Author's Note: I'm leaving for a vacation on Wednesday. I still plan to post Friday's chapter as normal, but it might be late or I may be unable to if my internet access is iffy. I will also probably be unable to respond to comments as quickly as usual. Monday's chapter may also be affected.

Chapter 5

One Year Ago

The Vale Grand Prix had not been kind to Yang. Her first attempt had ended in the first corner of the first lap and the others had not been much better. Her second run ended with a transmission problem. Her third was cut short when she clipped a barrier while avoiding a lapped car while she was leading. Her fourth saw an engine failure in qualifying and a miserable race in which she struggled her way to tenth from last on the grid. It was still the only major Grand Prix achievement she lacked. Her father had won there, twice, and she was always fast. Something just always seemed to go wrong.

This time would be different. At least she hoped it would. Her fifth Vale GP got off to a fantastic start. Pyrrha had dominated the previous race and beaten Yang in a close South Vacuo GP, but she had mechanical trouble in qualifying that left her starting sixth. Yang took the top spot alongside Weiss and in front of Winter. On the morning of the race it started to rain and did not stop. Yang loved the rain. No one could match her speed in the wet and only Pyrrha was even close. With her starting well back she should have no trouble. As the race wore on the news only got better. Weiss' motor failed. Winter crashed. Preposterously Sun was second with Pyrrha third and they were over half a lap behind. With just five laps remaining Yang could almost coast to the victory.

Yang drove past the casino at the top of the hill and the track began its long descent to the sea. A lapped car, it looked like Scarlet or Sage, was a little bit ahead. She closed in as they swung right past the botanical gardens and headed toward the railroad station and the hairpin. She followed Scarlet, she could tell it was him now, through the hairpin and the following pair of right-handers. She had no need to pass him. She would just follow him home. The cars accelerated through the tunnel and the track dropped away, heading down to the chicane. Scarlet braked harder than Yang was expecting but she had given him more than enough room. Yang was right on his gearbox as they entered the chicane.

Scarlet got the exit all wrong. He smacked the barrier on the left side of the course. It brought him almost to a stop and kicked his car back out across the track. Yang had nowhere to go. She plowed into the side of Scarlet's car and the interlocked machines ground to a halt. Yang sat there, staring straight ahead in total disbelief. It was her race! She had it won! Then it happened again! Cars streamed past at greatly reduced speed as Yang remained behind the wheel, gripping it as tightly as she could.

Scarlet climbed from his car and approached Yang to see if she was alright. He said something. Yang just stared straight ahead. He launched into some babbling apology in his stupid accent but Yang did not hear a word. She just stared straight forward. Scarlet asked if she was okay. What did he think? He crouched down beside the car and put his hand on her shoulder. Yang turned her head and looked him straight in the eyes. The look of concern on Scarlet's face turned to terror. Few people had seen Yang truly angry, and she may have been more angry in that moment than ever before in her life. Scarlet had made the mistake of taking his helmet off. Yang snapped around and punched him in the face. With a squeal he stumbled, hit his legs on the barrier and tumbled back, falling into the harbor.

Yang got out of her car and walked to Scarlet's. After kicking it, she grabbed his helmet. Scarlet was still in shock, bobbing in the water. Yang took aim and launched his helmet, nailing him in the head. He went limp and face-down in the water. Luckily rescue swimmers were present to prevent him from drowning. Yang stormed off, leaving the circuit and immediately heading for the airport. Sun shockingly won the race.

A few days later Yang to a phone call. It was from Scarlet. He apologized profusely. Yang had calmed down. She apologized right back. All was forgiven as far as the pair were concerned. Then came another call the following day. It was from a F1 representative. Yang was being fined for her conduct. 50,000 lien was not a small sum, even for someone as wealthy as she was. Now she was angry again. The representative got an earful, but there was nothing she could do. It was pay the fine or quit racing. She paid 25,000 lien. The rest of her fine was paid by a mysterious individual who identified himself only as SD.

Present Day

Weiss loved Vale. She had won there in her championship season. Winter loved it. She had won there twice. Pyrrha loved it. She was a three time winner. Yang hated Vale. The reason was obvious. All she could think about was how she would get screwed this year. It was bound to happen. It always happened. If it was not a mistake on her part, it was another driver's mistake. If not that, a mechanical failure. There seemed to be an endless list of ways she could lose the race and she was well on her way to achieving them all.

This year though, Yang had something to look forward to. Her father was going to be there. It was the twentieth anniversary of his victory at the track and he had been asked to wave the green flag. He was reluctant - he hated going to races or even watching them on television, too many bad memories, too many worries about his daughter - but eventually Ruby and Yang talked him into it. It would be the first race he attended since that rainy day on Patch five years ago when the family became whole again. Yang could not help but be excited.

Practice gave Yang more reasons to look forward to the race. She was fastest in every session. Maybe her father being there was the extra spark she needed. Weiss was second quick in two sessions with Winter second in the other. Pyrrha finished all three sessions fourth. She could just not get the car to work for her. The aerodynamics were great but the mechanical grip was lacking. With her main competition struggling, it was looking very good for Yang. Weiss and Winter's second place times were nowhere near Yang. Still, practice was practice. The real test would be qualifying.

The Vale GP was notorious for surprise winners and success stories. The track was unlike any other and any driver with sufficient skill could win there, even in a less-than-ideal car. One of those surprise successes seemed to be in the offing. As time trials neared their end, Yang was the predictable leader. Then there was second place. It was May. Her teammate Nolin was nowhere. Third was Winter, followed by Pyrrha, Weiss, Sun, Coco, Arslan, Emerald and Reese Chloris. Reese had replaced the recently deceased Bolin Hori at Auburn Racing Team. She came from International F2 where she was leading the points. She had an off-track reputation as a fun-loving party animal. On track she had a reputation for being incredibly fast.

Yang was fairly confident that her time would hold up, but she was not going to take any chances. She headed out near the end of the session with the rest of the field for one last lap. She would be the first of the contenders to run. She made her way through the hairpin that led onto the frontstretch, diamonding the corner to get a better run off. She blasted down the frontstretch and across the line to begin her lap. Almost immediately she was on the brakes hard as the track climbed slightly uphill into the tight first corner, a square right-hander. She hit her marks and accelerated out, getting within inches of the armco as the track climbed steeply uphill. Yang was on the brakes again as she crested the hill and slung her car into the sweeping left-hander just before the casino. Before getting all the way through the corner she was braking again as the track suddenly swung right as it passed in front of the casino. It was all downhill from here, literally. The track dove away. She locked up the brakes slightly before the right-hander around the botanical gardens, but managed to get the car slowed and hit the apex. After a short blast she slowed to a crawl for the impossibly tight hairpin in front of the train station. Then it was another quick straight before the pair of right-handers that brought the track to the cliffside above the sea. She got a good run out of the second right and surged out toward the tunnel and the flat-out right hander. Her tires screamed, on the very edge of traction, as she rounded the sweeper before slamming on the brakes to slow for the chicane. With a quick slide left and an immediate right she was through. There was a major bump before the next turn, a left-hander in front of a dust shop. The car handled the bump well and she got a good run through the corner and out onto the straight. She arrived at the final hairpin, slowly rounded the corner, and powered out, careful not to spin the tires on exit. Seconds later she was across the line.

Yang had gone even faster, securing her the pole easily. Weiss outdid May to grab second in her last run, and Pyrrha ended up fourth behind them. Winter wound up a disappointing fifth followed by Sun, Arslan, Coco, Reese and Fox. Ciel and Jaune were mired deep in the field. Now all Yang had to do was win the race. As she knew all too well it was easier said than done.

Race day was sunny and warm. Yang was disappointed. Rain would have given her even more of an edge, not that she needed it. The rest of the field was not all that encouraged. All the practices and qualifying had been in the dry and Yang had wiped the floor with them anyway. Yang got some good news before heading out to the grid. A message got to her from Ruby who was still in Vacuo. It was two bits of good news actually. In practice Ruby had set the fastest time of the day on Saturday behind the wheel of Yang's car. The second part was that Ruby would be able to watch the Grand Prix live. F1 races were not usually televised live - or indeed at all - in Vacuo, but with so many F1 drivers in the year's 500, the station televising the 500 decided to show the Grand Prix to build hype. It was early morning there but Ruby was awake and watching.

The cars rolled out to the grid. A little later, they made their way around the circuit on their parade lap and lined up for the start. Taiyang held the flag high. He and Yang locked eyes and he smiled a bittersweet smile, tears welling in his eyes. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and dropped the flag. To the roar of engines and screeching of tires the cars were off in a mad dash to the first corner. Yang got a good start and made it through the corner cleanly in the lead. Weiss followed her through despite a challenge from May and Pyrrha filed in fourth. Winter got through fifth while behind her Sun and Arslan rounded the corner side-by-side. Coco came next, and then, chaos.

The field always bunched up at turn 1 in Vale. Reese slowed, more than she normally would have, to avoid hitting Coco. Emerald, just behind, did not. Emerald ran into the back of Reese's car and the pair spun. Reese smacked the armco on the outside of the circuit and Emerald spun to the inside, hitting Cardin and taking both to the inside barrier. Gwen Darcy spun into the runoff area on the outside of the corner as she attempted to avoid the crash. She would have been able to keep going but Jaune slid into her and damaged both cars sufficiently to take them out of the race. Very slowly the rest of the field picked its way through.

The leaders arrived to start their second lap and were greeted by yellow flags. The marshals were just getting the wrecks cleared away. Yang already had a lead of several car lengths. Over the next few laps her lead only grew. Weiss held onto second but May was right there. Pyrrha was a little ways back, under tremendous pressure from Winter. Luckily for Pyrrha, passing was almost impossible. Behind them there was a growing gap to Sun, Arslan and Coco; then a huge gap to the cars that had made it through the first lap crash.

On lap 30 the complexion of the race began to change. Weiss hit the throttle on exit of the final hairpin and her engine disintegrated. She coasted to a slow and smoky halt on the right edge of the circuit. May moved into second place and she was fast. Yang had built up a big lead and May immediately began chipping away at it. Just behind, Winter was having some sort of issue. She fell back from Pyrrha. On lap 36 Sun passed her and on the following lap so did Arslan. Before Coco could get around her Winter's transmission - already down two gears for some time - failed entirely on the run out of the first turn. She pulled the car off onto the sidewalk, her race over.

Lap after lap May looked to pass Yang on entry to the chicane. Lap after lap Yang blocked the move. Then May started looking in turn 1 and Yang was blocking her there too. All the while Pyrrha closed in. On lap 52 it was a three car race. May stopped trying to pass so often because she had to worry about Pyrrha, but she still made the occasional move. Then on lap 61, it was a two car race again. Pyrrha entered the corner at the top of the hill before the casino and her right-rear tire failed. She drifted the car around the corner, hanging onto it longer than she had any business doing, before it finally slapped the armco and ended her race.

For a track where passing was so difficult, it was turning into a very exciting race. In third Sun was struggling to hold off Arslan. She had the faster car but could not find a way around him. On lap 67 he gave her one. He drove too deep into the final hairpin and slid wide. Arslan was just waiting for the mistake and swept to his right, taking the inside line. They raced side-by-side down the frontstretch but when they reached turn 1, Sun was forced to yield. She immediately began to pull away.

At the front May was applying constant pressure. Yang decided to ignore her. She would drive a defensive line but otherwise pretend May was not even there. Yang needed total focus if she was going to finally win this damn race. The pair started the 80th and final lap. May looked inside at turn 1 but Yang was already there and she was forced to fall in line. There were no more legitimate passing opportunities until the chicane, and the cars ran line astern all the way through the tunnel and into the braking zone. Again Yang was already on a defensive line when May looked and they ran through the left-right nose-to-tail. May followed Yang down the straight and past the dust shop. As they headed for the final hairpin, Yang kept her car to the right of the circuit. May would not have the inside line.

So May took the outside line. Yang's tight line into the corner meant she had to brake harder and May pulled beside her. They ran through the corner wheel-to-wheel and arrived at the frontstretch almost even. Both floored it and both spun their tires, their cars squirming in a desperate search for grip. Yang's gripped just a little better. She and May ran side-by-side down the frontstretch as Yang edged ahead, passing under the checkered flag to win by half a car length. Then it all fell apart.

Without realizing it the drivers had interlocked wheels. When May slowed for the end of the race, Yang's left-rear clipped her right-front. Yang's car hooked hard into the armco and the two cars slid straight off turn 1. Taiyang - watching from the podium where he was to present the winner's trophy - was horrified. He leapt down from the platform and ran toward turn 1, pushing through fans, track workers, and anyone else who got in his way. When he got to the scene May was out of her car, crouching beside Yang's. May was frantically apologizing, almost hysterical. Yang had her helmet off but was still in her car, her face contorted in agony.

"Yang, what's wrong?!" Taiyang shouted as he rushed to her side. "Are you hurt?"

Yang looked over and saw her father coming. He was crying. She did her best to hide her pain but it was hopeless. "I'm…" She struggled for breath. "...fine." Another labored breath. "At least…" Another. "...I won." Another. "I think…" Another. "...I have…" Another. "...a punctured..." Another. "...lung."

"Don't move." Taiyang commanded. "We'll get you in an ambulance and to the hospital soon." He looked around frantically. Cars were still circulating so it was not safe for the ambulance to go out on track.

"I don't know why she's so hurt." May said in a panic. "It wasn't that hard a crash! This is my fault. I'm so sorry!"

"I broke…" Yang started. "...my ribs…" She continued. "...in Mistral."

"You've got broken ribs!" Taiyang exclaimed. "What the hell are you doing in a racecar?!"

"Can't…" Yang started. "...miss…" She continued. "...a race." She coughed. "Sorry...dad."

The ambulance finally arrived. Taiyang and the medics helped Yang out of the car and onto a waiting stretcher. She was loaded into the ambulance, followed by Taiyang, and it immediately headed for the hospital. The podium ceremony was unsurprisingly canceled. Weiss rushed to the hospital as soon as she could, accompanied by Pyrrha and Winter's personal physician.

When Weiss and her group arrived at the hospital Yang was in bed wearing an oxygen mask. She was awake but seemed dazed. "She's got a punctured lung." Taiyang reported. "The doctors wanted to insert a chest tube but Yang told them to wait for Winter's doctor."

"It's a good thing they waited." The doctor said. "Yang, how are you feeling."

"It hurts." She groaned. "A lot. It's hard...to breathe."

"Did they take an x-ray?" The doctor asked. Taiyang pointed to an envelope on a nearby table. The doctor reached inside and pulled out the film. He held it up to the light. "You don't need a chest tube." He said immediately. "If you can handle the pain, you don't need anything other than the oxygen mask."

"I can...take it." Yang said. "If it...will...get me...in...the car...sooner."

"Don't worry about driving." Taiyang said. He was an emotional wreck. He had clearly done a lot of crying and he was visibly shaking. "You can't race until you're 100%. It's too risky."

"I'd say she'll need to miss at least a month, maybe more." The doctor said. "You will not be driving again until I clear you. Do you understand?"

"I...understand." Yang confirmed. "I guess...I won't...be running...the 500."

"Why did you let her race in the first place?" Taiyang demanded.

"It was not my choice." The doctor said. "I recommended she sit Mistral out. I would have recommended she sit this race out as well if I had been asked. Unfortunately, I can only advise her. I have no official capacity to ban her from racing."

"This whole thing has been a nightmare." Taiyang said. "I go to one race and we're in the hospital. I don't...I can't…"

"I'm sorry." Yang strained.

"It's not your fault." Taiyang said, trying to regain his composure. "It's racing. These things happen." You know it and I know it.

Yang looked past her father to the pair of drivers standing by the door. "Pyrrha...Weiss…" She called them over. The came closer so she would not have to speak as loudly. "I have...an idea...for safety. I'll explain...later."

Standings after three races:

1st - Yang Xiao-Long - 21

2nd - Pyrrha Nikos - 15

3rd - Weiss Schnee - 10

3rd - May Zedong - 10

5th - Winter Schnee - 7

6th - Arslan Atlan - 4

6th - Sun Wukong - 4

8th - Coco Adel - 2

9th - Fox Alistair - 1

9th - Neptune Vasilias - 1

Inspirations

- The Vale GP is still based on Monaco. They layout as described is accurate to the time period.

- Yang's history at the Vale GP is based on the experience of a number of drivers at a number of races. In F1, Jenson Button has always had dreadful luck at home in Britain and Mark Webber struggled in Australia. In NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Sr. dominated at Daytona but took almost his whole career to win the Daytona 500, only after losing it in just about every conceivable way.

- Please imagine the exchange between Yang and Scarlet as taking place between their voice actors. It makes it a thousand times funnier.

- Yang's injuries were not inspired by the injuries that kept Fernando Alonso out of the 2016 Bahrain GP. This chapter, and most of the others, were written even before his crash in Australia.

- The crash at the end of the race was inspired by the finish of the 1992 Winston All-Star race (NASCAR, Charlotte Motor Speedway). Davey Allison and Kyle Petty crossed the line side-by-side with Davey just ahead, but their cars touched and Davey was hooked into the wall hard. He was badly concussed and taken straight to the hospital. Given that his helmet made contact with the retaining wall, it's a miracle he even survived, let alone came back to race 600 miles just a week later.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- A first corner wreck of the type described would likely have led to a red flag and restart.

- A crash at the end of a race at Monaco like the one described has not happened, though the tight confines of the circuit make it entirely plausible.

- Yang's injuries as described probably would require the chest tube for proper treatment. As a racing driver in the 70's, she probably would have refused anyway.