Author's Note: This story will wrap up with Chapter 24. At some point in the future I may continue with a second season, but I have no immediate intention to do so. Starting next week Shattered Rose will be my Monday/Friday fic.

Chapter 23

Fifteen Years Ago

With just two races remaining, Taiyang and Summer were tied atop the points standings. Taiyang had the tiebreaker on wins but Summer was determined to make sure it would not matter. A win at Atlasport would give her the tiebreaker and the points lead besides. Bad luck had already destroyed the possibility of a perfect season for Beacon GP, but no one had any doubts that the teammates would be the ones fighting for the victory. Both knew what had to be done to win. Summer had to beat Taiyang, Taiyang had to beat Summer. It was simple, but easier said than done.

In practice and qualifying Taiyang and Summer topped the charts. Taiyang just grabbed the pole by a fraction of a second. There was no gloating. Taiyang did not even feel like he had the upper hand. He almost always out-qualified Summer, but she frequently out-raced him. And she had been closer this time than usual. No, he realized he very much did not have an advantage. He could see the fire in Summer's eyes too. That fire was always there to some degree, but it burned brighter now than he had ever seen before.

Ruby and Yang were there too, and they were concerned. Their parents were acting weird. They were hardly talking to one another and spending little time with the kids. The time spent together was short and it was very clear that their minds were elsewhere. The sisters did not really care who won the championship. It would be one of their parents no matter what happened. They just wanted everyone to be happy, and their parents did not seem very happy. Ozpin and Qrow did their best to cheer the kids up, but surely they shared some of their concern. Taiyang and Summer had battled for the title before, but it had never been quite so intense.

When the race got underway Ozpin sat with the kids in the team's box. He did not spend too much time with them, being a very busy man, but he enjoyed the opportunity to see them. Ozpin liked to see his drivers happy, and nothing made them happier than their kids. But now the kids were not happy. They were worried. "What's wrong?" Ozpin asked.

"Are mommy and daddy angry?" Ruby asked.

"I don't think so." Ozpin said.

"Then why do they look so angry?" Yang pressed.

"They're just focused." Ozpin replied. "They both really want to win the title."

"I just want them to be back to normal." Ruby sighed.

"I'm sure they will be soon." Ozpin encouraged. "They only have two races left. After that they'll be their normal, happy selves."

"I really hope so." Yang said. "I don't like it when they're like this."

"I don't either." Ozpin agreed.

The green flag waved and the cars roared toward the first corner and out of view of the box. The start had not been a good one for Taiyang or Summer. Their own starts had been fine, but from third on the grid young up-and-comer Cinder Fall got a blinder of a start and passed both of them. When the cars raced around to begin the second lap Cinder was still in the lead. Taiyang was second but Summer looked to pass heading into the first corner. Taiyang blocked and Summer swung wide. Both were slowed and Cinder pulled away. Summer tried to pass twice more that lap, and all the while Cinder's lead grew. The second attempt was successful and Summer roared into second place.

When the cars crossed the line to begin the third lap Cinder had a sizable lead. The fight between the Beacon GP teammates was slowing them down considerably. As the leaders raced out of sight around the first corner the screech of sliding tires pierced the air. It was soon followed by the sound of rending metal and gasps from the nearby crowd. Yellow flags waved. When the cars came around the next lap all the top three were missing from the leaders. Then Taiyang arrived in eighth. He gave a thumbs-up.

"What happened?" Yang asked. "I can't see anything." She tried standing on her chair but the topography prevented her from seeing down into the first corner.

"I think Cinder and your mother must have crashed." Ozpin suggested. "If your father is giving a thumbs-up it probably means she's okay."

Though Ozpin, Yang and Ruby could not see it, there had indeed been an accident. Trying to keep her lead, Cinder had pushed too hard and oversteered into a spin. She slid to a stop near corner exit, sitting perpendicular to the track. Summer came around the blind corner and was suddenly presented with the side of Cinder's stationary car. She slammed on the brakes but plowed into Cinder's stricken machine, the impact causing her car to front-flip over Cinder's and land on its top. Taiyang came through next, saw Summer's car upside down, and made the snap decision to stop and help. Just as Taiyang was undoing his belts Summer squirmed out of the car. Seeing his wife was alright, Taiyang rejoined the race. He had lost several spots but he was just happy Summer was okay.

Taiyang would go on to finish fifth and score two points. Those two points would win him the title when both he and Summer fell out in the season's final race. As Ozpin had suggested, once it was over they went back to their usual happy selves. Ruby and Yang were relieved. They had their parents back. Unfortunately that happiness would be painfully short-lived.

Present Day

The Atlas Grand Prix was being held at the Schnee Circuit for the first time. It was originally a test track owned and operated by Schnee Automotive, but with a few upgrades it was a top-quality grand prix circuit. The drivers were unsure of what to expect outside of an almost certain Schnee advantage. The weather for the weekend was looking unpredictable, a toss-up between sun and rain every day. Even if the Schnee cars had the edge on a dry track, rain could be the great equalizer.

The weekend got off to a heartwarming start. Schnee engineers working in Coco's employ had outfitted a Schnee S550 sports car with the controls Yang would be using to drive her touring car. With Coco riding shotgun Yang did a few laps of the circuit before practice started. The first was a bit tentative but she got faster as she went along. By her final lap she was drifting the car through the corners, producing huge clouds of smoke, and all the while waving to the cheering crowd. After what had been a very trying season, it was something everyone - fans and drivers alike - needed, and it put a smile on every face.

When practice got underway many of the smiles disappeared. From the start it looked like a Schnee lockout. Weiss dominated, leading every practice. If she won the race she would be champion. Behind her Penny and Coco were also fast. Ruby and Blake were mired in a group with Velvet and Reese. With Schnee engines the Fall Enterprises cars were expected to be quick, but the team had stopped developing the current car with an eye on the next year, and so had fallen far behind in terms of aerodynamics and grip. That was good for Ruby and Blake, as there was a little less competition near the top, but it would not matter if Weiss won.

Time trials were going to be critical. Few held out hope of beating the Schnee cars but Ruby and Blake were determined to at least get up into the mix. Anything they could do to spoil the domination would go a long way towards keeping their championship hopes alive. Unfortunately for them qualifying did not get off to an encouraging start. Weiss set a blistering time, her fastest of the weekend by a full two seconds, and no one could get close. Even Penny was unable to get within a second of Weiss' time, even as the track gained grip and speed.

In the waning moments Weiss was still well clear of everyone else. She did not even go out for another run. Penny and Coco were locked in a tight battle for second. Coco seemed energized by the developments with Yang and was driving better than she had all year. Reese was next, followed by Blake, Ruby and Velvet. Ruby was unhappy with her car. It simply did not have the straight-line speed. She was quick through the track's many sweeping turns but even there she was only marginally better than Weiss. In the fast parts she was hopelessly outpaced by the other top competitors. For her last run she decided to go with less downforce in hopes of evening out the gap.

Ruby took it easy through the track's final complex, a right-left-unwinding-right chicane called Triangle. She powered out onto the steeply downhill frontstretch and across the line to start her lap. Her car reached to speed, well in excess of 200 mph, as she approached First, a tightening double right-hander. She coasted through the first part of the corner before braking hard for the second. This was the part of the track where her car excelled and she was determined to make it count. After a short straight it was time for the winding S-Curves. Left-right-left-right, each corner longer and tighter than the last. With a little less downforce Ruby's car squirmed but it was nothing she could not handle. After the last of the S-Curves was Tire, an unwinding left-hand sweeper that crested a hill.

Ruby just barely tapped the brakes as the track kinked right, then was on them hard just before an extremely tight, banked right-hander. She accelerated out of the right, controlling her wheelspin, crossed under the bridge atop which was a later part of the track, then braked as the track kinked right before a left-hand hairpin uncreatively called Hairpin. Ruby accelerated out into a long and sweeping, flat-out right-hander. As the track crested a hill she braked again, the car squirming as it got light. Then it was steeply downhill through the sweeping double-left called Ladle. Ruby's engine screamed as the car powered uphill and crossed the bridge over the earlier part of the track. She slung her car hard left through an incredibly fast flat-out left-hander. The car tried to slide but she kept it under control as it edged to the right side of the track. Ruby pulled her car back to the left and slammed on the brakes, careful not to lockup, as she approached Triangle. She kicked the car right, then left over a crest, then accelerated hard as the track dropped downhill and curved right. She roared across the line to complete her lap.

Ruby was supremely disappointed with the result. Unsurprisingly, Weiss held onto first. Coco put herself in second with Penny third. Reese took fourth ahead of Blake, Velvet and Ruby. Nora, Arslan and Ren rounded out the top 10. Ruby's lap had been faster but the others had gained even more speed. It seemed the title was slipping away. Even if Weiss did not win, Ruby needed to be within 9 points of the lead to have a shot at the championship. From where she was starting she would be lucky to score any points, and that would probably mean the end of her title hopes.

That night Ruby and Pyrrha retired to the hotel room they were sharing earlier than usual. Ruby walked straight to the bed and flopped down face-first with a heavy sigh. Pyrrha hobbled over - no longer using crutches and without a cast, but still wearing a major brace on her leg - and took a seat beside her. "This sucks." Ruby groaned, burying her face in a pillow.

"What does?" Pyrrha asked in as soothing a voice as possible. She had known something was up with Ruby for the entirety of their ride from the track to the hotel, but neither had been willing to bring it up.

"I was so close." Ruby complained. "The title was mine and...it just slipped away. I guess I know how my parents felt when they lost. It makes how tense they were sometimes make a lot more sense."

"It's not over." Pyrrha encouraged. She started rubbing Ruby's back. "There are still two races left."

"Yeah, but if Weiss wins tomorrow, and I'm pretty sure she will, it'll be over." Ruby said. "I guess I shouldn't have expected to be so successful so fast, but getting so close…"

"What if it rains?" Pyrrha asked. "Then you'll be the favorite for sure."

"What if it doesn't?" Ruby countered. "The forecast is 50-50 and if it stays dry I probably won't even finish in the points."

"Stranger things have happened." Pyrrha said.

"I think I've had enough strange for a lifetime." Ruby sighed. "Do you ever wish you just had a normal life?"

"Normal?" Pyrrha said. "Like a 9 to 5 office job? Oh God no. I'll take the excitement and danger of racing any day. Besides, if I had a normal life I'd never have met you. I'm sure you feel the same way."

"I do." Ruby admitted. "But times like these make it hard."

"I know." Pyrrha said. "It's been tough for me too, watching from the sidelines. But just think of the success we'll have. We're just rookies and already we're fighting for the title. With a year under our belts we'll be unstoppable."

"I guess you're right." Ruby said. She rolled over. "This year has been one hell of an experience. For all the ups and downs, I wouldn't trade it for anything."

"That's the spirit." Pyrrha said. "Now get changed and go to sleep. You'll need to be well rested for the race."

"Oh, but I thought we could...you know." Ruby said.

"On the night before a race?" Pyrrha asked. Ruby stared at her with those impossibly cute, pleading silver eyes. "Who am I kidding? I can't say no to that face."

Race day brought high winds and dark clouds. It looked as if a terrific storm was in the offing, but as the cars lined up on the grid the rain still held off. Weiss was the focus of media attention as the drivers waited on the grid. Not only was she on the pole for her home race, a win would lock up the title. It was a Cinderella story, taking over for her tragically deceased sister to win the title for the family team. It was like something out of a movie. Weiss was not as upbeat as she might have been. For one, she still loathed the media. There were still too many questions about Winter and too many comparisons to her. Then there was the weather. She looked up at the low dark clouds and just knew it would rain. If that happened, the victory everyone had already handed her would be in serious doubt.

The weather still held as the drivers rolled their cars around the track for the parade lap. They lined up back on the grid in preparation for the start. It was going to be key. The run down into the first corner was a long one and passing was difficult. The downhill nature of the straight would make things a little easier, but it would still take perfection to get to Turn 1 in first. The bright colors of the cars were dulled by the grey skies and dim light as attention turned to the lights. One red, two, three, four, all five red! The drivers revved their engines. Lights out! There was much less spinning of tires than usual, owing to the downhill grid, and all the drivers got away clean. Weiss pulled clear of Coco by the first corner, with Penny third, followed by Reese, Velvet, Blake and Ruby.

As the cars snaked through the S-Curves Weiss began to pull away from Coco. It was clear that Coco was holding up the trailing cars as they ran through the winding part of the track, but there was nowhere to pass. The train of cars followed her through to Hairpin. Coco got a good launch on exit and pulled away on the run to Ladle. Things closed up a little through the double corner, but Coco pulled away again on exit. That pattern would continue over the next several laps, though behind Coco the field began to spread out. Weiss was long gone.

A few cars dropped out with typical mechanical issues, but the frontrunners were untouched and the race was fairly boring until lap 15 of the 51 lap race. As Weiss approached Triangle she noticed spits of water on her visor. The rain had finally arrived. She slowed early for the corner,, expecting it to be a bit damp. It was a good thing she did because it was more than damp. Just at the end of the braking zone she hit a sheet of water as the rain suddenly spiked in intensity. The track was immediately soaked. As she carefully slid her car through Triangle her team called her in over the radio to get rain tires, but she already knew. Weiss dove into the pits, torrential rain blanketing half the circuit by the time she stopped.

The trailing cars had mixed reaction to the rain. Coco nearly spun and overshot the corner but not enough to get into the grass. Penny saw Coco's struggle and slowed considerably, only for Reese to run into the back of her, causing them both to spin. Both continued on but Reese had knocked her front wing off. Velvet missed the corner entirely and slid into a sand trap where she became stuck. Blake spun around, but after two complete rotations regained control and kept going. Unfortunately for her Ruby and Nora had had no such trouble and passed her.

Weiss exited the pits on rain tires with a huge lead, largely untouched by the calamity behind her, but she knew that somewhere back there Ruby was going to be incredibly fast. Ruby was. With Penny, Reese, Velvet and Blake all safely out of the way, Ruby was up to third. She was half a minute behind Weiss but there was plenty of time left. She was a second and a half faster per lap. By the end she would be there, no doubt about it. Up front Weiss did her best. Her pit board at first showed only the gap to Coco, but soon Ruby's appeared below it. It was shrinking at an alarming rate but Weiss was already going as fast as she dared.

On lap 29 the numbers flipped on Weiss' pit board. Ruby was now in second. In fact she had caught Coco only the lap before, but Coco was aware that Ruby was fighting for the title, not to mention her girlfriend's sister, not to mention much faster, and let her past without much of a fight. Ruby set off after Weiss, taking chunks out of her lead. Even as the rain continued to fall Ruby seemed to only get faster. Weiss knew there was no chance of outrunning her. Her only hope was that she would be able to block Ruby once she arrived. On lap 43 the gap back to Ruby disappeared from Weiss' pit board. That was because she was now right there and Weiss could both see and hear her. The race for the win and the championship was on.

Ruby took every opportunity to attack and Weiss every opportunity to block. It was going to be tricky for Ruby to overtake Weiss. Though she was faster they were running the same line, and off that line the track was wetter and slipperier. On lap 47 Ruby tried to go up the inside at Hairpin. She was closing quick and Weiss did not have a chance to block. Fortunately for her the standing water off the racing line caused Ruby to slide wide in the corner, allowing Weiss to retake the lead. Still Ruby was there, peeking right as they approached Ladle. Weiss blocked the move and Ruby was forced to fall in line, dropping back a little as the cars rounded the corner.

Weiss thought she might have a chance for a little breather since Ruby had fallen off her transmission, but when she looked in her mirrors what she saw alarmed her. Ruby was playing strategy. She had sacrificed her speed in the middle of the corner to get a better exit. Even with Weiss' extra power Ruby was still right there. As they rounded the left-hand sweeper Weiss had to lift considerably, Ruby not so much. Ruby cut left, Weiss blocked. Ruby ducked back to the right, the inside line for Triangle. Weiss could not block in time.

If Ruby won she would take the points lead and the initiative. Weiss could not allow that to happen. It would be better if...if...if neither of them finished. As the cars approached Triangle Weiss made her entry as if Ruby was not there. The cars collided, collapsing Weiss' right-front suspension and Ruby's left-front. They both slid straight on, coming to a stop on the access road that cut across the chicane. Even before the cars came to a halt Weiss realized she had done something awful. It was one thing to have an accident, it was another to hit someone on purpose. She sat in her car for a moment, composing herself. She was surprised when Ruby got out and walked away, as opposed to rushing to Weiss to scream at her. That was what Weiss would have done in her place. Soon Coco, with Nora on her tail, rounded Triangle to take over the lead of the race. Weiss got out of her car and waited for the traffic to clear before crossing the track and heading back to the garage. She felt terrible.

When Weiss arrived at the garage a phone call was waiting. Her father. He never came to the track but for once he was watching on television. "I'm sorry." Weiss said immediately.

"Great move." Her father said. "Better you both crash than let her win."

"What?" Weiss gasped.

"You made the right decision." Her father said. Weiss slammed the phone down so hard it broke. Now she felt even worse.

Ruby just walked back to the pits. She had been so close to the win, so close to regaining the championship lead, and it had all slipped away in the blink of an eye. Still, all was not lost. There was another race to run and Ruby would still have a shot at the title no matter how things played out over the final few laps. She was simultaneously disheartened and hopeful. It would all come down to Mantle, and she would not let it slip away again.

Out on track Nora had the lead before the end of the lap. Coco's rain tires were shot and she could provide no opposition. Blake caught her on the final lap to grab second on the run to Triangle. Coco hung onto third followed by Penny, Arslan and Ren. Sun, May, Dew and Reese completed the top 10. The podium was as enthusiastic and chaotic as ever. Nora rushed out jumping and cheering, totally ignoring the still pouring rain. Even as the anthems played she was unable to stand still, rocking back and forth with barely controlled energy. When it was time to spray the champagne she coated the already soaked drivers before taking a big sip herself, then followed it up with more jumping around and cheering.

Ruby found herself fourth in points and tied with the still sidelined Pyrrha, needing 2 to tie Weiss and 4 to overtake the sidelined Yang. Weiss just needed 2 points to overhaul Yang. Blake had vaulted herself into contention and needed only 3 points to pass Yang. It would be one race to decide it all, and at a track only one of the championship competitors had raced at before. Even Yang, sidelined since her accident had a shot at the title, assuming none of the other challengers could score enough points to surpass her total. No one was sure how it would play out, but it would surely be exciting.

Standings After Fifteen Races

1st - Yang Xiao-Long - 50

2nd - Weiss Schnee - 49

3rd - Blake Belladonna - 48

4th - Pyrrha Nikos - 47

4th - Ruby Rose - 47

6th - Winter Schnee - 37

7th - Coco Adel - 24

8th - Penny Polendina - 23

9th - Nora Valkyrie - 22

10th - Velvet Scarlatina - 10

11th - Reese Chloris - 7

12th - Arslan Atlan - 5

13th - Lie Ren - 4

14th - May Zedong - 1

14th - Sage Ayana - 1

Insiprations

- Atlasport is based on Mosport in Canada.

- The Schnee Circuit is Suzuka in Japan. It was and still is owned by Honda.

- The Schnee S550 is meant to be a Ferrari F40.

- The situation between Ruby and Weiss is based on Senna and Prost in 1989. Prost very intentionally collided with Senna when the latter tried to pass. More below.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- The accident in the flashback isn't based on a real one. It's based on a crash I had when I was a professional sim racer.

- Prost did not feel terrible and in real life Senna was not out of the race. He pit for a new front wing, drove his heart out and retook the lead to win. Prost conspired with fellow Frenchman Jean-Marie Balestre, head of the FIA and an SS member during WWII, to get Senna disqualified for cutting the chicane. It was garbage, but it worked and handed Prost the championship. This explanation probably doesn't do justice to how bad a person Alain Prost is.

- Another inaccuracy related to the incident is that Prost's team owner was not happy with his move. In fact, he and Senna were teammates. By the time he left for Ferrari he was pretty well universally hated within the McLaren organization.