Ro-ro slammed the pedal down harder, the engine of Streak-9 roaring like a beast unchained. Dust exploded in his wake, the frame rattling with fury as he surged across the desert expanse.
“Is she an idiot?” he muttered, fists clenched on the wheel. “What is she even talking about? Saying I don’t have passion?” He scoffed. “I do have passion. I do care... I mean—”
He gritted his teeth, eyes narrowing as the wind clawed through the open windows.
“I’m doing this for that kid. Janusz’s son. That’s why I said I’d help. That’s all.”
His voice dropped, softer now, almost like he didn’t want to hear it himself.
“Or… is it because I’m trying to make myself feel like the good guy…?” He growled and shook his head. “Tch. Even if that’s true… it doesn’t matter. I’ll show her. You don’t need determination. You need firepower. You need me.”
The engine howled louder, his hand adjusting knobs and sliders like he was tuning a symphony of chaos.
As he crested a dune, he caught sight of the horizon—ten sleek, deadly machines tearing through the sand like bullets. Their designs were distinct, monstrous, regal, exotic.
And right there, packed together like gods on a warpath, were the top 10 racers.
Ro-ro let out a dry laugh, eyes wide with excitement.
“Well, ain’t that a fucking coincidence. All of you are right here. Sky. Jose. Kai. Fridde.” He grinned. “What a beautiful lineup.”
From the passenger seat holster, he grabbed his gleaming golden Desert Eagle and set it up on the dashboard, the sunlight catching every inch of its polished glory.
“Ohhh man,” he said, practically cooing. “I do love you, my beautiful Desert Eagle. If I could marry you, I would. Wait…” He tilted his head, thinking way too hard. “Are you a boy or a girl? Ehh, whatever. You’re deadly. That’s what matters.”
He rolled the window down fully. The wind rushed in violently, tangling his wild hair and stinging his eyes, but he leaned into it like it was a blessing.
“Mmmm… good ol’ wind.”
He rested the barrel on the edge of the window, eyes locked on a behemoth of a vehicle lumbering in the distance—a green, hulking machine built like an impenetrable fortress.
“Ai,” he said without blinking, “which one’s Fridde in? That tank of a thing?”
A.I. responded coolly, “Fridde is piloting the Fortress Class (Green).”
> Heavily armored. Near-impenetrable. Built like a tank.
Weakness: Incredibly slow. Easy to outmaneuver.
Ro-ro rolled his eyes. “Yeah I know what a fortress is, genius. I’m asking if he’s in that car.”
A brief pause. “Confirmed. Fridde is indeed in that vehicle.”
Ro-ro’s grin widened.
“Gotcha.”
He pulled the trigger.
BANG-BANG-BANG!
Three sharp shots echoed through the dunes, the golden muzzle flashing like mini-suns.
Inside the Fortress Class, Fridde didn’t flinch. He simply looked to his left where the bullets pinged off his armor, barely scratching the surface. A smirk curled across his lips.
“Hmph. Damn it,” Fridde muttered. “It wasn’t 3-7’s shooting.”
He tapped a button on his armrest. “Ai, who the hell is that?”
A.I. replied, “That is Rocco Delae. Bloodline: Delae family. Known for their history of assassins, executioners, and military tacticians.”
Fridde’s eyes narrowed as he locked onto Ro-ro’s speeding form. “So that’s him, huh? The last of the Delaes? Well…”
He grinned, fingers tightening around the throttle.
“I’ll put an end to that cursed bloodline myself.”
Without warning, Fridde’s vehicle shimmered with a pale green glow—and vanished.
A low whoompf sounded through the air as reality bent and folded around it.
Ro-ro’s eyes went wide. “W-what the fuck!?”
A second later, the massive Fortress Class blinked back into existence—right beside Streak-9, wheels thundering just inches from his.
The air cracked with distortion and sand exploded around them. Fridde’s cockpit window lit up, and for the first time, Ro-ro saw his face.
A cold, calculating smile. Eyes that had seen centuries of bloodshed.
“Oh you’ve got to be kidding me,” Ro-ro muttered, gripping his gun tighter. “What the hell are you, Fridde?”
Fridde’s Fortress Class rumbled as it cruised beside Ro-ro, the green behemoth keeping perfect pace with the sleeker, flashier Streak-9.
Fridde turned his head slightly, his voice smooth and mechanical.
“So… you’re Rocco Delae.”
Ro-ro’s eye twitched. “Don’t call me that!”
He bared his teeth, gripping the wheel tight with one hand and raising his golden Desert Eagle with the other.
“And for the record—my determination’s better than yours, you cyborg piece of shit!”
Fridde let out a deep, guttural laugh, distorted by the static hiss of his voice modulator.
“Determination? You think you know what that means?” He leaned closer to the glass, his glowing eyes like green embers.
“I killed everyone I ever knew to get here. My friends. My family. My mother—just to prove that I could rise beyond the limits of flesh. I sacrificed my entire body, one agonizing part at a time, to become peak.”
“I earned the right to rule Earth. Not just to race… to rule.”
Ro-ro snarled and pulled the trigger. BANG-BANG!
But Fridde tilted his vehicle effortlessly, dodging the bullets like a ghost wrapped in armor. He smirked, voice amused.
“You missed, your weapon accuracy is horrible.”
Ro-ro slammed the steering wheel. “Oh shut the hell up with that ‘weapon accuracy’ nonsense.”
He waved his pistol wildly. “I’ll shoot everything while I’m half-dead, one eye, one arm, butt-naked. I’m shootin’ the walls. I’m shootin’ the air. I’m shootin’ MeMe! I’m shootin’ myself!”
He pointed the gun skyward and fired into the sun just for effect.
“My accuracy is 100% peak you don't know what you're even talking about”
Fridde chuckled low. “Is that so? Well then…”
Without warning, he slammed the side of his fortress into Streak-9, sending Ro-ro swerving hard.
“There’s a pit stop nearby,” Fridde said with calm cruelty. “I hope you’ll meet me there. I’d love to watch you die up close.”
Ro-ro spat. “Bitch, I’ll kill you before you even get there!”
Fridde licked his lips, grinning with unsettling glee.
“Ohhh... I love it when prey thinks it has a chance.”
With no hesitation, Fridde pulled out a massive black rocket launcher from his cockpit and hoisted it up with one arm.
Ro-ro blinked. “Whoa-whoa-whoa! The fuck!?”
He immediately jerked the wheel and dropped behind Fridde’s vehicle.
“Okay, new plan. Shoot your damn tires out.”
But Fridde muttered coldly, “I made that mistake with 3-7.”
With a blinding flash of green light, the Fortress teleported behind Ro-ro—again.
Ro-ro barely had time to speak.
“Dude, what the fu—AAAGH!”
CRASH!
Fridde’s vehicle slammed into the rear of Streak-9, nearly flipping it. Ro-ro had to swerve hard off the road, tires screaming as he veered into the sand and finally skidded to a stop.
Dust filled the air.
Ro-ro sat frozen, staring at the disappearing blur of the top racers ahead.
His chest rose and fell rapidly. He slammed his fist against the steering wheel.
“Shit. Shit!” he muttered, the adrenaline pouring out of him.
“He could’ve killed me right there. Right there.”
He leaned forward, head in his hands.
“…Fuck me.”
Elsewhere, just a few spots ahead—
Two cars bounced off each other, racing side by side: one obsidian black with glowing red trim, and the other blue and white with jagged fins like lightning bolts. Kai and Jose.
Jose leaned out the window slightly, wind blowing his white streaked hair.
“Well well, Kai… we meet again.”
Kai looked over without a hint of recognition.
“Eh? I don’t even know you. But I am curious, what did Mr white give you ”
Jose smirked. “Of course you don’t. But you will. You’ll know exactly what Mr. White gave me.”
Kai rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah, vague threat. Heard it a million times.”
Jose chuckled. “You wanna see it firsthand? Sure. Sure.”
He reached into the steel box embedded in his passenger seat, flipped it open, and pulled out a set of black-and-gold pills glowing faintly with red veins.
“Hopefully I don’t die,” he muttered. Then glanced down at the passenger seat. “Right, little cat?”
A small, gray feline with glowing eyes stared up at him, tilting its head in confusion.
“Step on the pedal,” Jose said casually.
The cat meowed, nodded, and hopped down. It pressed its paw onto the gas pedal like it had done this a thousand times.
Kai blinked. “Wait… what the hell are you doing?”
Jose climbed out through his sunroof, stepping up onto the hood of his car, standing tall as the desert winds whipped around him. The pills rattled in his hand.
“I’ve always wanted to be faster.”
He downed the pills.
Almost immediately, he screamed, dropping to his knees on the hood in agony. His spine cracked audibly, joints twisting and bones snapping into unnatural positions.
Kai recoiled. “What the hell—”
Jose’s back split open in jagged lines of metal and muscle. Sharp, cybernetic spines burst out. His irises turned blood-red, the sclera going pitch black, while cheetah-like slits replaced his pupils.
Metal claws sprouted from his hands. His teeth sharpened into fangs. A metal tail grew and snaked behind him, tipped with a blade.
His transformation complete, Jose stood—half-man, half-monster—and glared directly at Kai with a bloodthirsty grin.
“…Fast enough now?” he growled.
Kai swallowed hard.
“…Nevermind.”