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Location: Bamburgh Castle - Terrace
In the Eyes Of: Velocitario

Normally, I’m not a fan of repeated endeavors. But this was a special case. I was in a situation where all the odds were against me and what I was trying to do, but I was confident. I’ve pulled through worse than schooling a bunch of rookies. I made a note of this as I sat silently on one of the terrace’s benches, with a stopwatch in hand. It was a seven-mile drive from Edinburgh to here, and at this rate, the rookies were averaging 120 MPH. Impressive, nonetheless. Then, my ears perked up as the oncoming sounds of engines and chaos reached me. I peered down the beach to see just about what I was expecting: The Muse crew and Team Generic tearing through the sands with a horde of angry drivers on their tail. I stepped out into view, waving my arms to get their attention. They saw me instantly, and they all turned towards me - and the jump between us. Fortunately, each of them kept their foot down and flew majestically into the terrace, leaving me just enough time to raise the shield before their pursuers followed.

After a moment to breathe, everyone piled out of their respective rides, obviously exhausted. Silently, I pressed a remote I had pulled out of nowhere, causing the ground to mechanically sink into the castle. The terrace was actually a lift I had made as an entrance to the secret garage.

Velocitario: Three minutes, thirty seconds. Good to see we have a start.

Talon: Alright, you nearly got us killed. This had better be good.

Velocitario: It's better than you think. This is your chance to start over.

Suddenly, the lift we were on came to a stop, and a nearby door opened to reveal a garage that looked similar to the one in Edinburgh, just bigger.

Velocitario: Good news is, by getting here in one piece, you proved you can drive. But the question is: Can you race?

Nozomi: Ehm… Skye and I already had training, do we still have to be here?

Velocitario: You're exempt.

Mercury: Wait-wait-wait. How come they're just going off?

Velocitario: They already had their personal lesson. That, and they already have rides qualifies for the festival. Now, Muse, we’re going to start with you.

All the members of the group looked at me with attentive eyes.

Velocitario: The big concert is in seven days time. Between now and then, we have to get the most positive rep possible to cancel out all the scuffles your members have taken part in. And to do that, you have to race. And to race, you’re each gonna need a ride. But before we go there, let me teach you this.

I pressed another spontaneous button, causing a holographic screen to appear behind me as I flipped through some slides.

Velocitario: At Horizon, there are five racing leagues you can work with, and whichever one you choose, I’ll have one of my drivers show you the ropes. You’ve got Asphalt for traditional racing, Rally for dirt racing, Cross Country for tearing across every terrain, Street Racing for a spot of nighttime racing, and my special brand of insanity known as HyperRally.

I then motioned to a set of cars laid in the spaces spanning the garage.

Velocitario: Normally, you’d have to buy your cars with your own cash, but I pulled some strings and got each one of you a fresh set of wheels qualified for the festival. Now, Skye and Nozomi are already on the Asphalt series, which means the rest of you will divide and conquer everywhere else. Understood?

They all gave an affirming nod.

Velocitario: Umi, you’ve got a Ford Focus RX. You’ll be working with Eli and her VW GRC Beetle on the Rally series. Wylde will be supervising you.

Hanayo and Rin, you’ll have a Colorado ZR2 and a F-150 Raptor, respectively. You’ll be working on Cross Country. I’ll have Terence work with you.

Nico, Honoka, you’re on Street Racing. You get a DB11 and a Gallardo, and Cynthia as your trainer.

Honoka: Was that reference intentional?

Velocitario: ...Maybe. Anyway, that leaves Kotori and Maki for HyperRally. You’ll be driving the Lykan Hypersport and the Ultima 1020, and Slipstream will be making sure you don’t crash.

With everyone else looking over their new cars, I turned my attention to the idling Team Generic, who had somehow remained silent for the entire lecture.

Velocitario: And as for you…

Talon: What? You gonna just kick us out, or something?

Velocitario: No. You’ll be the one making that decision.

Infinite: What do you mean?

Velocitario: Guys, listen. I’ll admit upfront, I can be arrogant, but I stand with a firm belief that anyone can change for the better. Which is why I’m offering you one last chance.

Jade: One last chance? At what?

Velocitario: I thought you might have a change of heart. So, I pulled a few strings in preparation.

I snapped my fingers, causing five doors in the wall opposite to the spaces to slowly open, each revealing a tuned performance car.

Velocitario: I’ve prepared a festival-ready car for each of you. I’ve wiped your record, cleared your name, and readied an entirely new identity for you all. And I know the last thing you probably want to do is work with Muse. All I need to know is if you’re in or out.

Mercury: So what you’re saying is we’re essentially starting over?

Velocitario: Precisely. It’ll be like hitting the reset button, like the past never happened. You can have everything you initially wanted, and with none of the repercussions.

The corridor was silent for a while, as I expected it to be. It took a few moments, but eventually, Morgan stepped forward.

Morgan: We'll… consider your offer.

Velocitario: Happy to hear it. In the meantime, you're welcome to stay here. I've got rooms prepared.

The group of six followed the path I gave them, and soon, everyone was occupied. I took this as my opportunity to take the lift back to the surface, where I sat back down and let out a sigh. Not because of the task I had been set. Rather, it was because of the beautiful irony of the situation. I had spent all that time trying to make peace, yet I knew the exact reason why a certain someone was watching me from afar.

Velocitario: I know it's what I taught you… but there's no reason to hide, Nismo.

Description
body div#devskin0 hr { }

Location: Bamburgh Castle - Terrace
In the Eyes Of: Velocitario

Normally, I’m not a fan of repeated endeavors. But this was a special case. I was in a situation where all the odds were against me and what I was trying to do, but I was confident. I’ve pulled through worse than schooling a bunch of rookies. I made a note of this as I sat silently on one of the terrace’s benches, with a stopwatch in hand. It was a seven-mile drive from Edinburgh to here, and at this rate, the rookies were averaging 120 MPH. Impressive, nonetheless. Then, my ears perked up as the oncoming sounds of engines and chaos reached me. I peered down the beach to see just about what I was expecting: The Muse crew and Team Generic tearing through the sands with a horde of angry drivers on their tail. I stepped out into view, waving my arms to get their attention. They saw me instantly, and they all turned towards me - and the jump between us. Fortunately, each of them kept their foot down and flew majestically into the terrace, leaving me just enough time to raise the shield before their pursuers followed.

After a moment to breathe, everyone piled out of their respective rides, obviously exhausted. Silently, I pressed a remote I had pulled out of nowhere, causing the ground to mechanically sink into the castle. The terrace was actually a lift I had made as an entrance to the secret garage.

Velocitario: Three minutes, thirty seconds. Good to see we have a start.

Talon: Alright, you nearly got us killed. This had better be good.

Velocitario: It's better than you think. This is your chance to start over.

Suddenly, the lift we were on came to a stop, and a nearby door opened to reveal a garage that looked similar to the one in Edinburgh, just bigger.

Velocitario: Good news is, by getting here in one piece, you proved you can drive. But the question is: Can you race?

Nozomi: Ehm… Skye and I already had training, do we still have to be here?

Velocitario: You're exempt.

Mercury: Wait-wait-wait. How come they're just going off?

Velocitario: They already had their personal lesson. That, and they already have rides qualifies for the festival. Now, Muse, we’re going to start with you.

All the members of the group looked at me with attentive eyes.

Velocitario: The big concert is in seven days time. Between now and then, we have to get the most positive rep possible to cancel out all the scuffles your members have taken part in. And to do that, you have to race. And to race, you’re each gonna need a ride. But before we go there, let me teach you this.

I pressed another spontaneous button, causing a holographic screen to appear behind me as I flipped through some slides.

Velocitario: At Horizon, there are five racing leagues you can work with, and whichever one you choose, I’ll have one of my drivers show you the ropes. You’ve got Asphalt for traditional racing, Rally for dirt racing, Cross Country for tearing across every terrain, Street Racing for a spot of nighttime racing, and my special brand of insanity known as HyperRally.

I then motioned to a set of cars laid in the spaces spanning the garage.

Velocitario: Normally, you’d have to buy your cars with your own cash, but I pulled some strings and got each one of you a fresh set of wheels qualified for the festival. Now, Skye and Nozomi are already on the Asphalt series, which means the rest of you will divide and conquer everywhere else. Understood?

They all gave an affirming nod.

Velocitario: Umi, you’ve got a Ford Focus RX. You’ll be working with Eli and her VW GRC Beetle on the Rally series. Wylde will be supervising you.

Hanayo and Rin, you’ll have a Colorado ZR2 and a F-150 Raptor, respectively. You’ll be working on Cross Country. I’ll have Terence work with you.

Nico, Honoka, you’re on Street Racing. You get a DB11 and a Gallardo, and Cynthia as your trainer.

Honoka: Was that reference intentional?

Velocitario: ...Maybe. Anyway, that leaves Kotori and Maki for HyperRally. You’ll be driving the Lykan Hypersport and the Ultima 1020, and Slipstream will be making sure you don’t crash.

With everyone else looking over their new cars, I turned my attention to the idling Team Generic, who had somehow remained silent for the entire lecture.

Velocitario: And as for you…

Talon: What? You gonna just kick us out, or something?

Velocitario: No. You’ll be the one making that decision.

Infinite: What do you mean?

Velocitario: Guys, listen. I’ll admit upfront, I can be arrogant, but I stand with a firm belief that anyone can change for the better. Which is why I’m offering you one last chance.

Jade: One last chance? At what?

Velocitario: I thought you might have a change of heart. So, I pulled a few strings in preparation.

I snapped my fingers, causing five doors in the wall opposite to the spaces to slowly open, each revealing a tuned performance car.

Velocitario: I’ve prepared a festival-ready car for each of you. I’ve wiped your record, cleared your name, and readied an entirely new identity for you all. And I know the last thing you probably want to do is work with Muse. All I need to know is if you’re in or out.

Mercury: So what you’re saying is we’re essentially starting over?

Velocitario: Precisely. It’ll be like hitting the reset button, like the past never happened. You can have everything you initially wanted, and with none of the repercussions.

The corridor was silent for a while, as I expected it to be. It took a few moments, but eventually, Morgan stepped forward.

Morgan: We'll… consider your offer.

Velocitario: Happy to hear it. In the meantime, you're welcome to stay here. I've got rooms prepared.

The group of six followed the path I gave them, and soon, everyone was occupied. I took this as my opportunity to take the lift back to the surface, where I sat back down and let out a sigh. Not because of the task I had been set. Rather, it was because of the beautiful irony of the situation. I had spent all that time trying to make peace, yet I knew the exact reason why a certain someone was watching me from afar.

Velocitario: I know it's what I taught you… but there's no reason to hide, Nismo.