Okay, it is time for the race! Who will win? Let's find out now!
Sly Cooper and the Space Thieves
Chapter 26- The Race
It is the morning of the big race, and the atmosphere could not be filled with more excitement! Everyone was at the Plains of Clouds, an area full of mountains covered in thick clouds. The Dramarans and the Tramurans are on large, floating platforms to get a good view. There are also hologram monitors for the audience to see the race as it happens. Sly and his friends were sitting with Queen Wingdra near the center of their platform, eagerly waiting for the race to begin. On the other side, Lord Kona is looking forward for the event to start as well with a big smile on his creepy face.
Beowulf turned to the queen. "I hope Rovax will win this race. His people, and us, are counting on him." "He will not let us down, Beowulf. He never has." The queen said with a worried look on her face. Sly notices this asks why she should be worried. "Because Sly, I know for a fact that Sacu never plays fair. He may try some underhanded tricks during the race. I don't want to lose Rovax, not again." "You never lost him the first time, your majesty." said Carmelita. Wingdra looked at her with a weak smile. "I didn't mean it like that, Carmelita. It is just that, well…"
Before she finished her sentence, a loud horn was blown that silenced the audience at once. "The race is starting!" said the queen. The first racer appeared; it was Sacu. He arrived at the starting line btw the platforms with a huge smirk on his face, overly confident. His racing machine looked like an evil, black hand; three sharp fingers for each wing and had a stinger symbol on its front end. He received a loud cheer from his people's platform, while getting a heaping of boos from the other platform. A few moments later, Rovax appeared in his racing machine.
His was much cooler looking; it resembled a red diamond with elegant wings and had the initials RX on its front end. He received a welcomed applause not only from his people, but from Sly's gang as well. Queen Wingdra was clapping hard with much enthusiasm. Just then, a loud voice was heard not far from the queen's platform; it was the race commentator. "Welcome everyone! Welcome to the Great Race! It should be very exciting this year, both of today's racers look like they can handle anything!
"First, our own Captain Rovax! A fine soldier with a reputation of being tough both on the battlefield and on the race track! He has recently survived an encounter with hostile aliens that tried to kill him and his crew! But like always, he manages to beat the odds! Let us applaud him one more time, shall we?" The Dramaran platform cheered loudly for their champion, and Rovax smiled for their support. The commentator's voice called out again. "Now let us welcome his opponent! From the neighboring planet of Tramus, it is Sacu!"
Rovax then turned to face his opponent with hatred. "He has been training almost nonstop for this competition, and he looks ready to win! But before he can claim the prize, he has to beat Rovax! To win this race, both racers need to navigate through the thick clouds that cover the track, watch out for any unexpected wild life from the mountains, and then reach the finish line on the other side! There are a few well hidden short cuts, but they have to find them on their own! One more thing, NO WEAPONS ALLOWED! This race is about your skills of flight, navigation, and instinct!
"I don't know about you, but I want to get this race started, don't you?" The crowds yelled "YES" in response. "Okay, that's good enough for me! Racers, start your engines!" After a hate filled staring contest, both Rovax and Sacu got their machines started with loud roars coming from them. They waited for the signal to start. Then they heard it: "On your mark, get set, and GOOOO!" The 2 competitors are off towards their destination, and the prize! After they disappeared in the clouds, the platforms began to move; they were going to meet the racers at the finish line after the race.
Rovax and Sacu turned on their scanners on their consoles; these would show the way through the race track. Unfortunately, their scanners and navigational systems are all scrambled due to the magnetic interference from the mountains. So they have to do this thing on their own. Rovax knew that he didn't need the scanners; he knew this part of the planet very well. After all, he had several of his military training exercises here. He then decided to take a right at the first mountain, knowing he was going the right way out.
Sacu, however, had other plans. As he followed Rovax, he shot a few small objects at the next mountain appearing in front of them. Before Rovax could make another turn, his ship suddenly turned; it was heading towards the mountain, and he can't turn around! As Sacu passed him, he yelled, "So long, loser!!" He sped away, laughing in the process. Cursing him, Rovax began to find a way to turn away from the ever approaching mountain. As he did so, he heard the commentator's voice outside. "Uh-oh! Looks like Captain Rovax is having trouble! His machine is heading towards that mountain!"
Sly and the others looked worried, but not as worried as Queen Wingdra. 'Please Rovax, survive.' she thought. Back to Rovax, he was still trying to figure out what is pulling him to the mountain. And then he saw something as he got closer; three small magnets. 'So that's it! Sacu you cheater! You won't get rid of me that easily!' he thought as he tried to figure out how to stop them. Then he got an idea. He couldn't change the direction of his machine, but he could change the direction of his boosters.
He redirected them towards the magnets. When he was close enough, he fired the boosters at half-full power. It had worked; the magnets melted under the intense heat and released him. Grateful that this worked, Rovax deactivated his boosters and returned to his original course. "Alright, Rovax is back on course!" The Dramaran crowd and Sly's gang cheered at this. Queen Wingdra was the most cheerful of the crowd. 'I knew you would not perish so easily. Now go and win this race for your father…and me.' she thought.
Rovax continued to traverse through the cloudy mountains, looking for Sacu. He knew that he had to be far ahead of him. Luckily, he knew a short cut, and it happened to be nearby. At the next set of mountains, he looked sharply at them. He saw it; a small but noticeable opening on his right. Rovax headed towards it and flew in it. It then turned downwards, and stretched out into a long, dark tunnel beneath the mountains. After a minute or two, he saw light at the end of the tunnel. As he came out, he saw Sacu just ahead of him. 'There you are murderer.' he thought as he flew right past him, taking the lead.
"Wow, Rovax took a hidden shortcut, and now he has taken the lead!" The queen smiled at this news. However, Sacu was not. "What?! Where did he come from? I thought he was finished?! Guess I'll just have to play dirtier." he said with a sneer. They were halfway through the race course now, and the clouds were beginning to thin out. Rovax knew that he as long as he stayed on course, there was no way he could lose. Just then, his machine's power was being drained, right before Sacu passed from right underneath him!
As he sped away, Rovax scanned the ship's hull for anything unusual. He found it; a vampire bat-like creature was attached to the bottom of his racing machine, sucking all the energy out of it! He also found a sonar-homing device located at the same spot. Then he understood: When Sacu was beneath his ship, he attached the device, knowing it would draw out the creature to suck on the power cables. 'That scumbag is just full of tricks. But I am not out of this race yet!' He then began to turn his race ship in barrel rolls, hoping to shake the creature off.
It was no good, the thing just would not let go! Rovax knew if he didn't do something soon, he will lose all power and crash. He then came up with a crazy idea. He headed towards the nearest mountain and scrapped the bottom side of his craft on it, knocking off the sonar device and the creature in the process. It was rough but at least the danger had passed. However, his power was dangerously low; that little sucker got more power than he thought. He quickly switched from his primary power to back-up power.
His systems and engines at full capacity again, Rovax resumed catching up to his archrival. It was a while before he spotted the cheating arachnid. There was one problem; he was almost at the finish line!! Acting fast, Rovax activated his boosters at maximum and steered straight ahead. He was now neck and neck with Sacu, who was yet again surprised to see Rovax still alive! They continued to be neck and neck, the finish line was approaching. And then…
"Its over! Both racers have crossed the finish line at the same time! The judges will give us a slow-motion showing of the end of the race. We will know our winner in just a minute!" Everyone waited for the judge's reply of the outcome. Sly and the others hoped that Rovax came in first, as did Queen Wingdra. On the other side, Lord Kona looked displeased at this. 'I don't know what happened out there, Sacu, but you had better be the winner or you will regret it.' he thought. Just then, the commentator's voice came on again.
"Okay, we got our slow motion of the race outcome. Let us see who crossed the finish line first!" The monitors began to show the last moments in the race, where Sacu and Rovax were crossing the finish line. One good look and the Dramaran crowds were cheering more loudly than ever; Rovax had crossed the line just before Sacu did. "Yes! Rovax wins! Rovax wins! Rovax wins!" Sly and the gang stood on their feet and cheered for their feathered friend. Queen Wingdra was both pleased and very happy that he won. Rovax looked at his queen and companions with joy and pride.
Sacu, however, was totally pissed off! "NOOO! I SHOULD HAVE WON!! IT SHOULD HAVE BEEN ME!! NOOOO!!!" The rest of his people were just as pissed as he was, but not as pissed as Lord Kona. He marched right down to where Sacu was standing and grabbed him by the throat. "You have failed me, Sacu! You have failed your people! Looks like if you want something right, you have to do it yourself." He threw down his defeated racer and approached the queen, who was walking towards Rovax to congratulate him.
"Queen Wingdra, I demand a rematch! Your racer has been cheating the whole time and Sacu should have taken the victory! I want the rematch NOW!!" "On the contrary, Lord Kona, it was your racer who was cheating." she said in a cool voice. Kona looked outraged. "What proof do you have of this?" "If the queen allows it, I will show it to not only you, but to everyone here as well." Bentley said as he approached the scorpion leader. Queen Wingdra and Rovax looked at the turtle and nodded. "You have my approval, Bentley." He smiled. "Okay Penelope, show them what happened out there." He said as Penelope made her way to the hologram monitor room.
She then showed the crowd of Sacu's underhanded tricks during the race, right down to the last detail. Lord Kona looked surprised at this turn of events. "How did you get this?" "Simple," said Sly as he came along. "Last night, I snuck into the hanger of your ship and planted a hidden camera inside your cockpit. It caught everything you pulled off. Just go to show ya, cheaters never win." "And murderers." said Rovax. Sacu then came in and scowled. "You still think that I killed your pathetic father, do you? You may have proven that I am a cheater, but not as a murderer." "Actually, bug face, we can." said Sly in a smooth, cool voice.
Both Sacu and Kona looked at the raccoon with shock. Even Rovax was startled. "Sly, do you really have proof that Sacu is guilty of murder?" Sly nodded. "Alright Penelope, time for Sacu's big confession!" The monitors changed again, this time it was Sacu in his quarters aboard his ship, talking to himself. The crowds heard what he said as he lay there on his bed:
"Wow, what a warm up that was! I will flatten that feather duster Rovax for sure tomorrow! Man, I can't believe that he is still upset about his dear old dad. He must have really loved that old bird. But he is fighting a long lost battle; he will never be able to prove that I killed his father. And after I win the race, I will demand that Queen Wingdra should allow her people to serve us as slaves. Personally, I think it was a mistake for our people and hers to have stopped fighting each other. After all, it was Lord Kona's idea to put the Dramarans to slave labor, as well as to assassinate Rovax's father. Soon these canaries will be under our rule!"
Queen Wingdra and Rovax were angered at this revelation, while Sacu and Lord Kona were completely shocked. Queen Wingdra turned to the scorpion leader and said in an angry voice, "Slave labor, huh?! It was bad enough that your racer tried to win by cheating, but for you to take us as slaves, I think not! Especially since my racer defeated yours!" Rovax spoke to the scorpions next. "So, it was you gave Sacu the order to kill my father!! I knew that he killed him, but I never would have guessed that you were in it as well!! My queen," he then turned to Queen Wingdra, "allow me to take these murderers and conspirators into custody."
She nodded with approval. "You have my permission to do so, Captain. Lord Kona and Sacu are hereby under arrest for conspired murder and attempted slavery! I never want to see you two ever again!" As several Dramaran guards came down to assist Rovax with the arrest, Sacu pulled out a knife from his belt, jumped over the guards, and landed behind the queen. He then held the knife at her throat. "Queen Wingdra!" Rovax yelled. Kona joined them as they backed away. "If you want your queen to live, surrender your freedoms and become our slaves for life!" Kona screamed out.
Everyone stood there, unsure of what to do. Just before anyone surrendered, a cloud of mist appeared out of nowhere and covered the whole area. Then Sly said, "NOW Rovax!" There were sounds of screams, punches, kicks, and thumps. Then just as suddenly as the mist appeared, it vanished. The next thing that everyone saw was Sacu and Lord Kona lying facedown on the ground, unconscious. Sly and Rovax were standing proudly on top of them, looking at each other with immense satisfaction.
Queen Wingdra was unharmed and turned to Sly and Rovax. "Thank you both for saving me, and my people from eternal slavery. How did you pull this off?" Sly smiled as he answered. "My friend, Guru, made that cloud of mist covering the area. Rovax and I took advantage of the situation and beat the living daylights out of those jerks." Rovax nodded. "It was an excellent and successful plan. I am truly glad you are not harmed, my queen." He smiled at her as he and Sly took the guilty party away, while the rest of the Tramurans escaped in their ship, no doubt heading back to their world.
As she watched Rovax take his father's murderer to prison, Queen Wingdra felt truly grateful and happy that he was around to save her when she needed him most. When Rovax turned to look at her again and smiled, she suddenly blushed before turning away quickly, hoping he didn't see that. However, a certain inspector saw it and smiled warmly.