"Hey, what's that?"
"It looks like a giant coliseum!"
"When did that get here?!"
"Oh, my god! That thing's huge!!"
These were only a few of the statements that residents of Misora, Japan had on their minds and mouths as something mysterious began to rise into the early morning sky of their hometown.
People suddenly began screaming at others to move away as someone tore through the early morning streets on what appeared to be a floating skateboard, only without wheels.
The mystery girl deftly maneuvered between immensely tight traffic jams caused by the uproar, all without breaking even a single bead of sweat. She'd apparently been practicing this kind of thing all her life.
"Hmph. These humans are so slow," the mystery girl stated to nobody in particular, flipping back a bit of her blonde hair. Her amethyst eyes shined brightly in the morning mist. "They probably wouldn't last five seconds on a board like this."
With a smirk, the mystery chick directed her airboard up the side of a nearby building, causing the residents of said building to gasp in surprise when an airboard rider zoomed right over the window, miraculously without breaking it.
The mystery girl began smiling. "Wow, this is so refreshing! I haven't had a chance to ride my airboard in almost two thousand years! If only those stupid witches and wizards hadn't sealed me in that void..."
At the peak of the building, she charged her airboard and performed a spectacular leap off of the side, flying through the air effortlessly, causing people down in the streets to point up at her as she soared.
"I should probably see if I can find them," the girl said to herself, her amethyst eyes lost in thought. "I wonder if they're still around..."
And with that, she landed on the street and took off like a streak of orange light, nearly knocking over a few pedestrians along the way.
Race One: A Zero Gravity Adventure Begins!
"Thanks for shopping with us!"
As another satisfied jewelry shopper walked out of Jewelry World MAHO-dou, Nick looked back behind the counters.
"What charm did you put on this one, Doremi-chan?"
Doremi looked at her list. "I believe that one was a good luck charm, Kellysi-chan."
"It's exhausting putting all these useful charms on jewels like this..." Fami stated.
"Well, it was Majorika's fault for forcing us to make some money for the shop!!" Aiko exclaimed, juggling a sapphire, heart-shaped gemstone in her left hand.
"It was Nick's idea to start a jewelry shop," Momoko noted. "It's always been his life's dream."
Just then, a mysterious purple light came from the nearby garage.
"Looks like Onpu-chan's at it again..." Nick stated. Onpu had become quite the tinkerer over the past year, ever since the Jewelry World MAHO-dou had been opened at the end of 2007. Once Morticon had been defeated and the time reset overcome, the original group had been reunited and business was good. Some of the Ojamajos had changed quite a bit since the reunion. For example, Doremi had matured quite a lot, no longer dropping things in the shop every few seconds. And Onpu had become quite fascinated with making all sorts of random things out of the various metals and jewels that Majorika had collected.
"What's she making this time?" Hazuki wondered.
"I have no clue, Hazuki-chan," Momoko replied. "It's always something random with her."
"Onpu!! What are you building in there?!" Majorika exclaimed.
"Just a second, Majorika!! Hold your horses!!" Onpu shot back as the purple light began to fade.
Once everything was clear, Onpu walked out of the garage, holding what appeared to be a futuristic skateboard that seemed to float in the air.
"Ladies and gentlemen, may I present the Ojamajo Star!!" Onpu exclaimed. "It took quite a few days to make this beauty, and I had one heck of a time trying to convince Majorika to lend me some Gravity Crystals so I could get this thing to float, but it was worth it to create this masterpiece!!"
"Sugoi..." Fami couldn't help but state. "That looks like the ones from my time! Airboard racing is one of the most popular sports in the future!"
"How does it work, Onpu-chan?" Nick wondered.
"Well, you just stand on it and focus your magical aura. That way, you can maneuver the airboard around," Onpu exclaimed. "It's just like skateboarding, only without wheels!"
The Ojamajos didn't even realize that they were being watched by the mysterious girl that had been blazing a trail throughout the city.
"They have an airboard?" she stated in surprise. "This should be interesting."
Just then, Nick felt an unfamiliar magical aura nearby. He spun towards the window of the shop, only to find that no one was there.
"Who's out there?" Nick exclaimed. "Show yourself!!"
Nick was the first to rush out the door, the others quickly following.
It was there that they saw the girl balancing herself on an airboard similar to the one Onpu had just created.
"So, you like airboard racing, do you?" the girl stated. "Well, you've never even truly raced until you've faced off against me. Lily Yumehara's the name, and my trusty airboard, the Gold Streak, has never let me down yet."
"Oh, is this girl begging to get her butt kicked or what?!" Momoko exclaimed.
"Calm down, Momoko," Nick stated, walking up to Onpu. "I'll give this girl the race of her life."
Onpu nodded, handing Nick the Ojamajo Star. Nick tossed it into the air before leaping towards it, planting his feet firmly on the foot grips and focusing his magical aura. Once Nick landed, the Ojamajo Star was floating a few inches off the ground.
"So, you want to challenge me?" Lily stated.
"Ready when you are," Nick challenged as the two racers tensed up.
Without a second of warning, both Nick and Lily shot off like bullets, nearly knocking the others to the ground.
"Why are they going so fast? And why is Hana-chan dizzy?" Hana asked, holding her head.
"We'd better catch up with them!" Momoko exclaimed as the others began charging after the two racers.
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Lily performed a graceful spin attack with Gold Streak, but Nick deftly maneuvered Ojamajo Star out of harm's way. The emerald witch apprentice retaliated with a leaping lunge attack, but Lily raised her arms and blocked the strike.
"I see you're pretty good," Lily had to admit.
"Guess I just naturally picked up the talent," Nick replied, always modest about his abilities.
"I think it's time I got serious," Lily stated, focusing and speeding up, shooting far ahead of Nick.
However, what Lily didn't notice was that her acceleration had left a trail of air that Nick leapt onto, riding the turbulence caused by Lily's instant acceleration.
Needless to say, once Nick passed her, Lily was pretty surprised.
"What?!"
"Biggest rule of racing, Lily-chan: observe the front and watch your back," Nick stated, chuckling as he sped up himself.
Lily only smirked, a mysterious amulet on her wrist glowing with a silver light. "Now I'm serious."
Nick suddenly felt a mysterious magical pressure that he'd never felt before. He looked behind him, only to see Lily for a split second before she disappeared, and was suddenly in front of Nick.
The force of Lily's sudden attack knocked Nick straight off of the Ojamajo Star and right to the ground.
"Pretty good for your first race," Lily stated before zooming off.
Nick watched as Lily's retreating form became smaller and smaller.
"Something tells me we're in for a rough ride..."
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Next time:
"You will not get in the way of my search for the Shooting Star," Lily stated.
"What?" Hana asked.
Doremi: What's all this about a "Shooting Star"?
Just then, the mysterious temple structure began to glow, like it was about to explode.
"What's going on?" Momoko asked.
"It's going to collapse! MOVE!!" Nick exclaimed.
Momoko: And why is there a floating temple in the sky? It's a mystery we may not be able to solve alone...
Nick: Next time on Ojamajo Doremi Zero Gravity, "Race For the Shooting Star!" Shift gears, and let's get ready to race!
