Ruben had warned him that the weather in Intralago had only two modes: extreme heat or torrential rain, with not much in between. While the day had started with the sun blazing, thick clouds had rolled in from the ocean just as the cars lined up on the grid.

Sheets of rain lashed down on the track, reducing the visibility to zero. This was nothing like the downpour in Vale or the slippery slope of Luntalinna. Even driving through the flares lit by the Zoutelande fans was child's play compared to the constant weight of water pressing against the car, forcing it to go everywhere except staying on the track. At every corner, he held his breath, and at every exit he exhaled deeply, relieved he hadn't spun off.

Ruben had been furious. Despite qualifying well behind the Malachites, Nio had picked up every word of his boyfriend's argument with his engineer. He had a third-row seat to his boyfriend gesticulating wildly, displaying the motions of his Porti Janon temperament. According to Ruben, the Federation should have postponed with a coo, or two, or at least waited until the worst of the storm was over.

Nio had merely chuckled. He was the Rainmaster, and thus faster in these conditions than the King of Porti Jano. The rain was his best shot at winning this sprint. When the lights had gone out, he had sped towards the first corner, passing five cars, including Nina and the two Malachites. That had been the easy part; now he wished he had a speedboat instead of a car to tackle this track.

He lifted off the throttle and hit the brake, preparing for the climb up to turn fifteen, called the Bancadas. The Autodromo del Intralago was the only track in Speed Sprint racing with the finish line right behind the last corner.

Edge's voice cracked over the voicebox. "That's lap seventeen, done and dusted."

"Hobblers, Edge, send some dust," Nio said. "I'm drowning up here."

"That's out of my control." She snickered. "We just got some news in. There are yellow flags at the end of sector one. Go slow through Curva dei Sol. Yuki Kinoda has spun off and is stuck in the gravel."

"Copy. I'm surprised there aren't more of us beached. Any updates on the weather forecast?"

"Hold on, Nio," she said. She returned a few clicks later. "It's constantly changing, but the sky should clear up around lap twenty-eight, with the rain fading as of lap twenty-two. The track is expected to dry quickly."

Nio hummed. "Can we stay in the lead?"

"Vincuña's five point seven clicks behind you."

"Balls! And Peterov?"

"Don't worry about him," Edge said. "He's in seventh place and behind Nina—she will hold him up."

"Tell her to fight like a manepaw."

"We will. Are you still praying for the sun to come?"

"I'm conflicted."

Edge's chuckles crackled into static as he descended into Curva dei Sol, passing a smudge of yellow surrounded by people in orange overalls. The marshals were pushing the stranded Keltainen off the track.

Nio hit the throttle as he exited the turn, feeling his car slipping, fishtailing slightly to the right. He quickly steered into the skid, aligning his tyres so they would roll with the inertia. For half a click, the car only obeyed the laws of physics; then he regained control once more.

Another great save.

He didn't expect the crowd to cheer, even if they managed to see anything of the spectacle on track. They were biding their time. While Nio was undisputedly faster in the rain, he was no match for the Malachites on a dry track. They gained ground where he lost them: through the corners. Which was a problem; the Autodromo del Intralago was nearly all corners.

He pushed on. As predicted, the rain turned into a drizzle on lap twenty-two. When the sun burst through the clouds three laps later, steam rose from the track, engulfing the car in a spray-like fog. 

By lap thirty, Nio's lead had evaporated.

"Vincuña is gaining over half a click per lap," Edge warned him. "At this rate, he is expected to strike in five laps."

"I can keep him behind," Nio said. "Is the car okay?"

"Go, my boy. Give the fans their money's worth—they haven't seen much yet."

"I'm not sure they'll like the outcome."

"Not our problem."

"True."

Nio went full speed ahead through the Senna-S, dubbed the prettiest chicane in the world; every tenth of a click he could gain, he would try to get it out of his SRT. There was no time to lose; Ruben was coming for him. With a bit of luck and a lot of skill, he could fend him off. 

Holly Hobblers, beating the King of Porti Jano in his own court would be the metaphorical glimfruit on top of the cake. His plan would work. He and Ruben would be one point apart going into the sprint of Djicau, just like Schoenmaker and Serrano all those years ago. He would have to take the title there and then improvise. Whatever he needed to do to buy out Ruben's contract, he would do it, even rob a Djicauan bank or sell his soul to the hobbler King or Queen.

First, he had to win.

Soon, the blur of a green Malachite flashed into his mirrors. He weaved past a slower Alfa Julia, lapping them. Nio smiled as Ruben made the same move.

The game was on.

Nio went into full-defence mode, moving with great precision as he made himself wide, forcing Ruben to get off the racing line, and into the dirtier and wetter part of the track.

Ruben didn't take the bait. He stayed on Nio's tail, increasing and decreasing his gap. From time to time, he pushed his nose level with Nio's rear wheel, as if trying to outbreak him but never quite finishing the move.

"I can do this, Edge," Nio said as he approached the penultimate turn. "He's not as fast as expected."

"He's losing power," Edge replied. "Hewie has spotted smoke. We reckon he's having engine issues."

"Do we expect him to retire?"

"Negative, we assume he's going to push to the end. All or nothing. He's still very strong through Ferradura and Bancadas. Give it your all."

"Copy."

In the next lap, Ruben went wide around the outside of Ferradura. There was nothing Nio could do; the Malachite screeched past him. 

The puff of smoke that came from Ruben's car smelled like something burning.

Ruben braked late through the next corner. Too late. He bounced through the gravel, re-entering the track right after Nio regained the lead.

They exchanged positions once more through Bancadas, but Nio slipped past him once more on the straight.

Ruben fell behind, but not by a big margin. Anything from a third of a click to a click and a half, like he was managing his engine and tyres.

"Nio, we've monitored him," Edge said. "We expect him to strike—"

"Yeah, Edge,  leave me alone. I know what he's going to do."

His words were harsh, but his engineer could take it. Anything said during a race didn't count; his victory would be her reward and apology, all at once. He had to focus, had to be ready when Ruben would go side by side with him through the last corner, passing him right before passing the finish line.

 A genius move, though he expected nothing less from Ruben. Had the roles been reversed, Nio wouldn't have been that patient.

Then again, he wouldn't have been that predictable.

As expected, just before the penultimate corner, Ruben placed his Malachite right behind Nio's rear. Nio shot to the left as they headed into Bancadas, blocking his opponent. 

Then the Malachite flashed on the right.

Ruben was beside him as an animalistic screech erupted from the green car. 

One click, he was there. The next, he was not.

As Nio crossed the line, he cared little for the black-and-white chequered flag, or Edge shouting on the voicebox, "Position one, that's another victory! Well done—that's my boy!"

The world around him slowed as he watched Ruben slipping off the track. With a deafening noise, he crashed into the barrier, metal scraping against metal, sparks flying in all directions. The next moment, he was catapulted towards the gravel trap on the other side. 

When he landed, he was upside down and sliding across the tiny stones as though they weren't there.

"Ruben!" Nio yelled as his boyfriend hurtled towards the tyre wall.

There was a thundering crash and a shower of debris.

Black smoke billowed from the wreck. The car was buried deep into the tyre wall. There was no way Ruben would be able to get out on his own.

Nio flicked his steering wheel, making a U-turn. To avoid contact with the approaching Scuderia, he dived towards the right, ploughing through the gravel.

"Nio, turn the car," Edge urged. "Get out of there—you're going to get disqualified."

"He needs help."

"You..."

Whatever Edge was saying, he was no longer listening. His car screamed as he came to a complete standstill. It was a sweet melody compared to the high-pitched, wailing noises that came out of Ruben's Malachite.

Nio jerked out his steering wheel and threw it into his cockpit as he leapt out of the car and ran towards the wreck. 

A group of marshals rushed up to Ruben as well.

Nio was there first. He started digging; the wall was at least ten tyres high and six tyres deep.

"Ruben, can you hear me?" Nio asked. He had to yell to overpower the dying Malachite. Not wanting to acknowledge the unthinkable, he added more softly, "Please, I can't win like this. I don't want to."

He climbed into the tyre wall and fumbled around, feeling the wet, sweaty touch of fabric, and then the leather top of the steering wheel; it was already loose. Good. If he could get to the straps of Ruben's seatbelt, he could pull him out. 

Nio groaned, pushing a tyre out of the way. 

And another. 

And another.

The constant shrieking pounded through his head. But the heat was also building, making him nauseous. Bile built up at the back of his throat. Hot air seeped through his overalls and gloves. Despite the cream on his face, his cheeks were starting to hurt. He could barely keep his eyes open. The smoke was too intense.

"Repeat..." Edge's voice crackled over the voicebox. "...out...there. Danger."

"I'm almost there," Nio said.

He lost his gloves as his hands glided down the leather straps; the iron buckle was burning hot. As he clicked the seatbelt open, a sharp, excruciating pain shot up his right side.

"Balls!"

He winced and gritted his teeth as a frantically searched for a way to hook his arms around Ruben. Not only was the cockpit designed to fit the driver and nothing else, but the debris was also searing hot.

Smoke filled his nostrils, burning them away. He coughed, hacked, and nearly gagged. But he didn't give up; he wouldn't give up.

"Come on, Ruben."

Light shone into the cave of tyres and debris as marshals created a path. They emptied their extinguishers. Big, strong arms locked around his waist as Nio managed to get hold of Ruben. 

"No!" Nio screamed as they were dragging him out. 

His fingers were slipping. As close as he had been to Ruben, he was getting further and further away from him.

He drove his elbow into the marshal's side and kicked him.

"Señiore Barn, you have to—"

"Are you blind? I was rescuing him."

"Señiore Barn!"

Nio rushed back to the scene. Ruben was half out of the wreck. Nio halted as he noticed his boyfriend wasn't moving; his body was limp and his face dropped. Blood was dripping out of his crooked, broken nose. His eyes were wide-open; as though his mistake had been the last thought crossing his mind.

He dragged Ruben into the gravel, then slumped beside him, frantically looking for a heartbeat. He placed his hand on his boyfriend's chest, then grabbed his wrist, but he couldn't find any.

"Wake up." He slapped Ruben's cheeks. His voice filled with emotion, tears tugging at his eyelids. "Come on, big, stupid idiot. You're out of the car. It's time to wake up."

Ruben didn't as much as stir.

Nio pounded Ruben's chest. "Don't leave me! You can't. We have another sprint to finish. I have to win, so I can free you."

"Nio, do you read me?" Edge came over the voicebox, her voice loud and clear. "Nio?" she repeated his name. "Copy if you hear me."

"Copy," Nio said as he kept on pounding. "I don't want him to die, Edge." As he said the words, he burst into tears. "Tell me what to do. I need to save him. I can't lose him."

"Nio, I'm sorry. The only thing you can do is get out of there. The marshals are evacuating too."

"I'm not leaving. I love him."

"You need to save yourself. That car... it's going to explode."

"It can't," Nio said. "The marshals—they've extinguished the fire."

The screeching reached its crescendo, so ear-shattering that it chilled Nio to the bone. Suddenly, it dawned on him. He had heard it before, not in the car, but in the Yurei cave, and as a boy in Vale. It was the sound of a creature in pain, tortured, suffering every waking moment. That nightmare. His subconscious had tried to warn him.

"Edge," Nio asked, "is there a glow hobbler inside the engine?"

"No, Nio, the hobbler is the engine."

"You have got to be kidding me." He knew she was not. The noise stopped abruptly.

It was too late to run now.

He threw himself onto Ruben.

There was a loud explosion as a great blast of white light erupted from the wreck, piercing the sky. All Nio heard was static as pieces of debris flew around, pieces of shrapnel hitting him in the arms legs, and back. The impact was sharp and jarring, like a constant fiery pain surging through his body. 

He buried himself in his boyfriend's chest, his muscles tight around him, shielding him. Instantly, a strange, peaceful calmness washed over him. Comfort. If this was how it ended, then at least, they would be united in death, with nobody to keep the apart.

Forever, together.

Free, at last.