F-Zero: Seppuku - Part 1/3, Lap 9

**Lap 8 < | > Lap 10**

After the sneaky trap Seppuku sent on Chiya and Earl, they return unharmed with valuable information, along with all of Red Star's bikes destroyed by Chiya. After a night of relaxation, Chiya now finds herself in combat...

## Chapter Reading

==Lap 9=

Chiya was standing still firing her handgun constantly. Gun shells were surrounding the woman on the metal floor in large numbers. She had a new handgun, but it was the same type as before. Brock Blaskovitz confiscated her original handgun during capture.

One bullet was left in the chamber. She had to make this final shot count, otherwise suffer the repercussions of failure. She fired the last bullet, then lowered her handgun. The facial expression of the woman was calm, yet disappointed.

Seppuku ran up to her and flapped his arms, “Flower!” he shouted angrily. Chiya glanced at him with wide eyes, “That was terrible! You may have hit most of the targets, but you only grazed the edges! That last shot didn’t even hit a damn thing!”

The day had passed, and Chiya found herself practicing inside the shooting range, yet another large room that the base contained. This was her first time in the room, though not on a positive note. There was a wide area with pop up targets behind a railing, Chiya had been shooting these targets—or at least tried to.

Chiya holstered her pistol and stuck her tongue out, “Well I never pictured myself blowing things up with this machine gun anyways.”

Seppuku face palmed, “That is not a machine gun… that is a pistol.”

“Whatever, same thing.”

The man stomped his foot down, “They most certainly are not the same thing!”

“They are both guns, and guns kill people.”

Chiya was surprised all of a sudden as Seppuku grabbed her roughly by the arm, “Idiot, guns don't kill people; I kill people!”

The 'argument' between the two had been interrupted as Earl charged into the room, he was panting immensely. Seppuku and Chiya both turned towards him, Chiya did so with a very concerned face. Seppuku approached him, assuming that he had something important to say.

“Se- Seppuku, the Galactic Federation is on the phone. They wish to speak to you right away!” Earl panicked.

Seppuku gasped and took a step back in shock, “How the Hell did they track me down!? Not even the gangs know where this base is!”

Earl shrugged, “No idea, but they don't sound happy.”

Seppuku said nothing more to Earl on the matter, and so he walked back to his office angrily. Earl looked down at Chiya who appeared more confused than anyone else in the room. Chiya and Earl both followed Seppuku back to his office.

A few moments later, Seppuku was communicating with the Galactic Space Federation in his office via phone. Earl and Chiya were standing by silently, waiting for him to wrap up his conversation. The Galactic Federation was the major intergalactic alliance of the universe—basically serving as a futuristic United Nations. The Federation also had a universal police force, going anywhere from simple officers to the special task force that notable people like Rick Wheeler were in. It could be argued that the Federation owned the entire universe, except for certain planets like Mysteria and Magica, which remained independent.

Seppuku slammed his fist down, “No, no, no! We’re going to talk right here!” he demanded into the phone.

Chiya began to tremble. She couldn’t imagine what Seppuku did that could get him involved with the Federation. If the Galactic Federation had requested him, it was probably not for good intentions. Since the Federation was a natural enemy of the planet Mysteria, Chiya wasn’t very familiar with how they operated. Chiya had been taught by her planet to hate the Federation, as Seppuku once said, they had brainwashed her.

The man brought the phone up to his other ear and nodded, “Yeah, okay, great! I'll see you soon, you damn bat!”

He slammed the phone down, nearly breaking it in the process in what could be seen as passionate rage. He continued staring at the computer screen, but momentarily looked into Chiya’s eyes with great intimidation. The woman almost felt like sweating because of his horrific state. Seppuku continued staring into her eyes for several moments. Chiya moved her eyes slightly, now feeling very uncomfortable.

“S- So, have you always had that hat?” she asked with a nervous smile.

“Dammit, shut up, Flower!”

Chiya’s eyes began to water at his demand, feeling hurt by his hostile nature. Earl glared at the tall man for bursting at Chiya like so. Seppuku then stood up and walked toward the door, he was practically stomping with every step he took.

“We’re expected at the Galactic Federation HQ in the Upper City. They didn’t state what they want,” he explained angrily.

Earl's eyes widened, “*We‘re*? You mean they know who we are as well?”

“No, but you two are coming with me anyways,” he responded coldly.

Chiya lowered her eyebrows nervously, feeling that he was going to try and pull them down with him if something were to go wrong. Seppuku's recent shenanigans demonstrated that he couldn't care less about what happens to the two, he seemed to only care that the two don't die. Still, Chiya had little of a choice but to tag along. Seppuku knew she was a run away Mysterian and could certainly inform the Federation about this if he so desired. If the *stories* she was told on Mysteria were true, the Federation would starve, torture, and then execute her via firing squad.

She gulped with watery eyes and grit her teeth, then turned toward Earl. He appeared more frustrated than afraid. The expressions of both men were proof enough that only bad would come from this day. She came from a planet that despised the Federation, and now it was time for her to meet them; something no ordinary Mysterian ever got to do.

The three wasted no time entering the garage. Seppuku signaled for the *Red Dove* to open its cockpit. Chiya and Earl were to drive the ordinary car and would need to somehow keep up with the *Red Dove*. Chiya sat in the passenger’s seat as Earl got in the driver’s seat. Both friends were feeling uncomfortable by Seppuku's sudden attitude, it was even worse than usual.

Seppuku drove away before the two could even buckle up. Earl let out a disgruntled growl and smacked both hands against the steering wheel.

“Damn! Will that man just calm down!?”

Chiya looked at Earl with fearful eyes, she was the only one not fuming with rage. Earl hit the accelerator and tried keeping up with the *Red Dove*, Seppuku was at least patient enough to drive at a slow speed. An F-Zero machine could go four times as fast as a regular automobile; typically, though, the Upper City enforced regular speed limits. Chiya glanced at Earl again, now curious over his frustration toward Seppuku.

“Why is Seppuku so upset about this? I mean, I think I get why, but he’s usually so cool-headed about everything else,” Chiya asked in a relaxing tone.

Earl responded with a fake laugh, “You’ll find out not long from now. Let’s just start off by saying he and the Federation do not see eye to eye with each other…”

“Well, he made that much clear over the phone,” she muttered silently.

Earl exhaled and tried calming down for Chiya's sake, “I’ll be honest, I’m not scared about what they want with him, I’m afraid of how he’s going to act in front of Jody Summer...” Chiya glared at the mentioning of the woman's name. “When it comes to Jody Summer, Seppuku can act a bit, unusual...”

“J- Jody Summer!?”

“You know her?”

Chiya nodded heavily, “She's the one who called for the slaughtering of many Mysterian soldiers and citizens alike. Many more were brought here to Earth and placed in termination camps!”

Earl widened his eyes before giving her a very puzzled look, “I don't know what kind of history book you were reading, but that's a bunch of crap.”

“It's true! I learned about it in school!”

The man's gaze went out the window and toward the Federation HQ, a tower erecting higher than any in the universe. “I hate to break it to you, Chi', but the Mysterian government has a tendency to... *exaggerate*.”

Chiya frowned, “You don't believe me?”

“Trust me, there are no death camps of any sort on any Federation planet.”

The HQ was a far distance away from Seppuku’s base, but only a bit away from the race track she had been to. Chiya was able to walk to the track in the beginning of her adventure, so this wouldn't be a long drive.

Chiya pushed her legs together and looked down at her feet, “Do you like Seppuku?” The tone of her voice conveyed to Earl that she was asking herself the same question.

Earl sighed and looked up at the *Red Dove*, “He isn’t a bad person, I promise you that. Even if you were his own flesh and blood he would treat you the same way. The man has that kind of attitude about things, and unfortunately, he's very stubborn.”

“He kind of reminds me of Captain Falcon, he has a similar face—but lacks the sexy muscles,” Chiya pointed out.

Earl nodded, “He has similar facial features , but actually does have muscles, he just never reveals them because he is always wearing that dark coat of his.”

Chiya held her cheek and hummed, a good question she had was where Seppuku had obtained the *Red Dove*. Like the body of her future machine, she was under the presumption that, perhaps, he acquired it from the Federation. She wasn't surprised that someone as evil looking and dark hearted as Seppuku would once serve the Federation—but this was her brainwashed Mysterian mind at work.

The mechanic pointed his finger against her face, “Never mention Captain Falcon to Seppuku. He gets worked up and sometimes aggressive.”

“Why’s that?”

Chiya was still trying to understand who’s side Seppuku was on, good or evil. So far he seemed to possess both good and bad traits.

“Not sure, anytime he sees Captain Falcon’s image he gets all angry. Even in the Grand Prix he tries pushing Captain Falcon around, but this also applies for Blood Falcon. He seems to just hate both their guts. To be fair, he seems to hate Blood Falcon most of all.”

*If he hates both a good and bad guy, he must be neutral…* Chiya thought in puzzlement.

The two continued speaking about more casual topics as they arrived in the Upper City. Chiya was always amazed by the vast level of differences in this part of the city in contrast to the Lower City. Likely the most noticeable difference with the Upper City for Chiya was the existing traffic. The Lower City was a ghost town compared to this. Other notable differences were that there were more lights on buildings, many pedestrians, a body of water, and ships flying around in the distance.

Earl pointed toward the pedestrians on the sidewalk, “See that? Look how excited everyone gets when an F-Zero machine drives through your ordinary road. It’s crazy.”

Chiya looked outside and widened her eyes. He was right, people were pointing, vehicles were pulling over, and some people were taking photos. Chiya was originally like these people and would be doing the same if it weren’t for the fact that she now worked so closely to an F-Zero racer. But this only applied to the *Red Dove*. If she were to see the *Blue Falcon*, she too, would get excited.

A few minutes later the three all met up in front of the Federation HQ. Seppuku appeared to be back in his calm state, standing still with his coat blowing along with the cold winter breeze. His dark appearance was unfitting in such a happier looking part of Mute City. He looked over at the two and signaled for them to follow. They all walked together through the door.

Chiya was amazed by how advanced this building was compared to most Lower City buildings—such as the now destroyed Rough Odds. What truly puzzled Chiya was that no one had come to guide Seppuku, he just proceeded through the building as though he knew it by heart. Chiya had no idea what was going on, but Seppuku clearly knew what he was doing. What was truly strange, though, was when they came to a door requiring computerized access. Seppuku had pulled out a card and swiped it in, doing so gave him access to an elevator. Chiya was beyond confused but did not speak, fearing that she would receive yet another negative comment.

The door opened and revealed an elevator. The three stepped inside and Seppuku entered in which floor he wished to go to on a screen. The door closed, and Seppuku looked down at the ground with a strict look.

“Flower, when we get up there, you will not speak unless instructed to.”

Chiya nodded affirmatively, Earl raised the next question, “What about me?”

“You can speak, but only if it's about me and a compliment.”

They waited for the elevator to take them up all the way. Chiya and Earl exchanged glances, Seppuku remained looking forward without motion. Moments later, the door opened and they stepped forward into a hallway leading to several offices. Seppuku led the two into a comfortable looking room with huge windows, then shut the door behind them. Chiya now knew for a fact that Seppuku had been here in the past, the card he used on the elevator supported this.

Everyone but Seppuku jumped up as the loud clicking of a heel echoed throughout the entire floor. A woman standing tall in front of a window turned and greeted Seppuku with a cold stare. Her brown hair was longer than her entire torso, her blue German eyes unbreakable, and her facial expression strict as a professor. This was Jody Summer, chief commander and spokeswoman of the Galactic Space Federation, she was also an F-Zero racer piloting the *White Cat*.

“Lieutenant Seppuku...” she greeted with no emotion.

“Yo,” he greeted back.

A moment of silence was drawn between the two. Both were of very similar height, and to Chiya's surprise, of similar levels of intimidation. The looks being exchanged conveyed the fact that the two had a past together—a bad one.

Jody closed her eyes and cleared her throat with a straight posture, “Seppuku, we’ve had e-”

“How did you track me down?” Seppuku demanded.

“We’ve always known where you operate,” she responded with narrowed eyes. Chiya felt that this conversation was going to get very tension filled, it had only been seconds and Seppuku already seemed to be running the conversation. “Seppuku, we’ve had it with your illegal thug group. You’ve left hundreds of people thinking we were attacked by terrorists yesterday when all those explosions went off in that Red Star complex yesterday. And we know this was of your doing!”

“Hang on a minute!” Seppuku shouted whilst flapping his arms. He spun around and faced Chiya with an excited expression, “You blew things up yesterday!? Progress! I’m so proud of you, Flower!”

Chiya was heavily disturbed by the strange change of attitude, “Thanks..?”

Jody face palmed and sighed, “Seppuku, you can’t be doing these things. You don’t work for the Federation anymore.”

“Damn right I don’t. At least I get the job done!”

Jody slammed her eyes shut while growling, then exhaled, “Since you insist on being a child, I’ll cut to the chase. You are going to stop getting involved in this gang war, or we’ll have you arrested.”

Seppuku chuckled, his sharp teeth were revealed, “Arrested? You mean like you did with Michael Chain, Black Shadow, Blood Falcon, Brock Blaskovitz, and Samurai Goroh?” Jody's eyes narrowed with fuming rage. “Oh, wait a minute, you haven't arrested any of those major criminals.”

Jody poked his chest with intense strength, “We have this gang war under control! You are only promoting more violence, by using violence!”

“And where is this supposed control? Was it in that bar that exploded?”

*Why is he challenging her so much, he could get us all in trouble..!* Chiya thought to herself. Chiya glanced at Earl, who had a look of discontent. She now understood why Earl was worrying about Seppuku’s behavior.

Jody continued her lecture, “You’re not appreciating what help we *have* been able to provide the Lower City with.”

Seppuku grunted in disgust at her comment, “What a bold statement. I’m glad you people fired me. I was such a fool back then, pretending to help people while spending all of my money on spectacular clothing like yours.” He chuckled once more with his head dipped, “You’re looking very pretty today, Ms. Summer.”

Jody grunted with a glare and proceeded to grind her teeth, “Mr. Bendek, get him out of here. I’ve said what needed to be said.”

Earl grabbed Seppuku by the arm and began dragging him away. “Oh, and I’m looking forward to kicking your ass in the Grand Prix!” Seppuku shouted on his way out.

Next, Jody looked at Chiya with two narrowed eyes. “*You*, stay here,” she ordered with a straight finger.

Chiya stopped and widened her eyes, “Yes, ma’am?”

Seppuku stepped toward the door and grunted, “Don’t listen to her, Flower! Jody’s a horrible person! She beats kittens for fun!“

Jody slammed the door in his face, “Idiot...” She then turned towards Chiya with a serious look. “What are you doing with this man?”

“O- Oh, um! ...blimey...” Chiya was trying to think of a safe answer, but was struggling, “U—uh, well, he saved me from a bad fate and took me off the streets into a better home.” Chiya swallowed while trying to look into Jody’s cold eyes. She had the same intimidating stare as Seppuku, except Chiya could see this person's actual blue eyes. “He basically gave me a second chance…”

“You’re hanging around a bad crowd, you should leave now before you get yourself into trouble,” she warned.

Chiya bit her lip, “I’m not sure I understand, what’s Seppuku doing wrong?”

Jody brushed her hair aside, “He’s interfering with police business. He no longer works here, plus, what he is doing is dangerous, disruptive, and against the law. Contrary to what you may think, he is not helping the Lower City in any way.”

The Mysterian looked back, making sure that the door was shut, “Why did Seppuku get fired from the Federation?” she whispered.

Jody walked over to the large window and looked down upon the vast amount of buildings in Mute City, “Let’s just say, his method of working was a bit unorthodox. We had to get rid of him.” Jody put her hand on the window and looked down sadly, “Admittedly, losing him was a huge loss for the Federation. He was a natural born task force agent, but he just had some kind of lust for blood and general violence, he believed criminals deserved nothing but a cold death…”

Chiya lowered her eyebrows and rolled her gaze down toward the floor. *He also enjoys hunting for criminals, to make it a game...*

“He was, of course, very angry when we fired him. You can imagine my surprise after I discovered he would be F-Zero racing for the first time that same year. To be honest, it didn't surprise anyone when he decided to continue crime fighting by his own rules. I just wish he would be less senseless when crime fighting down there.”

Chiya nodded, “I agree.”

The chief commander grinned, “So you’ll run from him?”

An exchange of gazes were made. Jody Summer was regarded as one of the most hated figures on Mysteria, now Chiya was being faced by her. Many on her planet believed Jody to not even be human, but rather, a spawn of Satan. This Mysterian could tell that these were indeed exaggerations, Jody was no more than a servant of justice. Now she was asking Chiya to return to her life as a homeless civilian.

“No.”

Jody was surprised by this answer, then shook her head in disapproval, “I see. Just wait, you’ll soon meet with an unlikely fate if you continue living with him.”

Chiya was becoming offended by her lack of faith in Seppuku, and so she glared. “Nothing will happen. Once this gang war is resolved, Seppuku will probably retire and focus on F-Zero. You'll see.”

Jody let out a single laugh while continuing to shake, “Fine, but let me tell you this. *No matter what, do not attach yourself too much to your companions. One day it will lead to suffering…*”

The cryptic sentence Jody had just spoken left a chill down Chiya’s spine. Without saying anything else Chiya turned and walked toward the door. Chiya was ultimately siding with Seppuku through this encounter, finding Jody somewhat aggressive and manipulative. Before she could exit, Jody had one more question.

“Where are you from?”

Chiya widened her eyes and stopped, “Bl- Bloody Hell. Where am I from, you ask?”

“Yes, you have a beautiful and unique appearance I haven't seen here in Mute City. Your voice is also very soothing.”

The Mysterian gulped, “Seppuku says my accent is annoying...”

“Where do you hail from?”

Chiya faced Jody with a slight tremble, this was the one person she did not want to reveal her Mysterian background to. Jody was already seeking to have Chiya removed from Seppuku's organization, there would be no easier way of doing this than to deport her back to Mysteria.

“Wh- Where do I hail from?”

“Yes, your home. Where is it?”

The question was a bullet situated in a gun's chamber. Chiya's answer could squeeze the trigger. Jody blinked a single time, then rolled her eyes in clear irritation.

“May I take a jab and assume you're from Iceland?”

“I- Iceland?” Jody raised an eyebrow, Chiya grit her teeth and nodded with a fake smile. “Oh, yes! Iceland! I am an Icelander.”

Jody blinked again, then nodded, “I could tell by your pale skin and beauty.” She then turned away from Chiya and swished her hand back, “Begone.”

Seppuku and Earl had been waiting for Chiya to come out of the room. The first moment Seppuku saw Chiya, he marched over to her and installed his demand, “What did that bat say about me!?”

Chiya looked away in fear of Seppuku’s superiority over her, “She didn’t recognize me as part of your team, so she wanted an introduction. That’s all.”

Seppuku was searching Chiya’s eyes for a lie, but soon spun around, “Well, I was wrong. That was really fun!”

Earl sighed as they walked back into the elevator.

Not long after the encounter, Seppuku had raced home, this time leaving the two far behind in the Upper City. Chiya and Earl were now enjoying their time in a crime free area. They had no intention of leaving the Upper City too quickly, as this was much better than the Lower City.

“So, have you ever been up here?” asked Earl.

“Only once, when I first arrived in Mute City; and of course, for the first race of this Grand Prix.” She smiled after mentioning the Grand Prix.

Earl was looking out toward the ocean, he was distracted by its beauty. “I wish we could operate up here instead of down there, but Seppuku insists on laying low.”

Chiya broke her smile and looked down with lowered eyelids, “Jody said I shouldn’t get too attached to you guys, as it’ll leave to suffering...”

“Eh, sounds like she’s just trying to scare you. Seppuku's the one who should be scared.”

The woman giggled, “Didn’t seem like he was very scared. If anything, it looked like he was running the show.”

Earl flailed his hand around, “Yeah, that’s exactly what I was talking about! He made Jody look like a fool, and believe it or not, we *are* on her side. Seppuku makes it sound like we’re looking for a war with the Federation!” Chiya was staring at Earl with interest in every word he spoke. Earl then breathed in and looked at his happy companion, “Screw Seppuku, there’s a place up here I should show you.”

She smiled and nodded, “Alright, then!”

The two drove up to a café called the 'Falcon House' minutes later, there were few others parked there. The two entered the café and sat down, the establishment was clearly designed for F-Zero fans, Captain Falcon fans in particular. The café had many pictures and other things pertaining to Captain Falcon. Chiya was fascinated with the classic look of the café, it was very modern, yet had the appearance of a 20th century American diner. She looked at a motivational poster of Captain Falcon smashing the *Blood Hawk*, Blood Falcon’s machine, with one burning punch.

Chiya lowered her eyelids and exhaled with a dreamy smile as she stared at the poster, “I actually was a Captain Falcon fan before I met Seppuku…”

At that moment, a man walked in from behind the counter, “Sure, Captain Falcon is one of the better role models of F-Zero, after all. And he's handsome.”

The man running the place had grabbed his attention, she agreed for certain that Captain Falcon was a handsome man. The owner had combed brown hair, a white shirt with red bow tie, and had average muscles; his name was Bart Lemming.

“Hello, Bart,” Earl greeted.

Bart placed his arm down on the table, “Earl Bendek, what are we talking about?” he asked with a grin.

“We just got back from a mission with Seppuku, he gets on your nerves quickly, though, so we needed a break.”

Bart raised an eyebrow at Chiya, “I presume this nice woman is yet another one of your-”

Earl widened his eyes faked a cough, “O- Oh! This is Chiya Flower, a new associate of his.”

Bart nodded while looking into her eyes, “It's my pleasure meeting you, Chiya.”

The television behind them pulled up a commercial for the next race, it was flashing poker cards across the screen, then showed the *Blue Falcon* racing on the track. More cards flew toward the screen while the camera followed the *Blue Falcon*. The commercial concluded with the message: '*Purchase tickets now : Casino Palace, Mute City*'.

Chiya had been staring at the Blue Falcon driving around in the commercial. She now felt obligated to be a diehard Seppuku fan, given that she was associated with the man, but something about Captain Falcon still stuck with Chiya more.

“So, Mute City has two tracks?” asked Chiya.

Both men laughed at her in response, this left Chiya believing that she may have asked a stupid question. She was becoming a little frustrated as to why a simple question had to be answered with laughter.

Earl pat her back and smirked, “There’s more than that, I think five or six are in Mute City.”

Chiya looked at him with a surprised face, “How can that be? How can this one city hold so many tracks?”

Bart raised a finger, “There’s the stadium track, where the previous race was; Casino palace, the sky track, one that is just above the atmosphere; and one normal track on the ground.”

Earl chuckled, “All of which Captain Falcon usually wins.”

“It's true. Captain Falcon is a man of talent, he even has time to hunt the unlawful of the universe as a bounty hunter.”

Chiya widened her eyes. *Captain Falcon's a Bounty Hunter? So he’s somewhat of a violent man, then...*

The three continued talking, Chiya and Earl eventually requested drinks. They were in no rush to get home and certainly not anxious. A discussion on Captain Falcon seemed to be what was going around the room. Every other customer had left, leaving only the three in the building.

Bart continued on with a conversation, “The only time Falcon failed to complete a Grand Prix was when the Great Accident occurred that fateful race, but in all fairness, he wasn't the only one to crash and burn that race.”

Earl opened his mouth to respond, but halted as Bart grunted. A unique vehicle had approached the café. Earl and Chiya looked back and found a pink F-Zero machine now parked in front of the window. Its body was fat and the rear fins had flame decals.

“Fire Stingray…” Bart muttered with narrowed eyes.

The entrance swung open and a somewhat obese man came walking in silently. He wore oval sunglasses, jeans, a ripped brown jacket, and a green replica Japanese pilot helmet from the days of Imperial Japan. The helmet had a Japanese war flag attached to the top. This was without a doubt Samurai Goroh, an F-Zero legend—and a wanted criminal.

Chiya was frightened by Goroh’s casual expression, he walked in and sat next to Chiya. The woman jolted up straight and grit her teeth. She looked at Goroh with great hesitance, then came across the disturbing sight of his eye. He was looking down at her.

She almost yelped and looked down at his arm instead, she spotted a tattoo on his bulking arm.

“O- Oh, I- I like your tattoo..!” she panicked. She only now just realized that the tattoo was of a topless Asian woman holding a katana over her lap. Her breasts were very large. “Um, she's a pretty woman...”

Bart and Goroh looked at each other. “Samurai Goroh, of the Fire Stingray...” Bart welcomed in a hostile tone.

Goroh remained still, choosing not to respond to the welcoming. Earl had a nervous look, mostly because Chiya was the one sitting beside the criminal. Bart cleaned the counter in front of Goroh, but didn't take his eyes off the large man. Goroh had killed the happy environment with his presence.

“You’re pretty brave showing yourself in public like this, considering you are a highly wanted criminal,” Bart said accusingly.

Goroh grinned at the comment, “Give me your smallest glass, I aint staying here long.”

Bart continued staring at him in discontent, but soon gave him a small cup of coffee. Samurai Goroh was renowned for his space pirate gang, the 'Goroh Clan'. These pirates were not territorial, they traveled through space hijacking and looting random ships they encounter. This pirate leader was on the Federation's list of most wanted, making it very unusual for him to stop by a public place.

Chiya continued to tremble and gave Goroh many glances. She just wanted to leave at this point.

Sensing the negativity, Goroh drank his coffee in one gulp and got up. “I can tell when I’m not wanted.”

And so, the brief event passed, and Goroh walked out the door. This was Bart's quickest left customer. Within second the *Fire Stingray* drove away. Despite the strangeness of this event, Bart had one thing on his mind.

“He didn't pay me for the coffee...” he muttered with crossed arms.

Earl stood up, “Well, we better get going, Seppuku doesn’t even know we’re still up here.”

Bart nodded and departed back into the kitchen. Chiya followed Earl back to his car, and thus they made their descent back into the dark world known as the Lower City.

Chiya and Earl entered the base again and parted ways. Chiya planned on heading straight for her room, but first looked over at the display cases in the lobby. She approached them, now with a possible understanding of where these medals were acquired from. They were in all likeliness Galactic Federation medals awarded to Seppuku.

The Mysterian placed a hand over the glass while gazing down at the awards. The medals appeared to be very prestigious, leaving Chiya to contemplate whether or not she misunderstood how valuable Seppuku was to the Federation before he was fired.

“I stand with what I said to Jody.”

Chiya gasped and spun around, Seppuku stood behind her. The girl bit her lip in fear, but tried to appear unshaken, “What do you mean?”

“I’m glad I was fired, that team doesn’t understand my method of work, and most importantly, my philosophy on life. It may be dark, but it gets the job done faster and more efficiently than her method. Their way is inferior to mine.”

Chiya didn't agree with him, but respected his opinion, “So these medals are all from the Federation?”

“Yes, I know they all used to admire my services in the Federation; Jody was having a difficult time lecturing me today, she's obviously still distressed about my leave. With super villains like Black Shadow and Blood Falcon on the run, we just don’t have time for mercy.”

Chiya crossed her arms, “But you spared one of the men who captured me that fateful night. You could have chased him, but you didn't.”

Seppuku sighed and looked up at the ceiling, “He got away, he's the one who gets a second chance to mold his life for the better. But if not, I'll kill him yet.” Chiya swallowed and nodded. “Not every criminal deserves to die, some can be saved. Men like Black Shadow, Blood Falcon, and Michael Chain all strive for the same goal, to terrorize. *They* cannot be fixed, so they must be removed from existence.”

Chiya turned and pointed at the Blood Falcon helmet, “Where did you get that?”

Seppuku put his hand on the glass and looked down at the blue helmet. He remained silent while staring at it, then walked away.

“Never you mind that, it's just a broken helmet...”

To be Continued!

**Lap 8 < | > Lap 10**

## Author Notes

#### Jody Summer, the Rival

While this chapter alone would not fully describe Jody Summer as the rival/foil to Lieutenant Seppuku, this was the chapter where I decided that I wanted Seppuku's main adversary to be someone less expected. Seppuku being the unlawful vigilante, I made the connection that Seppuku's natural foil would be the lawful Jody Summer, but to make things especially interesting, I wanted Seppuku to have a type of relationship with Jody where he takes on an immature stance towards her, getting thrills from teasing her, and sometimes even receiving physical harm from her in response. This type of relationship would become iconic of Seppuku and Jody, as would Jody's suspicious handling of Chiya, and dismissiveness toward Earl.

#### The Falcon House

The Falcon House—or 'Bart's Café'—was introduced in this chapter as an Upper City location for Chiya and Earl to visit, where they could always find rational, safe, and supportive discussion from its owner, Bart Lemming. Seppuku serves the opposite to Chiya and Earl in that he provides the two with irrational, dangerous, and toxic discussion on similar topics, and so the addition of Bart into the story was one such strategy of keeping F-Zero: Seppuku from having nothing but negative energy hitting Chiya and Earl. The Falcon House also serves a unique function of being a doorway for high profile characters such as Samurai Goroh and Jody Summer due to its proximity next to the busiest street in the Upper City. Interestingly, the Falcon House is inspired by the Dollars Bar Lounge Inn seen in Chapter 2 of F-Zero GX, so much so that it has always been my personal belief that the two locations are one and the same, just that the Falcon House in this universe reserves that spot rather than Dollars.

## Chapter Illustration

This chapter illustration depicts the scene Jody Summer and Lieutenant Seppuku bicker as Chiya and Earl spectate awkwardly. This illustration is significantly unique for two reasons. Firstly, this is the first time the Siontix Realm 'chibi style' is used in a chapter illustration, which consists of basic circular heads and bodies composed of triangular shapes. The chibi figures would become a recurring feature in F-Zero: Seppuku illustrations from this point on when wanting to convey a childish or comedic moment in the story. The second and most significant aspect of this illustration is that it is the first time ears are shown in a Siontix Realm illustration, and also the last time until December 1st, 2022, when Chapter 8 of Shrouded Piety: Order of Yaktosh would finally reintroduce ears. It is unknown why this illustration uniquely features ears while all other illustrations do not, but the reason for the lack of ears in Siontix Realm artwork is due to a stylistic decision to exclude ears when working in the 'Siontix Gen. Style' of artwork, a style that would persist until July 11, 2022. Aside from these two significant features, this illustration also unveils the first ever drawing of Jody Summer and uses a color scheme for her that would never be seen again. The illustration stylistically appears to be trying to mimic anime, both through the use of background chibi figures, as well as the non-existent laser beams Seppuku and Jody are projecting from their eyes toward one another.

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 4:40 AM.

## Characters Introduced

#### Jody Summer

Jody Summer makes her debut in this chapter serving as a major character sometimes with or against Team Seppuku. In her debut, Jody is acting in her role as Chief Commander of the Galactic Space Federation and summons Lieutenant Seppuku to the Federation HQ to discipline him for his involvement in the Red Star bike explosions caused the previous day. Jody is basically the lawful justice foil to Seppuku's unlawful justice, and yet for reasons unexplained has reservations about simply having him arrested, though Seppuku suggests it is due to their past relationship together in the Federation. Jody pilots the *White Cat* and doubles as an F-Zero pilot, hoping to win the annual Grand Prix to keep the prize money out of criminal hands and into the reserves of the Federation. Jody treats Seppuku as an old, childish companion of hers who needs to be put in his place; Chiya is the new face she does not recognize, but her random placement alongside Seppuku leads to Jody being very suspicious of her. While she feigns ignorance by suggesting she is Icelandic, Jody is in reality somewhat aware of Chiya's Mysterian background.

#### Bart Lemming

Bart Lemming is introduced as a rational coffee and businessman who draws people into his Captain Falcon themed sports café known as the Falcon House. While serving little more than conversation to Chiya and Earl, Bart is nevertheless one of F-Zero: Seppuku's most recurring characters for all the talk and support he puts their way. Bart prefers his business to be family friendly and is thus quick to shut down profanity and toxicity, and yet is open to letting even the shadiest characters have a seat.

#### Samurai Goroh

Leader of the Goroh Pirate Clan, Samurai Goroh is one of the original four F-Zero pilots and notorious for his violent crimes against spacers. Goroh makes his debut in this chapter when he decides to barge into the Falcon House for a drink, but sensing the controversy his mere presence is causing, gets back into the *Fire Stingray* and departs before the police can arrive. Goroh carries with him a katana and a helmet styled after the pilots of old Imperial Japan.