Chapter 9
Jet the Hawk ducked, and just barely managed to avoid getting hit by giant fruit in the final lap on an earthy raceway, right in the middle of a forest full of giant frogs. He was maintaining a steady 6th place, proving his last race to be a fluke, but as the end approached, his nervousness grew. He was only a place behind that human girl, who had somehow managed to get all the way up there half-way through the lap. He heard some familiar croaking nearby, and realized that it was more of those black frogs from before, just in time to dodge more fruit. Other racers weren't so lucky, however, getting knocked back or straight out by it. It left Jet in 2nd place, an acceptable position to be in...If it hadn't been behind that girl.
Lucy couldn't believe her luck! Somehow, she had managed to snag 1st place! She'd never even close to done it before in any of her previous races, in this tournament or otherwise...Was it just a random occurrence, or had she actually managed to get up to that level of skill? She supposed she should concentrate on that later as she saw Jet the Hawk, her closest competition, moving closer. Maybe she'd be able to wipe that smug expression off of his face now! "You may as well give it up now, girlie! We both know I'M going to win!" Jet mocked. Lucy prepared to respond...Before another giant fruit came their way, and nearly knocked both of them out of the race. "Less trash talking, more racing!" She said, as she began her boost.
It was neck and neck as Jet and Lucy approached the finish line, neither of them giving much ground to the other. Jet knew there was no way he could properly win this with what air was left in his board, but what else could he do? It's not like there was a ramp anywhere he could use to recharge, and boosting was a no-go. He clenched his fists...He didn't want to resort to this, but he felt he had no choice. Losing was NOT an option here. Jet carefully aimed his board and, with a quick and deliberate twist, dug its side into the tech in Lucy's air shoes, knocking her to the ground in a tumble as he did so, laughing as he crossed the finish line in 1st place.
Sonic watched in shock as Lucy tumbled right past him as he finished the race, the Glamor Chao quickly gathering around her for protection as she landed. Her energy shields had taken most of the damage from the fall, but that HAD to hurt regardless...And the smoke coming out of her right air shoe didn't look promising.
Jet reveled in his glory as the boos of the crowd began to roar. Sure, he hadn't won COMPLETELY how he had wanted to, but he HAD won, right? And he'd do it again in the final race. Everything was coming up Jet!
But then, the announcement from one of the Glamor Chao came over the loudspeaker.
"JET THE HAWK IS DISQUALIFIED!"
"WHAT!?" Jet cried out in surprise, caught off guard by the announcement. "That move was TOTALLY legal!"
"You were told at the beginning of these races that all racers must win through their own skill and wit." One of the Glamor Chao explained. "If you had beat her through basic speed, it would count as skill. If you had manipulated her into taking herself out with the course, it would count as wit. Heck, if you had managed to sabotage her Gear before the race so it would strategically malfunction, even with all of our safety checks, it would count as both! But no, you just bashed your board straight into your opponents Gear in such a way where she could never recover, OR be able to at least finish the race. You broke the rules of good sportsmanship, Jet, so you're disqualified!"
A photo of Jet came up on the big monitor, with a large banner saying "Disqualified!" coming up on top of it. "And as she was his victim in all of this, Jet's win goes to racer Lucy Alvernaz by default!" The Glamor Chao finished. Jet looked over to where Lucy was currently getting up, helped by some Glamor Chao and two people he didn't recognize. She shot him an angry glare as she walked off to get checked out. "That's not fair! I-"
"JET." A voice said, firmly placing his hand on Jet's shoulder. It was Sonic, looking quite angry about all of this. "I think you better leave. NOW." Jet shot a look over at Wave, who seemed more disappointed than anything else, the boos of the crowd getting more and more uproarious. "FINE! Have your stupid little tournament without me! I'm outta here!" Jet said, furiously, as he leaped onto his board and rode out of the raceway.
