F-Zero: Seppuku - Part 1/3, Lap 8

**Lap 7 < | > Lap 9**

Chiya decides to stay with Earl and Seppuku, for reasons she keeps private. They now possess all but a combat module for Chiya's future F-Zero machine, however with the current parts they already possess, they can get the F-Zero machine working officially. Before they can do this though, Seppuku has a new mission for both Chiya and Earl.

## Chapter Reading

==Lap 8=

The following day, Chiya and Earl were together in the kitchen drinking coffee. Chiya sat in a cream colored soft chair while Earl leaned against the wall with crossed legs. The room was silent and the two were enjoying the new day. Chiya calmed down after a night of good sleep, she was especially pleased to possess money.

The Mysterian sniffed her coffee, and then the rim of the cup. Earl grinned at her, he could understand that someone who had been homeless for so long may be a bit out of touch with the world. Chiya's sniffing of the beverage and cup was practically forced because of her brain, which was likely trying to adapt to the idea that she was drinking a real beverage in a clean cup.

Earl closed his eyes and chuckled in an almost mocking way, “Alright, I’ll bite. Why *did* you decide to stay?” Chiya turned her attention onto him, but did not speak right away. “Last night you seemed pretty upset with Seppuku and ready to leave; this afternoon I wake up and find you in the kitchen.”

Chiya grinned back and shrugged, “Like you said, I was just angry at the time. After sleeping, I realize how nice it actually is here; and besides, I want that F-Zero machine,” she took a sip of her coffee.

The man slowly smirked at her, “That’s it?”

She stopped sipping from her drink to smirk, “Yes, I also stayed because of your objection to me leaving.”

Earl dropped his smirk, “Well, hold on, I- I wouldn't say I was 'objecting' to you leaving. I just think you're a cool person I'd like to try and-”

Their conversation was interrupted as Seppuku kicked the kitchen door open, his scarf blew in the air as he stopped in the middle of the kitchen, “I got some useful intel from the storage device I looted from that Red Star computer.”

Chiya glanced at him without turning her head. Though she was indeed saved by Seppuku the previous night, her opinion of him had severely declined during that mission. He nearly let her fall victim to gang brutality, and the way he went about resolving the situation was more violent than it had to be. Seppuku wasn't exactly the hero she had always wanted to meet—he was no Captain Falcon, needless to say.

Earl stood straight, “Did it contain the location of their hideout?”

“Nope, but it provided us with leads on where the Bloody Chain’s hideout could be.”

Chiya set down her coffee and sighed, “What kind of lead are we talking about, exactly?”

A few minutes later the group stood in Seppuku’s office next to a large screen on the wall. Seppuku pointed at a 3D image of Michael Chain’s machine, the *Wild Boar*, along with other identical machines.

Seppuku moved the 3D display around with a remote, “This data claims that the Bloody Chain commonly travel through the most police protected neighborhood of the Lower City, meaning they have something there of significance.”

Earl waved his hand in the air, “Perhaps they’re getting supplies somewhere in that area.”

Seppuku pointed at him, “That’s exactly what *you* will be figuring out today.”

The mechanic's eyes widened, “M- Me?”

“And Flower, of course.”

Chiya sighed at the new assignment, “But we won’t be assaulting anything this time, right?”

“Don’t know,” was his honest response. “If you see the Wild Boar, you’re to follow it. Wherever it ends up, I want to know. Hopefully this will give us the lead needed to finally nail Chain in the back of the head.”

The mission was straight forward and didn't require combat, yet, Chiya knew something was wrong. She crossed her arms and half pouted, “This seems like a mission that requires stealth. Can't you go do this?”

“Bendek, when you get back here, get the Red Dove prepared for the upcoming race.”

“You didn't answer my question...” Chiya complained.

Earl got an irritated look, “You know, it would be a lot easier to do this if you weren’t bashing the Red Dove up every single night.”

Seppuku laughed, “Don’t be silly, there’s always room for bashing. Now get going, you two!”

Chiya rolled her eyes and walked out the door, Earl momentarily followed her out of the office. Earl only had a regular hover car to drive to their destination, it would stand no chance against an F-Zero machine, especially a heavyweight offensive machine like the *Wild Boar*. If the two were attacked by an F-Zero machine, the car would be smashed into pieces instantly. Earl, of course, wasn't going to tell Chiya this.

Moments later, Chiya and Earl were in the garage preparing to leave the base. The two approached his vehicle, a bland white and yellow hover car. He got in, turned on the ignition, then opened the massive garage door leading outside. As soon as they drove out of the garage Earl pressed a button above the dashboard of the vehicle that closed the garage door. Chiya was surprised to find that the garage door was disguised as a normal looking building on the outside, as if the door were just a metal wall. They began the drive to their destination, which was only minutes away.

The two were on their first mission together and Chiya was feeling somewhat shy. Earl was now considered a friend in her eyes, but she had only been living with him for a short while now. Earl seemed to be a fairly laid back person, thus not surprising her that he hit on girls at the bar scene. Chiya's gaze remained locked on the man for several moments. Earl glanced at her and caught her obsessive stare, but she made an immediate retreat by turning her head away. Earl smirked and raised a brow. He had been getting to know her since they first met, he could understand that she was perhaps mutually interested in getting to know him.

“So the interesting thing about F-Zero engines is that we’re using one right now, only, it isn’t supercharged,” Earl explained.

The Mysterian found slight offense in his attempt to start a conversation. Even he could admit to himself that this was a foolish thing to say, given Chiya's extended knowledge in engines.

“I know that,” she challenged.

Earl brushed off his foolish fact by nodding, “Alright, did you know the first combat module was fitted on a police cruiser for the purpose of comprehending criminals in car pursuits?”

“I just know about engines, because I used to work with them.” She placed a hand over her forehead and frowned, “M- My dad always warned me not to supercharge any of the engines we worked on.”

This enlisted Earl's interest, “But you knew how?”

“I pulled it off once in high school without much of a struggle, but the district confiscated and sold the supercharged engine.”

“And you didn't get any cash?”

She bloated her cheeks and shook negatively, “They considered the engine to be school property, obviously a loophole.”

“That is crap. Unless the money went toward education, in which case, good.” Earl glanced over at her and smiled, “I can see why Seppuku wanted you on the team, I just don’t understand why he wants you for combat purposes.”

Chiya shrugged, “Why not?”

Earl puckered his lips while thinking, “Well, if you have even the simplest of talent in engineering, I would imagine he'd put you to work with me fixing the Red Dove.” Chiya hummed and rubbed her chin. She had to consider what he said, for he spoke the truth. *Is Seppuku just using me as a meat shield..?* “But then again, you seem to lack self-confidence. He may be trying to help you in that sort by putting you through difficult situations.”

Chiya glared in response, “I have self-confidence! I- I just…”

For reasons unknown to her, Chiya could not find the words she wanted to use. Ultimately, she looked out the window with a disgruntled expression.

The remainder of the ride was awkward and silent. They soon parked the car in a hidden spot in case Michael Chain came causing havoc. Now, the two sat on a bench across from the street they were supposed to watch over. Both were gazing at a broken fountain located a block away. This fountain once served as a scenic part of the Lower City's park, which was now anything but lively.

Earl continued gazing toward the dead park, but Chiya found herself yet again staring at Earl. He looked like someone who lived to work and had no life outside of the garage. It had been established that Earl liked to hit on girls for the 'sport of kissing', but aside from this, Chiya had yet to hear a single one of his interests, excluding engineering. The loose ruffles of his brown hair waved along with the gentle winter breeze.

“Earl, how did you get mixed in with Seppuku?”

Earl widened his eyes, he momentarily smirked at the question. He looked straight forward aimlessly, “Well, as I recall, Seppuku had just joined F-Zero, he was a new racer, and I always liked new blood so I joined in as a Seppuku fan.”

“Was he bad at first?”

Earl scratched his head, “That’s the strange thing. In his first ever race, he was already combating with Captain Falcon. It's as if he had been racing all his life. When the committee first announced his Prix entrance, a lot of us just thought he was a Captain Falcon clone, you know, cause of the 'Lieutenant' title and visor.” Chiya was intrigued by the fact Seppuku fought Captain Falcon on the track, this made Seppuku sound like a villain, considering he attacked a hero. “Strangely enough, his fan base still isn’t very big. Anyways, one day I got to meet him in person, fan to racer, and we actually began talking for a bit. After a brief exchange of words he revealed his plan to start a small vigilante group comprising of two people, and oddly enough he was interested in me.”

“So you just joined him right there,” she guessed.

“Not quite, I volunteered to be his engineer. But all I wanted was work credit, no money. Not long after joining him he wanted me to build an F-Zero machine of my own and consider joining him on the track. And not long after that, he wanted me to do *these* sorts of crazy missions with him. I did try leaving, but then I saw the money to be made here…”

Chiya widened her eyes at his reasoning: Money. The money was the same reason Chiya decided to stay. *What’s Seppuku’s game? Is it possible he just wants the gangs removed so he can establish his own rule down here..?* Chiya decided not to think too far into this, and thus, she changed the subject.

“Hey, Earl, I noticed a helmet that looked familiar to Blood Falcon’s. It's in the lobby.”

“That was the first thing I asked him about when I first arrived at the base. I’ve asked him about that for years, but he always claims to not know where he got it from.” Chiya was relieved to know she wasn’t the only one somewhat troubled by this. “I, personally, think he’s just ashamed to admit that it’s a Blood Falcon souvenir. He was probably a Blood Falcon fan before joining the Grand Prix.”

*Why would you put a souvenir in a display case, though..?* Chiya was then startled as a metal ball rolled under the bench. Both Chiya and Earl gazed at the ball with raised brows. The Mysterian grabbed the ball and held it up.

“What’s that?” asked Earl.

“I’m not sure…”

The ball remained in her hand for five more seconds, then let out a blinding light that flashed the eyes of both companions. Everything went white for Chiya and she quickly felt her life fading away, and then everything became dark. The last thing that came to Chiya’s mind was that both had been killed by a grenade.

Chiya awoke much later, she was tied up to a chair yet again. She blinked and groaned a few times. Her eyesight remained affected by the bright light of the flashbang, though both the hue and saturation of her world slowly restored. She was relieved to find Earl tied up with her as well. The sense of relief was short lived, as she soon panicked by kicking her feet constantly. She was under the presumption that they were in the same room as last time. This, however, was a much different room.

“W- Where are we, Earl?”

He turned his head toward her, he had woken up far before Chiya, “Looks like Red Star caught us.”

“Red Star? I thought we were worrying about the Bloody Chain!”

Chiya looked around the room and found two blood-red banners with gold trimmed stars. Chiya was trembling at the situation they were in, only she was a little more relieved to have someone with her this time. Some chatter could be heard coming toward the only door in the room—someone was coming.

“What do they want with us?” she asked in fright.

Earl knew he had to try and keep Chiya calm as possible, “I have no idea. They probably want to gut us alive.”

Two muscular men charged into the room holding assault rifles, each rifle had a dumbbell chained to the barrel. Neither Chiya nor Earl said nothing, another person was about to enter the room. It was well likely that they were going to be talked to by someone before receiving their fate, the fact two men with assault rifles came in, typically, was not a good sign.

At last, the man running the show walked into the room, he had a very unique appearance. The man was very light skinned, had a half-shaved cream colored mohawk, green pants, long boots, and was wearing a bright red muscle shirt. What caught Chiya’s immediate gaze was the mysterious symbol in the corner of his muscle shirt, a gold hammer and sickle; she recognized the symbol from her days on Mysteria. This was the boss of Red Star, *Brock Blaskovitz*.

Brock grinned and chuckled, “Looks like we finally captured the heart of Seppuku’s army,” he said in a Russian accent.

“Blaskovitz, I presume?” Earl guessed.

He nodded back at him, “There will be no questions for me, Seppuku made the mistake of sending you to our favorite street. You were practically asking to be captured. I would ask you to thank him for me, but that will be quite impossible.”

“Seppuku, you damn fool…” Earl grumbled.

A frightened Chiya kicked her legs up, “What do you want with us?”

“I said no questions, female!” The veins in his arms began to pop. Chiya was disturbed by the sight of this and looked away from him. Brock proceeded to take small steps around the two, “You stole parts from us, so I know that you can engineer F-Zero. This is why I have decided to give you options.”

Chiya and Earl exchanged glances, fearful of what was to happen. Earl

Earl nodded, “What‘s up with this gang war anyways?”

Brock stood in front of the two with an angered expression, “I come from a different time—a different century, in a nation called the Soviet Union. I truly believed in the proletarian cause, I was a member of the secret service and frozen voluntarily in lab testing.”

Earl shook his head negatively, Brock didn't answer his question, “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I'm not very familiar with Europe.”

Brock continued, “You can imagine my surprise when I awake in the present day, to see that both the Soviet Union and United States have dissolved. I refused to let the soviet spirit die like this, so I formed Red Star to form a new union, to unite the struggling citizens of this city; just look how prosperous we have become!”

Chiya was left blinking in awe at the original part of his story, “So, you’re a time traveler…”

Earl nodded at Brock again, “I see what you’re saying, but why not just merge with the Bloody Chain? More power to you, if you do.”

The Russian spat on the ground, Chiya looked away in disgust, “The Bloody Chain are brutes, they have a different perspective on how things should be run, and I do not approve.” He clenched his large fist up before him, “I would rather relive death twenty times than unite with those steroid using thugs...”

Chiya swallowed and rolled her eyes, “So, about those options you mentioned...”

“Ah, yes. Option one is that I kill you two personally, option two is that you remain in our garage forever and work on our bikes.”

Earl smirked, “You guys ride bicycles?”

Brock grunted, Chiya proceeded to beam, “Oh, oh! I know how to fix bicycles!”

Earl nodded, “Yeah, man, you don't need us to fix bikes; that's nothing more than-”

The room was shook as a response to Brock's stomping, “Bikes! *Bikes*! Not bicycles, hover bikes!”

“So you want us to fix...  hover bikes?” Chiya asked with a displeased look

“-or we can just kill you,” he said putting his rifle right against Chiya’s forehead.

Earl panicked with Chiya at gunpoint, “W- Well, I don’t know what it was but you made the choice much easier for us!” he said before fake laughing.

Brock lowered his assault rifle, “I am glad you see things my way…”

Later on, Chiya and Earl worked inside a huge garage with many hover bikes. Two guards stood watching them near the only exit. The two had been assigned to ensure that all bikes worked properly and were in optimal condition.

Without turning her head, Chiya glanced at the guards, “Don’t those guards need guns?”

Earl revealed a slight grin, “I don’t usually joke around in these situations, but, their muscular arms are practically guns.”

Chiya was working on a hover bike, though not very efficiently. She was much more focused on finding a way out of the building. She glanced at the guards again, both were standing with crossed arms.

“We’re not really going to keep doing this are we?” she whispered.

“Of course not, we just need to figure out how to escape.”

Chiya closed the panel of a bike, “Exactly, but how do we get past those guards?”

The two continued looking around the garage, the room itself was badly constructed and contained many holes, but with the guards watching, they would never get to search for an opening without looking suspicious. Chiya spun around and scanned for other doors in the room, but there were none. Aside from the guarded exited, the only other door was the massive garage door, which could only be opened via computer console.

Chiya opened up another panel to the bike and bent over to look inside. She was only scrubbing the bike's parts, though; she had no actual interest in helping Red Star. Earl continued scanning the garage for an exit, but soon spotted something else of interest. The man looked down at Chiya and puckered his lips in a perverse way. While staring at her, his eyes widened greatly. He scratched his head and looked away with a feeling of discomfort.

“So ignore the fact I was looking, but I notice something is bulging out of your right cheek…”

The Mysterian's eyes widened, followed by a blush, she turned around and hid her rear, “Th- That’s just my wallet…“ Chiya then sprung up to her feet, “Wait, but they confiscated it…”

Chiya had a surprised look on her face and checked around her waist for the object, but she was not finding anything in her pockets. She quickly realized that the object was not in any pocket, but rather, in her shorts. She looked away from Earl in embarrassment and grabbed the object out from under her shorts. Earl widened his eyes upon identifying the object in her hand, but made no sound. Chiya brought it up to her face and gasped, it was the key to the *Red Dove*.

“Earl we have-”

“Ss—sh!”

Earl shook his hand constantly, signaling for her to be quiet. This was a discovery they couldn't reveal. For whatever the reason, Seppuku slipped his key into Chiya’s rear when she wasn’t looking. The only problem facing them was that they needed to get the garage door open. If they found a way to do this, they could easily break free by calling the *Red Dove*.

The engineer snapped his fingers constantly while thinking, then nodded, “Alright, I know what we can do. I’ll go ask if we can use a fitness center to get some muscles, then maybe I can find where to open the garage door.”

“You think they have a fitness center in here?”

Earl lowered his eyelids, “...Chiya... of course these guys have a fitness center.

“Okay, given. But why would he just let us use the fitness center?”

He shrugged, “Honestly, it’s just an idea I pitched. We could try persuading him to let us in.”

Chiya was considering this, then got a devious grin, “Actually yeah, you go do that, I have a plan of my own down here…”

Earl was skeptical of what Chiya had come up with, but he held his questions and walked toward the guards. Chiya turned around and knelt, then opened up a hover bike’s engine. Earl approached the guards and put on a fake grin.

“Hey, since we’re new here, I was wondering if I could see your fitness center? So that I can get packed.” Both guards seemed bothered by his question, and so Earl backtracked. “Uh, assuming you guys have a fitness center?”

One guard shot his arms up, “Of course we have a fitness center!”

The other guard bent over and pinched Earl's arm, “Yeah, bro! You could use some lifting! But you just wanna get out of here, I bet!”

Earl fake chuckled at the accusation, “Get out of here? I don’t think I’m in a very good position to do that.. I’m scrawny compared to you guys, and also unarmed,”

The guard rubbed his chin and hummed, falling into Earl's trap, “I’ll go ask the Boss!” he said before charging away.

The other guard was staring at Earl in a hostile way. Earl felt easily intimidated and looked away from him, now looking back at Chiya. She was still working on the bike’s engine and didn't appear to have any actual intentions of helping. He sighed, presuming that her plan was actually to wait while he does everything himself. Earl was disappointed in Chiya, having originally thought of her as a braver person.

Meanwhile, Brock found himself reading literature online at his desk. He was wearing a pair of glasses and was biting down on his finger nervously.

He shook his head frantically, “No, don't, just apologize to her and be friends again!”

Just then, a guard ran into his office panting. A surprised Brock quickly hid his glasses and minimized the story.

“What is it?” he demanded.

“Sir, sir! That Korean is requesting access to the fitness center!”

Typically, Brock's response was negative. He struck his fist down and said, “Absolutely not! He just wants to escape from here.”

“But, sir, he says he wants to get muscles...”

The Russian lowered his eyelids and sighed, “It is true that I'm the messiah of bodybuilding. It is my obligatory duty to help build the muscles of those who desire such...”

Not long after the guard left, Brock came storming into the garage to meet Earl, “My guard says you want to leave already…”

Earl shook his head negatively, “Not true, not true. I want to see your fitness center, Seppuku never had one, so I thought maybe that would motivate me to work more efficiently.” Brock hummed in discontent at Earl, initially not buying the story. “Hey, I’m a wild person. If I like what I see, I might even end up becoming an official Red Star supporter.”

Brock was rubbing his forehead head in suspicion, he searched Earl's eyes for signs of fear. “I do not trust you, so I will act as a trainer. Follow me.”

Earl widened his eyes, “O- Oh... great!”

This plan was sinking fast. Earl wasn’t too surprised that he would be watched if he managed to leave the garage, but having the boss watch him wasn‘t going to work. If it were anyone else watching Earl in the fitness center, then there may have been an opportunity to bribe them, but instead, he had the leader watching. If anything, Earl would be coming out of this plan with bruises and exhausted muscles.

Moments later, the two walked into a large room full of equipment and weights. Nearly eighty gangsters were exercising in the room, Brock and Earl stepped down a fleet of stairs to the bottom. The center was filled with the moans and grunts of exercising men, this was disturbing Earl.

“This is it!” Brock announced with pride.

Earl was amazed by how expensive the room must have been, he could only imagine that most of this equipment had been stolen. The equipment appeared to be top of the line in the field of bodybuilding.

Brock offered his strict instructions, “You may work here if you wish, but only when I am present.”

Earl nodded and looked around for something to do. The new plan was to exercise long enough for Brock to need a restroom break, this would hopefully give Earl time to run. Of course, this was assuming that Earl could take on the pressure of heavy lifting for so long.

One gang member called for Brock, “Boss, Boss! I’m bench pressing five hundred pounds! Come spot me, bro!”

Brock grunted, “Five hundred? Nice! I must spot you!” The gang leader abandoned Earl and approached the working man.

Earl was stunned at how fast his opportunity had come, he found this the best opportunity to run and find a way to open the garage door. He stepped back toward the stairs and climbed it, he did so without making a sound—as if it matter—not a sound could be heard past the constant grunting and machinery at work.

He entered the main hallway and now had to hurry and find the main computer before he was uncovered. His initial guess was that the computer could be found in Brock's office, if not, he'd have to think quickly and perhaps leave the Red Star HQ without Chiya. In that event, he could get Seppuku and come back.

Chiya, in the meantime, worked on another hover bike. The woman's eyes widened as one of the two guards approached her from behind. She could sense someone towering over her, but was pretending not to notice. Her fear expanded as a large meaty arm slammed against the hover bike she was working on. With trembling eyes, she looked up and found one of the massive goons looking down at her with a grin.

“This is my bike you're working on. Pretty sweet, huh?”

Chiya nodded with her teeth gritted, “Y- Yes, it’s very nice...”

The gangster scratched his throat and rolled his eyes, “You know, I was thinking that, maybe, my bike would be more sweet if you gave it a new slick decal...”

The Mysterian scratched the back of her head, choosing not to respond. Suddenly her beanie hat was pulled off by the guard. She turned with a glare, “I’d like that back, please…”

“Sure, sure…“ The muscular man placed the hat over her face and proceeded to twirl his foot around in small circles, “You know, you look pretty without your hat on...” he flirted.

Chiya widened her eyes in absolute shock. *Oh God, is this seriously happening, here and now..!?*

“I was thinking that maybe I could turn on my bike and drive you around town, if you want. You'll love it.”

“No!” Chiya responded with very wide eyes.

The guard was staring at her in confusion, the response given was very frantic and almost desperate. She realized how suspicious this sounded, and thus closed her eyes to giggle, “It’s, u—uh, it’s not ready yet. Don’t turn it on…”

The guard remained still, but momentarily shrugged and walked away. Chiya exhaled in great relief and turned toward the bike again, “Come on, Earl...”

Earl located the master computer in Brock’s office. Earl was now searching through the computer for the building access section, he was familiar with this type of computer system and knew there was a security command panel. This would allow him to open the garage door. While searching, Earl came across a map of the structure's location in the Lower City. He caught a quick glimpse of the area they were in, but had more serious things to attend to.

He soon came across the building access section. Without hesitation he pressed the large red button labeled '*Emergency: Open All*'. Immediately upon clicking this, he realized the mistake he had made. The entire building flashed red with a siren going off.

“Oops…”

Chiya had finished one last hover bike before noticing that the garage door was opening. She began to panic, and without hesitation, clicked the button on the key, thus calling for the *Red Dove* to autopilot to this location. If the *Red Dove* failed to come from the base to their current position, Chiya and Earl would need to, literally, run for their life.

In the fitness center, Brock stopped watching his gangster exercise and spun around, Earl was nowhere to be seen. The Russian growled and clapped his hands together.

“Find him!”

Earl grabbed a blunt object off the desk and smashed the computer, this destroyed it. By destroying the computer, Red Star would be severely set back for awhile, as they would no longer have any of their most valued information. Earl was about to leave, when suddenly, Brock and three other goons ran up to the door. Earl grunted at the furious gang leader in surprise and stopped. Brock was already angry, but became angrier after noticing the smashed computer.

“You deadbeat Korean!”

“Oh, Blaskovitz! Uh, I was just leaving!” Earl dived underneath the three and proceeded to run.

“After him!” Brock ordered

Earl was chased down the hallway by everyone in the immediate area. One of the goons grabbed an assault rifle attached to the wall and tried taking aim at Earl. They fired, but Earl rounded the corner just in time.

Everyone had left the garage but Chiya, who had finished working on the last bike. She was hiding behind one of the bikes while waiting for Earl and the *Red Dove*. Earl soon ran in with about ten gangsters chasing him, luckily, his timing was perfect just in time, for the *Red Dove* had just drove inside the garage with an opened cockpit.

There was no exchange of words between the two friends, Chiya leapt into the drivers seat and set the GPS system for Seppuku's base. “Come on, Earl, it’s time to go!”

Earl jumped in the backseat. Without sitting down, he grabbed the cockpit window and slammed it shut himself. Chiya buckled herself in and drove away moments after the cockpit closed. Brock ran up to the opened garage door and stomped his foot angrily at the escaping *Red Dove*.

“Come on, you fools, get on your bikes and kill those two!”

As ordered, several gangsters mounted their hover bikes with the mission of hunting the two down.

Now driving away from the Red Star HQ, Earl wrapped his arms around Chiya's seat and expressed his concern.

“Chiya, they’re going to swarm us once they all get on their bikes!”

Chiya nodded while trying to maneuver the broken infrastructure, “Remember that plan I told you I had?”

The gangster kicked on their bikes, Brock crossed his arms with grinding teeth, “Bring me their heads!”

The bikes all took off, but then exploded before making it out of the garage. Smoke and debris blew Brock back a few meters. He wiped his face and waited for the dust to settle.

“Wh- What!?”

Every single bike engine was shot, the energy compartment of each engine had pulverized. One gang member jumped off his bike and observed his bike, “Our engines, th- they were improperly supercharged!” he explained to Brock loudly.

Brock screamed into the air with fury before walking toward a special storage room in the garage. “So, they have an F-Zero machine. Two can play at that game!” he yelled while opening the door. Inside was a red hover bike. This was the only existing F-Zero machine ever made in the form of a bike. “If you want something done right, you do it yourself,” Brock said as he started up the engine.

The side of the F-Zero bike was labeled '*Stalin’s Might*', the bike was not an officially registered F-Zero machine, however. He took off at a fast speed and dodged all of the destroyed hover bikes. He was confident that he could intercept Chiya and Earl quickly, all by himself.

Chiya looked back at Earl, “Looks like we’re home free!” she said with a happy smile.

Earl looked to their rear and could see the *Stalin’s Might* approaching them, “Not quite!” he said pointing back.

The Mysterian gasped at the unfamiliar type of F-Zero machine approaching them. Brock was grinding his teeth at the very thought of smashing the *Red Dove*.

“Chiya, you’re going to have to combat him. Just quickly shift left while holding down the combat button when he’s in sight.”

She searched for the combat button on her steering wheel, then found it on top. “Got it!”

The *Stalin’s Might* was seconds away from making contact with the *Red Dove*. Brock was shifting to the left in preparation to perform a side attack. The thought of a mere hover bike having enough firepower to slam into an F-Zero machine was incredible. Chiya was starting to panic at the limited options she had, but then got an idea. She moved more to the far right and now hugged the curb.

“What are you doing!?” a frantic Earl asked.

“Going to try and trick him…”

The *Red Dove* was now hovering over the sidewalk and driving along the buildings. Brock was now aligned to the far left of Chiya and began shifting to the right some more. He was in a good position to pin her against the walls of the buildings.

Earl grasped Chiya's chair,“No, you can’t do this! You’re going to get us killed if you leave us this open for an attack.”

Chiya brushed off the warning and waited for a specific moment. The *Stalin’s Might* was now in range for a perfect attack. Chiya hit the brakes the first second the *Stalin’s Might* moved toward the *Red Dove*. Brock commenced a side attack, but was caught off guard by Chiya's sudden stop.

The Russian ended up beating against the buildings. Sparks flew as the *Stalin’s Might* scraped along the buildings, he struggled to regain control.

“Good one, but that’s only making him angrier,” said Earl.

Brock spun his bike around and faced the *Red Dove* head on. He then growled to himself, “Not bad, but I must finish you now...”

Suddenly, another F-Zero machine approached the two with about ten other similar looking machines. It was the *Wild Boar*, Michael Chain made the scene. The Bloody Chain all drove machines that closely resembled the *Wild Boar*, but these machines were gray rather than orange and had no combat modules or boosters.

Brock looked at his limited options and slammed both arms on the dashboard of the *Stalin’s Might* in rage. He decided to retreat, rather than fight. For reasons unknown, the *Red Dove* was disregarded by the Bloody Chain, who pursued Brock Blaskovitz instead.

Chiya and Earl were both left with dropped jaws at what had just happened. The Bloody Chain indirectly saved the two, but this was a complete coincidence. Had Brock not decided to chase them down, the two would have run into the Bloody Chain—arguably a more difficult foe.

Earl shrugged and looked at Chiya, “Well then, let’s go home,” an exhausted Earl spoke silently.

Seppuku was sitting in his office working on the computer. All was calm in the world of Lieutenant Seppuku until Chiya and Earl stormed into the room.

“What the Hell was that all about!?” Earl shouted.

Seppuku waved with a calm face, “Hi.”

Chiya put the *Red Dove*’s key on the desk, Seppuku grabbed it and put it back in his coat pocket. Earl was waiting for a response but was getting nowhere. Seppuku, in fact, appeared to be waiting for Earl to speak.

“Alright, how did you mess up that badly? You sent us into a Red Star hot zone, where we were captured. We barely made it out of there alive!”

Seppuku chuckled, “This is why I put that key in Chiya's shorts.”

Earl and Chiya both got shocked expressions, “What!?” they both responded.

The Man of Darkness folded his arms together and leaned over his desk, “I knew you would find nothing at that area, but I realize that Red Star is commonly watching over that area for Bloody Chain gangsters. If you waited long enough, it was inevitable that someone would find you two sitting around and take you back to their base. If I played my cards right that is, and as long as Chiya didn’t do anything stupid.”

Chiya glared at Seppuku, “So you weren't even sure if we'd survive that encounter!?”

He went back onto his computer, “I already went and got your car, Bendek. Now I can look on the Red Dove’s GPS and get the location of their HQ whenever I wish, considering Chiya called for it at that location.”

Earl growled, “I see how it is then. I don’t want to be part of *those* kinds of missions anymore, and neither does Chiya.”

Chiya lowered her eyebrows and nodded in agreement, “Hm!”

Seppuku grunted in surprised discontent, but nodded, “Fine...”

In the long run what had happened was that Seppuku set everything up. He wanted Chiya and Earl to go to this apparent Bloody Chain infested area just to be captured by Red Star. If things went as he planned, they would have taken the two straight to Brock Blaskovitz, which is why Seppuku put the *Red Dove*’s key in Chiya’s shorts. Now he had a bookmarked location of the Red Star HQ—a major milestone in his mission to end the gang war.

The two awaited for further orders, though both were filled to the brim with dissent. Seppuku knew best not to further provoke either of the two, or else risk both leaving or starting a workers' union.

“As I said, get the Red Dove ready for the next race. I have nothing for either of you to do tomorrow.”

Chiya was angry, but now realized that she could go and spend some money on much needed things in the Upper City. The first time in her life. The risk of being ambushed by gang members remained, but Red Star was severely crippled without their gang bikes, leaving only the possibility of a Bloody Chain encounter.

Later on that night, everyone was asleep except for Seppuku, who was out in Mute City hunting for crime. Chiya had awoken and felt the need to go for a walk. She quietly roamed the hallways while thinking about many things. Once again, sleep calmed Chiya down and settled any resentful thoughts she may have had. She was excited for the following day, as she would be able to do whatever she wants with all of the money she now possesses.

She entered the lobby and looked at the display cases, the one thing she immediately walked over to was the Blood Falcon helmet. Her gaze was undying, Earl's claim of this being a souvenir simply didn't add up, for it was practically destroyed. There was no doubting Earl's friendly person, she knew he was a true friend to have. Seppuku, however, had many secrets behind him.

After today’s events, it had become clear to her that the lives of Seppuku’s allies were expendable. This was making Chiya even more stressed; he may have saved her twice, but he had also gotten her in grave danger twice as well. Now that she was associated with the man, Seppuku no longer seemed to be the hero she first thought of him as. At first he seemed like a dark hero, but now he seemed to be a plain madman with a large plan. Chiya needed answers to the ultimate question of whether or not Seppuku acted under justice or himself. She wouldn't stop thinking about this until the answer was found.

To be Continued!

**Lap 7 <** **| > Lap 9**

## Author Notes

#### Bodybuilding Fanatics

A common theme found in the Lower City gang war between the Red Star and Bloody Chain is their fanaticism towards bodybuilding and "gains." While I sought to present the two gangs as having ideologically different goals, the one factor hinting that the two gangs were once part of a single unit is their common love for muscles. The idea that Red Star seceded from the Bloody Chain would not be revealed until the Seppuku Tale 'Katyusha,' which revealed that Blaskovitz originally joined the Bloody Chain as a gang lieutenant. The origin of the bodybuilding focus in these gangs derives from Michael Chain himself and how he is portrayed in the games and anime, especially F-Zero GX, where his Master mode ending video depicts him as a bodybuilder. Secondly, the mission 'Challenge of the Bloody Chain' in F-Zero GX seems to depict all of the Bloody Chain as boasting similar bodies, leading to the conclusion that the gang as a whole unit adores extreme physical conditioning. This theme is used for comedy in F-Zero: Seppuku mostly, but also has an underlying purpose of giving the gangs culture.

#### Brock Blaskovitz

Blaskovitz is often credited for being the most influential cause for F-Zero: Seppuku's revival in 2013, as the idea of a communist gangster helped push along a new and unique plot for the story. The story of Blaskovitz wouldn't be fully explored until the much later release of the Seppuku Tale, 'Katyusha,' which would reveal that he was a decorated Soviet officer sent on a minor time travel mission, only to be forgotten about when the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. When he eventually was discovered and brought to Mute City, Brock explored the future metropolis still holding onto his Soviet ideals, and eventually joins the Bloody Chain after being convinced that communism as he knew it had failed. Eventually, it is to be suggested that Brock would try to influence the gang politics of the Bloody Chain to adopt a Stalinist approach and consequentially lead to a schism resulting in the formation of Red Star. The motivation of Brock Blaskovitz, as explained in this chapter, is that he wants to take the exceptionally poor, angry, and plentiful that make up the Lower City and unite them toward a Mute City revolution. Brock's rationale is that if the Lower City can unite under the spirit of Vladimir Lenin, their united cause can seize all of Mute City and in a sense bring about a new Soviet Union when this would inevitably lead to the conquest of Japan.

#### Hoverbikes

Red Star introduces hoverbikes into the world of F-Zero, something non-canon to the games and anime. While the Bloody Chain, by contrast, equips itself with identical gray variants of the *Wild Boar* F-Zero machine, Red Star instead goes for the lighter, less protected, but more flexible strategies that come with hoverbike technology. A key difference between the two styles of gang vehicle is that Red Star can ride their bikes but still unleash gunfire, while the Bloody Chain must instead rely on the physique of their machines to cause violence. Hoverbikes are depicted almost exclusively in the hands of Red Star in F-Zero: Seppuku, but it is presumable that they exist elsewhere as a natural evolution of the motorcycle.

## Chapter Illustration

This chapter illustration depicts the scene Chiya and Earl are captured by Red Star leader, Brock Blaskovitz, and told that they will be forced to fix their hoverbikes from then on. This illustration braved past the usual tendency to depict Chiya or Earl as the primary focus of the image and instead gave the appropriate spotlight to Brock Blaskovitz, then a new character. This was not the first time Brock Blaskovitz had been drawn, but it was the first time he was drawn without tracing any existing image. This was also one of only a few times in SIontix Realm history when a villain was depicted with solid white eyes void of color or pupils.

This chapter illustration was produced over Paint.NET on August 11th, 2013, as part of a continuing set of illustrations all prepared from August 10-11. The illustrations for Laps 8-11 would be made in the early hours of August 11, with this one being finished at 12:30 AM.

## Characters Introduced

#### Brock Blaskovitz

Having been introduced in a prior chapter, Lap 8 is the first time the reader encounters Brock Blasovitz in the flesh. He is revealed as Chiya and Earl's captor in the chapter, and informs them that he is aware of their expertise in working on F-Zero machines, as such, he forcefully recruits them into his garage. Brock commands the communist gang of Red Star with the central aim of uniting the Lower City and taking over all of Mute City. A self-proclaimed 'messiah of bodybuilding,' Brock values physical dominance to such an extent that he was willing to put Earl--a foe--to the gym for his own sake. Brock rides the *Stalin's Might*, a hoverbike equipped with supercharged parts, technically making it an F-Zero machine, despite not being a licensed racer.