Faster Than Angels | Part 37.5
The referenced album title of Part 37.4 was St. Anger by Metallica... you know, Saint, Holiness, Angel... oh, whatever. Sorry.
[s2_29.5: Part 37.5] An Identity Revealed
<22121108>
Sunday, November 8th, 2212
Omega Harbour, Perth, Australia.
"Hah, looks like it was me that gave you a taste of your own medicine. You need to relax, you're being too violent."
"No! I will never relax! You have not once considered my feelings, and now I've had enough of everything! Do you hear me, Gareth Ardos? I. WILL. DESTROY. YOU."
<blknanct | calla soiled_>
"Missiles"
"How is that giving me a taste of my own medicine?! Never have I ever used weapons on you, so why?"
"...[sigh], I'm hurting psychologically, so I'm going to physically hurt you back."
"Kyoko... Why? Why don't we just talk about it, instead of having this stupid, ugly display of violence, this fight to the death... it won't solve any problems."
"It's the only way I can be calm, I just need to do this... I have so much... rage... built up inside me. I just... have to do this... to be free."
"Free? You already are, right?"
"Of course I'm not!"
"Yes you are! You can just take off the mask, the helmet... just be yourself!"
"I can't!"
"Then why... why do you need to be freed?"
"Because... because... I... I just can't free myself."
"How come? Tell me, please! I'm trying to help you."
"You can't help me."
"Again, why not?"
"I-I..."
"Just tell me why you can't free yourself."
"Because... I... I... I PROMISED BRANDON! I PROMISED HIM I'D HIDE MYSELF TO PROTECT US!... F*CK!"
"Brandon?"
"Plasma"
BOOM.
A large purple sphere of energy shot from the tailing craft, which missed Gareth's by mere centimetres.
"WHAT?! How did you avoid that?!"
"I'm in an Angelus Xygen V, it's only natural I can avoid that. If you can maneuver that craft like some kind of angel, then so can I."
"You... YOU! D-Die... DIE! JUST F*CKING DIE!" Kyoko screamed.
"Brandon, I know you're listening. A question: What the hell?!" Gareth asked, he had to know, for his sake, and the broken Kyoko. Brandon hesitated for a moment, before answering him.
"I'll explain when the race is over."
"It nearly is over, this is the last lap!"
<final lap_>
The final lap was as violent as ever, Kyoko trying everything in her power to eliminate Gareth. However, it had proved futile.
"Not even an Angelus can hit an Angelus... fine then."
At that point, she ran over a weapon pickup.
"HAH! I didn't want the race to boil down to pure luck, but I'll take what I can. Goodbye, Gareth! This is it, the final win by Kyoko Fujisaki! Ugh, I feel like sh*t just saying that name, I just want this to end."
"Turbo."
<race complete_>
<first place_>
Kyoko and Gareth passed the finish line. The difference was so close, however that the two pilots had no idea who came first, just that it was a 1-2 win for Angelus. As the other pilots passed the line, Gareth got out, and rushed over to Kyoko, who was out of her craft. She turned to leave without a word, but Brandon appeared in her line of escape.
"Goddamnit! Why can't you LEAVE ME ALONE?!" She yelled, turning around and facing Gareth.
"I'm concerned about you, we all are. That performance was... well, it wasn't like you."
"No sh*t, I just had to end it all, by any means necessary. Your feelings, my despair, EVERYTHING!"
"Kyoko-"
At the mere mention of that name, she screamed, a scream that was louder and more despair filled than any sound she had made in her life.
"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH! SHUT UP! SHUT! THE F*CK! UP! I've had to live with that f*cking name for almost 3 whole years! I told you... I told you I have had enough! Just... just call me by my REAL F*CKING NAME!"
Ky... The girl standing before them opened up her helmet and tore it off her head in one fell swoop, hurling it to the ground so hard that it bounced. Her face was just as emotional as one would expect. Anger, sadness, frustration and many more were mixed into one ugly shade of despair.
"My name... is Tarah Andrews. Got that? TARAH HAYLEY ANDREWS!"
Faster Than Angels | Part 37.6
The referenced album title of Part 37.5 was 004 Identity by Monstercat.
[s2_29.6: Part 37.6] End of a Pilot's Reign
<22121108>
Sunday, November 8th, 2212
Omega Harbour, Perth, Australia.
The girl standing before them opened up her helmet, the lights surrounding it flickering off, and tore it off her head in one fell swoop, hurling it to the ground so hard that it bounced. Her face was just as emotional as one would expect. Anger, sadness, frustration and many more were mixed into one ugly shade of despair.
"My name... is Tarah Andrews. Got that? TARAH HAYLEY ANDREWS!"
"T-Tarah?!"
"Finally! You finally speak my real name!"
"Tarah, what the hell? I know you, you wouldn't take the violence that far!"
"Oh, would I? Well, I quite obviously did! Look at you, trying to follow in my footsteps. How... pitiful."
"T-Tarah... what... what the hell? Are you feeling alright?"
"I feel fine! So... completely...... f-fine......"
Gareth shook his head. "Dammit, Tarah, SNAP OUT OF IT! This is not like you!"
His yelling caused her to blink, seemingly snapping out of whatever trance she was in.
"...I-I... I..."
She looked down, and sighed, looking back up.
"I know it's not, but... I don't know, I think I'm broken. Heh... no. I'm definitely broken. I just have these... these extremely violent tendencies... I just... All I can think about is violence, destruction, hurt, kill! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHH.... WHY?! H... HELP ME!"
Filled with rage and hatred for herself, wanting it to all end, she stepped backwards, before breaking out into a sprint... right into Brandon, who wrapped his arms around her, in a soft, warm embrace. It helped though, instead of yelling and raging, she started to break down and cry, her knees giving out and buckling.
"Help me... please. Just make it stop." She pleaded softly.
"It's fine, I anticipated this. Remember the AG pod? I had it built in case of an emergency. Anyway, even though the damage is done already, we need to get back now, to prevent further damage. Come, let's go."
"M'kay." She mumbled, tears in her eyes, as Brandon headed to the car park, still holding Tarah in his arms.
When they got in the car, Brandon set off, priming the Razer.X's Fury mode while they were moving. Once he had it warming up, he planted his foot down, the car accelerating at a decent rate. When he was out of the car park itself and on the piece of road leading out of the course, he finally activated Fury mode, adding 263hp to the car's power output. An addition to the mode was that the azure body light strips would light up no matter what.
As Brandon raced between the traffic, Tarah curled herself up in a ball, muttering "I'm sorry" and "Save me" over and over again. Then, in an even softer, sadder voice...
"K-Kill me."
Brandon had noticed, and placed a hand on her head, speaking softly. "Hey. It'll be alright. Why do you think I'm going so fast? I'm helping you."
A soft whimper came from the direction of Tarah as a response.
The climb up the many levels of the multi-story car park of Angelus' HQ seemed to take forever, but eventually, Brandon reached the highest level. He slid to a halt at one of the spaces and got out, rushing to the other end and helping her out of the car. They ran all the way to the R&D area of the building, after a quick stop over to the kitchen. One section of the R&D area was blocked off by a security door. Brandon entered the passcode as quickly as possible, his fingers a blur as he quickly punched out the keys. When they entered, there was only one object in the smaller room. At the far end was a large device with a thick glass door at the front. Brandon entered another passcode at the glass door, which opened the instant he pushed the enter button.
"The AG Stasis Pod. Like the name suggests, this keeps you suspended in an AG stasis field, while it pumps purified air into the chamber."
"Purified air?"
"Ah, that's right... you don't know of it. Here, take this."
Tarah took the object in Brandon's hand, a cold drink can "Wait, this is..."
"Your favourite. Please, drink up, it'll take a while to explain." Brandon started, explaining The Condition to her, while she cracked open the can and drank from it.
"I... have that?!"
"Yeah, that's where the purified air comes in. With it, you won't be inhaling the toxin."
"So how long do I have to be in there until I'm cured?"
"The Condition is airborne, if you exit the pod, you'll just get the symptoms all over again. We are working on an actual cure, but it requires reverse engineering the chemical. We could have used purifiers, but the cost to effectiveness would have not been financially viable."
"Okay, I understand now..." She replied as she gave the now empty can to Brandon and stepped inside the machine. She looked at him, and said softly, "I'm sorry, I don't think I deserve to see your face until I'm cured. Really, I'm so sorry." Tears began to well up in her eyes.
"It's fine..." Brandon reassured her, "I'm... sorry too."
He closed the door and started the machine. The last thing Tarah saw before the stasis field took effect was Brandon's face, which seemed sad, and was quite teary as well. He turned around and silently walked away, locking the main door behind him.
"Are you okay?" A guard asked him.
"Huh? Oh." Brandon was confused for a moment, but then realised why he was asked that and wiped his eyes. "Yeah, I'm fine. Oh, right. I need to use the conference room for a bit, then I'm done here for the night."
"Sure thing."
In the conference room, he called the rest of the team, still at Omega Harbour.
"Hey team. Those who are with clean-up, you know what to do, pack up and send everything back to HQ. For the rest of you, you're free to leave for the night. Go home, you all deserve a good rest."
"What about Tarah? How is she?"
"Tarah..." His voice caught in his throat, "No, I'll explain tomorrow, I just want this day to be over."
"Wait, wh-"
Brandon cut the connection before anyone could ask any more questions. Not that that stopped anyone. As he was walking to his car in the carpark, he got a call. He looked at the ID and saw it was...
"Damnit, Gareth, I said I'd explain tomorrow!"
"I know, just... Kyo-Tarah left some stuff here."
"What stuff?"
"Like, her bag and some other belongings. What should I do with them?"
Brandon thought for a moment, before answering, "I'm on my way home now, meet me there. Bring her stuff."
"Alright."
Faster Than Angels | Part 37.7
The referenced album title of Part 37.6 was End of an Empire by Celldweller.
[s2_29.7: Part 37.7] The Aftermath
<22121108>
Sunday, November 8th, 2212
Brandon's house, Perth, Australia.
22:05:48
As Brandon crawled up the driveway, he saw the deep blue M-Type sitting outside his house. Standing between Brandon's car and the garage was Gareth, who moved to the side when he saw him.
"Brandon," He started.
"Let me get inside first." Brandon cut him off, pressing forth, the black car crawling into the garage.
Brandon's garage, while looking like it could only hold one car on the outside, housed an elevator that went underground to his true garage, which held many cars he had owned over the years. He parked his current car, and got out, taking a second, smaller elevator up to his house. From there, he went to the front door and opened it.
"Okay, now for Tarah's stuff." He said.
"Sure." Gareth said reluctantly, going to his car and taking out her belongings, giving them to Brandon.
"Thanks."
"Please... just answer me one question!"
"Is it about Tarah?"
"Yes."
"Then no. I'll explain tomorrow. Thanks for her things." He replied, closing the door.
"Ow!" Gareth exclaimed, as the door slammed into his foot he had placed between the door so it wouldn't close.
"Wh-..." He started, before looking down and seeing his foot in the way. "That was your own fault."
"Just answer me! Is... Is she dead?!"
"Why would she be dead? She's very much alive. That's all I'm saying. Everything will be explained tomorrow. She is safe, trust me."
"[sigh], fine. I'll see you tomorrow then."
A look of sadness briefly appeared on Brandon's face as he closed the door, completely done with the day.
------------
<22121109>
Monday, November 9th, 2212
Angelus R&D HQ, Perth, Australia.
08:30:00
Brandon started the day by keeping his promise, and began revealing the truth of the cause of the prior day's events.
"I told you that I would explain what happened during the events of the recent Omega Harbour race... so here it is. Kyoko Fujisaki was, in actuality, our beloved pilot Tarah Andrews. I had made her adopt the pseudonym to protect her, since by announcing our new relationship, I had inadvertently made her a target to get at me. The Christmas '10 incident was proof of that.
"However, little did I know that there was something in the air. Literally. In the air right now, there is a chemical that was released 3 years ago. The chemical was originally an active ingredient to a drug used by Tigron to make their pilots more violent. Don't worry, not all of you are susceptible... however, there are some people who are, Tarah included.
"This explains her performance in the last race, she was under the effects of the chemical, which we call The Condition. After the race ended, I immediately took her to... a certain location. I had the AG pod moved there and placed her inside it. I feel I can reveal the details of the pod's workings.
"The Anti-Gravity Stasis Pod places the user in an AG stasis field, while it continually pumps filtered air through the chamber. It is by no means a cure for The Condition, there's something massive in the works for that, but it does help remove the chemical from the affected person's system naturally, which in turn removes the symptoms.
"This means that until the cure is developed and deployed, Tarah will not be participating in any AG league, be it the F12000 or any league after. I've been thinking and discussing our options, and we can do one of two things. We can either drop the second pilot and have Gareth be our one and only pilot, or we ask around. In any case, we will have a final roster for the final 2212 race and onward."
After the meeting Brandon asked around for a pilot. The responses ranged from "Getting me ready in 2 weeks time is just impossible" to a flat out "No.", to...
"H-huh? No... that's not happening. I'm not racing. I told you already, I'm only wanting to help behind the scenes, I'd rather not fly for you, even under a pseudonym." Alex replied in response to Brandon's request. "Besides, everyone knows of the whole Tarah being in a disguise thing, they wouldn't buy it if I did it."
It seemed that there was just no-one willing to race, and naturally so. Knowing that, Brandon moved on, finding who was now the only pilot of Angelus, sitting at the lounge.
"Gareth, a word, if you don't mind?" He asked, getting the other man's attention, who looked up and nodded.
"Sure, what's up?"
Brandon sat near him, and began what he wanted to speak with him about. "Now, I've always known you were a good pilot, but not as good as Tarah with actual races, or so I thought. I just reviewed your race at Omega Harbour, and... I don't know how to say this... ah... it was nothing short of perfect!"
"It... really? Well, thanks."
"Could you do it again? For every race?"
Gareth blinked, looking quite shocked. Nervously, he looked around, then sighed and looked at his feet. "I... don't know. I've always raced in styles I found fun. In that race, I had a target, a purpose... and chasing Ky-Tarah down was the most fun I ever had. I was determined to win, to beat her, and with her gone, I'm not sure I can do it again."
"See, you're wrong." Brandon shook his head. "You just proved it yourself. You need the determination to win, the feeling, the confidence that you can win. It's why you are the best here at Zone runs. You are confident that you can win at them, thus, you do. If you put that confidence in racing, you can win. You have the potential to be as good as Tarah."
That pep-talk raised his spirits, he looked much happier now. "Okay... I'll do it!"
Brandon smiled too, nodding slightly. "Good. Now, Tarah left one last high score on the simulator... I want you, as a test, as training, to beat that record. You can do it... you will do it."
And his spirits left him once more. He knew of the high score, a previously unattainable target for him. But Brandon having faith in him did bring his confidence up. "I... err... I'll try."
"No. You will. Confidence is key, Gareth. If you say you can do it, and you legitimately feel it, in your heart, in your whole being... then, it will happen."
Clenching his fist, Gareth started psyching himself up, taking Brandon's confidence in him and making it his own. He had the talent, Brandon could see the talent in him, it was up to him to bring it out of himself. Suddenly, he shot up out of his seat.
"Right... I will beat her record!"
"That's the spirit." Brandon said, standing up too.
Seeing him stand up, Gareth started walking out of the room. Brandon ran after him, following him to the simulator room. He set it up for the remaining pilot, who was raring to go.
"Alright, let's do this!"
------------
"...I lost, damn it!"
That was the case, Gareth did, indeed lose to Tarah's final record. However...
"Now, you see?" Brandon commented, "I didn't say you'd get it first try... but look! You've beaten your own record by a gargantuan amount! You should not let this loss get you down. Keep practising, keep your confidence and you will definitely get there."
That was an undeniable fact, he had done far better than he did before, and because of that, he smiled happily. "Thanks, mate. Thank you so much. I still believe I can do this."
"Excellent! Shall we go again?"
>>logs[22100311|22120131](2) are now available for public viewing
>>logs downloading...
>>estimated download time: 6 hours
>>download: complete_
Faster Than Angels | Part 38
The referenced album title of Part 37.7 was 012 Aftermath by Monstercat.
[s2_30.0: Part 38.0] Brace for the End
<22121118>
Wednesday, November 18th, 2212
Location Unknown.
"This is it, our final meeting before the plan is undertaken." CO-02 opened with, beginning the final meeting between the Crinale Originals and Alex. Lucia would have attended, but was busy pretending to practice for the final race of 2212.
"So, we've had a recent development. According to one source of ours, Syncline are attempting to take the team from the inside."
"We have done some negotiations with them," CO-04 spoke up. "And they have agreed upon our plan."
"That explains it," Alex replied, in realisation. "I, too, have been in contact with that group. They contacted me recently, questioning me about the credibility and trustworthiness of you all. Naturally, I told them the truth. We've all matured, become wiser. 2210 was a major tipping point in Crinale, not just because of the change in leadership, but because we've realised our true goals. I told Syncline that the CO's and my new goals are to still provide entertainment, but through a rivalry with Angelus, nothing further. I still stand by the fact that I don't particularly prefer their ideals of a high handling, low shield craft, but I can now agree that a new F9000 is not what this sport needs. The F12000 will definitely fall soon, but first things first, my team needs to be back in my hands."
"Exactly." CO-02 agreed with her, "We could not agree more. Now, back on topic. Syncline have also decided to aid us in taking Crinale back."
"As does Angelus. Brandon will be accompanying us."
"That is fine. We need to fight against the greater evil."
"True. Now, about OE-0."
"We know where our target is being held up." CO-09 replied, hearing the codename for their target. "Or more, where they will be. I am sure you are aware of a construct called Преисподняя?"
"Tch, right, that Russian fortress that's been said to be impenetrable." Alex said
"Viktor is still the Tsar of Russia, that is the one place he would think he would be safe. However, thanks to some data we've obtained, we now know that to not be the case."
"Ah, that data I got from Brandon?"
"Yes. The one showing weaknesses in the fortress' security systems."
"I'm curious," CO-13 asked. "How did he obtain that data?"
Alex shrugged. "I asked him, but he wouldn't tell me. Something only he knows about, apparently."
"We can pursue that later on, after this is over." CO-02 cut in, trying to bring them back on topic. "Now, we've spoken to Lucia, and she knows what to do. Oh, there is one small thing though, Alex."
"Go on."
"She was almost ready to give up on Crinale and quit the team."
"That's quite problematic, I was hoping she'd stay. She has an amazing talent that I've never seen anywhere else."
"I was thinking you'd say that. We have convinced her to stay long enough to hear you out, once this whole thing's over."
"I can only hope she'll stay. It will be a very different team to the one she knows. What about the other one, Leon?"
"Leon races because he enjoys it, there is no doubt that he would stay because of that, no matter what happens."
"Perfect. I cannot deny that he has talent too, guess he takes after Naomi."
"So, the people going to the rendezvous are all 10 of us, Alex, Lucia and Brandon?" CO-06 asked.
"Yes." CO-02 replied. "We do not need irrelevant people getting caught up in this, on the off-chance this all goes horribly wrong. Brandon can hold his own, and Lucia's too far into this to back out now, not that we can stop her now, anyway."
"Heh, that's true." CO-11 joked.
"In addition, Syncline have helped us in preparing Lucia for combat."
"I thought she was against it?" CO-03 queried.
"Only on the track, when it is unnecessary." CO-06 answered them.
"Alright," CO-02 concluded, realising they had come to a natural ending point for their conference. "Late tomorrow, we all meet up at Point 12-D3. From then on, we go about our day. On race day, we meet up at Point A-12 and move on from there, Brandon will meet up at Point 0 after the race starts. That is all."
"Everyone should now begin preparations for the plan." CO-13 added. "I shouldn't have to say that this is something that should not be taken lightly."
"Indeed. Ending transmission."
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.1
The referenced album title of Part 38 was Brace by Birds of Tokyo. In addition, it's also a reference to a lyric in the chorus of the title track.
[s2_31.1: Part 39.1] Arrival of the Hunting Party
<22121119>
Thursday, November 19th, 2212
Unknown Location [Point 12-D3], Russia.
19:25:04
The sound of a helicopter filled the dark, windy night sky of Moscow. Atop a certain skyscraper was a heliport, the destination of the helicopter's passenger. The location was referred to the current occupants as Point 12-D3, a minor meeting point for those related to a certain plan to be carried out. Eleven individuals stood on that roof, their hair and clothes moving in the wind. All eleven of them looked up upon hearing the sound of the aircraft arriving, which was difficult to see in the overcast weather.
"She's here." One of the ten suited individuals spoke, to the remaining person, who was wearing a leather jacket to keep warm in the cold weather.
As the girl nodded, the helicopter came into view, coming in to land on the heliport. The door opened, one person getting out. She was a woman, of taller than average height, with dark, shoulder-length hair. She was wearing, all in black, a turtleneck crop-top, pants and a rather long coat. The coat was unzipped, had the collar flipped up to shield her neck from the wind, and was flapping in both the natural wind, and the flow of air created by the helicopter's rotors.
Sliding her hands in her coat's pockets, the woman started walking towards the group of people, as the helicopter took off, making its journey back, making the coat and even her hair move about in the wind. Her green eyes scanned the populated area, seeing the ten suited people she knew well and the one girl in the leather jacket, that she did not. Once she had gotten close enough, she held out her hand, and spoke to the girl.
"My name is Alexandra Kotova, founder and former Director of Crinale. I've heard a lot about you."
The girl looked down at the woman's hand, then back up at her face. "Lucia Scarlatti, I just want this over. I agreed to stay to hear you out, so let's hear it, why should I stay?"
Alex smiled, dropping her hand gracefully. "You said it yourself, you'd rather get this over with. Let's just focus on the plan, We can talk about that afterwards."
A few seconds of silent consideration later, Lucia sighed. "Fine, let's get out of here, then. It's cold as sh*t."
The woman couldn't help but chuckle. "Welcome to my homeland, Lucia. It's always cold here." She then turned to the rest of the people that were there to greet her. "It's good to see you all again."
CO-02 was the one to reply, but it was no surprise that they did speak for them all. "It's good to finally see you again, too, Alex. Frankly, we've missed you."
"Thank you, I've missed you all too. Anyway, let's go, we can talk on the way out."
Spinning around, the woman started walking to the entrance of the building, her coat swishing and flapping in the wind. The group of 11 started following her, making their way down and out of the tall building, starting to make their way to where they would be for most of that weekend.
As she looked ahead, Alex spoke to her former group members. "So what's the situation on OE-0?"
CO-02, again, was the one to respond. "Everything is normal. The plan is going smoothly."
"Perfect. This is the one time we have to do this. The sooner the better."
"However, it would not do well to have the one plan. We've devised a backup plan, should this one fail. However, it's a last resort, all of our attention will be focused upon this plan."
"Hopefully, we will not have any use for that backup plan, but you're right, it wouldn't be smart to have nothing to fall back on." Alex then looked to Lucia. "While I have heard much about you, one thing I have not heard is your reasoning for accepting to take part in this plan. If you don't mind, could you tell me?"
"This team is sh*t. They don't care about proper racing strategy, they just want pilots who would mindlessly destroy the competition, not winning through actual racing talent and strategy."
"Hmm..." Alex contemplated.
"That's not all though, they'd even go so far as to attack me for just planning out the perfect route around a circuit."
Lucia flipped her hair away from her face, pulling it behind her ear.
"You probably can't see it in the dark, but I've got a scar from when they did it. Cut my face open with... well, I don't even know what it was, they swiped at me so quickly. One minute I was threatening to walk out, the next I was on the floor, and in f*cking agony."
"And... exactly how far are you willing to go with this plan?"
The leather jacket-clad young woman stepped in front of the older woman, and stared up, directly into her eyes. "I will kill the bastard with my bare f*cking hands if I so damn well need to."
A few seconds had passed. The two women looked at each other wordlessly. Just as silently, the taller woman removed her hand from her coat pockets and placed it onto the shorter girl's shoulder.
"Well, then. You definitely seem to have the resolve. I just had to test that, sorry."
Lucia sighed. "Fine, do what you must. Just... don't kick me off this... 'plan', okay? I still want this done, I still want them dead."
"That would be counter-productive. I'm not going to kick you off. You've come this far, and the COs trust you enough."
They had travelled about half of the way back. At that point, Alex split off from the group.
"I'll meet up with Angelus, this is where we depart. Remember, no contact until the day of the race. You should all know what to do."
With that she turned and headed for another location, one planned beforehand by the team that was helping her.
------------
Vnukovo International Airport, Moscow, Russia
19:45:32
At that moment, that certain team had arrived at Vnukovo International Airport. The team leader had a plan set out, and upon landing, had put that plan into effect. He informed the team to send the craft, relevant personnel and other mechanical and technical things to the track's location, and the pilot, the rest of the personnel and their belongings to the hotel they had been provided with.
After taking his belongings and getting through customs, he set off, walking out of the airport and starting to look for a rented, but still relatively new Neko, the compact car from the team's motor car branch. He had got the car delivered to the airport in advance, and obtained the key after providing them with his credentials. At last, he had found it, a small, familiar car, in a red paintjob. Putting the two suitcases in the back, he got into the car and drove off.
The man drove, not to the track or the hotel his team had been provided with, but another location entirely. It was a square near a skyscraper with a heliport on top of it. That location was where he was to meet up with a woman, and take her back to the track with him.
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.2
The referenced album title of Part 39.1 was The Hunting Party by Linkin Park.
[s2_31.2: Part 39.2] Assembling The Resistance
<22121119>
Thursday, November 19th, 2212
Unknown Location, Russia.
20:13:01
Alex was waiting at the square she had planned to meet up at, which lay between a few buildings. The wait wasn't that long, when the sound of an inline-4 grabbed her attention. Looking around, she saw a red compact driving up to the square, parking by it. Having seen the car's design before, she walked up to the car and knocked on the window. The driver lowered it and looked out at her.
"Alex." Brandon greeted her. "Did everything go well?"
Knowing it was the person she was waiting for, Alex walked over to the passenger's side of the car, and got in. "I had no doubt that it would. The plan's still on."
Brandon's usual smile filled his face. "Fantastic."
"Oh, on a side note, did you bring my stuff?"
"Yeah, it's in the back. Ready to go?"
"Let's move."
A simple nod came as Brandon's response, as he started to drive to the final course in the F12000's 2212 roster: Vohl Square II, a course that was originally in the F9000, but was updated to match the F12000's rules and regulations. As such, the long course no longer had the open area, an enclosed track section filled the gap and closed it off. However, apart from that, the overall layout was largely the same as the old version, even using the old track portions, albeit upgraded from the old 2150's surfaces to use modern materials.
The two of them had arrived at the track, and met up with the rest of the Angelus employees, who were setting up for the final practice day.
"As a track, I cannot deny that it is solid at the very least. As an idea for the roster... no. This guy really wants a new F9000, more so than you did." Brandon commented.
"It's more so than you think, Brandon." Alex replied.
"?"
"It's not so much that he wants an F9000, more so that he has his new F9000. This is just the first season, so there's not that much in way of illegalities. For a comparison, the best example would be the debut season, the 2154 season."
"Hmm, you're right. That is why we must destroy this league before it gets to the truly horrible stuff."
"Definitely. But we must not bite off more than we can chew."
"If I didn't know that, I would be going straight for the league in the first place, not taking the time to meticulously go over the plan to get your team back."
"You have a point. Still, I appreciate your help."
"No problem."
He walked over to the technicians and mechanics working on setting up for the race, looking over their set-up and ensuring that everything was alright. Soon, though, it became late, so Brandon decided to leave for the night.
"There's nothing I need to stay here for. We're done for the night, you can continue any work that still needs to be done in the morning. See ya."
------------
<22121120>
Friday, November 20th, 2212
Vohl Square II, Moscow, Russia.
10:13:58
The next day, the final settings were made to the only craft Angelus brought, the one used by Gareth Ardos. Once it was complete, they decided to send him out, to get a feel for the course, and to make any fine adjustments to the craft's tuning. Due to the changes in the pilot line-up, when Gareth was called back for the first of his craft's fine-tuning, they decided to deviate from the norm.
"Alright, so before, we used to just tune the craft based on the data it sends back to us, but for this round, I'd like you to give us the feedback. What should we change and by how much?"
Gareth looked surprised. "Huh? Uh... I didn't know we were going to do it like that. But... perhaps, maybe..."
He made a note of how the craft handled, and gave suggestions on what they could do to prevent the negative parts, and how to improve the craft's overall speed through not only the corners, but the various complexes the course had. Such adjustments included how much the craft bounced on the track when moving over bumpy or hilly sections, the tilt angle when going through a corner and how fast it tilted, and the force the airbrake provided along with how long it took to completely deploy and retract.
The process to set the craft up to Gareth's liking took the whole day, going back and forth between going on the track and bringing it back for further fine-tuning, but it was ready for the qualifying round, and the race itself.
------------
<22121121>
Saturday, November 21th, 2212
Vohl Square II, Moscow, Russia.
14:09:35
For the qualifier, two different settings were used. One of those were the settings the team would have used had they used the data sent back, the other being Gareth's set-up. Both seemed to be fairly similar, but with the latter set-up, Gareth was able to post much faster lap times.
"...amazing. I never knew I had that in me!"
It was a very fast time indeed, but it wasn't fast enough to get pole position. However, Brandon spoke to him, giving him a sort of pep-talk.
"It is very fast... but I know this craft is capable of so much more. Keep going, I know you can do it. Push for pole."
"U-uh... okay. I'll t-... I'll do it."
"That's it." Brandon replied with a smile.
Gareth did push harder, and made full use of his own set-up. Unfortunately, he had slipped into his Zone mindset, and... zoned out. He had not realised until he heard people yelling into his communications system that he had actually set a league record 6 consecutive times.
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.3
The referenced album title of Part 39.2 was The Resistance by Muse.
[s2_31.3: Part 39.3] Fighting the Juggernaut: Alpha
<22121122>
Sunday, November 22th, 2212
Vohl Square II, Moscow, Russia.
09:49:23
More spectators were present at the racetrack than usual, as it was the final race of the year. All of the teams were busy preparing, making final fine-adjustments to almost everything they could. Angelus, while also working hard, didn't particularly need to change anything regarding the craft, as it had already been tuned to near-perfection with Gareth's help.
"Well, this is the final race of the season." Brandon spoke to his team, "Let's hope that everything becomes better after this. But let's just focus on this race. Once again, we're given reminders of the old F9000, this whole course is one of them, Vohl Square II. It will be tricky, but I have faith in my craft and my pilot. Now, unfortunately, I won't be able to oversee the race, I have some important business to attend to. However, like I said, I have no doubt that Gareth will be able to do a very good job. Alright, let's get ready to race."
Upon hearing the 5 minute warning, everyone split up. Gareth and some technicians headed to the craft, where the sole remaining pilot got in, and was assisted up to the start grid. Brandon and other engineers went up to the control room and the rest stayed where they were, working on making the race as smooth as it could go.
At long last, their 5 minutes were up, and the race began.
------------
09:50:00
At Crinale's pits, while the various team members were trying to get ready for the race, they could not find Lucia anywhere. She, as far as they were aware, had disappeared off the face of the earth. Not even her phone was working, as if it were turned off. Because of that, upon the 5 minute warning sounding, the F12000 officials had to bring the positions after her up, the 27th ranked racer being allowed to race.
What they didn't know was that she had met up with the COs, at what they had called Point A-12. They were on board a small rented bus, and were on their way to Point 0, where they would wait for Brandon to meet up with them, which would only happen a certain time after the race began.
3, 2, 1... GO!
<10:00:00_>
<vohl square ii: short fwd_>
<race: lap 01 of 88_>
01. ARD889.0.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r3)
02. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/00191)
<zero searcher | desimal_>
"Alright, that's my leave, see you soon." Brandon said, walking out.
As the control room's occupants waved Brandon out, they saw the craft shoot off at an incredible speed. Like the last race, Gareth's start was different to any other race he participated in. This time, his racing style was more aggressive, but not violent, as his new evolution made him want to win more than anything else. While he did have the choice, he decided to stick with his usual craft, instead of using Tarah's, with it's unique livery.
While tuned to his liking, Gareth also had his craft upgraded again. He had a prototype thrust system installed into his craft, all to give him the edge over the competition. However, he wasn't the only one to upgrade his craft. Leon had also paid for yet more upgrades to his craft, making his craft's weapon systems more powerful. Those upgrades cancelled each other out, as no one pilot had the upper hand.
Another reason why was that due to extensive practice on their home circuit, Crinale were able to keep up with Gareth. While the latter had received adequate practice, he could not get as much practice as Crinale did. Had Lucia been racing, she would have been so far ahead, Gareth would've had a very slim chance of catching up to her, despite the fact that he was racing much faster than he used to.
Because he knew the course extremely well, Leon was able to sideshift out of the way of some mines placed in a rather difficult corner, and realign himself for the rest of the corner, so when he exited it, he was in just the right position for the next corner, where he let out some missiles when he locked onto the azure craft...
------------
Point 0, Outside Preispodnyaya, Russia
10:22:38
A small red car slid to a stop from quite a high speed. It stopped next to what looked to be a small bus, a group of 12 people standing by it, some looking at various "equipment" inside the bus' storage area. One woman, clad in a rather long coat in particular saw the tiny compact speed up to and stop near the larger transport. Seeing the driver step out, she greeted him.
"Brandon, you finally made it."
"I got here as fast as I could." Brandon replied. "We all ready?"
"Yes. All that is needed is for you to pull that thread and destroy the security, then we can proceed."
"Right, on it."
Brandon reached into the car and pulled out a laptop from the passenger's seat. Opening it and turning it on, he executed a program on it, bringing up a rather large list of files. He selected one of them after scrolling down for a while and passed it over to Alex.
"Here, I am sure one of you can get how to bring it down. I just uncovered the data on this place's weaknesses."
Immediately, she passed it over to CO-11, telling him. "I'm sure you can do it, with 02 and maybe 05's help."
Looking over the data with the other two COs she mentioned, they were all able to find out how to bring the entire security system down, including the confinement cage, and all would have been possible with the very laptop that was in their hands. Of course, it was a very small, obscure opening, one that was easily overlooked. So, that begged the question.
"I really have to know, how did you get by this information?" Alex asked him.
"Is that really important?" Was Brandon's reply, complete with emotionless smile.
"It is."
"Okay, let's just say I obtained the data on the security and looked it over until I found the security hole. Would that suffice?"
"And how did you get such sensitive information?"
"[sigh], let's just sa-"
"Let's just say you actually tell me the truth, hmm?"
Brandon's smile faltered, leaving just a cold glare in her direction. "Hey. I work hard, just as you do. We may not agree on everything, but we have a common goal. How about we just work together towards that goal and not scrutinise anyone until we get this job done, okay?"
Alex remained in her stance, ready to fire off another counterargument, but decided against it.
"Tch, fine. 02, 05, 11, are you ready to kill this place?"
"Yep, we know exactly what we can do with the info we have."
"Then get on it."
As she gave them the order, they instantly set to work, configuring everything needed to connect to the security systems, after asking Brandon if they could tamper with his laptop, and getting the response of "Sure, I got it solely for this operation. Destroy it if you want, I don't care what happens to it. Although..."
Brandon took control temporarily, killing a certain process and unplugging something.
"That's rather important, wouldn't want anyone taking control of that. Please, continue."
After that, they continued their work, completing it after a very short while. Looking at each other, then Alex and Brandon, they activated the metaphorical kill-switch after both gave them an approving nod. A low hum emanated from the building, before slowly dying out. The first hurdle was done, as the entire security system of the fortress fell apart.
"Alright. Get ready, grab the stuff, we're going in!" Alex commanded.
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.4
The referenced album title of Part 39.3 was Juggernaut: Alpha, the first half of a double album by Periphery.
[s2_31.4: Part 39.4] Between Two Worlds
<22121122>
Sunday, November 22th, 2212
Point 0, Outside Preispodnyaya, Russia.
10:38:31
"Alright. Get ready, grab the stuff, we're going in!" Alex commanded.
Knowing that time was of the essence, no-one had the time to complain about the fact that they were expected to just simply walk into the front doors of the place. The quicker they moved, the less time they would give their target to compose themselves from the initial confusion and escape. The 10 COs and Lucia grabbed a weapon each, and followed Alex and Brandon to the fortress itself, pulling the door open, and entered, ready to put the next phase of the plan into action...
------------
<10:39:00_>
<vohl square ii: short fwd_>
<race: lap 48 of 88_>
01. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/00191)
03. ARD889.0.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r3)
<rinsa | photek_>
For around 40 laps, Leon was playing a long game with Gareth. He planted enough weapons behind him to keep Viktor happy, but was also playing a strategy given to him by Lucia before her disappearance. He actively attempted to stay in the lead. Although, due to his advanced knowledge of the course, that task was easier than he had originally thought.
Further down the pack, Gareth was having difficulty getting back ahead again. The main cause of his difficulties were due to him having to avoid the various mines and bombs planted by Leon. Although, there did seem to be a rather large amount of them, and Gareth had picked up on it. He opened his communication system and broke the quite lengthy silence.
"Hey, what the hell is going on? Th--"
"Bomb."
"Ghh!"
Gareth was caught off mid-sentence, as he came within centimetres of tripping the bomb and pushing himself further behind.
"This is not a racetrack, it's a freaking minefield! There's mines and bombs everywhere!"
The person in charge of the communications system, in the absence of Brandon, spoke. "It's Leon, it's the only things he's getting. Something is definitely amiss, although we suspect this is more tampering of a circuit that's theirs."
"Right..."
Since he was preoccupied with avoiding all the weaponry on the track, it took him a while to realise where they were getting at. "Wait, you mean like 2209?"
"Exactly. Although, instead of banned weapons, it's giving them whatever weapons they like."
"Tch, damn it! Can they even remotely make one single attempt to race fair?!"
Gareth resumed his radio silence, passing the Jennter that ran into a bomb, strategically placed after some mines so that it was extremely difficult to avoid. As he passed the slowing craft, he was reminded of something, as he kept swerving and sideshifting to avoid the various mines on the track.
'This feels like the final mission in that driving game I played a while back' He thought.
His zone mindset also accounted for Zone Battles, so he was able to avoid most of the mines and bombs, apart from the odd unavoidable set. However, since he forced that mindset to be moulded to races as well, he had held his own, retaining a mild gap between him and Leon, which was neither widening nor shortening. Leon had closed the gap between their talents, they were now on equal footing.
Had the mines not been there, he would have been able to catch up to the darker craft laying out the explosive obstacles. Or so he thought. On the 61st lap, Gareth's luck had turned on its head, as he was finally able to simultaneously destroy those obstacles and harm the pilot behind them...
------------
Preispodnyaya, Russia.
10:49:40
10 similarly-dressed individuals, along with 3 others had successfully entered the fortress and were sneaking through the near defenceless building. The only defences remaining were the ones that weren't controlled through electronics: actual human guards. However, they had observed a route they could take, and were halfway through taking it. The route was one where there would be the least amount of guards along it.
They made no noises, not even to speak. All of their communication was done through hand gestures, and even then, it was only related to the task at hand, navigating the building without being caught. Every so often, they would all move silently, swiftly, to the side, into one hallway, while they waited for the guard approaching their general location to move out of view. Once they were, they continued on, slipping out of their hiding place and sneaking as fast and as silently as they could...
<timberwolf | muzzy_>
...The Crinale Originals, Lucia, Alex and Brandon kept moving, closing the distance between them and their target, bit by bit...
------------
Vohl Square II, Moscow, Russia.
10:51:28
...a clean track, free from any mines or bombs put a smile on his face, as he loosened his tightened grip on the controls...
...Gareth kept racing, closing the distance between him and his target, bit by bit...
------------
The two groups, fighting for their own reasons...
...the climax of both battles were simultaneously approaching...
...the final race of 2212 would bring an end to a lot more than just the racing season...
...and in the midst of it all...
...one... will...
...fall.
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.5
The referenced album title of Part 39.4 was Between II Worlds by Nero.
[s2_31.5: Part 39.5] Overkill
<22121122>
Sunday, November 22th, 2212
<10:49:38_>
<vohl square ii: short fwd_>
<race: lap 61 of 88_>
01. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/00191)
02. ARD889.0.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r3)
<timberwolf | muzzy_>
"Quake."
The wall of asphalt shot forward, following the track. What it left behind was a clean track, free from any mines or bombs. A smile appeared on Gareth's face as he loosened his tightened grip on the controls. He twitched his hands to the left, then turned the controls all the way to the right. The maneuver caused the craft to turn in a rather aggressive way. His mindset changed back to the one he had when the race began, as he attempted to make full use of the advantage given to him.
His lap time had immediately improved, as he was able to use the whole track without having to worry about mines or bombs... until the quake had passed through Leon and he was free to begin laying them down again. But the damage was already done. The combination of having his mines and bombs destroyed, and being slowed down from the quake damaging him was all it took to bring Gareth so much closer to the black and orange craft.
"Tch, damn it." Came the response of the Crinale pilot.
As he got back up to speed, he decided to refrain from placing so many of the explosives on the track, only putting as much to let Gareth catch up to a certain extent, effectively laying dormant until the final lap, where he would launch his counter-attack to ensure his victory.
For the first time since the massive amount of mines and bombs appearing, Gareth could see the craft putting them out. His hands were twisting the controls so quickly it seemed like they were snapping between only 3 directions: left, right and straight. The blindingly fast movements synced up with his craft's equally fast handling, propelling him along that much faster. Unfortunately, though, he wasn't close enough to Leon that missiles or rockets would be effective, only another quake.
The laps were flying by, there were not that many left remaining. The higher that number grew, the more tension filled the air, not just in the two warring pilots' craft, but the audience spectating. Everyone was aware that, because of a lack of actual combat between them, there would be some massive tactical strategy that was waiting to be unleashed. Of course, they were right, but they did not know that.
The final lap had come, it was almost time for the final phase of the two Crinale pilots' strategy to be carried out. As that final lap was raced, Leon allowed Gareth to close the gap between them ever so slightly, as he recalled the details of the plan once more in his mind...
"You cannot afford to lose on our home course," Lucia began, "So here's what you do: Keep ahead of him, let him think up some strategy of passing you. Then, before he puts it into action, pull your airbrakes open, let him pass, then fire a weapon into him. Pass him and keep the lead. Don't leave it too early or late, you must only do it at the final lap, near the end, at just the right moment."
"Hold up, I remember something similar..." Leon interjected.
"Exactly. Kyoko, or Tarah, I guess I should call her now," She rolled her eyes. "She did a similar tactic, I just took it and made it into an actual strategy. No-one would think to intentionally slow down, so the tactic creates a lot of confusion that takes a long time to recover from. But still, if you leave it until too late, he will definitely fire a weapon at you first. That will cause you to lose."
"Wait, what about you, then? Aren't you going to win?"
She looked down, and then away. "I can't say anymore on that matter. It's not something you need to know."
They were nearing the end, the final chicane series followed by the final longer corner was nearing, closer and closer. The time had come for that counter-attack to begin. As if mirroring the Omega Harbour race prior, Leon had slammed his airbrakes open. The heavy craft's speed dropped quite dramatically, allowing Gareth to pass him to fire the final weapon up his sleeve...
------------
Preispodnyaya, Russia.
10:51:28
A stroke of luck, skill, and teamwork had brought all 13 individuals to their destination, behind a rather heavy set of doors. Under normal circumstances, that door would be barricaded with approximately 30 high security electronic locks. Every single one of those locks were rendered useless with the effective blackout imposed by the group of people now standing close to the door. However, there was one last hurdle. Or more, two.
Two guards were standing outside the door, who looked like their sole purpose was to keep watch at all times. Looking at one another, two of the COs each brought up what looked like a pistol, close to their chest, their fingers on the trigger while they held it securely with both of their hands. After a brief nod, they moved as quickly as they could, as if they were professional combatants.
CO-09 spun out from behind the wall, aiming the pistol at the guard to the right and firing two shots in quick succession.
Just as blindingly fast, CO-12 rolled from the same wall, and in even quicker succession, fired two shots at the guard to the left.
The guards had attempted to retaliate by aiming their own assault rifles at them, but all they could manage was moving it to face them, before getting hit, which caused them to fumble with the rifle as they were rotating it. Had it not been for the strap around their bodies, the next thing they would have done would be to send the guns flying as they lost their grip along with their consciousness, but because of said straps, all the action managed to do was to make the guns soar in the air for about half a metre, then swing down back to their bodies as they hit the end of the strap's length. While that was happening, they had started to collapse themselves, and were soon unconscious on the floor.
The two gave the rest of the team the okay with a single hand gesture, allowing them to navigate the short hallway with ease, right up to the door. Brandon had looked down at the guards and the bloodless floor, and noticed they were still breathing. They had, of course, been shot with fast-acting tranquillisers, not real bullets. But the more important thing, the door. The final obstacle between the group and OE-0, (Crinale) Original Enemy-0, was pushed open as easily as a heavy door could be opened.
The 13 people entered the room and found Viktor Antonov sitting there, looking quite surprised, despite the fact he still had a helmet on.
"Y-what?! How were you able to get this far?! G-!"
Before he was able to call the guards, the rage inside Lucia immediately and rapidly built up, upon seeing his form. She could wait no longer. She didn't care for what the others were going to do, or what they would think of her for doing what she was going to. She lunged at him with a large amount of speed and nimbleness, her light form almost tackling the large man to the ground. While her attack alone was not enough, a sigh came from CO-02's mouth, who gave the order to 09 to fire a live bullet at him. Usually, he'd shrug it off, but his loss of balance meant that the bullet was just enough to bring him crashing to the ground.
The panting, teeth-gritting Lucia pulled a rather large dagger from her pocket. Pulling the hard plastic sheath from it, she spoke the last words the man was going to hear.
"An eye for an eye. You ruin my life, I'll ruin YOURS!"
"Lucia, w-" Someone spoke, but they were cut off.
BAM! Holding the knife with one hand, she thrust it into him with the other, pushing it from the base. The blade sliced cleanly through the bulletproof helmet, deep into the man's head.
BAM! Pulling it out, she slammed it into his head again.
BAM! And again.
BAM! And again.
BAM! Her stabs became faster and faster, until she had stabbed Viktor's head exactly 23 times. He most likely would have died within the first three, but yet, she had used that specific number. She was also mumbling while she was stabbing him, almost as if she was counting the number of stabs. No-one had time to stop her once she had started to speed up her stabs, but nevertheless, Viktor Antonov was clearly dead. And yet, something about the whole scene, the way it was, just seemed... off.
"...Uh, doesn't something look wrong to you?" Brandon asked.
"What do you mean?" Alex asked. "You mean with Lucia?"
"No, Viktor. Something about this, right now, seems very... wait a minute..." His eyes had widened upon realising the horrible truth.
Lucia, who had looked back at them when they started speaking once again, looked back at the body, and then... pulled out the knife embedded into the recently deceased's skull. It was then that she had seen it. She had realised what was so very, horribly wrong with the situation, and the evidence was right on the weapon.
Although, a more accurate description would be that it wasn't.
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.6
The referenced album title of Part 39.5 was Overkill by Savant.
[s2_31.6: Part 39.6] Fighting the Juggernaut: Omega
<22121122>
Sunday, November 22th, 2212
10:58:21
Lucia looked back at the body and pulled out the knife embedded into the recently deceased's skull. It was then that she had seen it. She had realised what was so very, horribly wrong with the situation, and the evidence was right on the weapon.
Although, a more accurate description would be that it wasn't. There was a very noticeable lack of blood. It wasn't that there were only a few specks, the blade was actually just as clean as it was before Lucia's attack.
"...wh... what the f*ck?!"
Her gaze moved quickly from the weapon in her hands to the 'corpse' she was still sitting on. The helmet was cracked from her stabbing, but there was an eerie darkness through the splits the knife caused. The curiosity must have gotten the better of him, because Brandon walked over to them, and held the helmet in his hands, looking into the cracks.
"...I'll need to open this, thankfully your knife weakened it, so I can just..."
He tried to pry it open, then pull it off, both to no avail.
"Give me the knife?"
The knife was handed to him, by a rather scared Lucia. Now in his possession, he used the knife to make more cracks in the helmet, effectively breaking it enough that he could pry it open into two halves, using the knife as a lever. Once he did that, it snapped in half, leaving the truth open for them all to see.
"...Well, then. I believe that's a rather... interesting explanation." He looked up at them, wanting to find some kind of answer. "Where is the real Viktor Antonov?"
CO-04, 05, 08 and 11 all looked at each other, then started comparing data and other relevant information, before ringing up the pits at Vohl Square II. CO-11 was the one to tell Brandon their findings.
"The real Viktor Antonov is lying right under Lucia. There is no other 'real' one. It appears that he is, and always has been... an android."
Brandon looked from the man talking to him, down at the very non-human, mechanical innards of the destroyed android, then stood back up, looking back at him.
"...Argh... how the hell did we fail to notice this?! I swear he had a face, the face of Chris Scarborough!"
"It doesn't matter anymore, Russia and Crinale are now without a leader. The only thing left is to-"
"But Scarborough is Viktor! He's the head of the Racing Commission. What th--..."
Suddenly, Brandon stopped. He could see a grand total of thirteen people... not including himself. The man facing away from him... he looked familiar, that was why he didn't notice at first... Suddenly, his demeanour changed, his eyes widened, and it looked like he was about to explode.
"...WAIT... YOU. STOP!"
Upon hearing the man's bellow, the other, unknown individual began running, making his escape. Brandon set off after him, running just as fast, ignoring all of the guards that saw him and tried to stop him. Naturally, that gave the 12 remaining people to make their own escape... or an attempt to catch up to Brandon.
Through the now meaningless fortress, Brandon ran after the other man with all of his energy. He had to catch him under any circumstances. Down stairs, through hallways, down more stairs, and both had soon found themselves in the underground carpark. Weaving through cars, Brandon had lost sight of the man for a split second, before finding him entering a black and white, old-looking limousine, which looked like it had been modified to some extent. Running towards it, he found himself in a spot of deja vu.
The car had taken off, made a turn out of the parking bay onto the stretch of the road Brandon found himself on... and heading right at the man himself.
"WHAAAAAA-?!" Was the only thing he could physically say. Internally, he was thinking something more akin to 'Ah, crap. Not this again.'
Knowing his failure at clearing a jump over a vastly smaller car earlier that year, Brandon made the smart choice to not attempt the same thing again, and instead leaped to the side, out of the way of the speeding car. When he looked back, he saw the car making odd fishtailing movements as if it had made an attempt to dodge him, before its brake lights lit up briefly and it rounded the corner, never to be seen again.
------------
<11:12:42_>
<vohl square ii: short fwd_>
<race: lap 88 of 88_>
01. TUR847.1.13.329 (#13 | Leon Turner | F0-RA8/00191)
02. ARD889.0.19.194 (#19 | Gareth Ardos | AX2.0_r3)
Gareth was caught by surprise from seeing the black and orange Crinale pull back, slowing down to let him pass. Unbeknownst to Leon, however, he was wary of the tricks one would pull from such a tactic, having experienced it first hand. Thus, he was not as confused as Leon thought.
"EMP Railgun."
"Missile."
They had both fired their weapons, one after the other. Leon had fired his missiles mere milliseconds before Gareth's Railgun temporarily shut off his weapon systems. The aftermath left both craft slowing down, with no clear way of knowing who would win out of the two.
"Quake."
That answer was, "none of them". The Jennter, racing a good distance behind Gareth, had fired their quake, having only seen the Crinale craft initially. The further damage and slowing effect the weapon caused to both craft gave them the edge needed to pull the victory right from under the rivals' noses. Both pilots had failed, losing from their attempts to make the other lose.
Angelus, however, was the one to take second, and Crinale very closely followed in third. With the race over, Gareth returned to the pits to see Brandon had returned.
"Hey! You've returned. Sorry about the loss."
Brandon replied "Ehh, it's fine. 2nd is good enough."
"So, what were you doing?"
"...I think it's a good idea to not mention what I was doing right this moment. Soon, though, soon."
The man, however, was still deep in thought, to what had happened that day...
Faster Than Angels | Part 39.7
The referenced album title of Part 39.6 was Juggernaut: Omega, the second half of the double album by Periphery.
[s2_31.7: Part 39.7] The Fall
<22121122>
Sunday, November 22th, 2212
11:07:39
As Brandon watched the large limousine speed around the corner and out of sight, the majority of the group arrived, seeing the man rise to his feet and brush himself off.
"What happened?" Alex asked.
"Bastard tried to run me over, I think." Came the reply. "Where's the rest?"
"They're speaking with the rest of the Russian government. We should be able to assign a new Ts.. No, let's not have another Tsar. I think it's time we got a Prime Minister. We need a new type of government."
"Fair enough. The guy that almost ran me over though, he's gone, there's nothing we can do about that. Let's just head back."
<my spirit | lacuna coil_>
"I would love to head back. I need to get out of this hell-hole." Lucia agreed. "You know, doing that felt really cathartic, I feel like my spirit is finally free."
"We have no further use for this place." Alex replied. "Let's go."
At the entrance, all 13 people related to the mission exited the building. No-one would ever know that they were the cause of the soon to emerge chaos that would ensue at the top floor of the fortress. 12 of those individuals placed hidden weapons in a storage area of a small bus before boarding the bus themselves, the 13th one entered a red compact. Starting the engines, they both made the long, worthwhile journey back.
The bus followed the rather nimble red car from the main road, all the way back to Vohl Square II. The rather long drive back took enough time so that they would be back in time to see the final few minutes of the race, or at the very least, the results. Everyone was still rather confused by the identity of Viktor, however they were all in high spirits due to the success of the mission, especially Lucia, who was actually smiling happily the entire way there.
Once they arrived at the racing venue, Brandon took his leave, returning to his team's pit room, while the rest made their way back to Crinale's. A sudden hushed silence filled the air, not just because of the COs making their unusual appearance at the race venue, but also from the appearance of a woman that was not seen being affiliated with the team since early 2210.
Despite that, she acted as if she was always the Director, not paying attention to the whispers and turning to Lucia, speaking to her.
"It is time. You have waited long enough, now it is time for you to hear me out before leaving this team. Are you still willing to uphold your end of the promise?"
The smaller girl nodded. She noticed the older, taller woman had gained an aura, a sense of leadership upon entering the specific partition. "Yes, I'll hear you out."
A warm smile filled Alex's face, letting her know it was going to seem like a friendly chat. "Great, if you would follow me to the control room, we may speak in there."
The entire group followed Alex up the stairs, not just Lucia. In fact, CO-02 spoke 7 words that made Alex feel much more than welcome back at her old team.
"It's great to have you back, CO-01."
That remark made her grin, and look extremely happy indeed... until they reached the top of the stairs. A single guard looked over at them, taking note of their new compatriot.
"Stop right there." He said simply.
Alex's expression changed from a happy grin to a deep scowl almost instantly, replying to the guard with, "My name is Alexandra Gelorum, CO-01. You will let me in."
"No. You are not permitted to enter."
"Let us handle this," CO-02 told her, stepping in front of her, then facing the guard, preparing to speak an imperative order.
"It is the unanimous opinion of the Crinale Originals that Alexandra Gelorum is reappointed the designation CO-01, the true Director of Crinale. Because of the defeat and death of Viktor Antonov, we are effectively the Overseers of this team. What we agree on must not be denied, lest you wish to be fired from the team."
"Forgive me if I do not believe you." The guard replied.
"Believe this," Lucia spoke up, "I stabbed that f*cker 23 times in the head. He. Is. Dead."
"Unfortunately for you, I can get into direct contact with Viktor."
The guard fished a phone from his pocket and pressed a single button. He waited... and waited... and...
"...What is the meaning of this?"
"I told you, he's dead. Not that he was a-"
"Lucia. That's enough." CO-02 cut her off, "The less people know, the better."
"O-okay."
"Now, as for you..."
CO-02 walked up to the highly confused guard, and shoved him out of the way, opening the control room's door and allowing all 12 people to enter and the others who were already in there to leave, before closing it back up.
Alex faced Lucia, looking down upon her smaller statue.
"Now, if I may begin. I know you have had intentions of leaving the team due to your... lack of freedom. However, I intend to open that freedom up. As the Director of this team once more, I really do wish for you to stay with us. In return... I will let you race however you see fit. I know of your talent, your prodigal status, and I wish to only nurture it. No more unnecessary violence, you may use whatever strategy you come up with for any race you enter. This is my promise, as CO-01, and as the new Director."
Lucia was shocked. She never thought that a person intending to regain their Director status for such a team would be so kind... so thoughtful. She looked down, as she blinked back tears.
"Are... are you serious? You... you'll really let me race however I want?"
"Of course, just so long as you stay with Crinale. There will definitely be more changes than just that, believe me."
"...what about Leon?"
"The COs have also told me about him, I don't think he will have a problem with the changes, he is also free to stay with us if he so wishes."
"...I-I... I..."
Lucia looked back up at Alex, the happiest look on her face in years.
"Thank you! Thank you so much! I... yes, I will give this a second chance... I-I just cannot thank you enough, Alex!"
"It is nothing. Nothing at all, I am just trying to help someone be the best they can be."
For the first time in 2 years, Lucia finally felt like she was home. She was accepted, not just for her talent, but for how she wanted to put that talent to use. To them, she was an actual person, not a machine set to win races in one single particular way. She could not wait for the next season to start up, so she could finally be free, and fly in her own way.
Faster Than Angels | Part 40
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jonny
[...] as it did not strictly oppose the F12000, nor its formation.
...that's just what they think, having not seen them do anything by means of opposing them... but there's a reason for that.
- - - Updated - - -
Screw it, I'm posting the final part now. Enjoy!
The referenced album title of Part 39.7 was The Fall by Gorillaz.
[s2_32.0: Part 40.0] F:/2212FINALE/
<22121123-22121231>
Monday, November 23rd, 2212
That day started with even more confusion between Alex, Brandon and the COs. Chris Scarborough had made an appearance to close off the 2212 season of the F12000 and announce the 2213 season, despite having been 'killed' by Lucia. And yet hours, even days after, there was no attempt to return to Crinale, or for that matter, the Russian government. The latter was up in arms over the mass confusion, and the fact that their former Tsar had been an android. It would be some time before a new Tsar, or any form of leader, would be appointed to office.
Alex, however, was tasked with dealing with the mess Viktor had made. The space station that served as the team's primary base of operations was brought back down to Earth and disassembled, many of its parts being sold off to pay off the 'debts' collected by the team, using some of their surplus to buy up a new headquarters, keeping it's location unknown, in traditional Crinale fashion. Almost every other piece of Viktor-era machinery was also decommissioned, some even destroyed. Although, that was not their main issue.
Their main issue was in regards to the remaining tech in their hands, the F12000 craft they were left with. Alex made a promise to not have any remnants of Viktor's rule of the company upon her reacquisition of it. However, they had just not enough money, and very little time to develop a new one. Thus, she was forced to break her promise for that one piece of technology. The F0-RA8 would have to stay as part of Alex's new Crinale.
The technologies weren't the only thing she changed. A vast amount of people hired by Viktor that still adhered to his views were promptly fired from the team. Leon, naturally, decided to stay with the team when asked, purely for his love of racing.
Alex had also reached out to Brandon, after a lot of the prior events had died down.
"I've been making a lot of promises recently, so here's mine to you."
"Uh, okay..." Brandon replied, having been caught off-guard.
"Working with your team again opened up a lot of things for me, and I finally realised that I was initially wrong. So, I promise that as of now, we're friendly rivals."
"Friendly rivals? ...Interesting."
"Right, the only time I'll ever be violent towards you will be on the track, to keep that form of entertainment going. But I won't resort to anything illegal or unfair."
"Well, that's very good to know. I shall reciprocate that and act on the track as if you're still a threat to us... because you are, in the sense that you're still a rival." He smiled warmly upon making that remark.
Alex laughed. "Thank you. Thanks for giving me a second chance."
"Not a problem. Take care."
Because of her continued alliance with Brandon, she had accessed her own servers and pulled a certain piece of data. Once she found that it contained the relative information in it, she sent copies of the document detailing the chemical make-up of Tigron's experimental drug to both Angelus and Syncline, so the three teams were able to progress with their research to rid the world of The Condition.
------------
Angelus, after continued searches throughout the end of the year, and the beginning of the next, still had not found a new pilot to replace Tarah in time for the 2213 season. Many Angelus employees had considered Gareth's performance in the last two races to be quite optimal. Some of those people put two and two together and came up with the theory that he raced better on his own, without any other pilots racing alongside him. Either way, Angelus was still stuck with one pilot for the following season.
The instant they were back in Australia after the Vohl Square II race, Brandon decided to use the secret information network he had to lift more Viktor-related data from Preispodnyaya. Among other, seemingly unrelated data, he had also received data on something he had been quite interested in since he saw it back in February of that year.
Although no data on its actual performance and setup was written out, there were very detailed descriptions on the mechanics, systems and related specifications on the first of the mysterious Shinigami project's products: The RXK. Among the various other systems detailed that made up most of the car's systems, there were two in particular that caught his attention. The first was unheard of for production cars, having been fitted with a COFFIN-type system. However, the second system was so much more unbelievable, that it gained Brandon's attention more than the flight control system.
"...Elec... what?!"
Brandon recalled the final moments of his battle with that car, and how the explosion looked like it was hit with a Plasma. The reason why was simple; the engine was not anything that could be considered 'traditional' or 'normal'. It was referred to as an Electro-Plasma Kinetic Generator, a system that seemed to directly produce over 1500hp of thrust. That explained to him why the car seemed to be so fast, even though he didn't know the true output the car made.
Along with that, he had also found some data pertaining to the F12000, although it was far from enough to bring the league down. Nevertheless, he decided to keep every piece of data he obtained from that place, as it all contributed to his plan to undermine the corrupt league.
Between the start of December and the end of January, the teams were allowed to continue upgrading their craft for the following season. Angelus, naturally, focused their efforts on further upgrading their engine's power output and also the overall handling of the craft. They submitted their upgraded craft as the KA-AX2.0_r4, the AGR:Xff engine being registered as Type 3167.
------------
On one day in particular, Brandon received a phone call on his personal phone.
"Yeah? Brandon speaking... what?!"
The call was from an employee from Syncline. A few days after receiving the documents for The Condition's source, Nikole had, unfortunately, passed away. After making sure Alex knew, he set off to Mars, travelling to Syncline's headquarters. Once there, he found Johann Webber, the founder and lead technician of the team.
"Hey, mind if we talk?"
The man looked at him. "Brandon Smith, right?"
"Yeah. I think you might know why I'm here."
He closed his eyes and put his hand to his chin. "Mhh, Nikole? I'd rather not answer any questions pertaining to her. Call it a sign of respect."
Brandon nodded. "Alright, I can respect that. How about the Condition? Can you talk about that?"
"To you, yes. We've received the data on the chemical thanks to Miss Kotova, so we, along with Crinale, may proceed with developing the cure. I guess I can say one thing about Nikole, that she would want us to continue with this, no matter what."
Brandon nodded, "I can understand, it is a rather serious situation that needs immediate and consistent attention. Rest assured that I will continue to help you in any I can."
"That is appreciated, thank you."
"How is Kat taking the news?"
For some reason, Johann did not answer immediately. Instead, it looked as if he was thinking, as if he wasn't sure how exactly he should tell Brandon, if at all. But, he could not deny Nikole and Kat's trust in him.
"She... she's in a coma."
Brandon needed a moment to let that information sink in.
"I... what? She's... in a coma? How did that happen?"
The man shook his head, "I'm sorry, I hope you'll forgive me for not willing to disclose that information."
Brandon held up his hand. "No, no. It's completely fine. I definitely understand."
------------
Faster Than Angels | Part 40.Epilogue
[s2_E: Part 40.E] F:/2212FINALE/EPILOGUE
<00000000>
Unknown Date.
Unknown Location.
Unknown Time.
Two men had met up, to converse about an aspect of the Preispodnyaya Mission.
"We need to talk. The truth must come out."
"What? What truth?"
"That information, how did you get it?"
The other man sighed, placing a couple fingers to his temple.
"Why is that so damn important? What matters is that I provided that information, nothing more."
"But that's the thing, you obtained information that just wasn't possible to obtain."
"Through legal means." He finished the other man's sentence.
"...what?"
As the man in the black suit looked shocked, the one in the black coat smiled. It was a very cold-looking smile, one that looked like it was detached from the rest of his face's expression.
"Fine, I admit it. I used an information network."
"An information network?"
"Yes. I paid an information broker to give me that useful piece of data. And I don't regret it. I will do whatever is necessary to prevent corruption from existing in the league. I mean, sure, I had only intended to use them once, but now... I will not hold back, not after the chains bounding me have been broken by the very thing I wished to destroy. None of my strategies could have predicted that happening!"
"Strategies? As in, more than one?"
"Yes! My strategy skills are in fact quite strong, even stronger than my racing capabilities, though I hardly call myself the best racer. Honestly, though, with my ability to think multiple steps ahead and plan a course of action, I could play a strong game of chess... that is, if I had any interest in the game in the first place."
"So, this strategy... did it start with the F12000?"
"Hahahaha!" He laughed, before adopting a very serious expression on his face. "Whatever gave you that idea?"
The other man shivered. "Woah, you're giving off some legitimately scary vibes now."
The man explained, "See, the F12000 strategy is just a small part of a grander plan, it's a smaller strategy inside a larger one, a... 'matryoshka' strategy, if you will. The larger, grander strategy, however? That started more than a decade ago, back when we just made cars. My strategy... started with Katana, with the conception of the Angelus Project."
>>INITIATE: Beta_Angels_
>>MAY_22