F-Zero: The Rising Hero

Chapter 8: You know Captain Falcon?

       Lily might've had a point saying that it was supposed to be sold out. Most of the seats were taken, and Ace would've been worried it he didn't get box seats. Because this was a bet race, mostly rich people were here to see it. Ace and Lily now glanced at the racers on the list: Beastman, Leon, Draq, Dr. Clash, Roger Buster, Mr. EAD and Michael Chain. Ace scowled when he saw Chain's name. But then, he saw the name Captain Falcon and he smiled. "Look!" Lily said pointing to Ace's right. "It's Captain Falcon!" The bounty hunter had entered the race too. "Do you want to talk to him?" Ace asked Lily. "That's possible?" the girl asked. "Of course!" Ace replied. "These box seat tickets are also V.I.P passes." "How did you get those in the first place?" Lily asked. "The federation again," Ace said. "They figured if I'm not racing, I can watch races."

Ace led Lily over to Captain Falcon. The bounty hunter was in the cockpit of the Blue Falcon, tuning its engine. "Hey Falcon!" Ace called out. Captain Falcon turned to see Ace Winters and Lily Flyer. "Hey Ace! How's it going?" He responded. "You know Captain Falcon?" Lily said in awe. "And he knows you?" "Sort of," Ace told her. "Captain Falcon, this is-""Lily Flyer," Captain Falcon finished Ace Winters' sentence. Falcon extended his hand to Lily, who eagerly shook it. "He knows me!" the girl said practically geeking out. Captain Falcon just smiled and turned his attention back to Ace. "Ace, I'm sorry about what happened with Michael Chain," he apologized. "It's okay," the rookie responded. "Just do me a favor and kick his butt in this race." "Deal," Falcon smiled. Captain Falcon and Ace Winters were alike in one way, they both loved to race.

It was one minute before race time, Ace and Lily headed to their seats in the box. The high-speed race was about to begin. Lights flashed everywhere at the prelude of the race. Mr. Zero had already begun counting down: "3...2....1....GO!" The machines took off, the first one up front was Leon in the space angler. Michael Chain however, began immediately shoving pilots out of the way. He now was next to the Blue Falcon. He tried to side-attack Captain Falcon, but he failed completely. Next, there was a conjunction in the track, basically a two way road. The Pilots could choose to take the left or the right. Captain Falcon wasted no time with choosing the right path, but Michael Chain followed him. Chain must've still wanted to take out Captain Falcon. The road they were on thought, had no guardrails.

Captain Falcon of course, just glided through. The second lap had begun, and the machines shot faster, now having acquired boost. Falcon still dominated the race, he was still in first place. The pilot Mr. EAD was on Captain Falcon's tail, gradually the Wild Boar fell behind. Chain's machine had great boost, but it was still heavy weighing 2110kg. Michael Chain was now in eighth place, which was dead last. Did you run out of steam Chain, Ace thought to himself. Captain Falcon, meanwhile was trying to outrace Beastman in the Hyper Speeder. Beastman's machine had amazing grip, so he handled pretty well. The final lap finally rolled around, and it came after all the pilots passed over the pit areas to refuel their machines. "Falcon doesn't need boost!" Lily remarked. "That's how amazing he is," Ace replied in amazement. The Blue Falcon was now five seconds ahead of the pack.

Michael Chain had just had the last straw. He boosted non-stop until he finally caught up to Falcon. The two machines were now neck and neck. However, Captain Falcon just saluted Chain and boosted back into the lead. Chain was furious! He wanted to get Falcon! But unfortunately for him, the Wild Boar was low on power. The machine directly behind him, the Great Star, now simply tapped the Wild Boar and it broke down. Michael Chain was disqualified just a centimeter before he touched the pit area! It didn't matter to the crowd though, their hero had won. Captain Falcon was the winner.

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After the race, Captain Falcon was loading up the money he won in his machine. Ace and Lily ran up to meet him. "That was amazing!" Lily exclaimed. "Can I have your autograph?" "Thank you, and of course," Falcon said. He signed his signature on an electronic sheet that Lily provided. "How's that?" He asked. "Perfect," the girl said. "Falcon, can I ask, what was the key to your victory?" Ace asked him. "Never underestimate the other pilots," Captain Falcon said directly to Ace. "Remember, you don't win by being lucky. You win by being bold." It couldn't have been clearer. It was like words from a wise man. Captain Falcon now waved goodbye to the rookies and he sped off back to Port Town. "I want to be like him someday...." Ace Winters said to himself.