Chapter 3 - The Opening Ceremony
Author's note: Hey everyone, sorry about the long wait! The third chapter is finally here, and like the others, it will be a long one, so I really hope you'll enjoy it. :) Now, it's response time!
Augula, I'm afraid I won't be writing a oneshot, but don't worry, you WILL see Augustus and Ulala dancing in the next chapter, I promise! ;)
Gs33022, thank you so much for the input on how the Oompa-Loompas could have spiced up the safety instructions before the flight, but I won't be going back to include them, since I just feel like leaving it the way it is. However, I loved the idea, and I do hope that other people will see your review. :) You will see plenty of shipping moments in the next chapter, and there will be more character development as well. Speaking of shipping, this whole thing about shipping chili dogs is so hilarious that I honestly can't stop laughing every single time I do so much as think about it! Which one do I want to be canon...SpicyBlur, I guess? It has a nice ring to it. XD
JOHNHAMMOND1993, B.D. Joe wouldn't be a character in Crazy Taxi if he wasn't a crazy driver! As for my character, I'd be either Sonic or Charlie. Now, on with the story! :D
The journey to the island was relatively brief, consisting of a fifteen-minute ferry cruise. Most of the group stood on the top deck of the ship, silently gazing in awe at the brilliant sunset as it reflected off the water's surface. The only ones who weren't feasting their eyes on the incredible sight before them were Veruca, Violet, and Amy, who busied themselves by taking selfies and goofy Snapchat photos of each other.
"Perfect!" Amy exclaimed upon discovering a filter with several virtual images of Sonic. "Now I could say that I'm with my true love a dozen times over!"
Veruca was drawing cat ears and whiskers on her selfies, and Violet was adding several pink blobs on top of her photo.
"What are those supposed to be?" Amy asked the blonde-haired girl.
"They're supposed to represent bubblegum," Violet answered. "It's just some of the weird stuff I like to do with my selfies."
"Attention, passengers," a male voice suddenly interrupted, "we are now approaching All-Star Island. Please make your way towards the main gangway to disembark the ferry, but only once we're docked! We don't want anyone going for a swim this evening, especially not Sonic!"
Nearly everyone burst out laughing, except for Shadow, who was doing his best to hide it with a smirk.
"Good one!" Violet said, nudging Mike with her elbow. "It's always nice when they have a sense of humor, isn't it?" Mike smirked at her in response.
Rebecca began leading everyone in single file down one of the ferry's narrow staircases. Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, the group emerged into a large room with floor-to-ceiling windows all around, and sliding glass doors in front.
"Wow, look, everyone!" Alex Kidd shouted in wonder, pointing at the island just in front of the ship. Scenery that ranged from seaside ruins and medieval castle ramparts to futuristic cities and a gargantuan red fortress were all situated on this one island. Through some of the structures, the stunned racers could see the twists and turns of just a few of the tracks that they would be racing on.
I can't wait to know what the Oompa-Loompas think of this, Mr. Wonka thought as he walked right up the window to get the best possible view of the island. Wait! Strike that. I'm looking forward to seeing how the track that is supposed to represent my factory compares to the real deal. Hopefully they didn't make too many errors.
Before long, the ferry was docked, and an enormous ramp that connected the ship to its dock began to slide out from just underneath the floor. An alarm blared as the ramp extended towards the concrete dock barely faster than a snail, and after what felt like hours on end, the ramp made contact with the ground.
"Here we go, Sonic!" Amy said, grabbing onto the blue hedgehog's hand. They were the first to disembark the ship, and the others followed, albeit at a slightly more relaxed pace as they took in the sights before them. The entrance plaza was a spacious area that stretched far beyond the dock, complete with brass statues of all twenty-one racers arranged in two neat rows, large fountains along the sides of the path, and palm trees all around. At the far end was the main entrance, which consisted of a wide golden archway, and hanging just below the arch were the words: "WELCOME TO ALL-STAR ISLAND" in big gold letters. Below the archway, there were over fifty admission gates, complete with ticket booths, metal detectors, and the turnstiles which granted access to the island. There were also several other boats docked nearby, ranging from yachts and ferries to a mid-sized cruise ship.
"What are all these other boats doing here?" Augustus asked a nearby security guard as they approached the front gates.
"You must be with the other racers, right?" Augustus nodded. "Well, this Grand Prix is on a much larger scale than what you'd think. All those boats were loaded with people who came to witness the opening ceremony. The security team, including myself of course, counted every single person who paid for their ticket to get in. There are over nine-thousand people waiting for you guys in the arena right now. Unfortunately, I had to arrest one person because he showed up with a working, fully armed replica of one of Eggman's robots!"
Sonic overheard the conversation and approached the security guard with a fake look of disappointment on his face.
"Awww," Sonic playfully whined, "it's such a shame I wasn't here to destroy the robot myself!" The guard softly chuckled in response.
"Well, Sonic," he said, "maybe next time, you could join my team." He proudly tapped his security badge with a finger.
"Cool!" the blue hedgehog said with a grin before running towards Rebecca. "Are we almost ready?"
"We most certainly are," Rebecca replied. She swiftly led everyone through the gates, and they emerged onto a long, cobblestone path between numerous buildings that housed various shops, restaurants, and concession stands. Vibrant, upbeat music filled everyone's ears, and the smell of popcorn, pizza, and mini donuts wafted through the air. Since the public had taken their seats in the stadium beforehand, the path was nearly deserted.
"Hey there, space cats!" Ulala spoke into her headset. "Ulala here, reporting from All-Star Island!"
Augustus glanced in her direction before whispering to Charlie, "Ulala wasn't kidding when she said she's a news reporter! I bet she would really enjoy visiting the factory."
"Maybe she'll be racing on the track themed to Wonka's factory!" Charlie replied.
A smile spread across Augustus' face. "Right, I forgot about that one! I'll talk about it with her tomorrow."
Mike and Violet were walking alongside each other, although Violet kept her eyes locked on a nearby stall that sold hundreds of varieties of bubblegum.
"We'd better remember to come back here after," she suggested to Mike, gesturing with her arm towards the bubblegum stall.
"You can buy all the gum you want," Mike told her, "but I'm going to the shooting stall after." The stall he was pointing towards featured a pair of pellet guns positioned in front of a line of plastic ducks that were rotating at high speed on a conveyor.
Dr. Eggman was lagging behind everyone else, taking the time to feast his eyes on all the scenery and theming.
"This reminds me of my Incredible Interstellar Amusement Park that has yet to be opened!" he noticed. "Minus my Ultra-Accelerating Space Elevator, of course!"
"Bah!" Mr. Wonka interjected. "I already have an elevator that can take people to space, and the amusement rides in my chocolate factory are most certainly better than yours."
"Well, my elevator's bigger!" Dr. Eggman beamed.
"Oh, yeah?!" Mr. Wonka shouted. "I bet that I could make a bigger elevator than you! I will make...a Great Glass Cargo Elevator!"
Suddenly, his face lit up, and a big smile came on his face. He gasped with pleasure.
"Hey, what a great idea!" Mr. Wonka smiled happily. "That will make transporting large objects around the factory much easier!"
Opa-Opa and Tails were flying high above the others, and the fox marveled at the sight of the arena that was constructed in the very center of the island. It was a gargantuan bowl-shaped structure made out of steel, and an enormous screen at one end displayed footage of the group as they walked (or in Tails' and Opa-Opa's case, flew) down the path.
At last, the group reached the arena. The doors opened, revealing a long corridor that was lined with ticket booths and concession stands. Rebecca led the twenty-one racers about fifty feet down the hallway before stopping in front of an unmarked pair of double doors with no handle.
"I got this," Rebecca said. She pulled out an access card and tapped it on a nearby sensor, and with a click and a whir, the doors automatically slid open for them. The group walked into a roomy, soundproof antechamber situated directly below the stands on the left side of the arena. There were metal benches positioned alongside each wall, and there was another door at the far end of the room that led into the arena from backstage. As the doors closed, the roar of the crowd was sharply cut off from earshot, and the antechamber became eerily silent.
"Now listen up, racers," Rebecca instructed. "The opening ceremony will begin in less than five minutes. I know you're all excited, but we do have some guidelines and procedures that we must follow. We will go through the door at the other end of the room, and it will lead into another room like this one, but beyond that is the entrance to the stage. Your names will be called one by one, and you'll make your grand entrance into the arena upon hearing your name. I will enter first, and then you'll enter as soon as your name is called, and you can do a little performance as well to show off some of your talents. That was the first rule. The other rule is specifically for Dr. Eggman: try not to cause too much havoc, okay?" The egg-shaped doctor frowned in disappointment. "It's for everyone's safety. Now, if you'd follow me, everyone, that would be great!"
After a trip down another enclosed corridor, Rebecca opened a door that led into the second antechamber, which was much bigger and far louder than the first. The group could now hear everything that was going on inside the arena, especially the ecstatic roar of the crowd.
"Ladies and gentlemen," a male announcer spoke, "please give Rebecca Smith, one of the directors of All-Stars Racing, a warm welcome!" Thunderous applause was heard from outside, and the corridor that led directly into the arena began to fill up with fog.
Rebecca checked the time on her phone. "Whew!" she sighed in relief. "I made it just in time! Wish me luck!" And with that, she disappeared into the arena to do the honors of giving the opening speech.
"Who do you think will go first?" Augustus wondered while Rebecca's voice boomed over the arena's loudspeakers.
"Definitely not you," Violet muttered. "I know that for sure."
"Hey, I heard that!" Augustus blurted out, glaring at the blonde-haired girl.
"Well, it's true!" Violet shot back. "Sonic's probably going first."
"Be quiet," Dr. Eggman growled. "That ginger glutton's mindless blabbering is distracting me from my plans for world domination!"
Ulala shot a glare at the evil scientist. "Can't you be a little more kind to Augustus, Dr. Eggman?"
Dr. Eggman snickered at her. "Heh, on second thought, space girl, I'll just come up with a plan to kick you out of the tournament instead! HAHAHA!"
"Uh, I think you're breaching the contract," Tails said arrogantly.
"Contract, schmontract," Dr. Eggman huffed, crossing his arms over his chest. "Who cares? If one person is going to win this race, I can guarantee I'll be the one!"
"That Eggman guy makes Violet seem so charming in comparison," Mr. Wonka muttered under his breath. "But at least he gave me the idea to include the Great Glass Cargo Elevator in my factory."
"And now, the moment you've all been waiting for!" the announcer suddenly spoke, his thunderous voice booming throughout the entire arena. "Please welcome the one, the only, SONIC THE HEDGEHOG!"
The blue hedgehog whooped with excitement. "So long, everyone!" He winked at the group before speeding down the corridor and bursting into the arena in a supersonic blue streak. The crowd cheered ecstatically as Sonic dashed around the perimeter of the arena faster than the speed of sound before vaulting onto the stage. He turned to face the audience.
"Thank you!" Sonic said, wiping the sweat off his brow. "It's great to be here! Are you ready?"
"Yeah!" the audience yelled as loudly as they could.
"That's not good enough! ARE YOU READY?"
"YEAH!"
"All right!" Sonic said excitedly. "Well, I must sincerely thank the team behind All-Stars Racing for making this event happen, and we promise the next several days will be absolutely spectacular and filled with high-octane action! Besides, I'm more than ready to kick some Ro-butt-nik any day of the year! What do you say to that?" More cheers erupted from the audience. "Thank you, everyone! See you at the races!"
"Next up is the world's smartest fox, Miles 'Tails' Prower!" the announcer said.
"Here I go!" Tails shouted from inside the antechamber. He pumped his fist into the air before taking off, his twin tails spinning madly like a helicopter as he flew into the arena. Everyone in the audience was left speechless as the fox performed barrel rolls, loop-de-loops, and countless other aerobatic maneuvers that would make any stunt pilot proud. Eventually, he came to a smooth landing beside Sonic.
"That was amazing, buddy!" Sonic congratulated, giving his best friend a high-five. "Now give it all you got on the track!"
Tails chuckled. "Will do, Sonic! And just like my speedy blue friend, I'd better give a shout out to the All-Stars Racing team, as well as everyone else who came! Take care!"
"Up next," the announcer said, his voice nearly drowned out by the excited crowd, "we have someone who really knows how to wield a giant hammer! Enter, Amy Rose!"
"You go, girl!" Veruca cheered as she watched Amy sprint towards the stage, madly swinging her Piko-Piko hammer to and fro. The crowd roared madly once the pink hedgehog made her appearance known.
"Hello, everyone!" Amy greeted, waving at the audience. "Amy Rose is here!"
"Show off your strength, Ames!" Sonic suggested, curiling up into a spiky ball. Amy frowned in confusion as the blue hedgehog stayed put.
"I think he wants you to whack him with your hammer," Tails suggested.
"If he wants it," Amy said confidently, "then he'll get it!" She summoned all of her strength, and with one mighty swing of her fearsome hammer, she sent Sonic flying up and out of the arena like a baseball. The crowd oohed and aahed, astonished at Amy's display of power.
Even the announcer was astonished. "Wow, Amy! You oughta be a Major League Baseball player, 'cause Sonic's outta the park!" Amy softly giggled in response.
Seconds later, Sonic returned to the stage, giving Amy a thumbs-up while the audience applauded her performance.
"Thank you so much, everyone!" Amy said with gratitude before twirling around once like a ballerina. "Have a nice day!"
"Thank you for demonstrating your incredible strength, Amy!" the announcer said. "Next, we have someone who really knows how to roll with the punches, because he's the one who does the punching! Please give a warm welcome to Knuckles the Echidna!"
Amy looked over her shoulder, expecting Knuckles to make his grand entrance at any moment, only to hear a loud clang from behind as the double doors that led into the antechamber were sealed shut.
"What's going on?" Amy wondered.
"Just you wait," Tails replied. "If he does what I think he'll do, it's gonna be spectacular." The entire arena fell silent as the crowd eagerly watched in anticipation.
Seconds later, Knuckles barged right through the steel doors using his almighty fists. The force was so powerful that the doors were completely torn off their hinges, and the door on the right was sent flying about twenty feet through the air before landing on the ground with a loud, metallic crash.
"WOW! What a shocking display of power by Knuckles!" the announcer shouted over the deafening applause from the crowd. "Up next, we have Shadow the Hedgehog!"
"Show them what you've got," Mike said to the red-and-black hedgehog from inside the antechamber as he whipped out a green Chaos Emerald.
"Thanks, Mike," Shadow said, giving him the slightest hint of a smile. "CHAOS—" He vanished in a burst of green light.
"—CONTROL!" Shadow suddenly appeared in the arena next to Knuckles faster than he could blink.
"Wow! What an exemplary display of Chaos Control!" the announcer exclaimed. "Please give a major round of applause to Shadow!" The crowd cheered, and Shadow silently raised his right hand to show his gratitude.
Big made his entrance by holding his fishing rod aloft, swinging the lure around and around like a windmill. AiAi had encased himself in a plastic ball that was red on one side and transparent on the other, and he began to run inside it, much like a hamster, circling twice around the inside of the arena before reappearing on the stage. Amigo invited everyone to dance along to the rhythm of his maracas, and as Dr. Eggman joyously galloped into the arena, there was a comical mixture of cheering and booing from the audience.
"Well, you're no fun, aren't you?" Dr. Eggman groaned, causing nearly everyone in the stands to laugh at him for different reasons. "I solemnly swear I won't cause too much havoc during the races. I can assure you of that!" This time, most of the audience began cheering for him. "Thank you, everyone! You're so kind!"
B.D. Joe was the next person to make his grand entrance. The cabbie smiled at the audience, showing his pearly white teeth. "Yo, guys, what's up?! We're gonna have some fun tomorrow, is that right? GIMME A YES, EVERYONE!"
"Yes!" everyone shouted, pumping their fists into the air.
"Aw, c'mon, that wasn't loud enough!" The audience burst out laughing. "I SAID GIMME A FREAKING YES!"
"YES!"
"I still can't hear you! Louder!"
"YES!"
"Yo, that's more like it!" B.D. Joe grinned, giving the audience a double thumbs-up. "Thank you, everyone!"
Knuckles snatched the microphone from him. "He sure knows how to steal the show, doesn't he?" Once again, laughter ensued from the audience.
"YOU just stole the show, Knux!" a boy in the front row of the audience blurted through a megaphone. The echidna loudly snorted in response.
"Thanks, kid," Knuckles said. "Now, who's next, Mr. Announcer?"
"Oh, you'll get your answer right away!" the announcer's voice boomed. "Please welcome Billy Hatcher!"
Billy Hatcher was expertly running on top of an enormous egg as he rolled into the arena.
"Wow, talk about an extraordinary balancing act!" the announcer cried. "Well done, Billy Hatcher!"
"Cock-a-doodle-doo!" Billy crowed. He jumped off his egg just as it began to crack, and he landed squarely on the stage. The audience gave him a standing ovation for his incredible stunt.
"Ladies and gentlemen," the announcer said, "we have four more racers who have yet to be called up before we begin inviting some special guests up here to join us!"
"Oh, boy," Augustus muttered from backstage, rubbing his sweaty hands on his pants in anticipation.
"Up next," the announcer spoke, "we have one heck of a good-looking dancin', swingin' news reporter who goes by the name of Ulala!" He quietly added, "What an interesting name."
"Wish me luck, everyone!" Ulala told the others. She gave Augustus a quick hug before prancing down the corridor, her arms and legs moving to and fro in highly exaggerated motions.
Within seconds, the pink-haired reporter entered the arena, and she raised her right arm high above her head, with her trademark blue microphone clutched in her left hand as she danced onto the stage.
"Hello, space cats!" she shouted into her microphone. "Are you all having a great time?" The audience cheered loudly once again, but Ulala was not quite satisfied. "I said, are you all having a GREAT time?!" A deafening roar erupted throughout the whole arena. "Now that's more like it! This is Ulala reporting from All-Star Island, over and out! Spaaaace Channel 5!"
"Thank you, Ulala! Up next, we have Alex Kidd!" the announcer spoke, and the boy galloped onto the stage just a few seconds later.
"Hey, everyone!" Alex yelled, jumping up and down with excitement. "Are you as pumped up to watch the race as I am to be in it?"
"YES!" the audience shouted in unison.
"AWESOME!" the kid said with a grin, pumping his fist in the air before marching off to the side of the stage.
"Next, we have the ChuChus in their ChuChu Rockets! Come on out!"
At once, four small rockets shot out of the antechamber and into the arena. They each had a white fuselage, a red nose, four red stabilizer fins, and red nozzles at the back. Each rocket was occupied by one of the four tiny space mice, and they showed off their abilities by flying all around the arena, occasionally whizzing less than five feet above the spectators' heads. The ChuChus soon landed on the stage and hopped out of their rockets.
"The ChuChus may be tiny, but they're highly capable," the announcer added. "Better watch out, because they just might unleash Cat Mania, a feline foe to be most feared! Three cheers for...uh, no, make that FOUR cheers for the ChuChus!" Once again, the audience applauded as loudly as they could.
"Fantastic, everybody!" the announcer applauded. "But there's one more left before we introduce our special guests! Give a hand to Opa-Opa!"
"I honestly can't get over how similar it sounds to 'Oompa-Loompa'," Mr. Wonka said aloud as he watched the minuscule blue spacecraft surge down the corridor and into the arena. Like Tails and the ChuChus before him, Opa-Opa demonstrated quite the aerial performance, eventually landing with his golden feet on the stage beside the ChuChus.
"Thank you, everyone!" the announcer said as the audience cheered once more. "Now, as you should know, we've got some special guests accompanying us on this momentous occasion. You must be familiar with Willy Wonka, am I right?" Nearly everyone in the audience hollered, whistled, and cheered upon hearing the chocolatier's name. "Well, guess what? He's here, along with the people who toured his chocolate factory back in 2005! Please give them a hand!"
"I still can't believe we'll be racing with them!" Amy squealed. "Oh, Sonic, I'm so excited!" The blue hedgehog winked at her, and then he looked over his shoulder while impatiently tapping his right foot on the ground.
Suddenly, a bright spotlight shone on the ground just in front of the antechamber's entrance corridor, which was beginning to fill up with purple fog.
A drumroll began as the announcer dramatically said, "Please give a warm welcome to...Carl Puckett? What? Oh, wait! I meant Charlie Bucket! My eyes were fooling me for a moment there!" Once again, a chorus of laughter filled the arena, but it was quickly replaced with applause as Charlie walked onto the stage. He smiled and waved at the audience before standing right next to Sonic.
"Thank you so, so much!" Charlie began. "Even though you initially got my name wrong, I still appreciated the introduction. Anyway, as you know, I'm the heir of Willy Wonka's world-famous chocolate factory. I would like to introduce my friends to you all, so can I ask the announcer a question?"
"Yes, Charlie, you may ask me anything," the announcer responded, his voice loudly reverberating throughout the whole arena.
"Is it fine if I introduce my friends this time?" he asked, with his arms clasped together in front of him. "I promise I won't bite." The audience burst out laughing for what seemed like the hundredth time so far.
"Certainly, go ahead!" the announcer replied enthusiastically. "I'll shut up for now."
"Okay," Charlie said into the microphone, "I would like to welcome Augustus Gloop onto the stage."
The crowd cheered as the German teenager burst out of the fog, jumped up onto the stage, and came to a halt beside Charlie. He briefly glanced in Ulala's direction before taking the microphone.
"Guten tag!" he began. "I was the first person to win one of Wonka's five Golden Tickets, as most of you should know. But the thing is, it wasn't just a plain old tour of the factory. It was a way to test our personalities, and to find out who would make the best heir for Mr. Wonka. Of course, I didn't get the chance to win that title. In fact, I was the very first person to be eliminated from the tour, but you know what? We all learned valuable life lessons. My lesson, my wake-up call, was that I was being too greedy. Plus, I was living a very unhealthy lifestyle as a kid, and after the tour, I was traumatized to the extent where I stopped eating chocolate and other forms of candy for nearly two years. But you know what? That turned out to be a good thing. I took it upon myself to eat healthier, work out more, and change who I am as a person. It definitely paid off, because otherwise, I..." he turned to look at Ulala, "I probably wouldn't have had as much luck with the ladies." Yet again, the audience laughed in response. "That's all. Danke!"
"Thank you, Augustus!" Charlie said over the thunderous applause from the crowd. "Up next, I'd like to welcome my best friend, Veruca Salt."
The British girl appeared, confidently walking onto the stage while waving to the audience. She took the microphone as soon as she approached Charlie.
"Hello, I'm Veruca Salt," she said while curtsying to the audience. "It's very nice to meet you all. At the beginning of the tour, Mr. Wonka said, 'I always thought a verruca was a type of wart you get on the bottom of your foot.'" A mixture of laughter and disgusted expressions rang throughout the arena, and Veruca couldn't help but let out a nervous chuckle. "Anyway, I used to be the most selfish, spoiled brat you could possibly imagine. Daddy is the owner of Salt's Nuts Inc., one of the world's largest nut processing factories. I begged him to buy me everything I wanted, so that's what he did. He got me everything I wanted.
"During the tour, one of the rooms we checked out was the Nut Sorting Room. Wonka's factory has its own way of nut processing, with squirrels handling the job instead of people or automated machines. I really wanted Daddy to get me a squirrel, but when Mr. Wonka said I can't have one, I decided to take matters into my own hands and grab one of the squirrels for myself. Instead, all the squirrels pinned me down, and after determining I was a bad nut, they pushed me down the garbage chute. Of course, I left the factory covered in garbage, but Daddy became a lot more strict, and he stopped buying me things on a whim. I'm now someone who is appreciative of all the finer things in life, and I earned Charlie's respect. Thank you."
"Next up, we have a girl who will literally do whatever it takes to stay on top of her game!" Charlie said. "You can come on out now, Violet Beauregarde!"
Violet Beauregarde was met with deafening applause as she sprinted into the arena. After no less than four cartwheels, two backwards somersaults, and a backflip, she jumped onto the stage, triumphantly raising both hands in the air.
"Wow!" Charlie exclaimed. "What a stunning gymnastic performance by Miss Beauregarde! Give her a round of applause, everyone!"
Once the affectionate praise from the audience finally died down, Violet began her speech.
"Hi, everybody!" Violet said cheerfully.
"Hi, Violet!" the entire audience shouted back.
"I hope you're all doing well today," she said, running her fingers through her blonde hair. "I was, and still am, the world record holder in gum chewing. Before the tour, I've been chewing a piece of gum for three months solid, and despite the fact that I ate a defective piece of gum in Mr. Wonka's Inventing Room that caused me to swell up like a blueberry, I went back to chewing my old piece of gum for just under a year longer before I finally decided to give up. You see, my mother has always pushed me to be a winner, and I treated everything in life as if it was a competition. She stopped being overly supportive of me after the tour, but she still cheers me on when I take part in gymnastics tournaments and karate matches, and I still have that drive to be the best I can be. In other words, watch out, racers! Do not mess with me, because I will do everything I can to make it to the end of this tournament and win first place! Well, I think that's all I have to say, so I'll give the microphone to Mike Teavee!"
In the antechamber, Willy Wonka and Mike Teavee briefly turned to look at each other.
"It's down to you now," Mike told Mr. Wonka. "You're after me." Without saying another word, Mike sprinted down the corridor and into the arena, leaving Mr. Wonka to stand alone backstage.
This is only the third time in my entire life where I'll be standing in front of a huge crowd, Mr. Wonka worried. At least I brought my cue cards, so I'll be fine. I think I'll be fine, anyway.
Meanwhile, the crowd gave Mike Teavee a major round of applause as he leaped onto the stage, landing right next to Shadow. After loudly clearing his throat, he spoke into the microphone.
"Hi everyone, I'm Mike Teavee, and I honestly can't believe I'm here! I said it that way because I thought Sonic and the others were just video game characters, but to think they're here in flesh-and-blood form...it took me by surprise. I'm very skilled at programming and hacking computers, and Shadow even told me that when I'm older, he might offer me a position at G.U.N.!" Dr. Eggman gave Mike a death glare, but everyone else, including the other racers, loudly cheered after hearing what Mike had to say.
"On the other hand," Mike continued, "I'm sure my tech skills will gain me the upper hand during the races, so the rest of you had better watch out! I'll be more than happy to provide you with a fair dose of action, firsthand!"
"My creation is loaded with tech as well," Dr. Eggman boasted.
Mike gasped in astonishment. "Wait, you built your own vehicle?"
"Well, of course," Dr. Eggman replied with a sinister grin. "And I'll do whatever it takes to kick you out of the tournament, but in a friendly manner."
Mike gritted his teeth while thinking of an angry rebuttal, but he chose to remain silent.
"Well," Charlie said, "now that Mike Teavee has...introduced himself, it's time for the moment you've all been waiting for!" The cheering from the audience grew so loud that everyone on stage, including Charlie, had to cover their ears. "Here's the amazing chocolatier, the candyman himself..." Charlie said while awkwardly pointing the microphone towards his mouth, "WILLY WONKA!"
A bright spotlight shone on the ground, and out came the top-hatted man that everyone knew and loved. Willy Wonka twirled his trusty cane above his head as white-hot sparks shot out the end, and with a loud bang, the cane exploded into smithereens as the bright-red candy inside it spontaneously ignited in a brilliant burst of white light.
"WOW!" Charlie said as the audience roared in applause. "Who needs boring old fireworks when your cane is loaded to the brim with Exploding Candy?! I loved it!"
Mr. Wonka smiled at the crowd, revealing his perfect, white teeth as he marched onto the stage. As a final trick, he tossed his black top hat high into the air before catching it with his gloved left hand. He put it back on, and Mike Teavee gave him the microphone.
"Thank you," the chocolatier said as he reached into his coat, pulling out his cue cards.
"Good evening," he began reading from one of the cards. "It is with utmost sincerity that I thank the All-Stars Racing team for inviting me here, along with the five Golden Ticket winners from the tour." He flipped over to the next one. "This Grand Prix tournament will be an occasion we'll all remember for the rest of our lives. Here's to several days of making new friends, exploring new places, and enjoying the feeling of sheer competition." He pulled out the third cue card. "It will be the end of all kitchens and all cooking. Just a little strip of Wonka's Magic Chewing Gum and that is all you'll ever need for breakfast, lunch, and—WAIT! That's the wrong card!" The audience began laughing maniacally. "Sorry about that! Now, where was I? Nine, four, five, five—NO! Well, now you all know my four-digit credit card PIN. Okay, that's it! I've had enough with these stupid cue cards!" He dramatically threw them over his left shoulder, and everyone watched as the little cards fluttered back and forth on their way to the ground. "Don't get me wrong, I am happy to be here, not only with Charlie and the others, but also with Sonic and his friends...and enemies, if I count that egg guy. Well, I guess that about covers it! That's the business, and the fun's just ahead! Bye for now!"
"Give everybody a standing ovation, ladies and gentlemen!" the announcer shouted, and the entire audience stood up, applauding and cheering as all twenty-one racers lined up beside each other on the stage. "Now, will everyone in the arena please turn to face the screen behind the stage? We've created a special animation to get everyone fired up and ready for the action that's to come, so sit back and enjoy!"
Thump thump. The screen immediately went black, but the sound of drums beating rhythmically, almost like that of a heartbeat, literally shook everyone's insides each time they were struck.
Thump thump. A rich brown substance, presumably melted chocolate, began to gush from the top of the screen. Eventually, it formed the words: "The Speedy Chocolatier Showdown".
Ragtime music started to play as a short man with fair skin and funny-looking golden hair appeared from the right-hand side of the screen, and a woman of the same size appeared from the left. They sprinted towards each other in excitement. In fact, they were so excited that they literally bumped into each other, falling flat on their backs. Golden stars danced above their heads, and they rapidly shook their bodies before clambering back onto their feet. The woman said something unintelligible to the man while pointing up at the chocolate letters above them.
Much to the humor of everyone watching the video, they turned their backs to the audience, stuck their tongues out, and began to lick the chocolate with the most obnoxious slurping sounds imaginable! The audience was absolutely roaring with laughter at this point, and the two people quickly turned around as if they could hear everyone. "Huh?" they said, chuckling nervously before running to the left side of the screen and vanishing from sight.
The letters slowly melted away, and some of the chocolate was starting to drip on the forehead of Prince Pondicherry, who came in from the bottom of the screen. Curious to find out what the substance was, he used a finger to rub some of it off his forehead, and he licked the chocolate off the small, narrow appendage. Upon tasting it, he burst out laughing before the rest of the chocolate violently crashed down on top of him.
With the chocolate now gone, an instrumental rock song began to play as a cinematic overview of the first race track appeared. One section of the track was built in a figure-eight shape, and the insides of the "8" consisted of small lakes with orcas happily jumping up and out of the water in a graceful arc.
The remaining twenty-three tracks appeared and disappeared much too fast for everyone to really take a good look at them, but they included a track with an ice cave, one that was in a desert, and one that was designed to look like a roller coaster.
The scene then showed the finish line of one of the tracks as a group of ten racers whizzed down the home stretch. Sonic and Mr. Wonka skillfully swerved around and between the other racers, and when they were neck-and-neck, they stared deeply into each other's eyes just before crossing the finish line in slow motion. The other eight racers whizzed by the camera in a blur as flaming letters appeared, once again reading "THE SPEEDY CHOCOLATIER SHOWDOWN".
Fireworks exploded in the sky above the arena as the announcer exclaimed, "Welcome to the Speedy Chocolatier Showdown! Get ready for some high-octane racing action tomorrow, here at All-Star Island!"
"Ready to feast your eyes on your vehicles?"
The racers gathered outside an enormous garage about thirty minutes later, with no less than twenty steel garage doors stretching across the building. Rebecca was clutching a remote in her right hand. She dramatically held the remote high above her head and pressed the big red button on the front.
The garage doors simultaneously rolled upwards at a purposely slow speed for dramatic effect. In addition, orange lights above each door flashed on and off, and a loud warning siren blared as the doors rose up, higher and higher. Once the doors finally reached the top, gleaming sports cars, bikes, planes, hovercrafts, and even a banana stood before everyone in all their glory.
Sonic's metallic-blue vehicle, called the Speed Star, was designed to resemble his appearance somewhat. There were six "spikes" on the back of the car, and two more near the front, where the mirrors were cleverly infused. The transparent plastic cover that shielded the headlights formed an obtuse "U" shape, much like the hedgehog's eyes. In the cockpit, there was a single black seat positioned behind a red Formula-One-style steering wheel.
Tails' vehicle was a land-based version of his personal aircraft, the Tornado. The yellow plane, called the Tornado Racer, had an abnormally short fuselage and wingspan, with dimensions barely larger than that of Sonic's car. A yellow propeller with a small amount of white paint on the tips of each blade provided the Tornado Racer with its means of propulsion.
Amy's car looked like a pink Volkswagen Beetle. It featured prominent white headlights and ear-shaped mirrors. The hood was adorned with two hearts, and her name was written across them in white letters. There was a spare tire mounted on the back, and it was decorated with two hearts as well. Lastly, a green license plate that read "AMY-ROSE" was positioned just above the car's chrome front bumper.
The red ATV that Knuckles was going to drive featured angry-looking headlights, with two handlebars and a seat positioned just behind. There were two spikes on its front wheels to represent the spikes on his gloves, and the rear wheels had a single spike covered with a few metal plates, resembling the metal buckles on his shoes.
The vehicle that Dr. Eggman tirelessly worked on for the past two days was finally unveiled for all to see. He welded a replica of his personal vehicle, the Egg Mobile, to the frame of a monster truck. Two oversized exhaust pipes jutted out the back, and four fearsome tires supported the Egg Mobile high enough that Dr. Eggman could look down on the other racers from his seat. He called his newest creation the Egg Monster.
Shadow acquired a motorcycle called the Dark Rider. It was modeled after a Harley-Davidson, featuring a single headlight in a red housing, two bright-red wheels, gleaming chrome handlebars, a jet-black fuel tank with the Black Arms insignia painted on it, two oversized exhaust pipes, and an empty machine gun turret on each side of the bike's rear wheel.
Big's vehicle was also a motorcycle, but its green body was comically small compared to the cat's massive stature. The bike was made to resemble Froggy.
AiAi's banana-shaped race car had a Formula-One appearance, but there were yellow fenders covering its wheels. One half of each hubcap was painted white, and the other half was purple, to represent the two-toned appearance of his ball.
Amigo's car resembled a gigantic maraca. The body of the car was made to look like the bell of the instrument, and its single exhaust pipe represented the handle. Jutting out the sides of the car were four large tires.
Billy Hatcher's rooster-shaped car featured a white body with pale blue spots all over it. Two bright-red "combs" flared out from the back, and the covers over the wheels were shaped like eggs.
Alex Kidd's Sukopako Motorcycle was a small, nimble two-wheeler with a red-and-white paint job.
Ulala's vehicle was a kind of floating pod, called the Astro Glider. It featured a rounded, oval-shaped body with the Space Channel 5 logo on the front. There were two light-blue, rearward-facing "wings" that jutted out the sides of the vehicle, and a rocket engine was positioned in the back. Inside the cockpit was a red seat and a blue steering wheel.
B.D. Joe's trademark yellow taxi had been tuned up by the finest mechanics in all of Station Square. The sparkling-clean cab sported a chrome grill on the front of the hood, and there were black-and-white checkered stripes running down the front to the back, like what you'd find on a taxi from New York. An illuminated "TAXI" sign was positioned above the windshield, and two rows of comfortable red seats provided capacity for four people, even though B.D. Joe would be the sole occupant of the vehicle during the tournament.
The ChuChus' vehicle was a much larger version of the rockets they usually flew in, providing more than enough room for the four of them to sit comfortably inside.
Opa-Opa did not have a vehicle since he was a spacecraft.
Augustus Gloop's race vehicle resembled a white ice cream truck with a giant rotating ice cream cone on the roof. On both sides of the truck were the words "AUGUSTUS GLOOP" in bright-red letters.
Violet Beauregarde's vehicle looked like a pink Formula-One race car, and the tires featured blue hubcaps that were made to resemble blueberries.
A gleaming 1950's-era Pink Cadillac with chrome trim and oversized fins on the back was Veruca Salt's race vehicle. Similar to Amy's car, the hood was adorned with pink hearts and her name was written on it in white letters. As an added touch, there were long, black eyelashes above the car's headlights.
Mike Teavee had a jet-black Harley-Davidson motorcycle that sort of resembled Shadow's vehicle, but the wheels were black, his name was spelled out in silver letters on both sides of the fuel tank, and there were no machine gun turrets.
Charlie's cocoa-bean-shaped vehicle featured four fully-exposed black wheels that jutted out from the sides, and there was a low-profile brown spoiler at the very back.
Finally, Willy Wonka's vehicle was made to resemble a white Volkswagen Beetle, and its red wheels featured his trademark "W" on the sides. A high-tech steering wheel with a touchscreen in the middle was what controlled the car, and there were several cannons that jutted out from all sides of the vehicle, including the front and back. Behind the steering wheel was a red velvet seat that featured the Wonka logo on the headrest.
"Say hello to your mechanical best friend!" Rebecca said, smiling proudly as the racers cheered and whooped in excitement.
Author's note: I hope you enjoyed everyone's introductions, as well as how I described their vehicles. What was your favorite part of this chapter? Please tell me in your review, and stay tuned for the next one, where the characters will finally get behind the wheel of their vehicles! :D
