Chapter 3 - Ocean View (Race)
Hey guys, AuroraAura11 here! I am aware how long this has taken to publish, but I have been working on this. I've organised all my files into a folder; 31 pages of work to be precise. Then there's school, homework, important events… you get the gist. Now Chapter 3 is finally finished! Yay!
The general rules and events of the tournament are explained here. If you don't quite understand something, feel free to send me a review or PM. I had some trouble writing the rules out in a way that was informative, but with a streak of Danica's personality through it. I've also realised that MeeMee is AiAi's wife in the games… Oops! Ha-ha! I think I'll just stick with them two being brother and sister, and NiGHTS and Reala are of the same creator, but are not related, even though they may act like it.
I have a request to my followers; out of these characters, who should I use next chapter (Knuckles, MeeMee, Ulala, Pudding, Alex or Ralph)?
Next Chapter: Temple Trouble (Boost Challenge) & Sunshine Tour (Battle Race).
The loud cry of the ecstatic crowd overcame the soothing wash of ocean waves. Species of all kinds flocked together in cheer squads and cried out in glory as the first ten racers stepped out onto the track, one of them being the wonderful Danica Patrick.
In other circumstances, her body would be flowing with restrained adrenaline and she would stride out with a bounce in her step, but Danica's mind was filled with a nagging worry that she couldn't shake.
'Did the set-up crew listen to my instructions? Is Camera 5 up and running again? There's nothing wrong with anyone's vehicle, is there?', she thought restlessly. Being the very first race of the tournament, Danica immediately assumed she would be sitting up in Control making sure everything was okay, but in a major twist of events that couldn't be reorganised, she was assigned to the first race. She took a deep breath, 'I just hope everything runs smoothly…'
"Danica? Hello?" The buzz of her mobile communicator ran her thought-train off its railway tracks. Mentally wishing to bang her head against the car hood, she jumped down from her green Formula-1 race car and bent in through the open glass panelling, pressing down the reply button.
"This is Danica. In need of my assistance?" she asked fearfully, causing her usually-even voice to wobble.
"No. You forgot your helmet." The female veteran's mind drew a blank.
'Did I seriously forget my helmet?'
"Hang on; Sonic is bringing it down for you." Said speed demon appeared in front of her, waving her helmet humorously and teasingly. Giving her thanks, she went to grab for her helmet before the hedgehog held it away from her, wagging his index finger in her picture-perfect face.
"Ah, ah, ah! Hold up girl. You need to explain yourself. How could someone who's so protective of their helmet forget to put it on? Hmm?" Danica glowered at him before swiftly snatching the headgear back and tucking it protectively under her arm.
"Hey! No need to be so grumpy…" She looked at the fake-pout on Sonic's face and let a half-smile grace her lips.
"I just want everything to go perfectly, you know…?"
He smiled all-knowingly before placing his left hand on his hip and shrugging, "Well, prepare to be disappointed. There's no such thing as perfection, Danica. You know this." He waited for a response, "Chaos Danica, you've gotta get your head in the game. Stop worrying about whether things are gonna go wrong! Just focus on the race!"
As she looked back up, she was surprised to find that he bore an annoyed expression. Knowing well that his advice was convincing and pure-hearted, most likely right, she pulled her helmet on.
"Now who's the grumpy one?" His annoyed expression changed to the signature grin.
"Just don't kill anyone out there, ai'ght?" And with that, he sped off to the grandstand where his comrades sat in anticipation.
Within the two minutes she had to spare, she psyched herself up before an announcement asked for spectators to take their seats and all racers to drive up to their starting places. She took note of what positions all her opponents began in. AiAi began right at the front, with Alex and Amigo behind him, side-by-side, Amy and Beat in front of her, Dr Eggman to her right, Gum behind her with Knuckles, and finally MeeMee at the back. The comical thought of MeeMee last and her brother first triggered short giggles to emit from her lips, watching Eggman stare at her in total perplexion.
"Racers, start your engines!"
Danica's P.O.V.
My left foot held down the brake pedal as my baby revved to life. The familiar smell of petrol drifted in the air before I sealed the glass hatch. A male instructor's voice went over the racing rules for today: race to the finish line and pass in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th or 5th place. Simple enough.
I could faintly hear the responses of my opponents as they were asked by pit crews if they were ready. I heard Beat's snarky reply in advance of my answer. Shortly following MeeMee's okay, the commentator's muffled declaration boomed through the outside speakers. It would've been hard to hear if it weren't for the softer countdown intonated by my pit crew.
"3…"
My baby growls impatiently at all the other cars, in which their responses were similar.
"2…"
Eggman cackles evilly.
"1…"
My eyes focus on the winding track in front of me.
"GO!"
The green starting light flashed before me and the cars pounced onto the track like hungry panthers. Drifting around the first curve, I got a good view of everyone's positions. AiAi was being followed swiftly by Beat. Alex and Amigo seemed to have lost their momentum and fallen back until they were a few metres in front of Amy, whom was slowly overtaking them.
Steering my car in the other direction to drift my car's rear end to the left, I glanced back to see Gum's white-rimmed quad bike closing in for the kill (ha-ha, not really). I felt my vehicle slowly lift from the ground and when I was sure I was airborne, I flipped my car to the left and landed perfectly, earning me a trick-boost and zooming through the gap between Alex and Amigo in a blur of purple. I praised myself inwardly, forgetting all about my worries and revelling in the moment.
Obviously, I was thinking a little too hard and was brought back to reality at the sight of Eggman's six-wheeler already ahead of me, struggling with getting around a very stubborn Miss Rose. Using my strategic thinking skills, I picked up an item hoping to the heavens above it wasn't a blowfish. Luckily, it was a rocket, but my luck was quick-lived as I fired and missed the crazy scientist. Performing another drift at the wide turn, I made another quick decision and took a right turn at the fork that followed.
It was a good thing that you didn't have to rely solely on momentum to get you through loops. Sonic does, but because his speed and small body mass assists, he doesn't have to worry about failing to get around the loop without landing flat on his face. Since none of the vehicles could ever have a speed and mass similar to Sonic's, the track designers and technicians had to find another way to cheat gravity. How? It's simple, really. The wheels of each vehicle have tiny suction cups on the tread that hold the vehicle to the track at certain points in each race. The ground in these places is also smeared in a slimy substance that attaches somewhat to the suction cups, holding the vehicle against the track so you can still drive, but don't have to worry about gravity. I assumed that my opponents weren't aware of the fact and that's why they all went to the left, in which they put their evasive manoeuvring to the test. From what I could tell, the left path seemed to be longer, but I guess it wasn't my problem.
I began to smirk, knowing first-hand the mapping of this particular track and where the roads split and meet. I know this path gives me an advantage point where the other path is just a pain with the whole dodging-the-rolling-wheels thing and the constant swerving. And if I remembered correctly, this path should have a jump that goes over the other track, which would allow me to 'drop in' to say "Hi!" Funny…
So, that's exactly what I did. Snatching up an item on the way, I sped up and drove over the end of the track, the previously-left road stretched out conveniently beneath me. The drivers on said track must've been surprised when a roaring shadow passed over their heads and landed rather safely in the middle of their shifting race and taking 4th place with style. Ooh, I'm bad!
Using one of the two blowfish I picked up, I blind fired it behind me and listened for the popping sound it made when it came in contact with an opponent. Strangely, I didn't hear it, and looking in the revision mirror, I was shocked to see my own blowfish fired back at me. It would've been easier to miss if it wasn't ricocheting off the track borders and if I wasn't drifting at the time. Shortly after impact, I was sent spiralling in circles, the tropical world around me becoming a blur of blue, green and white. The bump of another vehicle halted the spinning and I hurried off, suddenly realising that I was back to square one, in 6th place. And from this day forward, the glove is known as the best item to use for revenge on the track.
As I completed my first lap, I aimed and shot the remaining blowfish at Gum, missing by a hair. I began drifting to raise my Drift Boost to Level 2, but the chain was broken as I failed to pass the hill and lost my entire boost. My concerns built up drastically and by the time I reached my third lap, I had fallen to 7th place. Knowing full-well that I wasn't going to make it into the top five, I decided to take it easy with the boat-racing, as I was still having trouble with the controls myself. I tore through the archway at a dangerous speed, almost losing my grip on the steering wheel. I kept to the left side, drifting close to the edge until I saw what I was looking for; the boat ramp. With the water beneath me coaxing me along, I locked my eyes onto the wood-planked jump, performing two 360° front flips and splashing down in the tropical water once more, only to burst forward from the Double Trick Boost I earned.
Suddenly, large waves began forming and flung myself and Amy up into the air, gaining a bird's eye view of the coastline paradise we found ourselves racing in. At this moment, I took in the beauty that surrounded us. Fluffy cumulonimbus clouds retreat from the gloriousness of the sun, envious of its bright and attractive halo of light. Gentle gusts of wind caress outstretched palms, allowing the sun to reflect off its green, untouched leaves. Seagulls ride the wind currents with ease, gazing curiously upon the commotion that was the first race, of the first tour, of the 11th anniversary of the biennial event. In the distance, killer whales breach, flip through the air despite their sheer size and body mass. Whitewashed stone pillars take the weight of the ruins upon their shoulders, loyalty to their creators' architecture and strength the only forces at play. Red zigzagging patterns extended around the perimeter of the buildings contrast with the whiteness of the seaside buildings, an outcast to the blues and greens of the beach environment.
Today, though, it has empathised with another of its colour scheme; a mechanical beast that disturbed the peaceful aura. I swerved past the red mechanical arms of the robotic giant squid (which in my opinion looked strikingly-similar to one of Eggman's previous designs), following the blue holographic arrows that led to the transformation gate. Up ahead, the gargantuan, yellow fin of an unidentifiable and oversized fish glided slyly in the same direction as the arrows. Being sure to avoid it completely, I drifted around the corner, quick to react as the rest of it launched out of the water to reveal a deadly-looking, metal, red and yellow piranha-thing. As it dove beneath the surface again, it created large ripples that tossed me high into the air again, bringing forth the perfect opportunity to "get my groove on", as Beat once said. I did some more tricks, boosting through the early transformation gate, shifting my vehicle back to a car again. The swift sound of Amy's pink motorboat echoed in the rock formation and looking down, I could see her determined stare as she zipped in the water below.
Unfortunately, she got the upper hand and took 7th place from me, leaving me in 8th. Crossing the finish line, I sighed heavily, disappointed that I lost my chance at the final race of this tour. I felt a bit shameful.
'I take back what I said before… Guess I'm up against some tough competitors this time…'
xXASRTXx
Normal P.O.V.
The hustle-bustle of the impatient racers allowed a smile to escape from Danica as she strode almost nervously into the grand dining hall. The peaceful, beach-y theme of tropical Eden humbly complimented the gold-painted archways and elegant style of the cathedral-like building. To lighten the atmosphere were a small orchestra of violins, bass guitars, some wind instruments and a piano stationed to one of the far corners, framed by a mass of plastic palm trees. Of course, though, the brunette was more focused on the main subjects of the night. She felt the palm cards in her pocket with her index and middle finger, tapping on them to make sure they remained there for the rest of the night instead of mysteriously disappearing in the horrid, subconscious nightmare that provoked her late arrival. She had missed the entrée and main course.
Several eye glanced her way, lighting up with relief and happiness before a roar of people yelled out to her. The band playing cringed at the deathly sound of chairs being scraped across the polished, wooden floor. Within seconds, she had been dragged to the other end of the table, sat in her seat and questioned.
"What took you so long, Danica? We-"
"-worried for you! We thought you weren't coming tonight-"
"-so late! You must be hungry! Let me get you some-"
"-going to come to your apartment room if you didn't show-"
"-look a bit pale!"
"Everybody settle down!" The All-Stars went silent. "I'm fine. I was just a little behind schedule, okay? I'm not sick, I'm not ill, and I'm not hungry. Amy, you're very thoughtful, but I really don't need anything to eat", she convinced, hoping that they would leave it at that.
"I guess there's always dessert later…" NiGHTS disclosed, surprisingly quiet tonight compared to her usual self.
"Whattaya' mean "behind schedule"?" The blue hedgehog probed, seeming more intrusive today than any other day.
"I kind of… fell asleep…" She sheepishly smiled through the laughter, a small part of her wising to hide from the embarrassing situation she found herself in. Eventually, the commotion came to an end and everyone went back to their separate conversations.
Pudding shared a few kind words with her after they left, giving her a well-needed confidence boost. Well, it seemingly helped more than those drift boosts did. Glancing down at the watch the Channel 42 reporter had strapped to her left wrist, she stood up, apologised for the interruption and promised to make up for it, stepping up onto the stage with her palm cards in hand and gaining the attention of the racers. She grabbed the microphone and pulled it off its stand.
"Good evening racers!"
She got a happy reply in return.
"I hope you all had a good day, even those who didn't race. Don't worry - your turn on the track will come, but before anything else happens we need to go over a couple of familiar rules, some new rules and events and even more importantly, acknowledge the places of each individual who raced today! So if you'll watch the screen behind me intently, it will reveal the results to us…"
A blank screen slowly descended from the wall behind Danica. A flicker of holographic blue showed before it switched to a slide with numbers going down from 1st to 10th. The names of the racers in the order they began were in a box below the numbers before it animatedly slid the names to a position on the slide.
"In first place we have AiAi, who managed to keep his position for the entirety of the race! Knuckles began second-last and overtook everyone in flying colours just to pass Beat in the home stretch, winning him a silver medal. Beat got third place, proving to be fierce competition for the rest. MeeMee worked very hard to get from last to fourth in the race, which was quite a feat! Dr. Eggman and Gum entertained the crowd with their epic firework display, bumper-to-bumper in the final stretch before Eggman snatched up fifth place, leaving Gum in sixth place by a nanosecond. Amy scored seventh place, I won eighth place, and finally Alex and Amigo finished in ninth and tenth place. Well done to all racers!"
AiAi, Knuckles and Beat whooped and hollered, a bunch of crazy Neanderthals in the polite clapping and cheering of the other racers. Noticing how upset Alex seemed to be, Danica decided to drop the bombshell on them all.
"However, you shouldn't be cheering now. This was only the first race of the first tour. Remember, there is a long road ahead of you. Besides, you don't even know what a win means in the World Tour."
Silence was met. Danica raised her eyebrows at the comical o-shape that most faces sported. Behind her, numbers appeared on the right hand side of the names.
#1 Alex = 10p
#2 Knuckles = 9p
#3 Beat = 8p
#4 MeeMee = 7p
#5 Eggman = 6p
#6 Gum = 5p
#7 Amy = 4p
#8 Danica = 3p
#9 Alex = 2p
#10 Amigo = 1p
"Instead of medals, you get points", Danica smiled, not unlike the Cheshire Cat, "This being a World Tour and all, we couldn't just give out medals to every racer that got in the top three, otherwise we'd go over our budget. The overall winner gets the reward. But don't underestimate the power of points. It's the only thing that could mean the difference between entrance and rejection into the last race."
Amigo was almost crying (8v8).
"Here's how it's going to work: Every race you participate in immediately earns you a point, but getting a higher place earns you more points. From now on, at the end of every race, a screen will show the end results of that race and how many points you earn. Afterwards, another screen will show the results of every racer so far and their overall earned points. The more you win, the higher you'll be placed on this list. At the end of every tour, an award ceremony will take place for the racer that won the most points in that tour and they will be given a medal, stating their partial victory. You may also receive a medal for skill on certain tracks, etc. At the final dinner, the results will be tallied up and those with the most points will gain admittance to the final race.
"Points benefit everyone, even those without a lot of points. A racer with an obvious lack of points will begin their next race positioned right at the front, giving them a greater advantage of winning a race. This will also make it harder for skilled racers, whom will be placed right at the back of the line, giving them a disadvantage. So, all in all, things will even out."
Murmurs scattered between the racers. Alex seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, squeezing Amigo's shoulder in comfort as the Mexican still looked a bit shaken up. Sonic raised his hand.
"I'm not quite finished Sonic. Wait until the end because I might answer your question."
Cobalt put his hand down, inquisitive eyes pushing her to continue. Danica spread out her palm cards on the stand in front of her, counting them for the millionth time that night and satisfied they were all there. All eyes were fixated on the pieces of paper they couldn't quite see, wondering what significance they held.
"Now onto my favourite part: the ten race types. Last year we only had the one type of race and that was a pretty simple complex. This year, things will change. It isn't called 'All-Stars Racing: Transformed' for nothing. The first type of race is simple: race to the finish line and pass in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, or 5th. Every tour will host three ordinary races on the first day, the fifth day and the last day.
"Race type #2: Drift Challenges. This is an individual's race in which you reach the goal before time runs out. All over the track, there will be stretches of red. When you drift over these zones, hidden motion detectors activate and add time to your stopwatch. The zone will also turn green. The longer you drift for, the more extra time you get. Successfully completing the race earns you 3p; however, you may choose to attempt a harder difficulty in later tours for more points. Medium difficulty earns you 5p and hard difficulty earns you 8p.
"Race type #3: Versus. Five randomly selected racers will compete one-on-one in this battle for the goal. It's not unlike a knockout challenge. The two beginning racers will go head-on in a one minute battle. Once one of the racers are defeated, another takes their place, and so on so forth. If one racer is ahead of their opponent when the limit runs out, they are determined successful. Or, if they get a certain distance ahead, they are automatically successful. This is a battle of stamina; the longest survivor wins. Participants get 1p, but the winner gets an extra 4p, earning them 5p altogether.
"Race type #4: Boost Challenges. The rules are similar to a Drift Challenge, except for two vital facts. Instead of drifting – or boosting – in zones, you pass checkpoints that reset the clock. Boosting stops the clock, but doesn't add extra time to it like drifting in a Drift Challenge does. In these races, your only solace is getting through the checkpoints within the time limit. Completing the race earns you 3p, and again, you may attempt harder difficulties in the future.
"Race type #5: Traffic Attack. Taking on these races require you have a vehicle with good handling, because you'll be dodging traffic. Holographic cars will appear all over the track and you must avoid colliding with the cars whilst reaching checkpoints on time. Please be aware that green cars are stable and will always only travel forward, yellow cars swerve from side to side and blue cars will pursue you, so watch out. 3p are given to those who complete the race, and you may try harder difficulties later on.
"Race type #6: Ring Races. Ring Races are exclusive to the plane transformation and will test your flying skills. You must fly through rings while racing against the clock. Missing rings penalises your time whereas passing through four consecutive rings earns you a boost power-up. Passing through green checkpoints resets the time and you earn the same amount of points for winning, may it be on easy difficulty or something more advanced.
"Race type #7: Battle Races. As the name implies, you are battling other opponents in a race to the finish line, but there is a catch. All five opponents begin with three lives and you must eliminate the other opponents by attacking them with the items spread across the track. To win, you must either eliminate all your opponents or cross the finish line in 1st place. Like Versus, participants get 1p and the winner gets 5p.
"Race type #8: Sprints. As you may have recognised Sonic, today's race was a spitting image of a place you've visited and that was very much intended. The tracks in these tours reflect real-life places that certain racers find significant. So, it may be obvious that you'll have an advantage over the others as you have knowledge of the track. Sprint races highlight this. One racer will be taken onto a track they are familiar with and asked to race to their best ability. Their time will be recorded. Your goal is to beat their fastest time. 5p are awarded to those that succeed, but if none are successful, then the racer that set the time is awarded 10p, double what one would normally earn.
"Race type #9: Pursuit. In this individual race, your goal is to chase and destroy a malfunctioning destroyer tank. Collect the ammo spread across the track to shoot at the tank, but in return, you must dodge its onslaught of attacks. Drain its health bar before it drains yours. Destroying the tank earns you 3p in easy, 5p in medium and 8p in hard.
"And finally, race type #10: Boost Races. Like a normal race, try and finish in a high place. However, there are more boost pads across the track and all items have been removed. No weapons, just pure driving.
"I hope you wrote all that down. If not, you can just ask me or other officials. But before I finish, I have to go over two simple rules. The All-Stars Tournament is purely for recreational and entertainment purposes. You must not drive or perform stunts like this at home… if you drive. And particularly during race types #3 and #7, rivalries may spark between other racers and I would like to say that whatever rivalries begin on the track can stay on the track. We can all be friends and there's no need to be violent or aggressive towards each other when off the race course. I'm not going to name names, but I and many of the other officials are aware of some hostile relationships that came to be before we asked for your participation in the tournaments."
The screen behind her retracted back into the ceiling and she swooped all her cards up into a neat pile. A content expression crossed her face before she finished with a question.
"Did I answer your question, Sonic?"
Said hedgehog glanced up from where he was talking with his yellow companion, seeming to process the question before shaking his head. Danica sent him an identical inquisitive look, coaxing him to speak up. He gracefully leaped up onto the stage, meeting her halfway.
"I have a couple of things to say. Firstly, that was a mouthful", he stated, bemused. Danica gave him a 'No kidding' look, "Secondly, what's happening tomorrow?"
"There will be a Boost Challenge in the morning and a Battle Race in the afternoon, so be prepared. And that goes for everyone."
He smiled, "Alright, cool. One more: what's the difference between acceleration and boost? Because it says on the interior of my car that 'Acceleration = 2 and Boost = 2.'"
"Boost is the extra speed you get while drifting, hitting a boost pad, etc. Acceleration helps you get back to speed if you've been knocked out with an item or collided with an obstacle."
"Aren't you a smart one?" Sonic chuckled.
The 31yr old hiked up an eyebrow, "I have to know these things so I can be a reference point for other people… like you."
"Yeah, heh." A sweat drop appeared on the side of the hedgehog's head.
The rest of the night went on without a hitch and at around half past nine, the remaining racers exited the dining hall, drowning the large cathedral in the darkness of the night.