Chapter 23: The Race to Change Fate! A Fiery Combat to the End!
SMASH!
POW!
BANG!
WHAM!
Wario and Tifa are still engaged in a fierce combat. After much trading of punches and kicks, they return to their starting position, with bruises all over their body. "I didn't expect a girl like you to be this tough!" says Wario.
"You're very tough yourself too," says Tifa.
"However, I will never lose to you!" Wario charges at Tifa very fast.
Tifa lifts a leg and swings it towards Wario for a strong kick, but Wario grabs her leg with both his hands. "Gotcha!" he says.
"Hey! Let go!"
Wario then begins swinging her around and around furiously. "WILD SWING DING!"
"Yaaaaa! I'm getting dizzy!" cries Tifa as she gets swung around and around.
Wario keeps on spinning and spinning and also increasing his speed every time. Finally, he lets go his hands and hurls Tifa into the distance.
"YAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
And she disappears over the cliffs…
Wario raises his hands and shows a victory pose and exclaims, "I WIN!"
-
Elsewhere…
Link is still trying to recover from the shock of seeing Cloud eaten by the fire rabbit. "Ah… ah… ah…"
Talko is equally shocked also. "Ah… ah… ah…"
Link tries to get over it and stands on his feet again. "Darn it! I'll handle this beast myself!"
"Um… I got a race to broadcast," says Talko. "Gotta go!" And he zooms off on his mini-plane.
Link takes out his bow and readies an arrow on it. "I'll shoot its forehead for a sure death headshot!"
Suddenly, Tifa shoots down from the sky and hits the side of the fire rabbit's head very hard.
BANG!
This causes the fire rabbit to open his mouth and Cloud drops out! And then Tifa drops to the ground also.
"Ow… My head is spinning…" she says.
Link runs up to Cloud and says, "Whoa! For a second, I thought you are done for!"
"I really thought I was done for too," says Cloud. "But I guess not…"
Tifa gets back onto her feet and sees Cloud, and says, "Hey Cloud! How is it?"
"Tifa! Behind you!" Cloud shouts at her.
Tifa turns around just in time to see the fire rabbit slamming its paws down towards her, and she quickly rolls aside to avoid getting crushed. "Whoa! What is that!"
The fire rabbit turns to them and lets out a loud thundering roar. The 3 of them get into fighting stance and ready to face it. "Looks like we'll have to deal with this beast first!" says Link.
"I agree," says Cloud. "He'll pay for trying to eat me!"
-
Tin Win is still in lead, with Roy trying to catch up behind him. "I must not let him win!" thought Roy.
Talko is now flying above them. "The racers are now entering the Valley of Snakes! It is a place filled with Fire Snakes. Can they make it out safely?"
As the two enter the valley, several snakes poke their heads out from the holes on the sides of the cliffs and look down on them.
Tim looks up at the snakes and says, "No challenge." He steps on the pedal and zooms forward very fast. As he moves fast, the snakes jump down from their nesting places and drop downwards. Soon, there are several snakes raining down the valley.
"Whoa! What's with these!" gasps Roy upon seeing all the snakes. He takes out his sword and swings it around wildly as he drives through the valley. A snake falls onto his arm and he cries in pain, "YEOW! HOT!" It is because the snake's skin is burning like fire that Roy got his arm burned, hence the name FIRE snake.
A snake opens its jaws wide and jumps at Roy, but he quickly knocks it away with his sword. "Argh! I must make it out here fast!" he says. The amount of snakes here is so large that the floor is practically covered with them!
Soon, Bowser and Cid made it to the valley. "What the! Snakes!" gasps Bowser.
"Ha! Not a problem!" says Cid. His vehicle flies into the air and over the snakes easily.
"Grrr! Like any small snakes can stop me!" says Bowser. He speed forward and runs over the snakes under his car.
SPLAT!
SMASH!
SQUASH!
That was the sound of snakes getting run over, in case you don't know.
Cid is flying over the snakes safely. "I'm so happy I can fly! Hahaha!" Suddenly, a snake drops down into his seat. "What the! Whoa! Get lost!" He grabs the snake, but then his hand got burned badly. "YEOW!" He quickly throws it out his vehicle.
The snake falls down on top of Bowser's head. "Hmm? What's the smell?" he wonders while sniffing the air, for he smells something burning. "Hey, why is my head… BURNS!" Bowser quickly gets the snake off his head and hurls it out. "ARGH! I'M MAD!" He angrily plows through the piles of fire snakes, crushing several of them under the wheels.
Barney is way in the back, and he is very safe from those snakes. It is because his Lego Car has formed some kind of a barrier all around him, so the snakes cannot go in. There is a small hole for Barney to peek through, so he can tell where he is going. "Too bad, Snakeys! You cannot get me because I listen to mommy and put up a fence! Now I won't get ouchies!" he sings stupidly and crazily.
Tim is up ahead and the snakes are falling behind him, so he is all right. However, Roy is having a bit of trouble. A snake coils itself around his arms and burns him badly. "YEOW!" He quickly yanks the snake off and hurls it away. It's amazing how he is able to keep his balance on the motorcycle even when trying to fight off the snakes.
-
At the theater…
"Roy! You can do it!" shouts Lilina. "Don't let those snakes beat you! You can win!"
"Ugh… Those sights of snakes make me want to vomit…" says Zelda, disgusted.
"I wonder how snake tastes like?" asks Kirby.
"Snakes represents evil," says Pit. "I once fought an army of snakes from the underworld."
"Fire Snakes are not poisonous," says Carlos, who once again popped out of nowhere. "However, a bite from them can cause serious burns. In fact, touching their skin is enough to give you a terrible burn."
"You're popping out like that again!" says Zelda.
Aerith is lying in the back of the theater, for she is still passed out. "She just fainted from the shock," says Dr. Mario after examining her. "Cool her down a bit and she'll wake up soon."
Peach and Yuffie are next to her, trying their best to fan her. "She sure dropped out cold all of a sudden," says Peach.
"Well, she has feelings for Cloud," explains Yuffie. "So if anything bad happens to him, she can go like this."
"I see…"
-
Elsewhere in Volcanic Zone…
The fire rabbit slams it paw forward to hit the 3, but they quickly jump aside to avoid it. Cloud rushes at the rabbit and makes a gash across its leg. The rabbit roars in pain and then turns to him and shoots out a blast of fire, but Cloud avoided it.
Link pulls out a couple of arrows and fires it at the rabbit, hitting it in the side of the body. The rabbit angrily turns to Link and then brings its head towards him with mouth wide open. Tifa quickly appears in front of Link and delivers a strong kick into the rabbit's face, making it jerk backwards. "You tried to eat Cloud, right?" Tifa ask the rabbit (like it'll understand her…). "I'll make you pay for this!" She jumps up into the air and to same level as the rabbit's head, and then punches it rapidly with several quick punches and kicks, pummeling it rapidly in the face.
When she finishes her combo and drops to the ground. The rabbit angrily stares down at her and opens it mouth, baring its teeth. Suddenly, Cloud jumps at the rabbit and uses his sword to slash it across the face, making a large scar across it. The rabbit arches back and lets out a painful cry.
"This thing is pretty tough," says Cloud.
Suddenly, they hear someone shouting, "I found you, bitch!" They turn around to see Wario! "I knew you wouldn't fall so easily!" he says. "Now let us continue the fight here!"
"Not now!" says Tifa. "We're dealing with something here!"
"Don't make up an excuse to escape the battle! I'm going to get you even if you're not ready!" Wario lowers his head and charges at Tifa very fast. She quickly hops away just at the same time the fire rabbit swings its paws. Wario got swatted away by the paw instead and was knocked to the ground.
BANG!
"Ow… What was what…?" groans Wario as he gets up, and then he sees the rabbit. "YAH! A MONSTER!"
"Don't tell us you didn't notice it until now!" the other three shout at him.
-
Tim and Roy are now out of the Valley of Snakes. Roy is still trying hard to catch up with Tim. Tim turns back to look at him and says, "You are trying uselessly to catch up. Your fate has been determined since the beginning of the race that you can't win!"
"Must you always talk those dumb stuff?" says Roy angrily. "I'll show you wrong!"
"You are stupid to go against your faith!"
Talko is following them from above. "They are now heading towards the Bridge of Lava! It is a long, thin piece of land that stretches across a large lava lake! If one falls down, then it spells instant doom! Can they make it across the other side safely?"
Bowser and Cid just exited the Valley of Snakes, and they have burns and bite wounds all over their body. "Ow… I feel so bad…" says Bowser.
"Me too…" says Cid. "I'm feeling so hot also…"
"Anyway, let's get on with the race! Don't forget our bet!"
"You bet!"
They are now heading for the Bridge of Lava. This is how the place looks like: It begins with a slope moving down a cliff, and at the bottom of the cliff is a large sea of lava. When the slope reaches the bottom, it winds across the sea of lava. In short, it is a long, thin path that is winding across to the cliff on the other side, and then sloping upwards again.
"At this rate, I'll never catch up with him," thought Roy. "I must find a method or either a short cut."
Soon, Tin approaches the slope and drives down the slope smoothly. When Roy got to the slope, he looks down the cliff to take a good look at the path below, and then an idea came to him. "This might be risky, but it should work."
Tin looks back and says, "So the stupid boy has finally accepted his fate." He continues to go down the steep slope while being careful not to fall off the side.
Roy drives back a few yards, and then he zooms forward and drives off the cliff instead of going down the slope!
"Whoa! Roy just zoomed down the cliff!" exclaims Talko. "What is he planning?"
-
At the theater…
"ROY! WHAT ARE YOU DOING!" screams Lilina in fright.
"He's not thinking of committing suicide, is he?" asks G&W.
"Roy is committing suicide! He can't!" scream Pichu and Parry.
"No, he's taking a short cut," says Captain Falcon.
"How do you know?" asks Pikachu.
"I studied the map of the Bridge of Lava earlier, and then I took notice of which part of the cliff he's driving off, and so I knew it immediately."
"What do you mean?"
"When I saw the overhead view of the area, I saw that when the slope got to the bottom, it immediately curved to the left against the cliff. So Roy was trying to drive off the cliff and drop down there and land in front of Tim."
"I see…"
"I no get it," says Jigglypuff.
-
Just as CF said, Roy drops onto solid ground at the bottom and in front of Tim also! "Ha! Luck is with me!" says Roy.
"What!" gasps Tim upon seeing Roy in front of him. "You dare go against your fate all the way to this step!"
"See ya, stupid!" And then Roy zooms off.
"Don't think you can alter fate just like this! I am the one who is destined to win!" Tim quickly zooms after Roy.
Bowser and Cid soon came to the slope. "Whoa! It looks like a wild ride down there!" says Bowser, looking down.
"You still got time to talk?" says Cid as he drives down the slope. "You should drive more and talk less!"
"Argh! I won't let you get away with it!" Bowser angrily drives after him.
And then along comes Barney, singing happily and awfully to himself. "Lalalala! What a hot day today is!" And then he stupidly drives off the cliff from the right side, and there is no solid ground below it! "WEEEEEEEEEE!"
However, do not celebrate to earlier yet, Barney haters. Right before the stupid purple jerk plummets to his doom in the lava below, the Lego car immediately reassembles into a plane in a split second, and then soars into the air. "I'm flying!"
Bower and Cid both look at Barney flying into the sky. "Wha? That freak!" says Bowser. "He's cheating!"
"I should be doing this too!" says Cid, and then his vehicle begins to take flight.
"Oh no you don't!" Bowser quickly grabs the back of his vehicle to prevent it from taking off.
"Hey! Let go! You're too heavy and my Highwind Runner can't take flight!"
"Never! I'll never let you take flight!"
The two of them fight all the way through the place, with Cid half-way off the ground and Bowser reaching out from his car, grabbing onto the back of Cid's car and getting dragged along.
Tim soon caught up with Roy and is driving next to him. "You dare mess with your fate! You are stupid!" Tim says to him.
"You keep on blabbering about fate this fate that!" replies Roy angrily. "You are the one who is stupid!"
Tim angrily rams his car against Roy's motorbike, trying to knock him off the path and into the lava below. Roy bravely rams back at him and the two push against each other all the way to the end. After fighting through the long, winding path, they finally move up the slope.
"Now this is where things get exciting!" says Talko. "Above that cliff are geysers that react whenever something is on top of it! They are the one and only motion-sensor geysers! How do these kinds of things exist? Who cares? Now there is a large gap beyond the cliff above, and one must use the boost from the geyser to fly over it! And then the finish line is just ahead! I hope you get what I'm saying."
-
Back with those 4…
The fire rabbit takes a deep breath and then shoots out a large blast of fire, but they all jump to safety. "Let's take on him!" says Wario.
"Yeah! Time to finish this rabbit-wannabe!" says Link.
"I'll show him!" says Cloud.
"I'm ready to show him too!" says Tifa.
All four of them run towards the fire rabbit bravely. The rabbit breathes out another blast of fire, but they all jump into the air to avoid it.
-
Roy and Tim both drive up the slope together, and they touch the geyser at the same time too. The geyser then reacted by shooting out a stream of gas and water, shooting the two vehicles into the sky and across the gap. While they are still in air and passing above the gap (it's a death drop down there), Roy pulls out his sword. "You keep on talking about fate this fate that! I'm so annoyed of it!" says Roy.
"You do not know, for you are stupid!" says Tim. "Fate is determined at birth, and I am destined to succeed in everything I do! I am the best, and that's what I will be no matter what! It is destined since the beginning I will win this race! I will become the winner of the grand prix and meet Carma! And then I will become ruler of the world where everyone shall bow down to my greatness! This is my destiny since I was born, and it WILL happen! A stupid person like you will never understand! Do you know why I have absolutely no friends? It is because people saw how great I am and they feel ashamed before me, so none dare to mess with me or else they will be exposed to their true stupid nature!"
"You are the one who is stupid! You have no friends because you are proud, arrogant, and stubborn! Nobody would like to make friends with you!"
-
After avoiding the fire breath, the four of them jump into the air and towards the fire rabbit.
"Whirling Blade!" shouts Link as he stretches out his sword.
"Wario Punch!" yells Wario as he begins winding up a punch.
"Omni Slash!" yells Cloud as he raises his sword overhead.
"Final Heaven!" shouts Tifa as she begins charging her strength.
-
"YOU ARE THE ONE WHO IS STUPID!" Roy yells at the top of his voice, and then he swings his sword at Tim's car.
SLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
The slash not only cut Tim across his body, but also sliced through the entire car, pretty much shattering it into two. "GAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" screams Tim.
-
At the same time…
Link spins violently and hits the fire rabbit. Wario throws an all-powerful punch into its face. Cloud slashes it rapidly with several violent blows. Tifa lets out a powerful blast of energy at the rabbit.
SLAAAAAAAAAAAASH! POW! SLAAAAAAAAAAAASH! BAAAAAAAAANG!
"ROOOAAAAAR!" roars the fire rabbit loudly and painfully.
-
Roy and Tim successfully land on the other side of the gap and onto solid ground. Roy lands safely and continues moving, but Tim's car hits the ground roughly and explodes into pieces.
KABOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
Roy lifts his hands off the bike handle and shouts in triumph, "I HAVE CHANGE THE WAY OF MY FATE!"
-
The force of the attacks sends the rabbit flying backwards, and it falls into a pool of lava with a splash.
SPLAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASH!
And it slowly sinks to the bottom…
All 4 of them are panting heavily from executing such powerful attacks. "Boy… That was tiring…" says Link. "But fun…"
"I wish for more stuffs like this!" says Wario.
"Got my revenge…" says Cloud.
"I'm glad this is over…" says Tifa.
-
Roy immediately crosses the finish, and this is no surprise. "I WIN!"
"Congratulations! First place goes to Roy!" exclaims Talko.
-
"ROY! YOU'RE MY HERO!" shouts Lilina delightfully and excitedly.
"He sure got some skills," says CF.
"I never thought he would be so good with his bike!" says Ganondorf.
"And he taught that Tim guy a lesson," adds Mewtwo. "I foresaw this already. People's fates are set since their birth… This is such a… stupid idea."
"I agree," says Mario.
-
Barney has successfully flown across the gap using his Lego plane. He lands on the ground and it turns back into a car. "Lalalala! The line is just ahead!" says Barney.
At this moment, 2 shadows loom above him, and he looks up to see Bowser and Cid shooting across the gap via the boost from the geyser. The two drop down in front of Barney and zoom for the finish line.
"FIRST PLACE IS MINES!" shouts Bowser.
"NEVER! MINES!" yells back Cid.
The two of them zoom as fast as they can for the finish line. They come closer and closer and closer and closer…
Let's just say that Bowser won this race. Proof? The picture taken by the camera.
"2nd place goes to Bowser and 3rd to Cid!" says Talko. "And 4th to Barney!"
Bowser jumps up from his seat and screams with joy, "I WIN! YAHOOOOO!"
Cid hits the steering wheel hard and grumbles, "Argh! You beat me to it! Impossible!"
And so, a couple of other racers soon made it to the finish line, but the ones who came in last were considered lost, and those who were destroyed are lost also.
-
"Cid! How can you lose to that big turtle!" cries Yuffie. "I thought you were so ready for this!"
"I knew Bowser would come in 2nd," says Ganondorf.
Aerith soon came to her senses. "Oh… What happened…?"
"Oh Aerith! You're awake!" says Yuffie. "Can you believe it? Cid lost to the turtle! I'm so disappointed!"
"But he did come in 3rd place, so it's still a good thing," Peach reminds her.
"Um… Yeah, that's something to be happy about."
"Where's… Cloud?"
"A big rabbit ate him," says Pichu straightly and simply.
"Wha! Cloud…" And then Aerith passes out again.
"AERITH!" screams Yuffie. "You rat! Don't bring that up to her so straightly!"
"But I'm telling the truth!"
-
That night, at the hotel café…
"And I cut his car into pieces!" says Roy. "Boy, he sure made me mad!"
"I'm so glad you won!" says Lilina, clinging onto his arm tightly. "I knew you would beat that guy!"
"I give you credit, Roy!" says Bowser. "I was thinking of beating that guy myself!"
"Seriously, I can't stand what he said about fate and also calling people stupid," says Mewtwo.
"And now, everyone listen to my story of how I beat that Cid guy!" says Bowser. "You see, I did this and that and this and that and finally beat him!"
"You're so amazing, Mr. Koopa!" says Pit. "You are not only good in fighting but also driving!"
"Ha! I'm good at everything!"
Then Cid approaches their table with a rather grumpy look on his face. "Oh, Cid!" says Bowser. "What do you want?"
"Fine, I admit you're good!" says Cid. "You pack quite a wallop to beat me!"
"I told ya I would win!"
"Well, that was a pretty fun race too! You beat me to it, but I still won. Let's look forward to racing each other again! I'm gonna beat you next time!"
"Don't count on your turtles before they hatch! Hahahahaha!"
"Ha! You're funny!" With this, Cid returns to his table to join with the others.
"You had us all worried, Cloud!" Yuffie says to Cloud. "Aerith nearly died from shock when you were eaten by that monster!"
"I told you I'm all right now!" says Cloud. "Would you stop bringing that up?"
"Um, Cloud…" says Aerith.
"Yeah?"
"Thanks for coming back alive…"
"Um… Whatever…"
"She was worried about you and you only replied 'whatever'?" says Yuffie.
"Hey bitch!" yells a voice.
"It's him again…" says Tifa.
Wario comes to their table and says, "Our battle is not over yet! You escaped from me and then we were interrupted by that monster! We shall have a duel again!"
"Who said I escaped? You clearly tossed me away! And I'm not in the mood for fighting at the moment."
"Ha! Afraid? I knew you're afraid! I'm the best after all!" Wario walks away while laughing to himself proudly. When he has his back turned toward her, Tifa runs up to him and kicks him in the back, sending him across the place and crashing into an indoor fountain.
CRASH!
"Happy now?" asks Tifa.
TO BE CONTINUED…
And so, the race of Volcanic Zone has ended. I hope you like how things turned out! Look forward to the chapters!
CF: When is my race!
Coming up next chapter: Return of the Clown! The Race Through the Jungles!