"Vert!" Nolo called out to him.
Vert went over to give handshakes and fist bumps to everyone. Karma hugged him.
"He says he's your father Vert. That true?" Nolo asked. Vert nodded.
"As I already said before, and as I already explained to Vert, I lead the Silencerz." Jack started. Vert kept his arms folded, deciding to keep out of it and let his father explain.
"But we aren't the organization that Tezla made us out to be when he told you about us." He continued.
"What exactly do you want the Wheel for?" Kurt asked.
"Right to the chase huh? Now I know where my son gets it from." Jack commented before preparing to answer.
"It's not us that want the Wheel. It's our superiors. The government. As I also told Vert, what they want it for is classified. I know that's not the answer you're looking for but, that's all I can give." Jack said.
"Tezla said Banjee and the others were lost in the realms. Yet they're here. How'd you find them?" Kurt asked.
"Tezla believed they were lost. And they would have been. Had we not been in the realms to find them. We brought them back here. We offered to let them go, but they agreed to help us against Gelorum. And later on, Dr. Tezla." Jack said.
"He gave us some awesome rides, but I gotta admit, he started to get kinda loco." Banjee commented.
"Then that means you've been racing in the realms from the beginning. Even before we started racing for Tezla." Karma said.
"The Metro Realm. And the Ice Realm. That was when we started to distrust each other." Kurt said, remembering how Kurt was suspected of taking the Metro Realm Accelecharger after everyone, including Taro believed he won, and called him out for his supposed lie. And the mystery of the Ice Realm, where it was believed Karma knocked Taro out of the race to win.
Karma suddenly held her head.
"You alright?" Esmerelda asked her.
"Yeah. I think I just… need some water." Karma said.
"Food's that way." Alec said, thumbing behind him to his left. "Take another left once you get there and just keep going straight. You can't miss it. There's also a vending machine." He added.
"Thanks." Karma said before walking past all of them.
"But I want to know. You got all those other drivers out. Why didn't you save Kadeem? My brother?" Kurt asked, resuming their earlier conversation.
"What she said about us being in the realms from the beginning is partially correct. We didn't start officially racing in the realms until the Metro Realm. That was when we believed our drivers, myself included, were prepared for what was in the Racing Realms. We never raced in the Fog, swamp, or Warp realm. Once we found them, we brought them back to base. The safety of the drivers was more important than winning the race at the time. As for Kadeem and your brother, we couldn't. I'm sorry." Jack said.
"Couldn't? Or wouldn't?" Kurt asked.
"If we could save them, believe me, we would have." Jack said.
"I don't believe you." Kurt said, fuming. "Look what the Drones did to him! To…." Kurt was about to reveal what happened to Kadeem but had to stop himself. He didn't want Vert or the others to have to be described what he and his brother saw in Hot Wheels City. He simply shook his head.
Vert decided to finally speak up, but to avoid Kurt from getting angrier than he already was, he wasn't going to mention what his dad told him when he explained why they couldn't save Wylde.
"When I chose not to help you, you took me away and basically forced me to stay here. You and I both know what they're here for. There's something you want out of this. That you need us for." Vert said.
Jack looked down for a second before addressing Vert. "I made a promise that I wouldn't hurt your friends. And I'm keeping it, as much as my superiors would disagree with the decision." He said.
Women's Bathroom
After getting some water, she went to the bathroom. She was washing her hands and looked at herself in the mirror. She saw her usual self, but…. something felt off. Then, it felt as if some voice was whispering to her. She looked around, no one was there.
"The Wheel." The voice whispered again to her, echoing inside her head.
She walked out the bathroom, feeling a lot better than what she was feeling before but still had a feeling of unease within herself. That unease caused her to accidentally bump into an X-88 drone.
"Excuse me." Karma said, apologizing.
The X-88 drone only gave her a very brief stare before moving on back to where it was supposed to be going.
"So what, you're just gonna let him go?" Nolo asked, skeptical.
Jack nodded.
"It's never that easy." Monkey said.
"But we've got an opportunity. It's probably best that we take it." Karma said, rejoining them.
Nolo and the others looked at Karma, not really expecting that suggestion out of her. But Nolo nodded.
"She's right. Let's go." Nolo said.
Tork nodded in agreement. "You heard the man. Let's get out outta here." He said.
Jack pulls a remote out and presses a button. A platform away from where everyone was lowers. After a couple of seconds, it raises back up again, this time with Reverb being on the platform.
"Aw yes! Sweet!" Vert said. Jack nods, giving his approval for him to get in.
Vert starts the engine. Everything was left intact.
Vert looks at his dad for a second. And the wheel and circle before going a little faster to follow the others. They all enter the portal.
"You're just gonna let 'em drive away?" Banjee asked, surprised at Jack's decision.
"The Wheel is more important right now. As far as they're concerned, once Gelorum was defeated, it was all but over for them when it comes to racing in the Realms. Which is why I trust he'll be safer away from it. And if his friends are as good of people as he says they are, then they'll help keep him safe too." Jack told Banjee.
"Hey, you're the boss." Banjee said before walking away. Alec walked behind him and caught up to him.
"You don't think he's lying about all this is he?" Alec asked him out of Jack's earshot.
"I honestly don't know. I just hope that whatever he's doing, it doesn't lead him to become like Tezla. I raced for the Silencerz because I thought they were racing for the right reasons compared to Tezla." Banjee said.
"Well it looks to me like it could be Tezla all over again." Alec said.
"I hope you're wrong man." Banjee said.
"I hope I'm wrong." Alec said. "Remember when we were just racing for five million dollars? Ever since the Drones were beaten, I've had to ask myself, what are racing for now? Tezla and the Major kept saying it was to stop the drones. Well the Drones are gone." He then began to walk away from Banjee. He then chuckles a little. "Maybe this is another test. Like when we raced in the Desert Leg of the world race. They give Vert a fake circle. Everybody goes crazy over it. Come to find out, it's all just a test to see when and which one of us is gonna bring the wheel back to where it belongs. In Hot Wheels City."
"A lot of what ifs." Banjee said.
"The Wheel hasn't done much to tell me otherwise. I'm just glad Vert's done with all of this." Alec said before walking away.
The Ultimate Cube
The drivers one-by-one exited from the portal. Lani looked up before running out of the room to meet the drivers, happy to know they're alright.
"Does anyone still feel weirded out that the guys we've been facing all this time, was led by Vert's dad?" Monkey asked.
"I didn't know either. Was shocked when I found out too." Vert said.
Lani, and eventually Dr. Tezla appeared before the drivers.
Lani looked to see that Reverb was among the cars, leaving her believing that they were successful. Vert exited the vehicle and gave a smile to Lani.
Vert wasn't expecting her to run over and give him a hug. A few seconds passed before they let go.
"Do you still have the circle?" Tezla asked Vert.
"Great to see you too Dr. Tezla." Vert said, hiding the usual sarcastic tone that comes with saying something like that.
"But no, I don't. The Silencerz have it. When I got there, they took it and the Accelechargers. They had the Wheel too." Vert told him.
"That's why you were sent to the Silencerz base and not the Drones' Headquarters. They took the wheel. The question is, when?" Tezla said, asking the question more to himself than anyone else.
"So it's just back to business huh?" Kurt asked Tezla. He looked at Kurt.
"Kurt." Karma said, suggesting that he drops this.
"We go and find Vert, and all you care about is the Wheel, the Accelechargers and the Accelerons. We don't even know if the Wheel will ever even open again to race in the Realms!" Kurt said. He then looked at Tezla with an accusatory expression. "You didn't even care about what happened to Vert, did you?"
"I'm…. sorry Vert. I apologize to all of you. Excuse me." Tezla said, walking outside.
"He didn't even answer the question." Kurt said. "I'm done. And I hope you all are too." Kurt said before getting in Battle Spec and driving away.
"Let's move some Metal." Tork said. He and the rest of the Maniacs walked towards their cars. But before he got in, Tork called out to Vert.
"Ayo Vert!" Tork said.
Vert turned towards him. "You're not a Maniac." Tork said, which caused Vert to raise an eyebrow in question. "But you're one heck of a racer man. See you around."
Vert nodded in appreciation.
Tork closed the door and drove off.
Nolo and the rest of the Teku went towards their cars.
Nolo turned when he didn't see Vert was following.
"Vert!" Nolo called out to him.
"You alright?" He asked.
"Yeah. Just give me a minute." Vert said. After a few seconds he said something else. "On second thought, I think I'll crash at my place for a bit. It's been a lot."
Nolo nodded in understanding. "I'll see you around Vert. You need anything, Teku will always be around." Nolo said before closing the door. He and the rest of the Teku drove off.
Vert noticed Lani was still there.
"Need a ride?' Vert asked Lani after realizing that her 55 Chevy Nomad was destroyed when the Acceledrome was destroyed.
"Thanks for the offer, but I'm fine. Tezla has vehicles here too. I'll take one of those." Lani said.
Vert nodded, arms now folded.
"I'm glad you're alright Vert. Take care of yourself." Lani said, tapping him on the shoulder twice in a caring manner before walking away.
Vert began walking in the same direction Tezla left. He was hoping to find him somewhere around the Cube. Only to see that he was actually outside looking up at the dusk sky.
"I thought you would have been inside, hunkering down in front of some computer screens." Vert said, trying to make a joke and lighten the mood.
Tezla sighs. "All of this work. To find the wheel. To get the Accelechargers. To finally have an idea of what the Accelerons look like. Defeating Gelorum and the Racing Drones. And what has all of it led to? Nothing." Tezla said.
"I wouldn't say that much." Vert said. Tezla looked at Vert, raising a questioning eyebrow, wondering what the Acceleracer meant.
"We stopped Gelorum. We know how much power the Accelechargers and the Wheel of Power have. Combine them together, and put them in the hands of someone like her, and the world would have been history. The Silencerz aren't perfect either. And I get they work for the government, but I trust them more than I do Gelorum. The Silencerz that is." Vert said, saying this more because he trusts his dad than the organization itself.
"You sound like you've given up. Don't you want to go back and race against the Accelerons? To prove you're the best?" Tezla asked.
"Well yeah. But I won't let that drive me away from my friends and family. I wanted to race on Highway 35 again. I got something even better with the Racing Realms. They were fun. But what did that cost? Kadeem's gone. And Wylde lost his arm. Dan, Alec and Banjee would have been lost too had the Silencerz not been there. That's why I chose to go back instead of seeing the Accelerons. I chose my friends over proving I'm the best." Vert said.
"You mean the Silencerz were in the Realms in the beginning?" Tezla asked, shocked to hear this new information.
"Yeah. They've been there since the Warped Realm. But once they realized how dangerous it was, after the Swamp Realm the first time around to get Banjee, they didn't show up again until the Metro Realm." Vert said.
"That's why Kurt didn't have the Metro Realm Accelecharger." Tezla said.
"My dad once told me that the hardest part in life was choosing between two things, when both of them mean everything to you." Vert started.
"What your choices are may be a different situation compared to his, but…." Vert trailed off.
He then looked at Tezla. "…You studied the Accelerons and the Wheel to change the world. Dad went to the Military to protect the country. Both of you want to make a difference to the world and here in different ways. But you're losing a part of your humanity each day." Vert was about to walk away and get in Reverb.
"Just ask yourself this question Tezla: If you choose to continue trying to go after the Wheel, and the Accelerons, will whatever's on the other side be worth it in the end?" Vert said before walking away to Reverb. A minute or so passed before Tezla heard Reverb speeding off in the distance.
Tezla walked back inside the Ultimate Cube. He went in front of the several monitors that were usually on. He thought about continuing working towards finding the wheel or figuring out a way to get to the Accelerons some other way. But he decided against it. He shut down all of the monitors, turned off all of the lights, and took Nitrium outside of the Cube.
Hot Wheels City/Racing Drones Headquarters
Hot Wheels Acceleracers Soundtrack: Sweeper Construction Plays
Kadeem was sitting on the throne, seemingly staring at nothing. Until a drone came in.
"General, we have news." An RD-L1 unit entered saying.
"What is it?" Kadeem asked.
"We have information about where the Wheel is being held. Along with an extra artifact that is seemingly linked to the wheel. And the Accelechargers." The RD-L1 unit said.
Kadeem sat up in the throne, eager to hear this new information.
"Where are they being held?" He asked.
"In one of the human bases. The exact location is unknown, but we will relay this information once we have it." RD-L1 said.
"Find this base. And give a check on the status of our forces. Once we find out where they are, I want to attack as soon as possible." Kadeem said.
"As you wish, general." RD-L1 said, before leaving.
Kadeem was pleased. But in the back of his mind he wondered, how exactly were they able to get this information? Regardless, he would take any progressive steps he would be given. They were one step closer to continuing the battle between the Racing Drones and the Humans. And this time, he would make sure, personally, that the Racing Drones were the victor.
Soundtrack Stops