“This story is fiction. All names of characters, places and organizations in the story are fictional. Follow the traffic rules and drive safely.”
The FD3S speeds down the Great Valley Interstate's roads at full speed, drifting sharply across a corner and then another as onlookers from all around watch Keisuke as he performs his talent with precise movement.
I know you’re out here somewhere, Christine, Keisuke thinks to himself. Come out and play!
Act 4: Christine Arrives!
A while later, back at the meeting spot, Project D was making adjustments to their cars, including the FD3S.
“How about the booster?”
“Ah, looking good.”
“Don’t forget to check the air pressure too.”
“I’m on it. But we’re got another easy win on our hands today. Won’t even be close –”
“Shut up and focus, man. You’ve got a job to do.”
The sound of drilling can be heard.
“What you need?”
“Uh, the lug wrench. Can you hand it to me?”
From over the road, two of the Great Valley Speed-Riders are watching Project D. Ben walks over to them.
“What’s it look like they’re up to over there?” he asks.
“Looks like they’re tweaking the FD’s engine and changing the tyres. That van seems to be loaded with spares.”
“Must be changing them to suit the conditions of the road,” Ben guessed, his face showing annoyance. “The guys move around like a professional pick crew. Drat.”
A Project D member closed the bonnet on Keisuke’s car. “She’s ready when you are, Keisuke.”
“What’s that? Oh, okay thanks,” Keisuke had been watching the road from far-off and seemed a little distracted. “Hey, do you have any idea what time it is…it after 10 yet?”
“Nah, it’s like 9:40,” the member checked his watch.
Another car took off and barrelled down the road. Keisuke watched it and silently cursed. He walked over towards Ryosuke nearby. “It hasn’t shown up yet. Where could that Fury be? It’s getting under my skin. I figure if anybody would have the guts to represent Great Valley it’d be that Fury. Sometimes I get real sick of being wrong all the time…I’m gonna get out there and slaughter their time record, leave them licking my tracks…they’re all gonna look like total idiots when I’m through with them! And I can't wait to get back to our real time, this prehistoric world is making me concerned that we would be come dino chow."
Ryosuke remained silent, hardly impressed with his brother’s words.
Ben and the Speed-Riders continued to watch the road. One of them walked up to Ben. “Hey, just so you know, it’s getting real close to 10.”
“Yeah, I’m watching the clock,” Ben spoke with a moody tone. He looked up again, and then…
“Huh?” In the distance, something appeared to be approaching. Was it the…wait a minute…?
It was a bike, or more preferably, a scooter.
“You wanna tell me what that is?” the Speed-Riders member asked Ben.
It was Zachary, determined not to miss out on the showdown. “Hey, Ben!”
“Great,” Ben sighed. “It’s Zach.”
Zach pulled up to them. “What about the time? Did I miss it?”
“No, we’ll be going soon,” Ben told him.
“Oh sweet, I’m not late!” Zach sighed as he took off his helmet and noticed Jeremy beside Ben. “So is he gonna go out and represent the Speed-Riders…he better than you?”
Ben sighed again and turned to Jeremy. “Well, all right, man…this might happen. I think you need to start prepping mentally.”
Jeremy sighed, without much confidence. Zach quickly ran up to him. “You really are gonna be representing the team? Good luck, man…I’ll be cheering you on the whole way! I’m here for ya, whatever you need.” Jeremy nervously smiled.
Close by, a Project D member that had been organizing the rules walked up to the middle of the road with a radio. He flicked it on. “This is the starting line calling…we’re all ready to go whenever you are.”
Elsewhere, the radio crackled. “Finish line here…everybody’s in position, ready to rock and roll. Go ahead and call when you’re ready.”
“Roger that,” the starting member flicked off the radio. He turned towards Ben. “So, seems like we’re good to go. Is your team ready to start?”
“I guess the old man decided to stay home tonight,” Ben replied glumly. “Jeremy, looks like you’re up.”
The FD3S and the 180 slowly pulled up to the starting line. Keisuke watched Jeremy suspiciously from across cars. “You’re kidding me!” he complained. “You actually expect me to race against this loser?”
Jeremy remained silent, but his confidence was wavering.
Ben came over with Zach behind him and put his hand on Jeremy shoulder. “Jeremy, come on man, you’re as white as a ghost and you’re sweating like a pig…you’re making me feel sick just looking at you.”
“Dude, that was the worst pep-talk ever,” Jeremy muttered silently.
“You gotta toughen up! Get mean, bro!” Zach yelled at him.
“Right, attention DRIVERS! We’re starting the countdown!” the starting member yelled out. From the FD3S, Keisuke pulled a face. Zach quickly dodged off the road, but Ben held back a moment and patted Jeremy's shoulder before running back.
“Here we go…ten seconds!”
“Hold on, guys…” the radio suddenly crackled. “Finish line here…we got a regular street car running up your way, just passed us.”
From over at the line, a familiar car could be seen taking off into the distance. “You don’t want to have to pass this guy during the race,” the guy spoke into the radio. “Should we wait until it reaches the top?”
“It’s a Interstate! What’s he think is gonna happen?” Keisuke start complaining again. “People are gonna use it, so who cares? Come on…let’s start this frigging show and we’ll blow right pass this yokel!”
Just then, Ben ran up. “Not yet. Can you call back down there and ask him what the make of that car was?” Keisuke shot him a disarrayed look.
The starting member flicked the radio. “Hey, what was the make of the car that just passed you?”
“Not sure, it went by pretty fast but it kind of looked like it had an old retro design, like from the late 50’s…maybe a Fury or something.”
Ben’s eyes widened, and Keisuke’s narrowed. “Give me that!” he demanded, and took the radio from the starting member. “That Fury you saw…what colour was it?”
“What colour? I don’t know why it matters so much to you guys but it was red and pearl white.”
Ben’s confident smile came back onto his face. “That’s him and her.”
Keisuke chuckled. “Like a lamb to the slaughter, I can’t believe she showed up.”
The starting member asked, “What do you want us to do? Should we start anyway?”
“Let’s just hold off for a minute and wait until that Fury finally gets here,” Keisuke replied. “If I race tonight it won’t be against the dumb 180 with the sweating moron behind the wheel. Make sense to you?” he glanced at Ben, who smiled. “It does. I totally understand.”
He turned towards Jeremy. “You’re off the hook, dude…you can move your car.”
“Oh, thank god,” Jeremy breathed a sigh of relief. “It’s about time!”
“What’s your deal, dude? You look like you’re about to cry!” Ben protested.
“Don’t tell me you’re not relieved too!” Jeremy squeaked.
“Of course I’m relieved! This guy actually came through for us so we’ll be able to protect the PRIDE of the Great Valley Speed-Riders tonight…which is more than I could hope for! I almost don’t even care who wins or loses, just as long as the fight’s a good one!”
From around the roads, people watched as the car in question, the Plymouth Fury, came throttling at high speed towards the top of the interstate. From the driver’s seat, Michael watched as he drove past the people watching him.
“Man, there sure are a lot of people out here tonight,” he muttered. “Weird. They’re packed in on every turn of the mountain. Wonder what they’re all doing here…this might not be the kind of thing I’m used to, but it doesn’t matter. All I care about is if I win I’ll get my full tank of gas, then I can get to the beach for my date with no worries!”
From nearby at another turn, Takumi Fujuwara, the downhill king from Akina, watched silently as the Plymouth Fury shot past him and his car. The other members watched from behind him as well.
“He looks serious, Takumi,” Iketani spoke up. “What’s going on, man?”
“I was just thinking,” Takumi replied. “He’s got good technique…the way the back-end moved when he pulled it out of the corner was a pretty nice touch.”
Itsuki looked surprised.
“What? Didn’t you see that?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Iketani replied, before looking at Kenji who simply said, “To me, it looked like any other dumb Plymouth Fury out on the road with an idiot behind the wall, nothing special at all.”
Takumi just looked back at the road. “It’s not every day you see a driver who works his ride better than his own feet, but from Takeshi's advice, when you do look, you can tell by the aura coming off the car. Ryosuke’s driving…his car, it’s got that kind of aura. His kid brother Keisuke’s aura isn’t as strong by a long shot. But that Fury has something fierce coming off it…if he’s up here representing the Great Valley, then I don’t know…I’d say the winners are crapshoot at this point.”
Back up at the starting point, everybody waited for the Fury to arrive.
Almost here, Ben thought to himself. The fastest man to ever run Great Valley's downhill and he’s backing us tonight. The man who invented technique… He glanced over at Keisuke and Ryosuke nearby. Time to show those Takahashi brothers the real strength what this prehistoric world is packing.
Keisuke, too, was thinking. Hurry up, Fury. I wanna see the goon that gets out of the driver’s seat. Man, I haven’t been this excited to race again since my brother wanted me to return to street-racing and Project D!
Ryosuke had his own thoughts as well. You’ve kept us waiting for a while, but don’t think I’ll fall for a rookie tactic like that. I’ve got my eye on you.
Lights lit up in the far distance, and finally the Fury could be seen coming in. “Here it comes!” someone yelled. “Come on, give the guy some room. He can’t race unless he can find the starting line!”
The Fury came speeding up and eventually began to SLOW down as it approached the starting area. Everybody’s face glowed white as the headlights shone upon them.
“What’s that car doing here?” the people watching behind the lines began to utter.
“That’s the car they’ve been waiting on?”
“It’s just some crappy Fury. Takumi’s 86 is way more modern than that; that kind of car lags everything from acceleration to cornering.”
Then Zachary began to push through the crowd. “This sucks! Where did all these people swarm in from? This is why I don’t go to concerts!”
Ben and Keisuke simply watched as the starting member signalled the Fury to slowly turn around and line up with the FD3S at the line.
“Do you mind? I’m trying to get through!” Zach complained as he pushed through the last layer of the crowd and saw the Fury. “Hey, that looks…just like Michael’s Plymouth Fury!”
Then…the door of the Fury opened…
Michael the Dino Ranger stepped out.
Ben was taken aback. “Michael?”
“No! It is him!” Zach gasped.
Michael simply looked around at everybody, wondering secretly why everybody seemed to be so surprised. Aside from one single person…
The person that had been planning on challenging the Plymouth Fury.
“This is the guy,” Keisuke smirked.
The Fury’s driver door closed behind Michael.
“Michael!” Ben ran up to him. “What’s going on? Where’s Bunta? Why are you here?”
“Well, that’s a lot of questions, but he’s back at the mansion,” Michael replied.
“Gee, thanks for bringing the car up the mountain,” Ben told him, “but without Bunta, it’s useless!”
Michael look at him with a confused look.
“You said I didn’t have to drive anymore!” Jeremy asked from over Ben’s shoulder. “You aren’t gonna go back on your word, are you?”
Geez, I knew I shouldn’t have come up here, Michael thought to himself as he heard Keisuke’s complaining from nearby. Bunta can really get on my nerves sometimes.
“Did Bunta say anything to you, man?” Ben pleaded. “Did he give you any advice at all?”
“No,” Michael shook his head. “I pretty much know Takumi's tricks off by heart, after all the secrets and downhill techniques that Bunta taught me a few weeks back. All Bunta told me was to come up to the Interstate tonight, find some punk who drove an FD and claims to be the fastest uphiller in Project D and beat him on the downhill,” Michael explained.
Everyone was stunned. Michael had been told to beat Keisuke on the downhill?
“He said you were supposed to drive against this guy in the FD?” Ben couldn’t believe what he was hearing.
“Yeah,” Michael agreed.
“Can you beat him?” Ben then turned his head. “Uh…it’s that guy, Keisuke Takahashi.”
“I dunno,” Michael replied. “Won’t be able to say until he and I get on the road together. But if it matters I have already beaten him once before.”
“YOU raced Keisuke Takahashi!? But –”
“A full tank is gas is writing on this so,” Michael interrupted. “If you let me out there I’ll guarantee I’ll beat this guy's tiny posterior.”
Everyone was speechless. The sound of footsteps approaching could be heard in the silence. “Excuse me…pardon me…coming through,” suddenly Zachary pushed his way past Ben and stood in front of Michael.
“All right guys…MIKE! You dummkopf!” Without warning he punched Michael hard in the head.
“Dude, what on earth was that for?”
“I’m used to you acting nuts but this takes the cake! You know, I hate to say it but I actually feel really embarrassed for you right now! Move your car off the starting line; don’t screw this up. Get that Fury and move it!”
“Zach…calm down and get off his case!” Ben insisted. Zachary immediately spun around to face him. “Ben…I’m sorry, but you know Michael…he can just be so dumb sometimes. Don’t blame him for being slow; it’s not his fault, he’s just like that. Please forgive him.” He hung his head and shoulders in shame.
But Ben had a suspicion. “Michael,” he asked, “by any chance when you worked with Bunta did you run around delivering tofu in this car like in the mornings to the hotels?”
“Nowadays I do all the delivery of Donuts and Tofu,” Michael replied. “I have been doing it before I got my license.” "You have been driving that Fury without a license?!"
Zach looked between both him and Ben, completely oblivious to what was going on. Christine's engine revved louder and louder as eagerness to start her first real street race, this gave Ben’s confident smile back on to his face.
“I think I know what’s going on here,” he finally said. “All right.” He put his hand on Michael’s shoulder. “Mike, I’m gonna go out on a limit and put you in the lead on the downhill –”
“That knock on the head must have busted your brain, Ben!” Zach interrupted and pushed his hand off Michael’s shoulder. “If you go and put a rookie driver like Michael to battle on the downhill, we’ll be lucky if he doesn’t flip right into the crowd!”
“Don’t worry, Zach, just get out of the way and watch this bad boy and devil auto drive!” Ben took hold of Zach and shoved him back into the crowd, before turning back towards Michael. “I wanna thank you for coming up here; it means a lot. We’re counting on you.”
“Cool,” Michael nodded.
Ben then turned to face Keisuke. “Sorry for the delay. We’re ready.”
“Good,” Keisuke’s stern face softened. “I’m not a big fan of waiting.” He stared at Michael. “You seem kind of young…real young. What’s your name?”
“It’s Michael…Michael the Dino Ranger. Hero of the Multiverse”
“Aah, So you're the Michael I heard of from the locals, I can't believe that you're actually the driver of Christine the killer fury. I'll remember that easily.” Keisuke stood up from leaning back on his car. “I’m Keisuke Takahashi…and I am not gonna make that same mistake twice.”
Their eyes locked together…
And the duel was on.
A moment later, everybody was in position.
“You really think this is the right thing to do?” one of the Speed-Riders spoke up. “It’s stupid to race a Plymouth Fury against an RX-7!”
“The difference in horse-power is huge!” another member pointed out. “Not to mention the FD3S was the best domestic cornering car in the market! The Fury is out-classed in the straightaways and the corners. We’re screwed any way you look at it.”
“We’re just gonna have to have faith in our friend,” was all Ben said.
Everybody watched…and waited for the moment of the start to commence. Michael kept his eyes firmly upon the start of the road, but he could feel Keisuke’s cold glare all the way over from the FD3S, before the Takahashi brother turned to face the road as the radio crackled in the starting member’s hand.
“Okay, starting for real this time,” he spoke.
“Roger, roger,” the finishing line member replied.
“Okay! We’re gonna start at the count of ten!” the starting member shouted out.
The cars revved up. “Nine…eight…seven…”
The gears were put into place. “Six…five…four…three…two…one…”
And then…
”GO!”
The cars began to roll. It was noticed immediately that the FD was pulling in front of the Fury. A confident smile formed on Keisuke’s lips as they throttled down the road, slowly picking up gears as they went faster and faster, out of sight. A crowd formed up around the starting line, listening as the sound of tires screeching in the distance grew fainter and fainter.
“Keisuke’s FD is one fast machine,” somebody said. “350 horses and a Rotary are no joke. And his shifting is perfect!”
“I wouldn’t even call a comparison against that piece of junk!” another spoke up. “At full speed, the Fury looks like it’s treading water!”
Ben groaned. Ryosuke began thinking to himself. The Furies had a 305 horsepower V8 engines on the high-end. However the sound isn't that 305 HP V8 though, sounds like a V8 that's been tuned. It doesn’t quite seem to be the monster Keisuke claimed. The reason why it can shift so fast is that it was designed to be a Muscle car. That’s perfectly suited for the highways and dragstrips, but not sure about tight corners on the Great Valley Interstate. Still, there’s no reason I can think of that Keisuke’s FD would be out-beat by it.
Then his eyes narrowed. Unless the monster isn’t under the hood of the Fury, or the driver, it could be both!
Meanwhile, Michael sat with a rather bored look, his arm holding up his head from the car door as he watched the FD slowly disappear out of his vision.
It’s go time! Keisuke thought to himself as he watched the Plymouth Fury behind him. I don’t like using the straightaways to pull ahead, but this is a time to run. After this, I won’t see that Fury in my rear-view again!
The FD’s exhaust pipe spurted flames as the throttle increased dramatically. Keisuke sent the car drifting neatly across the first bend. People watched from the safety lines as the FD disappeared, before the Fury appeared in the distance.
Michael watched as the bend came up.
Then he softly smiled. “Okay Christine,” he muttered quietly. “Let’s do this!”
He quickly changed gears and pushed the pedals down. Christine the Plymouth Fury slid into a straight sideways drift as it slid around the bend, coming so close to the guard-rail but not connecting. Acceleration increased and Michael watched with pure intent as he shot the Fury further down the road. People behind the lines were astonished at the movement.
“What’s going on?” one of the people’s radios crackled.
“This is the first corner,” the man spoke up. “This is unbelievable. The Fury’s slide is unreal! Couldn't have been more than a couple of centimeters off the guard-rail…it reminds me of back when Takumi raced Keisuke! I’ve never seen anyone ever corner at that speed before other than that 86!”
Up ahead, Keisuke drifted the FD madly across turn to turn. He continued to pound forward with the accelerator, looking back in his rear-view mirror, looking back…
And then… “Huh?”
The lights from Christine suddenly shone up in the distance.
“What the? It's closing the gap!” Sweat began to trickle down Keisuke’s face as he watched the Fury approach steadily. “So, I was right all along, that really is Christine!” Determined not to lose his ground, Keisuke began to throttle even harder, but kept his eye steadily on the Fury in his mirror…
Before suddenly…
His eyes widened the moment he looked back. He quickly slammed on the brakes and changed gears the moment he noticed the sudden turn he had been ignoring. That had been almost entirely too close! One second more and he would have totalled the FD before even getting too far on the course.
Christine continued to pound around the road, maintaining incredible drifting tactics and keeping up the momentum to chase after Keisuke’s FD. Now it was coming within a moment of tailgating the lead…just like it had done the previous time before. Keisuke gritted his teeth as he felt the pressure building up. But Michael simply stayed calm, keeping a steady grip on both Christine’s speed and control, with his expression showing hardly any clues as to what he was thinking.
“Whoa! Are you serious?” Zachary demanded from Ben. “I had no idea that Mr. Fujiwara was a street-racer, much less like the best one ever in the Multiverse!”
“Yeah.” Ben nodded.
“I only met the guy a couple of times in the Initial D dimension, but he seemed pretty normal,” Zach continued, with a strangely quiet tone for once. “Well, for an old guy who runs a tofu shop, I guess.”
“Just shows you really can’t tell much about someone by how they look,” Ben admitted. “Mr. Everfree told me that he’s still the fastest on the downhill in Akina, although he drives a Subaru Impreza Coupe now.”
Zach went pale, as he realized the weight of what it meant.
“But I say that if Michael was sent down here by Mr. Fujiwara we just need to trust that he knows what he’s doing,” Ben told everyone. “Besides, he’s our hero and he needs our support.”
“Look, anything’s better than if I was out there on the black top,” Jeremy replied.
“Maybe not,” Zach spoke up again. “Just because Mr. Fujiwara’s fast, it doesn’t mean Michael will be.” Everyone seemed dismayed at that.
But Ben remained confident. “Let's just say that since Michael tamed her, so I think we are good.”
“WHAT!?” everyone gasped. “You gotta be kidding me!” Zach had the widest eyes of the whole gang. “I thought you were joking about that!”
The sound of those words attracted the nearby Project D members with the radio. The Speed-Riders glanced at them for a moment, and then quickly crowded around Ben.
“I can’t believe it!” Zach continued. “Last I knew Michael told me he didn’t know his car any different from an 86! Seriously, how can he tame a car that kills people including her driver?!”
Back on the road, the FD squealed around another very sharp drift. Christine wasn’t very far behind it. It raced past the crowd with by the sound of it's exhaust like a roaring T-rex running after it's prey.
“Holy crap! I don’t believe what I’m seeing!” another radio guy yelled out nearby. “That Dino Ranger is moving faster than I’ve ever seen a car move before! I wouldn’t blink if that car went airborne!”
Everybody listened from the other end as the guy kept on yelling into the radio. Nearby, Ryosuke was expressionless.
Christine was now very close to running right up the FD3S as another bend on the road brought the Plymouth Fury very close.
“He caught up to me! What’s going on with this race?” Keisuke’s eyes flickered. “I’ve gotta be going insane!” He frowned as he tried desperately to lose the Fury, but it didn’t seem to be doing any good as Michael was simply remaining calm, familiar with every single technique he was using to bolt Christine in hot pursuit.
Then as the road straightened again, Michael noticed something. “Up to second gear both cars are running about the same but on a stretch it’s different. If the straightaway’s even a little long, he’s gonna pull ahead.”
Another turn came up, and as the FD simply rolled around it the Fury came sliding in with much more momentum, giving it the chance to simply catch up again. More people watched in astonishment as the two cars shot past.
“Okay guys, this is a straightaway in front of Corner 4,” yet another radio guy spoke up. “They just flew by…he’s chewing on Keisuke’s bumper! That Fury is crazy fast! Keisuke’s FD has never had anyone keep up with him this far or this tight…it’s like the 86 VS RX-7 battle all over again!”
The Speed-Riders, listening at the other end, were all utterly astonished, even Zachary and Ben themselves, as they seemed to believe a new light had shone into their lives. Ben shuddered. “Oh man… he might pull it off!”
“From this long straightaway Keisuke pulled away, but after there’s just more hairpins! We might have a problem here!” the radio crackled as Ryosuke came walking up to the starting member with his radio. “You just hear what he was saying, Ryosuke?” the guy asked him.
“We underestimated this guy!” Ryosuke replied. “Never figured that the hero of the Multiverse had such skills behind the wheel in a iconic movie car!”
Again the FD pulled away from Christine, but Michael still remained calm, looking completely relaxed, even as he looked down at Christine’s dash and saw that the speed was ticking up to about 100mph. His eye narrowed as he saw the FD slide round another bend. He kicked the Fury into a sharp slide and brought them so close to the FD that at that moment, if their windows had been open, the two drivers might have shaken hands.
Not that the driver behind the wheel of the FD would have wanted to, anyway…
“Dude, that was a killer attack!” another radio guy called in as the cars continued to pound around. “That Fury’s like pulling off some kind of kamikaze technique, and I’m seeing flames coming of it's exhaust pipe even though it doesn't have a Supercharger or Turbo! This guy’s got some serious racing skills!”
Further ahead, Keisuke continued to try and analyse what was going on. He too had noticed the difference in their driving. “In the straights I’m obviously a heck of a lot faster. But he keeps catching up, which can only mean I’m losing ground in the corners. Man, getting caught by such a weak old clunker is the ultimate shame for a street-racer, including a American car! And I’ll won't ruin my reputation like when I was defeated by Takumi's 86!”
He throttled again, struggling to keep ahead and stop losing ground to Christine.
Michael thought to himself as he watched. I know I made an agreement with Takumi to help Bunta out at the tofu shop and I know Bunta too well. Unless I pass that car he won’t admit that I won this race, which means I don’t have a whole lot of choice. Guess I’m gonna have to do it…I have got a full tank of gas depending on this! The setup for the overtake is gonna be somewhere in the Super Drift section!
The Plymouth Fury, Christine, pummeled down the road, with a confident rev as it shot after its target.
To be continued…
