Disclaimer: In no way at all do I own any of the original character, locations, ships, or anything else mentioned in Star Wars. They are all owned by George Lucas. I only own my OC. Any similarities between this story and another are purely accidental.
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The pilots gathered at the starting grid, putting the finishing touches on their Pods. Kitster and Lyra were helping Anakin, attaching the engines to the Podracer and doing last-minute check-ups on other parts. Next to them, Sebulba waved to his fans as they waved and cheered.
"Be safe," Shmi said quietly, hugging Anakin and kissing him on the cheek. Her worry was shown clearly on her face, and Anakin was quick to reassure her.
"I will, Mom. I promise."
Jar Jar approached the young boy as well. "Dis berry loony, Ani," he said, in his own simple way of saying good luck. "May da gods be kind, mesa palo."
Padmé approached him as well and gave him a little kiss on the cheek. "You carry all our hopes," she said solemnly.
"I won't let you down!" declared Anakin.
Lyra knelt down at Anakin's eye-level and embraced him. When she pulled away, she looked him in the eye and said, "I believe in you Ani." She hugged him again, then moved away.
When Lyra had gone, Sebulba approached Anakin. "Bazda wahota, shag," he hissed. "Yoka to Bantha poodoo." You won't walk away from this, slave scum. You're Bantha poodoo.
"Cha skrundee da pat, sleemo!" replied Anakin heatedly. Don't count on it, slimeball!
Qui-Gon walked towards Anakin's Pod and Sebulba returned to his racer. The Jedi lifted Anakin into the Pod and he strapped himself in.
"Are you all set, Ani?" he asked.
Anakin nodded.
"Remember," advised Qui-Gon, "concentrate on the moment. Feel, don't think. Trust your instincts." He smiled. "May the Force be with you."
Qui-Gon stepped away as Anakin put on his goggles. He flipped several switches on the control panel, starting his engines and making energy binders flare up. The incredible roar of high-powered engines ignited echoes throughout the arena.
Lyra and Qui-Gon entered a viewing platform, where Shmi, Padmé, and Jar Jar had already boarded. It began to rise up a tall pillar like an elevator.
"Is he nervous?" asked Shmi.
"He's fine," assured Qui-Gon.
"He's Anakin, remember?" asked Lyra cheekily, making Shmi smile.
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On a bridge over the track, a great green light at the center flashed. The Podracers shot forward with high-pitched screams. The Podracers careened down the sand-covered racetrack. But two remained solitary. Lyra's eyes widened as she realized Anakin was one of them.
"Little Skywalker has stalled!" came the voice of the two-headed announcer.
Finally, Anakin's engines ignited. He zoomed away after the receding pack of competitors, leaving the other Podracer behind. Lyra suppressed a scream of excitement as he approached the other racers.
"And there goes Skywalker," drawled the announcer. "He'll be hard pressed to catch up with the leaders today."
Lyra went over to Shmi, who was holding a hand-held viewing screen that displayed the race. On it, Sebulba was running neck-and-neck with another pilot.
They rounded the first turn in the track, side-by-side, but not for long as Sebulba forced his opponent into the wall of a rock formation. Anakin, however, was faster than the back-stragglers and caught up with Sebulba easily.
A worried look passed over Shmi's face as four Tusken Raiders came into view. They're bullets ricocheted off the back of Anakin's Pod, easing the worry on Shmi's face a little.
"Looks like a few Tusken Raiders have camped out on the canyon dune turn," reported the announcer.
Lyra's gaze wandered the arena, alighting on where Watto was seated with his friends. He was laughing and cheering, confident in Anakin's defeat.
Rolling her eyes, she turned her gaze back to the view screen where lap two had begun. Sebulba had caught off part of his Pod, sending it into the engine of another pilot and making him veer into Anakin. The impact unhooked one on Anakin's engines that linked it to the Pod. Thankfully, the young boy managed to correct it.
Meanwhile, Sebulba had cut the engine of another pilot with his side exhaust, causing it to crash in a cloud of dust. Anakin rounded the corner, heading into the cloud of smoke and hitting his engine against the crashed Pod, but quickly regaining control.
The announcer spoke again. "At the start of the third and final lap, Sebulba is in the lead, closely followed by Skywalker," he said.
On the view screen, Anakin finally caught up with Sebulba. The Dug moved over, trying to cut Anakin's engines with his side exhaust. The young boy avoided him, but was forced off course. On one of the tight corners, he drove the Pod back inside and took the lead.
"Amazing!" cried the announcer. "A controlled thrust and he's back on course! What a move!"
Furious, Sebulba stayed on Anakin's tail, crowding him and pushing him through the turns. One of the parts on Anakin's engines began to shake loose, making him switch to an auxiliary system. Sebulba raced past him.
Anakin faked a move into the inside, then tried to go around Sebulba on the outside. They raced side-by-side down the final stretch of the track.
Sebulba veered toward Anakin and banged into his Pod. As a result, the steering rod on the two pods became hooked. As they headed for the final stretch, Anakin fought to unlock the steering rods by pulling away from Sebulba. Anakin's steering arm suddenly breaks, and the release of the tension sent Sebulba careening into a rock formation. His engines explode, and he skids through the sand, blackened but unhurt.
The stands erupted into cheers as Anakin crossed the finish line. Jar Jar started screaming hysterically, Padmé and Lyra cheered and embraced in the way only teenage girls can, and Qui-Gon and Shmi smiled.