Realms: Ruination
"It would be impossible." Kana said to the room's other occupants. Aidan let out a sigh while Will rubbed his eyes.
"What makes it impossible, Kana?" Aidan asked his A.I.
"The Accelechargers emit energy that matches the realm they are from almost perfectly. It can't be replicated or collected from the Accelechargers." Kana explained.
"We can't actively return to completed realms either, and even then, it would take an absurd amount of time to collect enough energy to do anything with it, let alone create our own Accelechargers."
Will planted his face onto the table. The idea was a bust. They could only have one Accelecharger from each realm, and nobody was going to share their powers without incentive to do so.
"Maybe it's for the best. If we all had every Accelecharger nothing else would hold any value, and the Accelechargers themselves would be less desirable. If you don't have to win to get the power, why try?" Aidan said, raising a good point. Will looked up in thought.
If he didn't have to try to win, his Accelechargers wouldn't feel special, like he had earned them. Only having one of each also meant that the people who had Accelechargers had to be creative with them. Having only one use per realm meant they had to make the most of that use.
"Well, if I can't create Accelechargers, I'm going to try to make the cars more tolerant of their power. More uses per realm sounds good to me!" Will said, excited to get to work on something new.
"Well, you do that. Tell me if anything comes of it, I'll probably use it a lot." Aidan said, waving at Will and walking out of his garage.
–
"And if you buy Chakra snake oil right now, and I mean RIGHT NOW, you'll get TWO for the price of THREE! WHAT A STEAL!" Ronnie exclaimed at a camera. "Just call me at the number below. NO REFUNDS!" He finished with, turning off the camera.
"Now I just have to make some fake reviews, and the money rolls in." Ronnie said to himself, grinning. Scamming fools was easier than taking candy from a baby. Knock knock. Somebody knocked on his door. "Who!?" He shouted.
"It's Marie." The voice said.
"Come in." Ronnie replied. Marie entered the room, looking down.
"I had a question." Marie said softly.
"Shoot."
"What are your thoughts on cheating? The breaking rules kind, not the relationship kind."
"Well ya see, cheating is the way of the winner. Winners write the books, ya know? Sun Tsu said that. If I gotta break a couple rules to empty some idiot's bank accou- I mean, WIN, then fuck the rules!" Ronnie said. Marie nodded, taking it in.
"I see. Thank you for the enlightenment." Marie said, leaving the room and closing the door.
"Good to know I can help people. Now, back to my legitimate business ventures!" Ronnie exclaimed, jumping toward his computer to finish his ad.
–
"I just can't agree with the sabotage." Ethan said.
"Sabotage is only the start. It'll definitely get worse with time now." Luke predicted.
"If we have to literally fight over the Accelechargers, we probably will. Only one of us can win in the end, and the more wins we get now, the more power we'll have then." Connor explained.
"I know, but I still think we should try to hold off from violence as long as we can." Ethan said, disappointed with their ability to accept losses.
"Well the spiral has already started. Now what are you going to do? Ignore it, or get ahead?" Connor stated.
"I'm getting ahead." Luke replied.
"I won't ignore it, but I refuse to embrace it." Ethan vowed, walking away from the table.
–
Marie sat down in Petal, looking at the Wheel of Power slowly rotating in its closed form. The advice she got from Ronnie was technically valid, but she wasn't sure if she even wanted revenge. She could have won that realm, she just didn't. She had the skill, it just wasn't enough.
"The winners write the books…" she said quietly to herself. If the sabotage was a one time thing, she would forgive it, but if it became a constant, she would not be left behind.
An alarm blared and the lights turned red, breaking Marie out of her thoughts. A new realm was opening. The Wheel of Power broke apart and began to spin quickly around itself.
She grabbed her visor and put it over her eyes as the inner ring slammed into place. The symbol that lit up looked like an H. The left side was slanted like a back slash, and the right side was curved to the left, and the top and bottom were large and round.
The alarm changed pitch as Marie started Petal. She slowly drove up to the slingshot, locking in while staring at the Wheel. The second ring slammed into place, changing the alarm's pitch again.
Marie could hear the other slingshots locking into place as the others prepared for the realm. The outer ring spun around again, before finally locking into place. With a flash of light, the realm opened, and the slingshots flung the drivers into the new realm.
–
On a platform of tan bricks, under a mint green sky, held up by sturdy pillars, above grass that was too dry and between large trees with deep green leaves, a light blue rift tore open, launching the seven drivers onto the straight brick track. The arrows were smaller, and colored bright orange, while the lights on the edge of the track were tea green. On the grass below lay mossy tan stone pillars and small clusters of gray rocks. In the distance above the tree line, they could see massive stone pillars far away.
"This seems peaceful." Aidan said.
"Peaceful my ass! It's a realm, it's gonna suck eventually." Ronnie quipped.
"The symbol on the Wheel meant 'Ruins', so hopefully that helps." Ethan said, his studying finally paying off.
Looking ahead, the wide brick track split in three. The center path ramped up toward a layered stone platform, covered by tan pillars. The left path split again. The far left path was broken, the segments of the track were disconnected and uneven. The right split of the left path led down to the bottom left side of the temple. The initial right path also split twice. The left option ran directly toward the middle of the stone platform, while the right option led to a connected room on the far right side of the temple.
The drivers silently made their choices. Connor and Ethan took the left split, with Ethan then taking the right path and Connor taking the far left. Aidan, Will, and Luke took the right split. Luke took the left option, leading him down while Aidan and Will sped toward the side room, Will's chains sparking against the stone track. Ronnie and Marie stuck with the center path.
Connor reached up to his Accelechargers, taking the Cerulean Junk realm Accelecharger and placing it into the port. From what he could tell, the Accelecharger should let him cross the rubble. His car accepted the cartridge with a soft beep, before his car began glowing Cerulean, the Accelecharger inside humming with energy. As he reached the broken track segments, Cerulean energy appeared beneath his tires, elevating him above the debris and gently depositing him on the other side. Seeing that the path ahead was clear, Connor removed the Accelecharger, its bright glow condensing back into the cartridge, and placed it back next to the Swamp realm Accelecharger.
–
As Luke followed his path, he entered the tan stone platform and entered it. The walls around him were covered by the realm symbols, all glowing lime green. He couldn't read them, but he was sure Ethan would have a field day in here. As he passed through the tall acute arches, a metal glint caught his eye.
A chrome and orange Hyperpod sat at the end of the tunnel with a solid brick wall in front of it. The back ramp was down letting him drive onto it. As he locked in, he looked down and saw a pair of sharp orange drills on the front, both pointed for the wall. Feeling a smirk on his face, he accelerated, causing the drills to spin rapidly, cutting away at the stone walls. Chunks of bricks rained down around him. He'd get through it eventually.
–
Ethan continued driving down his path as it curved down to the left side of the temple. There was a large lake there, and while Connors track was suspended above it, his track went into it. As he got closer, he saw that the track that was supposed to be in the water had eroded. He put his foot on the brake, stopping at the edge of the water.
'What can I do? We could only run on water in the water realm due to the density of the water at that depth. What can… Wait, Water?' Ethan thought. Looking up, he saw the cyan glow of his singular Accelecharger. 'Of course, Water!' He thought. He reached up and grabbed the cartridge, inserting it into the port. His red truck began glowing cyan and he tentatively accelerated. He didn't feel like he was sinking or slowing down, so he accelerated. Looking out his window, he was literally driving on water like it was asphalt. His face broke into a dopey smile.
'This is so cool!' Ethan thought as he drove directly across the water to the track on the other side. A few seconds after he was sure he was firmly on the track, he removed the Accelecharger and placed it back in its holder. As the track ascended he only thought one thing: 'I wish more realms had water!'
–
Marie and Ronnie sped up the sloped track, under a large crumbling arch and onto a massive flat surface covered by short pillars of tan stone. Most of them were missing chunks and a few had already fallen down.
"Try to avoid the pillars. If we knock over just one of them it could cause them to domino." Marie said.
"I could do that, or I COULD just drive straight through! My car isn't made of tungsten for nothing ya know." Ronnie suggested.
"Ronnie." Marie stated. Ronnie could feel her Piercing Glare through the radio, sending shivers down his spine.
"Fine, I won't. Lead the way then, Ms. Know-it-all." Ronnie replied sarcastically, faking a fancy accent.
"Good to see we understand each other." Marie said in a sickeningly sweet tone. She turned right, avoiding a fallen pillar and driving straight through a cluster of shorter pillars. Ronnie followed behind, close enough to keep pace but not close enough to be blindsided by an abrupt change.
–
Luke broke through the last of the bricks, emerging into the light and onto a track. Pulling to the side, he disembarked from the Hyperpod and took off.
–
Aidan and Will had entered the side room, and were immediately enveloped by darkness and a thin fog. Will had his floodlights attached to his vehicle bed but even the blinding lights couldn't pierce the darkness. They could only see the track, but Aidan wasn't feeling any obstacles. At least, no lethal obstacles. Both drivers instinctively tensed up as they felt a shift in the air, and the fog receded while the blackness of the room was replaced by purple clouds. The track beneath them changed into a traditional realm track, but it was purple as well. Aidan heard thunder rumble in the distance and immediately grabbed his Storm Accelecharger. He wasn't taking any chances.
"The storm realm? But how?" Will asked.
"Probably something to do with history or something. A ruined temple would hold history." Aidan replied, watching for any sign of lightning.
"Out of nowhere question real quick, but should we regulate the realms more? I don't think we should but with what happened in the last realm…" Will trailed off.
"Yes, we should regulate the realms! This is meant to be a competition to see who is the best, not who can sabotage most effectively!" Aidan practically shouted.
"Calm Aidan, focus on the track." Kana warned.
"Sorry, but if we don't regulate then who's to say it won't just get worse with time." Aidan said, calming down.
"You may be right. However, I have had thoughts of weaponization on more than one occasion. It's somewhat worrying, and I also think that placing our own regulations in place would futz with the Accelerons goal of finding the greatest driver. Our rules could conflict with the intended challenge." Will explained.
"If the racing combat is a part of the challenge then this is borderline insane." Aidan replied.
"You think I don't know that? There's a reason I programmed the EDR to work the way it does. The realms may be deadly but sabotage, weaponry, and now Accelechargers are arguably even more dangerous to us. That's why I eject the driver at a moment's notice. It's to save us not just from the realms, but from each other." Will explained.
"If we are going to weaponize, the best thing we can do is regulate it. Set up a system when we're back. If it doesn't get used then great, but better to plan for it than not have it. Storm vertical loop drop ahead. Can your chains handle it?" Aidan said.
"My chains can handle the latter, and I'll do the former when I can." Will expressed. The two drove up the steep steady incline, eventually falling into the vertical drop. Looking ahead, Aidan saw a huge ball of electricity. 'Is that the helix section?' He thought as he put his Accelecharger back in its holder.
As the track leveled out, they saw that the track ended just as it hit the electricity. Seeing no other option, the two drove into the ball, before being surrounded by white.
–
Ethan's track ramped up, leveling out with and connecting back to Connor's. As the two drove next to each other, something came into view above the tree line.
A large stone platform, bigger than the one they had passed earlier, and their track ramped up to it.
"Maybe it's the distance, but those are some creepy statues." Connor said.
"It's not the distance, they are just creepy." Ethan replied.
Atop the platform stood three towering humanoid statues. Each had two arms and legs, but their hands only had three fingers. On their chest was the realm symbol. They would have appeared human if their heads weren't crown-like and had various faces on each of their four sides. The first was like a crocodile, the second looked like an angry tiki mask. The third looked like a neutral human face with squinted eyes, and the fourth was an angry smile, looking somewhat satisfied with squinted eyes.
As the duo drove onto the platform however, something changed. The faces of the statues swiveled. Each now displayed a different face and they began to move. Due to their size, they were slow, but their movement was enough to instantly throw off Ethan and Connor.
"Holy shit!" Ethan yelled as he spun his wheel, causing his truck to flip and roll toward one of the statues, which took the opportunity to kick the vehicle. As the red truck flew into the distance, the EDR activated, ejecting Ethan from the realm with minimal injuries.
Connor quickly swerved around the giants, spotting a track on the right side of the square platform. Seeing that nothing was in his way, he pressed his Nitrox button, sending him across the platform faster than the golems could move, and leaving flames in his wake.
–
Marie and Ronnie drove up toward the massive platform. The outside walls had various realm symbols on them. The top of the platform was a maze of pillars and partially destroyed walls. Ronnie opted to follow Marie instead of splitting up.
They drove straight, then left and caught a glimpse of the center of the platform, where a large stone golem stood.
"If I know the realms, that thing is totally alive, isn't it?" Ronnie said.
"I wouldn't put it out of the question." Marie replied, taking another left. Turning right twice, Marie was surprised to see Luke pulling onto the platform.
"Hey." Luke said.
"Hi." Ronnie replied.
"Hi. Any idea where the exit is?" Marie asked.
"Just got here, but I bet it has to do with the big stony bastard over there." Luke theorized. Marie nodded.
"Right then, let's go!" Ronnie exclaimed.
The newfound trio stuck next to each other, avoiding paths that were blocked by fallen pillars and trying to reach the center. Straight, left, right, left, left, and they found an opening. As they drove into the center though, the golem woke up and stomped toward them, each step shaking the stone platform.
"What the hell!" Ronnie cried, quickly turning out of the way.
"The exit is on the right! Avoid the golem!" Marie said.
"Yea no shit!" Luke said. As Luke tried to turn from the golem its foot came down on his car, activating the EDR and flattening his car into the stone beneath it.
Marie and Ronnie raced under a destroyed wall and got onto a track, speeding away from the platform.
–
As the white light faded, Aidan saw that they were falling. This wasn't new, they fell in the Storm realm too, but there was no visible track beneath them. There was just copious amounts of snow and sharp spikes of ice. He was to the right of Will, who was falling next to him.
He felt a premonition. Quickly, he activated his jump jets on full thrust, pushing his car forward and narrowly avoiding an ice spike.
The duo landed in the snow. It was deep. So deep that neither could get traction. Thankfully, both came up with solutions. Aidan activated his jump jets again, but on a lower setting, allowing him to fly over the powdery snow, like when he flew over the sand at the start of the third leg.
Will, on the other hand, could not fly. So he reached up and grabbed the Cyan-white Accelecharger from its holder, and placed it into the port. Immediately, the Ice Accelecharger activated, covering his car in a Cyan-white glow and granting him perfect traction to drive through the powdered snow with ease.
Driving forward, the duo were greeted by a rocky cave with a floor of thin snow. Will turned his floodlights back on, filling the cave with light. Seeing no other path, the two drove through the freezing cave.
The cave was strangely empty. With the way it was shaped it looked like something was made to be kept here, but either it hadn't been put here yet or it had been removed.
"Detecting two things. An energy signature similar to the one that brought you here ahead, but there are some electronics on the ground." Kana said.
Aidan knew it would be freezing, but stopped Mirror. Getting out, he saw a black metal arm, with green accents and lime wires running through it.
"Strange." Aidan said. He picked up the arm and entered his car, thankful for the warmth. Putting the arm in the passenger seat, he sped up to catch up to Will.
"Hey. Found something for you to look at back at base." Aidan said.
"Are you going to tell me or do I have to wait?" Will asked.
"It's a robotic arm." Aidan replied.
"Cool. I'll look at it." Will responded. The two drivers came up on another white glow.
"Ready?" Aidan asked.
"Enough." Will replied. The two drove forward again, into the light.
–
Connor had been driving on a slightly turning track surrounded by forest for what felt like twenty minutes. He was so bored. He couldn't let his guard down though. He knew the realm could pick back up at any time. So he kept going, using another shot of Nitrox every five minutes so it felt like he was going somewhere. He was down to his last use of it and he was going to hold onto it for emergencies.
Driving past another set of trees, the right side of the track opened up, and he saw another track. Just ahead of him, he saw Marie and Ronnie. He also spotted another track beyond that, but it was obscured by trees.
'If the tracks are joining, the end must be near! I gotta catch up!' Connor thought to himself. Putting his foot down, he sped to try and catch up to the duo ahead of him.
–
As the White light faded, Aidan and Will were back in the forest of the Ruins realm. As they sped along through the forest, their left side cleared, letting them see two other tracks joining. Ahead of them, Marie looked to be leading the pack, with Ronnie behind her and Connor gaining on them.
"We don't wanna miss out on the fun, right Will?" Aidan asked.
"Of course not. Let's go!" Will shouted. They both pressed their Nitrox buttons, speeding down the track and leaving blue and orange flames behind them. Aidan's Nitrox 3 made him faster, but Will made up the difference with capacity.
–
Marie looked in her rear view mirror. Connor was gaining on them, and Aidan and Will just joined the party. She was not going to lose. Not again.
"Ronnie, let's speed things up." Marie said.
"Nitrox?" Ronnie asked.
"Nitrox." Marie confirmed.
They both pressed their buttons. The rubber from their tires created orange flames from the speed. Marie looked ahead. The forest thinned out and ahead of them was a straight rectangular platform with pillars on it. A few had toppled over, obscuring the view, but she could barely see the realm portal at the end.
As she and Ronnie sped toward a thin pillars, Marie activated her Cliffside Accelecharger, her car glowing Orange. With her new maneuverability, these pillars were nothing, but first she had to lose her tail.
"Hey Ronnie!" She said.
"Yea?" He replied.
"Think fast!" She quickly turned to the left, going barely around the pillar and driving at full speed toward the portal.
Ronnie swerved to the left, avoiding crashing but bumping into the pillar and knocking it into the other pillars, creating a domino effect behind him. Both Marie and Ronnie used their Nitrox simultaneously again, and reached the portal.
Behind them, Connor reached the platform and was forced to stop. Banging his fist on his steering wheel, he wished he had jump jets like Aidan.
The realm symbol was emblazoned on the front of the portal, and was Turquoise in color. As Marie passed through the portal, followed shortly by Ronnie, the symbol vanished and a wave of energy swept the realm.
The stone golems stopped moving, returning to their dormant state, and the realm symbols across the realm stopped glowing. The fallen pillars across the realm were lifted into the air and gently placed back where they previously stood, making the ruined realm just a bit cleaner. Connor, Will, and Aidan drove to the portal, leaving the realm.
–
Marie flew out of the Wheel and into her bay, coming to a stop. She had won, just like she wanted. Even if she almost made Ronnie crash, winners wrote the books. It was a necessary sacrifice.
A Turquoise glow erupted from her car as the new Accelecharger appeared before her. With the realm symbol on the front and the word 'Ruins' on the bottom.
She grabbed the Accelecharger and she heard the other drivers leave the realm. Getting out of her car, she looked up at the Wheel. As the portal closed and the rings spun back to their closed state, she knew she belonged. Marie was happy.
–
Aidan's Music Playlist:
This chapter's music choice is: The Fizzith from Hi-Fi Rush. Enjoy!
–
W.C.F. Lore:
Ronnie way be a foul-mouthed con-man, but he does still care. He just may not have the best advice for others.
–
Will's Accelecharger Study:
"So what is the Ruins effect?"
" Put simply, the Ruins Accelecharger makes the car intangible to everything except for the track. Effectively you can phase through almost any obstacle. despite this, the vehicle is still effected by other factors, like temperature or other vehicles."
"I can't go through other cars? Shoot. What did you name it?"
"I named it 'Phantom Form'"
"I like it. Thanks for the help!"
–
I'm very happy with how this came out. Classes started again and my writing class really helped me get this one down. Big thanks to the people who read the story, just seeing that there are people reading this stuff almost every day is awesome. I promise to do the next chapter before the year is over. Have a good day, and I'll see you in the next chapter!
Next chapter: Realms: Orbit