CHAPTER 17: THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS, PART 1
Another day comes to a close in the beach city of Ocean Shores, with all business still operational within it coming closing their doors as well. Though the idea of capitalism has been built on artificial foundations, with brick and mortar and concrete instead of nature, it is still considered just as natural as the setting sun itself to the human race, viewing it as a mere occurrence of time.
Ray Rocket is among those people that have taken this man-made construct for granted, especially with the business he has built for himself alongside his best friend, Tito Makani. The latter of the duo of hetrosexual life partners has been absent from the day's workload, laying it all on the shoulders of Ray to fulfill.
Even with the diminished customer count that his business had in recent years, the task of keeping his restaraunt open still remains a challenge, especially in his aging years as a middle-aged man. The stiffness of his joints and the aching of his muscles are all stark reminders of the harder times ahead of him, and the days he lived when younger and were free of such pain and responsibilities.
After closing up shop on the Shore Shack, leaving the empty restaraunt closed and gated up, Ray walked to his car, stepping inside and turning over the engine. Listening to the engine hum lightly, putting all the machinery and mechanics of the automobile in motion and ready to move, Ray put his hands on the steering wheel, getting ready to drive home...
...but he does not allow himself to return home just yet. Like any good father, there are still the thoughts of his children which take precedent over all else, distracting him from the current reality he existed in. A mental image of his children are already in his head, but he desires a physical means to put them in his eyes.
Reaching for the sun visor, he pulled it down, not to shield himself from the dusk of the sun, but to reveal a photograph of the Rocket family and friends, taken at his wedding day. In the photograph, he is with his then-newlywed wife Noelani, Tito, Otto, Reggie, and the friendly additions of Twister and Sam.
He remembers when his family was far more happier and together as one, and not separated by the harshness of the real world or the struggles of adulthood. He remembers when the days were always full of fun and interesting events, and, though not always perfect, were the closest he could ask for.
Most importantly, he remembers when his relationship with Otto was far stronger, and the two felt like best friends just as they were also father and son; a connection that yielded great results for bonding moments, but seemed to all fall apart before he even knew what had happened to the two.
With a sigh, he put the sun visor back in place, hiding the picture from sight and putting his focus back on the road in front of him. Returning his hands on the steering wheel, he moved his foot to the petal as well, pushing it down the send the car forward on its drive back to his home.
His drive is a melancholy trip to make; still does he focus on his thoughts on Otto again, and how he wishes he could make their relationship strong again.
And he sincerely regrets not telling Tito to speak to his son on his behalf.
In the present moment, Otto Rocket exists not only in the thoughts of his father, but outside the establishment of Zero Gravity Zone, where he was led along with the new accomplices he has made with himself, the park's sponsored team known as 'The Rippers', off to a party that was promised to him.
"Back at ZGZ? I thought we were going off to a party?" Otto asked.
"That's where the party is. We're endorsed by the park, we get to use it after-hours for our own fun. Every once and a while, the boss throws us a big party to help us get the edge off." Dax said.
"Edge off from what? Skating all day? Dude, skating is how I take all the edge off."
"Skating for fun, yeah, but not when you get appearances on TV or enter the big competitions. That's when the fun becomes work. And when you work hard, you also gotta play hard, too. Case in point..."
Dax Jett then walked to the door and took a key out from his pants, turning open the lock and opening the door for the group. Leaving the door open, he allows Otto Rocket to step forward first, giving him the first glimpse of the pleasures that waited inside for him to admire.
And, when entering the park, what he sees, he can only acknowledge the reality of with a look of surprise and an utterance of...
"Holy... shit!" Otto cheered.-
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Megalomaniac]
On an average business day, Zero Gravity Zone can be found to be full of skaters, surfers, teenagers, nu-metal heads, ska punkers, and all the counter-culture of the area of southern California mashed together, celebrating their unity in fun and good times with all their numerous subcultures, each a product of their times, all coming together as one in a single moment to act as one time capsule of the late '90s and early '00s.
Tonight, just for Otto and the Rippers, it was far different. In lieu of the usual clinentelle of Zero Gravity Zone, loud music played over a series of flashing strobe lights, each flash breaking through the near-pitch black tone of the now dimly-lit park, with a DJ was playing said blaring loud music over the park's speaker system.
The scene and environment is more than enough to entrance Otto, but the sight of numerous attractive, scantily-clad women dancing for the group all about the main area of the park, both on the floor and on elevated positions, as if each were an advertisement for the men to be chosen for their own pleasure.
Otto is not the only one to be impressed with the party, but so are the rest of the Rippers, who immediately decided to split from the group in order to join the fesitivites. Mike and Jared are the first two to leave, each having their own eyes on their choices for women and preparing to head towards their selections.
"I'm off for a fuck!" Mike said.
"I'm 'bout to get some hot pussy tonight!" Jared said.
Wes is the last one to leave the group, who had no eyes on any woman, but instead for Dax, making his temporary goodbyes with him.
"I'm going to grab a board and have some fun, okay?" Wes asked.
"Okay, babe. I'm gonna talk with Otto a bit. Have some fun." Dax said.
The two then shared a kiss, much to the surprise of Otto.
"Alright, Otto. Come hang with me for a bit. I know you wanna have some fun, and we're definitely here to have some fun, but I wanna get a little more on-the-level with you. Team stuff and all." Dax said.
"Oh, uh, okay. Sure." Otto said.
"I know what you're thinking, by the way. I saw your eyes."
"Well, uh, I don't care that you're gay, man. There's nothing wrong with that whatsoever. I mean, I have some friends that are-"
"Save it, I don't think you're some bigot. Maybe you called people faggots a few times, but it's nothing nobody else's said, too, and not used in that way. But I'm not quite gay, by the way. Wes's gay, but I'm a different story."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I honestly don't care about gender. You could be male, female, trans, intersex, from Mars, it doesn't matter to me. Hell, I really don't even care about sex that much. Unless it's with the right person, then it's special to me."
"Oh. Okay. That's cool."
Dax led Otto to a table of food and drinks, offering many snacks and bottled and canned beverages, but what surprised Otto most of what was selected was what appeared to be a selection of drugs as well. Marijuana and ecstacy are what he noticed and recognized right away, but what had surprised him was the heavier choices of cocaine, LSD strips, and other questionably legal substances.
Where Otto looked to the offerings with surprise, Dax simply glanced past them to select a bottle of water, looking back to him with the same level of casualness.
"Food? Drink? Candy?" Dax asked.
"Dude, is half this shit even legal?" Otto asked.
"Not the last time I checked."
"And it's just out in the open for us? Like, we're not gonna get in trouble for this?"
"I won't tell if you won't tell. That's one of the perks of this job I was telling you about. I'm personally not a fan, but the other boys eat it up."
"But... Eh, nevermind. I'll pass. I don't do anything harder than weed."
"Fair enough."
Dax then led Otto down the floor, keeping up the conversation they started.
"So, you managed to get yourself on a team with the biggest endorsement in skating history, and you got lumped in with some other guys, and you get free drugs and hookers, none of which you take. What's your story of how you got here?" Otto asked.
"A long and sad one, Otto, but it's what I'm here to share with you. Being a kid with my sexuality and... particular attitude, I was not what you would call the Beaver Cleaver of the neighborhood. I was the sort of rebellious kid, always going off and doing my own thing, mostly trying to skate. My parents were the religious types and especially strict, tried to tie me down in every way they could: Belts and paddles, conversion therapy, even considered military school. That's about the time I ran off." Dax said.
"Damn."
"'Damn' right. That's when I started living on my own for awhile, spending most of my days skating wherever I could, mostly by sneaking into places when I couldn't afford to. I got caught notice of, got a chance and a big break, and I eventually found my way here. The rest of the boys had similar stories, more or less, similar shit with different asshole parents, but they ended up in the same place: Here."
"Sorry you had to go through all that. I can't really relate to that kind of stuff, my dad's kind of an asshole, but he was never a fuckin' asshole."
"And how was he just an 'asshole' and not a 'fuckin' asshole'?"
"Well, I mean, I'd get the normal push to do better in school and help out with his restaraunt, but he never did all that shit to me. I didn't get hit or anything, or was ever threatened to get shipped off somewhere. That's fucked up."
"But he still held you back from being the kind of person you are, isn't that right?"
"Well... A little, I guess."
"And he's still trying to push you to be somebody you're not?"
"Oh, definitely."
"Then you and I are still in the same boat."
"Uh... How exactly's that the case?"
"Let me put it to you this way: You ever heard of Noam Chomsky?"
"I think so. I think I saw him on the news or something once or twice."
"He was once asked a question by a student regarding capitalism; he wanted to know why Chomsky was such a critic of capitalism when, even though he points out all the bad things about jobs and bosses in the way the system works, the student still defended the system by citing how a lot of people have 'good' jobs. Chomsky replied by asking him: 'Okay, but there were plenty of slaves in the Civil War that were well-fed and taken care of by their masters, but there were also plenty that got abused and workded to death. Do the few glimpses of good in that system still justify the existence of slavery'?"
"I... did not follow what you just said."
"Just because my parents were shittier to me than your dad was to you doesn't make either of our situations any more or less worse. The simple fact that parents can exist and have total control over their own kids without them having any say is more than enough for me to dislike any parents. I don't think they should exist. Throughout history, there've been people with power over others, and the use that to make any group that doesn't agree with them the new public enemy to be denied, disenfranchised, and deligitimized. They make us the new niggers."
The sudden use of the racial slur got a jump out of Otto, making him react resistantly to Dax following its utterance.
"Whoa, whoa, man! You wanna ease up? Where the hell'd the racism come from?" Otto asked.
"I'm not racist, and that's not why I brought up the word. I could give you the classic spiel of how I have black friends or I love black people, but that'd honestly be no different or dumb a point than when you tried to make the same about gays. I really don't have anything against anyone just because of the color of their skin, and you can believe that or not, but that's the truth. I simply brought up the word to make a point."
"I believe you. But do you have to use the word with the hard 'r'? I don't know where you're going with this, but I don't think you need to do it with a word that basically all black people hate."
"The word 'nigger' doesn't just apply to black people. It only got applied that way because slaves were predominantly black, deriving it from the word 'negro', which is literally just Spanish for 'black'. If it were all whites that were slaves, they'd probably come up with some word around 'blanco', the Spanish word for white, like 'blanker' or 'blankies'. No, the word 'nigger' means a hell of a lot more than just the color of your skin. It's a term which refers to anyone who's lorded over by someone in a higher form of authority. The family unit? That's the original form of it." Dax said.
"Yeah, well, do you have to use that word in order to make the point?"
"Yes, I do. Think back again to the slave days. They weren't treated like human beings in any way, shape, or form. Even the ones that sucked up to their owners, the house negros and the uncle Toms, still never got the same status as the masters. They still were the property of the masters, and subject to anything they said. Who does that remind you of?"
"Uh... Parents and their kids?"
"Exactly. Think about it. When you're a kid, you don't have the same rights and privileges as an adult. If you're not considered an adult with rights, then what are you? Then you're the property of the master."
"But if you're a kid, you're considered not old enough to do a lot of stuff for a reason. I mean, you don't expect kids to be able to drink or smoke or drive a car or have to take a job, don't you?"
"No, and I'm not talking about that. Drugs and alcohol mess with a kid's development, that's a regulation in place for a certain reason. Same reason children can't consent to sex, their brains are not physically capable of making that decision. That makes sense. But how many times have you seen arbitrary lines drawn around all other activities? At 16, you can hold a job, drive a car, and join the military, but you can't drop out of school, vote, buy a gun, or have sex with someone else of age in half the states. At 18, those aren't a problem anymore, but you still can't drink or smoke, and you used to be able to smoke until the age limit on that got raised. Only until you're 21 do you clear the bar for all that. You know how many 16 year olds indulge in most of that anyway? Or how about the fact that you can make money at 16 and get taxed on it, but you can't even vote? That's literal taxation without representation. That's the shit the founding fathers were supposed to be fighting against."
"You sound really well-read on this stuff."
"I don't know anything that you can't find on the internet. But you see my point and why I use that word? Because there's really no other way to describe the situation."
"Still kind of off-putting and kind of shocking to use it."
"Shock value gets your point across in the most effective and poingant way, when you know what your message is and how to say it. A lot of the greatest artists made the same point by using that word. John Lennon? He sang 'Woman is the Nigger of the World'. Patti Smith? She sang about Jesus Christ and Jackson Pollock being 'niggers', when one's white and the other's an Arab. And Pollock was the white one, to make it clear. People always talk about you when you're still just a fetus in your mother, talking about how much potential you have, and maybe they find you adorable as a baby or toddler for awhile, but as soon as you start developing your own ideas, you lose all your appeal. You're not their pet anymore, now you're a person, and they can use that any way they like."
"Well, man, I see where you're coming from, and I defnitely can understand it, but I just can't bring myself to see my situation with my dad like that. He just wanted me to be his buddy."
"That's the key phrase, Otto: 'He just wanted me to'. That's the proof right there that you were under his control the whole time. That's the plight that the youth is in, whether they have 'good' parents or not. Whether you realize it or not, you're still just a robot for them to program. Try to remember that. But enough of listening to me babble on, you probably want to find yourself a woman to have some fun with, I won't hold you up anymore. Go ahead and have some fun."
A rush of excitement came over Otto as he was promised the chance to indulge in pleasure with the women present in the party, aiming to take one, or perhaps more, for himself. His own relationship troubles are swept aside for the promise of the physical benefits of one, and all human constructs of love and connection are cast aside for primitive instincts.
But the words of Dax Jett are not gone from his ears, and embedded deep in his mind to be thought over.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
The events unfolding inside Zero Gravity Zone are not the only ones that are significant to the yarn as it unravels, but the group of disgruntled skaters outside the park also play a part, who have their eyes on one individual inside the park. They have been inconvenienced and humiliated by him earlier that day, including being expunged from the park, and that is a crime that they will not let stand.
The leader of this group of skaters is named Randy Raucous, leading a pack of young men just as agitated and violent as his last name would suggest.
"So, that fucker's in here somewhere. Let's get him and show him a lesson he won't forget." Randy said.
"You sure this is worth it, Randy? I mean, all he did was throw one of our guys off his skateboard. I love a good fight as much as the next guy, and especially when it settles a score, but breaking and entering our favorite skate park seems to be a bridge too far." One skater said.
Randy then reached into his pocket and pulled out from it a key, displaying it to the group.
"Who's talking about breaking and entering when we literally have keys to the place?" Randy asked.
None of the other members of the group apparently seemed to notice previously or had any indication of his possession of the key, making his comrades look to him with surprise and confusion. As anyone would do with such evidence presented, the first instinct of the group is to question how he got it.
"Hey, Randy, man? How'd you get keys to ZGZ?" One skater asked.
"Not important right now. What matters is that we get that fucker. I know who he is and what his name is: Otto Rocket. We're supposed to get in there and fuck him up." Randy said.
Oblivious to the trespassers intruding in on the party for reasons and motivations more ambiguous than a simple revenge mission, Otto managed to surround himself with two women with large breasts, a pair of indentical twins, who sat down with him for a conversation, attempting to build up their personal talk to something beyond personal.
"Yeah, I've met 'em all. Tony Hawk, Andy MacDonald, Luc Robitalle, Martin Brodeur, I'm friends with 'em all." Otto bragged.
"Oh, wow, Otto, you're so interesting." One woman said.
"Thanks, Charlene."
"I'm Marlene."
"Oh, sorry."
"And how about that time you invented that new move, the Super McDoogal 9000?" The other woman asked.
"One of my favorite things to do to this day, Marlene. I can show you later on if you like, in private."
"I'm Charlene."
"Oh, sorry."
As Otto continued to flirt with the two women clutching onto him, far too busy with the matters in his hands now, he no longer took any notice of anything else around him, paying no attention to the rest of the party or anyone else in it. Unfortunately, that also included a threat coming very near that he was not prepared for.
While Otto continued to talk to the two women at his sides, a group of 5 skaters stepped in front of him, casting their shadows over him and catching his attention. Caught off-guard by the 5 strangers, he was unpleasantly surprised by a hand pulling him by the shirt off his seat, bringing him closer to the strangers unhappily staring him down.
Seeing their faces better in the dark room, he immediately recognized them from earlier in the day, when he had fought them in the locker rooms of Zero Gravity Zone.
"What-? How the fuck did you guys get in here?" Otto asked.
"You fucked with one of my boys and got us thrown out of the park. Nobody fucks with my guys, or gets my thrown out of my favorite skating spot." Randy said.
"Hey, c'mon, man. You don't wanna do this. I'm really big on NewTube. Want an autograph?"
"No, thanks. How about we give you one instead?"
The leader of the group then delivered a sharp punch to Otto's stomach, knocking all the breath out of him and making him hang limp, with his two woman screaming in response. With their target caught off-guard and subsequently restrained, the rest of the group joined in on beating him, retaliating for the incident occurring earlier that day.
As the group of ruffians continued beating Otto, the other members of the Rippers took notice of the fight in the midst of their party, immediately snapping their attention out of the current affair of their women and towards the newest prospect for their team. Mike and Jared are the first two to notice his plight, interrupting their coital engagements.
"Hey, what the fuck?!" Jared shouted.
"DJ, stop the music, stop the music!" Mike shouted.
The music and all lights to the party came to a stop, shedding a full light on the brawl that occurred in the park. Mike and Jared are the first ones to come to Otto's aide, with Wes and Dax entering the fight soon after. Where Mike and Jared took to grabbing two attackers off of Otto and beating them, Dax and Wes went to battle by using their boards as weapons, bashing down Otto's assaulters and ending his submission.
Freed from his other attackers, Otto began putting his sights on the leader, beating him in retaliation for the treatment he received in full.
The fight had gone on for a good few seconds, each side landing in its own blows into one another, but it eventually came to a stop when Randy freed himself from Otto and stood up in with his hands up. Shouting for both sides to come to a stop, he called upon the fight to stop for a more diplomatic solution.
"Hey, wait! Truce! Truce! Truce!" Randy shouted.
The fight then eventually came to a stop when Dax returned to his feet and called on his own teammates to stop, putting both teams face-to-face and talking.
"Well, look who it is. The assholes who were beating up on our new friend, back to fuck things up again. You mind explaining how you got in here, and why you 5 felt the need to attack my newest member and ruin a good time? I thought we already dealt with you this afternoon." Dax asked.
"Not quite, pal. We've still got a bone to pick with you." Randy said.
"Oh, yeah? You care to elaborate?"
"Fair enough. Allow us to introduce ourselves. Name's Randy. People call me Randy the Rowdy, and these 3 behind me are called the Rowdy Boyz, that's with a 'Z'."
"With a 'Z'? Didn't anyone tell you that 'boys' ends with an 'S', or did you drop out before you got to that lesson in school?"
The Rippers all shared a hearty laugh at Dax's joke, leaving Randy and his team in a state of humiliation.
"Oh, you think that's funny, huh?" Randy asked.
"Well, my friends sure think so." Dax said.
"Maybe they do. I would, too, if I had to run the local high school's tard farm and teach 'em how to skate."
Randy's group then let out a laugh, leaving the other team humiliated.
"Yeah, I was probably taking care of your mother and little sister, who also happens to be your daughter with your mom." Dax retorted.
Dax's team then let out a laugh of their own, turning the humiliation back on the enemy team.
"Oh, so, what, you think you're better than us?" Randy asked.
'Well, we're not the idiots who went and started shit just because one of your idiot friends fell on his fat ass, so you tell me." Dax said.
"Tell you what, if you're convinced your team's better than ours, why don't you put your money where your mouths are?"
"What are you saying, you wanna race us?"
"Hell, yeah, we do. You up for it?"
"I don't know, man, I don't think you're worth our time."
"How about we make it interesting, then?"
"Interesting how?"
"Both teams put down $500. The winner walks away with $1,000."
Both teams seemed to become intrigued by the offer, all 'ooh'ing in anticipation of the race, eagerly awaiting Dax to accept.
"$1,000, huh? Well, how about this? Since Otto here's the one who started this shit, he'll be the one to race you. Sound fair?" Dax asked.
"Fine by me. You got $500?" Randy asked.
Dax casually pulled $500 out of his pocket, holding it up for Randy to see.
"Right here. How about you?" Dax asked.
Randy then turned to his teammates, quietly speaking among them and soon enticing them to pull out all the money in their pockets. All of it was handed to Randy, who then began counting it to ensure it reached the full sum total of 500 required to meet the challenge and barter of the race. Soon receiving the money, he turned back to the Rippers and presented the cash.
"We're good for it." Randy said.
"Sounds good. Where are we racing?" Dax asked.
"From here to the beach. Should be a straight shot and back."
"Okay, we're down."
As the Rowdy Boyz and the group all rushed to the door to begin the race, Randy ready to race and win money for his team, the Rippers waited behind to pep-talk Otto, who, being thrown in a race without his consent, began sweating bullets at the sudden situation thrown upon him with a high amount of money counting on him.
"Hey, Dax, what'd you do that for?" Otto asked.
"What'd I do what for?" Dax asked.
"You just throw me in a race like that?"
"So? You're a man who lives for skating and competition, I thought you liked races, too, don't you?"
"Yeah, man, but what'd you throw me in like that for?"
"Well, you want in the Rippers, call this a little... 'initiation'."
"I don't have my board on me, dude."
Dax snapped his fingers, signalling Wes to throw Otto a board, who quickly caught it as it came to him.
"Wes's not just my boyfriend, but my right-hand man, he always holds our boards for us. That one's mine, should serve you good." Dax said.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa, dude. I don't like having people ride on me for stuff." Otto said.
"What, are you scared you're gonna lose and cost me $500 and a board?"
"Hey, man, I'm not gonna lose, I just-"
"You just what? Think you're gonna lose?"
Otto tried to think of something to say to shirk the responsibility of having to compete in the race, but his lack of wit for a response and own desire to compete had overridden the resistance, and having his pride called on broke those thoughts as well, putting his overconfidence at enough of a level to accept.
"To the beach, right?" Otto asked.
"Yep." Dax said.
"Where's the starting point?"
While the race between the two rival teams was being set and ready, the dangerous and deliquent Lars Rodriguez prepared to make use of his own newly-acquired board, as well as his lethal robotic arm. He is on a carefully-planned mission just as the rest of the Rippers are, but he is on a mission which will have a greater impact on the goal of Alex Gravity.
Making minor adjustments to his arm and board, he cracked his neck before beginning his job.
"Fuckin' Otto gets to party with bitches, then get in some race with a bunch of assholes. I hope he loses and I don't have to deal with his ass anymore." Lars said.
Changing his arm to its flamethrower mode, he smiled as a small flame lit underneath, preparing to unleash a fury of flame on his targets.
"But, hey, at least I get to blow some shit up. I can't complain there. Never thought I'd have a job with a legit business that lasted longer than 3 seconds, let alone one that had awesome benefits like this." Lars said.
On the road outside of Zero Gravity Zone, made the starting point of the race, Otto and Randy stepped to their starting position, both waiting patiently for the race to begin. Standing on their boards, each kept a hostile eye on the other, both ready to start the race and more than ready to win it.
On the sidelines, the Rippers and the Rowdy Boyz awaited the race to start as well, both cheering on their own respective racers.
"Come on, Randy! Whip that punk good!" The Rowdy Boyz yelled.
"You got this, Otto! Don't sweat it!" Mike shouted.
"Use that board good, man!" Jared shouted.
"Give those boys a good licking!" Wes shouted.
"Make me proud, Otto! Make me proud!" Dax shouted.
Encouraged by their teams cheering them on, Otto and Randy faced each other, exchanging competitive remarks regarding their challenge.
"You ready to eat my dust, punk?" Randy asked.
"After you fork over that money." Otto said.
"Don't count on it, boy. You haven't won yet."
"Neither have you."
At the front of the starting point, one of the hired women stepped in the street, acting as a moderator to the race, preparing to start it.
"Gentlemen, on your marks..." The moderator said.
Otto and Randy moved to the very edge of the starting line, preparing to race down the hill. In addition, the moderator reached for her bra, grabbing it from behind.
"Get set..." The moderator said.
Otto and Randy then leaned down on their boards, keeping one foot to the ground and the other on their boards, taking their stance to race down the road. The moderator then latched off her bra and waved it in the air, beginning the race with a showing of her breasts to urge the skaters on.
"...GO!" The moderator shouted.
[Soundtrack Cue: KMFDM - Apathy]
Pushing themselves down the street, Otto and Randy began rocketing down the road, participating in the race with an enthusastic start. With both racers having a decent slope to ride down, and each having their own skating skills to put to use, Otto and Randy found themselves at a stalemate fairly quickly as the race began.
Racing down the road at high speeds on small boards barely able to hold their users safe on the descent, the racers knelt down and held their boards tight, keeping themselves as close to the ground as possible and balanced well, to make sure neither took a nasty fall and hurt themselves.
Otto, having slightly more weight than his opponent, had an advantage in the race, heading more force to rush down the street at a faster rate than Randy. His opponent, Randy, was a man more on the skinnier side, making it more difficult for him to maintain a similar pace to Otto.
Nonetheless, he was not so easy to lose the race and his team's money, so he decided to play dirty to win the race.
Back with Lars...
Racing towards his target on his new board, Lars soon came to a supermarket, existing as one of the few remaining sources of food for the community. After many businesses had closed down left and right in the city, the supermarket is one of the last remaining gasps of breath for the town to get its goods from, the last existing store that prevents the town from being declared a food desert...
...and Lars, upon reaching his target, smashed through the front glass doors, immdiately began lighting the building up in flames. The action of breaking through the glass door had enacted a burglary alarm, blaring loudly thoughout the building, but the sounds of crackling flames and burning food and goods overtook the noise to Lars.
And each moment of the destruction is beauty in his demented eyes.
Back in the race...
Taking some inspiration from the incident which started this ordeal, Randy began running into Otto, steering himself into him to try to knock him off of his board. Taking the hits of his enemy, Otto was pushed off to the side, forcing him to steer back in to maintain a straight shot down the road.
Each hit is almost enough to cause him to fall off, but, too determined to lose, Otto did not yield, pushing himself through the attacks to keep in the race. Steering himself back into Randy, he countered the attacks with a counterattack on each incidence, negating the force that nearly pushed him off.
After one push too powerful to counter, however, Otto got pushed to the side of the street, nearly hitting the sidewalk. Taking his gloved hand to the ground to move himself back into the street, Otto pushed himself back into the road again, heading back into the race properly.
Back with Lars...
Pushing down various displays and smashing through various items in his path, shooting up walls and shelves with his arm in machine gun form, ripping through food, houseware items, and other goods with his arm in chainsaw form, Lars let up nothing in the way of his destruction and rage, letting loose all his id and violence on the environment around him.
He is well known for the mistreatments and antisocial traits he has inflicted on others, making himself a pariah to the world by his own actions. Is it something more environmental that fuels his anger and misanthropy, perhaps? So it would seem, seeing how genetics cannot be the answer when his brother is nothing like him in attitude.
But the relevance of nature vs. nuture has no hold here.
All that matters is that he is a madman destroying a grocery store, which is but one of a few remaining lifelines for people in Ocean Shores.
His actions are the destruction of hope and life.
Back in the race...
Now being behind in the race, Otto shifted his body to a more aerodynamic posture, gaining more speed and catching up in the race, but reaching dangerous levels of speed. Barely able to keep balanced on his board, Otto focused as hard as he could to win the race, not wanting to lose, not for himself nor his team.
As he began to catch up to Randy, Otto took notice of the finish line ahead, catching eye of the beach just ahead. Knowing he was low on options to catch up, not to mention barely able to maintain his speed for much longer, Otto thought fast in attempt to find a way to catch up again, looking elsewhere for an answer.
Fortunately, a way was found just in time. Laying to the side of the road, just outside the finish line, was a sheet of wood laying in the back of a truck.
To some, the sight might come off as just a piece of wood.
To Otto, however, the sight was a ramp waiting to be ridden.
Back with Lars...
Concluded with ensuring every item inside the store was thoroughly destroyed, he changed his arm to its grenade launcher form, aiming it to the foundational corners of the building. Firing the explosives at the walls and corners, the building soon began crumbling under its own weight, unable to support itself.
Racing his way out of the store, Lars fired on the rest of the store as he existed, setting off the final and complete destruction of the store. Rushing out of the building, it began to collapse behind him, soon being reduced to nothing but a pile of smoldering rubble and bricks.
As he has destroyed yet another pillar of society for Ocean Shores, Lars departed with a smile, basking in a victory that calmed his anger for just a moment, like feeding a voracious beast with pieces of red meat before it would eventually grow hungry enough to devour again.
And again it will devour.
"Damn, I love my job." Lars thought aloud.
Back in the race...
Heading towards the makeshift ramp, Otto increased his speed as much as possible, barely able to hold on to his board for much longer. Riding up the board at several miles per hour above what a human being could even sprint at, Otto shot up into the air, heading right over his opponent's head.
Randy looked back to check on his progress in the fight, only to have no sign of Otto in his sights. Believing that victory was within his grasp, he gave a laugh at his opponent's seeming defeat, continuing to head towards the finish line without a single care in the world.
"That was the best he could do? Damn, I guess he was worse than I thought." Randy thought aloud.
As soon as Randy spoke out his inner monologue, a shadow overcame him as he neared the finish line. Looking up to see the source of the shadow, Randy found himself surprised and shocked to see Otto launching over his head, flying straight for the finish line.
And knowing of his imminent victory, Otto raised both hands up with his middle fingers displayed.
With a margin of winning nearly impossible to see, Otto crossed the finish line just microseconds before Randy could, marking him the winner of the race. Upon finally hitting the ground again, Otto tumbled in the sandy beach, the sand softening his rough landing.
[Soundtrack Cue End]
With the race ending in Otto's favor, the Rippers, just now catching up to the finished race, all rushed to him, cheering in support as they surrounded him. Proud as he always was, and more proud than usual to have won the race, Otto was helped up from the ground by his teammates, having the sand brushed off his body, and receiving congratulatory pats from all.
Coming to realization of his success, he raised his hands high in victory.
"Yeah! That's right, who's the man?! Who's the motherfucking man! Otto Rocket, motherfucker, that's who! Otto motherfuckin' Rocket!" Otto shouted.
Stepping in front of Otto to address him more directly than the other Rippers, Dax held out his hand in offer of a handshake, to which Otto met and consummated a very firm handshake between the two. Having witnessed his newest team member win the race, he is more than happy to congratulate him.
"What'd I tell you? I knew you could do it." Dax said.
"Yeah, man. I did it. Thanks for throwing me in." Otto said.
With Otto recieving all the praise, Randy rushed to the group, less than impressed with losing the race.
"Hey, man, that's not right! He jumped over me with a damn ramp!" Randy said.
"So? I don't remember making any rules about ramps. What I do remember, however, is that the loser has to fork up $500." Dax said.
"Come on, man, he only won by an inch! I want a rematch!"
"Whether he won by an inch or a mile, a win's a win. The money, if you please."
Randy, extremely frustrated with losing the race, handed over the sum of $500 to Dax, receiving dirty looks from his own team.
"Uh-uh-uh. I said, the loser forks it over to the winner. I wasn't the one racing." Dax said.
Left even more humiliated by his loss, Randy approached Otto and handed the money to him, who in turn looked to Dax with uncertainty.
"You sure, man?" Otto asked.
"Your victory, your money." Dax said.
Getting a clear go-ahead from Dax, Otto gladly took the money from Randy's hands, smiling smugly as he acquired his award.
"Thank you very much, my good sir." Otto said.
"Fine, whatever. Don't spend it all at once, dickwad." Randy said.
Before Randy could leave with whatever dignity remained with him, Dax stopped him for one last action.
"Hold it. Just one more thing." Dax said.
"What? My money's not enough? What do you want, my fuckin' house?" Randy asked.
"Nope. I want you two to shake hands."
"What?! Are you serious?!"
"This man took the time to race you, and you took the time to race him. You each deserve to thank each other for the race, regardless who won or lost. We're all sportsmen, and we should show sportsmanship. Now, shake hands."
Reluctant and still angry, Randy reached out his hand, facing away from Otto. Following Dax's request, Otto took Randy's hand and shook it, formally ending the race and finishing the transaction. Randy, no longer wanting to be in the presence of the Prodigy team, proceeded to head home with the rest of the Rowdy Boyz.
"So, Randy, you're gonna pay me back that $40, right?" One Rowdy Boy asked.
"And my $86?" Another Rowdy Boy asked.
"I had $131 in there, don't forget me." A different Rowdy Boy asked.
"All of you shut the fuck up." Randy said.
The Rippers, more than proud of their newest member winning the race, all continued to congradulate Otto for his victory in the race, commenting on his brilliant and risky moves he made to win. After all excitement and joy had started to die down, Dax stepped forward again to address Otto, bringing him one more piece of news.
"So, you're $500 richer, and you got yourself a spot on Zero Gravity Zone's new team. How're you gonna celebrate?" Dax asked.
Otto raised his eyebrows at the words brought to his ears, suddenly becoming excited at the new status he held.
"You mean...?" Otto asked.
"Yep. Welcome to the Rippers." Dax said.