And so it all ends, and I'll tell you, it ends well. And the most surprising event happens of all...
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We were rather pissed. The track was supposed to be protected, but those raiders attacked, and endangered almost everyone. Noir seemed fine, even after he eliminated several racers. Shammrock was tired after killing that other one. I was just mildly annoyed- I had raced through much worse.
Nadek was trying to explain to the racers that the Raiders weren’t intentional- they came in because they wanted our vehicles. I was eating breakfast while most of the other racers were trying to talk to Nadek, trying to get better safety for the race. Rose was trying to relax nearby, eating her waffles that were drenched in maple syrup. Zak sat down, omelet with him. He started eating.
'So, this raider business... What do you think caused it? You reckon the producers of this cocked-up race set it up?’ Zak asked. I ate another piece of fruit from my breakfast, which was varied tropical fruit.
'I doubt it. I’ve raced through much worse, and half the time there’s no producers or fans left to welcome you to the finish line because of it. This isn’t an underground street race- that wasn’t set against us.’ I replied.
'Raced through a lot worse? What do you mean, Erran?’ Rose asked, looking up from her waffles.
‘Remember that alien invasion crap a few years back? People called it the Week long War, yeah? Several races were going at that time, I was in one of them. One of the three racers to actually survive that, as far as I know. I can’t help to think what happened to the other racers...’ I said.
‘Really? Wow, no wonder you know how to handle yourself in that chaos. I’m surprised you didn’t get a better placement that round.’ Rose replied.
‘Erran here may be good, but he’s not that good.’ Zak said. I laughed.
‘Sadly, he’s right.’ I replied. Monty sat down at the table, bowl of cereal in his talons.
‘Discussing the race, guys?’ He asked.
‘You read our minds.’ Rose said.
‘Any of you agree that it was a set up?’ Monty asked.
‘Why are so many of you paranoid?’ I said.
‘Now wait just a minute...’ Monty responded, holding the spoon half way to his beak.
‘It’s totally counter-intuitive. People pay money to see this race, you know. The racers being killed half way would make them loose money. And anyways, they have ADF security! That would make no sense to hire raiders when they have ADF covering the finish line.’ I said. Monty hesitated.
'You have a solid point there, Macaw.’ He replied, before getting back to his food.
‘Well, at least it isn’t a sharp one....’ Myst joked as he walked past. Monty gave him a glare, which made him speed up his pace. We laughed.

Later on, we found ourselves waiting for the final leg to start, with people cheering all around. They had been waiting for the final leg. With my standings, I had a reasonable chance of getting at least third place. Teran has a hell of a chance, but his partner- not so much. Actually, my money’s on one of those two, for sure.
The first two legs had unexpected events- the storm and then the raiders. What was going to be on the third?
We were waiting for the preparations to be finished, with all of us at the line.
'So, What are you guys going to use the money for?’ I asked Noir, who started right next to me.
'When I was able to become a dragon like I always wanted, we only had enough money for one of us- Teran decided that I should have it, and he would stay as the wolf he is now. The serum that creates dragons is very expensive, you know. It’s about 1K. We both had some driving skills, and this was the nearest race with monetary prizes, so we decided to enter.’ Noir responded.
'So you both can be together in species as well. How very poetic. I only actually need 3K myself, if I win first or second, I’ll pay for that serum of yours myself.’ I said.
'Wow, I don’t know what to say. I’ll do the same for you, then.’ Noir responded.
'Thanks.’ I said. Nadek muttered something into his microphone, then began.
'Alright then, that was just an ADF soldier talking to me...’ Everyone groaned, expecting another “unexpected event”. '...She said that security’s fully out and ready, and that there shouldn’t be anything out of the ordinary.’
'Shouldn’t? Come on, I’ve got bullet holes in the front of my car that can’t be patched. And this is a nice car...’ Emily said.
'Expect helicopters to be flying overhead, guys. That’s just how much security there is.’ Nadek responded.
'Alright, that’s good enough for me. Shall we start?’ Zak said, leaning back on his bike.
'You’re probably right.’ Nadek responded. 'Alright, ladies and gentlemen! The moment you’ve all been waiting for! The last leg of the Italia Prix, the Grand Finale! The day is fine without a cloud in the sky, and the track is clear of any dangerous weather, raiders and/or other hazards! Racers, start your engines!’ Nadek said. Zak was caught off-guard and almost fell off his bike trying to sit straight.
'3...2...1... Drive!’ Nadek shouted. Not all of us actually went when he said that because he didn’t say the word Go, but drive. Like a bad game of Simon Says. I was quick enough to start at the right time, along with Myst, Zak, and Emily, but the others started a second later. And with that, we were off.

The race was going surprisingly well as we sped down the highways, the racers with street-worth vehicles soaring ahead. Bix, Emily, and Shammrock were fighting for first, and I was a short distance behind. Noir was a little ways behind me, Zak nearby him. The rest were way behind, their vehicles not having the same speed as the others on flat concrete.
'Haha, finally, a part where I have an advantage!’ Emily shouted.
'Not yet you don’t.’ Bix said. He rammed Emily’s car hard, denting her door.
'Screw you too!’ Emily shouted back, slamming the horse with an even harder collision. He spun out, and I sped past. He swore a few times as he spun straight into one of the side railings, and back into the race, but in the back.
'Hasn’t anyone learned to watch out for that crazy lady?’ Rose muttered. Quite a lot of the racers said yes, including Emily, I think.
Tango somehow gained some more speed, catching up to me in his custom vehicle. Monty was close behind.
'Is it just me or does this stretch have a drag-race feel to it?’ Monty shouted. Noir crashed out of the other half of the highway, which was full of the wrecks of cars. Several chassis went flying when he did so.
'I think it’s just you.’ Tango said as one of the hunks of metal bounced off his heavily armored truck.
'Sorry, did I do something wrong?’ Noir asked.
'Nah, not really.’ Monty said.
I slammed the gas down, seeing that the straightaway continued on for at least another mile. Everyone was doing the same.
The sun was high in the air, and a few clouds had come from somewhere, partially blocking the sun and letting some beams of light through. These beams could be easily seen over the farmland below.
I noticed Shammrock swerving off into the fields, then I realized that was where he had to go. Noir smashed a hole in the metal rail, and I followed him through along with some of the other racers.
'Whoa, this may get bumpy!’ Teran shouted as he bounced over the jutting soil. My suspension handled it well, but vehicles like Emily’s were having a rough time. I noticed an old leaning barn, which Zak sped through.
'Whew, you guys are doing terrible on that terrain!’ He shouted.
'Not really.’ Noir replied, slamming through a lot of the raised dirt, which got tossed up in the air in large plumes.
'Is it odd that nothing out of the ordinary’s happened yet?’ Myst said.
'It is odd. For this race. Talk about irony...’ Myst said. We took a right and started speeding down a wide dirt road that went alongside an overgrown vineyard.
'Ugh, now I want wine. Noir love, you want some after the race?’ Teran commented.
'Sounds good to me.’ Noir said as he ended up flattening a row of the grapes. When he drove out, most of his car was painted purple with grape juice. His windshield wipers wiped some of the stuff off.
'Haha, that’s a new one!’ Myst commented.
'At least it isn’t real paint.’ Dorado said, after being silent for awhile.
'Hehe, true.’ Noir replied. 'You’ve been silent for awhile.’
'Nothing to add to the conversation, I guess. Come on, catch me if you can!’ He shouted. I saw him fly out from another building, well in second with Monty in first.
'I’m surprised I’m holding the lead...’ Monty replied. 'Drinks on me if I win, guys.’ He added. We swerved around a corner and started down a mountain road.
'It better be some damn good wine.’ Bix commented.
'We’ll see, shall we?’ Monty replied. The road that we were on snaked down the mountain, regularly turning a full 180 degrees to keep on going. Most of us just jumped the slopes.
'I’m thinking after this is all over, someone should come up here and set that vineyard back up, make some decent cash from it.’ Shammrock noted as we speed away.
'If it was a maple syrup farm, I’d do it.’ Rose commented.
'What’s with you and maple syrup?’ Monty asked.
'It’s a species thing.’ Rose replied as she pulled past Shammrock.
The slopes ended at another straightaway through the forest, which we sped down. Zak grunted a few times as he bounced down the slopes behind us, managing to pull out. Bix kinda tumbled down, landing on his wheels and Emily ended up drifting down the actual road, allowing her to pretty much keep up surprisingly.
'Going’s a bit rough, don’t you think?’ Zak said.
'This is a long race, you know. Those tend to be difficult.’ Emily replied.
'I know that, but maybe it wasn’t such a good idea to skip the road like that...’ Zak replied. 'This thing’s going to need a new- well, everything after the race.’
'A lot of people will need replacement parts, it seems.’ I replied. My front left suspension seemed to be busted- I was tilted towards it.
We were nearing a town that was actually occupied, and the residents were happy to have new the race coming through. Problem is, they didn’t know where we were coming from- they thought the highway. We were coming down a forgotten byroad that was once between two buildings. Now it connected to the roof of one.
‘What’s this? It seems the racers are entering a populated town, and not from the expected place! Prepare for a rooftop rumble!’ Nadek commented. Not all of us took the roof turn, and so it was almost equal amounts below and above. The crowds all turned to see the race happening behind them.
‘Damn, I didn’t expect to race on the rooftops! Thank god for equally tall buildings!’ I shouted as I jumped another alleyway. Noir smashed through an air conditioning unit, laughing.
‘We should race more often! This is rather enjoyable!’ Noir shouted.
‘Oh, totally agreed.’ Teran said, just behind him. We six on the rooftops- Noir, Teran, Bix, Zak, Rose, and I- sped up a slanted roof and landed in the middle of the track below, joining the rest of the pack and actually ending up ahead. We passed through a town square, where a statue of a wolf stood in bronze. Tango left a dent in it with his car, also removing a leg from the statue.
‘Whoops, sorry!’ Tango shouted from the window.
‘You dragons need to watch where your going, sometimes.’ Myst said.
‘Nah, crashing through things is so much more fun.’ Noir responded.
‘Agreed totally with Noir, but that one wasn’t intentional.’ Tango added.
‘We seem to be nearing the end.’ I said. I could see the metropolis of Rome in the distance.
‘Let’s make the end one to remember, then!’ Dorado said, turbo-boosting.
‘I guess we’ll have to.’ I replied as we sped down the highway.

Rome was nearing. The welcome sign was once large and fancy, but it had decayed and no one bothered fixing it. Noir got shoved a bit and crashed through it.
‘The racers are close to the finish line! After three days of racing down the highways and byroads of Italy, the end is near! Sorry, that wasn’t supposed to sound bad.’ Nadek noted as we entered the city. ‘Finish line’s in the Coliseum, racers! Try not to damage it!’
'We shouldn’t. Hopefully.’ Bix said.
We sped down the streets, trying not to slam into the spectators along the edges of the streets behind railings. The people were cheering us on. I could’ve sworn there was a saying that when the spectators cheer more, the racers race better. No wonder so many lives were lost in the HCGP a few years ago. There wasn’t many spectators.
I ramped up a ramp that was set up in the road, landing on some buildings. I skidded across, kicking up the gravel roof and thudding back into the road. Everyone was in a large jumble.
'Whoa, this is going to be close!’ Dorado shouted.
'I intend to win, with Teran at my side.’ Noir said.
'Hell yeah.’ Teran added happily. We were speeding down a large courtyard that was leading to the Coliseum. Several statues stood in the center under mounds of scaffolding.
I glanced behind me, noticing Emily, Bix, and Shammrock were nearing the lead, where Noir, Myst, and I were.
'Oh crap, these guys have good acceleration.’ Teran said.
'No kidding!’ Zak said as he was passed.
We entered the Coliseum in a roar of veritable thunder. We sped across the seating, towards the finish line that lay on the ground at the other end of it. Bix spun out when he went onto the chairs, and Emily lost some control and acceleration. Shammrock kept his, though.
'Oh yeah, I may win this!’ Shammrock said.
'Not if I can help it.’ Teran said as he came up behind him. He rammed him in the side, spinning him out.
'Great job!’ Noir shouted as Teran straightened out his jeep.
'Thanks, love.’ Teran replied. He lost a few placements because of that.
There was an explosion of bricks from above as Tango crashed through some of the pillars above, landing in front of Noir!
'Sorry, Noir.’ Dorado said. He passed the finish line first!
'Aaannnddd Dorado wins first place in this leg, but not the whole championship!’ Nadek said. Noir skidded in second, with me just behind. I heard Shammorck beating in his dashboard in frustration because he lost most of his placements because of it. I leaped out of my buggy without opening the door, cheering. The leg’s results appeared above on a large screen.

1.Dorado
2.Noir
3.Erran
4.Emily
5.Bix
6.Terran
7. Tango
8.Zak
9. Myst
10.Monty
11. Shammrock
12. Rose

‘But just wait, these results mean little!’ Nadek said. ‘Let’s add up the scores, and see the victor.’
We were silent as Nadek tallied up the scores. The audience was too. Noir and Terran held hand, hoping for the best. Emily scowled- she knew she wasn’t high on that list. Rose shrugged- she didn’t seem to care.
'3rd place is Erran!’ He shouted. I whooped in joy- the Featherweight II could be fixed!
'And belive it or not, Teran and Noir won first and second placements!’ Nadek shouted. everyone cheered, and the couple cheered back before a little kiss.
'Tango and Bix were rather close- just two points behind Erran! Dorado was just two points behind them, and the rest kinda fell apart. Come on, you guys! Get your prizes up here, you three!’
We agreed with a shout and started running towards the tent he was announcing from at the top of the seating. We had won- the Featherweight II could be fixed.

Later that day, at dusk, I was leaning on the outside of the building where we got our monetary prizes- it was an ADF base, complete with lab. Terran bought his serum, apparently.
The couple walked out the doors, arm-in-arm. Teran was carefully holding a syringe in one hand. The two noticed me.
‘So, you got it, I see.’ I replied.
‘Yup. And now...’ Teran took the syringe and injected himself in the arm. ‘I just have to wait a few days. Worth it though, to eb with you, my love...’ Teran said, hugging Noir. Noir hugged him back.
‘We distributed a bit of the cash to all the other racers,actually. I don’t know what we would do with all of it, so we only kept about a thousand for ourselves.’ Noir said. ‘So, you’ll be able to repair your craft?’
‘Thankfully, yeah. I’ll be heading back to where the Featherweight II is, and continue my wandering. Perhaps get her a tune up. What are you guys going to do?’ I asked.
‘We sold the jeep, we’ll take Noir’s car around the area, meet new people, perhaps get a bit known. Perhaps we’ll see each other again?’ Teran said.
‘Perhaps. Perhaps. Goodbye, you two.’ I said. I got up from the wall.
‘Goodbye, Erran. You were great.’ Noir said.
‘Very much so. See ya again, Erran.’ Teran added.
‘Indeed. See you again.’ I said, walking around the corner. Everything worked in the end, surprisingly. A happy ending. For once.
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Haha, there wasn't an "unexpected event"! That was unexpected.