A/N: I found out the Mario Kart 8 DLC came out a bit more quickly than expected. And I've been fairly lazy. Like, I've played the DLC and everything, and I probably should be writing the arc now…
So, unfortunately, the Strikers Arc will be delayed, and I will start the MK8 Arc.
Does that mean the Strikers Arc is canceled? Nope. It'll be saved for later (I'm sorry for disappointing everyone again).
Then with the review for the last chapter, it's been replied to already.
So, I own nothing like usual.
Now, we can finally start the Mario Kart 8 Arc.
Here's chapter 13!
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Chapter 13: Anti-Gravity
After the tournament (which they somehow managed to be kept out of, because that's probably the best excuse that could be made), the Mario Kart 8 tournament quickly arrived.
And for some reason, unlike last time, Sho was participating, and so was Neku (which Penelope greatly disagreed with a she really didn't want either of them to be participating along with Joshua). In fact, she tried to persuade them out of it, but unfortunately for Penelope, it didn't work.
Sho was mostly entering because of this one ATV he saw (which Penelope found odd at first until she quickly found out they were introducing ATVs in this tournament, which was probably a horrible idea) and Neku?
Neku entering was probably all Joshua's idea. Actually, a lot of things were Joshua's ideas, which were mainly to torture Penelope, but whatever. Not only that, but there was zero-gravity being introduced in this tournament (which was also probably a horrible idea, according to Penelope).
Why was she being such a pessimist about something like this anyway? Maybe it's because she was unable to play Mario Kart 8?
Ah, whatever. Despite that, the day of the start of the tournament came, though this was at the time everyone was deciding their karts. Penelope had some problems, but she eventually went with the combination of the Mach 8, Slim Tires and the Cloud Glider*.
She noticed that her emblem happened to be the one of her skull barrette, but it had reaper wings coming from it. When she got a peek at Neku's, she saw how it was the player pin, Joshua's happened to be his Angel Feather, and Sho's was the Taboo Noise symbol (she thought it would be Pi or something, but she was wrong).
"Whoa, those are some complex symbols!" Luigi pointed out upon looking. The four exchanged glances before looking at Luigi.
"What?" Neku asked him. Luigi began to explain how everyone's emblems were fairly simple, and theirs were interesting as it wasn't the case.
Despite that, about 20 minutes later, everyone chose their karts, and began heading for the starting line in driving order.
Toadsworth and Petey were as enthusiastic as ever, along with their third MC. "Hello everyone! Welcome to the long-awaited Mario Kart 8 Grand Prix! Whose ready for the eight main cups plus the four additional cups we have in store?"
Wild cheers came from the audience in response to the question, allowing Petey and Toadsworth to be quite pleased.
"Not only that, but in this tournament, ATV's and anti-gravity has crashed in! And today, it starts… In Mario Kart Stadium!" Penelope raised an eyebrow at Petey's statement before looking carefully at Sho's vehicle as he was in 10th place, and also wondering if his vehicle was a tricycle or an ATV.
"Hey, aren't ya forgetting about me?" The third MC asked, causing Petey and Toadsworth to forget about his introduction.
"Oh, right. For this tournament, as surprisingly, he wasn't included; Bowser Jr. is our third MC for this tournament!"
The Koopa Prince didn't exactly seem pleased about it. "It's not like I wanted to be. I want to race with my dad, but the roster was filled up. I wasn't even included in the DLC!"
There were some groans from the audience and some hate. "Like, why did the Koopalings get in and not me? At this point, they could've called it Koopa Kart and nobody would've cared about the difference."
Petey and Toadsworth looked at each other, before looking back at Bowser Jr.
"I agree, the roster wasn't the best, and there could've been some changes, but why are you caring about that?" Petey asked Bowser Jr., surprised by his comment.
"There's 11 Koopas in this tournament. I'm not one of them." Bowser Jr. answered, before moving on. "Besides that, we're taking too long! Introduce the racers!"
It took a few moments to decide who was saying what, but they managed to get Bowser Jr. to announce, much to his annoyance. "Oh, fine. Today, our racers in the Mushroom Cup are… Mario, Luigi, Peach, Daisy!"
The four jumped up and waved, saying something in recognition when their name was called. Mario was the flashiest like usual.
"Dad, Toad, Wario, DK!" Bowser roared and fist pumped, Toad jumped up and waved his arms as he shouted, Wario acted like himself, and DK banged on his chest like he normally did.
"And last of all, um… There's Joshua and Penelope in their 11th and 12th places like usual, but who's the kid with headphones and that guy with the hat and the bandana?"
Neku and Sho both looked up at the MC area, annoyed at Junior.
"I recognize Sho, but who's the new kid?" Petey asked Toadsworth, who grumbled at the fact that he had to be the one to clarify.
"Okay, I'll finish up. Our last races are Neku Sakuraba, Sho, Joshua and Penelope!" Toadsworth announced, and Neku, Sho, Joshua and Penelope all did absolutely nothing to show their recognition except for their determination.
The audience cheered at the racers, who mostly waved hello back, except for the last four once again. And then they found it noticeable how Lakitu was late again, but it was unintentional like usual, but there was a reason.
Lakitu had to gather the Mario Kart TV crew this time, which arrived on the scene along with Camera Lakitu. Lakitu raced to the starting line, only to see the four in the back.
"Oh sweet Star Haven, why is there more of you?" He asked Penelope, Joshua, Sho and Neku.
Penelope raised an eyebrow before shouting, "We haven't argued this time, buddy, so get on with it!"
Lakitu rolled his eyes before telling everyone to get ready, and the 12 racers got into starting position, prepared for what was ahead. "3…2…1…GO!"
Everyone zoomed off from the starting line, and at first, Penelope felt relieved that the first course seemed fairly normal… but that was at first, because as she managed to steal first place from Neku (who managed to be a bigger threat than Joshua, much to everyone's surprise), she hit the anti-gravity section.
Penelope noticed how her kart suddenly changed format for this section, and she was also the only one who happened to be really confused as to what was going on. Which were probably the consequences of not being able to see the trailer?
But the worst part of it was when Penelope turned around, as she was managing a drift, she saw Neku.
And he had this look on his face that said, "I'm going to make your life a living hell".
Out of panic, Penelope sped up.
"Considering rivals are in this race, who are Penelope's?" Bowser Jr. asked, quickly alerting Penelope.
"WHAT. THERE ARE WHAT?!" Penelope screamed as she was speeding away, and got to the part where her kart's glider activated,
"Um… her rivals are Neku and Joshua. And her secondary rivals are Daisy and Bowser." Toadsworth answered upon checking.
Penelope's eyes widened and she quickly went into a state of panic. And then, the worst thing happened.
Y'know how rivals can be ruthless? Especially in Mario Kart? Well someone, and that someone being Daisy, got a blue shell.
And when that blue shell hit Penelope, Neku stole first, and Joshua stole second, much to Penelope's anger. Once lap 2 began, it meant business.
Tactics and strategies of how to win this first race began to click and turn into Penelope's head, and somehow, she became a totally different person. She began to tacticise how she was going to drive past her two rivals and ruin their hopes of winning, also creating defense mechanisms to prevent her other rivals from trying to ruin her chances of winning.
In fact, Penelope acted unusually ruthless in this situation, and it was working in Penelope's favor. She was treating this more like war than Mario Kart really.
Though something noticeable was that for some strange reason, Penelope couldn't get past Neku as they hit the third lap, and Joshua wasn't trying to get ahead of Penelope or Neku.
Of course, Penelope managed to get them off her tail with some red shells. Though now wasn't the time for a victory lap as it was time to win.
She raised the intensity levels as she attempted to destroy her opponents, and fortunately, Penelope managed to win the first race. However, she then realized there were three more races left.
"Oh dear god, no." She sighed.
"With Penelope being the victor for our first race of the Mushroom Cup, will her opponents overthrow her, or will she smash them like a durian?" Bowser Jr. asked, but before he could say anything else, he was scared.
"…Hey." And there was King Boo, who came in unexpectedly. And yet Petey was expecting him.
"Hey man! Where were you? You missed the first race!" Petey pointed out to the King, though he simply rolled his eyes.
"I was here the whooole time. So, I'll introduce myself as the fourth MC of this tournament- King Boo!" The King shouted, only for Bowser Jr. to commentate.
"Who wasn't included in this tournament like I was. Seriously, what do the Koopalings have that I don't?" Bowser Jr. grumpily asked, though now wasn't the time to complain.
Now was the time to race.
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After two more races, with one being the Water Park course where many were soaked, and then Sweet Sweet Canyon which made the fact they were soaked by syrup worse, it was the final race- Thwomp Ruins.
"Hey Penelope." Neku called from second place, only for the brunette to look back at him as she and the other racers waited for Lakitu and his crew to catch up.
"What now? You've already pissed me off enough this race."
Neku had a look of determination in his eyes. "I'll see you at the finish line when this race is over."
"Kay then. Do you have anything to say, boss?" Penelope asked Joshua, who had been unusually quiet. He shook his head, still remaining silent, almost as if there was something he knew that she didn't.
Penelope looked at the other racers in the back, deciding to spark a conversation as she waited, but most of the racers had been fairly quiet in this cup like Joshua, and it was noticeable that they seemed to have something on their mind. Sho wasn't included, as he really didn't seem to care about the race, but it was weird he was being quiet too.
"…Do you guys know something that you're not telling me?"
When Mario spoke, it sounded like he was under a spell. "They're coming."
"Who is this 'they'?" Penelope asked them, not quite understanding the situation. Weirdly enough, Penelope didn't get a reply, and it wasn't because of the fact that Lakitu came by when this was being brought up.
For some reason, nobody responded to her.
Despite they couldn't hear the MCs commentary, as they were back at Thwomp Ruins, everything felt slightly off. "It's the final race, guys! Keep it clean… though the race has been oddly quiet."
The countdown came by and the race began. For some reason, unlike normal, and also unlike the other races, this final one felt really weird.
For one thing, it was way too quiet, and the only one who seemed to be trying to compete with her was Neku.
Everyone else seemed to be tormented by something which greatly disturbed Penelope, and when she won the race, it just didn't feel right. It felt like an easy win, and this was supposed to be the 150 cc tournament, so it seemed completely unreasonable.
"So, Penelope has won the first race of the Mario Kart 8 Tournament!" Petey pointed out, though the others seemed fairly disturbed.
Bowser Jr. was the first one to really say anything about it. "Something doesn't feel right. For some reason, when race 3 hit, it was like some news was found out and it made it look like a time trial race with a ghost for the final race."
King Boo seemed to be aware of what was going on. "Something has happened. And its that 'they' are back and have entered the tournament." Bowser Jr. and Petey paled (Petey actually turned purple, but whatever) in fear.
Penelope furrowed her eyebrows together, trying to figure out what was going on.
Though she was going to have to learn the hard way in the Flower Cup when 'they' appeared, whoever they happened to be.
And before you think it's the Koopalings, I assure you, that isn't the case.
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A/N: Sorry that I changed the arc again. I assure you, this won't happen again, and after Mario Kart 8, I'll have the Strikers Arc to make up for it.
It was mainly because of the fact the said DLC came out and I played all of it, and I really couldn't delay this arc much longer.
And who is this "they"? Well, I'll give you a hint.
It has to do with the Colorful Shy Guy and Yoshi pack you get if you get the LoZ x Mario Kart and the Animal Crossing x Mario Kart packs together.
It also has to do with two Mario exclusive OCs I have that are of specific colors within that pack which allows them to race.
This is also the last time I'll have the A/N indicator on this story, and instead of the indicator, there will be a special divider which will indicate the beginning and end of the chapter.
That's all I really have to say.
Please review if you'd like, I'd prefer if you didn't flame and please tell me how I can improve.
I will see you all in the 14th chapter.
Ciao!