Alright, so it took so long to get this one out. Power outages, the flu, cousin's wedding, and a request that I put off took up most of my time. But, here we are now, so let's get to it.
Chapter 16: Behemoth
"Abandon me
A horror scene
A time storm
A pile up
Exterminate it
Calculate it
Ricochet
Smart bullet
Get louder
Get higher
Get true to form
Behemoth
Verify
Storm of the eye
To detonate the fusion"
- Static-X
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"Thanks," Benson said as he handed the keys to the truck back to Mordecai.
He nodded while returning Benson's keys, "No problem."
"The ball joints and tie rods seemed like they were getting weak, so I ordered a set."
"Great, I was wondering if there was anything it needed," Mordecai said while tossing them into the air, "Was there anything else you noticed?"
Benson shook his head, attempting to do so without aggravating his sleep deprived headache, "Everything else seemed fine."
Dropping the keys, he bent down to grab them, noticing the scratches on Benson's legs, "Geez, are you alright?"
Looking down, he lifted each leg and nodded, "Yeah, tripped going up the stairs of my apartment building last night. They look a lot worse than they are."
"I hope so," Mordecai said with a laugh while he slid the keys into the pocket of his staff jacket.
Benson nodded, watching everyone work on their assignments, "Big day today."
Mordecai nodded with him, "Should be great."
"Well, let's get to work," Benson said as he started toward the stage.
Mordecai began to say something, but ultimately settled on a shake of the head, "Yeah, still a lot to do."
Skips looked up when Benson reached him, "So?"
"We have a problem."
[][Last Night][]
The road condition was noticeably worse than last time, but he remembered it. The exhaust bleached pavement, the dip on turn four, even the rhythmic droning of the tires on the bridge.
He'd raced a few people that night, just a couple fun runs, but something changed after he turned around and started his third pass down the road. There were three sets of headlights in his mirror. He was only racing two of them.
The sound was nearly deafening, like a weed eater revving up combined with an explosion. It didn't take long for him to recognize who it was as the headlights jumped to the side and passed the others.
Coming up to the first corner, he dropped the gear shift from drive into second. The engine screamed as the front end dropped and he slid into the corner.
"Let's see your ATTESA do that," Benson said while he worked the pedal to keep the drift going.
Glancing in the mirror, he was confused by what he saw. The headlights were sideways, much like his own, with the exception that they were approaching him rapidly.
He corrected and slowed down in preparation for the immediate S turn, expecting the lights to do the same. Instead, the lights flew around him, the dark, silver flake in the paint dancing in the moonlight.
Benson's jaw dropped, fearing he was about to witness an accident. There were trees surrounding both sides, allowing for no escape should the car leave the road. He slid into the first corner right behind him, close enough to see the rear end begin to drift toward the inside of the next turn.
"Idiot!" Benson shouted as he turned on his flashers, hoping to warn him though he knew it was too late.
What happened next confused him to the point of paralysis. The brake lights flashed and the car dove in the opposite direction, drifting safely around the second corner. It was only a moment, but he caught it.
Dropping into second, he repeated the same movement he had just seen, but by the time he rounded the corner, the only evidence of the other vehicle were faint traces of red light through the trees. Easing off the pedal, his engine rumbled into a low idle, deciding against pursuing the driver.
As his adrenaline began fade, the pain in his legs struck, fierce enough to force him to pull off the road and stop.
Flinching, he turned the knob for the overhead light and looked down. After the long period of driving his station wagon, he had forgotten how to brace himself so he didn't thrash around while he cornered. His legs were proof of the violent movements.
Easing onto the throttle, he decided the pain wasn't so bad that he couldn't make it home, but it was sure to be worse in the morning. But that wasn't the problem at the moment. The problem was what he had just seen.
[][][]
"Are you sure?"
"R32's are all wheel drive or rear wheel drive. The one that Martin's dad had was a Nismo model, so-"
Skips cut him off, "So it had all the bells and whistles."
Benson nodded, "All wheel drive, standard transmission, and the ATTESA E-TS. The ATTESA E-TS is an electronic torque splitter, if the rear tires begin to slip, it will increase the power to the front differential until it stabilizes. The system runs off of speed sensors that send readings to the computer and scans ten times a second."
"I'm with you so far."
"So," Benson continued, "With a skilled driver, the car can drift and have the same amount of grip as a front wheel drive."
Skips shrugged, "It still doesn't sound like that big of a deal."
"You said he got his license the day after he registered it."
"That's what he told me."
"Due to the laws of this state," Benson said, pulling a small sheet of paper from his pocket, "You have to report all major vehicle modifications, including engine swaps."
Skips took the paper and began reading it while he continued.
"He got ahold of a Nismo Z-tuned engine and dropped it inside along with upgrading the ATTESA system to the E-TS Pro. The engine is a bored and stroked RB26, but that system uses an active rear limited slip differential, allowing a left and right split of torque on the rear end."
"Look, a lot of this new technology is going over my head," Skips said, "What does all this mean."
"It's what I saw," he said while crossing his arms, "His left, rear brake caliper locked up, but not the right."
Skips' eyes widened, "Impossible."
Benson shook his head, "Improbable, not impossible. He got ahold of a Mad Doctor ECU."
"This isn't good."
Benson looked to the ground and nodded, "I'm a thinking man, I can look at something and understand it. Even I can't understand the potential of an MD ECU that's plugged into that system."
Skips looked across to where Mordecai and Muscle Man were lighting the grill, "So, what do we do?"
"What can we do?"
[][][]
"Well, we lit the grill and we're ready to chill!" Mordecai shouted while waving his arms back and forth to attract the people who showed up early.
Muscle Man sang next, "First up is hot dogs for the greatest meal!"
"Never a wrong time to cook up some swine," Mordecai returned.
"And it looks like our voices are drawing a line!"
Mordecai began passing cooked hot dogs to Muscle Man who added the rest and handed them to the customers.
"This is going great," he said while opening a new pack, "If there's this many people now, wait until the band shows up!"
Muscle Man nodded, "I know, bro! I'm pumped! WHOOO!"
"Save your whoos for the show, dude."
"The line's starting to slow down."
Looking up to get an estimate, he nodded, "This'll be the last pack for now."
He looked back to the grill, but instantly jerked his head up, thinking he seen something he couldn't have. Looking over the group now, he didn't see the flash of color that he was sure he did before.
Shaking his head, he returned to turning the hot dogs.
"There he is."
He blinked, knowing the voice instantly.
"Mordy!"
He felt himself go weightless and topple sideways onto the ground.
"What're you doing here, Farrah?!"
Muscle Man's dumbstruck face matched that of the people in the small line.
"Aww, come on," she asked as she climbed back to her feet, "You're not happy to see your baby sister?"
Mordecai stood and began to dust off his jacket, "It hasn't even been a week! How did you get here?!"
"Her," she said, pointing to where Caroline stood laughing.
"Not you too!"
"What kind of a welcome is that, Staff?"
Mordecai pulled the jacket closed, "I'll have you know this jacket is a babe magnet!"
"It's true!" Muscle Man shouted from where he was handing out the last hot dog.
"Anyway," he said, turning back to his sister, "We haven't covered why you're here."
She pulled a folder from her backpack and handed it to him, "I wanted you to see the report!"
Opening it, he seen a thick packet with the cover page's title, Forever.
"The script for Forever? They gave this thing an A+?"
"And," she said, jerking the folder out of his hands, "After seeing the trailer we recorded, the teacher submitted it to an independent film competition. The winner gets a limitless budget to make their movie!"
"What does the runner up get?"
"Whatever," she mumbled, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Now you," he said, turning to Caroline, "Why're you here?"
"She's running away!"
"I am not," Caroline shouted back.
"She was at the bus station when I got there," Farrah added, "She was staring at the bus, deciding if she wanted to go through with it or not."
"So I'm to assume mom doesn't know?"
Caroline sighed, "I called her from the bus, we're heading back tonight."
"You rode a bus for five hours to leave the same day you get here?"
"Well, your mother wasn't exactly the happiest about her leaving without saying anything," she began, both of them looking to where she was whistling and avoiding eye contact, "And I'm only here to take care of some business."
Mordecai sighed, "I know my rugged, manly charm is overpowering, but-"
"Before you finish that lie," she interrupted, "I have an interview with the nearby college and I'm meeting with someone who posted an ad looking for a roommate."
"So now you're moving here to be close to me?"
Rolling her eyes, she shook her head, "In your dreams, Mordy. I just have to get out of the old town."
"Maybe find somewhere that an old crush is living?"
"If that makes you feel better, think what you want," she said while glancing at her watch, "Anyway, I have to get to the interview, and as adorable as Farrah is, I doubt it'd look good to bring her with."
"I'll just hang out with Mordy then," she said, pretending to feel insulted.
"Fine, just try not to cause any trouble."
"Well, I'm off then," Caroline said with a wave.
Mordecai waved then turned to his sister, "You know mom's gonna kill you, right?"
"She'll probably make dad do it."
"Anyway," Mordecai said while grabbing one of the extra hot dogs from the table, "Just hang around, the band should be here soon."
"I'm gonna go talk to the lollipop guy," she said while running off to where Pops was handing out candy.
"Who's the babe?" Muscle Man asked when he returned to the grill.
"That's my sister, dude."
Muscle Man shook his head, "No, the tall one."
"Oh, that one," he said with a laugh, "Friend I went to school with."
"Nice, bro."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Muscle Man looked back to the crowd and let a small smile appear, "Come on, you can't tell me you're gonna let this one get away too?"
"Not yet, man. Besides, she's-" he began, pausing when he realized what he was about to say, "No, I guess she isn't."
Hearing the sound of the car pull into the parking lot, he slugged him in the shoulder, "Well, let's get Thomas to watch the grill while we help the band unload."
"Alright," he said with a nod, "Standing around all this food is starting to make me hungry."
[][][]
Thomas stepped out of the bathrooms and started toward the soccer field where he could already hear the sound of the event kicking off. As he turned off the main path and started down the next, Rigby rounded the same corner and they bumped into each other.
"My bad," Thomas said as he dusted off his jacket.
"No problem."
"Where you off to?"
Rigby nodded toward the diner, "I'm gonna meet up with Margaret before everything gets too busy."
"Benson said we need everyone here for the show."
"What's old Rattleballs gonna do, fire me?" he said with a shrug, "What's gonna go wrong?"
"If they ask, I'm pleading stupidity," Thomas said while stepping around him.
Rigby watched him walk away, the thought of turning around growing. The ringing in his pocket snapped him back into reality and he read the message before turning and continuing to the diner.
"Hey, Thomas," Mordecai shouted.
Hearing the voice, Rigby ducked behind a nearby tree, peeking out to see what would happen.
"We need you and Rigby to cover the grill while we help the band set up."
"Where is that punk?" Muscle Man asked while looking around.
Thomas shrugged, "Haven't seen him. I'll take care of the grill until he shows up."
Muscle Man scoffed and shook his head.
"Alright, thanks Thomas."
Muscle Man took one last glance then walked off to catch up to Mordecai.
With the coast clear, Rigby stepped from behind the tree and watched them unload the cars. His phone rang again and he walked out of the park and across the street, leaping out of the way of a beat up van with the words, 'Volley Ballers' painted on the side.
"Hey, watch it you idiot!"
The van screamed around the turn into the park's side entrance and sped up the winding road.
Rigby shook his head and pulled open the door.
Alright, gonna cut it there to catch up on everything else. Sorry it's a setup chapter, have three more updates to do, another request, and a few new stories to work on, so I'll be busy for the next… century. Also, i threw in a vague reference to an anime, let's see who guesses it.
Anyway, thanks for reading, sorry it took so long.