Chapter 11

11 Years Ago

"I hate this track." Glynda complained.

"I love it!" Port enthused. "There is no truer test of bravery and manly virtue!"

Glynda rolled her eyes. She knew Port hated the Emerald Forest too. All the drivers did. His bravado was how he coped with fear. The North Circuit was over 22 km long and had over 170 turns, though the number varied depending upon who was counting. Running through a mountainous forest, the track featured incredible speed and sudden elevation changes. What it did not feature was any sort of safety measures. Most of the track did not even have barriers to separate the racers from the trees. Add to that a few spots where cars would routinely get airborne and it was a recipe for disaster. Disaster was common, but the drivers always kept coming back. They had a simple nickname for the track: Hell. It was appropriate. Driving there was a living hell, and if you screwed up, well, that's where you'd find yourself.

"Ozpin, what's this team meaning about?" Glynda asked. With Summer's death and Taiyang's sudden retirement, Glynda and Port had taken over for Beacon GP. They were drivers at opposite ends of their careers. Glynda was youngish, a promising up-and-coming driver. Port was old and had come out of retirement for the year as a favor to Ozpin. Glynda comprehensively outran Port but was frustrated. The year before the team had been world-beating, winning the title in a rout, this year they struggled for points. It was hardly surprising; after what had happened no one's heart was really in it.

"Qrow requested a chance to speak to everyone." Ozpin replied.

"And he's late." Glynda sighed.

As if on queue Qrow stumbled in. His hair was messy, he needed a shave and he reeked of alcohol. "Sorry I'm late." He slurred. "I lost track of time."

"Damnit, he's drunk, again." Glynda complained. "He's always drunk!"

"I've been drunker." Qrow said. "Today…" He laughed.

"So what do you need to tell us?" Ozpin asked.

"Well, first I wanted to thank all you guys." Qrow said. "It's been a tough year but you've all been good to me, like the family I never had. I know you haven't been thrilled about my new hobby, but it gets me through the day and I appreciate you putting up with it." He suddenly took on a serious tone. "Anyway, I wanted to let you know that I won't be back next year. I guess you could say I'm retiring. Working on race cars just isn't fun anymore. I know I can't put enough effort into it, and hanging around would be a disservice to the rest of you."

"I had a feeling that was the case." Ozpin said. "With everything's that's happened I don't blame you. And I certainly appreciate your staying on for this year. I know it must have been very difficult for you."

"Well, I suppose this is as good a time as any to announce my retirement as well." Port said. "It's been a thrilling year but it's shown me I don't have it anymore. Ozpin, I appreciate you having me back for one last ride and I'm sorry I couldn't be a little faster." He turned to Qrow. "So, since we'll both be retired, how about we go hunting sometime?"

"I think I'll pass." Qrow said. "Giving a gun to someone as drunk as me is probably a bad idea."

"Who said anything about a gun?" Port asked. "I hunt with my bare hands!"

"Yeah, I'm definitely going to pass." Qrow said.

"So, what are you going to do then Qrow?" Ozpin asked.

Qrow turned serious again. "Most of you probably haven't spoken to Taiyang." He said. "As you might imagine he's not doing too well and his kids have it rough too. I was planning to help them out."

Present Day

The Emerald Forest's North Circuit would be the site of the Emerald Forest Grand Prix once again. Little about the track had changed in the last generation and the drivers feared it just as much as they always did. In recent years, there had been extra incentive to not bother showing up. Winter had won the race three years in a row and it had not been close. But this year, Winter would not be in the field. Her burns were mostly superficial and she was feeling fine after her concussion, but her broken arm would take time to heal. Barring a miracle her season was over. It was game on for the other drivers now that the championship favorite was out of the picture.

Winter's car would not be empty. Schnee Automotive promoted Ciel Soleil from its sports car program to fill the seat for the remainder of the season. She had prior Formula 1 experience. The previous year Penny's predecessor had been killed in a crash and Ciel had finished out the season. She was an excellent sports car driver, but in a Formula 1 car she was mediocre. The team's strength would likely propel her to the front of the field but she was unlikely to really challenge for the win.

Weiss now had a good shot at the championship. If she could gain one point over Pyrrha she would become the defacto leader with her sister out. She had bigger worries though. She needed to patch things up with Blake, if only for team cohesion. She had so recently gotten to the point where she was getting along with everyone in the organization, but now she had no friends left.

"Blake, do you have a minute?" Weiss asked.

"If you're worried about me sabotaging your car, it won't be a problem." Blake said, not looking up from the engine she was working on. "I already told Ozpin, I'm here to help the team win, even if I have a distaste for the driver."

"I never thought for a second you'd do something to my car." Weiss said.

"Oh?" Blake said. "I thought you could never trust a Faunus."

Weiss sighed. Blake was not making apologizing easy. "I'm sorry." She said. "I was angry and I said some terrible things. I...believed some terrible things. I was wrong. I am wrong. I shouldn't hate people based solely on the circumstances of their birth. Even if it's easier to see things that way, not every Faunus is bad, the same way not every Human is good. I guess I still have a ways to go if I'm going to stop being like my father."

"You're already far better than your father." Blake said. "You spoke to me without spitting on me or bombarding me with slurs."

"Thank you." Weiss said.

"Don't think this makes things right." Blake cautioned. "Actions speak louder than words and so far all you've given me are words."

"What can I do to make it right?" Weiss asked.

"I'm sure you'll figure something out, or you won't." Blake said. "I don't really care. I don't need a friend. Now, if you'll let me get back to work…"

"Of course." Weiss said. "I'll see you at the beginning of practice." Blake did not respond and Weiss backed out of the garage awkwardly.

The weekend's practice sessions offered few surprises. Penny took over where she had left off, leading every session with incredibly consistent times that placed her a decent distance ahead of the rest of the field. Next in line was Weiss. She had apparently learned from her sister. Yang, Pyrrha and Ciel were not far behind, followed by the Coffee Inc., Phase Two and Haven Racing Team drivers. It might have been a power track but with over 170 turns, a strong chassis and driver skill still counted for a lot.

Even at a track so long and complex, qualifying position was key. The racing surface was narrow and passing was difficult. At the very beginning of qualifying Penny put down a lap that was good enough for a track record and far ahead of anything anyone else had run all weekend. In a repeat of Vytal, she returned to the garage and waited for the session to end, confident her time was unassailable. Behind her, things were more chaotic. With a few minutes left Weiss, Yang, Pyrrha, Ciel, Coco, Yatsuhashi, Mercury, Emerald and Sun were all within spitting distance of one another.

Weiss accelerated out of the sweeping, multi-apex right-hander ominously named Gallows. From there it was a long run downhill on the straight called The Peak, then back up, full speed all the way to the line. The several kilometers long straight was broken by two flat-out kinks called The Zoo. She rocketed across the start/finish line and was almost immediately on the brakes for the first turn. It started as a slightly downhill left that immediately hooked back to the right for a long banked turn called the South Curve. Weiss slid through the South Curve and onto the straight that ran parallel to the start/finish straight but in the other direction. After the short blast down the straight Weiss was on the brakes again for the North Curve, first a right-angle left-hander then after a short straight a tight, downhill left. She slid her car through the series of downhill right-handers called Hunt Creek. At the bottom of the hill she wrestled the car through a series of S-bends call the Tall Oaks. It was the most complex part of the track but things were about to get fast.

Weiss powered out of the last of the slow corners and over a small bridge. Her car got momentarily airborne before landing and climbing steeply uphill. She braked just before the crest but her car still got some serious air. She landed and immediately hit the brakes, turning hard right through the corner called Airfield, not for the fact that cars got airborne there, but because there was literally a airport just outside the track. Then it was all speed, flat-out through a series of gentle lefts. At top speed Weiss slowed for the left-hand corner called Cross. Once the car settled she braked hard for the tight right-hander that followed. Controlling her wheel-spin she powered out of the corner, heading steeply downhill into the complex of flat-out lefts called Fox Hole. After reaching the bottom of the hill the track climbed steeply. At the top, after a deceptively tight left, was a slow complex of S-bends called The Forest. Weiss crested the hill before The Forest and spotted a crumpled car against the dirt bank to the left. It was Sun and he was still in the car, not moving. Weiss had a choice to make.

Weiss slammed on the brakes and stopped her car, giving up on her qualifying lap. She ran to Sun's car. Inside he was alive and conscious but dazed. "Sun, are you alright?" She asked.

"I just got my bell rung." Sun groaned.

There did not seem to be any fuel leaking but Weiss could not be sure it was safe. "You need to get out now." She said.

"Just give me a minute." Sun said. "My whole body hurts."

"Oh no, I'm not waiting for this problem to turn into a catastrophe." Weiss said. She reached into the cockpit and unlatched Sun's belts. She put one arm under his. "You're getting out." Sun sighed and winced in pain as he lifted himself from the car with Weiss' help. Acting as a crutch, Weiss led him up the dirt back and away from the track before helping him sit down.

"Well, I don't think anything's broken." Sun said. He stretched his arms and legs. "This is going to hurt tomorrow though." He lay back, flat on the ground and undid the zipper on his overalls, exposing his upper body. It seemed that even after a crash he could not help but immediately take his shirt off. "Thanks for the help. You were the last person I was expecting. Blake did not have nice things to say about you."

"After what I said I'm sure she didn't." Weiss sighed. "Wait, why were you talking to her?"

"I thought sitting in silence would make for a lame date." Sun laughed. He grabbed his side in pain. "The joke was worth it." He groaned. Weiss was not sure what exactly he was joking about.

"Be sure to put in a good word for me the next time you talk." Weiss said. "Are you going to be alright until the marshals get here? My team's going to worry if I don't get back to the pits."

"Yeah, go on." Sun said. "Thanks again. I really appreciate it."

Yang crested the hill at the top of Fox Hole and the car oversteered. She caught it just in time to brake for The Forest. She noticed a wrecked car on the side of the track. It was Sun's. Weiss' car was stopped a few meters beyond. Weiss was already out of the car and on her way to assist. Yang was genuinely impressed. Sun did not even look like he really needed the help and Weiss had given up her time trial for him. Maybe she was not as terrible as she could seem.

Yang had little time to reflect. She wound her way through the Forest and out onto the following straight. The track ran on through two quick left-hand kinks. Yang broke for the second kink, then as soon as she was through it she was hard on the brakes again for a tight left. She slid the car through the corner then dove downhill through a tight right-hander. The track seemed to narrow, with overgrown trees on either side, as she cut hard through a flat-out left-hand kink. Hard on the brakes, she slid through the following hard right. She spun the wheels a bit on exit as she shot down the following straight. Yang's car became unsettled as she braked. She caught the car, cutting right downhill into a tight left-hander, followed immediately by another right.

Once again the track sped up. Yang tore down the straight toward the left-hand corner called Exit. It was a quick corner that led uphill. She raced up the hill, cutting hard to the right as the track topped the rise. She powered out of the corner, flew through the left-hand Mine Kink and was hard on the brakes for the tight right-hander called Mine. The following sector, a series of flat out corners called Little Valley, was one of the fastest and most challenging parts of the track. Yang held it right on the edge, using all the track as she blasted along. She slowed for the left-hand Courage Corner then was on the throttle again. She ran through a flat-out right-hand kink before braking hard for the next twisty section.

Yang spun the wheels on exit of the right-hand hairpin and roared toward one of the track's most unique features. After a short straight was the left-hand hairpin called the Carousel. The inside third of the track was steeply banked to the drivers' benefit. Yang dropped into the bowl, her car scraping the track as she rounded the corner before she popped out on the other side. After that it was steeply uphill through a series of left-handers to one of the track's highest points. After was a twisting series of corners and sudden elevation changes. Even experienced drivers struggled to memorize this portion and Yang made it up as she went along, though her improvisation proved to be very fast.

The track straightened out a bit for Jump Hill. Yang pressed the throttle to the floor, the ground fell steeply down and she was briefly airborne. She slammed down and regained control of the car just in time to negotiate the quick right-left that followed. She rocketed on, the track curving slightly to the right before she had to brake hard for a much sharper right-hander that opened the section called the Swallow's Tail. Next was a tight, blind left-hander. She pulled out of the corner and drove into the left-hand Small Carousel, a less-extreme version of the earlier corner. She got a good run off the banking and raced uphill into Gallows. The track crested a hill, going up and then down over the course of the turn. Then Yang was back on The Peak. The engine screamed, pushing the redline as she tore downhill then up, full-speed through The Zoo and across the line to complete her lap.

Weiss arrived a few minutes later. Instead of finishing her lap she returned to the garage. The time would be too slow to matter anyway. "What happened?" Ruby asked. "Did you have mechanical problems?"

"No, I stopped to help someone." Weiss replied.

"Who?" Ruby asked with concern.

"Sun, he stuffed it in the dirt bank before The Forest." Weiss explained. "He's alright, just a little shaken up."

"You stopped, threw away your lap, to help Sun, a Faunus?" Blake gasped in disbelief.

"He was just as surprised." Weiss said. "I couldn't just leave him sitting there in his car. What if it had caught fire? They'll be other races for me. He only gets one life."

"I can't help but feel like you wouldn't have done that if you weren't trying to prove you were sorry." Blake said.

"I won't lie, it factored in my decision." Weiss said. "But the core of it is that he's a person, just like you or me. I couldn't leave him to die."

"I guess that's good enough." Blake sighed. "Don't think this makes us friends though." Blake really wanted to stay mad at Weiss but Weiss was making that difficult.

"I know, I'm sure I've still got a lot to do before that." Weiss said.

"Awesome!" Ruby exclaimed. "You two don't hate each other anymore!"

"I don't think we hated each other before." Weiss said. "We just had a little disagreement." Blake glared at her. "Okay, a big disagreement. I'm happy we could get past it too. I just hope it didn't cost me too much for the race tomorrow."

"Well, the session just ended so we should be getting the final times any moment now." Ruby said.

"Do you feel like you did the right thing?" Ozpin asked, walking into the garage.

"Yes." Weiss answered without hesitation.

"Then who cares about the times?" Ozpin said. "I certainly don't."

Inspirations

- Emerald Forest is the Nurburgring, the North Circuit is the Nordschleife. I won't bother going through all the corners because I don't have all day, but most are just straight translations.

- The Nordschleife is commonly referred to as the "Green Hell." I agree with this assessment.

- Sun's accident is based on a common mistake made by many drivers at The Ring. Topping the rise out of Fuchsrohe unsettles the car and getting out of the throttle at the wrong moment will cause oversteer to the left that's pretty much impossible to recover from.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- Giving up on a qualifying lap to help someone is only just a little more likely than giving up on a race. It almost never happened.

- The track I describe (about 3/4 of, evenything between Hohe Acht and Sprunghugel runs together in my head) is a mix of mostly the modern layout with the key features of the 1966 layout. There is simply not a good enough representation of the old track to allow me to adequately describe it, so I did my best to reconstruct it from historical descriptions.