F-Zero: Seppuku - Part 1/3, Lap 3

Lap 2 < | > Lap 4
Chiya arrived at the Mute City race track in time, kicking off the season. She is surprised by the overall appearance of one of these races and is keeping an eye on the racer known as Lieutenant Seppuku.
==Chapter Reading==
==Lap 3==
The race was about to begin. Minutes after Seppuku had been introduced all other racers were called up to the starting line. The crowd was out of control, throwing things, screaming, and even some fights emerging in the crowd. The only famous racer not present was the notorious Black Shadow, which was of no surprise. Black Shadow, well known as the emperor of Dark Million, had been banned from the annual Grand Prix due to his dangerous pagan beliefs and past crimes. He was the first and only racer to have been banned from F-Zero. Either way, Black Shadow had his clone minion, Blood Falcon, racing on his behalf.
“At this time all racers may start their engines!” the announcer yelled.
All of the F-Zero machines turned on, they lifted a few feet off the ground. Chiya's eyes widened as the rear rockets of each machine gradually began to flare. Three floating monitors came above the starting line, each monitor displayed the number '3'. This was it, the start of the annual Grand Prix.
Three. Two. One. Go.
All thirty-some of the F-Zero machines darted past the starting line, officially marking the start of a new Grand Prix. Monitors turned on near the stands so that the fans could see where the racers were throughout the race. Chiya sat up straight with a dropped jaw and watched each racer go out of sight, then turned her attention toward the many large monitors.
The Red Gazelle took off with the lead, but had the Crazy Bear coming up from behind. Captain Falcon appeared to be in 7th, while Seppuku was in 15th. The Blue Falcon employed a simple strategy of racing and dodging racers, while the Red Dove played a more aggressive game of bumping through rivaling racers.
Chiya observed Captain Falcon carefully to take lessons from him. The way Captain Falcon maneuvered the track was very professional, using tactics and overall strategy with his turns while also keeping an eye on his rivals, namely Blood Falcon. Lieutenant Seppuku drove through the other racers like a bullet and knocking himself up to 10th place. Seppuku appeared to be rivaling against Captain Falcon, considering he bumped into the Blue Falcon especially rough. The Blue Falcon's maximum speed was briefly turned up in order to escape the Red Dove. The Red Dove appeared to have worse stats than the Blue Falcon and was lighter in weight.
Seppuku was gaining ground on Falcon, despite his inferior machine parts. The lieutenant had another machine coming up from the rear. Seppuku was almost neck-and-neck with Captain Falcon, when suddenly the Blood Hawk sped up next to the two and rammed both racers violently. Captain Falcon quickly drifted back into the correct direction, but Seppuku had taken a few seconds to regain control of his machine.
The crowd booed Blood Falcon for his surprise attack, Chiya was left glaring with crossed arms; upset to see both her childhood hero and literal hero attacked.
“I hate Blood Falcon,” Chiya told herself.
Seppuku was sent to the back again as a result of this attack, several racers had now passed him. However, Seppuku did not take long to make his way up the track again. At this time the racers had completed their first lap. Once a racer makes it past the first lap, they are authorized to use their machine's boosters. By sacrificing about 15% of their machine's energy, a racer could shoot themselves forward by releasing an incredible amount of energy from the rear. The drawback of using boosters was that with a usage of about 15% energy per boost, the machine could quickly find itself at a severe loss of energy, which would in turn make the machine more vulnerable to shutting down or 'retire'. A machine would shut down if the energy tank was completely depleted, and worst of all, energy was also taken away from a machine when damaged from attacks.
The Red Dove used much energy to boost up the track, though Seppuku watched his energy meter. Blood Falcon and Captain Falcon met each other again, this time both were well aware of each other’s presence. Captain Falcon quickly moved to the side and attempted to ram Blood Falcon, but failed. Blood Falcon took up the opportunity and tried to counter-attack, but Captain Falcon performed a spin that blocked Blood Falcon’s attack. This knocked Blood Falcon two racers in back of Captain Falcon.
The move Captain Falcon used was simply coined a 'spin attack'. This was where a machine could perform a very powered up spin while still moving forward—but at a reduced speed. This was an excellent move to make when in trouble, as a spin attack could only be blocked by another spin attack. The relative of a spin attack was the 'side attack'. This was the most powerful move a racer could make, where the machine would suddenly slide left or right at about 4,000 km/h. It was the equivalent of throwing a punch and could often serve as instant death to the victim's machine.
The Big Fang performed a side attack on the Red Gazelle, and was then passed by the Crazy Bear. The Blue Falcon flew past the Big Fang as well. The Red Dove was gaining on Captain Falcon once more, but was soon confronted by the brutal gang leader, Michael Chain. Both racers challenged one another by attacking the other. Seppuku and Chain simultaneously clashed machines together. Countless sparks were thrown into the air. Chain backed away from the Red Dove and began to tail the machine, planning to ram Seppuku from the rear. Seppuku made the quick decision to perform a spin attack and quickly hit the brakes. Chain ran straight into his trap and took heavy damage. The Wild Boar was propelled and knocked onto its side. Once again, Seppuku fell behind the other racers but quickly moved up the track.
An F-Zero commentator struck his fists down, “The Wild Boar has been retired from the race! What do you think about pilot Chain’s attempt to take Seppuku out?” the announcer asked his partner.
“Well you see, Chain made a bad move on his part. The Wild Boar and Red Dove both have similar bodily features, making it seem like both would have similar weak points. Chain didn't capitalize on this correctly, and now he'll be paying the price by leaving the race with zip points. What racers often forget when challenging another racer is that they need to multitask and stay focused on the race! This is a race, after all, not a demolition derby!”
“Obviously Michael Chain will have gotten a terrible start to the Grand Prix, automatically being granted with no points.”
All racers made it past their second lap and were now entering the final lap. Captain Falcon was gaining ground on the Fire Stingray, which was currently holding first place. The Fire Stingray was piloted by Samurai Goroh, a longtime rival of Captain Falcon. Falcon found himself getting boxed in by enemies, the Blood Hawk had made it to third place, and as always, focused on trying to kill Captain Falcon. Goroh and Blood Falcon appeared to be working together indirectly to smash the Blue Falcon, but suddenly, the White Cat and Red Dove came up and engaged the other racers. Seppuku smashed into Goroh and was pushing him slowly to the side of the track. The Red Dove scraped the Fire Stingray against the safety railing then boosted away. Blood Falcon counter-attacked the White Cat successfully and stayed on the Blue Falcon. The Blue Falcon and Red Dove were driving next to each other. Captain Falcon nodded to Seppuku in appreciation for the assistance, though Seppuku disregarded the gesture.
The Blood Hawk had caught up with the leading racers, but this time changed targets. He was now directing himself toward the Red Dove, seeing Seppuku as a potential threat. Seppuku saw Blood Falcon moving to his right, but found Captain Falcon accidentally boxing him in, as he was to the left, and thus not allowing any room to evade a potential Blood Falcon strike. Fuming with frustration, Seppuku smashed his hand down against the dashboard and slowed down, thus allowing Blood Falcon and Captain Falcon to go at each other again.
Seppuku immediately picked up the speed, but was already passed by the White Cat and Deep Claw. Blood Falcon and Captain Falcon were struggling to defeat each other, both dashing into each other constantly. Blood Falcon didn’t hesitate to start smashing into him like some deranged brute. The Blood Hawk pinned the Blue Falcon to the side of the track and was preparing for a massive side attack, a side attack that would likely strike Captain Falcon out of the race. As soon as the Blood Hawk moved toward the Blue Falcon for the side attack, Captain Falcon boosted out of the way. Blood Falcon ended up side attacking the safety rail of the track.
The Red Dove managed to pass the Deep Claw but could not gain enough speed to pass the White Cat. He was too late, the finish line was up ahead, which Captain Falcon had victoriously passed through in 1st place. Blood Falcon followed the man and finished in 2nd.
The crowd went out of control, “That’s it for the first race! Captain Falcon takes first! Blood Falcon second, Jody Summer third, Lieutenant Seppuku fourth, and Octoman taking fifth,” the announcer listed.
Captain Falcon waved to his cheering fans with a happy grin. Blood Falcon grinned with his razor sharp teeth at his victorious rival. Captain Falcon looked back to the clone and returned an expressionless look. Blood Falcon couldn’t physically attack Captain Falcon inside of a race—the rules of F-Zero prohibited violence within their property, excluding violence found within the race itself. The Galactic Space Federation had no jurisdiction within racetracks, hence why they couldn't simply arrest people like Blood Falcon. F-Zero had its own set of laws and the F-Zero committee enforced these laws.
Captain Falcon drove away from the track with the others following him. Lieutenant Seppuku, despite having finished in 4th place, took his time in leaving and ended up way in the back.
Chiya was stunned at how dangerous the race had gotten. It was clear to her that the F-Zero committee didn’t care that attempted murder had occurred on the track several times, F-Zero was a sport where anything could happen—no matter how violent. The questions now juggling in her mind pertained to Lieutenant Seppuku, more specifically, where the man would go now.
Chiya was walking away from the stands with a sent back expression. The race was short, but amazing. This was something she always wanted to experience as a child, teenager, and still as a young adult. The only way this could be better is if she herself one day races.
While on her way to the exit, the woman came to a complete stop and gasped. Her eyes began to quiver as she gazed toward the door. Captain Falcon stood by the door looking straight into her eyes. She gazed at him in astonishment, baffled by his appearance and look of interest in her. He approached her with a warm and promising grin.
“C- C- Captain Falcon!?” she squealed with a quivering smile.
Captain Falcon grabbed the side of her face and knelt down before her, “My sweet Chiya Flower. I’ve longed for the day I could meet you face-to-face, and now my dream has been fulfilled...”
Chiya gasped at him while trembling and blushing. She was speechless by what was going on—what was happening to her.
“Come with me, so we can live a happy life away from racing, in a meadow of flowers. And with all the cutest kittens to hold,” he said following a kiss to her hand.
Chiya began to grunt and squirm excitedly, then giggled intensely while bouncing.
Suddenly, Chiya launched up onto her rear. She began to hyperventilate with wide eyes and scan her surroundings. After an exciting night of F-Zero, she was back in the warehouse and laying on her mattress. Unfortunately, she had only dreamed of Captain Falcon approaching her that race. Disappointed, Chiya lowered her eyelids and sighed while looking at the garbage that surrounded her. She had watched her first F-Zero race in person last night, then went home for immediate sleep. None of it seemed real, but it was, she was there and the stories were true that F-Zero could get very dangerous.
The woman put her beanie hat on and looked into the bathroom mirror sadly. Gazing at her own face she sighed, “I can’t keep living like this…”
Chiya walked out of the bathroom with a feeling of depression. The race was great, but this still didn't get her out of fiscal depression. She fell back onto her mattress and sighed once more. While gazing up at the ceiling, a thought had crossed her mind. She momentarily reached over for the handgun Seppuku lent her and examined it. She was looking at the model and ammunition of the weapon—and then it hit her.
With a raised brow and quirked mouth, she commented, “Hold on a second. This looks too powerful to be meant for civilian use...”
Chiya knew very little about guns, but even she could tell when a gun was designed for the military. Hesitantly, she put the clip back into the handgun and spotted some scrap wood laying in the building. Still laying down, she flipped onto her belly and took aim at some of the wood. She turned off the safety and cocked the gun back with her tongue out. Her aim was very wobbly, but good enough to hit a target at such a short range. She closed one eye, then pulled the trigger.
CRACK.
She fired the weapon, which caused her to jump up to her knees frantically with widened eyes. This made a louder sound than she was accustomed to hearing on the streets. The bullet had torn through the wood and left an unusually large hole, the lone bullet nearly snapped the wood in half.
“What the Hell? This must be for military use,” she concluded aloud. Chiya was now trembling after firing the loud weapon.
This time she fired blankly at the stone wall and observed the dealt damage. The bullet left a deep hole with surrounding cracks.  
“Where did he get this?”
She widened her eyes and grunted upon recalling the weapon Lieutenant Seppuku had used. He didn't use a common hunting rifle, he had something much more powerful—something that left his victim dead within mere seconds. One would never be able to purchase such a powerful rifle off of any ordinary store. The gun Chiya had was illegal, and she knew this to be true.
“What is he doing with this stuff?” she questioned aloud.
She holstered the gun in her shorts and walked outside. As usual, she was going to start her day off by bringing herself to Rough Odds. This time, though, she had a legitimate reason for going to Rough Odds. She was almost praying that she'd bump into Earl Bendek again, as she was now both interested in him and desired to thank him for the ticket.
Her walk to Rough Odds was simple and uneventful. However, while walking she noticed that the streets were littered with paper, food, and other junk, as everyone had let loose the previous night, not caring about keeping a city clean. Everyone loved F-Zero, even the criminals of the Lower City.
She walked inside the bar and looked high and low for the seemingly friendly man, but had no luck scanning for him. Earl was nowhere to be found, meaning she'd either bump into him at a later date or on the Casino Palace date. She hadn't considered that with Earl, she'd be seeing the next race as well; this made her just as excited, but also nervous to go with a complete stranger.
While she couldn't find Earl, her eyes did catch someone else of grand significance. The woman grunted loudly with wide eyes. It was Lieutenant Seppuku. The Man of Darkness was playing a card game with fellow F-Zero racer; Baba—pilot of the Iron Tiger.
Baba laughed mockingly at Seppuku and snapped his fingers, but was silenced with a growl from the tall man. The two seemed to be in the middle of a heated up game of cards, but possibly in a friendly mood. Chiya could finally speak with Seppuku for the first time since her frightening encounter in a more comfortable setting. The question she had, of course, was whether or not she wanted to. She didn't know a single thing about Seppuku, in fact, it was highly possible that the man could be a servant of evil.
Chiya gasped and swallowed nervously while deciding what to do. But what was at first a choice had suddenly become mandatory, as their eyes met. The glowing white eyes of Seppuku's visor locked adjacently with Chiya's Mysterian Blue eyes. Seppuku's intimidating gaze was pulling her in like a magnet. She began walking toward him, thus eliminating the choices for her. She was going to enter the table with Seppuku and finally learn who he was.
To be continued!
Lap 2 < | > Lap 4
==Author Notes==
====First Imagination/Dream Sequence====
This chapter featured the first of many dream sequences meant to catch the reader off guard, something that would appear frequently in F-Zero: Seppuku, as well as EngelReise and Shrouded Piety in the years ahead. While I did not realize this would become a common aspect of my writings, I did believe this would be a characteristic of Chiya to have bizarre dreams and imaginative scenarios, and I would stick to this design for her especially after Part 1/3. A large reasoning for this comedic dream scenario in which she captures Captain Falcon's heart was to color Chiya's character a bit and clarify to the reader that while she is stuck in a hard place currently, she does have a comedic side to her as well as a romantic one.
====Writing F-Zero====
By far and easily, the greatest challenge of writing F-Zero: Seppuku—in the beginning—was creating a strategy for writing the races. I knew that a major target audience would be readers wanting to see action-packed and suspenseful racing, and this is unsurprisingly hard to appeal to in writing. What I discovered in this chapter that would carry on to this very day even in stories such as EngelReise was that no matter how many racers there were, I needed to select a handful of racers to place a biased focus on, in this case Lieutenant Seppuku, Captain Falcon, Blood Falcon, and Michael Chain. By focusing on only a small number of the thirty-some racers present, I can keep the reader locked into the situation almost perfectly; my thought then and now has always been that a reader should always be able to memorize what place the major players are in at all times, that a reader should never be wondering if Seppuku is in 1st place or 30th. The next part of the strategy would be to frequently remind the reader that this is, in fact, a race of thirty-some racers; this part is a bit of an illusion, as while I will constantly throw in non-essential racers such as Bio Rex, they only come in to 'pepper' the scene, or 'populate' it. Even when Seppuku is fixated on beating Michael Chain and the Falcons, he must also deal with the occasional Samurai Goroh or Antonio Guster, and by the time he has done this, whether the reader realizes it or not, a good portion of the race has now been covered. Races also contained a clear dictionary of terms, such as 'side attack' or 'spin attack' and would strictly adhere to these terms so that when said actions pop up, the reader knows exactly what is occurring. Through this complex strategy established in this chapter, writing races would become much easier and flow well for the twenty or so future races to occupy the saga. Nevertheless, this was the first race, and by no means one of my best. Short and rather uneventful, but not a bad race either. Future chapters would incorporate a very iconic pre-race meetup between racers at the starting line that would become very iconic to F-Zero: Seppuku races.
==Chapter Illustration==
Once more, the chapter illustration system had yet to be invented, and innovation in this regard would regress from Lap 2 in that Chiya's concept art would be used to represent Lap 3 rather than an image from the chapter itself. One unique aspect, nevertheless, would be the exclusion of the Purring Kitten from the concept art, showing that there was self-awareness at the time that readers may treat the image as an extension of the chapter it was attached to, and that having Chiya's machine in the picture would be a spoiler. Curiously, despite this chapter featuring both Captain Falcon and Blood Falcon, a picture of either Falcon was not used instead despite it using the same template and style. Lap 4 would become the first ever Siontix Realm piece of literature to have a unique chapter illustration made, and this lackluster image played a key role in pushing for that innovation.
The concept art for Chiya Flower was produced over Paint.NET in November of 2012 and not so subtly references the pilot cards of F-Zero GX.
==Characters Introduced==
====Various F-Zero racers====
Various F-Zero racers were introduced in this chapter, but none had any meaningful interaction with Chiya beyond entertaining her.