Episode 4: Randy's First Race

The next morning, everybody was still asleep. Croc, Cream, and Randy were sleeping on the couch, NiGHTS and Zack was sleeping in the girls' bedroom and Tikal was sleeping beside NiGHTS on the left side of the bed. While they were still sleeping, the printer on the giant computer began to print by itself. The machine woke Randy up. He yawned like a dog as he slithered out from under Croc. He walked up to the printed document and took it by his mouth. Then, placed it on the floor. He saw Cream's name on it and squealed. That woke Cream up. She sat up and rubbed her eyes as she spoke.

"Randy, what is it?" She asked as she stood. Randy picked up the document and walked up to her. She took it and read it. Here's what she read:

"Dear Cream the Rabbit, your giant Day Gecko has been qualified into the big Yoshi Race at the Mario Kart: Double Dash tracks. It's a series of 5 races. If he wins all five by 3rd place or above, then you and your gecko wins 500,000 as a grand prize. Just sign on the dotted line and let your gecko place a footprint beside it and arrive at the Nintendo Gamecube Headquarters by 3:00 pm. Don't be late. Sincerely, Mario." Cream read. She gasped as she covered her mouth with surprise.

"OH, MY GOD!" She yelled. That made everybody wake up with a start. They all came into the living room.

"Cream, what is it?" NiGHTS asked. Cream started hugging Randy's head gently.

"Randy's qualified in his first race!" She replied. "He's gonna be in the Yoshi Races!"

"Really?" Croc and Zack asked in unison.

"Yeah! And guess what? That's our next mission." She frantically went to the computer and took out a pen and a blue stamp pad. She signed the paper while Randy pressed his foot in the stamp pad. Tikal looked at NiGHTS.

"Sounds like a good mission to me. If Randy wins, then we might be rich." She told the human nightmaren. Zack nodded in agreement.

"Yeah. He's gonna be racin' against Yoshis, right?" He asked. NiGHTS nodded.

"Yeah! Oh, and Cream?" She asked. Cream stood up with the signed document in her hand.

"Yes?" She called back.

"You have to be the rider."

"Alright! We need to be at the Nintendo Gamecube Headquarters by 3:00 pm. That'll give us time to find the perfect clothes for me and Randy. I wanna make him look special." She patted her giant lizard on the head while she spoke.

Everybody smiled as they looked at each other.

"Cream's really learning how to be responsible." Croc said randomly.

Later, at 11:45 am...

NiGHTS was searching through her closet for something Cream could wear for the big races. She didn't have to look like a racer, but she needed to look at nice as possible. Tikal decided to help as well.

"I want an outfit that matches my cuteness." Cream demanded. Tikal pulled out a cute looking pink sailor shirt with white jeans. NiGHTS adored it.

"Aw! That'll look cute on you." NiGHTS squealed. She continued searching in the closet for a perfect pair of shoes to go with it. She picked out white with pink striped K-Swiss shoes for Cream's size and two pink bows for her ears. Cream took everything and walked into her own dressing room.

"Here comes the new me!" She exclaimed before she closed the door. NiGHTS and Tikal waited in the room, sitting on the bed.

"Cream has a sense of style. I like that." NiGHTS said. Tikal nodded in agreement.

Meanwhile...

Zack and Croc were looking for something for Randy to wear just for his type. Croc was searching for a collar while Zack search for the clothes. He stopped looking in the closet and took out the clothes he designed for Randy, which was a purple tank top with blue denim jeans with a special hole added in the back for his tail. Croc took out a gold and silver collar with a sapphire blue diamond attached in place of the licence. He turned around and saw Zack slip his hand made outfit on Randy.

"That's a cool outfit, Zack." He commented.

"Thanks." Zack replied. "I made it myself. Since there aren't really any available outfits for Randy, I figured I make some for him." He slipped on the jeans and snapped the button tight. Then, he turned around and noticed the collar Croc picked out. He whistled.

"Goddamn! That collar looks expensive!" He exclaimed as Croc slid the collar on. "Who paid for that?"

"I did. I used my gems to buy this at the Gobbo Jewery Store right before Team NiGHTS arrived. This looked like a perfect collar for Randy." Croc replied. Randy squealed as he looked at himself in the mirror.

"I thinkk he likes it." Zack said. "Well, we still have plenty of time. We can get a nice lunch on the way."

"Sounds good to me. All we have to do is wait for Cream and the girls and we'll be ready." Croc replied.

Later...

Cream came out with the outfit Tikal picked out and modeled herself in front of the girls. They cooed with happiness.

"Awwww!" They exclaimed in unison. Cream blushed as she walked up to NiGHTS and handed her the two bows.

"I need a little help getting these on." She told her. NiGHTS nodded as she took the two velvet strands of ribbon and Cream sat in her lap. NiGHTS took an ear and carefully tied one bow on the top of it. Then, took the other ear and did the same. Now, Cream was dressed and ready to go.

"Now, you're all set." Tikal said as she pulled Cream down.

"I can't wait to see what Randy looks like." Cream cheerfully said as she skipped out of the room. Tikal and NiGHTS looked at each other, smiled, and chuckled at Cream's cuteness.

Later, at around 12:05 pm...

Cream came out and saw Randy, Zack, and Croc. She had her eyes fosuced on Randy and sighed.

"Aw! Aren't you cute?" She asked joyfully. Randy squealed with delight as she ran up to him. He adored her outfit and fell in love. He jumped on her and licked her face happily, making her giggle with every lick. Zack, Croc, NiGHTS, and Tikal watched with smiles on their faces.

"I always knew there was a sweet side to Cream's personality." NiGHTS said to Tikal.

"Big said the same, back when Sonic Heroes came out." She agreed. "He always wanted Cream to be his best friend, but since he had Froggy, he's been a bit down. Froggy wasn't enough. That's when he met Cream for the first time..."

Flashback

Big was in his room, just him and Froggy in the Sega Clubhouse. He was talking to Froggy as he sat there.

"Oh, Froggy!" He started. "You're the only friend I've got, but you're not enough. I'm not saying your a bad friend or anything, I'm just saying that I need more that just you for a friend. If only there was someone I could find for a good friend..." He paused when he heard knocking at his door. "Come in!"

Tikal came in and looked concerned. She also had Knuckles with her. He looked concerned as well. They both sat on the bed next to Big.

"What's wrong, Big? How come you're not at the celebration with us?" Tikal asked.

"I don't feel too happy." He replied. "Froggy's the only friend I've got and nobody else wants to be friends with me." Knuckles placed a hand on his shoulders.

"It's okay, Big. I felt the same way before I met Sonic for the first time. You'll be fine." He told the large purple cat. "Maybe you could at least be at the party, but you don't have to do anything."

"I guess. I could just sit with Froggy in the very back." Knuckles patted his back twice before he stood up and walked out the room. Tikal held Big's hand as they walked out towards the party. When they arrived, everybody was there, including Chris and Mr. Tanaka. Big still wasn't smiling as he walked through the happy crowd, who never noticed his sad expression. Tikal was starting to become concerned. She noticed the Cream walked up to him with Cheese fluttering behind her and sat next to Big. This made Tikal smile a little.

"Hi! I'm Cream and this my friend, Cheese." Cream greeted. Big didn't respond. He still held a sad look on his face, looking down at the floor. She started to frown as well.

"What's the matter?" She asked. Big looked at her.

"I don't have any friends." He replied with tears coming from his eyes.

"You have your little froggy."

"He's not enough. I want another friend, but nobody wants to make friends with me."

"Me and Cheese will be your friends." Big looked showed a smalll smile.

"Really?"

"Yeah. I don't have any friends either. Sure, I have Cheese, but he's not enough for me."

Big sighed with relief as he picked up Cream and hugged her like a teddy bear, leaking happy tears all over Cream's dress.

"I'm Big the Cat. Thanks for being my friend, Cream!" He exclaimed between sobs. Cream started crying happy tears herself, embracing him back. Tikal was watching from the distance and smiled with passion. She loved the sight she saw. Knuckles noticed her and walked up to her.

"What happened?" He asked her. Tikal showed tears in her eyes, but they didn't slither down her face.

"Big and Cream are finally becoming friends. Even Cheese and Froggy hugged each other." She replied before she cried in his arms. Knuckles patted her back and smiled.

"Indeed, they did." He said to himself.

Flashback

"...It was a such a happy and emotional moment, I started to cry myself. I've never seen anything so amazing happen like that." Tikal finished. NiGHTS, Zack, and Croc went in tears as well.

"No wonder she's happy about Randy." Zack agreed. Cream jumped on Randy's back and was ready.

"Okay, guys!" She called. "I got the paper. When can we leave?"

NiGHTS looked at her watch. "It's almost 2:30 now. I guess we can go there now. The earlier the better, I always say." She replied. Randy walked up to the others. Croc and Zack held NiGHTS' hand while Tikal, Randy, and Cream prepared themselves for teleport.

Later...

Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Toad prepared all the different colored Yoshis, including the original green one, for the big race that starts in 15 minutes.

"Hopefully, this race won't be too grusome like last year." Peach said to Mario.

"Don't-a worry, Peach." He replied. "Every-a-thing's gonna be alright-a."

"I hope so."

Toad heard some flying and looked up.

"Hey, Team NiGHTS have arrived!" He yelled. They landed with empty Burger King bags. "Looks like you stopped for a quick lunch on the way."

"Yeah." NiGHTS replied. "We didn't want our racers to starve. We didn't wanna starve either."

"Excellent. All the Yoshis are ready to go!" He looked at Cream and Randy and loved their attire.

"Nice clothes." He commented. Cream blushed.

"Thanks, Toad." She shyly replied. "Aren't we dress formally enough for a race full of cute Yoshis?"

"Yep. You two look perfect." Fox McCloud came in and whispered something into Toad's ear. He nodded.

"Sure, He can race, too. Tell him that." He replied. Fox nodded as he left back out. Cream and Randy looked confused.

"What did Fox tell you?" Cream asked.

"He asked me if Bowser could race. He can." Toad replied. This made Randy gulp. Cream patted his head for comfort.

"Looks like Randy's a little nervous about Bowser racing as well. Do you know why?" She asked. NiGHTS kneeled down to the two and placed a hand on Cream's shoulder.

"I've studying a gecko's nervousness of another person. Randy gulped just now. That means that he really feels uncomfortable about Bowser racing with him, due to his huge size." NiGHTS replied. Cream looked down at Randy with concern.

"Are you sure?" She asked NiGHTS, who nodded.

"Trust me. I suggest you go easy on him, if he starts to act a little awkward during the race. Understand?"

"Yeah, I understand."

"Great." Peach replied. "Shall we begin?"

Cream whipped the rein and Randy responded by walking to the starting line with the Yoshis and Bowser.

"Good luck!" Tikal and Croc yelled.

Moments later...

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Toad announced. "Welcome to the 2nd Annual Yoshi Races. This year, we have two special guests. Cream the Rabbit and her giant Day Gecko, Randy! Also, Bowser will be joining the race as well. We have a series of five races every year and usually, the tracks we choose are deadly. This year, they're kid friendly. The first track: Rainbow Road. The second track: Donkey Kong's Rainforest. The third track: Yoshi Desert. The fourth track:Bowser's Castle. Finally, the longest and newest track created by Fox McCloud: Planet Zari. This track will have to take two laps around, if we want to save time. Finally, I want to wish all the racers good luck and have fun! Now, with the help of NiGHTS, she'll teleport us to Rainbow Road to begin the first race!"

NiGHTS stood up and held her hands out. Minutes later, everybody was going into hyperspeed and then, they arrived at Rainbow Road. All the racers were still in their positions.

"Racers, take your positions!" Toad continued. A shyguy arrived on a stand with a checkered flag, ready to wave. "Ready... set... GO!" The shyguy waved the flag and they took off in the speed of light. NiGHTS sat back down next to Zack and smiled.

"Hopefully, Randy's nervousness won't effect his racing skills." She pleaded to herself.

Down on the track...

Sunshine, the yellow Yoshi, was just behind Randy by the nose. Cream looked determined as they ran nose-by-nose. Bowser was in the very back and he was getting pissed off at that. He curled up in his shell and rolled like boulder though the other racers. Randy's nose just tapped on a item box and three red koopa-troopa shells circled around them. Cream gasped with surprise.

"The homing shells! This'll keep Bowser behind!" She yelled to herself. Randy sensed Bowser's incoming presence and moved to the side to keep himself from getting hurt by Bowser's shell. When Bowser passed him, he chuckled devilishly as he popped out of his shell and continued running. That was Cream's cue. She slapped the rein and Randy relflexed by slapping one shell with his tail and it launched right to Bowser and tripped him up, making him land on his back hard. Randy ran up to the laid down Bowser and he jumped over him gracefully like a horse and continued on. Cream blew a rasberry at him.

"Ha, ha! Bowser's a crazy jackass!" She teased as Randy continued running. All the Yoshis then came and jumped over him and continued running. Bowser was back in last place again. He growled with extreme anger.

"That rabbit! I'll show her!" He swore to himself as he got back on his feet and continued to run. Randy and Cream was back in the lead, having the original green Yoshi come up beside him. So far, one lap was complete. Bowser just passed the starting line for his next lap. This was his chance. He grabbed a item box and a spiked shell appeared in his hand.

"Perfect." He said to himself as he threw the shell. It flew passed all the Yoshis without hurting them. When it was about to apporach Cream and Randy, it slammed them hard. Randy roared with pain and Cream almost fell off. She regained her balance and grabbed his collar and pulled herself back up on the saddle. She looked at Randy's tail and saw the shell wound. She patted the terrified gecko to calm him down.

"Don't slow down now!" She pleaded. "Yoshi just passed us!"

Randy regained his strength and began to speed up right when a black Yoshi passed him, placing him in third place. In the back, Bowser chuckled.

"Ha! That'll show her!" He yelled out.

In the audience...

Tikal looked desperate when she saw Randy's tail wounded. NiGHTS set on a spell that healed his sore and it worked. That made Tikal sigh with relief.

"Thank you, NiGHTS." She sighed.

"You looked worried." NiGHTS replied. Zack and Croc were enjoying this and were yelling and clapping along with the rest of the crowd.

"This race is really cool!" Croc yelled. Zack clapped in agreement.

"I liked the way Cream slapped Bowser's ass!" He yelled. "If he keeps messin' with Randy, she's gonna keep kickin' his ass until he can't take it anymore!"

Back on the track...

They passed the starting line again. They were on their final lap. Cream decided to throw away the last two koopa-troopa shells and they slammed the black Yoshi and Yoshi himself, setting them back in the lead. Randy ran through another item box and a start appeared in Cream's hand.

"Alright! A star!" She exclaimed. "Tell me when it's the right moment to use it, okay?"

Randy nodded as he roared in reponse. Bowser was in 6th place and not too far from Randy. He went through another item box and he got a lightning bolt in his hand.

"Excellent! I can shrink everybody and pass 'em. This is gonna be good." He said to himself. He threw it up in the air and it formed a huge storm cloud. Randy sensed this and squealed. Cream responded to this by throwing the star in his mouth and he swallowed it. Then, he started to change colors, form small stars around him, and play the little star tune. When, the lightning striked, it made everybody shrink and slow down, except Cream and Randy. They were glimmering in the storm's darkness, well protected. Bowser saw the colorful gecko and growled as the storm clouds cleared.

"Why that little...?" He swore under his breath. He was now in second place, right at Randy's tail. As soon as all the other racers popped back to their normal size, the star's protection stopped. Bowser was able to catch up to them and look at them dead in the eyes.

"You two are pretty good for rookies." He said to them. "Why don't you just kiss my ass and leave?"

"Because we need to win this race!" Cream yelled. "If you don't like it, you can just leave." Those were her final words before she slammed the rein and Randy began to speed up again. Bowser growled as he regained his speed himself. They were nose-to-nose when they were 3 miles away from the finish line. This was going to be a photo finish. Toad took the picture and looked at it when it was fully visible.

"The winner of the Rainbow Road is... Randy!" He announced. Everybody cheered loudly. Bowser couldn't believe it. He fainted right when he stopped. As for Randy and Cream, they stopped and Randy stood on his hind feet and roared while Cream hung on and screamed with delight. Everybody was cheering as if it was the last race. Randy went back to the pit stop to take a breather while Cream did the same. Tikal placed a dog bowl full of water in front of Randy and he drank up frantically. Cream took a bottle of Gatorade and sat down next to NiGHTS, who congradulated her with a pat on the back.

"Congratulations, Cream." She said. "That was a good start."

"Thanks." Cream tiredly replied, taking a sip of her Gatorade every 5 seconds. "And he wasn't even trained to race yet."

"Well, that's a lucky start ahead of ya!" Croc agreed. Cream looked up at him and smiled with passion.

"Aw, Croc! Really?" She asked. Croc nodded.

"Yeah. That was a race for the ages." Cream was loved by this encouragement from Croc. She suddenly grabbed his face and kissed him passionately, making steam come out of his ears. Zack chuckled along with NiGHTS and Tikal as this happened.

"This is starting to become too adorable." NiGHTS said to herself.

All through the rest of the races, Randy won at least second and first place, outsmarting Bowser every step of the way. By the time they reached the final race, Randy was ready to go.

"Alright, ladies and gentlemen!" Toad announced again. "It looks like Randy has a greater chance at winning the entire championship! With him winning second place in two races and first place in another two races, his chance of winning stands at a ratio of 10-1! As for Bowser, he doesn't stand a chance! Now, the final race begins at Planet Zari. This race is so long, only two laps will be on this race. Whoever wins, ends the championship! Everybody ready? On your mark... get set... GO!"

The shyguy waved his checkered flag the final time and the racers sped off the final time. This was the biggest race of all and Randy was determined to win this race. Cream could feel his bravery and supported him every time. Bowser had it up to here with Cream and Randy 'cheating.' He decided that if he doesn't win, no one will. This time, Skye, the baby blue colored Yoshi, was in the lead, followed by Randy and Cream. Bowser prepared his deadly plan. NiGHTS' pupils shrank as she felt something going wrong. Tikal and Zack noticed and they looked concerned.

"NiGHTS, what's wrong?" Tikal asked. NiGHTS didn't reply. She kept her eyes focused on Bowser as the race kept running. Bowser searched in his shell and pulled out a capsule. She gasped when she saw the color of it. It was red and black.

"CREAM, RANDY! WATCH OUT!" She yelled, still keeping her deep tone of voice. Cream's ear twitched as she heard NiGHTS and slapped her rein, commanding Randy to keep going faster. When Bowser threw the capsule, it landed right in front of Cream and Randy and exploded into a giant dragon. He stood in their path and Cream quickly pulled back hard on the rein, causing Randy to screech to a stop. All the other Yoshis just stood there for a second, then ran away, making them disqualified from the race. Randy and Cream just stood there and Bowser passed by with a evil chuckle.

"Who's laughing now, bitch?" He yelled as he continued running. NiGHTS floated up and flew down to the two terrified friends of hers. Randy was starting to drool with nervousness while Cream shivered with horror. When the dragon roared, that sent Cream fainting dramatically off of Randy's back. NiGHTS arrived just in time and picked her up. Then, she flew back to the audience and gently laid her down on Tikal's lap. Then, she flew back to Randy so she could help him. NiGHTS landed next to the scared lizard and shot a purple spirit particle at him. It didn't hurt him, but it made his muscles tighten. He felt this and squealed with discomfort. When NiGHTS stopped her spirit, Randy squealed with delight. He felt stronger and braver. He growled with courage as he ran under the dragon and then, grabbed him by the tail and slammed him down on the floor hard. That made everybody cringe.

"Ouch!" Zack exclaimed. "That's gotta leave a mark."

The dragon got furious and sprang back up on his feet to set a counter-attack, but Randy did his instead. He charged at him and headbutted him right in the stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He fell to the ground, unconcious. Randy landed back on his feet and breathed hard, looking down at the unconcious dragon. NiGHTS smiled as she floated up and flew back to the audience and sat down. Cream came to and looked up at NiGHTS with fear.

"How come you're not helping Randy?" She asked fearfully. NiGHTS smiled.

"I believe we should let Randy do this on his own." She replied calmly.

Back on the track...

Bowser was watching the fight from a distance on the track and decided to stop and watch. He didn't even finish the first lap yet. The dragon was still unconcious while Randy was still breathing hard, looking at him. Then, Randy was caught off guard when the dragon's eyes opened and then, he grabbed the gecko by his tail with his mouth and swung him around in all directions. Then, slammed him down on the ground hard. Randy was only knocked out for 10 seconds. Then, he got up and climbed on top of the dragon and scratched him like a cat. The dragon roared in pain with every scratch and then, Randy bit him on the neck with his special canine, flesh tearing teeth. The dragon resisted the bite and made one of his wings slap Randy across the face, but it missed as he ducked it just in time. Then, Randy opened his mouth and fired out a purple plasma laser from it and it shot through his neck. The dragon roared even louder as he collasped to the ground, sending Randy falling off, but managed to land his feet. He growled with determination. The dragon was still breathing, but was nearly dead. Finally, before the dragon could make his last attack, Randy made his by shooting an even bigger laserbeam that surrounded the dragon's body and it exploded with it. Everything went quiet afterwards. There was a moment so silent, Cream was the only one yelling out:

"Alright, Randy!" Everybody cheered after that. Randy looked up at the audience and smiled, keeping his eyes focused on Cream. He squealed with delight as he ran to catch up to Bowser, who was speechless. Then, he shook his head right when Randy passed him and he ran after him. The race was back in session. Randy ran as fast as he could, then ran throughan item box. Three green koopa-troopa shells started circling around. This gave him an idea. Since Bowser was behind, he decided to set him even further behind. He slapped a shell with his tail and it slammed right on Bowser, tripping him up again. Bowser stood back up and kept running. They were done with their first lap. Now, the final lap was going to be the toughest one in this track. Randy kept his eyes focused on his path ahead and ran as fast as possible. When Bowser was about catch up, he shot another shell, but this time, Bowser jumped over it. Randy noticed, but didn't look behind him. He growled as he shot his final shell. It slammed in Bowser's face, making it bleed. He roared in pain, but kept going. They were so close now. They were 5 miles away from the finish line and Randy took another item box. A lightning bolt appeared above his head and he tapped it with his nose. It made the lightning strike Bowser, making him small and slow. Randy chuckled as he kept running and then, crossed the finish line, making him the winner. Everybody cheered as they all ran out the audience bleachers and went up to congradulate him. Cream ran in front of everybody else and nearly tackled him in an embrace. Randy squealed as she grabbed his round head with love. NiGHTS, Tikal, Zack, and Croc walked up to them through the crowd.

"Ladies and gentlemen!" Toad announced. "The winner of the championship... Randy!"

"Oh, Randy!" Cream yelled through the cheering crowd. "I'm so proud of you!" Toad, Mario, Yoshi, and Peach walked up to Randy and gave him his bag of money.

"Congratulations, Randy!" Peach exclaimed. "Here's your 500,000 prize." Randy squealed as he saw the huge bag of money. NiGHTS picked up the happy lizard before he could get to it. She smiled.

"As an additional prize for winning, I'm giving you a special gift." She started. "I now give you the power to squeal no more. In other words, you will now talk like everybody else." After that, she placed a hand on Randy's neck and he felt a small tingle in his throat. Afterwards, he sighed as he spoke.

"Thanks, NiGHTS." He replied. His voice was like Stitch's, but higher pitched. Cream hugged him again and Randy licked her face.

"I never knew I could do it, Cream... but I did." He told her. Cream smiled.

"I always knew you were brave! You're the coolest pet I've ever had!" She replied.

Later...

The race was shutting down and it was about time for Team NiGHTS, Randy, Zack, and Croc to leave. Mario and Yoshi talked with them for a while before they left.

"That was a great race, Randy." Yoshi said. "Hopefully, you'll race us again someday."

"I hope so myself." Randy agreed. Mario walked up to Cream and handed her a Yoshi egg.

"Here-a, Cream. For being such a great gecko owner, you may have-a this Yoshi egg as a gift-a." He said while Cream took the egg. She smiled as he hugged him.

"Thanks, Mario! I'll take good care of it." She replied. NiGHTS was ready to go back to their headquarters. Randy walked towards the circle of his friends and looked at Yoshi one last time.

"See ya, Yosh. Hopefully, we'll race again real soon." He said before they finally disappeared into hyperspace back to the headquarters. Another mission completed.

On episode 5, Cream's second gift hatches. Plus, their next mission envolves with a journey unlike no other, featuring Spyro and Crash Bandicoot.