Author's Note: As I said Monday, I'm on vacation until at least Monday night so I might not be able to reply to comments with my usual alacrity.

Chapter 6

Two Years Ago

May had a relationship with the Vacuo Motor Speedway like Yang had with Vale. For all her years in Champ Car and all her attempts, she simply could not seem to win the 500. Something would always go wrong, usually something totally beyond her control. She hoped this year would be different but was fairly certain it would not be. She was cursed, plain and simple. Even starting from pole for the third consecutive season would not be enough. Somewhere along the line something would happen and she would end up disappointed again.

Pyrrha was driving the 500 for the first time. She found the track mildly terrifying but incredibly thrilling. She had qualified fifth, excellent for a rookie, but was really just happy to be in the race. Over in F1 she was leading the World Championship and felt great about her chances. A win in the 500 would just be another accolade, albeit a huge one. In the end she was just there to have fun. She did feel the need to put in a good performance though. As an apology for years of being a lousy teammate, Jaune had paid a regular Champ Car team to field an extra car for her. She did not want that money to go to waste.

From the outset it was clear this year would see a two car race. May jumped out to an early lead. Pyrrha started to close in once she cleared the rest of the field. May's lead stabilized with Pyrrha close behind her. May could not help but feel like Pyrrha was faster, just biding her time waiting for the right moment. In truth, it was all the speed Pyrrha had. She was giving it everything but could not catch May. They came in for their first pit stop at the same time and left simultaneously as well, the battle for the lead picking up right where it had left off. Pyrrha closed on May, but as the laps ticked off and the tires wore out, May stretched out her lead again.

They cycle repeated over and over as the race continued. Pyrrha was faster on fresh rubber, May faster late in the run. There was little to decide between them. Then with 37 laps remaining there was a crash. It was not that big a wreck but it was enough to bring out a caution flag. Someone got out of the groove in turn two, slid up the track and slapped the wall, a fairly common occurrence. The drivers would make their final pit stops and run to the finish. May came in first with Pyrrha second. They left the same way. But now they would be nose-to-tail.

The race went back to green. Pyrrha followed May for a few laps but was obviously faster. She got a good run down the backstretch with 29 laps to go and took the lead. Over the next few laps she started to pull away. Their relative speeds crossed over with 16 to go. May was now faster and set about reeling Pyrrha in. With 9 to go she was there, right on Pyrrha's tail. They drove off turn 4 and May got a great run. She ducked to the left and swept past Pyrrha to retake the lead. From there May pulled away, her lead increasing with each circuit.

It finally looked as if May would win the 500. After 5 years of trying and 4 years when she should have won, she was finally going to do it. But as May crossed the line with 3 laps remaining, something did not feel right. The engine sounded normal, so that must not have been the issue. She slung her car through the first two turns and onto the backstretch. It still felt wrong but it drove fine. Maybe she was imagining things. Late in the race it was easy for a driver to get overly nervous and start noticing sensations they had not before. She checked her mirrors just before entering turn 3 and Pyrrha was well behind. May eased out of the throttle and turned into the corner. Something caught her eye. The right front tire looked...strange.

After a slow leak the right from tire could take no more. It shredded and May skidded up the track and slammed the concrete wall. It was a hard hit but there was no fire and May was unhurt. Pyrrha swept past as May's car came to a halt between turns 3 and 4. It had happened again. Again! Pyrrha took the victory. Pyrrha got to go to the winner's circle. Pyrrha got to drink the milk. Pyrrha got to hoist the trophy. May seethed. It was her race damnit! Pyrrha even acknowledged it in her interviews! Damnit!

Pyrrha went on to be World Champion that year and the next. May would take the Champ Car title the next year before moving to F1. She lost the 500 again though, this time with an early engine failure. Pyrrha had not returned to defend her title. May knew she could be just as good a driver. She just needed fate to let her prove it.

One Week Ago

Ruby watched on television as Yang took the win in the Vale GP by inches. Ruby jumped out of her seat and cheered. Her joy turned to horror as the two cars touched, pitching Yang's into the armco before the two wrecked hulks slid to a stop off the first turn. The camera zoomed in on the cars. Yang was moving around and took off her helmet. That was a good sign. But she did not get up. She did not even try. The camera became more focused and Ruby could see the pain on Yang's face. May jumped out of her car and stepped into the way of the camera shot.

A few seconds later Taiyang arrived, leaping over the armco and rushing to his daughter's car. Ruby knew Yang's ribs were probably hurting her a lot but she was not too worried until she saw the look on her father's face. There was such terror in his eyes. It did not go away as he talked to Yang and he seemed more frantic by the second. May looked panicked too. Ruby wanted to be there to help but she was thousands of miles away. All she could do was watch helplessly. She started crying.

"I'm sure everything will be alright." Ren finally said as Yang was loaded into an ambulance. He was in Vacuo with Ruby to tend to the team's engines. He wanted to help but was not good at emotional stuff. "She probably just rebroke her ribs."

"Dad looked so scared." Ruby cried. "What if it's worse than that?"

"You shouldn't get worked up until we know something for sure." Ren suggested. "I'm sure they'll call as soon as they can."

"You're right." Ruby said, struggling to stop crying. "It wasn't that hard a hit. I'm sure Yang will be fine." Ruby was doing a decent job of calming herself down. "What if she can't run the 500?"

"We shouldn't worry about that now." Ren said. "There's plenty of time to figure everything out. Besides, you could drive if you had to, right?"

"M...me?" Ruby stammered. "I couldn't possibly. I've never driven a big race before."

"There's a first time for everything." Ren shrugged. "Who knows? Yang might end up racing anyway. She's tough."

"Y...you're right." Ruby said. "She's going to be alright and she'll drive as planned. She'll win too! It'll be great."

"That's the spirit." Ren encouraged. He recognized self-deception when he heard it. He knew as well as Ruby did that Yang was not getting in that car, even if she had only re-broken her ribs. But he was not about to say so. He hated to see anyone in pain and Ruby was a good friend. If lying to herself helped, it was fine with him.

Present Day

On Tuesday night Yang was still in terrible pain and not quite breathing normally yet. The doctors wanted her to stay in the hospital but she had places to go. She signed herself out against medical advice, and against even more advice boarded Beacon GP's private jet bound for Vacuo. Even if she was not racing, she was going to be there for her team. Taiyang insisted on going with her. He was not about to let her do something stupid.

Early the next morning Yang arrived at the track along with most of the other drivers and teams. Taiyang parked their rental car as close as he could and helped her walk to the garage. As the pair walked in everyone stopped what they were doing and stared. "You look like you've seen a ghost." Yang said. Her voice was still weak and her breathing abnormally labored, but it was a big improvement on just the previous day. "I guess you weren't expecting me."

"Dr. Glenn said you wouldn't be out of the hospital for a week." Weiss said. Dr. Glenn was Winter's personal physician.

"She shouldn't be." Taiyang sighed.

"I couldn't stay away." Yang explained. "I wanted to be here to support you guys." Taiyang helped her into a chair. "So, who's driving my car?"

"We were just talking about that." Ozpin said. "There was only one driver we could imagine putting in that seat, and she's been reluctant."

"Oh, who might that be?" Yang asked.

"Me." Ruby replied.

"Huh?" Yang said.

"What?!" Taiyang shouted.

"I'm certified to drive here and I've set faster times in the car than you did." Ruby said. "I don't know though. This isn't an F2 race we're talking about. This race is three hours long."

"Do it." Yang said. "You said it yourself. No one knows that car better than you do, and you're fast. You shouldn't pass up an opportunity like this."

"But what if I can't do it?" Ruby asked. "I'm not in perfect shape."

"If it's too much you can always use a relief driver." Yang suggested. "I'm sure there will be plenty of drivers falling out early who would get in the car for you. Just give it a shot." Ruby seemed unconvinced. "Do it for me."

Ruby thought for a moment. "Okay, I'll do it." She declared.

"Hold on a second." Taiyang said. "You can't be serious. Oz, this is a joke, right?"

"I'm serious." Ruby said. "I've been driving these cars all month. I probably have more laps than the three of them."

"I thought you were afraid of driving." Taiyang said.

"I was...I am." Ruby admitted. "But it's fun when I'm doing it. Winning that F3 race last year was amazing. After having run some races, I can see why you guys love it so much." Now it was Taiyang who was unconvinced. "Come on dad. I know the risks but I want to do this. I may never get another chance to run a big race like this."

"Well, if you don't do it you'll probably end up regretting it." Taiyang sighed. "This family doesn't need more regrets." Taiyang walked up to Ozpin and got right in his face. "If anything happens to her, I'm going to kill you."

"If anything happens to her, you won't have to." Ozpin replied with a grim expression on his face.

"So this conversation took a turn." Yang laughed, trying to lighten the mood. She immediately regretted it, grimacing in pain and grabbing her chest.

"Try to take it easy." Taiyang suggested. "The doctors said it's not good to do too much talking."

"One more thing, then I'll shut up for a while." Yang said. "Pyrrha and Weiss." The pair walked over so Yang could talk to them more easily. "I told you I had a safety plan. Consider this a meeting of the GPDA Directors."

"So what's your plan?" Pyrrha asked.

"F1 needs an official doctor." Yang said.

"What do you mean?" Weiss asked.

"I mean someone like Dr. Glenn who goes to every race, knows the drivers and their medical histories, and can be in charge in case of a medical emergency." Yang explained. "At the hospital in Vale they wanted to do all kinds of unnecessary procedures until Dr. Glenn showed up. And Vale has a good hospital. Imagine if it was someplace like Forever Fall. Who knows what damage the local doctors could do."

"That's an excellent idea." Pyrrha agreed. "And if the physician knows our personal medical histories as well, it would make treating us easier."

"That's not all." Yang continued. "I know it'll be a tough sell to the other drivers, but we should all need to be medically certified before racing. If we had a system like that I wouldn't have raced in Mistral and probably not in Vale either. I'd be healthy though."

"You're right, that will be a tough sell." Weiss said. "And you do realize that you'll probably be the first victim of that policy if we enact it?"

Yang nodded. "I think that will help smooth things over with the other drivers." She said. "My idea penalizes me most."

"They probably won't want to submit to regular physicals." Pyrrha said.

"It doesn't matter." Yang said. "We'd only need to be certified after an accident. If you don't crash, you may never have to speak to the doctor."

"I like the idea." Pyrrha said.

"I'm onboard." Weiss agreed. "After practice I'll give Winter a call to run it by her too. If she likes it she can get in touch with the other drivers for a vote. If that passes the series will pretty much have to make it official." Yang smiled and nodded. She was done talking as promised.

"Meeting adjourned." Pyrrha said.

With that settled it was time to focus on the racing. "Nora, can you handle the chassis adjustments while I drive?" Ruby asked. "Ren and Blake have enough to worry about with the engines."

"Not a problem!" Nora exclaimed. Though not the chassis designer Ruby was, with her trusty hammer and maybe some less destructive tools, Nora could fill the role of in-race mechanic as well as Ruby.

"I guess I'm really doing this." Ruby said with an uneasy laugh.

"I can't watch." Taiyang sighed.

"Shall we go for lunch then?" Ozpin suggested. "There are a few nice restaurants not too far away and I think we've got some catching up to do. This one little diner has the best milkshakes..."

"You know, I think I'd like that." Taiyang agreed. "It really has been too long."

"You're not coming to the 500?" Ruby sighed into the phone.

"I am sorry." Penny said on the other end. "You know how I feel about going to the track." Since her accident she rarely attended a race. She was happy to stay at the shop and work on improving the engines. As important as Blake and Ren were, Beacon Motorworks would not be anywhere near as successful without Penny. She was an artist and racing engines were her canvas. The closest she usually came to racing anymore was when she occasionally took one of her experimental engines for a test drive around the Beacon Motorworks R&D Course. Sure, she occasionally made it to the track. She was there when Yang, Weiss and Pyrrha locked up their championships with her engines in the backs of their cars. But that was a little different. She sat in the team trailer for the entirety of the first race crying with Ruby trying to soothe her. For Weiss' title she waited outside the track until the very end. For both of Pyrrha's she managed to make it to the garage but sat there shaking, just staring at the walls and trying her best to ignore the race.

"I know it's hard but this is a really big race!" Ruby said. "Even if we don't win, there are a lot of cars with your engines in them. You should be here to celebrate and everyone would be so excited to see you."

"I don't know." Penny said.

"Please." Ruby implored. "It's my first big race and I want my best friend to be there."

There was a long pause. "I guess I can come." Penny relented. "I'll try to watch the race."

"That's all I ask." Ruby said happily. "Yang will be there to help you through it too."

"I will see you soon then." Penny said. She sounded nervous.

"Thank you so much!" Ruby exclaimed. "It'll be a great time, I promise!"

Wednesday was the last full day of practice before the Vacuo 500. There would be a brief warm-up session before the race on Sunday, but if the car was not ready by then it simply would not be ready. Ruby had run hundreds of laps over the month of May, but suddenly being in the car felt different. Previously she had been driving as a mechanic. It was purely an exercise in improving the car, she was just a tool. Now it was about her. She needed to improve. It was not just her driving skill that needed work. Ruby needed to be psychologically prepared. Racing was different from practice. In practice it was easy to find a nice open patch of track to drive in alone. In the race, there would be no choice. There would be traffic. Ruby had almost no experience driving in a group, at least not at these kinds of speeds. It required an entirely different sort of focus that she would have to develop quickly.

Pyrrha and Weiss were ready to help Ruby out. It was the least they could do to thank her for building their cars. To that end, all three cars rolled out at the same time and ran laps together. It was basically a race simulation. They drafted, swapped positions, fell back and closed in, and took turns leading. When the time came, they came in for pit stops just as they would in the race. That was another new one for Ruby who had never made a single pit stop in her few F3 and F2 races. On her first try she missed her marks badly and slid through the pit stall. Luckily the crew was anticipating an error and no one was in her way. The crew hopped over the wall, pulled her car back into the pit stall, and completed the service. Pyrrha and Weiss waited. Ozpin walked to each car before letting them back on track. His message was simple. They would pit every other lap until Ruby got the hang of it. Ruby was a fast learner. She was a little slow on her second try but the third was spot on. Then the trio was back out again to resume the race simulation.

By the end of the day Ruby was fairly comfortable in the car, and reasonably sure she would be able to run the whole race. After all, between two race simulations - one each before and after lunch - she and the others had run around 300 laps apiece, more than the race distance of 200. Each had suffered mechanical issues that ended one of the simulations early, but Weiss and Ruby had run all 200 laps in the first simulation, and Pyrrha managed all 200 in the second. With any luck, all three would see the finish of the real thing. Beyond being fairly reliable, they were fast. Other drivers set significantly faster single-lap times, but for long-distance pace, the Beacon trio was right at the top along with May and a few series regulars. It was going to be an interesting race to be sure.

Inspirations

- May's relationship with the Vacuo 500 is based on the same things as Yang's with the Vale GP.

- Dr. Glenn is based on Dr. Sid Watkins, official doctor for F1 from 1978 until the early 2000's. I've read both his books, and they're fantastic.

- Relief drivers were fairly common in this era of motorsport. A few years earlier, in 1953, one of the top finishers in the Indianapolis 500 was a car that had 5 different drivers during a race that saw temperatures so high that almost half the field needed relief and one driver died from heat stroke.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- People did not drive cars of their own construction at Indy in the 70's.

- F1 didn't get an official doctor until 1978 when Bernie Ecclestone brought in Sid Watkins. It was even longer before he had real authority.