CHAPTER 6: Black Shadow's Trap

After saving Jody, Falcon finally
catches up to Black Shadow...

Falcon stepped out of his racer and looked around. It was pouring rain, thundering, lightning-the whole bit. Then he spotted Black Shadow and boldly walked towards him, stopping twenty feet from the Black Bull.

"Falcon. You've come to die? I needn't have wasted time looking for you, then!" taunted the Emperor of Brutality.

"Let's settle this at the Grand Prix," countered Falcon. "Not like this, it's the coward's way."

"The coward's way? You make it sound so noble."

Yeah, whatever. Just shut up and go away.

"I just plan to eliminate anyone who stands between me and the prize-simple as that." While he was saying this, Black Shadow was getting ready to cast a binding spell upon Falcon. Then he laughed.

"Falcon, take this!"

Two blue bands of light shot from Black Shadow's hand and wrapped themselves around Falcon's torso, trapping his arms.

"Aargh! What are you doing?"

"Come out, Blood Falcon!" called Black Shadow, holding his hand out towards Falcon.

Blood Falcon was-yes, you guessed it-an evil representation of Falcon. He wore a purple helmet and a red bodysuit.

"Are you ready?" asked Black Shadow.

"Yeah, I'm ready," replied Blood Falcon, jumping off Falcon's racer. Falcon was lifted up and set in his racer, still struggling against his bonds.

"Farewell, Captain Falcon," said Black Shadow as he left.

Blood Falcon was saying the same thing, but he was a small bit slow. He finished with,

"You and Blue Falcon can die together." Then he laughed and jumped off the racer. Just as he did, it blasted away down the track.

Falcon was still trying to break free from the bonds that held him. Finally, he managed to do so, and immediately grabbed the controls to the Falcon, gasping for breath. He checked the vitals screen: Everything was fine it seemed. But an alarm was going off right behind him. He turned around and saw a warning screen: Blood Falcon had attached a speed-sensitive bomb to the fuselage right behind the cockpit.

Damn those bastards and their cheap-assed tricks! Now I'm pissed! he thought to himself. He checked the readout, and it showed him that the bomb would detonate if his speed, for whatever reason, fell below 800 km/h. (Cue tension theme from "Speed".)

Son of a bitch! Falcon knew he was in for a twisty, winding (literally) uphill race for his life. But thanks to some super-slick driving (and a few well-executed Drift Turns), he managed to get through it intact. He was relieved-that is, until he smashed through a "ROAD CLOSED FOR CONSTRUCTION" sign. The Falcon flew through space, wobbling and pivoting. Near the middle of the leap of faith, the top of the racer scraped the bottom of a hook that was attached to a crane. This knocked the bomb off the fuselage and into the water, where it exploded as the Falcon landed safely on the other side and headed for Mute City.

The F-ZERO Grand Prix was due to start in two hours. Most of the racers would be arriving shortly. In fact, Mighty Gazelle, Dr. Stewart, Pico, Samurai Goroh, John Tanaka, Jody Summer, Kate Allen, and Michael Chain were already in their spots and waiting for the race to start. Falcon made it just in time for pre-race warm-up. He ran to the official's office.

"Ah, Falcon. Your spot is open and waiting for you," said the official.

"Thank you, sir," replied Falcon. He went back out and started doing laps around the track. Each lap told him more about what the Falcon could and would do on each turn. Before he knew it, it was five minutes to race time. He went back to his spot. The stadium was packed.

Well, here goes, thought Falcon. It's time to win.

TBC...

NEXT: The F-ZERO Grand Prix