Stage 14: Bittersweet End
teams included: Highway Hooligans and Shift Happens by @Madrias, Firulais by @Angelustyle , Hillbilly Rollers by @Knugcab
teams mentioned: GECA by @Elizipeazie, Fuist by @Djadania
It was still in the middle of the night, when Chantal woke up, although she had slept all the time after fainting, she was far from being relaxed: She had a bad nightmare, going through what happened to Valentin, as it was told to her by Thomas who had heard it first hand from the Highway Hooligans, and she felt bad for Valentin, although she didn´t like him too much, she thought he was intimidating, and cold, thanks to and his, well, not impolite, but very reserved character. Still, Chanty felt sympathy with him, not deserving what the Kerman brothers did to him. In the end, he was distanced, but never mean to her. That already qualifies enough that Chanty really felt with him.
She started writing a „Get well soon“ letter, of course in German as she is not capable of any other language, except for singing along English songtexts by heart but having no idea what she is actually singing there. Well, also the German in the letter wasn´t the most correct in terms of grammar and ortography, but she thought Valentin is smart enough to figure out what she wants to tell him.
With the letter ready, she noticed that she would need to send it via…. Post, something Chanty has never done. Who would know that better than Shift Happens?
„Chaaaaaaanty, please, not EVERY NIGHT. Valraadis also need a bit of sleep. What is it this time?“
„I… have no idea how to address a letter properly, and I think as a local you might know…“
„Are you serious? Who of the locals do you even want to write to?“
„Valentin… isn´t he in hospital?“
„Yes, but ON EARTH.“
„Hm, that should be easier to address then without knowledge in Holsian…“
„CHAAAAAAANTY! THIS IS ANOTHER PLANET. WHY DO YOU THINK THAT HOLSIAN MAIL DELIVERS….ooooh… I am sorry.“
Kiva became a bit loud, because he was woken up in the middle of the night with – from his POV – dumb questions, but his physical presence and firm voice scared Chanty so much, that she was hiding behind a bush and started crying.
„I am really sorry, Chantal, it´s on be being a bit tired. Please give me what you have written, I will make sure it is delivered to Valentin as fast as possible.“
„o…ok… please don´t hate me for being dumb…“
„Nah. You know what would be dumb? Being selfsh, ignorant or heartless, and there, you are the smartest person…. maybe Lauren can keep a bit up with you, but you are definitely very smart in your own way. By the way, you want to have a good overview over the site? I can lift you up a bit and carry you to your team, if you want.“
„Yaaaaaaaas! That´s so cool! If only we had … proper sanitary equipment.“
„Oh, but we have a tiny river near here, if I lift you a bit higher, you can see it….“
„I CAN! Is that safe to bath?“
„Safe, yes, but cold.“
„I am no barbie!“
Chanty got her headphones and a bit of shampoo and walked there, and the sun was already raising when she was done.
Yes, she was freezing, also… she overestimated the sunny weather a bit. But the event was going to end soon anyway and they headed to a very warm location, at least that´s what Kiva told her, so … she just enjoyed some relaxed time.
The water looked clear, and as Jan told her that in the wild, you can determine the quality of water by the fishes that swim in it, she borrowed Jans book just to find out that the water is excellent, and safe to swim, maybe even drink. Trying to match the fish with the black and white photos and the complex descriptions was hard, though, but Chanty isn´t unable to survive by herself, after all.
Meanwhile, Thomas prepared the breakfast, while Jan wanted to charge his phone in the Primus, but the battery went on strike.
„Didnt you buy a new battery already?“
„Yes. Its the best and most expensive available.“
„If that´s the best I dont want to see the cheapest then…Maybe someone will borrow us theirs to start the car…“
„We still need one later, so… yeah, here is some money, go get one from the train, although they sell us some historic crap for a kidney… but, at least they offer a constant and reliable basic supply, so… better that than nothing instead of complaining.“
„But where is Chanty?“
„I will cook something smelling veeeeery delicious. Don´t you think that smurfs might be attracted by that?“
Jan got a new battery, and, when he arrived totally exhausted at the campsite, Chanty appeared out of the forest.
„SLAY! FOOOOOOD!“
„There you are finally! Damn, I was worried.“
Jan ran to his girlfriend and gave her a romantic kiss, something he rarely does by himself, not because he has no feelings for Chanty, but more because he doesn´t want to behave childish, and Chanty loved it this time and made the kiss very passionate… VERY passonate, and the worst case occurred.
„NAAAAAH! Our piercings got stuck in each other!“
„Chanty, for real? OUCH! Yes, shit!“
A bit of laughter was audible in the background, and Ana walked past them.
„Honestly, I was waiting for this this to happen all the time!“
„YOU ARE NO HELP WITH THAT, ANA!“
„Did I say I wanted to help? What can I do?“
„As Chanty is much smaller than me, bending myself down in this position is PAINFUL! Please get me a spare tire for her to step on it….“
„Don´t you have one?“
„NO!“, laughed Thomas. „S O M E O N E thought we would need a subwoofer in that spot more.“
Louis from the Team Fuist generously offered his spare, and Jan could soon stand a bit better, while many different techniques to free the young couple, while Chanty tried her best to tell everyone how to solve the issue. When it was Angels turn, he finally succeeded.
„Oh, now! Thanks Chanty, that was helpful. Your hint finally worked.“
„DAAAAMN! That happened a lot to me at school with braces, so I am sadly experienced.“
„EH! WAIT! Weren´t you…. 12 to 15 when you had them? HOW ON EARTH WERE YOU KISSING BOYS ALREADY SHORTLY AFTER GETTING RID OF DIAPERS?“
„DAD! Now you´re childish! YOU DRUNK TOLD ME YOUR TEENAGE CASANOVA STORIES! YOU ARE THE LAST ONE TO COMPLAIN!“
„I really look foward to hearing them!“, said Trevor, not without some amusement.
„YOU ARE NOT ASKED!“
, barked Thomas back, then admitting that Chanty got a point there…
Her new freedom was well-used, as Chanty checked for the battery.
„WHAT? Let me take a look!“
„So, as you have proven to be an useful mechanic, I am curious what you can do for us, but Jan already got a new one.“
„HAH! I KNEW IT! IT WAS THAT GOLLUM!“
„What?“
„They stole our good battery and gave us their shitty one.“
„How do you know?“
„IT SAYS MADE IN SWEDEN!“
„So? And if it was made in Japan, would it be Angels fault then?“
„Thomas, Chanty is right! When you buy a battery in Holsia, like you did… don´t you think that… they wouldn´t sell earth-made ones here?“
„Damn, yes, you got a point… AAAAAAARRRRRGH I WILL MAKE KÖTTBULLAR OUT OF THEM!“
„Thomas, better not, if you process Marie to meat, nobody could eat it with all that fat. It would taste like old tires.“
„NOTHING AGAINST FAT PEOPLE! I take that personal.“
„Chanty, you are… fluffy, not fat.“
„Aaaaaawwww, please marry me!…“
The car took off, with Chanty again driving for the final stage, as that was the team´s try to let her have the most fun, despite being lost at the back in the standings, which still hurt Chanty a lot, and after two thirds of the distance, the car started to have a very weak feeling in the brake pedal, and the inevitable happened – Chanty slammed into the Aurora in front of her, and the very weak body structure of the Firulais car gave up, so not even the trunk could be closed anymore, while the massive Primus sustained only minor damage. Thomas was losing his temper a bit, although Chanty managed not to cry, despite clearly having the urge to do so, but trying her best to manage that situation the adult way.
„And you thought grabbing a perfectly fine front bumper out of my shelf was a good idea. THANKS, CHANTAL!“
„Didn´t you change the brakes? Why do I have such problems then?“
„I didn´t change the rotors, I just grinded them off, as the budget was limited. I didn´t think that the car would do so much downhill drives at later stages. There is only one way to fix this… letting them cool down and then drive the few last kilometers. I don´t have new rotors, just new pads, and I can mount them… would propably keep the vehicle roadworthy for the way back to Nevada, and then after it will be ripped apart for spares anyway.“
„Great… just great. YOU CAN APOLOGIZE TO THE FIRULAIS THEN!“
While the Aurora continued after not even a minute of discussion, the Rhinos needed two hours to fix the brakes, making them work not well but enough to be safe. When Chanty drove off, the car was suddenly stuck in second gear and threw the gearbox warning light directly into Chantys face. Chanty tried a few rough accellerations, making the belt force limiter of Thomas in the passenger snap and causing him to bang aganst the dashboard that was thankfully soft premium material, but the car refused to shift into the third gear and the V6 screamed into the rev limiter.
„NO!NO!NO! I AM SO TIRED OF BEING ME!“
„Chanty…please…don´t…“
„NO JAN! I CAN´T ANYMORE! I AM DONE!“
Chanty started hitting her head hard against the steering wheel, and Thomas in the passenger seat squeezed his hands between her forehead and the steering wheel.
„CHANTAL! STOP! You are going to injure yourself!“
„SO WHAT? I HOPE IT IS LETHAL! And that fucked up head can´t become any worse as well!“
„Emergency ring?“
„Nah, Jan, that´s not neccecary. I have experienced worse situations in that aspect, that´s not even the top five. Believe me, there was enough that I better don´t tell anybody and will remain my secret.“
„Dear god.“
„YOU CAN LEAVE ME! I DON´T DESERVE YOU ANYWAY!“
„Forget it, Chanty. I love you like you are, and if that´s your way to deal with extreme stress, so be it.“
Chanty then became silent, and let out a lot of tears, but stopped trying to harm herself, thankfully. Thomas had no motivation at all to deal any longer with the Primus that, after being way too reliable for what it is, falls apart bit by bit.
More and more locals watched the jacked up car, and Thomas disassembling the gearbox components with a lot of swears that were thankfully not all translated by his ring.
„The ECU of the gearbox is fine, Chanty did it great. If it is the periphery on the transmission case, I can do something, but if it is mechanical inside, that´s a DNF. That gearbox weights 95 kilogram, that´s impossible here.“
„SSSSHHHH! Do you want that Chanty hears this?“
„Oh, she´s gone anyway, I gave her blue hair dye that I got from the Hooligans for her, so… she is distracted with becoming a smurf again.“
„Great plan, let´s hope … she gets over this mess.“
„I doubt, but … she will grow on that. Didn´t we agree to make this with her, knowing that we will run laughing into a chainsaw, because she needs to deal with unknown situations and new adventures in order to accept herself more? I think she did well today until the car let us down.“
„Yeah, well, who picks an old Primus anyway, any idiot knows that these things are a repair bill with wheels.“
„Pah! Cheap, yet annoying fix. Look at that! The solenoid pack is clogged. Changing the transmission fluid might have flushed a lot of old dirt through the hoses. It won´t open the valve for the third gear. Cleaning that is an awful job… call Chanty. It´s annoying to do but an easy task, and I think she desperately needs something that makes her succeed today.“
With that said and done, the team was ready to continue, but … Chantal then sighed.
„We have lost anyway.“
„So?“
„I… learned to live without social meda, but… that means I haven´t done many selfie sessions… or really good videos. I was simply too distracted.“
„Which is good, little smurf, hm?“
„But dad, I … just love that beautiful cliff and the ocean. And, at this point with that much bad luck, one hour more or less…“
„True. JAN, MOVE IT! Let´s do it.“
Although it really needed an hour because Chanty cried on some attempts, as all that events on that day were a bit too much for her, a few really nice shots were taken, and even a lot of couple photos and videos – as she promsed to no longer hide Jan in her social media accounts, something that he always asked for. Actually, Thomas was VERY nervous seeing his very clumsy daughter standing near these dangerous cliffs and was about to have panic attacks himself, but strangely, his heart felt overall a bit better after black magic was done to him.
As the Rhinos became very dirty from repair work, they decided to swim in the ocean, making use of the perfect weather… with Chanty still switching between happiness and sadness. It will need a lot of time to process the eventful stages, but in the end, Thomas and Jan hoped that it was overall an experience helping her grow into a world that didn´t always mean it good with her, and in which she also shoots herself in the foot with her attitude.
Andreas stepped up to Jan, asking him to bring Chanty, as at the end of the whole event, the sometimes really ugly confrontations with Marie should be cleared up, and she refused Jans company, as she is „not a little girl anymore.“
But she came back half an hour later, and her red eyes showed that… maybe Janne and Andreas meant it good, but – it was a fail. Thankfully, Angel spotted Chanty running away from Marie in tears, and proposed another football match. As her only goal was … well, a gift of the other team to let her have a success, Chanty this time volunteered as goalkeeper, with Jan, Thomas and Tomás in her team, playing against Angel, Josué and Andrés, while Ana was both the referee and commentator.
„I am as wide as the goal, so what should go wrong there?“
„So, if we have the opportunity to meet each other again in Sweden, you will surely like Kanna, she is very much like you.“
„I…don´t know if I can, Angel… it depends a bit on my mental state. If I am as low as now, I am afraid, I can´t stand that… on the other hand, it´s much shorter and maybe easier, I still don´t know.“
Sadly, Chanty did not… stop a single ball, as she was still confused by that stressful day. And after a precise shot from Angel came in with an absurd angle, Chanty tried to kick it away finally doing a good save, but she chipped it in her own goal.
„AAAAAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHH! WHY! AM! I! SO! SHIT!??“
Chanty let herself sink into the grass, then yelling her famous „OOOORRRRRRRRRRRRR!“ and then standing up again. With immense force, propably letting all her stress out at once, Chanty kicked full force against the frame of the goal, but slipped and…hit it with her leg.
The crunching noise already told everyone that this will not be fixed with a few magic herbals and alcohol, and Thomas sat down, covering his face with his hands, mumbling a panicking „No, no, no…“ before carrying Chanty, who surprisingly didn´t cry as much as one would think, to Shift Happens, helped by the Firulais as Chantys weight is… well, requiring a few hands to safely transport her. Kiva was not amused to realize he won´t get any more sleep that night, but seeing Chanty, and this time REALLY being in need of help, he switched to „nice mode“.
„OH NO! I HATE BEING DEPRIVED OF SLEEP! I can hardly sleep in Atherii and now that I finally did… who is it this ti…. AH! NOT YOU AGAI…. eeh, hello Chantal, what´s up?“
Jan told Kiva the whole story, who then called for Lauren, as he was afraid of being not sensitive enough to deal with Chantal.
„How are you feeling.“
„Empty. Lost.“
„Sadly… unlike for your father, we can´t do black magic even if we wanted. Healing Thomas and then Valentin in a relatively short time period… I am afraid there is no way that Mani can do it now. But your leg isn´t that bad broken, it´s even still more or less in place. That´s again fine in six weeks.“
„M-hm.“
„You… sorry if I ask that, but I expected you to take this less easy.“
„It hurts like shit and now that back home the good weather starts, that´s bad yes… but … I feel so empty. Totally empty. But at least me needing an automatic car will… let our car live for a few weeks longer.“
„And I thought you can´t wait for that unreliable junk to be scrapped!“, laughed Kiva.
„NO! I mean, Marie abused it all the time. How would you feel if that Gollum would get your hands on you all the time to hurt you?“
Lauren gently stroked Chantys hair and agreed, then asked if she could do anything for her before treating her broken leg.
„A pink cast, definitely. Doesnt make the misery any better, but still… I think that looks the least shit on me.“
„I thought you are no barbie“
, smiled Kiva, but was then corrected.
„Maybe I am, but part time only…“