Race 11: Club Penguin

On Club Penguin Island, the normally peaceful and fun-loving penguins were all in a panic as the Leviathan hovered ominously over the Iceberg, the Melt-Inator 6-5000 aimed at the island. All members of the Elite Penguin Force were on high alert, with Jet Pack Guy, Rookie, Gary the Gadget Guy, Paige the Puffle Handler (PH to her friends), and Dot the Disguise Gal on the case to find a way to stop Herbert's plans.

"Augh, it's no use!" Gary shouted in dismay. "No amount of hacking is going to break through Atlantean technology."

"And I don't think throwing snowballs to jam the lasers will work either, not for a lack of trying," Rookie sighed.

"Come on guys, we're the Elite Penguin Force! Everyone on Club Penguin is counting on us!" Dot said.

"Unfortunately, I think Herbert was right in saying that we have to rely on the Dream Defenders to save the day this time," Jet Pack Guy said.

Suddenly, a star-shaped portal opened up over Ski Hill, making the EPF Agents teleport over to investigate. The Dream Defenders soon came out of the portal, with a girl wearing a jean jacket waving goodbye before closing the portal. "Thanks for the help, America!" Gabriel said. "She's really getting the hang of those portals now."

"Hey everyone!" Rookie greeted. "We are so glad that you showed up!"

"And just in time too," Adam noted. "So then, where's Herbert?"

The ground underneath them shook, almost topping them to the ground as a drill car burst out of the ground, a red wagon being dragged behind it. The window on the drill rolled down to reveal that Herbert was inside, with Klutzy riding in the wagon on the back. "So, you heroes got past my racers? That was faster than I expected."

"I mean, Cyrus was kinda hard, but Big Wheel was a pushover," Logan shrugged.

"I knew I should have increased my evil minion budget," Herbert mumbled. "Anyway, you're too late now! All I have to do is activate the Melt-Inator 6-5000, and it's goodbye Club Penguin and hello Club Herbert!"

"But we still have one last chance to win this!" Beth said. "You still have to beat us in a race!"

"Well too bad for you, because I supped up my Earthquake Driller to be even faster than any of your cars. So good luck stopping me without any items, which I disabled as well!" Herbert revved up his engine.

"We're not going to back down so easily," Rachel said.

"Yeah, there's still a chance for victory!" Aline nodded.

"Then let's get ready, team, "Silver finished.

"We'll get all the help you'll need as well," Jet Pack Guy said to the teams. "All of Club Penguin is behind you."

The racers all got to their vehicles. "Okay gang, this is it. The final battle!" Gabriel called.

Ready to Race?

Starting in 3…

2…

1…

Go for it!

Before the countdown event started, Herbert blasted down Ski Hill, with our heroes having to play catch up to keep up with the polar bear. The Blue Royale took the lead, with Hex Rider and Heart of a Jaquin close behind. Ski Hill is covered in ramps, snowbanks, and logs on the trail that the teams had to avoid, while Herbert could simply plow through with his drill. "He's not even playing fair!" Beth bemoaned.

"He was also right about deactivating items," Adam said. "I can't even hack any in for us. I think the Leviathan is emitting some sort of technical interference to stop my teleportation algorithm."

"Herbert really though ahead on this one," Rachel frowned.

Once they reached the bottom of Ski Hill, the race went south towards the Beach, the Club Penguin Lighthouse the centerpiece of the area. "Ahoy, racers!" called a pirate voice. Docked next to the lighthouse was a pirate ship, The Migrator, with a red penguin in pirate garb waving to them.

"It's Captain Rockhopper!" Toren recognized.

"We got the message that you racers needed some help," Rockhopper said. "Fire the cannons, Yarr!"

The red puffle hopped onto the ship's cannon and fired, sending out item boxes for the racers to use! Aline missed her aim with a bomb, but Silver came in with a banana attack, hitting Herbert. Adam and Logan pulled up next, with Adam distracting Herbert as Logan used a shield to ram into the polar bear's drill.

"How about some mischief?" Nico asked rhetorically, using his Special to play his Crystal Tamborita and summon and oil slick to trip Herbert up.

"And here's a hyena surprise!" Jasiri called, using her Special to call on hyena spirits to attack the drill.

Stitch was up next, laughing manically as he fired his blasters to damage the vehicle. "Good shot buddy!" Beth complimented.

"Super Sword Slash!" Rachel shouted, her Special sending out a massive sword beam that caused the drill to spark slight.

"Rats! They've disabled my first line of defense," Herbert cursed. "But no matter, I still have the lead."

The racers drove past the Docks area and into the Town Center, where penguins were lined up on the sidelines cheering the heroes on. One of these penguins was pink with green headphones and a yellow scarf. "Hey y'all, it's DJ K Dance, here to give you some help with my epic tunes!" Candence pulled out some item boxes and tossed them onto the track. "We had some of these stored for a racing party, but I think you need them more."

"Thanks Candence!" Aline said.

With new items to use, Toren launched a bomb to attack Herbert, with Silver behind him using a firework while Gabriel used a boost attack. Aline used a shield for a slam attack, which gave Logan and Beth time to synchronize for a double boost attack. Rachel and Adam finished up the assault with a bomb and banana, respectfully.

"He's really feeling the heat now," Adam said. "His shields are over halfway down now."

"And this is where I tell you that I have more tricks up my sleeve," Herbert jeered. He pressed a button on his control console, the drill spinning around as the polar bear started driving backwards. "Good luck attacking me when all your items get shredded, heroes!"
Silver let out a whistle of impressment. "Wow, Herbert must have gone to the Tow Mater school of backwards driving to be pulling this off."

"You can be impressed by him later," Logan said.

The race soon went through the Snow Forts, with the racers driving around the snow structures as they entered the Plaza area. More penguins were cheering them on, with one in particular having already set up items for the heroes to use, being a green penguin with a pink beanie and glasses. "Save our island, Dream Defenders!"

"We'll make sure of it, Aunt Artic," Rachel nodded.

Picking up the third set of items, Herbert's claims rang true as his drill caused a lot of problems for them. Silver's bomb, Beth's banana, and Logan and Rachel's fireworks were all shredded by the drill, with Herbert laughing at their ineffectual attacks. Deciding to play smarter and not harder, Rocket used his bomb and carefully launched in in a way so that Herbert would drive over it, landing a successful hit.

Seeing that their friend was doing, Athena did the same and shot her banana in an arc over the drill and right into its driving path. Agent P grappled out of the car before using his firework from above, avoiding the drill entirely. Finally, Aline put on a brave face before stepping on the gas, driving right into the drill as Luz activated their shield power, which actually clogged up the drill and made it cease functioning.

"I can't believe that worked!" Scratch said.

"I'm going to need more therapy for that, though," Luz sighed.

"Grr, systems are going critical now," Herbert said nervously. "But no matter, this race is almost over and I've nearly won!"

The race went into the Forest weaving between trees before coming out on the cove. The heroes all made a hard stop before their cars took a dip in the sea. Herbert smirked, pressing another button as his drill gained a flotation device, turning it into a boat. "Hah, I moved the finish line out to the Iceberg, so you all can watch as Club Penguin melts before your eyes!"

"Hey, no fair!" Beth shouted.

"Is this the end?" Silver asked nervously.

"Our cars may have anti-gravity, but that won't work over water," Adam shook his head. "And the diving functionality still won't give us the speed we need to catch up to Herbert."

"Then allow an old sage to help out," said a mysterious voice. Appearing in a puff of smoke came an old grey penguin with a wise beard and a straw hat.

"Sensei!" Gabriel said, giving a respectful bow. "Do you have something that can help us?"

"A gift from Gary the Gadget Guy," Sensei said, pulling out a box. He pressed a button on it, which sent out a wave that gave each of their vehicles floatation devices to drive on water with! "I also have some double items for you to use."

"Then why are we waiting here for? Herbert is getting away!" Logan shouted.

The racers all gunned it, flying out onto the water and pushing their cars to the absolute limit. Once they got in range, they tossed their items to stop the polar bear before the finish line. Silver's bomb missed, but Gabriel, Aline, and Adam were there with their own bombs to back him up. Beth missed her banana attack, but Logan was there to use shield to block the item so it didn't backfire on her. Rachel's banana did connect, though.

"Time for some more crystal power!" Toren called, using his Special and calling on the emotion of determination to push his car forward and ram into the drill.

"No, no, no, systems are failing!" Herbert said, frantically pressing buttons to hold his vehicle together as it sparked and sputtered. "And the iceberg is right there!"

"Not so fast, bad guy!" Luz called, using her Special to create a wall of ice that Herbert crashed into.

"And I think we'll be taking that," Vanellope called, using her Special to glitch over to the drill and stealing the weapon firing mechanism from the polar bear.

The Dream Defenders soon all came to a stop on the iceberg, with Adam hacking the remote an disabling the Melt-Inator 6-5000 just as it was about to fire. The heroes and cheered and gave sighs of relief, congratulating each other on a job well done. Herbert was less than happy, falling out of his vehicle and pouting as Klutzy came over to comfort him.

"Darn it! And I thought I'd have this win in the bag," Herbert whined.

"Face it, Herbert, you lost," Logan taunted.

"Yeah, yeah, rub it in, why don't you," the polar bear huffed. "Now I'll never be seen as a real villain…"

"Wait, that's why you did all this?" Beth questioned.

"Some of the other villains were making fun of me, saying that I was never a real threat," Herbert explained. "And that's not true, I've gotten close to ruling Club Penguin many times! Remember Operation Blackout! Victory was in the palm of my hands. But they all said that I wasn't ambitious enough to join their ranks, so I set up this whole scheme to impress them."

"You know Herbert, doing something just to impress someone else isn't the best reason to do something," Silver pointed out. "Was your heart in this plan?"

"Well, no," Herbert admitted.

"And do you really want to hurt the penguins, or is there something else you want?" Aline asked.

"What I want is a tropical paradise where I can live out my days and not be annoyed by all their constant partying," Herbert said.

"Then why don't we help you with that?" Toren asked.

"Really Toren? This guy just tried to wipe out a whole island of penguins, and you want to help him?" Logan questioned.

"Well, if I just wanted to have some relaxation but was constantly interrupted from it, then I would be cranky too," Toren said. "And besides, Herbert's kind of like Doctor Doofenshmirtz, where he's a Saturday Morning cartoon villain that'll never really hurt anyone for long."

"Hey, maybe I'm not as bad as Jafar or Scar, but I'm still a bad guy," Herbert objected.

"But just because you're a bad guy doesn't mean you're a 'bad guy,'" Rachel said. "Poe here is technically a villain, but he still helps us out. And while I may be skeptical of helping you, I trust Toren's judgement."

"Did you guys forget the Steelbeak incident back during the Sorcerer's Arena?" Logan sighed.

"Besides that, I agree with Rachel," Gabriel nodded. "Not every villain has to be dealt with via violence. If we did that, Poe would still be a raven forever, and Aline would never have learned to overcome her parents neglectfulness and lived as her own person."

"And again, there's way worse villains than Herbert," Jasiri nodded.

"There's always a path to the Light Side, sometimes you just need an outstretched hand to help guide you there," Lop added. "I know I'll never stop trying to help my sister come back."

Toren smiled at Herbert, holding out a paw as his scarf glowed white. "Elena taught me that the most powerful crystal magic is forgiveness. So, I forgive you, Herbert P. Bear."

The polar bear looked at the paw, before sighing and taking it. "Esquire," he added. "So then, all is forgiven?"

"Not exactly," Jet Pack Guy said, flying it to greet the teams. "You'll have to pay for all the damages you did during the Grand Prix, as well as community service for all the other crimes you've committed over the years. But with the Dream Defenders vouching for you, we'll see about finding you somewhere better to live, at least."

"Stich know a great place!" Stitch said.

"Oh yeah, and you can have Lilo and your cousins help Herbert out as well!" Beth said.

As Toren, Beth, Jet Pack Guy, and Herbert discussed more about what would happen with the polar bear, Gabriel and Rachel gave each other a high five for resolving the situation. "So then, is this the end of the competition?" Rachel asked.

"Well, there is one more surprise that Mickey told me about," Gabriel said with a wink…

Total Points

Rachel (53)

Gabriel (52)

Toren (50)

Logan (48)

Aline (45)

Adam (40)

Silver (38)

Beth (36)

Author's Note

And with that, Herbert is defeated, and set on the path to redemption under Toren and Beth's supervision! I honestly do believe that Herbert isn't that bad of a guy, he just goes about dealing with his problems in the worst and most extreme ways possible. The man just wants a tropical vacation but can't escape the party penguins. Hopefully our favorite Jaquin can guide the polar bear on the path of… well, maybe Herbert won't fully reform, but at the very least he won't try something so extreme ever again.

On another note, there were quite a few Club Penguin cameos here as well. I played the game a lot as a kid alongside my brother, as it was one of the few games you could play in the school computer lab that wasn't blocked. Ah, the nostalgia…

Next Time: a final race for all the marbles! Prepare yourselves for the surprise superstar race!