Lap 6
Tinsel was still recovering at Mute City's Task Force base with assistance by the Stewarts, as well as a brief, concerned appearance by Phoenix Levin, and the couple had recently began to move in to Falcon's Fortress in Port Town. While there, she was ecstatic to be back inside the place without any anxieties of the late Falcon's strict guidelines! She knew from that moment on, she no longer needed to keep the location of the building to be a secret, which was quite pressurizing when Jody or Dr. Stewart would query her since she knew and worked with the bounty hunter and legendary racer. She was also relieved that Rick never seemed to act like a stubborn loner and he was willing to have the help from others; it was just so much more reassuring that Tinsel no longer had to hide her true feelings from him, like how Douglas was staying composed behind the dark helmet and his intimidating, stern face.
When Rick was resisting Princia Ramode's charm, he actually had an idea for their song of their first dance; he shown her on the stronghold's large motherboard and then it played a tune first being accompanied by acoustic guitars in E major. It was no question it was definitely in surround sound since they could literally hear it all around them within the garage! Actually, he first played the song inside his helmet while riding the Falcon Flyer back to Earth, and it reminded them both of one of Tinsel's birthday gifts to him just last summer; one of the three ancient films of auto-racing known as The Last American Hero aside from Days of Thunder and Need for Speed. It was quite inspiring, especially for Rick since Elroy Jackson Jr. introduced the drafting method in auto-racing, which became a staple technique; Tinsel didn't care for the biopic that much, but he knew she loved the main theme; thus he had this idea when he was thinking about her.
Then, as the song was picking up with the tenor's voice, Rick actually volunteered to dance with her. She accepted but was uncertain since she never danced before, and she may forget the steps; he decided to record the routine while they got better at it. So, throughout the duration, they'd make some time to spend and practice their first dance to prepare for their union.
It was then a month prior to the wedding. The girls decided to spend the evening at the Raining Spa and Salon which, according to Jody and Lucy, had great services and treatments from massages to hair services. It even had a sauna, mud spa, and a hot tub. And Jack and Luna volunteered for the guys to go to Roller Rocket World for the evening as well, which was home to roller rinks, an indoor arcade, and bowling to all ages and genders. Both of those places had restaurants too.
Jody and Lucy found it was a way to help cure Tinsel's old wounds; at the Raining Spa and Salon for the bachelorette party! This was actually a first for both the guys and the gals as they were too busy with their own crafts.
She cringed a little while looking thru the brochure they handed out when she came across the mud spa, though the hut tub and the restaurants were more her taste. She thought the first activity was disgusting but the young mechanic informed her it was a good way to remove oils and dead skin cells from pores beneath her face and let it shine once everything was rinsed off; Lucy always wanted to have one but couldn't since they were expensive, no different than applying makeup, she assured.
While Dr. Stewart found out from his son, Rodney, they'd be hanging out in Port Town, that somehow struck a chilling cord in his heart. His mind then shifted gears as he reminisced on that certain someone who was distant from him for literal years. Luna's biological mother and Robert's second wife, Katherine Wilson.
He then headed to a large keyboard and vigorously typed on it. There was a profile image to the left, showing a female who had similar complexions to Jody, such as her shoulder-length, flowing, shiny brown hair; her placid skin and lips; green-blue eyes; and a slight build. What followed was the intel that scrolled across the screen:
Katherine Wilson - A mechanic for the F-Zero competition, born and raised in Port Town. Katherine had spent most of her life studying about the F-Zero machines (as efficient and tenacious as the late Dr. Clash) and had always wondered what the mechanics were like to make those magnificent machines work. By the time she was 17, she registered as an F-Zero mechanic on the same day she had met Dr. Stewart. As a symbol of their friendship, she gave him a red scarf (which was the same scarf that he wore to this day; the medico ruffled his scarf which was still covering his neck). When Katherine turned 21, the two had gotten married and Katherine gave birth to a baby girl 9 months later. After being constantly hunted down by Zoda, she had left Dr. Stewart in care of their daughter. Her whereabouts are currently unknown.
For once, his daughter saw her father so somber, almost depressed; not once in her life has she ever saw him like this! His eyes drooped as his face and she headed in the computer room. She asked if her dad was alright, and his face broke as if nothing happened. He assured her he was fine, though she never saw the image and report of her missing mom. Instead, he wished he would see her again since Zoda had been assassinated by Rick and Tinsel over a year ago and wishes to see her again when he heads to Port Town for the bachelor party. She hoped for the same.
All the women took their F-Zero machines to their destination which looked pretty basic from the outside even with the neon sign flashing. The inside was a massive lobby with multiple pathways for different sections and activities. From the fancy interior, it was obvious they needed to book well in advance for the location and the party itself. So they split up and tried each of them out as they followed the bronze corridors.
Tinsel was actually coaxed by Lucy and Luna to let her brown hair grow out and never cut it; it was at the Raining Salon where they both got pampered as they had their hair stylized. The wife-to-be actually had hers with silver highlights and also flattened and curled to match with her cute style for her upcoming wedding. Mrs. Arrow, Mai and Lisa got some golden highlights while Lucy's carrot top was being heated in an electric lampshade to add more volume. Jody and Kate were having their backs massaged and it was quite easy to relax the captain's tense muscles considering she's a cyborg; she was never afraid to admit it either as the occupant had clients similar to her. Luna was just relaxing at the refreshing spa with Tea and Serenity.
By the time their leisure were over, the group rotated activities, until an hour later as the ladies gathered to grab some bites to eat at the fancy restaurant; they took two large round tables while their meals and desserts were being served.
Like the travel arrangements the women made, the men also had to take their own F-Zero machines. Only they had a little more hassle since they needed to take a warp gate to Planet Nintae and endure the congested streets of Port Town; these paths were also linear so travel was hindered quite a bit.
When they arrived, the place was just so dazzling with all those dark, neon purple lights and the large font screaming its name. The kids were ecstatic when they got there, and they became anxious as they nearly scrambled out of their cockpits of their corresponding vehicles, especially since both Clank and Alias were sharing the Red Gazelle's. Dai Goroh had to be held by Goroh at times as well even with his Silver Rat be pulled by a tractor beam from the Fire Stingray.
The children stormed in first before the adults did, even Jack ran in after them since he was pretty much like a man-child. Rick just stood there and looked up at the place full of awe. The interior was even more astonishing! A massive, airy lobby awaited the guys, rows of bowling alleys were to the right, the restaurants were a little further to the left, there was a large and deep roller rank, and at the corner were the arcade cabinets and even a quieter section for the mere sensitive visitors. The men almost immediately diverged, each partaking in different activities.
Super Arrow was watching over his baby son, Archer, as he excitedly played and dived around at the colorful ball pen.
Rick and Jack recognized an eccentric kid that looked like a professional roller blader at the half pipe rink; he had on shiny, black hair flattened by a headset and wore a neon green top with black stretcher pants and skates matching his outfit. The former thought it was Clank, but it only turned out to be one of the Task Force's indirect allies, Beat. He noticed he was one of the invitees who never gave back his RSVP; after some gleeful greetings, he explained that he was too busy, and he wouldn't want to hang out at a wedding due to cold feet. However it was nice to see his friends from the squad again.
Just then, a raspy, squeaky voice snapped Jack out of his reunion and he was ecstatic to meet an old mentor, and literally so since he was hunched over while standing with a cane, and had whiskers, wrinkles, and facial hair as white as snow. He was the nonagenarian F-Zero racer, Silver Neelsen! The punk happily headed over to the geezer and made up for lost time.
Outside the party zone, it was much more quieter than the raging activity inside. Dr. Stewart was taking a break from all the excessive input and an alto voice made him look up. At first he thought it was actually Jody, and she looked like her, but it was actually his long, lost second mate, Katherine! They embraced each other momentarily and she accepted that he loves Jody; she assured Doc he did a great job on raising Luna, and she'll drop her a letter soon, as the reunion would be too dramatic for her sensitivity.
Meanwhile, at the Roller Rocket World's bowling allies, Rick was discussing with the guys about Tinsel's repressed memories, those that weren't too preoccupied with the game as Super Arrow was. He was with Clank, Alias, Dai Goroh, Tristan, and Joey, then the go-lucky Duelist motioned for the future groom to speak with him in private. They sat at the row of stools several feet away from the bowling alleys and arcade machines, and Joey mentioned in a hushed voice that when he was 10, and when Serenity was 7, their parents divorced; their mom was a nurse while their dad was an alcoholic gambler and he often beats Joey. He had become a boy who could never defend himself even against bullies, until his dear friend, Tristan, always came to his aid. He said he knew what it was like to have an abusive/neglectful parent, and he eventually decided to run away and search for his mom, only to have Tristan take him in instead. He feels so sorry for Tinsel, though Rick assured him that their future would be brighter than their lives had ever been.
With full stomachs, everyone headed for home and they would never stop chatting of all the fun they had throughout the night!
A/N: At first I was going to have these two attractions (Roller Rocket World and Rainy Day Spa and Salon) at Meteorland; at Meteor, specifically, the fourth location in the original Starfox, but sadly I decided to scrap it. I wish that artificial meteor would've been mentioned a lot more in the series, though... It's a shame we see this awesome place only once. I wonder if these 2 places exist; I'd love to see them.
As for Beat, he made a minor appearance and he was suffering from cold feet hence his refusal to give back his invitation; I hope this'll make sense since Idk Jet Set Radio, excepting for Buttscottch. Also, one of her OCs, Katherine Wilson, had made a cameo as Dr. Stewart reunited with her; I wanted it to keep it sweet and let her accept his new mate, Jody. It's her OC so Idk her well, either.
It was quite surprising on what I found out from Joey, thanks to the Yugioh Wiki and how he can relate to Tinsel's predicament since they both had dark pasts and neglectful fathers. I can't believe the same thing seems to be happening, in a neglectful sense; and my parents too went thru a divorce as well back in autumn 2019 which was a relief from my toxic ex-stepmom.