30TH NOVEMBER 2023
------ROAD AMERICA, WISCONSIN------
It was 7:00am in Wisconsin. It was a special and stressful day for the trainees, as today was their final day at RaceWorld Academy. It was their graduation day. The 5 remaining trainees would do one last training race, with 80 laps, to simulate a real one, with pit stops and everything. The FIA had increased the number of laps to be done from 50 to 80, to 70 to 100 laps, like it was done in Super GT, basically making the Road Car World Championship an international version of Super GT.
Whoever won today's graduation race would go on to race as the second driver of Thunderbolt Motorsports. That was the ultimate goal here for everyone. There would be official FIA examiners presiding over this race, which did stress them out a little.
In the last few days, they had been hitting the track, the simulators, and the BATAK Board more than ever. They had also been practicing good pit stops, as well as learning about tire changes, racing strategies, tire compounds, and other such things. They had also learnt quite a bit about racing history, which was relatively easy. Somehow, during all this, with the help of her friends, Sunset had managed to keep up with school and homework. She was also surprised by the fact that Principal Celestia was fine with this, considering she had been absent for almost a month now.
During all of this, Sonata Dusk somehow hadn't been kicked out of the program, despite attempting to force Sunset into a crash, after a talk with her, Comet Flash had let her stay in RaceWorld Academy. Sunset was hoping to take that spot on the Thunderbolt Motorsports team, as she could finally make history, by being one of the first woman drivers in a big FIA-approved racing series, that too, one who had gotten experience in professional racing only from video games.
The relationship between Sunset and Powerslide had also gotten hotter, but it hadn't gone sexual yet, as they wanted to wait for Sunset to turn 18 first, before they went into a serious relationship. Also, they were keeping their relationship a total secret until then.
Meanwhile, as for Sonata, she had stopped spending time with the other trainees like she had used to. In fact, apart from dinner and training sessions, she was always in her bed, either crying on her pillow or looking at pictures on her phone. Sunset wondered why that was so. As she came back up to the trainees' sleeping quarters after her jog for a quick energy drink, she noticed Sonata crying on her bed again. This time, Sunset decided to figure out what was up.
She went up to Sonata and tapped her on the back. "What's going on? Why haven't you spent as much time with your friends?" asked Sunset.
"Oh, yeah? You ruined the life of me and my sisters, you bitch!" shouted Sonata.
"Ahem, you were the ones who possessed a whole school just so that you could become popular, and make yourself famous!"
"Okay, that was so that we could get our power back and rebuild our lives, like how I am doing for mine now! If it weren't for you, Aria would still be alive!"
"Wait, what? Aria's dead?!" asked a horrified Sunset. That was why Sonata had been crying recently, realised Sunset. Something had happened to Aria Blaze, one of the three siren sisters.
"Oh, don't you know? She couldn't take being defeated by you and the loss of her magic, so six months ago, Aria took a gun to her head, and ended it all with a literal bang!" shouted Sonata, tears starting to streak down her face. This shocked Sunset, the fact that Aria Blaze had ended her own life like that.
"But why did she take her own life?"
"Oh, I just told you! She couldn't handle everything you all did to her, and after our last performance, on auto-tune by the way, at the Starswirled Music Festival, she fell into drugs, and eventually, it all got to her, and she ended it all!"
"Well, you do realise that it was your fault that she got into all that? You could have stopped her, and she would be alive today!"
"Well, we tried, okay! But she was too addicted, that me and Adagio had to abandon our own sister! It all started because of YOU!" shouted Sonata, as she burst into tears, thinking about her sister. Sunset wondered how bad it had gotten, and began activating her powers, touching Sonata's shoulder in a comforting position, and just as the blue-haired girl turned to ask what Sunset was doing, Sunset's eyes began glowing white, shocking her.
Meanwhile, Sunset began to see the memories faced by Sonata and the Dazzlings, after they were defeated by the Rainbooms in the Battle of the Bands. It showed memories from Sonata, as they lost their popularity, and had to pay for their school by getting jobs. It showed scenes of Sonata getting a job at the mechanic's, like flashbacks in the beginning of a TV show's episode. It showed her getting a ride in her boss's heavily modified Nissan GT-R, as she had mentioned to Sunset on their first day at RaceWorld Academy.
However, it also showed some more awful things. It showed Adagio Dazzle and Sonata both confronting Aria Blaze, who seemed to be looking worse for wear, seeming extremely agitated, and her once neat hair all grizzled, as if she had just gotten out of bed. It also showed the two sisters visiting Aria, who seemed to look in worse condition with every visit. Then, the ultimate flashback came. It showed Sonata and Adagio knocking on Aria's door multiple times, but Aria did not show up. Eventually, they just kicked the door open, and the sight that greeted them was horrifying.
Aria was lying on the ground, blood flowing from a wound in her head, from which pieces of her brain matter had also come out, staining the rug, and the clothes on her now-lifeless body, as a shocked Adagio and Sonata began crying, seeing the dead body of their sister. The flashback then shifted to a graveyard, with Adagio, Sonata, and a few other people standing, all wearing black clothes, as Aria's coffin was lowered into the ground. Everyone was crying, especially Adagio and Sonata. Then, the flashback ended, with Sunset staring at a surprised and shocked Sonata.
"What happened there? Your eyes were glowing as if they were in a horror movie!" said Sonata, shocked at what she had just seen. Don't tell me you somehow took our magic..." said Sonata, as Sunset began speaking, cutting her off.
"Look, Sonata, I just got a look into your memories, that's all. I didn't read your mind or anything of that sort, I just got a good look at your memories." explained Sunset.
"Wait, what? When did you get those powers in the first place, and what did you see?" asked Sonata.
"Well, I'll tell you later how I got my powers, it's a long story. As for what I saw, I saw all that your and your sisters went through after the Battle of the Bands. I saw also you finding Aria's body after she..." Sunset paused, as tears began welling in Sonata's eyes, as she remembered the day Aria had taken her own life, and the funeral. "Look, Aria's death wasn't either of our faults. You tried to get her out of the state she was in, but she wasn't willing to listen to you all. She did it to herself."
"Still, I was her sister. I should have protected her that day." said Sonata, starting to cry again.
"Look, it was never your fault. You did everything to help Aria, and you were there for her in her time of need. Your past is not today." said Sunset, trying to encourage her former enemy, to get over the past, and embrace the present.
"Why are you trying to help me anyways?" asked Sonata, wondering why her former enemy was trying to help her out, considering they had ruined her reputation and brainwashed all her allies.
"Well, everyone should have a second chance. I personally was an enemy and a bully to the whole school myself, until a certain pony princess gave me a second chance, and now, look at me. You can do the same thing. You can turn everything around for yourself, without doing any bad things." said Sunset, trying to encourage Sonata.
"I guess I can. I guess we'll put our enmity aside now, shall we?" asked Sonata, a smile returning to her face, as she offered a hand to Sunset to shake on it. Sunset instantly grabbed her hand, and shook it, ending the enmity between the two. "Come on, let's get ready, I'm beating you today."
"Not if I cross the finish line first!" said Sunset, as the two ran to the cafeteria for breakfast. It was now 7:20am. The race would begin at 9:00am. The FIA examiners were apparently already here, and they would be overseeing the whole race. The trainees were understandably nervous, but they were determined to do well and not embarrass themselves. It wasn't really as international of a lineup as it had been at the beginning of RaceWorld Academy. Of the remaining 5 trainees, 3 of them, Sunset, Sonata, and Powerslide, were Americans. One of the remaining trainees was from India, and the other was from South Korea.
The trainees dressed up in their racing suits, and did their pre-race preparations, before they put on their helmets and got into their cars. One of the trainees was even playing music to relax himself for the race. Then, once that was done, they put on their helmets, and headed outside to meet Comet Flash and the FIA examiners, before getting in the cars.
"Alright, welcome to your final race in training! You know the rules, I've already briefed you about it. These FIA people here will grant you your International Grade A Competition racing licences after the end of the race, if you don't mess up. Those licences will enable you to race in any series of your liking apart from Formula 1, which requires a Super Licence and a few years of racing experience. However, the only trainee who will get that spot in Thunderbolt Motorsports is whoever crosses that finish line first. Good luck to all of you." said Comet Flash, heading towards the observation area with the FIA officials, as the trainees got into their cars.
Their engines were started up, and the five Porsche 911s began driving out of the pits to begin their formation lap. It would not be like this on a real race day, where just like in Formula 1, they would start their formation lap on the real track, where everyone would be in their cars, on the side of the main track, like a race start in Le Mans. The trainees drove out onto the track, and began the formation lap. They all would start today on soft tires. All the skills they had learned from Comet Flash would be put to use here.
The cars began accelerating, but not as much as they would, once the race started. They also began weaving around the track, to try and warm up their tires, to improve the grip out on the track. The formation lap was uneventful, with not much happening at all during that, except for the racers powersliding a little to warm up the tires even more. Finally, they reached the starting line, and took up their positions.
The lights began counting down, and the engines began revving, as the trainees got ready for the start of the race that would decide their futures. It all went into slow-motion for the trainees, as the lights came on, counting down to the race start. The second the lights went out, all the cars lunged forward, as the race started, pushing the trainees back in their seats. The first few laps were relatively uneventful, except for the fact that all of the trainees were in battles with each other, to try and get that seat on the Thunderbolt Motorsports team.
Sunset, who had started in 3rd, was still there, in a battle with Cumin Masala, the Indian trainee, in 2nd place, and Sonata Dusk ahead of him. Powerslide was also up her rear bumper, with the Korean trainee, Kimchi Fire, behind him. The battle was hot for 4th place, between Powerslide and Kimchi Fire, as she was trying everything to overtake Powerslide. Eventually, on the 5th lap, she drifted around Powerslide on Turn 5, and overtook him. However, Powerslide took back 4th place on the 10th lap.
The race continued, and on the 15th lap, Sunset finally got around Cumin Masala, and got into 2nd place. The race had only just started, but it did feel a little boring for the trainees, with only 4 other cars to compete against. However, they were determined to make the most of it, as this was also a test of endurance as well as speed. The race continued, and the action was still on. On the 18th lap, Powerslide spun out due to some heat damage to his tires, and had to come in to the pits, getting medium tires to replace the soft ones which had worn out.
The remaining trainees had good tires, but were planning to do a double stint on their current tires, and let the pit crew know that they were planning to do so. The race continued well, until on lap 23, Sunset spun, as heat damage had begun to wear her tires out as well. The other trainees didn't have as much damage to their tires, but they were starting to get tire wear as well. It was soon going to be time for their first pit stop. On lap 27, everyone except Powerslide came in to pit. Everyone changed out their old sets of soft tires for a fresh set of medium tires, except for Kimchi Fire, who got hard tires instead.
As the race continued, the tires they had chosen were working very well, except for Fire, whose hard tires weren't so grippy. However, they would last quite a long time, so she wouldn't need to pit again for some time. The 3-way battle continued between Sonata, Sunset, and Cumin, with all three cars very close to each other, attempting to take each other's positions. Meanwhile, in the back, Powerslide and Kimchi were closing in on them.
On lap 32, Cumin managed to drift around Sunset at turn 6, and took back 2nd place. Sunset continued staying up Cumin's tailpipe, intent on taking the win. On lap 49, after a brief period of inactivity, some action came when Cumin locked his brakes on a turn, which gave Sunset the chance to overtake him. This was successful, and now, Sunset and Sonata were in a battle for first place. The positions kept changing every few laps, and sometimes every few corners, making the race more interesting.
Finally, on lap 55, everyone, except for Kimchi Fire, pitted again, this time for another fresh set of medium tires. Kimchi Fire, however, was continuing on her hard tires, which were holding up pretty well. However, now the other 4 trainees had the advantage, since they had fresher tires. The battle continued between Sonata and Sunset, who had now dropped to 2nd and 3rd place respectively while in the pits. However, soon, Kimchi was in last place, overtaken by the others, due to tire wear. Finally, on lap 58, Kimchi pitted, for a fresh set of mediums as well.
As the end of the race neared, the battles started getting fiercer. Powerslide was pushed down to last place by Kimchi and Cumin, who were fighting for 3rd, but he came back with a vengeance, pushing Kimchi back to last. On lap 72, everyone pitted, putting on their previous sets of soft tires, so they could run the final 8 laps. During lap 75, Sunset finally used drifting to overtake Sonata, going into 1st place. However, Sonata was not willing to let the victory go, and she kept trying to overtake Sunset, even as Sunset began blocking her. Meanwhile, Powerslide had successfully pushed into 3rd, and he was now riding Sonata's rear bumper.
As the trainees entered the final lap, Sunset was in 1st, with Sonata and Powerslide right behind her, and Cumin and Kimchi in 4th and 5th. This was it. The one that would decide their future, thought Sunset, as she sped out of Turn 1. At Turn 3, Sunset using drifting to gain ahead of her opponents, before speeding through Turn 3, towards Turn 4 and the Moraine Sweep.
As they approached the final turn before the Road America Straight, Sonata caught up to Sunset, and both cars were side-by-side, as they entered the Road America Straight, speeding towards the finish line. This was going to be close, thought Sunset, as she tried everything to gain on Sonata, speeding towards the waving checkered flag. As the two cars crossed the finish line, almost together, the trainees wondered who had won. Was it Sunset or was it Sonata? As the winner's name came up on the big screens that would be used for the spectators, who were not present today, Powerslide began smiling.
Sunset had done it. She had taken first, and would now be the second driver for Thunderbolt Motorsports in the first season of the FIA Road Car World Championship. For Sunset, it was as if all of her dreams had come true. She had done it. She was finally going to be a real racing driver. She was giddy with excitement, as the drivers all pulled their cars into the pits, at exactly 12:10pm. The second she got out, everyone was clapping for her, even her fellow trainees, the FIA representatives, and Comet Flash. Among those approaching was Soaring Surfer. "Well done, Miss Shimmer! Welcome... to Thunderbolt Motorsports!" shouted Surfer happily, as Sunset began a victory dance in joy.
At that, all of the trainees came together, in a big group hug, congratulating each other. That was when the FIA representatives came forward. "Well, trainees, we see you have done well. We will be granting you all your racing licences on one condition. You must finish at least one race in the top 5, within your first five races." said the FIA representative, icily. "If you can manage it, that is." said the representative, chuckling a little.
Despite the trainees, now racers, annoyed at that, they did not show it. Comet Flash then came up to then. "Welcome to the world of professional racing. You're gonna have to do a lot to prove that you belong out there. Trust me, it's going to be hard. But I'll give you a break for now. For the rest of the day, go celebrate and enjoy a little. You're all heading home tomorrow." said Comet Flash, casually dismissing everyone, as they all ran to celebrate and pack up their things. They had all done it. For Sunset, it was even more, as she was going to be on the global stage. This would be hard, being a girl racer, but it would also probably be worth it, thought Sunset, as she, Sonata, Powerslide, Cumin, and Kimchi all headed off to enjoy their final day at Road America.