. That left Link alone with Revali, who decided to stick around despite the contempt he seemed to hold for Link. Perhaps the Rito simply found his predicament to be amusing.
"I still cannot believe they actually signed you." Revali sneered, "It won't matter how much they save on your paycheck when you manage to hit something the next time you spin."
"I just won't spin again then." Link replied dryly. If Revali had heard him or even cared what Link had to say then he didn't show it.
"I mean what did they see in you anyways? It's not as if you've even raced these cars before. All you've done is take them for a spin, quite literally might I add." It was a probing question that Link had no answer for. He had done all right in his test, or at least he thought he had done so before his mistake. Sensing his insult had hit a nerve Revali drove it home. "Of course in the end it simply will not matter. After all who else but you will care how poorly you did when I am hoisting the winner's trophy."
Link wished he could take some comfort in Revali's confidence but as is he could only find the Rito's additude annoying. He had enough to worry about trying to fit in at a new team and readying himself to make his debut on one of the biggest stages in motorsports. A smug if not hostile teammate only made things worse. Link felt his annoyance grow to an angry irritation. Whether it was this stress or simply his natural competitive pride he wasn't sure.
"Why would I let you hold my trophy?" Link shot back, "Your feathers would only get it dirty, probably by smudging it with this gel stuff." He slapped the molding he was sitting in to accentuate his point.
Revali scoffed, a sound that his beak seemed purpose built to create, "How dare you, my majestic ploom is as unsoiled as your trophy case is empty."
"Perhaps you should spend less time fussing about how you will look in victory lane and more time getting there." Link countered.
"You remember your place you number two driver." Revali cut back, using Link's contracted place in the team as a weapon as he grew more irritated by Link's defiance. "You're on the track to serve me. And you're fortunate all I ask of you on race day is not to spin as I come by to put you a lap down."
"Afraid of a fair fight I see."
"Why would I be?" The Rito answered, "I doubt you could properly handle a go kart, much less a proper race car."
"Want to bet?" Dared Link, shooting his teammate a smirk that for the first time was actually shared.
Zelda's mood had been fluctuating all day. When she had arrived at the shop in the morning she had been rather preoccupied with her sour and resentful thoughts regarding her team's new driver. She had even contemplated continuing her search for a different driver in secret and looking for a way out of the contract with Link. However she had quickly grown distracted by work that needed to be done on the cars.
This newfound distraction was actually the source of whatever positive could be said about her mood. Actually working with the cars had always been her favorite part about running the team, doubly so when she got to do design work. When she had started Silent Princess Engineering she had rather naively hoped that such work would take up the bulk of her time. Being faced with the reality of paperwork, financial balancing, and business dealings had been the first great disappointment of running the team, even more so than the lack of good results.
As challenging as it was to be forced to field another car, and as much as a burden she thought the new driver would be, Zelda could not deny that a part of her was simply excited for an excuse to get her hands dirty. She was in her element and doing what she was meant to do.
She, Purah, and Robbie had been a whirlwind of activity around the cars. Inspecting the chassis and crash structures on both to ensure they were suitable to race, taking out and disassembling the engines to perform extensive maintenance, and countless other things both big and small that would need to be done. The methodical process of dotting every i and crossing every T was the sort of thing Zelda could lose herself in and forget about her other worries.
Or at least it she could have, were one of those worries not also currently causing her another problem.
"Where in Hylia is Link?" she muttered to herself as she stormed the halls of the shop. Her almost trance-like state of work interrupted when Robbie had informed her that he could not find Link for the final seat fitting. In an instant she had gone from one of her favorite activities to one of her least. Drivers were already a pain to deal with, doubly so when she had to practically parent them.
They were the flawed components in her machines and Zelda dreamed of a future where she wouldn't have to deal with them.
It did not take long for the search of her rather small shop to fail to locate Link nor did it take much time to check the parking lot to confirm that he had indeed left. Unfortunately this knowledge had come with another discovery, that Link was not alone in his absence. Revali had joined him.
And so she had returned inside, almost seething with anger and annoyance. As if it were not enough she had to hire that inexperienced rookie, now he was going to disappear and take her other driver with him. She thought over the terms of the contract they had signed, wondering and even hoping that this disappearing act might be enough to fire him.
In the end it was an off hand remark from Daruk that had given her the answer to the mystery of her vanishing drivers. The Goron had been carrying a crate of parts into the garage when he had mentioned wishing he could have tagged along with the pair, saying that it would have been fun to help put the new guy through his paces.
When Zelda had asked what he meant he had grown sheepish. It took her pressing to get him to spill the beans.
"I thought you knew. I figured it was your idea, like a team building exercise for them or something."
"I did no such thing. Now tell me, where did they go?" Daruk scratched the back of his head, somewhat embarrassed, causing Zelda to push once again. "Daruk please."
"They went racing, at that local karting rack."
And so Zelda had left her shop to go retrieve the troublesome drivers. As she drove from the shop to the karting track the skies above her began to reflect her tumultuous mood. A cloudless blue gave way to dark clouds and when she finally arrived they had broken into an outright downpour. Zelda took comfort that at least the weather should make it easier to get the troublesome pair of drivers to come back to the shop.
Finally arriving at the track she slammed her car into a parking space before storming out and up to the building. A rainbow colored neon sign sat above the door, proudly displaying the name of the track as 'Mario's Karting'. Through the window she could see two people whom she could only assume were the owners standing at the front desk. There was a mustached man dressed in oil stained overalls and a red hat next to a well dressed blonde woman that vaguely reminded Zelda of herself.
She stepped out of the rain into the lobby of the Karting center expecting to find only a few stubborn customers and some bored employees waiting out the sudden down period. What she found instead was a small crowd of people lined up against the windows watching the rain pour down onto the track. Her confusion grew to concern as she approached the group and couldn't help but notice a lack of a certain blonde Hylian and a blue feathered Rito.
The mystery of their absence was answered as quickly as it arose as she arrived at the window, and peeking over the shoulders if the spectators saw what was so interesting.
Out on the track, completely unfazed by the heavy rain, two drivers sped around the drenched circuit. She did not need to see underneath the helmets to know the identity of these two idiotically enthusiastic competitors. Both cars shot up sprays of water behind their back wheels as their respective drivers struggled for traction, occasionally shooting up larger splashes when one of them found a puddle of standing water.
At the moment Revali was ahead, although it was clear that wouldn't be the case for long if Link had anything to say about it. For a few minutes Zelda simply joined the spectators in watching her two drivers battle on track, taking strange zig-zagging lines around the track as they searched for whatever grip could be found on the wet asphalt. Hardly a lap went by where the driver behind did not manage to overtake their rival, only to find themselves under attack just a few corners later.
"How long until their race is over?" Zelda directed a question towards a track employee who was watching the duel right next to her.
"Until it stops raining or they get tired." shrugged the young Sheikah man, "Not even the Zora want to race out in those conditions so it's not like we have to kick them out to give somebody else a turn."
"Fantastic." Zelda muttered under her breath. This was going to make getting these two back to the shop was going to be more difficult than she had anticipated. She was ready to storm out there and put a stop to the race on her own when she stopped herself. For the first time she really looked at the crowd of spectators and just how excited they all were to watch her two drivers go at it.
They were customers of the Karting track, people who had come here for a day of fun that had been cut short by the weather. But instead of going home in defeat or leaving to find something else to entertain themselves they had stayed to watch these two drivers, her two drivers, go at it out there in the rain.
In particular a small Gerudo child caught her attention. The red haired girl had her nose pressed up against the window excitedly watching every move of the battle, only taking it off to wipe the glass clean when her breath fogged it up enough to obscure her view of the action. Zelda could hear the kid periodically beg her mother, in between tugs on the woman's jacket sleeves, to let her go out and race too.
Zelda's heart panged for the poor girl. She recognized so much of her younger self in the kid. Zelda remembered feeling almost the same infatuation with racing at her age. While Zelda's fascination had grown to a love of the machines themselves she could imagine it could have just as easily grown into an admiration of the drivers.
Unfortunately it was not the only thing before her that she found familiar from her youth. A single glance at the girl's mother told of a misunderstanding and utter disinterest of the child's budding passion. The Gerudo woman may have lacked a long bushy beard but in her demeanor her resemblance to Zelda's father was uncanny.
Before she even thought about what she was doing Zelda found that she had crossed the room and was crouching down next to the girl.
"They're really going at it, aren't they?" Zelda asked in a gentle inquisitive voice. The little girl didn't speak at first, instead responding by merely nodding her head as she continued to watch mouth agape at the battle out on track.
"It's just like the big cars I see on TV." When the girl finally spoke she barely spared Zelda a glance.
"Sweetie I told you it's rude not to look at people when you speak to them" The girl's mother interjected.
"Oh it's quite alright, I don't mind." Zelda brushed off the Gerudo woman's concern, feeling herself sympathize more with the child by the minute. "I bet you wish you were out there racing too huh?" she asked, turning back to the girl.
The girl nodded, "They say I'm not tall enough to drive the grown up karts yet." She paused to glance up at her mother, "And Momma says I can't be out in the rain because I would get my clothes wet."
Zelda's friendly smile faltered somewhat. As much as she may have liked she was probably not going to change the Gerudo woman's mind. It was a shame really, the little girl was so excited by the race between Revali and Link that it seemed she would have been perfectly happy to just drive laps by herself. Instead she was stuck inside watching instead of doing. That was hardly a way to learn, much less to stay engaged in a budding passion. Still without her Mother's permission watching would be all the girl would be doing for the time being. It might even be all she does for the rest of the day depending on the weather and her Mother's patience.
Zelda bit her lip in apprehension. She really needed to get back to the shop with Link and Revali in tow. Link needed his final seat fitting and Revali would need to give input on setup as part of the car's preparations. They were on a tight schedule getting both car's ready for the approaching race, and a delay might mean a heavier crunch at the last minute.
But Zeda didn't want to end this girl's day of go karting early, especially not when she was so excitedly enjoying the race Link and Revali were putting on.
She began to search her mind for a compromise she could make with herself. How much more time would it be reasonable to let this go on? A half an hour? Forty-five minutes? A full hour? Zelda wasn't sure and every look at the girl's wonder filled face made a longer delay seem all the more acceptable.
In the end her hand was forced and it might have been just as well that it had been otherwise she wasn't sure how long she would have been there.
On track the intensity of Revali and Link's battle had picked up. At first the process was slow, a bump here or somebody being forced wide there. But before too long it was clear that the two were becoming far too absorbed in their battle. Almost every corner they took was marked by one kart pushing, side swiping, or otherwise hitting the other. The final straw had come when Revali had cut Link off in such a way to cause the Hylian's cart to go airborne for a short second after climbing it's opponents wheels.
Zelda let out a sigh, she had to put a stop to this. Otherwise one or both of her drivers was likely to hurt themselves or end up liable for damage to the karts.
Bidding goodbye to the Gerudo girl and her Mother Zelda stepped outside of the spectator building and walked the short distance to the track. Finding the checkered flag in a holder where an employee had left it while they seeked cover from the rain she pulled it out. When next Revali and Link came around to start a new lap she gave the flag a wave while sending the pair of drivers each a stern glare. The message was clear, their little race was over.
Link was the first to notice her as he pulled out from behind Revali to try and make a pass. The Rito for his part did not see until he had turned his attention away from his pursuing challenger and back to the track in front of him. It was clear neither one of them expected their fun to come to an end so soon. And if that was unexpected then the idea of Zelda coming out here to put an end to it herself must have seemed impossible.
Link was the first to react, perhaps fearing the impression he was making on his new boss. His right foot flew off of the accelerator pedal while his left stamped down on the brake. The sudden shift in what he was asking from the kart coincided with his wheels hitting a puddle of standing water that had formed on the track which combined to result in a very sudden loss of grip.
Link's kart jerked to the side, suddenly veering to the right. Fortunately for Link there was something there to catch his kart. Unfortunately for him that thing just so happened to be Revali's kart. As the two came together they both spun off to the left, splashing water and mud everywhere before they both came to rest in the small tire barrier which lined either side of the track.
Both Drivers were unharmed, although as she watched them both lug their karts out before leaving a trail of muddy footprints on their way back inside Zelda found it difficult to imagine feeling any sympathy for the two if they had been hurt.
"This position feels good with the wheel." Link said as he turned it back and forth, his soaked sleeves making a wet squelch as he did so. "I can get a good range of rotation without bumping my arms into the side of the cockpit or twisting my wrists into any awkward angles."
"Excellent!" replied Robbie, "Now give the pedals a few pumps and let me know if we'll need to adjust them."
Link did as Robbie asked and gave the throttle and brake pedals several pushes before commenting that he would prefer it if they were a bit closer to him and slightly further apart if possible.
"That shouldn't take too long to tweak." Robbie said he got to work through a removable panel above Link's feat. Zelda could hear the Sheikah mutter quietly to himself as he went about the task, complaining about how annoying it was to work with Link making the cockpit all wet. Link had wanted to get a change of clothes but Zelda had insisted they not waste any more time. And so the mechanic was just going to have to put up with it.
At least now she was not the only one annoyed with their new driver.
"Just about… almost there…. and… done!" Robbie proclaimed "Give them another try and tell me-"
"Garagistas! Garagistas! Did nobody ever teach you to greet your guests?" The sound of a deep mean voice reverberated through the halls of the race shop into the garage area, cutting the Sheikah mechanic off. "I knew you built your cars in a barn but now I see you were raised in one too."
Zelda let out a loud groan at the sound of the unfortunately familiar voice. She had heard it far too many times before and not one of those occasions had been anywhere close to pleasant. Whatever reason that wretched man had come for this time Zelda knew that it could make her day worse. As if it needed any help after her headache in getting her drivers back to the shop. Neither she nor the Sheikah mechanics bothered moving from their tasks. They knew that the unwelcome guest would let himself in.
"Ah yes of course, here you all are." Ganondorf Dragmire exclaimed as he waltzed through the doors into the garage area. The Garagistas in their natural environment, covered in grease as they fiddle with things they do not understand."
"Do you really have nothing better to do with your time, Dragmire?" Zelda asked wryly, "Or did the board members finally come to their senses and give you the boot? I'll tell you right now that if you came to beg for a job you're out of luck. I wouldn't even trust you to sweep the floors here."
"Well I certainly hope you find somebody you can entrust that duty with." Ganondorf replied, "This dump could certainly use a thorough cleaning."
"What in Hylia do you want?" Zelda demanded, cutting right to the point. As tempting as it might have been to spend some time insulting the vile Gerudo she and the team did not need the distraction. Besides any time spent in his presence was simply insufferable. He had a way of making minutes feel like centuries.
"Can a man not come in to check on his competitors?" he asked, voice dripping with barely veiled mockery and contempt. "After all I read some rather horrible rumors in the press that your team might not have the sponsorship to run Hateno."
Zelda felt her eye twitch in annoyance and anger. She had seen the articles he was referring to. She just knew anonymous sources that had leaked the information about their struggles with Guardian Auto Parts had been him. After all he had almost certainly been the reason that they had grown so demanding, and the fact that he had come to not so subtly brag only confirmed her suspicions.
"Your sympathy is unwanted and unneeded." she spat back, "We're going to make Hateno with not just one, but two cars."
"So I see." Ganondorf sneered, turning his head to acknowledge Link, who for his part was still sitting in the tub of his car watching the confrontation with no small amount of confusion. "This must be your new driver." He stepped up to the car and examined Link like a trapped animal, "I can't say I recognize him, tell me is he one of the recruits from your driver academy?"
Zelda gnashed her teeth. His question was not a question and instead merely a brag that his company could afford programs to scout and recruit young talent and that Silent Princess Engineering could not. He wasn't even trying to be subtle in his jabs and as such did not even bother waiting for an answer to his non-question.
"Or did you simply pick him up off of the streets?" It was an insult that would not have hit so hard had Zelda not agreed with it. Dragmire must have seen in her expression that his jab had hit home and so with a cruel smile he pushed his advantage.
"Running a race team truly is a tiring job, even for those who are up to the challenge like me." He stepped away from Link's car, walking and looking around the shop as he spoke, "Surely wasting your time with the trivial details and mundane tasks of management is not what you were meant to do."
He almost sounded like her Father. Zelda didn't know whether to roll her eyes or throw something. Of course she knew where this was going. This was not the first time he had tried something like this and he was not exactly being subtle.
"For the last time I'm not selling the team." Zelda said flatly and firmly.
"I am not unreasonable." Ganondorf did his best to sound generous which despite his well practiced charisma was never a tone of voice that sounded quite right coming from his mouth. "You would maintain a controlling stake of the team, and would gain the resources and support of my company." He was now walking towards Zelda, gesturing to the shop around him as he spoke. "All I would ask in return is to be able to pick that engineering mind of yours for ideas."
Zelda could not deny to herself that the offer had its appeal. Access to the kind of equipment a team of that size had would be like a fresh fruitcake to her designer side. Computer models, wind tunnels, and enough resources she could throw her every little idea at the wall for testing. Of course this didn't outweigh the downsides. SHe would be giving up on her dream of running a successful team, not to mention such an agreement would mean more Ganondorf in her life which was something she already had farr too much of for her liking.
"My answer's the same as it always has been, and the same as it always will be."
"Now, now, now think of what you might be throwing away." Ganondorf waived off her refusal, "With your brains and my resources the Silent Princess brand could become a performance icon. The world would know your name for your design genius."
"Oh it will be." Zelda replied, "And when it is it will not be tainted by being associated with you."
Ganondorf sneered, "Surely somebody of your talents would be better suited working on the best cars in the world. Somebody of your heritage should have the best facilities, the best staff. Not working at a dump like this." Ganondorf gestured wildly at the disorganized and poorly outfited garage.
"And this dump of a shop is going to kick your sorry butt." Purah broke her silence, her voice teeming with an angry excited energy. It was a feeling that mirrored Zelda's own feelings. Despite Ganondorf's best efforts all she wanted to do now was prove him wrong or go broke trying.
"What she said." Zelda shot her Sheikah friend an appreciative look before turning back to the object of her ire. "Now that our negotiations have come to an end I believe it's time for you to leave."
Dragmire grunted in frustration, a simmering anger festered in his eyes. Turning away from Zelda he began pacing towards the opposite wall. "We shall see how you feel this time next month. I have a feeling you shall not be so defiant when this insolent little team is without a sponsor to pay the bills."
It was Zelda's turn to get angry. He had given up any pretext that he was not responsible for the issues with their sponsor, though it was hardly surprising that he could not resist flaunting the power he held.
"It is a shame really. Your time, your talents, your name… they could be put to such better use under my automotive empire." His deep voice carried as he approached the other side of the room and more specifically what lay on that side of the room. The two cars that Zelda had designed and built from the ground up both sat under tarps. Every idea Zelda and her Sheikah team had been developed enough to actually build lay underneath those covers.
"Every idea you have here will only go to waste." Dragmire's hand approached them, ready to tear them off so that he may lay his eyes on what sat beneath. Zelda's legs shot into action to rush her across the room so that she could stop him. "If only you actually let me put them to proper-"
Where Zelda was trying to get between Ganondorf and his car somebody else had chosen to take a more direct approach. From the corner of her vision she saw a wrench spinning and arcing through the air. Time almost seemed to slow as she watched the tool make it's flight before landing across the back of the loathsome Gerudo's head. His cry of pain was joined by an equally loud clanging as the wrench fell to the garage floor.
Turning around Zelda saw the source of the flying tool as Purah was still in the follow through from her throw, a proud smile spread across her face. Zelda could have hugged her Sheikah friend right there and then. Turning back to Purah's target she saw Ganondorf was now absolutely seething. Where his eyes held anger a mere moment earlier they were now bursting with barely contained rage.
"I suggest you leave now." said Zelda firmly, wanting to end this confrontation before it went any further. "Or else I will fetch our Goron friend to remove you. I trust that a man of your standing would not necessitate such force."
Whether the appeal to his pride was successful or Ganondorf's reason managed to control his fury, it at least had the desired outcome. Turning on his heels without a word the Gerudo began to storm out of the shop, only stopping to speak once he was at the door.
"One day I will crush this pathetic team beneath my boot. And when I do I will take this wretched shop and burn it to the ground."
The deep boom of his yell still echoed throughout the building as he slammed the door shut behind him and stormed off.
And that's another chapter in the books. As always thank you all so much for reading and especially those who left reviews and comments, they really help motivate me when it comes time to start a new chapter.
Really happy with how this one turned out and it was a lot of fun to write. I mean I got to have Link and Revali bicker and go karting, I got to have some writing Ganondorf as an insufferable annoyance, and got to have Purah throw a wrench at him. I even got to put a Mario Kart reference in there.
In an ideal world I would be able to get to chapter ten by the end of the year. As is with me being busier at work and the holidays coming up I'm more likely only to get one or two chapters done. On the brightside however next chapter I will be able to begin writing about the first major race. I've been looking forward to this as it's going to be a love letter to the Indianapolis 500 and the month of May.
And for those that are curious, Garagistas is a derogatory term Enzo Ferrari used to refer to the smaller privateer teams that competed against his cars in Formula one.
Once again, thank you all so much for reading and for those leaving reviews and comments. I hope you enjoyed reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. You all stay safe and healthy, and if I get lazy and can't get another chapter out by the end of the year I hope you all have happy holidays.
P.s. There is a Non zero chance I will try to figure out a way to work that adorable little egg guardian from Age of Calamity into the story. I played that demo the other week and I don't think I'll be truly happy with my life until I have a plushie of it that beeps and whistles when I squeeze it.