#hebina

"Hisstoria, please! You need to stop!" Hebina’s distressed screams were heedless. Her machine continued to accelerate at an almost supernatural speed, careening right straight for the erupting volcano. The large enraged mountain spewed its molten contents mercilessly and the other racers avoided them only slightly.

Kraken’s face pulled into a thoughtful, confused frown. “This is exceptionally strange. Hebina seems bent on approaching her end.” Dradd harrumphed in agreement. All of the other racers, including Hebina’s team were all bewildered at not only how extremely fast she was going but also how her goal was to head right into the mouth of the awaiting natural disaster.

"Sister!" Daijako shrieked. She and Kohebiko were lagging far in the back, unable to keep up with their captain given the inhuman speed. Jack, the monitor for this race, was watching it all pensively. His racer, Vambat, pulled up along Daijako. "Hey, you! What’s going on here?! What trick is this now?!"

"This isn’t a trick!" The space pirate tearfully replied, clenching her fists in anxiety. "Hebina has lost all control on her machine and we can’t do anything! Please help her!!!" Jack’s jaw was set and he focused his gaze on Hisstoria approaching the bubbling crater. And then he heard it.

A pleading, mournful and desperate cry.

"Please someone help me!!" Hebina was in tears, her face etched with helpless despair at the thought of her beloved machine sinking into lava and never seen again. Jack growled with determination and called out.

"Clear a path!! Vambat, I want you to go as far as you can! We must catch up with Hisstoria now!!" Vambat activated its sonic cannons as jets and cranked it up to its maximum level. The other racers gasped as the shining mauve machine went tearing through the rocky terrain, narrowly dodging magma missiles.

Fiona and Myron gazed in awe at the sight. “Wow, he’s really serious about catching up to her.” The former remarked. The latter nodded. “Vambat is pushing itself to its limit to catch up with Hisstoria. Jack will not allow anyone to get hurt in a race, especially one he’s monitoring.”

A little breathless and burning from its intense turbo, Vambat was finally inches behind Hebina’s machine. “Hebina! What are you doing?! Can’t you slow down at all?!”

Hebina turned to him, tears now streaking down her face. “No!! If I could, I would have, you idiot!!” Ignoring the vile comment as one someone made when at their wits’ end, Jack barked a command.

"Vambat, release the bats!" Two of its miniature hovering cannons detached itself from the machine and parked itself backwards beneath Hisstoria’s hoods and began emitting sonic rays at its highest level of power imaginable, succeeding in slowing the machine down from its mad pace and stalling it from its melting doom.

Hebina looked at Jack in surprised gratitude. He was saving her! All this while he had been nothing but a pesky pebble in her shoe and now he was coming to her rescue. She felt a little warmth blossom in her heart. Especially when it appeared that Vambat was under severe duress for powering itself far too much.

Myron narrowed his eyes in worry. "This is bad. If Vambat keeps this up, his engine might malfunction from the massive effort." Kaz shot him a perturbed look. "No way! And he's doing it voluntarily too! He's doing this all so Hebina doesn't go crashing into the volcano!" Hebina's sisters speculated from afar, trying their best to keep up to where their captain and Jack were engaged in a tangle where the latter was restraining the former.

"Hebina! What did you do?! Back at that cave?! Your machine never acted up like this before that incident." Jack remembered clearly that one of her underlings had made off with something, possibly sacred, that caused the insides of the cave to start crumbling and probably activate this once dormant volcano. Hebina bit her lip, trying to save face but burning with the embarrassment at realizing her actions really did have some life threatening consequences now.

"I stole a jewel in that cave! It was a sparkling gem that was known as the light of the land!" Jack's eyes widened at this revelation and instantly retorted with a reprimanding snarl. "Hebina!! That gem is sacred on this planet!! It is called the light of the land for a reason!! It stabilises the planet and ensures eternal spring and sunlight. The planet cannot survive without it!"

Hebina defiantly tossed her head. "Ugh!! All I knew was that it was to bring the possessor unlimited happiness and good luck!" Jack wanted to slap some sense into her. "That may be true but the gem is deeply bonded with the planet. You take it and it will take it back. And given that I suspect you used it to give you superhuman speed, it is taking your machine too!!"

Vambat was struggling to keep Hisstoria at bay. It was cracking gauges, overpowering its sonic beams to push the reptilian machine from careening into the flaming abyss. Jack grunted from the effort, drained from pushing his machine to such an intensity. Hebina looked at Jack in almost guilt. She had caused this and he was shorting out his machine to keep her from heading right into the crater.

That was the least of their worries though for just around them, a ring of fire exploded out of the craggy rocks, eliciting panicked screams from Hebina. Jack gasped and urged Vambat to glide onto Hisstoria, shielding it from the scorching blaze as the sonic cannons kept it from plunging forward into the wall of pure fiery death.

"Hebina! You need to give up the gem! It's the only way you and I can survive this!" He screamed pleadingly to her, getting slightly burnt from the close proximity of the flames. Hebina pursed her lips, faced with a difficult decision. She wanted always to keep her treasure and this was no exception but if she didn't yield, they may both never see their machines again. Letting out a defeated sigh, Hisstoria popped open its hood and there it was, dazzling it all its cerulean glory was the light of the land and now free from its prison, the jewel dissipated away in a sea of sparkles into the wind.

As if on a cue, the skies cleared from their black soot and the volcano calmed down tremendously, the fire ring surrounding them slowly extinguishing. Totally exhausted from its toiling, Vambat slumped down, retrieving its little mechanical bats that wavered much as they hovered back to its rightful place. Hebina panted at what had just transpired. It was over. Everything was set to rights again.

"Hebina," Jack's voice was strained but overall still fine. "Are you alright?" Hebina mustered a small, grateful smile. "Well, I'm dizzy and very nearly had a heart attack from what just happened so I guess I'm alright now." Jack had to smile at that. She was back. 

"The race isn't over though. You can still go for it. And remember, I'm watching you. So you better not try anything else." As stern as his tone was, there was no mistaking the smile of relief on his face, seeing that she hadn't been seriously hurt, just shaken up. Hebina had a most innocent smile on her face, and her magenta eyes were half lidded with a confident, relaxed air. 

"Hmm, Jack. I don't need to "try anything" anymore. Now excuse me, bat boy, I have a race to win." She revved her engine and propelled herself from under him and as she turned to assume her position at the race track, she whispered ever so quietly. 

"Thank you, Jack. You're not such a pest after all." The detective smiled, watching as she rejoined her very relieved and rejoicing team mates who inquired frantically about her condition. He sighed, seeing his machine's sapped state. He himself was feeling exhausted from the events that had transpired but he had did it. He had saved Hebina.  "Come on, Vambat, we can go really slow and easy now again. And not a moment too soon, anymore of that and you would have malfunctioned. We now need to resume our original task; ensuring the other racers race fair, square and most importantly, safely." Especially that irrational, adventurous, merciless and extremely passionate one. 

Daijako and Kohebiko saddled up against Hebina's machine closely, imitating a warm, intimate familial hug. "Oh sister! We thought we lost you forever!" Hebina smiled at both of them affectionately. "Oh girls, I nearly thought the same too but thankfully, I had a savior."

Hebina: I don't see why Ryu wouldn't want me on his team. Every tall, dark evil man needs a lovely equally sinister woman by his side

Jack: *seething but is so totally not jealous coughbullshitcough* Well maybe he thinks you'll slow him down.

Hebina: Hey! No one asked your opinion, Bat Boy!

Jack: I merely speak the truth. I think Ryu is too high above you. *really, really, so totally not jealous coughyeahrightcough*

Hebina: Oh and who's just right for me? You?!

Jack: No! Of course not! *yes, yes, race with me, pleeeeeease*

Hebina: Good. So we understand each other now. *huffs, folds arms*

Jack: As if I want to race with a space pirate.

Hebina: I vividly recall someone literally chasing me to do so!

Jack: *flushes red* That was nothing! I was...Well, I thought you were good! Then I saw you on the track. Pfft. Abysmal. *She is formidable, cunning. I would have actually enjoyed the experience.*

Hebina: Abysmal?! Why you condescending little toad!

Jack: I thought I was Bat boy. At least I can actually go fast.

Hebina: So you think you're superior, is that right?!

Jack: *smirks* Yes. That is right.

Hebina: *hisses*

Jack: *smirks*

Hebina: *glares*

Jack: *smolders*

Later....

Antares: Hey Jackie boy...whoa what happened with your eye?