Chapter 9

One Month Ago

Another lonely night, another morning when it was not worth getting out of bed. Taiyang forced himself to get up. What day was it? Monday? That sounded right. They all ran together, unending and yet gone in an instant. He walked through the living room, passing pictures of his family that he could no longer bear to look upon. He wondered why he left them out when they caused him so much pain. Part of him probably wanted the pain. At least when it hurt he felt something.

He opened the front door, squinting against the morning sun. He could see that the mailbox at the end of the drive was empty. It usually was. The letters had stopped coming years ago and all he ever got was the occasional bill. He looked down and spotted something unusual. A newspaper sat neatly on the ground just outside the door. It was unusual because he did not have a subscription. He picked it up without looking and held it to his nose. It smelled of alcohol so Qrow had probably left it for him.

So this was what it had come to. Qrow, his best friend, would not even face him anymore. Taiyang knew it was his own fault. Their last conversation had ended very badly and there was no one to blame but himself. Whether Qrow was right or wrong was irrelevant, as a friend he deserved to be treated better. With a heavy sigh Taiyang stepped back inside, letting the door swing shut behind him.

Taiyang sat on the couch. One look at the newspaper made him sick. Local Driver Wins 24 Hours of Vytal. He knew there was only one person the headline could possibly refer to. He did not want to but he forced himself to read on. His daughter had won one of the world's most prestigious races and he had not even known she would be in it. Ruby had been on the team too. Qrow had designed the car. It was a big family victory and here was Taiyang, alone. It was a special hell, and he knew he deserved it.

Present Day

"Welcome to Grand Patch." Yang said.

"It's an...interesting track." Weiss said. The twisting and undulating circuit was certainly unique. Like most of the other drivers she had never raced there before. It had only hosted the Patch Grand Prix once before and had not been part of the International F2 Championship until this season.

"It's pretty challenging but I think it'll play to our strengths." Yang continued. "Power isn't as important as it is at most tracks and the forecast calls for rain on race day."

"I can't say I'm thrilled about the rain." Weiss admitted. Yang's wet weather driving was masterful but Weiss was more in line with the other drivers. The homefield advantage also played in Yang's favor, she knew every puddle and rivulet that would form when the rain started falling.

"Ruby's chassis is tailored to this place too." Yang added. "I think we'll both be very competitive."

"I made some upgrades just for this race too." Ruby said.

"My improved engines are ready." Blake said. "I was even able to learn a bit from Weiss' run in Vytal."

If practice times were anything to go by, Beacon GP would indeed be competitive. Winter still topped the charts but the track apparently did not agree with Penny. Yang and Pyrrha were consistently faster and Weiss was right there too. Coffee Inc. and Phase Two had relied on engine power and experience to put themselves near the front of the field, but both advantages were negated and they fell into the chaos that was the midfield. Still, no one could say anything for sure until time trials.

Qualifying day was unseasonably warm and sunny. At this time of year, Patch was usually cloudy, cool and wet. Patch was like that for most of the year actually. It could be a bleak and miserable place. The good weather, combined with the potential of a local driver winning the pole, brought out a huge crowd time trials. What would normally be a sparsely attended session was standing room only. When it came to motorsports, the people of Patch had had precious little to get excited about in the previous decade. Not since Taiyang Xiao-Long was a dominant force in F1 had they had a driver of their own to cheer for. Yang was determined not to disappoint and she felt the pressure. All her friends would be in attendance, Ruby's too. If only her father had been among them.

In the closing minutes of time trials Winter and Pyrrha held the top two positions. Yang was third, followed by Penny and Weiss. For Schnee Automotive there would be no waiting in the garage this time. All five went out for one last run. Yang managed to position herself to run last. Yang slowed on the straight before the final turn to ensure she would not be impeded by the cars ahead. Once she was sure she had enough room, she accelerated, whipping the car around the track's final turn, Rose Curve. It was named for Ruby's mother. She was not a Patch native but her intimate connection to Taiyang meant she may as well have been. Just about every part of the track was named for a heavy-hitter from Taiyang's generation.

Yang roared onto the start/finish straight which was not actually straight but a lazy right-hand curve. She crossed the line to start her lap and was soon on the brakes as her car crested the hill into the off-camber first turn, named Garage Hill. The car oversteered but Yang knew it would. As soon as it regained grip she floored it and shot back uphill into the hairpin. The topography meant the right-hand hairpin, named the Huntsman Hairpin, was banked in the drivers' favor. Her wheels briefly broke traction as she accelerated out of the corner, heading back downhill. The third turn, a left-hander at the base of the hill called Ironwood Curve, after former driver and current team manager James Ironwood, was tight and slow. Yang slung her car through the difficult turn, sliding the tires onto the kerb on the outside of the exit.

After that it was a short blast down a straight and into the tight uphill left-hander called Port Bend after retired driver turned commentator Peter Port. Next was the track's longest straightaway, Xiao-Long Straight. Yang flew uphill then down before the track climbed back up into Xiao-Long Bend. She barely had to slow for the sweeping right-hander. After a short straight she was hard on the brakes again the series of downhill right-hand turns called the Nevermore Complex. Her car got light as it crested the hill through the third of the three turns but thanks to Ruby's setup it settled immediately and allowed Yang to get a good run into the banked left-hander called Ozpin Corner. Yang mashed the gas on exit and the tires bit, sending her rocketing down the track's second longest straightaway, Rose Straight. Yang braked hard on entry to the final corner, Rose Curve, a sweeping and unwinding right-hander. The tires screamed as she pushed them to the very edge of grip, getting a good launch onto the start/finish straight. She flashed across the line to complete her lap, confident that it had been a fast one.

It had been fast, very fast, but not fast enough. Yang had eclipsed Winter's earlier time by over a second but Winter had gained significantly on her final run as well. Yang ended up second and Winter had her third pole in succession. It had come down to a tenth of a second but Winter had just held on. Next was Pyrrha, but she was quite a bit slower than the top two. After another large gap was Penny, then Weiss. Sixth was Coco followed by Emerald, Sun, Neptune, and Mercury. Jaune qualified a career best thirteenth. Apparently Pyrrha's coaching and the team's upgrades were paying off for him.

As thrilling as it was for Yang to qualify on the front row, she knew it would be meaningless if she could not back it up in the race. She was not worried though. She knew she could win, and if it rained as forecast, she was confident she would. The local fans already had a lot to cheer about and Yang was intent on giving them even more.

As forecast, race day was wet. The rain was not torrential, but it had started overnight, continued right through the morning and was still falling when the cars were rolled out. The track was incredibly slick with big puddles of standing water and numerous places where water ran across the track in rivulets. Hit one wrong and it could end a driver's race, or worse. Yang's intimate knowledge of the circuit would certainly come into play, but it was not as big an advantage as it might have been. Winter had raced at Grand Patch before and had run a few practice sessions in the rain. She did not have Yang's intuitive feel for the track and was not quite as good in the wet, but she was not out of her depth either.

The cars rolled around the track for their parade lap and lined up on the grid. The cheers of the capacity crowd were clearly audible over the roar of the engines as the starter raised the flag. The flag dropped and the drivers were off, spinning tires and sliding around as they headed toward the first turn. Almost immediately the spray was blinding for trailing cars. At the front it was not so bad. Yang got a perfect start and jumped into the lead, Winter tucking behind her as they swept downhill through the first corner. Pyrrha, Penny, Weiss and Coco followed in the order in which they had started. Then, chaos. Neptune ran into the back of Emerald, then spun into the side of Mercury's car. The track was more or less blocked. Cars behind them piled in, both from Maiden Racing, WFR and Team Funky, Yatsuhashi and Cardinal's Sky Lark ended up wrecked on the side of the track. The only drivers who slipped through were Sun, Cardin and Jaune. The last two both spun avoiding the crash but managed to get their cars back on track. By turn two the field had been more than cut in half. Somehow all the drivers walked away from the tangle of metal uninjured.

When the leaders came around to start their second lap, yellow flags waved, warning them of the debris that littered the track and the wrecked cars now just off to the sides. The race might have been red flagged but with the track mostly clear and the involved drivers safely away from the scene, it was good enough. Yang spent the early laps extending her lead. Winter fell back and Pyrrha passed her on the entry to the Huntsman Hairpin on lap four. Winter continued to lose time to the lead pair but behind her Penny and Weiss were even slower. Coco and Sun were well off the leaders' pace as well, and Cardin and Jaune were crawling.

As the laps ticked by Yang's large lead over Pyrrha stabilized. By lap 30 of the 80 lap distance, the pair had lapped Coco, Sun, Cardin and Jaune. The real action was for fourth with Penny and Weiss having a spirited battle. Penny as usual was extremely consistent but not particularly fast. Weiss would turn in a fast lap, get right up to Penny, then falter. On lap 33 Weiss was having a fast lap. She closed on Penny into Port Bend and got a good run off the corner. The cars roared down Xiao-Long Straight side-by-side, splashing through a huge puddle at the bottom of the hill that unsettled both cars. The pair regained control and as they ran through Xiao-Long Bend Weiss nosed ahead and Penny relinquished the spot.

At the halfway mark the conditions began to change. The rain slowed from a steady downpour to a drizzle, then stopped entirely by lap 50. The track began to dry and the complexion of the race began to change drastically. Winter, who was half a lap behind in third was suddenly the fastest on track. Yang was still quick in the lead but Pyrrha fell back. Penny effortlessly repassed Weiss on entry to turn 1 on lap 57 and pulled away. It was turning into a repeat of the 24 Hours of Vytal, Yang with a big lead and Winter charging.

On lap 66 Winter caught up to Pyrrha. It was still a long way to the leader and Winter needed to make the pass quickly. Pyrrha pulled away through Garage Hill and the Huntsman Hairpin. Sliding through Ironwood Curve, Winter lost more ground but made it up on the straight into Port Bend. As the pair screamed down Xiao-Long Straight, Pyrrha blocked right and Winter cut left, driving around the outside as they rounded Xiao-Long Bend. The track was still damp on the outside line and Winter got very sideways but held the car and took the spot. Pyrrha was not overawed by the daring move and promptly attempted to repass Winter in the first corner of the Nevermore Complex. The pass might have worked except for the huge puddle at the corner's apex. Winter went around the pool of standing water but Pyrrha was forced to go right through it. The resulting loss of grip and speed allowed Winter to pull away and continue her charge to the front.

Yang's tires were in bad shape but pitting was not an option. Stopping for a tire change would take far too long. Her overheated and badly worn rain tires provided little grip on the now mostly dry track and every lap it got worse. Winter was dealing with the same problem but still pushing hard. She consistently clawed into Yang's lead. The pair crossed the line nose-to-tail to start the final lap.

Yang covered the inside line for turn 1 and Winter was forced to follow her, the outside not being a viable option. Winter ducked right under braking for the Huntsman Hairpin but Yang held her line and drove deeper into the corner. A little too deep. Winter got up alongside as Yang slid wide and the cars rounded the corner and dove back downhill. They charged side-by-side into Ironwood curve and Yang had the inside again. Winter braked early and attempted to cross-over but Yang got a good run and a fast exit, beating Winter into Port Bend. Winter tucked up behind Yang's car as they flew down Xiao-Long Straight. At the last moment Winter dove right to take the inside line and the cars ran through Xiao-Long Bend side-by-side. This time Winter was on the inside line, but this time it was to her disadvantage. She hydroplaned through the same puddle that had stymied Pyrrha, only narrowly avoiding Yang's car as she slid off into the grass. Winter slid the car through the wet grass and somehow managed to gain enough control to steer it back onto the track. By then, Yang was long gone.

As Yang drove down Rose Straight for the final time she looked in her mirrors to see Winter a significant distance back. She was careful not to overdrive Rose Curve and got a decent launch onto the start/finish straight. Yang crossed the line to take her first Formula 1 victory, and at her home track no less. She slowly rounded the track, waving to the exuberant fans. Even the track workers raced to the edge of the circuit, cheering her on as she passed. Winter pulled up alongside, smiled and gave a respectful nod.

Yang drove her car to the winner's circle, a place she was getting increasingly familiar with. It was an entirely different experience as compared to her F2 win or even her win in the 24 Hours of Vytal. She stood on the top step of the podium, flanked by Winter and Pyrrha. The crowd surged out of the grandstands, surrounding the podium in a sea of jubilant fans. As the national anthem of Patch was played over the loudspeakers she could not help but shed a few tears. Gazing upon the cheering crowd she felt like a conquering hero. It was a thrill unlike any she had ever experienced.

The partying went on into the evening. A few of the teams had stuck around, most notably Juniper, and joined the festivities, but it was mostly a Beacon GP affair. It was their first win in years. The fact that the winner in question was a local with a famous name only added to the excitement. Things really got rolling when Qrow, who had been in attendance, got involved. Before long there was a ton of booze, a barbeque grill and the meat to cook on it. He never quite explained where it had all come from, but a few fans went home from the track richer than when they had arrived. Even Weiss was happy to get involved. Sure, she had been comprehensively bested by her teammate, but again her father had been on the losing end.

The party started to die down when Qrow stepped out. He said something about needing more booze. By then it was late and everyone was exhausted. "I've really got to thank all of you." Yang said. "Blake, your engine is amazing. Ruby, the car is perfect. Weiss, thanks for testing out the new stuff last race. Ozpin, it wouldn't have been possible if you hadn't brought us together."

"This is truly a banner day in the history of Beacon GP Racing." Ozpin said. "I hope it's the start of a new era of success."

"You ran a really great race Yang." Weiss admitted.

"Thanks, and don't worry, I'm sure your first win's not far off." Yang said.

Qrow returned, dragging someone else along with him. "Look who I found skulking around." He said.

"Dad!?" Yang exclaimed. It was indeed Taiyang. He was in desperate need of a shave and looked to have aged a decade in the last year.

"I found him walking around the paddock talking to himself." Qrow said.

"I wanted to apologize...but I...I don't know." Taiyang said.

"It's so good to see you again." Yang said. She and Ruby rushed over to hug him and he began to cry.

"I'm so sorry." Taiyang cried. "I've been such a stubborn idiot. I was afraid of losing you, afraid to feel that pain again. But I lost you anyway."

"I'm sorry I caused you so much pain." Yang said, now crying herself.

"No, you were just doing what you love." Taiyang said. "I can't fault you for that and I never should have tried to stop you. I was being selfish. This is all my fault. I broke up our family and there's no excuse for that. I can't imagine how much you've had to suffer because of me." Taiyang spotted Ozpin standing nearby. "There's someone else I need to apologize to." He pulled himself away from Yang and Ruby and approached Ozpin. "I'm sorry for how I've treated you as well."

"There's no need to apologize." Ozpin said. "With all you went through it's entirely understandable that you wouldn't want to be reminded of the past."

"It might be understandable but it's not right." Taiyang insisted. "I'm sure what happened must have hurt you too. You must have blamed yourself. Not answering your calls, avoiding you, it must have made it feel like I blamed you too. I'm sorry I put you through that for all these years. You were so good to Summer and I, and I've been a bad friend to you. I'm sure plenty of people have said it to you before, but it wasn't your fault and I never blamed you."

"It...means a lot to hear you say that." Ozpin said. "But right now I'm just happy you'll get to celebrate this day with your daughter."

"Me too." Taiyang said. "I'm glad I got my head on straight before it was too late."

"Does this mean you'll start coming to my races?" Yang asked.

"I'm afraid not." Taiyang said. "I don't think my heart could take it. But I want you to know that I support you, no matter what you decide to do with your life. I just want us to be a family again."

Yang smiled and hugged her father once more. "We've always been a family."

Standings after four races:

1st - Winter Schnee - 24

2nd - Pyrrha Nikos - 17

3rd - Penny Polendina - 15

4th - Yang Xiao-Long - 14

5th - Weiss Schnee - 8

6th - Coco Adel - 7

6th - Yatsuhashi Daichi - 7

8th - Mercury Black - 3

8th - Emerald Sustrai - 3

10th - Sun Wukong - 2

Inspirations

- Grand Patch is still based on Brands Hatch, and the Patch GP is a stand-in for the British GP. Rose Curve is Clark Curve, Garage Hill is Paddock Hill, Huntsman is Druids, Ironwood Curve is Graham Hill Bend, Port Bend is Surtees, Xiao-Long Straight is Pilgrim's Drop and Hawthorn Hill, Xiao-Long Bend is Hawthorn's Bend, The Nevermore Complex is everything between Derek Minter Straight and Sheene Curve, and Ozpin Corner is Stirling's Bend.

- Yang's and Pyrrha's wet weather skills are based on Ayrton Senna. Pyrrha's overall skill is based on him as well. Yang falls into a similar category, a driver with incredible innate talent akin to a Sebastian Vettel or James Hunt. Winter is based on Jim Clark's talent, a driver only limited by the machine. Weiss is more of a technician, someone with less natural ability who makes up for it with intelligence, practice and dedication like Niki Lauda.

- Like the Italians when a Ferrari wins at Monza, British fans tend to go big with their celebrations when a British driver takes the British GP. Post-race crowd control tends to be poor.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- An epic melee like the first corner wreck described here would have resulted in the race being restarted.

- For thirty laps of no rainfall, dry weather tires would probably be necessary.