That is All I Ask For: Chapter 25: Zero Eclipse Going International
The international track was
unlike anything they'd ever seen.
Larger than life. Foreign skies
overhead. Flags from across the globe flapping in the wind. Cameras everywhere.
The buzz of a thousand languages, all waiting for the same moment: ignition.
Zero Eclipse stood in their new
uniforms at the edge of the pit lane. The roar of engines echoed down the grid.
Rai adjusted his gloves with
practiced ease. Daniel cracked his knuckles. Meredith was already barking
last-minute strategy over comms.
And Micah?
Micah stood just outside the
garage, staring out at the track. Calm. Focused. At peace.
Dante stepped beside him. He
didn't say anything at first. Just stood there.
Then, slowly, Micah turned.
They embraced.
A long, steady hug. No words.
Just breath and heartbeat and shared history.
Micah pulled back first, his
voice quiet but sure. "Let's make this count."
Dante nodded, eyes never leaving
his. "We already did."
Together, they turned toward the
starting grid, helmets in hand.
As they walked, Dante leaned in
just a bit. "No matter what happens next, I'm proud of you."
Micah chuckled softly. "That
makes two of us."
They joined the others. Meredith
handed out updated comms, and Rai adjusted the international flag patch
stitched onto his sleeve with wide-eyed excitement.
"You guys realize we're
representing an entire nation now?" Rai said. "No pressure or
anything."
Daniel threw an arm around his
shoulders. "We're representing something more than that. We're
representing every underdog who's ever been underestimated."
Meredith rolled her eyes.
"Don't start a speech now. Save it for the podium."
Juno laughed from the booth.
"Ten bucks says Daniel cries at the finish line."
"I won't cry." Daniel
defended. "I'll... dramatically tear up. There's a difference."
Micah grinned, stepping into the
garage as the announcers' voices boomed across the circuit.
"Drivers, to your
cars."
Each of them climbed in, settling
behind the wheel like returning to a part of themselves they never forgot.
Micah tightened his gloves. The
cockpit lights blinked green. For a second, he closed his eyes.
This was more than redemption.
More than revenge.
This was hope made real.
Dante sat still behind the wheel,
hands steady on the leather, heart thudding in the quiet moment before
ignition.
He exhaled slowly. This wasn't
just another race. It was the next chapter of a story that had nearly ended far
too many times.
He remembered it all.
The scandal. The media frenzy.
The way the world turned its back on him when he needed them most. The shame
that clung to his skin. The nights he didn’t sleep. The mornings he couldn’t
rise from bed. The silence that followed the storm.
He remembered standing at the
center of chaos while cameras snapped, vultures circling his downfall. He
remembered the feeling of being utterly alone—discarded. Branded. Forgotten.
And through it all—Micah had
stayed.
Quietly. Without demand. Without
judgment.
Micah, who didn’t try to fix
Dante. He simply showed up. Again and again. Sat beside him. Let the silence
linger until Dante was ready to speak. Held space until Dante learned to
breathe again.
Micah, who left cups of tea
outside his door. Who texted without expecting replies. Who didn’t push, only
waited.
Until Dante finally had the
strength to show up for himself.
And then came the revelation.
The truth about Micah’s past. His
name. His legacy. A storm of betrayals and secrets that cracked something deep
in Dante’s heart. Not because Micah had lied—but because he hadn’t trusted
Dante with the truth.
It hurt. More than Dante could
admit, even now.
But what hurt more was what came
after.
Vex.
Adam.
The tearing apart of everything
they had built. The lie that nearly made Dante believe Micah had chosen someone
else. The way it felt when Micah walked away—like gravity had shifted and left
Dante weightless in all the worst ways.
The fracture within Zero Eclipse
had nearly turned to collapse. Dante could still hear the way his team’s voices
trembled. Still remembered the sharp chill of Micah’s absence, and the quiet
devastation it left behind.
But then—Micah returned.
Not with speeches.
With action.
He fixed what was broken. Not all
at once. But piece by piece, word by word, race by race. Micah gave his all,
even when Dante didn’t think he had anything more left.
He gave them closure.
He gave Dante something even
greater—something he didn’t know he was allowed to hope for again.
Trust.
Micah trusted him. With the
truth. With the future. With his heart.
And in turn, the team gave Micah
something back—hope. A place. Family.
And Dante? Dante gave him
something too.
Even if he never said it aloud.
He loved Micah.
Not just for what he had done.
But for who he was—
Someone who stayed.
Someone who chose love over
legacy.
Micah could’ve been anything. A
solo star. A living myth. The fastest driver alive.
But he chose them.
He chose Dante.
Sometimes, in the quiet moments
between races, Dante wished he’d told him. Really told him. That all this time,
he wasn’t just rebuilding a team. He was rebuilding Dante too.
But maybe Micah already knew.
Maybe he’d always known.
Dante gripped the wheel tighter.
They were here now. Together.
Whole.
He turned his head slightly. Saw
Micah’s car in the mirror. Rai on the grid. Daniel focused ahead. Meredith’s
voice was calm in his earpiece, counting down final telemetry.
Zero Eclipse.
They weren’t just a team.
They were proof that the ones who
fall the furthest can still rise higher than ever.
Dante smiled.
Let the world watch.
The lights above began to count
down.
3…
He looked to his left—Rai,
nodding with that fire in his eyes.
2…
He glanced right—Micah, steady as
ever.
1…
The engine roared to life.
But this wasn’t the finals.
Not yet.
This was the first real taste—an
international exhibition match. A mock race to test nerves, coordination, and
psychological edge. A stage for every elite team from every continent to gauge
their opponents. A warm-up, they called it.
But Zero Eclipse?
They didn’t warm up.
They made statements.
As they launched from the grid in
perfect sync, the world was watching. But Micah, Rai, Dante, and the team
weren’t racing to prove themselves.
They were racing because this was
who they were.
This was the beginning of their
legend.
And as the tires screamed and the
mock race began, one truth echoed louder than any engine:
Zero Eclipse had arrived.
And they weren’t going anywhere.
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