[spoiler]This installment of Exotic History is provided by WolfSpartan145 and myself[/spoiler] The cheering of the crowd dissipated behind them as the racers sped off down the track. Trea managed a quick bolt to first place as they all made their way around the mound in the middle of the track and into a valley with a large crowd of Fallen enemies. Many of the Fallen were taken by surprise from the sudden rush of Guardians but several leapt into action. One Captain managed to snag a contender on Trea's tail, causing them to swerve out and crash into the wall. Trea accelerated into the first gate, passing through the thin confines of the hologram with ease, giving his ride a quick boost in speed. He heard Holliday's excited voice as he swerved through the thin canyon walls and into another gate, quickly shooting off the cliffside into the bowl like valley below. "That's some smooth riding! You're in the lead!" The valley connected to a series of narrow caves thaf sharply turned into a narrow cliff heading towards another sharp turn with caves where several Captains were sitting in ambush. Trea swiftly applied the breaks and started to drift towards the entrance before something rammed his broad side, pushing him just past the optimal drift, slamming him into a wall. His engine stalled for a brief moment as arc energy bolted from the many streaks along the side and detonated the other sparrow, slowing it down just enough for Trea to regain control and continue the race. He glanced over to see Kyle's helmet staring him down, no doubt grinning as he was neck and neck with Trea. A private channel opened in his comms as Kyle's voice calmly spoke. "You weren't expecting that?" Trea grinned. "I was but it was supposed to be the other way around." Kyle laughed. "Either way, that was a dirt trick, EMPs are illegal in the casual sport." "Who said this was casual?" "D*** straight it isn't." Both sparrow managed to clip the gates and sped forward as they raced through the cave, bursting out of a natural waterfall into a river, running at the very bottom of a deep ravine surrounded by lush forests and rock formations. Kyle stayed close to Trea to make him uncomfortable but never slamming into him, mostly in fear of losing that fraction of a second. The two hunkered down and sped down the river, sloshing water as they drove by. Steam wafted off the back of both sparrows as the overheated turbines caused the water to evaporate almost instantly. They both made it through two gates before they started heading for a deadend. Busch got dangerously close and glanced at Trea. "Nothing left now..." "But the drop." Trea floored the Sparrow and soared into the air. He pulled several levers on the side that caused a few fans to come out of the Sparrow, catching the wind and spinning him like a top. He pushed it as far as it could go as he plummeted to the ground. A split second later, he pulled the another lever and the Sparrow righted itself and slammed into the ground, the engine screaming from the impact but it smoothed out without too much speed reduction. But not enough however as Kyle had gained a few millisecond lead. His back fins glowed like two burning suns as he sped off towards the next gate. Trea felt the nagging presence of Coach at the back of his mind. "Maneuver G! Not C! This isn't dealing with rooks anymore! Now drive!!" Trea floored the Sparrow and took off after Kyle. The two tore down the flatland as the open expanse of sulfuric water was exposed on the right side past some simple barriers, easily ones that can snap off. The two rounded the hair pin turn with expertise and floored themselves into the ruins. Kyle seemed to have some trouble as large belches of flames came from his rear time to time. Trea took this opportunity as Kyle slowly started to vear from the next gate. Suddenly, Busch jerk to the side in a strafing maneuver and the flames caught Trea square in the face as he covered his eyes and tried to let his shield regenerate. He missed the gate by an inch and took a brief speed penalty as Kyle raced on. "Oh you cheeky b******." Kyle laughed. "As you said. No causals allowed." He sprinted into the Vex style ruins, strafing into corners instead of turning, keeping his speed up. Trea followed and used the walls as grinding points to get some needed speed back. He glanced behind him as two racers began to catch up. One, a female in a souped up EV-37 Voidstreak, caused another racer to crash into a pillar and gained a dominant third. She slowly caught up to Trea and tried to pass him after the large tight turn before the teleportation gate. He expertly kept her just behind him as he rushed into the straights. They both warped through the gate simultaneously and were greated with a sudden fall. Busch was handling it gracefully as he stood on the front of his sparrow, causing it to spin before sitting back down and taking off. Trea pulled a lever and spun the ROCKET to the side, making it look like a lightning bolt before settling down again and speeding off. His engine whined a bit pitifully, losing a little speed as it wasn't used to this kind of punishment or lengths without a recharge. The female racer was close behind him though as he raced along the lower end of the platform, hitting gates as he went. They were greated with one final jump as before the finish line which Kyle had already pushed through. The female racer tried to slam Trea out of the air but his engine stalled a second before letting off an EMP, causing her to spin out and slam into a pole. As she did, her sparrow exploded, with emphasis from the crowd and a massive black hole was settled there before it dissipated a few moment later. Trea took not of this as he passed the line. 'Lap 2/3' flashed on his HUD as he gently patted his sparrow. "Come on girl, show them what you can do." The engine stalled slightly in response, having regained it's charge as it pushed through the gate with increased speed and pitch, just as it did at the beginning of the race. Trea tore off through the valley and began the hunt for first place. https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/179669416/0/0 link to part 2 https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/179268461/0/0/1 link to the 70-ARC ROCKET https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/179286033/0/0/1 link to Type 36-XJ "Speed Demon"