Realms: Metal Crusher
"Experiment log, sixth test of the 'Thruster' commencing. Starting in three, two, one." A gloved hand pressed a sizable red button and a turbine on the opposite side of the room whirred to life, heat pouring out of the rear vents.
"Results are stable, increasing output." The hand reached down again, slowly turning a dial clockwise. The hulking turbine whirred louder, as the room grew hotter, but nothing broke. As the dial turned as far as it could, the turbine easily obliged.
"Stable at maximum output, decreasing output." The hand turned the dial counterclockwise, and the turbine quieted down, until it shut off. The red-coated figure put down the controller and walked over to the resting turbine.
Opening a hatch and looking inside, all the components were in perfect shape. After thoroughly checking that nothing melted or broke, he shut the hatch and talked into his recorder.
"Test successful, Thruster module is now safe and ready for use in the realms. Will, signing off." He pressed a button to turn off the recording. Walking over to his vehicle, he pulled the ignition lever and backed up next to the turbine.
After shutting off the engine with another lever, Will glanced up at the Orange-Yellow and Cyan-white glowing lights coming from his Accelechargers. It's not like anybody would steal them, but it was always comforting to know where they were.
Checking that the bed was empty, he attached a small crane to the turbine, carefully hoisting it up and gently setting it in the bed of his vehicle. Carefully attaching the finished creation, he heard his door open. Turning to look at who came in, he was surprised to see that it was Ethan.
"Hey, what brings you here?" He asked the blonde boy.
"Connor wanted to see if you could make camera drones for better realm footage and I wanted to talk to you about an idea I had." Ethan replied.
"I can do the drones soon, probably after the next realm. What was your idea?" The inventor replied.
"I assume you remember the Hyperpods in the realms. Would it be possible to make a deployable one and attach it to one of our vehicles?" Ethan asked. Will put a hand on his chin as he thought about the idea before answering.
"Maybe. The Hyperpods are very big, and to store that much stuff while staying compact might be barely feasible. A lot of compromises would have to be made though. I'll say it's possible, but unlikely." Will explained.
"I was expecting a resounding 'No' so that's better than I thought. I just had been thinking that if the accelerons have these modifications in the realms, why can't we harness it ourselves. Modifying our vehicles does make the realm challenges easier. Wouldn't we be overcoming the realm challenges just like we're supposed to, just in our own way?" Ethan proposed, bringing up interesting points.
The point of the realms was clearly to win by overcoming a particular challenge. If they created things to make those challenges easier, then that would help them win more efficiently.
"I agree, if the point is to win, why not do everything we can to do just that. I'll work on the feasibility of your idea and get back to you on it. Tell Connor his cameras can be made soon." Will said.
"Thanks. See ya." Ethan said as he walked out, shutting the door behind him.
–
Connor continued typing away, responding to a couple of comments to his videos. They were nothing special, just some questions. Luke was across the room from him, feet kicked up on the large table. His hat was angled down, covering his eyes. As Connor continued typing, he almost jumped out of his seat when Luke spoke.
"What do ya think the point of the realms are?" Luke asked as Connor calmed down.
"Didn't think you were awake. The point of the realms is to win, that's why we were picked after all." He replied. Luke nodded, putting his hat back on his head.
"I agree, but how do you think we're intended to win? Will thinks that we should make devices to simplify winning, but I think it should be based around our skill as drivers." Luke said.
"I think you're right. If we are the best, our skills should reflect that. I don't think we shouldn't use any modifications, but I do think that skill should be the determining factor, not pre-race creativity." Connor explained. Luke nodded again, agreeing with Connor's analysis. Getting up, Luke walked to the door.
"Good talking with ya. I'm gonna get some shut-eye." Luke waved as he walked out. Turning back to his computer, Connor began typing away again.
–
"What's the point of the realms?" Aidan asked his companions.
"Winning, obviously. We're meant to be the best!" Marie replied enthusiastically.
"Right, so, what's the best way to win?" Aidan asked.
"Cheating!" Ronnie immediately shouted.
"You're not wrong but that's not the point. The Accelechargers are clearly the most powerful option at our disposal. It would benefit us greatly to modify our cars to enhance the Accelechargers further." Aidan explained. Ronnie sulked while Marie nodded.
"We all already aim to win and get the Accelechargers, so why bring this up now?" Marie pondered.
"I think the others haven't realized how important they are yet, and when they do I suspect that the realms are going to turn into war zones, and the teams will largely dissolve. Only one of us can be the greatest driver.
"When that first punch gets thrown, it'll spiral into grudges, revenge, and a strong desire to get more power. Cheating, weaponization, skill, and avoidance tactics will be the best options to win. There aren't any rules in there other than to win, and knowing all seven people here, we'd all do anything to win at the moment without thinking of consequences." Aidan explained. Maire and Ronnie thought about it. He was right.
Ronnie knew that when the cards were down like that, he was not above dirty tactics. If he had to run an opponent off the road to gain a new extreme power, he'd do so.
Marie knew Aidan was right, but she wanted him to be wrong. She wouldn't turn to violence just to be labeled the best, right? She always wanted to prove herself though, show her brother that she could compete with him. If she had to do that to win then…
As Marie spiraled further into thought, she was snapped out of it by the realm alarm. The lights turned red as the Wheel of Power began to spin.
All seven drivers dropped what they were doing and began preparing. As engines began to start the first ring locked into place, and the realm symbol shone brightly. It was a pair of obtuse triangles, similar to Cavern, but the triangles were places to form a V with a gap between them.
The drivers began locking into their slingshots as the rings spun, performing final checks and placing their Accelechargers in their holders, which were designed to eject with them when the EDR activated. The middle ring swung into place, causing the alarm to increase in pitch.
Ethan looked at the symbol, but he hadn't read about it yet. Looking back at the Wheel, he continued watching meticulously. The ring spun around once more before slamming into place, causing the realm symbol to light up and the portal to open. Seeing the blue portal open, the drivers immediately flung themselves into the new realm.
–
Under an orange sky covered by patches of smog, a road of patchy metal sat surrounded by scrap and flames when a light blue rift tore open above the end of the track. With a flash, the drivers were ejected into the realm, beginning their hour-long competition.
Before hitting the track, Aidan crashed straight into a small pile of junk, throwing the scrap everywhere and killing his momentum. Forced to slow down to right himself, he was now at the back of the pack. As six of the vehicles adjusted their tires to match the metal road, the drivers looked around.
"Flame jets?" Connor asked, confused.
"Maybe this was a dumping ground for the Accelerons. The fire would incinerate most trash and leave behind the scrap metal on the track." Ethan suggested.
"Makes sense." Will replied.
"Don't care, didn't ask." Ronnie said, speeding up and ignoring why the realm existed. It didn't matter after all. This was a realm, and he intended to win. Knowing why the realm existed had no benefit.
"Then don't blame me when your car gets crushed." Ethan responded.
"Jokes on you, I have full EDR!" Ronnie retorted.
The track here was extremely wide, letting Luke use his speed and allowing Aidan to catch up. Seeing more Scrap piles ahead, Luke and Will activated their plows. As the metal expanded, they easily shoved the rubber tires and rusty metal pipes out of their path.
The far left side of the track split off and spiraled down under the track. Will and Marie took the path. As Will neared the bottom, he saw a massive junk pile blocking the path.
"I've got this!" Will said over the radio, pulling a hidden lever under his seat. Metal plates began to emerge from under his vehicle and from the bed, quickly covering entire body in solid metal and letting him crash through the junk without a scratch. Marie followed close behind. While the track twisted up to the left, Will pulled the lever again, stowing the metal plates.
–
Aidan drove along the wide track, as a large chunk of metal swung overhead. His Clairvoyance hadn't gone off for anything yet, so he kept driving with Ronnie close behind.
Looking out his window, small scraps of metal began floating up, and he could feel his car doing the same. Seeing this, Ronnie quickly activated his Magnets.
"What's happening!" Aidan shouted as he flew up faster. He crashed into a ball of scrap, connected to a large crane.
"It's a huge magnet, it's lifting anything metal." Kana explained. The crane swung off the road and over a large metal bin. The magnet deactivated and the metal plus his car fell down.
His Clairvoyance finally activated. It was a prolonged trap, his biggest weakness. Having no way out, he quickly grabbed his Accelechargers and pressed the manual EDR, ejecting him from the realm and leaving Mirror to be crushed with the other junk.
–
Luke and Marie drove along a straight thin track in a valley, mountains of junk looming over them. Luke sped ahead as Marie hit a scrap pile, forcing her to slow down and right herself. Luke looked ahead, and slammed on his brakes.
An absolute wall of scrap was covering the track from both sides of the valley. There wasn't even a Hyperpod in sight. Luke turned around and opened his radio.
"Track is completely blocked ahead, we'll have to back track." Luke said to Marie.
"Got it, thanks for the heads up." Marie said, doing a quick J turn.
"It's nothing. Better if we work together for now, since we are nowhere near the end." Luke stoically explained.
"Fair enough. Let's just split up before then." Marie replied.
As they both kept driving, they heard a loud crash behind them. Looking back, a large pile of scrap fell, and the junk on top of the valley ahead looked unstable.
"Nitrox?" Marie asked.
"Nitrox." Luke confirmed.
They both pressed their Nitrox buttons, shooting down the track and leaving flames in their wake as junk careened down, covering the track behind them.
–
Meanwhile, Ethan, Connor, and Will were struggling. The track split off in so many directions and looped back on itself seemingly infinitely. Staying as a trio, they raced up and down each track, hoping to make progress.
Connor looked down, seeing one of the tracks head into the distance. Tracing it back to where he was, he found a route.
"Follow me, I think I found the way out." Connor said, speeding ahead. Ethan and Will followed close behind, wanting to get out of this confusing track.
–
Ronnie, Luke, and Marie's paths joined, giving them a wide track to speed down again. As the super wide track banked and turned right and left around huge stacks of scrap, Ethan came up to them, with Connor and Will not too far behind.
The track passed over a large gap, letting them view the orange land. It looked like the land was perpetually burning and producing scrap to burn, turning the sky orange and smokey.
Ahead, the scrap shifted, before something burst out of it. It was a bipedal monster of metal, and resembled a t-rex. The mechanical creature let out a roar.
"WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT!" Ronnie shouted, swerving around the beast's foot. It leaned its head down toward the track, and let out a torrent of fire from its maw.
"It breathes fire too!?" Ethan cried. Will was practically drooling at the thought of controlling the thing, staring at the monstrosity with stars in his eyes.
Getting too close, the beast stomped down on Will's vehicle, sending it flying into the air and activating the EDR, removing him from the realm and his car.
–
At the base, Aidan watched the cameras. Fifteen minutes left. This one was going to be close. A flash of light broke his focus, as Will flew out of the Wheel. 'That's what he deserved for not focusing on driving.' Aidan thought.
–
The remaining drivers looked ahead. The track split into four paths that all tangled off in different directions. Some split again even further along.
"Let's split up. More likely one of us finished." Connor suggested. Receiving a round of agreement, the five drivers split into four lanes. Luke took the far left. Ronnie took the center left. Marie and Ethan took the center right. Connor took the far right.
As Connor drove down his winding track, he hit his brakes. A mound of junk was covering his path. He'd have to back track. As he went to reverse, however, something shiny caught his eye. Chrome, purple, and orange stuck out of the rusty pile.
Lining himself up, he fired his grappling hook, attaching to the metal, and reversed, pulling it out to reveal a Hyperpod. The back wheels were moderately sized, but the front wheels were huge four spoked claws, like ice picks. It looked like it could climb anything.
Driving into the cockpit, he locked in and the Hyperpod whirred to life. Accelerating, the front claws dug into the pile of scrap, and pulled itself up. Connor smirked. This was going to be easy.
–
Marie and Ethan drove along the track. It snaked back and forth but didn't bank. However, the biggest concern was the huge towers that swung massive spiked metal balls around and over parts of the track.
Marie rounded another corner barely avoiding a metal ball as she took the tightest line she could. However, Ethan in his big truck was less lucky.
It slammed into his truck, sending it flying into the distance, and instantly knocked Ethan unconscious while activating his EDR, sending his body and Accelecharger back to base.
While the turns here weren't extreme, Marie wanted all the advantages she could take. She grabbed her Cliffside Accelecharger, placing it into the port. As the port accepted the cartridge, Petal began to glow orange, and she preserved her speed through the corners of the wavy track.
'I am not a bad driver, I can win!' Marie thought, her inferiority complex showing through. Narrowly avoiding another spiked ball, she sped along the track.
–
Luke drove along slower than usual. He couldn't take good lines to avoid the metal balls at full speed. He knew he wouldn't win this one, but there was always next realm.
–
Marie sped past the final metal ball and past a large pile of junk. Tracks joined to her right and left, but no one was in sight, until a Hyperpod crawled over the junk pile she passed. As it stopped, Connor ejected from it, using Nitrox to catch up to her.
Looking ahead, she could see it. The end portal, with the realm symbol on it in a bright cerulean. The portal was held up by a ring of junk, and fire lit up to the sides of the track leading up to the portal.
She and Connor both thought they knew what the other would do. They still had Nitrox and they practically had a straight shot to the end.
Which left Marie in shock when, instead, Connor slammed her side as hard as he could, sending her off the track and activating her EDR. She was frozen as she was sent out of the Wheel, trying to process. Back in the realm, Connor pressed his Nitrox, rocketing to the end.
The realm symbol disappeared, sending a wave of energy across the realm. The metal balls stopped spinning, the mechanical beast shut down, and the Magnets turned off. All that could be heard was the burning of trash.
–
Connor landed back in his bay, conflicted. He won, it was what he was supposed to do, right? Didn't that mean by any means necessary? He was broken out of his contemplation by a harsh cerulean glow. The Accelecharger for the realm appeared next to him. On the bottom, the word 'Junk' was inscribed.
'Yes, I am in the right. The point is to win, and if that means taking out the competition, so be it.' Connor thought, greedily grabbing his reward, warping his mindset with positive feedback. If all he had to do to obtain power was to remove the other drivers in the realm, it would be worth it.
'Weapons would make it easier. Not yet though.' He thought. Pulling into his garage and the other drivers left the realm, the timer hit zero, and the portal closed. The Wheel spun back to its dormant state, and all was quiet once again.
–
Aidan's Music Playlist:
This chapter's music choice is: Houston by Big Giant Circles. Enjoy!
–
W.C.F. Lore:
Winning Accelechargers creates a massive amount of positive feedback in the brain, telling the brain that whatever they did to earn it was completely ok. This is both good and bad, as it reinforces both the positive lessons learned but also inadvertently justifies violent actions like attacking other drivers.
–
Will's Accelecharger Study:
"What does the new Accelecharger do Will?"
"From what I can tell it creates a frictionless bubble of air around the vehicle and also reinforces the air under one's tires."
"So what can it do."
"Effectively it lets you drive over gaps and small obstacles as if there was simply track there instead, which would let out take the best track route most of the time. I've named it 'Frictionless'"
"Strange but makes enough sense. Thanks Will."
"You're welcome. Now leave, I'm thinking about your actions and what weapons would work well on my vehicle."
–
Took a break, realized that I needed to start the conflict and introduce a dividing idea, so that's set up now. This didn't take very long to write once I figured out the major points I wanted. Reviews appreciated. Have a good day and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Next chapter: Realms: Ruination