Highway 35: Another Dimension?!
Day of the race
Over the last 2 days, the 5 boys got to know each other. They shared about their own worlds and came up with some ideas for car upgrades, some of which came to fruition and had been installed. Aidan said he didn't need anything other than his jump jets for the moment, and declined further upgrades. Will installed a switch that would cover his car in metal plates for protection at the cost of visibility and weight. He called his new ability Iron Skin. Ethan's Beast now boasted All Terrain form changing tires, which could be changed with a dial on his center console. Luke's rat rod gained an extra tank of nitrox and a large toggleable plow. Finally, Slider got a Grappling hook and togglable spikes on the tires. Connor also insisted that every vehicle have a camera on the dashboard, which was reluctantly agreed upon by the other drivers.
Their base was made up of a large number of tents, as 2 days was not nearly enough to build anything much bigger. Everyone just slept in their cars, or in Wills case, the bed of his car. Thankfully, no inventions blew up, which was a welcome surprise when considering Will's track record. Will also changed his outfit. Seeing as he didn't have to focus on survival as hard and the air was clean, he changed into his other outfit. It consisted of a formal red jacket with coattails and gold buttons, reddish-brown gloves, blue pants, brown shoes, a blue and gold shirt, and a pair of golden goggles with light blue tinted glass and a brown strap, which he constantly wore over his eyes. With his hat gone, his short yet spiked brown hair was on display, and combined with his odd tendencies, he earned the nickname 'Nut Job'. He also made himself a helmet, after seeing that everybody else had one. It was more like a bike helmet, and was red with gold details, but it was still a helmet.
After almost forgetting to, Aidan introduced everyone to his car's personal A.I., Kana. He explained that while she didn't help him with driving directly, she could display Mirror's condition and protect his car from nonphysical threats such as malware, and she could also perform emergency maintenance in case something went wrong while driving. During the two days of preparation, everybody also learned very fast that Aidan loved his music. Thankfully, they liked his tastes and he played songs they all liked, saying that 'everybody should have the right to enjoy music'. He also claimed the nickname 'Silver' after he placed second 10 times in a row back home. It was an embarrassing losing streak and he refused to talk about it any further.
Ethan had done some exploring of the surrounding area only to be disappointed to find it was only sand for miles. There were a large number of rocks in one direction though, which reminded him of the huge strange rock pillars and such to the west of his home country. After semi-officially naming his truck 'Beast', the group nicknamed Ethan 'Wolf' after he 'prowled' the desert several times.
It was clear that Luke was more comfortable around everyone than before, even if he didn't talk more. After explaining his love for stunts and crazy maneuvers while driving over a few drinks, not at the same time, he was given the nickname 'Extremist' by Aidan. As it turned out only Luke and Will cared for the taste of alcohol, as Aidan and Connor refused outright and Ethan spit out his drink.
Connor had everybody do a few mock races as training and to see where everybody stood in terms of skill. Everybody was very close skill wise but some of the cars struggled with the mock tracks. It became clear that this would be a contest of skill, along with how well your car watched with the racing environment. After seeing his performance in the mock races, Connor was given the nickname 'Robot'.
The Acceleron they had spoken to had been giving them materials, food, and drinks whenever they asked, which made the process of inventing and upgrading much easier, and ensured they wouldn't have to go anywhere for the foreseeable future. They also learned that the booster fuel they were using was called Nitrox 2, and that 300 mph was the key speed to hit. Will was already drawing a schematic for a future base, even if they didn't currently have the time to make something so large. On the day of the race, the Acceleron sent them a large projection light with instructions, telling them to set up a starting line and place the projector face up. Once they were in place, the countdown would start and they would go when the light was green.
Will set up the projector and starting line using a thick strip of tape while everybody else did final checks of their cars.
"Kana, is everything perfect?"
"Yes Aidan, Mirror is ready to race."
After quickly inspecting the exterior, Aidan sat down in Mirror, closed the door, put on his helmet, and pulled up to the starting line.
Ethan relocked the hood of his truck. His Beast was in perfect working order and was ready to go. He climbed up into the driver's seat, put on his helmet, and pulled up to the starting line.
Connor ran final checks on his laptop, before concluding that his car was ready to race. Shutting his laptop, he put on his helmet, zipped up his leather jacket, and sat down in his driver's seat before closing the door and pulling up to the starting line.
Luke sat down in his driver's seat and closed the door. He knew his car was working right and calmed his nerves while putting on his helmet. Letting out a sigh, he pulled up to the starting line.
Will finally finished clearing out the back of Scrap Box, leaving it rather light. He knew this would be a race to remember, so he got in his truck, put on his new helmet, and pulled up to the starting line to begin the countdown.
Once Will pulled up to the line, the projector lit up, sending a large red beacon into the sky. Everyone was eager to begin, Ethan revved his engine, as did Will while Luke and Aidan waited patiently.
"Is everyone's cameras working?" Asked Connor.
"Mine's working." Aidan said.
"I'm all good." Will replied.
"This Beast has eyes." Responded Ethan.
"I'm all set." Said Luke.
"Mine works too. Let's have a good race. Connor said, after which everybody fell silent in anticipation.
The beacon turned bright yellow, and let out a loud, alarm-like noise. Everybody had their foot on the gas, ready to accelerate and begin at a moment's notice.
…
The beacon turned green, letting out another alarm like noise.
All 5 cars shot forward, picking up speed while kicking up a huge dust storm on their wake. As their cars began to plateau around 200 mph, it became clear that they would need to use an injection of Nitrox 2 to make it all the way to 300 mph. Everyone nearly simultaneously reached over to, and pressed their bright red nitrox buttons.
The sound of the driver's nitrox fueled symphony could be heard for miles, as the cars began to glow light blue. Luke's and Will's engines visibly had light blue electricity, and shook from the surplus of energy. Everyone's rear wheels were covered in fire and the drivers left 5 trails of flames behind them, though Aidan's car produced blue flames while everybody else left behind orange trails.
As their speedometers shot up, all 5 drivers surpassed the 300 mph mark, and the space in front of them began to distort, before bursting open with an alien sound and producing a familiar purple and green portal. Nobody was afraid this time however, as they all shot toward the portal and vanished in a flash of white light, eager to prove their skill, and become the best driver ever.
–
A large purple and green portal burst open above an orange track, and from it burst forth 5 cars of varying shapes and sizes, and their drivers shared a common goal. Falling onto the track, they were only paying some attention to their driving, as they were all stupefied by the strange environment around them.
"I don't think we're on Earth anymore, right Kana?" Aidan asked his A.I. companion.
"No, it seems we have been transported to another dimension entirely." Replied the diligent A.I., after a brief analysis.
"Another Dimension!?" Every driver exclaimed simultaneously, before looking out their windows while taking a gentle left turn, into a gentle right, before taking another short left.
"What a unique sky. Is that a planet? These rocks are so cool! They remind me of the west!" Ethan rambled, as he took in the strange environment, now happy he was recording this to look back at.
"Still, this is a track, so let's do our thing and race." Luke said, bringing everyone to their senses and beginning to focus on their driving. Will found that he was forcefully sliding around every turn, as his Custom chain tires did not agree with the Acceleron built track.
The orange road passed by a wall of brown orange rock, as Connor and Ethan began to fall behind, with their vehicles' lack of speed making them worse on a real track. Ethan was still ahead of Connor though, due to his size advantage. Will was in 3rd, his lack of speed and grip showing but his strong engine and size stopped overtakes for the time being. Luke and Aidan struggled for first, before Luke's speed advantage took off on the current straight, only to lose the lead on the following right turn while Aidan took the inside line, completely focused and in the flow state.
It was clear that Luke and Aidan were evenly matched right now, but it was anyone's game until somebody finished. The track evened out over the rocky terrain, before pulling up and left into another straight, before turning right once more. Connor had enough of being in last, and shifted up while tricking Ethan to pass him. The drivers wouldn't push each other off and wanted to keep contact to a minimum, so Ethan let him pass.
"Dang it!" Shouted Will through their radio. On the right turn Will's truck slid too far, and he stopped sideways, letting Connor and Ethan pass him before getting back up to speed.
The track dipped down on a straight away, and while Luke started to ever out with Aidan once more, everyone noticed the huge loop in the distance. All 5 drivers stared in awe for around 4 seconds, before returning their attention to the present.
"I'm all for stunts, but I don't think that loop is possible without very high speed." Luke explained through the radio.
"We could just use Nitrox. I don't think there is anything speed based that Nitrox can't make up for." Said Will. He was right. The best way to reliably beat a loop that large was to take it with Nitrox. 4 of them had 1 more use of Nitrox left, while Luke had 2 uses, and as long as there wasn't another huge loop, they wouldn't need Nitrox other than to overtake each other.
The track elevated to the left, before tilting the right side down and turning harshly to the right, costing Luke a lot of speed and putting Connor in 2nd. The track had a small bump, then led up to the huge loop. Determined and in the flow state, Aidan turned left onto the large loop, followed by the other 4 drivers once his car was vertical, he reached to his right and pressed the Nitrox button.
As the other drivers followed suit, their engines filled the quiet landscape with the roar of engines, and everyone's vehicles began to glow light blue while the visible engines cackled with electricity. With a huge burst of speed and their tires and the track on fire, they ascended the terrifying loop, and before long began to descend down the other side. Picking up huge speed, around 350 mph, their cars began to even back out with gravity. Turning left, they floored the gas pedal to ensure they would not lose speed.
Approaching the ramp, they could see that it was over a river of lava, and they all hoped that they had enough speed, Aidan left the track, then Connor, then Luke, then Ethan, and finally Will, all airborne while traveling 350 mph over a river of lava. If they were told this was what they'd be doing a week ago, it would be very unbelievable. They began to stop gaining height around halfway across the river, before defending and landing perfectly upon the track, giving almost everyone's suspension a run for its money. Ethan had more than enough suspension to go around, and barely felt the landing. All 5 drivers let out a huge sigh of relief, and calmed themselves down to continue.
The track turned up and right briefly, before evening out and turning left, leading into a banked right turn, causing Will's chain tires to screech. Dipping down, the track led into 2 wide corkscrews. Luke. Taking advantage of the straight and downhill momentum, Luke passed Connor, and his front half passed Aidan, while Ethan saw a different advantage. He could see that the rocks connected to the track up ahead, and he made the decision to drive straight and avoid the corkscrews. He reached to the right, and turned a dial on his center console from 'standard' to 'rocky'. Seeing this, Will saw nothing to lose and decided to follow. While Aidan, Luke, and Connor all took the corkscrews, battling for 1st, Ethan and Will dropped off the track temporarily and drove back on where the rocks connected, giving them a small but noticeable lead, while Ethan changed back his tires to 'standard'.
"When did they pass us?" Asked Aidan, confused as to how the ones in the back were now front running.
"I think they left the track to skip the corkscrews." Explained Connor. He watched their footage later to find out his accusation was correct.
"Let's show 'em who's in charge." Luke said, indicating to Aidan and Connor that their fight could wait while they took on the trucks. Nodding in agreement, they sped forward.
"Looks like our temporary lead might end sooner than expected. How about a truce? Let's hold onto the front for a while longer." Suggested Ethan. Will looked over, nodding in agreement. Ethan slightly turned right while Will turned slightly left, effectively blocking the incoming drivers from passing.
"That won't work." Said Luke ominously, as he reached to his right and flicked a small switch up. A small rod came out from under the front of Luke's rat rod, before expanding up and out, revealing a large plow. While the track turned up and to the left Luke floored his gas pedal and accelerated towards the trucks. Ethan looked back and panicked, forgetting that Luke added a plow to his car. Will didn't have a chance to look back before Ethan turned left to avoid the plow, and he got forcefully moved to the right, his chain tires screeching and sliding him to the side of the track as Aidan and Connor passed him, keeping Luke in the lead. Aidan quickly passed Ethan but Ethan stopped Connor from going past his Beast, creating a familiar situation. Luke flicked the switch back down, and his plow compacted itself and slid smoothly back under his car, while the track's banked left turn evened out.
The track then banked and turned slightly right, placing everyone back into a familiar setup, as Aidan and Luke were competing for 1st, Will struggled to catch up, and Ethan blocked Connor from getting involved in the fight for 1st. The track turned back left, while remaining banked right, and Will accelerated, catching up to Connor and Ethan, before passing both, as Ethan was too distracted to notice him. Once Ethan did notice him, Connor took the opportunity to pass Ethan, only to get stuck behind will, creating quite the predicament for himself. The track flattened out again, and the battle between Luke and Aidan kept switching. On straights, Luke would catch up and take a slight lead, but on turns Aidan would catch back up and take the lead right back. It was almost guaranteed that one of them would win, the only mystery was who. Though if the track threw another opportunity at them, the 3 in the back would take it, so there was still the chance anyone could win.
The orange track turned right without banking, costing Luke speed, going around a large number of rocks. After turning nearly 270° right, the track dipped down towards a large amount of smoke. If the track did not continue turning, Luke's superior eyesight would have given him a lead, but instead everyone was slowed down by the sharp continuous right spiral down and/or the billowing smoke from the center of the hole.
"What's with all the smoke!" Cried Will.
"Are we going into a volcano?" Asked Ethan, curious to see the inside of a volcano.
"I hope not. This is terrible footage!" Exclaimed Connor.
Aidan squinted and pushed forward while the track continued to band and spiral right. One loop down. Then two. Then three. Then four before the track left the smoke and lost its bank while turning left, costing Luke more speed. Aidan nearly missed the turn and took the outside line, however, allowing Luke to catch back up. Connor managed to pass Will in the smoke, leaving the trucks in the dust.
The track abruptly went up before sharply turning and banking to the right, letting Connor pass Luke, before evening out only to turn sharp left, catching Aidan off guard and now putting Connor and Aidan in a battle for first while the track evened out and turned right. The track banked and turned right again, evening out the 3 cars, while the trucks focused on not falling off the track. Evening out once more, the track banked and turned left before evening out once more. While Luke had fallen slightly behind, he noticed that the track up ahead spiraled around itself and that the end of the spiral was below him. Taking the risk, he drove off the right side of the track, and landed on the track below, giving him a big lead with only minor damage.
Aidan and Connor were focused on the track and didn't notice Luke's shortcut, while Ethan and Will were too far behind to see it happen. Luke sped ahead, taking advantage of the lead. The track turned left, then leading to a straight, giving Luke an even bigger lead on the competition.
Aidan held the inside line for the entire loop, Connor hot on his tail, suddenly noticed Luke was missing.
"Hey where did Luke go?" He asked on the radio.
"We don't see him." Said Ethan, as he and Will began the spiral.
"Took ya long enough. I'm ahead of ya." Taunted Luke, as he knew they wouldn't catch him for a while.
"Connor, let's catch him." Said Aidan, changing priorities.
"Sure thing. Wonder what he did though." Responded Connor, as they both sped around the left turn, only to see Luke going up a ramp. His wheels left the ground, as he flew through the air.
'Even without a lava river, this was still cool.' Thought Luke. Once he landed he sped away into the tunnel while his laughter could be heard through the radio. The track turned left, then right, but not enough to lose speed, before the tunnel opened into an open area with a straight piece of track. He could see the track cut off abruptly, and there was a strange gray thing on the track up ahead which had light blue electricity arcing between the 2 sides.
"I can see the end!" Luke exclaimed through the radio, making everyone else sound disappointed. Aidan just reached the tunnel, with Connor right behind him, while Ethan and Will were currently airborne. Speeding ahead, the space at the end of the track Warped before bursting open into a purple and green portal. He drove through the gray thing, only to be flung forward towards the portal, before going through.
–
Back in the desert, a purple and green portal opened with an alien sound and ejected a rat rod onto the dry ground. Luke had won the first leg of the race. Only moments later, a chrome cat and a blue car came out, then a red truck and a junky truck. The first leg of the race was complete.
"Good race everyone. I won't lose next time though." Said Connor, before speeding back to their base of tents.
"Same here. I'll do better next time!" Exclaimed Aidan, before driving back to the tents. Luke drove back as well, a smirk plastered on his face.
"I hope we get some favorable terrain soon. We'll win then!" Exclaimed Ethan to Will. If the terrain wasn't standard track, one of them would surely win. While they both drove back to base, everyone was excited to see what would come next.
–
Finally finished! I'll probably be able to do 1 of these a week or so but that took a lot of cross referencing. Hopefully the next one is done sooner but I guess we'll see.
Abilities explained:
Iron Skin: It's what Taro did in the junk realm.
Jump Jets: Yep, Teku/Wave Ripper jump jets are standard equipment where Aidan comes from.
All Terrain Tires: The tires from Acceleracers, can adjustto any terrain.
Spikes: Only the spikes option of All Terrain Tires.
Plow: Lava plow. Doesn't come with tire armor.
Grappling Hook: Slightly adjustable, dose what it says on the tin.
Nitrox: Every driver has 1000 nitrox by default. One use of nitrox costs 500, and each tank contains 500, so drivers may get more nitrox uses in the future. Luke had an extra use after the race was over.
That's all for now, but there's more to come. Until then, have a good day, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Next Chapter: Highway 35: Orange or Purple?