Aiden, whether he knew it or not, had unconscious bias towards the idea of racing, be it unofficial or official.
He imagined towering vehicles of equal shape and size, with armor wearing drivers all racing and the only distinction being that each wore different colors.
Instead he had been surrounded by all manner of vehicles at the start of the race, and even now as he was rounding the first corner he was boxed in by two motorcycles, and what looked to be some kind of construction machine with more metal armor plating that vehicle itself painted to be eye scorchingly pink blaring music.
On his right a towering black motorcycle with an older woman leaned so far back she looked like she was laying down had flames spewing out the back, and in front of him was Lucky streak on what appeared to be a mix between a dirt bike and a rocket fixed together in a surprisingly elegant way.
They had been the four that burst from the line the fastest, and yet even as they approached the first corner Aiden could hear the sounds of the other vehicles speeding up to try and close the distance.
"You know, starting to see why they warned us about bodily harm, party girl demolition over there literally has snapping metal jaws on the front of her vehicle." Will said rather unhelpfully.
Aiden leaned into the turn, letting gravity do most of the work as he focused on moving his legs to just run. The Revolution Core was idling, its engine humming and yet to start heating up too badly, which forced Aiden to strain harder than he felt he should since he was only on the first lap.
Aiden turned to look up towards the towering pink machine to his left seeing what looked to be a very flamboyantly dressed dwarven man who despite wearing what looked to be jean booty shorts, pink cowboy boots, and a pink vest, still had a full curly beard down to his feet.
This image clashed in Aiden's mind of what a racer was supposed to look like when ahead he saw Lucky Streak fire the thruster on the back of their bike and begin to pull away.
"Now or never, or we're gonna be boxed in again!" Thrive yelled as Aiden felt the gears of the Revolution core slam into low gear and his speed surged, but with it the feeling of heat rose.
Fragmented Will (C) has activated item Revolution Core V6(C)
Revolution Core V6(C) has shifted to low gear
Aiden surged after Lucky Streak, the pair slowly making distance from the Princess construction vehicle and the Hog riding grandma.
Even being in the race Aiden took a second to glance upwards towards where Maxitomos was flying on a hovering vehicle and still roaring the play by play.
"Ladys and Gentlemen, this race is roaring through as it seems the beginning huddle as burst with Lucky Streak taking the lead, Aiden Hallowcreek following behind, and Plix Palewater and Angie Wellwater fighting for third place."
Up ahead Aiden saw what looked to be the first obstacle in the form of several dozen large rocks placed on the tracks with gravel in between.
Aiden had planned for how to handle it, rushing through the gravels, using his better maneuverability to take routes that let him escape from larger vehicles that would get in the way. In many ways it seemed like the strategy that Lucky Streak would adopt too, except for the fact that she wasn't slowing down at all to make turns, in fact she was speeding up.
Aiden watched as she made more and more distance, a part of him waiting for her to slam into a rock and go flying until she jerked, the front wheels rising up and the jet on the back of her bike flared, launching her and the bike upward and in an arc over the rocks.
Aiden was so surprised by this his shoulder clipped a rock, causing him to spin, a blasting pain shooting through his shoulder as he continued moving, dodging as best he could.
"Looks like Lucky Streak has vaulted the rocks, an impressive display of control over her vehicle, but it seems like Hallowcreek has struck a rock and is struggling in the rock maze, let's see how the others do!"
Aiden stumbled, rolling out the other side of the rocks as he took a half second to try and catch his breath before he saw several large rocks flying in the air.
His eyes widened in horror as he saw the princess construction vehicle simply plowing through, using the sloped teeth on the front to throw rocks overhead and force other racers to dodge.
"OH SHIT!" Aiden, Will, and Thrive all yelled as Aiden burst into a sprint again
Skill Fragmented Will(C) has taken over your legs making you sprint
Skill Fragmented Will(C) has taken over your legs making you sprint
In the distance Aiden could see Lucky Streak, continuing down the track as he began to speed up and close the distance.
Even as he ran the feeling of heat rising from the Revolution Core made his skin blister and the smell of burning flesh filled his nose forcing a pained grimace onto his face.
He was about halfway done with the first lap, so around a 10th of the way done with the race, and yet he was injured, his left shoulder maybe out of socket, and struggling to get back to a rhythm. He was allowed 3 pit stops in the race, and while the plan had been to use them spaced out during the second and fourth lap, he was using the spare one now.
Aiden could hear the sounds of the announcer announcing his early pitstop marking that it wasn't a good sign for the race which to his surprise, was extremely infuriating.
"Were literally sprinting a race designed for vehicles, cut us some slack you ass!" Will protested as Aiden was quickly sat down and Selene began to talk about a game plan while Thalia applied a potion to his shoulder, setting it back into its socket with a painful pop.
Aiden should have been listening to Selene, but he was distracted by a surprising statement.
"Welp, guess were not winning this race."
Both Aiden and Will paused, turning towards Thrive in the mindspace.
In many ways they were different.
Each Fragmented Will resembled Aiden from the point they were acquired.
Will looked like a nervous alchemist from the mountains, meanwhile Thrive was covered in blood, the Revolution Core in his chest always seeming to be red hot but he never reacted to it.
"What do you mean, sure we are at a setback, but we're in no way losing here, we still have a decent shot." Will argues, taking a step towards Thrive.
"Thats exactly the problem, your still speaking in hypotheticals."
"Hypotheticals, what in the hell does that have to do with anything!?
"It has everything to do when people stake everything on the line. We may have entered this race because we wanted to, but some people want to win more than they care about making it across the finish line in one piece, the only reason we're not behind in the pack is because we're more maneuverable by comparison."
"Ah yes, everyone else is totally gonna risk their life here, you know for all of us being a part of Aiden here, you are so damn arrogant."
A vein on Thrives head bulged and heat surged from them as their Revolution Core spun to life. "I'm arrogant!? You aren't nearly arrogant enough! We have gone from a nobody in the mountains brewing potions when we felt like for a living to surviving fights far above our pay grade, we wield a piece of machinery deemed too dangerous and painful to use by its users and push it to its hypothetical limits despite that, fighting through pain. We have fought people almost twice our level, taking one down in a single strike and chasing down a literal courier, the class designed to be fast through burning drive. SO OF COURSE IM FUCKING ARROGANT, and the fact that you arn't is so pretentious humble its insulting!"
Aiden and Will were both stunned by the sudden outburst and the strange sense of anger that washed over the body by result. Aiden was out of time to argue, he was fixed up, and waiting would just lower his position, and yet even as he returned to his normal view he could feel the echoing fury and pride that Thrive exuded coursing like magma in his veins. His eyes locked onto Lucky Streak who was in the distance, leading the race, and he felt the red hot feeling in his veins boil as he felt Thrives intensity overwhelm his mind a bit.
Selene and Thalia seemed taken aback by his sudden intensity as Aiden slammed his foot into the ground, the cobblestones caving under the force as a burst of flame shot from his revolution core, surging wildly as he shot forward like an arrow.
Aiden surged from the pits, back onto the track, the Revolution Core Roaring as it shifted into high gear and he went rocketing ahead.
There was a strategy they had come up with.
There was a plan to minimize the strain on his body.
Fuck the plan
Someone else was in first place.
Aiden tried to wrestle his thoughts back from Thrive worried about what it would mean until a small realization came over him and he closed his eyes for a split second.
Will was alarmed as Aiden returned to the mind place, pointing towards where the normal scene from his eyes would display, but Aiden's eyes were locked on Thrive who stood with his arms crossed.
"Thrive, tag in."
A malicious, evil grin surged across Thrives face as he walked forward, and clapped Aiden's raised hand, the bodys eyes opening not with the normal emerald Green eyes, but instead with Red eyes surrounded in a sea of sparks.