Some time ago...
The wildlife around the LA penitentiary sang a disharmonious tune that day. All was right in the world for some, but for others, it was among the worst days of their lives. The result of this dismal day was brought on by the actions of some ill-advised individuals. In their minds however, their reasoning behind it outweighed the heinous crimes they had committed in the last few weeks.
Alas, after only a mere few weeks of being an escapee, ex-Dinoco Racing Academy Principal Helmut Nettes was once again in the possession of the police, back to his newfound home at the LA penitentiary. Only this time he was accompanied by his faithful crew Sven, Damian, and Devon.
Various press and news crews surrounded the outskirts of the prison; shouting and barking questions left and right at the former principal. Cameras flashed brightly against Nettes' gloss body as they did so. Nettes wore a flat expression as his guard escorted him and his henchmen to their cells - for him, the same cell as his first tenure there.
"Dead car rolling!" the guard exclaimed.
"Is that really necessary?" Nettes asked.
"Yes, because I can't see you making it past the year with all you've done." the guard
"Ouch, okay. What do you think I have done then?" Nettes asked.
"Don't play dumb with me. It ain't gonna work anymore." the guard denied.
"Let me ask that again; what have I done?" Nettes repeated.
"Oh, I dunno; perhaps the crematorium job? Oh, let's not forget the harbouring of students at the academy! Oh, and don't backchat." the guard advised.
"All just misunderstandings, my boy." Nettes excused, smirking.
"Well, let's hope the warden and the judge will see it that way." the guard said.
"Oh, they will. Trust me." Nettes assured.
"How can you be sure of that?" the guard asked.
"I just have a hunch." Nettes assured once more.
"You seem awfully odd this time 'round. Care to tell me any other plans you have, sir?" the guard interrogated.
"No." Nettes denied
"So you do have more plans, hmm?" the guard interrogated.
"...No." Nettes denied once more.
"I don't believe a word of it." the guard scoffed.
Suddenly, two more guards rolled in behind Nettes began to escort them.
"Hey, we didn't need more escorts, fellas. Back off." Nettes' guard barked.
"Oh, the warden asked us." backup guard #1
"Yeah, he's specifically requested it, actually." backup guard #2
Nettes' guard stopped in his spot, causing Nettes and the other two guards to do so as well.
"I don't know what plan you have Nettes, but I'm not letting this slide." Nettes' guard barked.
"I can assure you, there are no plans at all." Nettes said with a slight smirk.
"Let's get a move on." backup guard #1 requested.
"Alright, fine." Nettes' guard agreed.
Cameras and reporters continued their flash photography in the background as the four were at odds.
"May I ask what your name was?" Nettes asked.
"You may refer to me as Jacobs." Nettes' guard said.
"Excellent. Mr. Jacobs, might I request a quart as I await to quench my thirst?" Nettes asked.
"Can you translate that to English please?" Jacobs asked.
"What drinks do we consume in jail?" Nettes asked clearly.
"I'll reiterate; don't play dumb. You've been in here before." Jacobs snapped.
"Yes, but it may have changed in the last couple of weeks." Nettes said.
"It hasn't." Jacobs advised.
"Excellent." Nettes sighed.
Nettes, Jacobs and the accompanying guards arrived to the holding cell. Jacobs proceeded to throw Nettes, Sven, Damian and Devon into the cell one by one.
"Agh, do you have to be so forceful?" Nettes cried.
"It's my job, crooked Principal." Jacobs barked.
"Great plan, Nettes... as always." Devon scoffed quietly.
"Quiet... the boss might hear you." Damian warned.
"I did hear all of that." Nettes snapped.
Jacobs slammed the cell door shut, causing Devon to race up to the cell bars.
"I'm innocent, I tell you! I don't associate with these cars!" Devon pleaded.
"You're not getting out of this one!" Nettes barked.
"Your incompetent Principal friend is right; you're not getting out of this." Jacobs echoed.
"Wait, when did you get here?" Damian asked.
"I was right behind you the whole time. The cops found me straight after I tried to escape the crematorium." Devon said.
"It was easy as well, apparently. My cop buddies had some stories about you lot." Jacobs chuckled.
"Whoa, they did?" Damian said.
"Like what?" Sven asked.
"Like how you two oafs got baited into aiding your prisoner's escape from your own clutches..." Jacobs laughed aloud.
"Jacobs, have some composure." a backup guard perked up.
"Oh, sue me. You're not the warden." Jacobs retorted.
"I can sure as hell tell on you though." the backup guard threatened.
"Snitches are usually associated with inmates, not guards." Jacobs quipped.
"Fine." the backup guard said, giving up.
"We aided Boltarius' escape because it was part of our plan!" Damian exclaimed.
"Part of your plan?!" Jacobs said, laughing aloud once more.
"Yes!" Sven and Damian exclaimed.
"What kind of a pathetic excuse for a plan is that?" Jacobs said.
"It was... you know..." Sven said, before being cut off.
"Terrible?" Jacobs interjected.
"...You know, for a law enforcer, you sure have an aggressive demeanour." Nettes observed.
"I'm sorry... since when were prison guards supposed to be nice?!" Jacobs advised.
"He has a point." Damian perked up.
"Shut up." Sven and Nettes snapped quietly.
"Ugh, this is going to be a long sentence." Devon sighed.
"Okay, we're done here. Lunch will be starting in about a half hour. You'll be there." Jacobs advised.
"Hooray for that." Nettes quipped.
"It wasn't an offer. I'll be back in 30." Jacobs retorted.
Jacobs knocked on the cell door a couple of times to tease the poor lemons as he drove off, ready to deal with the onslaught of press and news teams trying to gain some coverage of Nettes and his crew.
"This plan of yours better be in effect." Devon scowled at Nettes.
"Don't worry. It will be." Nettes assured.
"Hooray for that." Devon said.
"Shut up." Nettes scowled.
30 minutes later...
The lemons sat bored out of their minds as Jacobs returned. All except for Damian - who had managed to fall asleep - the lemons caught wind of Jacobs' arrival.
"Lunch time, inmates! Gather yourselves in the cafeteria now!" Jacobs bellowed.
A litany of guards all arrived and began escorting each and every inmate in groups. Jacobs rolled over and made sure that he escorted Nettes and his associates personally.
"I see you've taken a liking to us." Nettes quipped.
"Don't make this a friendly exchange." Jacobs barked.
"Ah, but we already have." Nettes said.
"Be quiet." Jacobs warned.
"Ah, 5 more minutes would've been nice." Damian quipped.
"It's a prison, nothing about it is supposed to be nice." Devon retorted.
"It appears that one of you actually has some version of sense." Jacobs quipped.
"I heard that." Devon retorted.
Before they even knew it, they had arrived to the cafeteria. It was a rather large room, the walls made of cracked stone all around.
"Wow, this is exactly how I pictured this place would look." Devon quipped.
"Get used to it, because this is going to be every single day of your wretched lives from now on." Jacobs said.
"We know, you've said that before." Devon retorted.
"Shut up. Take your seats." Jacobs barked.
Nettes, Damian, Sven, and Devon did as they were told and took their seats in the cafeteria without speaking a word. They looked around the now-filled cafeteria - a wide array of inmates sat around them from small-to-big. It was somewhat intimidating for some...
"Are we just gonna to sit here in silence?" Devon perked up sternly.
"Yup." Sven said.
"Well, it's not technically silence if we're speaking now, is it?" Nettes quipped.
None of the others responded. Instead, they continued to avoid each other's gaze.
"That's what I thought." Nettes said.
"You think a lot of things." Devon quipped.
"Shut up." Nettes barked.
The group continued to sit in silence as an ensuing eruption of babbling between the inmates occurred all around them.
Nettes caught a glimpse at the television on the wall nearby, the only source of news that the prisoners could receive. Broadcasted on it was the famous Racing Sports Network; the primary source of coverage for Nettes' ensuing story.
"Can somebody turn the television volume up?" Nettes asked, to no avail. His words fell upon deaf ears.
"Sven... Sven..." Damian whispered, tugging on his tire.
"What?" Sven asked.
"I'm not too comfortable with this place... I'm a bit scared." Damian said.
"Will you stop being a baby? You have to be forceful in here. You can't be a wimp." Sven said.
"How though?" Damian asked.
"Can you tell the guard to turn the tele up?" Nettes asked Sven.
"Here you go..." Sven said to Damian.
Sven straightened his posture and stared at a nearby guard...
"Hey guard, turn the tele up!" Sven barked.
"What was that, prisoner?" the guard retorted.
"Excuse me? Could you please turn the television volume up?" Damian interjected and asked sweetly.
"Oh... sure thing, Damian." the guard obliged happily.
"What in the Manufacturer? How does he know your name?" Sven looked over at Damian slowly, offended.
"Wow... I guess the child's touch to the voice works better." Damian quipped.
"You do realise how stupid that sounds..." Sven quipped.
"Shut up. Both of you, shut up!" Nettes barked.
"You know, you're not the boss of us in here." Devon said.
"Do we really want to go there?" Nettes scowled.
Sven, Damian and Devon looked at each other silently and awkwardly before acknowledging Nettes.
"...no sir." they all said, sighing.
"That's what I thought." Nettes chuckled.
The inmates all turned their attention to the Televisions plastered across the room; showcasing the news.
"Heheh... Hey Nettes, looks like you're famous!" a burly inmate bellowed.
A reporter appeared on the newscast now, stood just outside of the crematorium where Nettes held his prisoners. There were tons of press cars and debris all around.
"Why can't we be famous?" Damian turned to Sven.
"Shh!" Nettes shushed.
"Maybe because we're underlings?" Sven quipped.
"Shh! Listen!" Nettes shushed once more.
"...Only a mere several days after escaping the LA penitentiary, Helmut Nettes is once again in the possession of the authorities. This time, he's got yet another crime to confess as authorities traced and found a crematorium and complex in Downtown Miami under his name to conduct various illegal acts. Authorities have reason to believe that this crime may be in relation to his academy scandal involving one Andrew Boltarius as the rookie sensation was on-site at the time of Nettes' arrest. Nettes will be attending a court hearing later this week to determine the correct punishment for the former principal - some are rumouring may be as serious as a life sentence or even a death penalty." the reporter said.
"Whoa. So are you going to that hearing?" Damian asked.
"He's not going to the hearing." Devon whispered, shaking his hood.
"I'm not going to the hearing." Nettes confirmed.
"See?" Devon said to himself.
"Okay, so what's the plan?" Damian asked.
"Tonight; we break out of here." Nettes said.
"Didn't see that coming..." Devon scoffed.
Nettes didn't speak a word; instead sliding over a small clipboard with the roster on it.
"What the hell is this?" Devon asked.
"Just after Dinner is the time of day that the least guards get rostered on."
"Wait, did you steal this?!" Devon muttered.
"I believe 'borrow' is a more appropriate word." Nettes said.
"We're in jail already! You don't need to land us more time!" Devon exclaimed quietly.
"Agh, quit your fretting. We'll be out of here soon." Nettes assured.
"Sure... sure thing." Devon scoffed.
"You know, you're sounding a lot like Jarred at the moment." Nettes observed.
Nettes, Sven and Damian all looked over at Devon suspiciously.
"What? How could you accuse me of that?" Devon rolled back, offended.
"Just the mannerisms..." Nettes perked up.
"...and the responses..." Sven perked up.
"Well, I'm not, okay? Speaking of Jarred, where the hell is he?" Devon asked sternly.
"He'll be aiding our escape tonight along with Jerome." Nettes whispered.
"Jerome? Since when has he been a part of these plans?" Devon asked.
"Ever since he didn't actually get arrested unlike us!" Sven observed.
"Precisely." Nettes confirmed.
"Where do you get the time to come up with these plans, huh?" Devon asked.
"Every waking moment of every day." Nettes quipped.
"...and I'm guessing this plan has something to do with certain cars?" Devon
"Yup." Nettes confirmed.
"Who would have thought? You must really hate Boltarius?" Devon asked.
"Both of them..." Nettes scoffed.
"Well, what did they even do?" Devon asked.
Sven and Damian gasped, staring straight at Devon. Nettes remained in his spot as he glanced over aggressively.
"They took everything from me." Nettes scowled.
"Wow... that's a lot of things. But what did they actually do?" Devon asked once more.
"Uhh, bad time to ask." Sven advised in the background.
"Never... do you really want to know?" Nettes asked.
Devon nodded his hood quietly in response. Nettes rolled over to him with a straight but brooding expression.
"His parents came to see me... saying he had the potential to become a star. They wanted nothing but the best for him. So they came to the best and I advised them that I'm a car of my word; that I'd use every line and valve in my body to ensure that he'd be the best the world had ever seen. They agreed to have him board at the academy, and he did too... at first." Nettes said.
Damian looked over at Sven for his reaction, turning his attention back to Nettes.
"The very first day they agreed and left him at my academy was when this story started. He screamed for them to come back... but they never did. All this miscommunication that I harboured students... it was never true. They took the story and contorted it into an inhuman form. I reached out to them... to no avail. Once I gave up hope that they'd never return, I took him in, taught him... raised him as my own. As soon as he was allowed out into the wild... he forgot that this world ever existed... he forgot everything that I did for him." Nettes said.
"...but where does Demetria come into this?" Devon added.
"She comes into this by mere association with him. Her devotion to him... it's unlike anything I'd ever seen before. Their adoration for one another was unprecedented for me. If I'd laid a tire on her precious husband... she'd bring down a world of hellfire right to my front doorstep. Never in my entire life did I ever feel so defeated after they destroyed my academy." Nettes scowled.
Devon, Sven and Damian glanced at each other.
"...so now this is the beginning of my redemption; the beginning of my insurrection upon them and all they love. It's about time that the fools of this world know what it feels like to have their reality as they know it crumble upon itself." Nettes swore.
Devon, Sven and Damian exchanged a few more glances at each other with worry and compassion.
"There you have it... my career, inadvertently taken by the tires of my own pupil and his wife." Nettes finished.
"Wow. You gave Dash a career and all he did was spit in your face." Sven realised.
"Precisely." Nettes said.
"Wow, I oughta hurt him the same way." Damian scoffed.
"Don't worry, I have my ways." Nettes assured.
Devon averted his gaze from the group for a moment.
"Got something to say?" Nettes asked.
"No... nothing at all." Devon said.
Before any more tension could arise between the cars...
"Attention, inmates! Lunch has concluded! Back to your cells!" a guard barked.
"Alright, in case we don't get time, we'll reconvene at dinner. There, the plan will be carried out." Nettes quietly advised.
Devon, Sven and Damian all nodded in agreeance as they turned around to be escorted by the guards. However...
"Nettes." Jacobs barked.
"You again?" Nettes perked up.
"In the flesh and metal." Jacobs said.
"Wow, I haven't heard that one before." Nettes said.
"Shut it. We've just received orders from the wardens to split you off into pairs." Jacobs advised.
"What?" Nettes barked.
"Don't backchat. Nettes, you will continue to be accompanied by Damian. Your other associates will now share another cell." Jacobs advised.
"What?" Damian exclaimed.
"You can't do this to us!" Sven echoed.
"Actually... we can. Under wardens orders. Follow us." Jacobs barked.
Jacobs and his fellow guard then split the two pairs of vehicles off.
"Sven! No, Sven!" Damian cried.
"You can't take me away from Damian!" Sven assured.
"Will you two babies stop being so dramatic?" Devon scoffed.
"Why don't you try working with a partner for a decade?" Sven snapped.
"I don't need to. I'm a solo act, thank you very much." Devon assured.
"Quiet, all of you!" Jacobs barked.
"Or what?" Damian scoffed.
"Not the time, Damian!" Nettes barked.
"Oh, right. Sorry." Damian apologized.
"Take them away." Jacobs said to his fellow guard.
The guard threw Sven and Devon into their brand-new cell location - physically throwing them in.
"Agh, what's with the inmate abuse?" Devon quipped.
"Quiet, lemon!" the guard barked.
"But you can't do that!" Devon barked.
"And why are you splitting me and my partner up?!" Sven cried.
"Wardens orders." the guard advised.
"But you didn't tell me why!" Sven exclaimed.
"I just did, you lemon." the guard scoffed.
"You can't just leave me with this car!" Sven said, gesturing to Devon.
"Rude." Devon scoffed.
"You might want to say some nicer things to your cellmate, 'cuz you'll be spending a long time with him." the guard advised.
"Eugh." Devon cringed.
"Don't you start." the guard quipped.
"You don't understand! You have to put me with Damian!" Sven pleaded.
"I'm not doing anything. It's my job to keep you in line and that's exactly what I'll be doing." the guard assured.
"But he's my partner! Surely you can change the arrangement." Sven pleaded.
"This is a prison. This isn't about your comfort, prisoner." the guard scoffed.
"But this is about so much more than comfort!" Sven excused.
"Just listen to the guard, you oaf! You'll land us more jail time!" Devon yelled in the background, causing Sven to spin around wearing a face of disgust.
"Listen to your friend, prisoner." the guard said, gaining Sven's attention once more.
"He's not my friend... he's merely an associate." Sven said.
"Not my problem." the guard assured, teasing by knocking on the cell doors with a tire. "Enjoy your stay."
Sven turned around to Devon as the guard drove off. He was clearly feeling hostile toward the lemon whom he thought was his friend.
"What was that all about?" Sven snapped quietly.
"What was what all about?" Devon asked.
"Just then!" Sven snapped.
"Stop crying. I just stopped you from landing us more jail time." Devon said.
"Alright, what about the cafeteria then?" Sven asked.
"What about it?"
"Are you seriously just going to ignore it?"
"Sven, a lot of things were said in the cafeteria." Devon retorted.
"You know exactly what I'm talking about! Nettes laid it all out and you just stayed silent."
"So?"
"...Are you alright?" Sven asked.
"Yeah, it's just... something about the story irks me."
"What?" Sven perked up.
"I just feel like... I feel like he's lying about something." Devon said.
"You're not doubting him, are you?" Sven asked.
"Agh, it's just..." Devon said.
"But we thought you were on our side!" Sven exclaimed.
"Sven... I'm not even working for him anymore. I was just a hired gun, and since there's no payment involved anymore..." Devon led on.
"Why are you even working with us now then?" Sven interrogated.
"The same reason any of us should be working together; to get out of this hellhole!" Devon exclaimed quietly.
The nearby guard glanced their way as the two argued. Devon caught wind of the guard's gaze and backed off, staying silent. The guard then turned away from them and continued his patrolling.
"Look, if you say any of this to Nettes, I'll make sure to have you killed by my men." Devon barked.
"You're bluffing... you're bluffing!" Sven said, a bit unsure of himself.
"Do you wanna find out? 'Cuz I guarantee it ain't gonna end pretty." Devon threatened.
"...no, I don't wanna start a war here." Sven said.
"That's what I thought." Devon scoffed. "Now let's play the silent game 'til dinner."
"Fine." Sven scoffed.
Meanwhile...
Nettes and Damian were stuck in their cell as well at that point. Nettes sat in the corner bored out of his mind while Damian was incessantly pacing and rambling.
"Oh, Sven... oh poor old Sven. He's probably worried sick!" Damian rambled.
"Will you quit your whimpering? You're not acting like a man right now." Nettes insulted.
"I'm not a man... I'm a car!" Damian quipped.
"You know what I mean!" Nettes retorted.
"Jeez... this is the longest amount of time I've spent away from him. I'm freaking out!" Damian said.
"It's only been a few minutes. What are you on about?" Nettes asked.
"Am I having withdrawals? Maybe I'm having withdrawals..." Damian said, rushing up to Nettes and falling in on himself. "Help me, Nettes!"
Nettes proceeded to angrily stand up to Damian and slap him with a tire. That move appeared to have knocked some sense into Damian.
"Wow that actually helped." Damian sighed, smiling.
"What? How could that have helped?" Nettes perked up, confused.
"I guess it could have been some kind of masochistic precognition." Damian quipped.
"Ugh, make this end." Nettes sighed.
"Sorry, boss. I know I must be boring you out of your mind." Damian apologized.
"Its fine, Damian." Nettes accepted.
"I was being sarcastic." Damian said.
"Don't be jumping sides now. You still want to escape, right?" Nettes asked.
Damian paused for a moment before sighing.
"Yeah, boss... I wanna get outta here." Damian agreed.
"Then you'll want to make good with me, hmm?" Nettes asked.
"Yes, sir." Damian complied.
"That's the spirit! Now, perhaps you could invest some time in napping before dinner?" Nettes suggested.
"Well, I slept before lunch..." Damian pointed out.
"Nonsense! There's nothing better to do in jail..." Nettes said.
"...alright, just because I want to." Damian accepted.
Damian sat down next to Nettes and relaxed himself. He cozied up to the principal, who began to visibly cringe at their physicality.
"Ehem... a bit too close." Nettes warned.
"I just need a hug." Damian sighed.
"You just need a distraction." Nettes quipped.