Pre-chapter Conversation

The scene opened in the streets of Ocean Shores. I was seen walking with Otto.

"Ya know, I've been here for a few months and I've never noticed how beautiful the town is." I said, looking around.

"Yeah. It's a pretty rad place." Otto said. "By the way, whatever happened to those guys you always hang around with?"

"Oh they're somewhere." I replied with a smirk. "So tell me, you participated in Mischief Night awhile back, right?" Otto gave me a cautious look.

"Yeah… What about it?"

"Well, I've always wondered. Why didn't your future lover or anybody else egg you?" The redhead blushed at the mention of the brunet in the gray hat.

"Wh-what does that have to do with Mischief Night?"

"I'd imagine that rival groups would fight each other using eggs and stuff like that on the day before Halloween." I answered with a shrug.

"Well, nothing like that happened." He said before he started walking again. "Why did you ask, anyway?"

I grinned as I pulled an egg out from behind my back.

"So that I can do this!"

The other boy turned towards me as I tossed it.

°SPLAT!°

Otto felt his hair and cringed as the gooey substance dribbled onto his hand.

"Ugh!" He glared at me. "What the hell, dude!.?"

"Wait for it." I said with a grin.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few feet away, Izzy and Iggy were seen dragging Lars.

"What do you two twerps want now?.!" The oldest brunet demanded. Izzy looked at him.

"Quit ya squirming and come on!" He yelled. Iggy looked back too.

"Yeah! Dad's got a surprise for you!" He said cheerfully.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Lars asked with a groan.

"It's nothing bad." Izzy responded. "As much as I hate him, the boss would never hurt the stars of the fic; at least not to the point of death." Lars' eyes widened.

"Let me go!" He started struggling against the two brothers.

"Come on! He was playing!" Iggy grunted as he pulled the older boy forward.

"Ugh! Yeah! It was a joke! The boss really does have something cool planned!" Izzy added as he pulled.

"No way! Let go!" Lars protested.

The trio fought for a few moments before Otto and I approached them. I grabbed a whistle out of my pocket and blew. The shrill noise brought the three to attention. They faced me.

"Hey Lars," I gestured to Otto, who had egg dripping down his face. "It's Eggo! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!.!.!.!.!.!"

Otto blushed as Izzy and Iggy rolled with laughter, letting go of Lars. The brunet in the gray hat approached the redhead with a strange look in his eyes.

"Uhhhh… Hey Lars." Otto said nervously. Lars held a finger to his lips.

"Shhhh… You got something on you."

"Yeah, I know." The redhead said dully. Lars smirked seductively.

"Let me get that." He moved closer and licked the egg off his face. Otto shivered in pleasure. Izzy, Iggy, and I gave them an excited look before we turned to each other.

"Hey, is it safe to do something like this in a PG setting?" My partner asked. I shrugged.

"I hope so. I mean, this doesn't seem bad enough to make me raise the rating."

"Who cares!.? This is great stuff!" Iggy yelled. Izzy and I rolled our eyes in response. I then stood up and crossed my arms.

"So Lars, whaddya say?"

"L'Eggo my Eggo." Lars replied, hugging Otto protectively. He continued licking the smaller boy. I grinned and turned to Izzy, who stood up along with Iggy.

"Izzy, get a camera."

"Right!" Izzy replied before running off. I turned to Iggy.

"Get some eggs."

"Ok, Daddy!" The younger brunet said, saluting me. He ran off as well. I turned to the camera.

"Enjoy the chapter!" I waved before going back to watching Lars pamper Otto.

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Race across Rainbows

Chapter Three

A Little Training Never Hurts!

Part Two

At Mad Town…

°Otto's POV°

"WOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!.!"

°CRASH!°

"Man! What's with me today!.?" I yelled as I struggled to my feet.

That was the fifth beef in just an hour! Again I ask, what's wrong with me? I skated around in the bowl for a bit before trying another Ollie. I shot up into the air and got ready to spin, but I screwed it up in the middle of the ascent and came crashing down, again!.!.!

"This just isn't my day." I groaned as I got up.

I guess I must have a lot on my mind. There's no other reason for it! That race Lars challenged me to; him calling me a dork. What's up with him, anyway? And why in the world is this whole thing bugging me like this!.? I guess it's probably because of that added rule; that the loser has to tell his darkest secret. There's a good question. Do I have a darkest secret? I shrugged and went back to blading.

And another thing, why would he make such a weird bet? We're not kids anymore. It can't be because he wants to blackmail me then. And I certainly wouldn't have any reason to use his secret against him. And when he did challenge me, he seemed really out of it. He was sweating and stumbling over his words, almost like he was… Nah! I could always dream though, right? What the—!.? Hold it!

°Screeeeeeech!°

"Where did that come from!.?" I shouted to myself, probably earning myself a few stares from everybody around, but I didn't care. I went back to skating.

That's the second time I thought something like that! Actually, it was the second time if you don't count the dreams I had. They were really weird. I don't remember much from them, but they all involved him. The guy in the purple shirt; the one with the missing tooth, though I wonder why he's never went to a dentist for that. The one in the gray hat; the one with the long brown hair I would like to run my hand through…? ARGH!.!.! There it is again! Why does this keep eating at me!.? I don't get it. It's best that I try not to think about it.

I got on the half pipe and started tearing it up. I reached one end, flew up into the air, and grabbed my legs. As gravity took effect, I spun around and blazed down the side and up the other wall. I launched myself into the air and landed a perfect fakie.

'Yeah! Now this is what I'm talking about! I knew I'd get out of this funk!'

Unfortunately, I spoke—or thought—too soon. When I went for another Ollie, it was the weirdest thing. I could've sworn I saw Lars waving at me, cheering me on. I smiled at the hallucination.

'Lars… When I land this trick, we're gonna go to the Shack and then maybe we can go to the movies and—WHAT THE HELL!.?.!.?.!'

°CRASH!.!.!°

"°Cough° Note to self: Don't think about You-know-who when trying to land a difficult trick." I groaned as I picked myself up from the middle of the half pipe. I left Mad Town. There was no way I could shred with him on my mind like that. And why do I keep thinking about him in the first place!.?.!.?.! I sighed.

'I might as well learn how to play that game he challenged me to.' I thought.

It was weird though. What was he thinking when he challenged me to that? I mean, a downhill race or a Hockey game, sure, but a video game? I hardly ever touch those things. But now, I gotta learn how to play and then beat him, so I could find out his worst secret. I know I said I wouldn't use it against him, but hey, I could always use a good laugh. It's probably something really strange, like he wears women's underwear or something. I drooled at the prospect. Lars in a thong…

I shook my head hard before I wound up wiping out.

'But who could teach me?' I thought as I stopped. 'Reggie's out doing something and I don't know how to use that Game whatchamacallit of hers.'

I snapped my fingers.

'That's it! Sam! He got her that system for her birthday last year, plus he's almost always around, playing with her. He'll be able to teach me a thing or two!'

With my new plan set, I skated over to Sam's house.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

°Third Person POV°

"Reggie… I miss you so much." Sam said to himself. He was sitting in his room, staring at the ceiling. He had gotten rid of his bunk bed and got a single-person bed.

(A/N: Why does he have a bunk bed on the show, anyway?)

"Man. I hope you're right about Lars not wanting to get back with you. Things are too boring without you. In fact, playing games haven't had as much appeal since me and you got together." He sighed.

Just then, the doorbell rang.

"Sam! Could you get that?" Paula yelled from the kitchen.

"Ok Mom!" Sam replied as he got out of bed and walked over to the front door.

He opened it and Otto was on the other side. He raised an eyebrow at the skater's fatigue, not to mention the scars and bruises decorating his face, arms, and legs.

"What happened to you?" The blond asked.

"Never…mind…that…" Otto replied, panting. "Teach… Teach…me…how to…play that…game Lars challenged me to…" Sam groaned slightly.

'I didn't want to get involved in this whole thing.' He thought. He was about to decline, but he remembered who he was doing this for.

"Alright. I'll show you how to play." He finally said with a sigh. The redhead grinned.

"Great! Let's go!" He yelled as he skated over to his house.

"Mom! I'm going out!" Sam yelled into the house.

"Alright! Be back in time for dinner!" Paula replied. Sam closed the door and walked towards the Rocket house.

'What am I getting myself into?' He thought.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

A few minutes later, Otto and Sam were sitting in the living room in front of the TV with a controller in each of their hands. Sam was busy setting everything up in the game.

"I guess I'll race and tell ya about the game." Sam said hesitantly. He really had no idea how to start teaching Otto how to play. He highlighted the icon for one player mode and was about to confirm his choice.

"Oh no ya don't!" Otto yelled. "I'll race too and you show me what to do while we're racing." Sam raised an eyebrow at him and shrugged.

"Suit yourself." He replied.

He chose two player mode and decided to race in VS. mode with 150cc size engines. The player select screen appeared. He then cleared his throat as he got ready to start the lesson.

"First of all, the way this game works is that you race with two characters at once. The front character is your driver and the one in back tosses items. You can switch their position at any time by pressing the Z button."

"Ok. Now what's this about items?" The other boy asked.

"Mario Kart: Double Dash is a kart racing game, which means that you can use different items to either hamper the progress of other racers or help yourself out. Also, every pair of racers can use special items that only they are allowed to obtain. You press the X or Y buttons in order to use items."

After that explanation, Sam taught Otto the rest of the controls for the game. When he was done, the blond picked to use Wario, Koopa Troopa, and the Koopa King (Bowser's kart).

"Ok. It's your turn to pick." He said to Otto.

"Alright." The auburn haired skater replied.

'Now who should I pick?' He thought as he moved the cursor around. He soon stopped on Waluigi. 'Hmmm… This guy reminds me of Lars so much…' He grinned and lowered his thumb towards the A button, but he stopped himself and shook his head.

'What am I doing?.! I need to get him off my mind now!' He moved the cursor around again and landed on Mario. 'Hmmm… This guy doesn't look too bad.' He picked the red-clad plumber, who crossed his arms.

'And now for his partner.' Otto moved the cursor again until he landed on Yoshi, the green dinosaur. He thought for moment and then shrugged. 'Heh. Why not? The worst that could happen is that he'll suck and I'll have to think of a new character to use.'

He selected the dinosaur and a kart appeared.

'Now for the kart.'

He scrolled through his choices, which weren't that many. He finally picked the Waluigi Racer. The screen changed and a bunch of tracks were displayed. Sam went to the tracks in the Star Cup and picked the Donkey Kong Mountain track. The screen faded and our two racers found their teams in front of a starting line at the foot of a small hill. Sam's team was on the left and Otto's team was on the right.

Soon, a lakitu floated down to start the race. The turtle in the cloud started counting down from three. Just as the countdown ended, Sam pressed the A button, causing his kart to blast out of the starting line. Otto's kart, on the other hand, stalled pretty much like how Lars' did. Otto paused the game.

"What did you do at the start of the race?" He asked Sam.

"That was a called a Rocket Start." The blond replied. Otto's eyebrows shot up at the answer. Sam chuckled at the obvious response. "If you press A at the right time before the race starts, you'll get a boost of speed."

"Wow. I wonder if the creator of this game had me in mind." The redhead said, unpausing the game. Sam rolled his eyes.

Otto's kart was able to catch up to Sam's as both racers went through the first row of item boxes. A banana peel was placed into Koopa Troopa's hand while a red shell was placed into Yoshi's.

"What's with the shell?" Otto asked.

"That's a red shell. It'll home in on whoever's ahead of you." Sam replied, somewhat regretting his answer. Otto grinned as he pressed the Y button on his controller. Yoshi launched the shell, but Koopa Troopa blocked by tossing the banana peel backwards. The two players drifted to the right and started going towards a giant barrel. Both karts entered the barrel.

°BOOM!°

The barrel cannon shot both karts into the air. They were going at an incredible velocity towards a mountain that had an angry face.

"Whoohoo!" Otto cheered. "Talk about getting major air!"

Yoshi and Koopa Troopa were hanging on for dear life as the karts flew through the air. They soon cleared a fence and landed. Otto made the kart drift around the next turn. He got ahead of Sam as his team hit a double item box. After the roulettes, Mario got a mushroom while Yoshi got his special, an egg.

"So what does the mushroom do?" He asked Sam, who got a green shell.

"It gives you a quick boost in speed." The blond replied.

They reached a pretty bumpy path as they went down the mountain.

Otto quickly put Mario in back, used his mushroom, and entered a grassy path. Unfortunately, his kart got hit by a boulder, causing Yoshi, who had switched places with Mario a few seconds prior, to drop the egg. Sam took advantage of Otto's state of distress by launching the shell. It hit the redhead's kart, but the blond's kart crashed into the egg, causing a star, a bob-Omb, and a banana peel to fall out. The items landed a few feet ahead of Otto's team.

"Ha! That's what you get!" Otto taunted as he started driving.

He ran over the star and became invincible just as the bomb exploded, sending Sam's team into the air. The auburn haired boy steered around a couple of tight turns and reached an area with a chasm. Because of the extra speed the star granted him, he wasn't able to control himself, therefore falling into the hole.

Sam navigated around the tight turns and reached the chasm as a lakitu lowered Otto's team back onto the track. The blond used a mushroom he got from the row of item boxes preceding the chasm and blazed ahead of Otto. He got past the chasm area and passed through another set of item boxes, getting another mushroom. He waited until he reached the bridge on the final straightaway before using it. It seemed like he was going to win as he prepared to start the second lap. He was almost across the bridge when a red shell slammed into the back of his kart, making it tumble off the bridge and into the river below. Otto got across the bridge and started the next lap in first place.

"Hey, I'm not doing so bad." The skater said.

"Don't count your chickens yet. That was only the first lap." Sam shot back as his kart landed, allowing him to continue the race. He reached the first set of item boxes and got a spiny shell. He decided to hold it though as he reached the cannon and got blasted.

Meanwhile, Otto was in the middle of his flight.

'Hmmmm… I wonder…' He thought as he pulled the control stick back. Doing so caused his kart to tip backwards. When the kart cleared the fence at the mountain, it glided through the air for a little bit before landing.

'Heh. For his first time, he's certainly not doing too bad.' Sam thought as his kart landed.

He tossed the spiny shell, which collided with Otto and tossed him into the air as he reached a set of item boxes. The blond passed Otto, grabbing a double item box in the process. When the roulettes ended, Wario got a bob-Omb while Koopa Troopa got a green shell. Sam made Wario switch and toss the bomb backwards. It started ticking. Luckily, Otto was able to move out the way and avoid the explosion.

After clearing the rocky part of the course, the redhead swerved around the giant boulders and navigated the sharp turns. He would've fell at the second turn if he didn't push the B button and stopped. Both racers entered the chasm area again after hitting a couple of boxes. Because Koopa Troopa was in back after switching with Wario, Sam didn't get a new item, but Otto, who had Mario in back, got the plumber's special, a fireball. He made the one in the red hat toss his item forward. Several red fireballs shot out and struck Sam's kart, making him spin out and fall into the giant hole.

"Cool!" The redheaded skater said with excitement as he passed the chasm and got onto the bridge.

'Man! I can't believe I'm having so much fun! Maybe it wasn't such a bad thing Lars the stud challenged me and—WHAT!.?.!'

Immediately following that thought, his team fell off the bridge. Sam was able to pass and begin the final lap as Otto's kart landed back on the track.

'I gotta control my thoughts. And what was that last one about!.?'

He couldn't concentrate for the rest of the race. At the end, Sam won with at least a minute lead against the other boy.

"Ugh! I can't believe I choked like that!" Otto yelled, dropping the controller on his lap.

"Come on. It wasn't that bad." Sam comforted. "Besides, it was your first time. Everybody messes up on their first time." Otto picked his head up.

"I guess…" He said as he picked up the controller. "Let's go again."

"Right." Sam nodded.

Later…

It was sunset and after losing almost every single race badly, Reggie and Lars reached the cul-de-sac.

"Man, I stink at that game." The older adult groaned.

"Don't be so hard on yourself." Reggie said as they walked up the stairs to the brunet's front door. "After all, it was only your first day."

"Yeah, but fifty losses!.?" Lars exclaimed as they reached the door. "How am I gonna get better in six days?"

"Don't worry about it, alright? Just get some sleep and we'll go back to the arcade first thing tomorrow morning."

"Alright." Lars sighed. "Thanks for your help, Reg."

"Anytime." Reggie replied. "See ya tomorrow."

"Good night." The brunet said before going inside. The violet haired girl sighed as she made her way down the stairs.

At the Rockets' house…

"This is starting to get boring." Sam said with a yawn as Otto suffered yet another loss. "Let's quit for today."

"But I'm starting to get better! Come on. One more race." Otto pleaded as the blond got up and walked towards the door.

"See you tomorrow, Otto." was all Sam said as he closed the door.

He turned to go back home when he saw a truly blessed sight: Reggie standing in the middle of the cul-de-sac. The setting sun outlined her features perfectly. The older Rocket also noticed the blond boy standing. Sam grinned and ran over to her, grabbing her in a loving embrace when he got to her.

"I missed you so much." He said when they separated.

"Same here. I guess Otto came to you after all, huh?" Reggie asked.

"Ugh… Please don't ask me about it." Sam groaned. Reggie gave a chuckle.

"That bad, huh?"

"Oh yeah." Sam replied. "So how about you? How's that new arcade?" Reggie gave a grimace.

"Let's change the subject."

"Oh no you don't." Sam said with a sly grin. "I want to know what happened."

"Maybe later."

"Maybe over dinner? My mom should be done by now." Sam offered.

"Sounds great." Reggie replied. She pulled Sam in for a kiss as they embraced again.

'Man why can't that be me?' Lars thought.

He was watching the scene from his room with much jealousy. He then looked up towards the second floor of the Rockets' house and saw his crush watching the two lovebirds as well. The two rivals locked eyes for a moment before they separated.

'When this is over, my dear Otto, you'll be mine and I will no longer be alone. I hope…'

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Post-chapter Conversation

"Well, that's it for Chapter Three!" I said to the camera. "Will the two rivals improve in time for the race? Will Otto ever figure out what the weird thoughts mean? Will they ever kiss? Tune in next time!"

"Hey, something just crossed my mind." Izzy said to me.

"What is it?"

"Isn't it bad to eat eggs raw?"

"Is it?" I asked, scratching my head.

"Probably, but what does that have to do with anything, big brother?" Iggy asked.

"Well, you got at least two dozen eggs and we tossed them all at Otto." Izzy replied.

"Yeah. That was the best." I said with a chuckle. Izzy rolled his eyes.

"And Lars licked every single one off his head."

"And we got great pictures!" Iggy cheered, holding up a bunch of cameras.

"The thing is, why didn't he get sick or something?"

"Maybe you don't get sick when you eat raw eggs." I said with a shrug.

"So then he's safe." Iggy agreed with a nod.

"I guess…" Izzy said with uncertainty.

"Ahem!" A voice yelled. We turned to find Otto, who looked extremely POed. He was holding a bucket in one hand.

"Hey. What's up?" I asked.

"And what's with the bucket?" Izzy asked. Otto gave us a cold glare.

"You got Lars sick!" He roared. Izzy, Iggy, and I gulped. The skater pulled out a picture with his free hand. "Here! Take a look!" He handed us the picture. I grabbed it and we took a look. Lars was shown lying in bed and puking into a bucket. We immediately turned away, our faces turning green. Izzy ran away.

"Oh man… That's gnarly." I groaned, holding my stomach.

"Blech!" Iggy said, stumbling dizzily. "You ain't kidding."

"Hey, where's Izzy?" I asked. The three of us looked around ourselves before we heard vomiting. I turned to Otto. "So what's the bucket for?"

"This." The auburn haired boy said with an evil smirk. He brought the bucket back. Iggy's eyes widened as he stepped backwards.

"D-don't tell me that has Lars' barf in it!"

"Oh man… That was sick." Izzy groaned as he walked back, holding his stomach. "What'd I miss?"

I grabbed him and placed him in front of me.

"Here's your man! He's my muse, so he gave me the idea!" I yelled desperately.

"Huh?" Izzy looked at Otto, who was getting ready to empty the bucket's contents. His eyes widened. "Oh hell naw!" He grabbed me and put me in front of him. "He's the author! Slime him! Slime him!"

"WHAT!.?.!" I roared as I starting fighting with Izzy. Otto gave an impatient glance.

"Look! I don't care if I gotta get one or all three of ya! I'm slimin' somebody!"

"RUN AWAY!.!.!" Iggy screamed. Izzy and I got out of our fight and turned to him.

"That's the smartest thing you've said all fic." My partner said as we got up.

"Shut up and run!" I yelled as we bolted away from the crazed skater.

"Get back here!.!.!" Otto shouted as he gave chase.