F-Zero: Justice

Chapter 12: All Good Things End

  "He's going to die," Captain Falcon said about Super Arrow. "I have to help him." Falcon turned to Lily Flyer and Princia Ramode. "Stay with Ace." Captain Falcon darted to his ship and started the engine. It ascended above the track. "I'm going to try destroying it," he said to himself. He activated his ships lasers and fired them. The creature roared as the shots hit its face and stomach. The lasers weren't working, they were giving off heat. The heat was making the monster stronger. "It's not working," Princia said worried. "What do we do?" Super Arrow and Zoda were still duking it out trying to avoid the lava still. "I have to distract the monster," Ace said. "You're hurt!" Lily told him. "Who else is going to do anything?" he asked her. He crawled into his machine and shot down the track. "Falcon, I think we need to fire a coolant bomb at it," Ace Winters said. "Do you have one in your arsenal?" "No," Captain Falcon replied. "But I can make Rob get to work on it." Ace got the creature's attention, it tried to crush the Green Amazone with its fists, but the acceleration of the machine paid off. "Falcon how much longer?!" Ace hollered in panic. "Not much longer now!" Falcon replied. "I can't hold out much longer!" the young pilot screamed.

  Meanwhile, a wave of lava that the creature created by splashing around flew towards Super Arrow and Zoda. Super Arrow managed to boost in time and avoid, but Zoda was not that lucky. A glob of lava burned the rear of the Death Anchor. "AAAH!" Zoda said before he ejected himself out of his machine. Super Arrow slammed the brakes on the King Meteor. He hopped out and charged at Zoda. "Bring it on!" Zoda taunted. The hero and the villain began fighting each other. Things took a turn for the worst however, because the monster had now climbed out of the lava and onto the track. It now stood, it was over fifty feet tall. "Falcon!" Ace said. "It's ready now!" Captain Falcon spoke. "Stand by!" He began to press buttons on his control console. The bomb was in a launch position, ready to fire. "Firing the bomb in three...two...on"- Before Captain Falcon could finish his sentence. A missile flew underneath his ship and over the heads of the girls. It headed straight for the monster and sunk into its stomach. Nothing happened. The monster roared at the F-ZERO pilots. Then suddenly it started to ice. Its whole body coated itself in cold hard ice. Now completely frozen, it fell backward and shattered into a million pieces. Zoda's mouth was open in shock, he shouldn't have been distracted though. Super Arrow planted a punch straight on Zoda's chin, knocking him out cold.

   "That was a great shot Captain!" Super Arrow saluted Captain Falcon. "I wish I could take credit," Falcon shrugged. "But that wasn't me." Everyone was confused. They began looking around for the person who fired the missile. Lily found the mysterious hero first. An all too familiar person was leaning against the Bunny Flash. She had a cannon in her left hand and her right was in a cast. "JODY!" Captain Falcon yelled. Ace Winters' eyes widened. It was Jody! He sped back to the others. Lily hugged Jody Summer first and Jody threw left arm around her. Next, Captain Falcon walked up and hugged his girlfriend. "I thought you were dead," he said. Jody managed to grin and give him a small kiss. "You really don't know me that well then," she flirted. "What happened to you?" Lily asked her. "we saw you die." "You did," Jody answered her. "Or it appeared that way. I managed to run off right before you all went to the wreckage. I wanted to hide for a while to figure out my next move. I'm glad you're all okay."

   While the others embraced Jody, Super Arrow flew up to them. He dumped an unconscious Zoda onto the track. "My hero!" Mrs. Arrow said throwing herself into his arms. "What did I tell you Ace?" he said. "Justice always wins in the end! Now let's celebrate our victory with milkshakes!" Ace was not paying attention though, he had his back to his friends and was staring at Zoda. "I guess you can say that," Ace said softly. "We've all lost a lot today Ace," Jody told him. "It's just a reminder that anything could happen, I never said this job didn't have consequences." "You're right," Ace responded. "But this whole mess happened because of one mistake. One mistake made by one man." "Don't beat yourself Ace," Princia told him rubbing his back. "What do you mean by that?" "Think about it," Ace went on. "I met the Arrows with Zoda and thought we could help. I convinced Jody that we should let Princia join us. Then Jody almost died and I did too. This was all my fault, my responsibility. Jody once said I had greatness in me."

  Ace Winters turned around to face his friends. "I created this whole mess. I'm taking the blame for this. I cannot remain at the federation for this. I'm turning in my resignation." "No, you can't!" Jody cried out at him. "Michael Chain or Zoda wouldn't have attacked the federation if it wasn't for me. I should have never joined," Ace looked at his partner. Captain Falcon stepped forward: "Ace, this isn't your fault. Think about what you're saying and doing. You want to go back out there without any shelter, food, or water. That's suicide!" "I'll be an outcast," Ace continued. "An outsider. A bum who doesn't fit in. I'll vanish. Because we all sacrifice something for the people we love and care about. People always deserve better. It will all be better." There was no convincing him otherwise, Ace Winters had already revved the engine of the Green Amazone and drove away. Captain Falcon turned to Jody Summer, who gave him a nod. Falcon got in the Blue Falcon and gave chase after Ace. Lily had burst into tears, and Mrs. Arrow took her in her arms. "I don't understand," Princia said. "Why is he doing this?" The Blue Falcon looked like it would catch the Green Amazone. But suddenly, Ace's machine opened a wormhole and went through it. He was truly gone. "Because he's a good man," Jody answered. "But he's convinced that we and the galaxy would be better without him. So we'll search for him, try to bring him back. Because despite what he thinks we need him. The Galaxy will need him. He's a great pilot, an amazing officer. The ACE of F-ZERO."