Chapter 17

Twenty-Six Years Ago

The F1 teams came to Forever Fall Forest for the penultimate race of the season. The battle for the championship was a close one, with only a few points separating Schnee Automotive teammates Frost Hill and Wolf Vanilla. No one else was close enough to win the title as the pair had dominated the year to date. Schnee Automotive would have another championship. The only question remained was which driver would be first and which would be forced to settle for second. The popular choice was Wolf.

Wolf not only held the points lead, he was the most popular driver in the series. He was a flamboyant minor noble from Atlas, handsome and charismatic. Mr. Schnee certainly hoped he would take the title. He was great for the team, an ideal face to put on the operation. The media loved him, the other drivers loved him and the fans loved him. Early in his career he had been known as a bit of a wildcard, as likely to crash as win, but he had finally gotten his act together and put together a fantastic season.

Even with the odds stacked against him, Frost was confident. He was a former sports car driver from Vacuo. He lacked Wolf's flamboyance and charisma, being much more quiet and introverted. He shunned media attention. To the fans he was something of an enigma and the other drivers did not know what to make of him. The mechanics loved him though. He was as skilled a mechanic as he was a driver and that proved very helpful to the team as a whole. Still, Mr. Schnee did not like him. He preferred Wolf, the PR dream, the hometown hero.

Frost only ended up driving for Schnee in F1 because of the staggering casualty rate among the team's drivers. In the past decade they had seen five deaths in the F1 program alone. Several more drivers had died in Schnee Automotive's sports cars. Other drivers retired, happy to go home with their lives. Frost and Wolf were the last men standing to a degree. They were both tremendously talented, but with Schnee that was not enough. Even had the casualty rates been lower, Wolf would have ended up on the F1 team. Despite his great driving ability and the help he provided the mechanics, Schnee disliked Frost and was ready for any opportunity to replace him. Once Wolf beat him for the championship, Frost would surely be gone.

In qualifying Wolf secured the pole position. Frost ended up fourth. It mattered little. The Forever Fall Forest Circuit was insanely fast and in the race using the draft would be key. With the equalizing effects of the air, almost anyone could win, no matter the driver, car, or starting position. The track frequently produced surprise winners as even the fastest and most skilled were unable to break away from the dicing packs. The year before Schnee Automotive's bulletproof cars had finished first, second, third and fifth, with Frost winning, after mechanical gremlins felled half of the field. Frost hoped for a repeat and Wolf hoped to improve on his fifth.

The race got underway and the chaos began immediately. Wolf was fast but the draft soon saw him shuffled back as Frost moved forward. The positions shifted with every straight as the air ruled who would advance and who would fall. Before the end of the second lap, one driver had dropped out after sliding off track and hitting a dirt bank, while three others lost engines.

The drivers headed for the track's most challenging corner - Parabola - braking hard to slow enough to make it around the tight, slightly banked and unwinding right-hander. Frost led. A little behind Wolf was on the right side of the circuit, hoping to claw back a few of the positions he had lost. Bartholomew Oobleck was on the left side, just behind. The car in front of him slowed more than expected and Oobleck cut right to avoid contact. He clipped Wolf's left-rear. Wolf's car cut hard left, slammed into the dirt bank that lined the track, popped up into the air, and spun like a helicopter blade, scything through a fence and a crowd of spectators as it flew. With no seat belts Wolf was thrown from the car, coming to rest in the middle of the track as his car spun on.

Medics rushed to the scene but for many it was already too late. Fifteen fans lay dead with dozens more injured by Wolf's car and its associated flying debris. Wolf lay motionless in the middle of the track. Track workers dragged him off the circuit and tried to save him as the race went on. It was no use. Wolf was already dead, another casualty of racing's deadliest era, deadliest track and deadliest team. Still the race went on. Frost was not informed of his teammate's demise. He won the race, taking the championship lead in the process. There was no joy in the win, either of the race or the title.

Mr. Schnee was furious. He did not care that his driver had died. As far as he was concerned, drivers were interchangeable parts, no different from an engine or transmission. He was much more grief-stricken about the destruction of his beautiful car. What made him truly mad was that Frost was the champion, not Wolf. That and the fact that the media blamed his team for the spectator deaths. They had a tendency to do that, and many spectators had been killed by Schnee's cars over the years. He put on a suitable display of grief and supposedly swore off racing, only to be 'convinced' to keep going by his team. In the end nothing changed. There were no safety improvements in the cars or the track, and Schnee did not change the way he did things.

At the end of the following season, a down year in which Schnee Automotive was stuck with an uncompetitive car, Frost was fired. Some of the mechanics who had so loved and respected him formed their own team and Frost went to drive for them. They proved to be very slow and Frost's career was effectively over. He would hang on for two more years and run a few one-off races after that, but he would never win another F1 race. Frost went back to the quiet life he had lived before racing. The team of Schnee defectors continued on for over a decade but never accomplished anything of note. Through ups and downs Schnee Automotive kept going and Mr. Schnee never changed.

Present Day

As it had been all those years ago, the Forever Fall Forest Circuit was the fastest track in F1. It was not quite as fast as it had been though. Fifteen years before the first chicanes had been added to reduce speeds. They had changed over the years but the concept was the same, force the cars through a series of tight turns where once they had run flat-out. A trio of these chicanes now broke up the track, but at some points speeds still topped 220 mph. It was the power track to end all power tracks, and with their incredible horsepower, the Schnee engined teams were sure to dominate. Only mechanical issues would keep them from the front, but they had suffered issues before.

The top three was the same for all three practices. Weiss, Penny and Coco were the class of the field and no one was surprised. Behind them Reese and Velvet swapped the fourth spot followed by Emerald and Mercury. Then came the first cars without Schnee engines. Yang, Pyrrha, Ruby and Blake were fairly quick, quick enough to beat Ciel, but nowhere near the same league as the top seven. They simply lacked the power at a track where it mattered more than at any other.

Time trials saw Weiss, Penny and Coco fighting amongst themselves for the top spot, though their positions seemed set in stone. Reese had the measure of Velvet while Mercury and Emerald were almost even. Ciel had the same engine but her mediocrity was apparent as she was unable to beat the top four Nevermore powered cars. Pyrrha, Yang, Blake and Ruby followed the Fall Enterprises teammates. They were close to one another but not particularly close to those ahead. Aiding them was the fact that Mercury would be making no further runs, his qualifying engine having expired about halfway through the session. With a perfect lap it might just be possible to jump him.

Ruby headed out for one final run. Ruby slowed a little extra on entry to the final corner - Parabola - in order to get a better exit. She cut to the inside of the banked, unwinding right-hander before swinging to the edge of the grass on the left edge, building speed as the corner opened up onto the frontstretch. She crossed the line to start her lap, already approaching 200 mph. She thundered past pit exit, her engine whining as the car approached 220 mph. The track meandered right and Ruby was hard on the brakes for the first chicane, Central. Central was actually a pair of chicanes welded together. After the track kinked right, the chicane continued with an incredibly tight left-right-left. Ruby nailed every apex, wrestling her car through the tight corners. Then she was very careful not to spin her tires as she accelerated out of the final turn of the complex.

Soon the track curved right for the flat-out and sweeping Grand Curve. Ruby's car built speed, once again approaching 200 mph as she reached a pedestrian bridge over the track and braked hard again for the second chicane, Ditch. Where once there had been a flat-out left-hand kink, there was now a tight left-right chicane. Ruby bounced hard over the kerbs but kept the car under control and got a good launch out of Ditch. After a short stretch she braked again, this time for the blind right-hand Menagerie 1. The corner tightened on exit, forcing Ruby to be patient with the throttle before speeding onto the short stretch before Menagerie 2, a tight right-hand flick. She slid through the corner and powered out, heading downhill, under the old banked oval, then back uphill as her car once again pushed 200 mph.

Champion's Chicane was next and Ruby was on the brakes hard again. This chicane was the fastest and most complex. A tight left was followed by a sweeping right, followed by another tight left. After slowing for the initial left, the rest of the chicane was taken flat-out. Ruby wound through the series of corners, swinging wide on exit of the final left into a paved area that was technically outside the track. She powered down the backstretch, heading for Parabola, her car approaching 220 mph before she braked again. She locked up the brakes slightly but immediately corrected and made corner entry as normal. She was soon back on the throttle as her car swung out to the left, building speed as the corner unwound. She flashed across the line to complete her lap just as her fragile qualifying engine failed and erupted in a massive plume of puffy white smoke.

The engine failure did not have an impact on Ruby's lap, but the lockup on entry to Parabola did. She ended up eleventh. The order in front of her was Weiss, Penny, Coco, Reese, Velvet, Emerald, Yang, Pyrrha, Mercury and Blake. It was disappointing but not surprising. Without the engine power, Ruby had not expected a good starting position, even if she hoped to be higher among the Nevermore powered cars. Without help from reliability issues, the Nevermore engined teams would have little hope in the race. Yang and Pyrrha were just hoping for points. For her part, Weiss was hoping to make up for the last race by securing her first F1 victory.

Race day was warm and sunny. It usually was at Forever Fall. The cars rolled out to the grid and parked there. Media attention was focused squarely on the Schnee powered cars. Unlike in Shade the Schnee Automotive drivers did not hide away. They stood on the grid as usual, talking to the media. Weiss still refused to answer a lot of questions. She refused to say a word about her sister. She did praise how the team had come together and recovered from the tragedy, and she had some nice words for her new teammate. She did make one thing clear though, she was not Winter. She was never going to be Winter. She was not going to replace her and she was not even going to try. Some were thrown off by her adamance, but there was not much to say about it.

The cars finally rolled, rounding the track for their parade lap. They lined back up on the grid. Well, most of them did. Emerald's car failed to make the lap before the engine died, the result of a catastrophic electrical failure. Her grid spot remained open as the other drivers focused on the lights. One red, two, three, four, all five...the drivers revved their engines carefully, not wanting to over-strain them before what would be a demanding race. Lights out! Engines roared and the cars pulled off the grid. Weiss and Penny got away clean, racing to Central where Weiss secured the lead. Coco got a terrible start. She struggled to engage the clutch as cars streamed past. Reese, Velvet, Pyrrha, Yang and Blake were all ahead by the time they reached Central. Her speed meant Coco still had a shot at a podium finish, but it was going to be a lot more difficult than it otherwise would have been.

At the front Weiss and Penny pulled away. Penny dropped back a bit before the lead stabilized. In truth Penny could have kept up with Weiss, but team orders demanded she remain second. Schnee did not want to see his cars crash, worst of all into each other. The general team rule was that whoever reached the first corner ahead would remain there. Though Penny surely wanted to win, she was an obedient teammate. Her chance would come. Today was Weiss' day.

Reese and Velvet remained together, swapping the third spot back and forth and entirely unable to get away from one another. The draft had them locked in a battle neither could decisively win. The same was going on a little farther back. Coco was fast. She soon cleared Yang, Pyrrha and Blake but was unable to shake them. They lacked the power of Coco's motor, but their superior speed through the few corners and the draft allowed them to keep up. Ruby too was able to hang onto the train. The four Nevermore powered cars were unable to pass Coco's, but they battled with one another and swapped spots lap after lap. Mercury would have been in the battle too but a suspension failure caused him to drop out of the race.

The 50 lap race was going to require a single pit stop. On lap 21 Weiss made her stop. She was joined in the pits by Reese, Velvet, Pyrrha and Blake. On the next lap Penny stopped. She was followed in by Coco and Yang. The team called Ruby in as well, but she asked to stay out as her tires were still in good condition and she was granted another lap. She hoped the extra lap would help her as the race approached its end when she would have slightly fresher tires. Penny exited the pits just as far behind Weiss as when she had entered. Behind her Reese and Velvet had maintained their positions through their stops the lap before.

Yang had a good stop but Coco did not. Coco's mechanics struggled with the right-front tire and the slowdown allowed Yang to slip ahead as they pulled out of their pit boxes and headed back to the track. Coco was annoyed but knew she had the speed to get it back. Through the first run she had been catching Reese and Velvet as well, and if that continued she would soon be back in with a shot at the podium. Pyrrha rocketed down the frontstretch at well over 200 mph. She spotted Yang and Coco just exiting the pits. By the time they reached Central Pyrrha would be safely ahead. She did not expect to keep Coco behind her for long though. As Yang cleared the pit wall she floored the throttle. There were not pit road speed limits but the narrowness of pit lane required a little caution. The back end of her car squirmed. It usually did on pit exit. But this time it kept sliding. Yang realized she had overdone it and got out of the throttle to let the car settle. Behind her, Coco also floored the throttle. At the same time she looked down to adjust the boost pressure knob. Now that she had fresh tires the car would have the grip to handle more power. When she looked back up Yang had suddenly slowed. It was too late to avoid contact.

Coco ran into the right-rear of Yang's car. It was not a hard hit, just enough to smash the easily replaceable nose on Coco's car. Yang's car was hooked hard left by the impact, exaggerating the slide she was already struggling to arrest. Yang's car slid out onto the frontstretch, coming to a stop perpendicular to the direction of travel. Pyrrha saw a flash of yellow and black enter her path. She had just enough time to get her foot off the throttle, but not enough time to brake. She plowed into Yang, her car's nose striking Yang's car just behind the front wheels. Yang's car split in two, the nose with wing and wheels attached flying off to the left with the rest spinning off the circuit to the right. Pyrrha car scythed straight through, ripping the nose off the car and shearing off both front wheels. Pyrrha's car coasted on, edging right until it smacked into the armco and ground to a rest.

Yellow flags flew. Soon the red flag did. Starting with Ruby, all the cars were directed to pit road. Most drivers had no idea why. Coco's car had only suffered minor damage from her contact with Yang, and she could have easily driven away, but after seeing the vicious crash she parked her car in the grass and leapt out. She rushed to Yang's car. She immediately turned around and rushed back toward the pits, frantically yelling and motioning toward the medical car. Yang needed help, now.

Without waiting for the yellow flags, let alone the red, the medical car pulled out onto track and stopped beside Yang's shredded machine. Professor Saffron Glenn, F1 chief doctor, jumped out as the medical car slid to a stop. The other medical personnel piled out behind him. He took one look at Yang and his heart sank. "Start giving her blood, now!" He ordered, pointing to the unconscious driver.

His second in command, Dr. Gold Hart went to work, putting an IV line in Yang's arm. "She's going to bleed it out as fast as we put it in." He warned.

"Keep doing it." Professor Glenn said. "If you don't she won't make it to the hospital." He pulled out his radio. "We need the medical helicopter to land on the track as close to the accident as possible." Leaving a few doctors behind to tend to Yang, he jumped back into the medical car and it sped to where Pyrrha's car had come to rest. Pyrrha had not emerged from her car and remained slumped in the cockpit. Professor Glenn rushed to her side. He looked at the state of the car. The nose was badly crushed but he was more concerned by the state of the steering wheel. The wheel was bent from the impact of Pyrrha's helmet. The impact had stretched her seatbelts enough to allow her helmet to strike it. He lifted her visor and shined his flashlight in her eye. Her pupil shrunk. That was a very good sign. "She'll be fine." Professor Glenn reported. "Cut her out of the car - carefully - and get her into the ambulance for transport to the hospital." The remaining medics went to work and Professor Glenn rushed back to continue working on Yang. Dr. Hart and the other medics were struggling to stop the bleeding and just barely keeping up with the blood loss.

"I don't think she's going to make it." Dr. Hart warned. "We're running out of blood."

"She'll make it." Professor Glenn assured him. The medical helicopter landed just a few meters away. The medics inside pulled a gurney out with them and rolled it next to Yang's car. With so much of the front of the car missing it was easy to extract her and lay her on the gurney. She was rolled back and lifted into the helicopter. Dr. Hart went along, continuing with the transfusions. Professor Glenn stepped up to the pilot's open window. "She's in. Go!"

"What about the other driver?" The pilot asked.

"If you don't go now this one's dead." Professor Glenn replied. The pilot hesitated. Glenn slammed on the door. "Go! Now!" The pilot nodded and the helicopter headed skyward.

The other drivers waited in the pits as chaos reigned on track. Safety workers and medics from all over the circuit rushed to the frontstretch to help. Police closed off the scene and the flow of information was cut off before it had begun. Most of the drivers had no idea what was going on, except that it was bad. They did know it was going to be a long wait. Like most of the others, Ruby got out of her car, taking off her helmet and balaclava. As the only competitive driver not to have pitted she was now the leader, and the rules would allow her team to change the tires under the red flag, meaning she would not have to make a stop at all. Suddenly she had a real shot at the win.

Ruby was surprised when Ozpin approached her. He usually spent the races watching from the team's luxury box and only rarely spent time on pit road. "What's up?" Ruby asked.

"Come with me." Ozpin said.

"Why?" Ruby asked.

"We'll discuss that." Ozpin replied. "Now, come with me."

Ozpin led Ruby to the Beacon GP hospitality. The pair entered a conference room in the back. Glynda and Blake were already there. "It's Yang, isn't it?" Ruby gasped. No one said anything. "What happened?"

Inspirations

- The flashback story is based on the 1961 battle between Phil Hill and Wolfgang von Tripps. Mr. Schnee again plays the part of Enzo Ferrari.

- The Forever Fall Forest Circuit is based on Monza in Italy.

- Team orders were much more common in the 80's than they are today. The same went for similar informal agreements between drivers.

- Professor Saffron Glenn is based on Professor Sid Watkins. Dr. Gold Hart is based on Dr. Gary Hartman.

- Some actions described here are based on a real-life incident I will not reveal yet so as not to spoil things.

Inaccuracies and Anachronisms

- 220 mph would not have been possible given the engine power restrictions of 1987.

- Though the narrowness of pit lane at Monza calls for caution, drivers were rarely cautious.

- No F1 accident has occurred quite like the one described.

- Under red flag cars may have been directed to the grid rather than the pits, but either is plausible.