The Early Mission [Top Wing Fanfic]

14: It Was A Dare

Some info:

-Ivy and Tina are go-kart racers. Ivy has two vehicles- her Top Wing vehicle and her go-kart for racing. Tina is the captain of the racers' team and is faster than Ivy.

-The big red stone arch thingy that Hummingbird Peak is known for is known as "the bridge" or "the gate."
~~~

Ivy

I stood in the control room with my eyes on the floor, holding one wing with the other. I was in trouble, and this time, it was my fault.

I could see the hem of Helen's black dress as she stood nearby. Her Victorian-style boots were complete with golden clockwork designs. Dang, why am I noticing this now? I'm in trouble. Argus's strong boots were right in front of me, and I was too afraid to look at his face. I could practically hear my heart beating. This was the end of my life as a cadet, I was sure.

"Look at me." Argus's deep voice said, and I looked up to see his stern face, complete with his rectangle glasses and cool-looking bangs. They had been funny before, but at the moment they were meaningless. "I don't even know what to say." He said.

I looked to Helen who stood away from him, eyes on me.

"Why?" Argus said again and I turned to him.

"Huh?"

"Why did you do it?" He folded his wings, still holding his tablet. "Explain to me exactly why you decided to break both you and Tina's vehicles over the Bridge while you clearly knew it wasn't safe."

Okay, I'll admit I did something really stupid. It was a dare. Tina was being stupid so I dared her to race me over the Hummingbird Bridge, and she was brave enough to accept it. The thing was, the Bridge wasn't a safe place for casual driving, not to mention racing. But hey, danger was the whole point of a dare. And because I was more used to handling dangerous drives than Tina, I knew she wouldn't beat me. 

I've used the bridge on my Top Wing vehicle many times before, and never once have I fallen off. But that was because I was careful. And even if I did fall, I had the glide-mode on my vehicle to catch me.

But this wasn't my Top Wing vehicle. It was my racing vehicle. It didn't have glide-mode to catch me if I fell of the edge, and to top that, it was built for smooth race tracks - it wasn't designed to go over the bumpy bridge.

One was either extremely brave, or extremely stupid to go on the gate on my racing vehicle. I was leaning more towards stupid.

I was the one who had dragged myself into this. So of course I would be confronted. Why had I ignored that fact before?

But now that I was confronted, I no longer knew why I did it in the first place. At the time I went up the arch to meet Tina, to for once decide which one of us was better, I was pretty sure I was doing it to  ensure myself and everyone that she wasn't going to become the new me just because she was faster. And when I drove carelessly past Tina on the bumpy track, narrowly passing her vehicle (and scaring her,) I knew that it was because I wanted her out of my way. I couldn't have her threatening my life. But now, I couldn't say that. Instead, I confessed, "I don't have any excuses," I added, "I'm sorry."

"Tina," Argus called, knowing I had ensured him that he wouldn't get anything out of me. "Explain."

Tina came forward and stood next to me, and gosh, I could smell her confidence. How was she able to be confident at a time like this?

"Ivy and I both agreed to it sir," she said, and to my surprise, she defended me. "I-it wasn't entirely her fault."

"I didn't ask for you to play the blame game." Argus stated. "Or do you both want suspension?"

"No!" We yelled at the same time.

Helen came forward. "I don't want to suspend either of you, from school or from go-karting or from training. Especially not when we're so close to the mission." She explained. "So please... unless you give us reason to excuse you, we're going to have to punish you."

We don't want to suspend you, she had just said.

But why? I thought that was what they were supposed to do. Unless...

Of course. The mission. What was I thinking?

I needed my qualification as a cadet to complete the mission. And in racing Tina over the Bridge, breaking both of our vehicles, I had ruined it. 

It didn't mean that I was no longer a cadet, but it did give others a reason not to trust me.

Helen and Argus needed me. I was the one who gave them a reason not to.

Both Tina and I looked at one another. We were both a mess, literally and metaphorically, and we had only us to blame. Not my family, not my being a good cadet. And not Tina's being the captain of Hummingbird's racing team.

I was no longer afraid. I could look at Helen and Argus without my heart threatening to pop out.

And one by one, Tina and I explained exactly what happened, exactly how it had happened.

When we were finished, Argus and Helen relaxed. "Thank you," Argus said, "for telling the truth."

Helen declared, "We'll fix up both of your vehicles. For now, you won't be suspended, but next week, after the mission, you'll both be suspended from go-kart training for a week."

"A week?" We exclaimed.

"A week."

"But..."

"Do you want me to make it two weeks?"

"No!"

Helen laughed. "Ha-ha! I was joking. I had you both for a second-" Argus gave her a look, and she extinguished her humor. "Sorry." She cleared her throat and tried to become stern but I could tell she was relaxed knowing nothing bad was going to happen to us.

Somehow it was hard to believe. Because I had been treating Top Wing like a game, where we always tried to be better than others. But it was not. There was no competition. And just because Tina was skilled, it didn't mean that she would be taking my place anytime soon.

Argus breathed. "Speaking of the mission... since you're all here, I think this would be a good time to say this: Tina, we're going to need you on the team for a very special mission. We're not taking you as a new cadet - you'll just be working with them for the mission."

"Huh?" She asked as all eyes turned to her.

"She's... joining out team?" I asked. I may have wanted our rivalry to end, but I was not ready to accept that.

"Just for a little while," he assured, then added to her, "only if you're okay with that, Tina."

She thought of her option. "Yes sir."

Argus smiled at my nemesis. "Congratulations."

"B-but you can't-" I stammered.

"What?" Helen interrupted. "Afraid she's not going down? Forget it, at this moment you both are in the exact same position, cadet or not. You both proved your craziness by going on that bridge."

I sighed. I was tired of our rivalry, and as much as I (still) didn't like the idea of Tina being around a lot, I also did not have the energy to hate Tina. "Alright."

And for the first time in ages, I smiled at Tina. It was a genuine smile, and it was exactly how I felt. No hate.

She returned the smile. "Thanks."

"Welcome, I guess. But uh, I'm still a more experienced cadet than you, so you'll have to listen to me." I declared.

"Not really," she raised her eyebrows. "I'm still faster than you, remember?"

I groaned.

"Okay, that's enough," Argus sighed. "Anyway, I can't believe this incident just happened." He said, referring to the stupid dare. He looked ahead hopefully. "I'm pretty sure things will be going much better on Big Swirl Island."
~~~

Meanwhile on Big Swirl Island...

"STOP BEFORE YOU KILL SOMEBODY!!!"