Author's Note: Sorry for the late chapter. I was on vacation and it wrecked my sleep schedule.

Chapter 21

Fifteen Years Ago

The Sanctum Grand Prix was slated to be held at the Castle Circuit. The track was so named because it ran through the streets around an ancient castle perched atop a hill at the city's center. For a temporary public roads circuit it was very fast. The many elevation changes and sweeping corners made for a flowing and challenging circuit that the drivers loved. It was a fantastic challenge and legitimately fun to drive. Passing was difficult, but fans liked the track for the event's party atmosphere and the beautiful vistas afforded by the circuit's hilltop location. Throw in weather that was always perfect and it was an ideal place to hold a grand prix.

At least it should have been. Every year the cars got faster. The tight confines of the high-speed circuit had been causing concern for a few years now. The cars were simply outgrowing the track. Serious crashes over the past few grand prix held there had put drivers in the hospital, but not killed anyone, yet. It was in this climate of worry that a new problem was discovered. The circuit was simply not ready for the race. The barriers lining the streets were improperly assembled and not securely fastened to the ground. Rather than being upgraded with taller barriers and new catch fences as was requested, they had seemingly been downgraded.

Before the first practice was to take place some of the drivers and mechanics took on the problem themselves, going around the track to improve the barriers. They replaced missing bolts, tightened the ones already in place, and generally did the work the organizers should have done themselves. The practices and time trials were run, but the trepidation grew. All the drivers were aware of the dangers. They knew that racing was dangerous, that on any given day they could die, but this was too much. The circuit was just unacceptable. Many of the leading drivers got together. The points leader Taiyang and his wife Summer rallied the others to stage a boycott. The team owners took the nearly unprecedented step of joining in the call for the race's cancellation. If the drivers would not race and the owners would not force them, what could be done about it?

Unfortunately the garage area was located in a local sports stadium. When the teams arrived on Sunday morning to collect their things and depart, they found the gates barred. The local authorities offered an ultimatum: race or their cars and equipment would be impounded indefinitely. The organizers had the drivers and teams over a barrel and everyone knew it. The legal system in Sanctum was rather fair and speedy, but a mess like this could take months to sort out and no one had that sort of time. There were other races to run. The drivers met and refused to race. The owners met and decided they had to. The local authorities threatened to arrest the drivers. The drivers met again and decided to race.

Taiyang had his car on pole with Summer second. The race, scheduled for 75 laps, got underway at the scheduled time. Taiyang got a fast launch off the line and leapt into the lead. Halfway around the track he brushed one of the armco barriers ever-so-slightly. He pulled into the pits at the end of the lap, said his suspension was broken and retired from the race. The next lap Summer pulled in. She complained that the engine was misfiring and she could not continue. They left in a hurry. When the local authorities showed up to see exactly how broken their cars were, they had already been disassembled and loaded into the trucks.

Most other drivers did not participate in the protest and the race went on. Up and coming driver Glynda Goodwitch was not having a great race in her Team Juniper machine. She was running eighth but the car was not handling properly. Soon the reason became apparent. Her defective rear wing collapsed as the car rounded a particularly quick curve. The car snapped into a spin and slammed into one of the barriers before careening across the track and into the armco opposite. The car flipped up and over the barrier and barrelled into a crowd of spectators. The year before the drivers had asked for a catch fence at the spot, but none had been installed.

Glynda dragged herself from her crumpled car, her left leg and wrist broken. She soon found herself confronted by an angry mob of spectators. Only the timely intervention of track workers and policemen saved her from being torn apart on the spot. In the wake of her destroyed machine, five spectators lay dead or dying. Glynda was saved from the survivors and rushed to the hospital. Her injuries ended her season but she would return to do great things. The race went on as it always did.

Four laps after the accident, following the protestations of team and series officials, the organizers relented. Enough was enough. The madness was ended after 29 laps. Rookie Cinder Fall took home her maiden victory, but no one much cared. F1 would not return to the Castle Circuit, and would not return to that region of Sanctum for a decade and a half. By then a modern purpose-built track had been assembled. The lesson had been learned, and it had only taken 5 deaths.

Present day

The weekend after the Haven Grand Prix it was time for the race in Sanctum. Held at the Permanent Circuit of Sanctum, it was expected to be highly competitive. The track, on the calendar for the second consecutive year, was a mixture of long fast straights, quick sweeping turns, and tight hairpins. With a little bit of everything, all the top teams would have a legitimate shot at the victory. The hot and dusty conditions would test the drivers and their machines to their limits.

After the previous event Weiss, Ruby and Blake had emerged as the championship favorites. So far being a championship favorite had spelled danger. Winter died while leading the points. Yang had been maimed and Pyrrha seriously injured while contesting the point lead. Everyone hoped the year's tragedies were over but no one could be sure. For years F1 had seen a relatively good safety record, but in the course of a few months the illusion of safety had irreparably shattered.

Practice started out encouraging for the teams not running Schnee engines. Though certain parts of the circuit demanded power, it appeared that the balance had swung toward handling. Blake led the first practice from Ruby and Weiss. The top three were identical in the second, and in the third Ruby led from Weiss and Blake. Behind them Nora and Ren were abnormally competitive, racing with Coco, Velvet and Penny for spots in the points. Arslan, Sun and Neptune were fairly quick as well, fighting it out with May near the bottom of the top 10.

Qualifying day was hot and humid. A lack of cloud cover added to the misery as temperatures approached triple digits, along with the humidity. Time trials got off to a halting start. Neptune crashed heavily at the end of the frontstretch, bringing out the red flag. He was unhurt, but almost as soon as the session resumed it was halted again when Gwen's spectacular engine failure spilled oil all over the circuit. The cleanup work necessary was extensive and took a long time. The drivers had to sit in the heat and wait.

Pyrrha helped Ruby out, holding an umbrella to shield her from the sun as they waited out the long delay. They did little talking. Ruby liked to stay focused during qualifying, and even during a red flag she kept her mind focused on the task at hand. That was alright as, in addition to acting as an umbrella holder for Ruby, Pyrrha answered numerous questions from the press. Sanctum was nearly a home race for her and though her injury kept her out of the car, she was very popular with the fans and media alike.

Time trials resumed again, this time for good. The times set in practice proved genuine as Blake topped the charts with Weiss and Ruby in hot pursuit. Team Juniper was surprisingly quick, vaulting into the pole battle along with Penny. Coco and Velvet were fast but clearly not in the same league. Still, it would come down to one last run as usual. The track was getting faster and faster as more rubber was laid down and the sand that made it slippery was blown away by the passing cars. Clouds rolled in and the track began to cool, further increasing speeds. It was going to be an interesting final few minutes.

Ruby took to the track for one last go. She slowed a little extra on entry to the final corner, Moto, before accelerating through the uphill left-hand hairpin. The track rose steeply as she flashed across the line to start her lap. Almost immediately Ruby was hard on the brakes for the first turn, Expo. She navigated the tight right-hander with a little oversteer and after a quick blast arrived at the track's tightest corner, the right-hand Tire. After that came two flat-out lefts. She braked slightly for Site, a sweeping right that led to the track's fastest straight. The rear tires struggled for grip as Ruby accelerated out and the track dropped steeply downhill.

As the ground leveled out Ruby braked hard, careful not to lock up her wheels, for the right-hand hairpin Dry. She kept the car as far to the right as she could on exit to set up for the flat-out left-hander that followed. After that was a short straight, then Ruby just tapped the brakes before entering the left-hand sweeper called Blade. She kept the car to the left edge of the track, braking hard for the following right-hand Angel. That was followed immediately by the even tighter right-hand Salon. She accelerated hard on exit in preparation for another terrifyingly fast stretch. She wound up her car through the flat-out right-handers of Legend and Schnee. Her car reached top speed, the turbo whining, before she slammed on the brakes for Moto. She rounded the hairpin at an agonizingly slow pace before rocketing up onto the frontstretch and across the line to complete her lap.

Pole position! Ruby nailed it on her final lap, just edging out Blake for the top spot. Weiss came third followed by Nora, Penny and Ren. Coco, Arslan, Sun and Velvet rounded out the top 10. Ruby was determined to take the fight to Weiss and take command of the championship race. Starting from the top spot would give her a great chance at doing just that. More than that, she badly wanted to win to give Yang something to cheer about.

The weather on race day was much like it had been on qualifying day. The main difference was that the humidity had gone, making conditions far more tolerable. A gentle breeze further cooled things down, but brought the unwanted side effect of dust blown onto the track. As she had during the red flag the day before, Pyrrha held an umbrella for Ruby as she waited on the grid before the race. She again deflected some of the media attention by taking questions herself. Ruby was free to focus. But when the time came, as Ruby sat in the car just before donning her helmet, Pyrrha bent down and kissed her on the cheek. "Good luck." Pyrrha said with a smile.

"If I win you're giving me a better kiss than that." Ruby laughed. She slipped on her balaclava and helmet as a mechanic helped to fasten her seat belts.

Moments later the engines were fired and the cars rolled off for their parade lap. They formed up back on the grid with Ruby on the left side of the front row. The focus turned to the lights. One red, two, three, four, all five! The drivers revved their engines as heat haze shimmered above the colorful machines. Lights out! Brakes were released and clutches engaged. Tires squealed, engines roared and turbos screamed as the cars leapt off the line to puffs of tire smoke. The run to the first corner was short and the top three remained as they had started. Penny slipped into fourth ahead of Nora and Ren while Sun got a fantastic start to leap into seventh.

The first few corners were clean and Ruby began to pull a gap over Blake. Weiss got a good run down the backstretch and Blake blocked right. Weiss tried to pass left but was unable to complete the move before the corner. On exit of Dry Penny spun her tires on the dusty tarmac. Nora did not have such a problem and swept around to regain her starting position. Penny's slip ruined her momentum and Ren was able to sweep around her by the time the field reached Blade. Further back in the field Dew and Nadir tangled on entry to Dry and both ended up out of the race with suspension damage.

As the race went on mechanical attrition took its toll, but only among the backmarkers. Several slower drivers dropped out but the leaders kept going. Ruby pulled out a huge lead over Blake who in turn began to pull a gap on Weiss. Weiss was harassed by Nora and Ren but her straightaway speed was enough to keep her in front of them. Behind them Penny was struggling with an ill-handling car. On lap 11 she could no longer hold off Coco who managed to pass her as they entered the first corner.

By lap 30 Ruby had opened a 20 second lead over Blake, but she had also thrashed her tires in the process. She made her pit stop for fresh rubber and was fast enough to come out between Blake and Weiss. The gap between them had stabilized at around 5 seconds. Once out of the pits Ruby changed tactics. Rather than risk burning off her new set of tires, Ruby tempered her pace and just found a rhythm. On lap 35 both Blake and Weiss made their pit stops and Ruby resumed her massive lead. She took to just going as fast as Blake. There was no need to pull away and the high track temperature was chewing up tires throughout the field. Penny pit on lap 37 and managed to jump ahead of both Coco and Ren. Adjustments made during the stop also improved her car's handling significantly.

With the top three spots pretty much set, the real battle was developing for fourth. Penny was on a charge. By lap 50 she had caught Nora and the pair began a spirited battle. Penny would drive up alongside Nora on every long straight but Nora would keep her position thanks to her superior cornering. All the while Ren closed in as the fight slowed both combatants down. On lap 61 of 72 Penny finally got a good run out of Moto. As the cars climbed the hill Nora blocked right but Penny cleared her before the first turn to take fourth.

Any celebrations for Penny and the Schnee team were short lived. On lap 63 her right front tire developed a slow puncture. She slowed, hoping to nurse it to the end of the race and Nora retook fourth place with Ren following into fifth. On lap 65 the tire shredded and Penny was forced to pit, giving up sixth to Coco. Just a lap later Velvet's left rear tire failed, but fortuitously it happened just as she approached the pit entrance. The tire failures were alarming for other drivers. Ruby's strategist warned her to slow down to save her tires. She followed orders. Blake got the same order but ignored it and began to close in.

When the final lap began Blake was within a second of Ruby. It looked as if the race might see a close finish, but Ruby just picked up the pace again. With one lap left there was no point in saving the tires anymore. As the lap unfolded she pulled away from Blake considerably, setting the fastest lap of the race on the final lap. Blake came home in second with Weiss a distant third. Nora took fourth with Ren fifth and Coco sixth to round out the points. Penny had charged late with her fresh tires to finish seventh ahead of Arslan, Sun and Velvet.

Ruby stood on the top step of the podium. She was positively thrilled and felt like she could drive another 50 laps if she had to. For the final part of the race she had been taking it easy and truth be told none of it had been particularly difficult. On either side of her both Weiss and Blake looked exhausted. Pyrrha represented Beacon GP to accept the constructor's trophy. After the anthems champagne was sprayed as was traditional, and everyone got a good soaking. Once the bubbly was exhausted Ruby grabbed her trophy and held it aloft. "This one's for Yang!" She shouted as the crowd below cheered raucously. Pyrrha hobbled over to give Ruby a hug but Ruby was having none of it. She put her trophy down and grabbed Pyrrha with both arms, pulling her into a passionate kiss. A better kiss indeed.

"Yeah!" Yang cheered in her hospital bed as she watched the podium ceremony on television. "Get her sister!" She was probably happier to see Ruby win than she would have been if she were holding the trophy herself. "It's she great dad?"

"I guess." Taiyang sighed. He had been at Yang's side constantly since the others had left, even sleeping in the chair there.

"What's wrong?" Yang asked.

"She just reminds me so much of her mother." Taiyang replied. "She's even dating her teammate. I just hope it doesn't end the same way."

"It won't end the same way." Yang said. "Come on, try to celebrate a little."

"I really don't want either of you to end up like me either." Taiyang said. "I know things are bad for you now, but don't give up like I did, okay?"

"I won't." Yang said. "And I'm not done racing. I don't care what I have to do."

"Good." Taiyang said. "Hopefully everything works out with Ruby too. Truth be told, I don't want her dating Pyrrha. As nice as she is, as perfect for each other as they are, I just…"

"It's not going to be like you and mom." Yang insisted. "Besides, if you could go back and do it all over again, you wouldn't change things, would you?"

"I guess I wouldn't." Taiyang admitted. "The times I got to spend with Summer were the best of my life. I'd do anything to have her back, even for a moment."

"Well there you go." Yang said. "However things end, she's happy now, so what does it matter?"

Standings After Thirteen Races

1st - Yang Xiao-Long - 50

2nd - Pyrrha Nikos - 47

3rd - Ruby Rose - 43

4th - Weiss Schnee - 40

5th - Winter Schnee - 37

6th - Blake Belladonna - 36

7th - Penny Polendina - 20

8th - Coco Adel - 17

9th - Nora Valkyrie - 11

10th - Velvet Scarlatina - 10

11th - Reese Chloris - 7

12th - Arslan Atlan - 3

12th - Lie Ren - 3

14th - May Zedong - 1

Inspirations

- Castle Circuit is based on Montjuic.

- The flashback is based on the 1975 Spanish Grand Prix.

- The Permanent Circuit of Sanctum is based on Jerez.

- All the tragedy befalling championship contenders reflects 1982.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- The timing does not line up for the flashback.

- The layout of Jerez I used is modern and anachronistic. Unfortunately I'm unfamiliar with the original layout so I used the one I know.