Pre-chapter Conversation

The camera turned on in the Street Hockey court. There was a huge crowd present. Izzy and I were standing on opposite ends of the field.

"Welcome to Chapter Three!" I yelled to the camera. "I can't believe I got such a good amount of reviews so far! Normally, I'm lucky to come close to breaking ten! To celebrate such a lucky occurrence, Izzy and I are gonna have ourselves a battle!"

"Uhhhh… Boss, are you sure about this?" Izzy asked. He had a nervous expression on his face.

"Of course I am!" I replied cheerfully. "It'll be fun!" My partner still looked unsure.

"I don't know…"

"Oh come on! Don't you want to reclaim your status as a great trainer after Sam defeated you?"

"Of course I do!" Izzy yelled at me. "…But wouldn't it make more sense for me to be battling him instead?" I scratched my head.

"Probably, but I wanna battle!" Izzy rolled his eyes in response.

"Fine, but you know you can't win, right?" He grabbed a purple and green ball. A skateboard was pictured on it.

"Heh. We'll see about that." I scoffed as I grabbed a yellow and red ball. A wave was pictured on it.

The camera shifted to Iggy, who was standing by the bleachers.

"For this battle, it's my daddy VS. my big brother!" He yelled through a bull horn. "Who will win? I hope it's Daddy! Wait, I want my brother to win! No, Dad! I mean, Izzy!" He scratched his head in confusion. "Can't they both win?"

Izzy and I glared at him.

"Shut up Iggy!.!.!"

"Oops… Sorry." He said sheepishly. "Let the battle begin!"

"Claim victory for me!" I yelled as I made the wind up. "Surfer Ball! Go!" I tossed it.

Meanwhile, Izzy held his ball close to him.

"Oh great master of darkness, evil, and all that is ultimate, win the battle for me." He made the wind up. "Skater Ball! Go!" He tossed it.

"And Dad starts off by throwing a surfer ball, while Izzy throws a skater ball!" Iggy announced. "What will come out and who's gonna win?"

The crowd cheered as the two balls flew through the air. The surfer ball landed first and opened. The skater ball landed a few seconds later and opened up. As our battlers began to take shape, the balls came back to us. The bright shapes began to take on human forms. The lights soon disappeared, revealing…

"Dad's choice is Otto while Izzy picks Lars!" Iggy said. "Daddy has the first move! What'll he pick?.!"

I faced him with a glare.

"Shaddap!" I turned back to the battle and pointed at Lars. "Ok Otto, let's make this quick. Use your Attract attack!"

Izzy broke out in laughter after hearing that.

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!.! Attract?.! Don't you know how the attack works!.?" He yelled, holding his sides. "It has no effect on the same gender! HAHAHAHAHA!.!.!.!" I shook a condoling finger in response.

"Tsk, tsk, Izzy. Don't tell me you forgot what kind of fic we're doing." I grinned. Izzy gasped.

"You don't mean…"

He nervously looked at Otto, who struck a sexy pose and winked at Lars. The brunet had hearts in his eyes as he drooled at his opponent.

"And Otto immobilizes Lars with the power of love!" Iggy announced excitedly. Izzy stomped on the ground.

"There's no way I'm gonna lose this!" He pointed at Otto. "Shake it off, Lars, and attack Otto with your Sweet Kiss!"

Lars shook his head hard and dashed head-on towards the redhead.

"Oh yeah?" I challenged. "Otto! Counter with your Lovely Kiss!"

Otto got out of his pose and ran towards Lars. Both combatants had fury in their eyes as they drew closer and closer. There was no way they'll give up the battle!

When they reached each other…

"They're MAKING OUT!.?.!" Izzy, Iggy, and I yelled with wide eyes. The crowd gasped at the sight.

The two fighters were on the ground, wrapped in each other's arms and smooching up a storm. The girls in the crowd giggled and started taking tons of pictures. Iggy blinked and turned to me.

"Uhhhh… I guess it's a tie?"

"Guess so…" I said with a shrug.

"No fair! I wanted to win!" Izzy protested.

"Oh well. What can I say, except—" I turned to the camera. "—enjoy the next chapter!"

—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—

Race across Rainbows

Chapter Three

A Little Training Never Hurts!

Part One

After riding in the elevator, Reggie, Lars, and Iggy found themselves on the seventh floor of the arcade. It consisted of several rooms, each having a sign above the entrance, as well as couches outside the doors. All except for the center room had people waiting outside them. There were several vending machines standing along the far wall.

"Right this way." The younger Yaoi Brother said as he walked towards the center room. Reggie and Lars followed.

When they entered, they saw eight playing stations. Seven of them were being used by other players. One or two of them had just one person playing, a few had two people playing, and the last ones had four people racing. The last station's screen was showing a demo. Each play area had plush chairs placed in front of them.

"Well, there you go." Iggy said, pointing at the free station. "Since my bro decided to be nice, I guess you guys get to stay here til closing time. Hope you enjoy the game." With that, he started to walk away.

"Hang on." Reggie said, stopping him. Iggy turned around as she faced Lars. "You go on ahead, I'll catch up." The older brunet raised an eyebrow.

"Alright…" He said as he walked over to the playing station.

"So what did you want?" Iggy asked Reggie as she faced him.

"I just wanted to know. How good are you at this game?" She asked. Iggy blinked before puffing out his chest.

"Ha! I'm the best at this game!" He said proudly. "I'm sure you noticed the trophies in the entrance hall. Well, they're from various tournaments my brother and I have won. Quite a few of them are from Double Dash tournaments. Why'd you ask?"

"I want you to teach him how to play." Reggie replied, pointing at Lars. Iggy scowled at her.

"What?.! You expect me to show him how to play after he insulted me and my brother downstairs!.?" The boy hissed.

"Please? I just need you to show him the basics." Reggie pleaded. Iggy only crossed his arms in response.

"No way. Why should I?" Reggie thought for a moment before looking at Lars, who was watching the conversation. He couldn't hear a word, though, because he was at the far end of the room. She turned back to Iggy and leaned in close.

"Listen, I'm trying to hook my friend up with my brother." She whispered. Iggy only gaped in response.

"You mean he is…" He trailed off as he pointed at Lars. Reggie nodded and told him about the bet.

"So what do you say?" She asked. Iggy put on a thinking pose.

"Hmmm… I don't know…"

"Hey, I thought you and your brother were into this sort of thing."

"Reading stories is one thing, but playing matchmaker? That's crazy!" Iggy whispered.

"How about I sweeten the deal?" Reggie asked with a gleam in her eyes.

"I'm listening."

"If you do this and Lars and Otto get together, I'll give you a picture of them kissing." Iggy's eyes widened at the prospect, but he put on his poker face.

"Only if it's of their first kiss. Nothing else will do." He said with his arms crossed. He thought a moment. "And I want another thing." Reggie sighed.

"Fine. If they get together after this whole mess is dealt with, I'll give you a kiss on the cheek." She said. Iggy blushed and squealed at the new terms. "So is it a deal?"

"It's a deal!" They both shook hands. "By the way, what does this 'Otto' guy look like?"

"Oh you can't miss him. He has red dreadlocks that hang down the side of his head."

"Like Knuckles the Echidna!.?" Iggy asked excitedly. Reggie raised an eyebrow and nodded.

"Sure. Whatever. Anyway, he also wears sunglasses and is as tall as your brother."

"Ok. We better get going. Your pal's looking a little impatient." Iggy said as he pointed at Lars, who was fidgeting in his seat. The boy in the purple hat and the purple haired girl walked towards the guy in the purple shirt.

"Hey, what was that whole thing about?" The older brunet asked as Reggie and Iggy sat down.

"Just talking a little." Reggie replied before turning to the younger boy. "Take it away."

"Right." Iggy nodded as he took a controller from the station. He then turned to Lars. "As the co-owner of this arcade, I feel it is my responsibility to teach you how to play this fine example of a game."

"Uhhh… Ok." Lars said, a little weirded out by the kid's words.

"Alright then. Anyway, this game is known as a kart racer." Iggy continued his lecture. "You use different items to slow down your opponents and/or to get yourself to the finish line quicker. The main difference this game offers is that instead of one character, you get to pick two. Remember, you can pick any two characters you want. It all depends on who you're more comfortable with."

"Just show me how to race already." Lars said impatiently.

"Fine, fine." Iggy replied as he got into the game. "I'll play a race and while I'm playing, I'll tell ya some stuff." He selected to play one player mode and went into the game's Quick Run mode. He picked to race using a 150cc engine.

(A/N: Double Dash doesn't have a Quick Run mode, but it should!)

'Hmmm… I better try not to overwhelm him.' Iggy thought as the player select screen loaded. Pictured were twenty characters in two rows of ten. He shrugged. 'Oh well. They say love conquers all, right?'

°Lars' POV°

"Ok. First you have to select the first character of your team. This character will serve as your driver." That kid said as he started moving a flashing box on the screen. Pictured were some characters, including the ones I saw yesterday. He stopped the cursor on a big turtle that had a spiked shell and horns, as well as red hair. I read the name that displayed.

'Bowser.'

He then moved the cursor to the character that was below the previous one. This one looked like the last one, except much smaller. It was wearing a bib that had teeth pictured on it. Its red hair was tied in a ponytail. Hmmmm… I wonder how Otto would look like if his hair was set up like that. I mentally slapped myself.

'Focus! Learn how to play, and then fantasize about him!' Anyway, I read that name. 'Bowser Jr.' Iggy made his decision as the little kid on screen gave an evil laugh.

"Next, you have to pick the guy in back." He said as he started moving the cursor around. He stopped at the box under the green turtle Squid was using yesterday. He picked that one. It was the same turtle that was pictured on his shirt. It had a red shell with wings. Between the two characters, a picture of a car showed up. It was shaped like a bullet, but had eyes on it.

"And finally, you pick the kart your characters will use in the race. Remember, you're only allowed to use the karts in your heavier character's weight class." Iggy started again. "For example, if I picked a lightweight character and a heavyweight character, I would have to use a heavyweight kart."

Ok. This has definitely started to get complicated for me. How am I supposed to know who to pick!.?

"So what weight class are the characters you picked?" I asked. The kid turned to me.

"Both of my characters are lightweights." He replied before turning back to the screen.

He scrolled through the different choices until he came up to a golden car—err... kart—that looked too big for his characters. He selected it and I had to ask another question.

"That kart looks too big. How are ya able to pick it?"

"That kart's a special one." Iggy answered without looking at me. "Any weight class can use it."

"Hey, isn't that the kart that's shown in the cutscene after a cup?" Reggie asked. What the hell was she talking about?

"Yep." Iggy said with a grin. "That's the Parade Kart, only available after getting winning the gold in every cup. As a matter of fact, every memory card we used for each station in the arcade has everything unlocked."

"Uhh… guys." I started. "CAN WE GET BACK TO TEACHING ME HOW TO PLAY!.?.!" Reggie and Iggy looked at me with sheepish expressions.

"Oops. Sorry about that." The brat said before turning back to the screen, which was displaying different tracks. He picked the very first track. "Luigi Circuit" was the name of it.

The track seemed to be a normal-looking one. It was also kinda short. There was a cloudy blue sky. One thing I noticed right off the bat was that the clouds had eyes and were smiling! Don't tell me I challenged Otto to a little kid's game! Anyway, eight karts, each having two characters in them, were lined up in two rows. Iggy's kart was in last place. The rear characters were standing on the ground.

The engines roared to life as a turtle in another one of those smiley clouds floated down above the kid's kart. It was holding a fishing pole that had a traffic light at the end. The left light turned red. This was followed by the second and third red lights turning on. When all three green lights were displayed, Iggy's kart shot out ahead of a few of the other racers. It was then that he paused the game.

"One of the fundamental things to remember is that you must always hold the A button when racing. This is the accelerator button." He started. "As for what I just did at the start of the race. That is called a Rocket Start. It allows you get ahead of some of the racers with a boost of speed. It requires good timing."

Rocket Start, huh? Funny how one of the most important skills I'll need has the same name as the one I love. I wonder if that's an omen or something.

Anyway, Iggy unpaused the game and got back to racing. His kart was getting smacked around by a couple of the other racers. He was pushed to third place as he approached a small jump. His kart got a small boost of speed as it jumped and landed a short distance. He started going down a straightaway.

"The strip I ran over before the jump is called a Dash Panel." Iggy said. "As you saw, it gives you a slight boost of speed."

He then reached a row of those boxes I saw yesterday. He drove past one and a roulette started in the upper left corner of the screen.

"These item boxes are the key to your victory. When you drive past one, a roulette will decide what kind of item you'll get. The lower the place you're in, the better the item. When it stops, the one in back will get the item. To use an item, you press either the X or Y button."

The roulette stopped and the turtle got three red shells, which it started juggling. Iggy paused again.

"Now this is where strategy comes into play. Each pair of characters can get a special item that only they are allowed to obtain. As you saw, the paratroopa and koopa troopa's special item is three red or green shells that can be used to slow down your opponents."

"So what's the difference between them?" I asked, trying to stay with this kid, but he keeps throwing these weird names at me.

"Green shells bounce around the track. You have to be careful with using them because they can hit you." He replied. "And red shells home in on the racer that's ahead of you. You can also fire these shells backwards to stop yourself from getting hit by shells from another racer."

"And another thing," He started again. "You can mix and match characters. Like I said earlier, it all depends on your preference and what special items you want." He unpaused and went back to racing.

He made the paratroopa fire a red shell, hitting the team ahead of him. He got ahead of that team and fired another shell as he reached a turn that had dash panels on the wall. He made his kart drive along the wall and hit those panels. He fired the last shell just before hitting two boxes that were stacked on top of each other. Two roulettes started up at the same time.

"I had just hit a double item box. Now both my driver and rear character will get an item." The roulettes stopped and Paratroopa got a banana placed into his hand while Bowser Jr. got a green, spiked shell like the one he was wearing. "Paratroopa got a banana peel, which I can use either to trip opponents or defend myself from shells. Bowser Jr. got his and Bowser's special, the Bowser Shell. This shell gets big when I toss it."

By now, Iggy got off the wall and hit another dash panel that allowed him to jump a short distance. He landed on the same part of the track he was on earlier. He started going back to the starting line. He tossed the banana peel backwards causing his characters to switch. He paused again.

"If both characters have an item and you use one, they will automatically switch. If you want to, you can switch them back by pressing the Z button." He showed me where that button was, which was above the right shoulder button. "Also, you can switch at anytime during the race." He unpaused and switched his characters again just before hitting the row of boxes he passed by earlier. Paratroopa got a green shell.

Iggy drove up the hill and went around a banana peel that was in the way. When he got to the final turn, he started sliding, creating sparks in the tires. The sparks quickly changed colors, from orange to red and then to blue. He held the slide there as he got within a few feet of the finish line. He then let go and the kart shot off towards the line. He passed it and was now in first place as he started the second lap. The cloud guy from earlier floated down towards his kart, holding a sign from his fishing pole that said, "Lap 2."

"What was it you did before crossing the finish line?" I asked as he reached the jump. Iggy paused and turned to me again.

"It was a Mini-Turbo." He started. "By holding the L or R button when going into a turn, you start a drift. If you move the control stick left and right while drifting, the sparks that appear by the rear tires will change colors. Once the sparks become blue, let go of either button to get a quick boost." He unpaused and got back into the race.

He switched characters and tossed the Bowser Shell at the team ahead of him. He wasn't kidding when said the shell would get big. It was fully huge! The shell hit the other team, knocking them back. The character in back of that kart was being dragged. The shell bounced off the wall. Iggy had to drift to the left to avoid it. He continued driving with Bowser Jr. taking the wheel again. He was now in first place as he drove along the wall. As he started hitting dash panels, a symbol that looked like the shell Squid used yesterday appeared on the bottom of the screen.

"Ah damn it…" I heard Iggy say. Next thing I knew, there was an explosion that sent his team flying. He paused the game. "Ugh! I hate it when that damn thing's used against me!" He then turned to Reggie.

"Sorry about that, my dear. You shouldn't have to hear such language."

"For the love of—! Let's not start this again!" She yelled at him. He laughed nervously.

"Hey, can't blame a guy for trying." He tried. She growled at him.

"Just get back to the tutorial." She shook a fist at him to prove her point. He gulped as he turned back to me.

"So what was that thing?" I asked, ignoring the temper of my ex-girlfriend. I wonder, was she like that when we were together?

"That was a spiny shell. It flies into the air and attacks the team in first place. It explodes on impact. If another team runs into the explosion, they will also get tossed into the air. Also, whenever an item tosses you into the air, you'll lose whatever items you were carrying and you won't be able to use items or switch until your rear character gets back on." Iggy explained as he unpaused the game.

I saw what he meant by what he said about the back character. Paratroopa was hanging on for dear life as Bowser Jr. started driving again. Two teams got ahead of them. After a few seconds, Paratroopa jumped back on as the gold kart drove through an item box. Like at the start of the race, he got a set of three red shells, which he started juggling. After the kart hit the dash panel at the jump, Iggy made the turtle toss one of the shells. It chased after one of the opposing teams and hit that kart, which caused it to flip forwards. Iggy passed that team and tossed both shells. They hit the first place team, one right after the other. He got back into first place as he started the next lap. The music for the track started playing faster as the cloud guy came down again. This time, he was toting a sign that said, "Final Lap" in flashing letters. Almost as soon as the cloud guy disappeared off screen, a red shell hit the gold kart and a bolt of lightning stuck, causing it to shrink.

"Oy…" Iggy slapped his head as he paused again. He turned to me. "That was a lightning bolt. It shrinks all the racers except for the one who used it. When you're shrunk, you move slower and you spin out whenever you bump into a racer that's full-sized. The effect wears off after a few seconds."

He unpaused and got back to the race. Nothing much happened after he got back to full size. His team won the race.

"And there you go. That's more or less how a race in Mario Kart: Double Dash works." Iggy said as he got up and stretched. "Since you're a beginner, it would be best to start off with a 50cc engine size for the races. One more thing, if enough people play at the arcade, we hope to have tournaments. See ya around."

He then turned to Reggie and whispered something. She sighed and whispered back. Iggy cheered as he ran out of the room.

"What were you talking to him about?" I asked as she moved closer to me.

"Oh it was nothing." She said. I gave her a look that said I didn't believe her. She started sweating. "What?.! It was nothing! He was just trying to hit on me again." She gave a nervous laugh.

"Whatever." I said, still not believing her.

"Come on. Let's play a race." Reggie said as she grabbed a controller. "We'll play a round in Grand Prix mode."

She backed out of one player mode and went into two player mode. After selecting to have me and her go against each other, she got ready to pick the engine size.

"I guess we should play 50cc." She said as she prepared to make her choice.

"Hang on. We should play 150cc, like that kid." I said.

"But you're a beginner."

"Well I need to be ready to take on Otto, and I can't do that if I play on the easiest difficulty." I shot back. "Come on, Reg. I can handle it."

"Fine, if you say so." Reggie replied as she chose to race using 150cc size engines. The player select screen popped up. "Let's see now… Guess I'll pick my usual."

She picked the same characters she used yesterday, which were named Daisy and Birdo. Sheesh. Who thought up these names!.? As for her kart, she picked the Bloom Coach. I think I'm gonna be sick.

"Ok Lars, it's your turn." She said.

'Hmmmmm What am I supposed to pick?' I thought as I moved the cursor around. I soon stopped on a gorilla named Donkey Kong. Donkey Kong? Oh! Like King Kong!

'Wait a minute…' I thought as a smirk made itself known on my face. 'King Kong was a giant monkey and Twister's afraid of those things.' I immediately picked Donkey Kong as my first character. Maybe I could scare him when he comes back from his trip.

'Man, He's eighteen and he still has that fear?' I chuckled to myself as I got ready to pick my rear character. Hmmm… That Waluigi guy doesn't sound too bad. He's also got good style with that shirt. I picked him and a barrel-shaped kart showed up between the two characters. Probably belongs to that monkey. I decided to scroll through my choices.

"Hey. That one doesn't look so bad." I said out loud as I picked a kart that looked like a Cadillac. It was purple. I selected that one and a new screen came up.

"Let's try the Flower Cup." Reggie said as she made her decision.

The screen faded and in a few seconds, the screen displayed the first track. It was a highway full of cars and trucks. There was a bridge present. In fact, the name of the course was "Mushroom Bridge."

°Third Person POV°

"That's crazy! We have to race on a highway with cars!.?" Lars exclaimed.

"Calm down. It's easy to avoid them." Reggie replied. The eight racers were lined up side to side in two rows. Reggie was in seventh and Lars was in last place. She held the controller confidently, but Lars was shaking.

'Gotta calm down. If I'm nervous, I won't be able to do the Rocket Start.' He thought as the countdown started. As the countdown neared one, he held down the A button, causing Waluigi to run in place.

The screen flashed the word, "START!" and the race was off. Reggie performed her Rocket Start beautifully, but Lars' kart stalled. The other racers got far ahead of his team. After a few seconds, Waluigi jumped onboard and Lars was finally able to start the race. He moved around sloppily, trying to get used to the control stick. After passing a delivery truck and a small car, he got into the first tunnel and drove through an item box. The roulette started as Lars maneuvered around a couple of cars. When the roulette stopped, Waluigi was holding a star in his hand.

"What does this do?" Lars asked. Reggie quickly looked down as she got into second place.

"That's a star. It'll let you become invincible when you use it." She replied. "Also, your kart will go faster while it's active."

"Alright!" He pressed the Y button and a golden aura surrounded the purple kart.

Lars drove like a madman while speeding down the highway. He bumped into a few trucks, making them fly into the air. He even bumped into a few of the other racers, making them spin out. As his invincibility ended, he entered the second tunnel and was in fourth place. He ran into a double item box and two roulettes started. He got past another team and got into third place as a bob-Omb appeared in Waluigi's hand and a red shell appeared in Donkey Kong's. When the bomb appeared, Lars saw the word, "Special" appear.

'So that bomb is his special, huh?' He thought as he reached the final stretch along a bridge. He pressed the Z button and his two characters switched places. He made Donkey Kong fire the shell towards Reggie, who saw a symbol with it pictured appear on her half of the screen.

"Oh no you don't!" She said as she made Birdo toss the egg she had backwards. The egg and the shell collided, causing the egg to crack and reveal three items: A green shell, a mushroom, and a banana peel.

'Hmmmm… That mushroom doesn't look so bad.' Lars thought. 'I wonder what would happen if I ran over it.' He steered the kart towards the mushroom. When it ran over the fungus, the kart got a momentary boost of speed as it crossed the finish line to start the second lap.

'I guess if I run over good items, I'll use them automatically.'

Waluigi had long since switched back with Donkey Kong as Lars drove into the tunnel. It seemed that he had gotten used to the control stick. Before leaving the tunnel, the kart drove through a double item box. Since Waluigi still had the bob-Omb, he didn't get an item. Donkey Kong, on the other hand, got a huge banana placed into his hand. Lars noticed that that item was the monkey's special.

As the racers drove towards another turn, Lars tossed the bomb towards Reggie's team, but it flew far ahead of her and landed on the street by the entrance to the second tunnel. It started flashing. Reggie and the other racers ahead of Lars went around the bomb and entered the tunnel. Unfortunately, the brunet wasn't so lucky. The bob-Omb exploded as his team neared it, sending them into the air. The giant banana peel Donkey Kong was holding fell onto the ground. In a few seconds, it exploded into three bananas when one of the other teams ran into it. Lars' kart landed and drove onward, dragging the purple-clad plumber with it. He was now in fifth place.

'Man! This kart's too slow when you gotta start from a stand still!' He thought as he entered the tunnel. 'What am I supposed to do?'

He kept pressing buttons. He found out the hard way that the B button is the breaks and pressing the X and Y buttons only made Donkey Kong beep the horn. He then pressed the R button. Waluigi jumped back on as the kart went into a drift. Lars noticed that the kart was starting to move faster. Remembering what Iggy told him about how to do a Mini-Turbo, he started moving the control stick left and right. Instantly, sparks appeared where the rear tires were. As Lars continued moving the stick, the sparks changed from orange to red to blue. He let go and the kart sped forward.

As he drove on through the tunnel, he got a spiny shell from an item box. As he drove along the bridge, he made Waluigi toss the shell. It collided with the first place team. Lars and Reggie got into first and second place respectively as the final lap began. Reggie got a red shell from an item box and tossed it just as her team entered the first tunnel. Luckily, Lars had a banana peel, which he tossed backwards as soon as the warning signal appeared on his screen. The shell was blocked. The rest of the race went by smoothly.

"See Reg, I told you I can handle it." Lars bragged as both their teams got to the final stretch.

Just then, a spiny shell appeared and struck his kart, making it fly into the air after an explosion of blue smoke. Because Reggie's team was close by, she was also affected by the explosion. Shortly after they landed, a lightning bolt struck the track, slowing them down further. At the end, the two young adults wound up in the same places they were in at the start of the race.

"God! They're so cheap!" Lars cursed as he stood up.

"Well, what did you expect?" Reggie asked. "Don't tell me you're giving up."

"Hell no." The brunet replied as he sat down. "I'm gonna win Otto's heart even if it kills me. Let's keep going."

"Right." Reggie nodded.

—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—.—

"Thank you for coming. Hope to see you soon." Izzy said as he bowed at a couple of people who were leaving. Just then, Iggy returned to his place behind the counter. He seemed to be in deep thought. "Iggy! What took you so long?.!"

"Huh?" Iggy asked as he raised his head. "It's nothing, brother."

"Yeah right." Izzy crossed his arms. "It doesn't take that long to escort someone to their chosen room and come back." He glared at the younger boy. "You better not have been playing."

"But brother, it wasn't my fault! That guy wanted to learn how to play!"

"And your point is…? That's why we have the instruction book for the game available at each station."

"Look," Iggy started, losing his patience. "That cute girl wanted me to show that guy the ropes because he wants to get with her brother!"

"You mean that guy's gay? After what he said to us!.?" Izzy asked with a scowl.

"Never mind that. That girl offered to give us a picture of that guy's first kiss if I helped them out." The older brother crossed his arms at that.

"Since when were we matchmakers, anyway?"

"Think about it, bro. Girls like it if you help out a gay guy, right?" Iggy asked.

"Yeah… So?"

"So, if we help that Lars guy out and if that girl ever breaks up with her boyfriend, you could get with her!" Izzy blushed at the prospect and held up a fist.

"Genius! And if we get that picture of his first kiss, we'll make a ton of cash!" He chuckled. He then blinked at the younger boy. "Hey, wait a minute. I thought you liked her too." Iggy stuttered to think of something.

"Oh, I'm over her."

"You sure?" Izzy asked incredulously.

"Yep." Iggy replied. 'Besides, getting a kiss from her is more than enough to fill in the blanks.' He thought as he laughed.

"So what's the name of Reggie's brother?" The older brother asked. The younger one thought for a moment.

"Otto. That's his name."

"And what does he look like?" Izzy asked.

"He's as tall as you, wears sunglasses, and has dreadlocks that are arranged like Knuckles'." Iggy replied.

"Excellent. This'll be a new step for us as fans of yaoi!" Izzy started. "We'll do whatever it takes to make sure this guy gets good enough at Double Dash and gets with the boy of his dreams!" He laughed before a sudden thought came to him. "By the way, how is playing Double Dash supposed to help him get with this 'Otto' guy?"

"Hmmmm… Oh yeah!" Iggy said before he told his brother about the bet Lars made. Izzy raised an eyebrow after hearing the explanation.

"That's a kinda desperate move if you ask me." He shrugged. "Eh. Love makes you do crazy things. We got some planning to do!"

'Hmmmm… I wonder if I made a mistake telling him.' Iggy thought as he watched his brother writing on a piece of paper, muttering to himself in the process. He shrugged. 'Nah!'

To be continued…

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Post-chapter Conversation

Otto and Lars were still going at it. Izzy, Iggy, and I were standing at the sidelines, watching them.

"Are they ever gonna stop?" I asked with boredom, crossing my arms.

"Yeah, we gotta get back to the battle!" Izzy yelled.

"I don't know." Iggy said, grabbing a box of popcorn. "I'm kinda enjoying this."

"You would." I said. Izzy raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, why is he enjoying this in the first place?" I sighed in response.

"Unlike you, he likes to see boys kiss."

"Ooooohhhh… Then he's—"

"No. He's still straight." I interrupted. Izzy gave me a freaked out look.

"You confuse me on so many levels."

"I know." I said with a grin. Izzy slapped his head.

"Yeah! Keep at it!.!.!" Iggy cheered, causing Izzy and I to give him a weirded out look. My partner turned to me.

"End this, please."

"Fine." I turned to the camera. "Lars seems to have gotten off to a rocky start. Will Otto have better luck? Stay tuned for part two!"

(P.S: To Amy, don't worry. Lars and Reggie are NOT gonna get back together or something. I hate that coupling. That's why she's paired up with Sam. The interaction between them is kinda necessary for the story. There WILL be more scenes that involve Otto, but not yet. Just be a little patient. It'll come in due time.)