Disclaimer: Nothing, absolutely nothing belongs to me. All characters belong to their rightful owners respectfully. No profit is being made out of this story, please don't sue.
…
Chapter Ten: The Final Stretch
…
It took a day for the Gumballers to reach the island of Okinawa from Kyushu. But today was the day for someone to claim the Gumball Trophy at long last.
Babs and Buster Bunny stood near the New Narrator as their new camera activated, showing them with microphones at Hedo Misaki on Okinawa, with several Gumballers lined up and getting ready to race.
"Hiya once again, toonsters!" Buster said. "We are now officially on the final leg of the Gumball Rally, leading across the tropical island of Okinawa, where the wind comes sweeping down the plain!"
"That's OKLAHOMA, Buster!" Babs corrected him, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, before the official winner of the Gumball is crowned when we reach the southern tip of the island, several of our racers have decided to have a quick race from Hedo Misaki here to Manza Beach in the central part of the island."
"And here with us now is the racer who proposed this special challenge." said Buster. "He is well-known for the multi-million dollar grossing film franchise based upon his exploits and also the ultimate street racer. Can you please welcome...Mr. Dominic Toretto!"
Dom stepped forward to be interviewed.
"So then, Dom, if I may call you that. What details can you give us about this challenge?" asked Babs.
"Well, me and the others decided that to make a bit of a change for this race that there'll be no more bullshit stuff like our Autobots transforming and laser blasts and all that. This here will be a simple race, with emphasis on horse power and driving skills. As I've probably said to many people before, a REAL driver knows how to handle his car."
Babs frowned, looking annoyed.
"Or HER car." Dom hastily added. "Hey, I know a hell of a lot of great female street racers! I dated one for God's sake."
"Good to know." Babs replied.
"So, let's have a look at who's ready to go." said Buster.
The camera panned over to show Mr. Toad, Arthur 'The Fonz' Fonzerelli and his friend Cherry, Roger Rabbit and Baby Herman all lining up on the starting grid
with their racing partners.
Also, there were Michael Bannon and Frank Drebin.
"This time you'll see for yourself how well I drive, Bannon!" Drebin smirked.
"If you drive half as good as you shoot your mouth off, I'll be very impressed!" Michael replied as he got behind Maccadam's wheel.
"Those are some serious drivers you've got there." Babs remarked. "Not sure about Mr. Toad, though."
"Hey, he's learned a lot since the last time he drove." Dom defended.
"We hope so. The last time he drove he had to dress in drag to get out of jail so he wouldn't do a 20 year stretch." Buster said.
"Oh, do shut up!" Mr. Toad called over. "With Spin Road here, I will be invincible on the road!"
"Don't forget that I'm coming too!" announced Dom as he went over to Sandstorm, who was in his dune buggy form.
As he left, Betty Boop came over with a smile on her face.
"Ms. Boop. This is a surprise." said Buster.
"I'm here to add a special incentive, sugar." Betty winked. "The winner of this race will get a date with me!"
Over in Roller, Baby Herman let out a high whistle. "That date is MINE, sweetheart!" he chuckled perversely.
"So, I'm off to Manza first." Betty smiled, waving at the camera and blowing a kiss. "Boop-boop-be-doop-BOOP!"
After singing, she went towards Flattop and got ready to drive off.
"Whoo, even after all these years and many accusations of political incorrectness in her cartoons, Betty Boop can knock the guys for a loop." Babs smiled.
She looked over and noticed Buster practically drooling as Betty and Flattop left. She grunted and whacked him on the head with her microphone.
"Sorry." Buster said when he snapped back to reality.
"AAAAYH, you guys! Let's get goin' here!" The Fonz called over as he, Cherry and their Nebulan partner Nightstick revved their engine.
"Okay!" said Babs as she stepped out in front of the line, getting ready to drop her hands. "READY?"
Dom revved Sandstorm's engine and focused on the road ahead of him.
"SET?"
Mr. Toad and Roger Rabbit were both jumping up and down in their seats as Spin Road and the diminutive Roller revved their engines. Michael Bannon and Frank Drebin glared at each other determinedly.
"GO!" Babs finally yelled as she dropped her hands.
Sandstorm, Spin Road, Roller, the Keeper, Maccadam and Nightstick all roared off the starting line, with Sandstorm taking the lead.
"POOP POOP!" Mr. Toad yelled as he left the starting line.
"Okay. There they go! And now, here we go to cover the action!" Buster laughed.
He and Babs ran back into the New Narrator and drove off to cover the race.
…
At a picnic area on the Hiji Waterfall Hiking Trail, several Gumballers had stopped for a short break. There was Henry Sugar, the Thornberries, Gomer Pyle, Cybersix, Mitch Buchannon, the cast from Rainbow Boys, PB&J Otter, Kilroy the Mouse and their racing partners. Mitch Buchannon showed off his biceps and tan to Cybersix, who seemed uninterested…but he inadvertently attracted the attention of Jason Carrillo, Nelson Glassman and Kyle Meeks, which made him feel uncomfortable.
"Well, GOLLY!" Gomer Pyle chuckled.
Fred Flintstone and his chum Barney Rubble had also stopped here to enjoy a packed lunch that Fred's wife Wilma had prepared for them.
"I'm really ready for these brontosaurus steaks, Fred!" smiled Barney Rubble.
"That makes two of us, pal." said Fred, preparing to take a bite.
They heard a horn honk and turned their attention towards it. As they did, the rodent down and out Ratso was suddenly lowered from above on a fishing line and he plucked up Fred's bronto steak. Fred turned back around and noticed Ratso being pulled away with his steak.
"HEY!" he yelled angrily.
He and Barney saw Ratso returning to Landfill, where Dirty Dawg was reeling him in with the food.
"Thanks a lot, my good man!" Dirty Dawg waved as he pulled Ratso into Landfill and drove off.
"Alight, no more jokes!" yelled Fred.
He and Barney ran for Switch and Flint and drove off.
"These guys go pretty fast for an auto rickshaw, Fred." Barney remarked. "And I'm glad we don't even have to use our feet!"
"Focus, Barn! We're gonna nail that two-bit bum of a dog and get my food back."
Barney held up the plate with his steak on it, which he had brought along. "You could have some of mine if you want." he stated matter-of-factly.
Fred was rather embarrassed but then happy.
"Gee. Thanks, Barn." he smiled.
…
Above the ruins of Nakijin Castle near Nago, several aerial battles were taking place. Porco Rosso was being relentlessly pursued by his rival, Donald Curtis. Sergeant Oh Kyeong-pil and Private Jeong Woo-jin were firing Switchblade's missiles and mini-guns at the femme fatale, Asami Yamazaki, who showed incredible flying skills in her Decepticon, Air Warrior.
At the same time, Strider Hiryu, in Devcon, was battling with the treacherous Strider Hien, on Laserbeak.
"(Again, you lack vision, Hiryu!)" Hien said as Laserbeak cawed and fired his weapons. "(With the aid of the Decepticons, our order will be unbeatable!)"
"(Always dreaming of absolute power. I thought for sure you would learn by now.)" replied Hiryu. "(Evil will never overcome.)"
Phoenix nearly cut in front of Devcon. Flying it, looking rather disgusted, was Lord Edmund Blackadder. In the co-pilot seat was his dogsbody, Baldrick.
"Oh God! How many clichés do you people have to use when you talk?" Blackadder commented. "I mean, I doubt that even 80s cartoon stars would get away with the drivel you come out with!"
"Sir, be careful!" yelled Baldrick as they dipped a bit.
Blackadder got Phoenix back under control.
"Okay, little slip there, but I'll manage." He said as he took control of Phoenix's guns. "Now, Baldrick, how many rounds do we have?"
"Twenty, sir. Cheese and ham for you and rat for me."
"Not the sandwiches, you malodorous runt! How many rounds in the guns!" Blackadder snapped. "There's trouble coming up."
Sure enough, looming up behind them was the monstrous Seizer. In his control room were the megalomaniac millionaire Auric Goldfinger and his bowler hat wearing henchman Oddjob. They were training their weapons on Phoenix.
"You are outsized and outgunned, my dear Lord Blackadder. Your chances of victory are very slim!" Goldfinger smirked as he took control of Seizer's cannons, puffing his cigar.
"Do you expect me to give up?" asked Blackadder.
"No, Lord Blackadder. I expect you to DIE!" laughed Goldfinger as he opened fire.
Blackadder was able to dodge the shots because of Phoenix's greater speed and smaller mass. He then dropped behind Seizer and opened fire on Goldfinger. Oddjob grunted and opened a hatch. He got ready to throw his razor-edged bowler hat.
As he threw it, Blackadder blasted it out of the sky.
"So much for that!" Blackadder laughed at Oddjob. "You and your boss are so fat that your high school photos were aerial shots that caused the people who viewed them to think they'd discovered new land masses!"
Baldrick stood up in his seat and made rude gestures. But Blackadder flew forward again, Baldrick was blown backward and banged his head against the cockpit canopy.
"Baldrick, will you stop arsing around and sit down!" Blackadder snapped.
"Yes, sir." Baldrick grunted.
…
The Ocean Expo Park was packed with tourists, including Gumballers. Detectives Sammy Keyes and Nancy Drew were both admiring the whale sharks at the enormous Churaumi Aquarium. Their Autobots Speedstream and Boomer waited outside, gazing out towards the open sea.
They noticed agent Cammie Morgan (aka Chameleon) riding out there on a chase with Scott Irwin and the Cookie Crisp Crook, with Chip the Dog. Little to her knowledge though, she was being secretly stalked by Ra's al Ghul and Talia al Ghul from underwater.
"Get a load of that, Sulley!" said Mike Wazowski, peering through his binoculars. "That Morgan girl sure has some kicks when she's riding on a motor boat."
Sulley Sullivan pushed his friend aside and leaped off the pathway, as the wild and hyperactive duo Cheese and Goo Goo Ga Ga raced through the park illegally with Rescue Force Buggy. Sammo Law was in tow with Streetstar, blurring out a loud siren that penetrated everybody's ears…even the Spellmans'.
"Ugh!" groaned the cat, Salem. "And I thought the songs from William Hung were horrible!"
"Autoceptor! Let's get out of here!" shouted Sabrina, rushing to her vehicle with her sisters.
…
Near Motobu Port, the race to Manza Beach was still going on. Both the Fonz and Mr. Toad were battling for the lead.
"That date is as good as mine, greaser boy!" yelled Mr. Toad as the Fonz tried to cut in front of him.
"Not on my watch, buddy boy!" the Fonz replied.
"You could always get a date with me if you don't get to date Betty, you know." Cherry chipped in.
As they were briefly distracted, Sandstorm had caught up and Dom Toretto kept a serious face as he took the lead and held onto it.
"NO! BETTY!" yelled Mr. Toad as he fell behind and tried his damndest to catch up.
"Damn, that guy's fast!" Cherry remarked as the Fonz and Nightstick sped up their vehicle.
Way at the back of the pack were the Keeper, Maccadam and Roller.
Baby Herman and Roger Rabbit were concentrating more on the race, but Michael Bannon and Frank Drebin were still too busy trying to one-up each other.
Frank Drebin laughed as he put the pedal to the floor. Michael grunted and revved Maccadam's engine for all it was worth and managed to get a lead. This made Drebin furious.
"These guys don't even know how far behind we've fallen!" remarked Baby Herman.
"Hey, Herman! I think there's a shortcut!" Roger said as he pointed out a short road off to the left.
"Then we're takin' it!" laughed Baby Herman, steering Roller off on the road and going down it.
Michael and Drebin failed to notice this as they still tried to battle each other to get ahead. As they approached the highway leading to Nago city, neither of them had noticed four other Gumballers emerging from another side road and making the turn.
Michael swerved and managed to avoid hitting Deceptor, with Tina Armstrong and team in it, but knocked their enemy, Ayane and her Decepticon Camaro, off the road. Similarly, Drebin managed not to hit Princess Kitana in Blaze but rear-ended her enemy Mileena in Betabear, causing her to spin out.
The Keeper and Maccadam got themselves under control again and drove off to continue their race. Deceptor and Blaze followed beside them.
"Are you two crazy?" demanded Tina. "We're lucky you didn't hit us!"
"Well, they DID save us from a spot of bother." Kitana remarked.
"True. Those two bitches were on both of us since Kyushu." Kasumi said.
"Still no excuse for showing no concern to fellow road users." Lei Fang said sternly.
"Okay, we're sorry ladies." Michael apologized. "But we really have to go now."
Drebin smiled at the four ladies. "We're going to Manza Beach." he smirked. "Fancy coming and having a game of volleyball when we get there?"
Tina looked disgusted. "Pervert." she mumbled to herself.
…
In the skyline of Nago city, several flying Decepticons were battling each other for the lead.
Apocalypse fired energy blasts from his fists towards Venger, who retaliated with his dark magic. Both of them were stunned as the Magician cut in front of both of them. Apocalypse was angered and fired at Flattop, the Magician's Decepticon. The Magician used his unnatural powers to create duplicates of himself and Flattop as he veered to the side to try and confuse his competitors.
Meanwhile, Brother Blood was avoiding heavy fire from the maniacal world dominating Purple Tentacle down below, with his Decepticons, Spectro, Spyglass and Viewfinder (known together as Reflector).
Also on the ground was Mumm-Ra trying to knock down the Time Trapper and the Riddler from the skies…but with little success.
As this was going on, Shredder and Snidely Whiplash were trying to outdo each other with their respective Decepticons, Leozack and Komoribreast.
"I'll never let you beat me, Shredder!" Whiplash yelled. "You stole my idea for always tying up helpless women, and I owe you payback!"
"You'll have to catch me first, you green-faced geek!" Shredder yelled as Leozack gained a lead.
Suddenly, a thick, yellow substance blasted the cockpits of both Decepticon planes. There was then a series of triumphant yells as the Autobot helicopter Blades overtook them.
The yellow substance was honey, which had been thrown by Tigger and Rabbit at the villains.
"That was a great plan, Rabbit!" Kanga laughed.
"Believe it or not, it was Tigger who came up with the idea." replied Rabbit.
"Well, just 'cause my top's made of rubber doesn't mean I'm dumb ya know!" Tigger laughed.
"You sure aren't, Tigger!" smiled Roo as he gave Tigger a high five.
Winnie the Pooh, however, looked a bit down.
"You're still not upset that they used the last of the honey, are you Pooh?" asked Piglet.
"Sorry, Piglet. I'm trying not to be, but I'm still a bit hungry." Pooh remarked.
"Well, Pooh, think about this. If we win, we'll let you have the gumballs in the trophy." Owl reassured him. "They're much more delicious."
"Really?" asked Pooh.
"That's right, old pal!" smirked Gopher. "I'd take gumballs over honey any day!"
"Well, in that case, let's GO!" yelled Pooh excitedly as he sped up Blades.
Eeyore still looked miserable. "All that candy and he can kiss his teeth goodbye."
"I know." whispered Owl. "I just wanted to motivate him a bit."
"Let's hope you haven't motivated him into causing an accident." Eeyore grumbled.
…
In the Nago Pineapple Park, Gazpacho was trying to ask the pineapples for directions. Sadly though, he could hardly get any response from them.
"(What's wrong with you guys?)" Gazpacho said in frustration. "(I've asked all of you five times already: do ANY of you know how we can get to Naha city? This is not a riddle. It's a very simple question.)"
Silence.
Gazpacho face palmed. "(Look, if any of you don't know, just say so! You pineapples are being very rude by not answering!)"
Silence again.
Gazpacho began to growl. "(You guys are seriously wasting my time here! We're near the end of an important race, and none of you are helping!)"
"Gazpacho!" shouted Pincho. "(Ironworks has found the way, we can go now!)"
Gazpacho rushed to his Autobot and jumped in with the group.
"(So, what did the pineapples say?)" asked Kumba.
"(Nothing.)" grumbled Gazpacho. "(Okinawan pineapples are jerks.)"
…
As Dominic's race finally approached Manza Beach, Mr. Toad yelled in triumph as he finally got a lead on Sandstorm and roared onto the beach.
Betty was waiting there beside Flattop with her arms folded.
Mr. Toad brought Spin Road to a halt and jumped out, with a bunch of roses in his hand. "Fair maiden, I have arrived!" he said triumphantly.
Betty scoffed. "What's your problem, buster? You didn't win."
"WHAT?" gasped Mr. Toad while Dominic, the Fonz and Cherry followed behind him.
"She's right." Dominic said. "THERE'S who won!"
Roger Rabbit and Baby Herman stepped out from behind a sand dune, both wearing Hawaiian shirts and sunglasses.
"Roller's a small Autobot, but tough." Dominic explained further. "They were able to take short cuts and weave through traffic like crazy! I didn't even mind being beaten by him as I love a bit of ingenuity."
Toad huffed. "And you didn't tell me he cut ahead like that?"
"It ain't our fault you weren't watching the road." The Fonz smirked as he put his arm around Cherry.
"Screw you!" Toad huffed again. "Your show was never any good after that time you jumped over a shark while waterskiing!"
"Oooh! Those grapes are sour!" teased Cherry.
"Ask anyone on the Internet! They'll agree with me!" Toad added.
Just then, the Keeper and Maccadam roared onto the beach. Following behind them were Babs, Buster and the New Narrator.
The Keeper came to a halt in front of Maccadam and Drebin got out, laughing.
"I got ya, Bannon! I had you throughout the race!" he yelled.
"Have you noticed the other people here, lieutenant?" Michael asked.
Drebin noticed Dom and the others and his face fell.
"And for the record, you NEVER had him, copper!" Dominic said, looking sternly at Michael, who was stepping out of Maccadam. "And neither of you ever had us in the race! You were too busy trying to beat each other in a macho bullshit competition than trying to concentrate on the race!"
He then nodded to Buster and Babs as they got out of the New Narrator.
"I believe our two bunny friends here have evidence of that on videotape." Dominic added. "Am I right?"
"You certainly are." said Buster. "They're lucky they didn't nearly wreck each other or wipe out two fellow Gumballers back near Nago."
"You'd think this was the World's Funniest Police Videos when you saw how badly they drove." Babs added.
Michael looked ashamed.
"Now look, Mr. Bannon." Dominic said. "I know you're one of the greatest, if not THE greatest, Gumball champions of all time. But considering that you put the future of the Gumball on the line as part of this wager of whether or not you'd beat Drebin here, you'd think you'd get your head out of your ass and race like you mean it! I'm not saying you've lost your edge, but you've been very immature so far. And since we're now halfway through the final leg of the Gumball, we're all very concerned that you couldn't beat us in a small side-race."
"Damn right!" said Cherry. "Because we've enjoyed this Gumball. In fact, we'd quite like to do it again next year!"
The others nodded in agreement.
"So I think it's time you two put your differences aside and take the final hours of the Gumball seriously!" Dominic continued. "As I've said before, winning is winning, even if it's by an inch or a mile. Any REAL racer knows that. I told that to my pal Brian, and now I'm telling you. So, are you ready to race like you mean it?"
Drebin and Bannon spent a moment of thought to themselves.
"Yes!" said Drebin, giving a thumbs-up. "Because I've enjoyed this Gumball too, and as much as Roscoe was a good friend to me, I think I'd love to win this and decide where we'll go from here."
Michael gave a thumbs-up as well. "Me too. I want to set foot in the United States again, and I won't let anything stand in my way!"
"Good! Now get out there and show us how REAL Gumball champions drive!" Dominic said encouragingly.
Michael and Drebin returned to their Autobots and got ready to head off.
"Brilliant speech there, Mr. Toretto." Buster said. "Unlike that guy who plays you in the movies, you bring real conviction to it!"
"Hey, careful. I like that guy who plays me in the movies. He was the bomb in 'Pitch Black'." Dominic said.
As this was going on, Baby Herman had moved over to Betty and was kissing her hand, gradually making his way up her arm.
"So, toots! You wanna go to Catalina when we're done? Eddie and Dolores are planning a trip for a few of their toon friends!" Herman said perversely.
Betty was feeling sceptical. "Are you sure you don't want to be my date, Roger?" she asked.
"Sorry, fair lady. I'm a one-woman rabbit and Jessica's the woman for me." Roger smiled. He paused and looked at his watch. "And on that note, let's get goin' so I can bring her back that trophy!"
Roger grabbed Herman and pulled him away from Betty. Herman angrily protested as Roger took him back to Roller and started him up.
Dominic and the others returned to their vehicles and sped off as well, all determined to win the final Gumball leg.
…
The Ryukyu Mura Park was a great place to visit on a journey to Okinawa as it enabled visitors to view a reconstruction of an Okinawan village from centuries
before and find out about the old Japanese lifestyle. Right now, though, it was a stage for yet another battle.
A group of Decepticon-allied Gumballers had shown up, led by the Goblin King Jareth, and were intent on causing destruction. But soon enough, the Nebulan elder Galen and his partners Jackie and Jade Chan appeared, accompanied by the famous Fantasia warrior Atreyu.
"Well, well." smirked Jareth as he smiled at Atreyu and Jade. "I wonder if you two would turn out to be lovely goblins when I add you to my ranks."
"Not a chance, sleaze ball!" yelled Jade.
Suddenly, she was grabbed from behind by the evil English butler (and blackmailer) Wadsworth.
"You're not going anywhere, you little brat!" Wadsworth laughed.
"I strongly advise you to let my niece go." Jackie warned as he took up a fighting stance.
"We came prepared for you, Mr. Chan." Jareth smiled. "NOW!"
Jackie quickly ducked and avoided a bo staff swung by the mercenary Billy Kane. He kept up his fighting stance as he and Billy faced off.
"What are you gonna do now?" sneered Billy. "Pull out a samurai sword?"
"We don't need swords when we've got this!" said Atreyu as he made a loud whistle.
With a huge roar, Godzilla suddenly appeared, along with Mothra and Gamera.
Jareth's jaw dropped. "What are they doing here? Their names weren't even in the credits!" he yelled.
As Wadsworth was distracted, Jade swung her foot back and kicked him in the shins.
"YEOW!" Wadsworth yelled in pain and let her go.
"Now, I think it would be wise for you three to vamoose, or we'll set our friends here loose on you!" Atreyu laughed.
Jareth panicked and ran for Lionbreast. Wadsworth and Billy followed, heading for Metroshot and Mixmaster respectively.
"You haven't won yet!" Wadsworth yelled. "We'll beat you! There's only one place for an Englishman, and that's FIRST!"
"Shut up and let's get out of here!" yelled Jareth and Billy in stereo.
They drove off at high speed. As they left, Atreyu called out to his Autobot, Gizmo.
"Okay, you can turn it off now!"
Gizmo immediately stopped projecting his hologram of the famous Toho monsters.
"Pretty sneaky there, my friend." Jackie smiled. "But it worked."
"Now then, off we go!" smirked Jade.
…
Powerdasher Jet and Tread Bolt flew over the ruins of Katsuren Castle. Both the Planeteers and the Power Rangers looked impressed by the remains of the ancient seat of Lord Aniwari.
"Is it true that Anawari was abandoned in the mountains to die just because he was a sick child?" asked Gi in disbelief as she read the tourist guide.
"Indeed it is." replied Kwame. "But he certainly made a huge comeback. He matured and grew into a powerful leader."
"Awesome!" replied Wheeler. "Just goes to show you can never tell, huh?"
"I'm just angered that he was abandoned in the first place." said Linka. "How could any parent turn their back on a sick child?"
"Well, things were different all over the world back then." the Red Ranger said. "Bear in mind, someone could look back at our time and find it primitive."
Someone made a disgusted sound over the radio.
"Someone's coming!" the Blue Ranger remarked.
Sure enough, Afterburner appeared in the sky, with the villainess Cupido piloting. She got her rhomphaia ready.
"You heroes and your sanctimonious nonsense." she sneered. "You sicken me. It's about time I took you out and did the world a favor."
Powerdasher Jet and Tread Bolt got ready to engage Cupido in battle.
"Aren't you guys going to summon Captain Planet?" the Yellow Ranger asked the Planeteers.
"We can handle this bitch okay." smiled Linka. "WIND!"
She held out her ring and let a blast of a strong wind out at Afterburner, tossing him and Cupido around in a slipstream.
"Besides, Captain Planet wasn't in the credits." Ma-Ti added.
"Okay." the White Ranger shrugged as he and his fellow Rangers got their weapons ready.
…
In Naha, Autobot Boltax floated above Shuri Castle, overshadowing the tourists gazing up at him. Tenchi Masaki and his team flew across the city without much trouble from the police or even the US military stationed there. In fact, they were nowhere to be found.
"(This is boring.)" moaned Ryoko. "(Where's the thrill here? We should be getting pummeled by the law right now…showered with bullets…where'd everybody go?)"
"(I think I've found your answer, Ryoko.)" said Sasami.
"MEOW!" squealed Ryo-Ohki.
Sasami was pointing towards the Decepticon Flare Jet not far behind them, piloted by bounty hunter Nagi with her pet Ken-Ohki. They were demolishing all the police and military forces getting in their way. And this made Ryoko jealous.
"(Why is that bitch taking away all the fun here?)" yelled Ryoko, clenching her fist. "(This isn't fair! Don't these people in Okinawa know who the REAL space pirate is?)"
"(Oh, pipe down, Ryoko.)" insisted Ayeka. "(Just be thankful that we're well ahead of them.)"
"(Let's get out of here, Boltax, before we fall back in the race.)" said Tenchi.
Boltax blasted away into the clouds, leaving the city.
…
As the sun began to set over Kokusaidori Street in Naha, the evil ghost pirate Cervantes de Leon was battling with two Muay Thai fighters. Sagat, and his pupil Adon, kept taking turns jumping over from the Auto-combatant to Archforce, using their kickboxing skills.
But Cervantes was able to battle them off with his twin swords.
"You may as well give up!" Cervantes sneered. "I will win and then once again, Soul Edge will be mine!"
"It was a fluke that Ryu defeated me!" Sagat yelled. "I'll be damned if I'm beat again by some piss-poor Blackbeard rip-off!"
Just then, they were overtaken by NegaDuck and his perfectionist Nebulan partner Hi-Test. As they passed, their vehicle scraped against the side of Archforce.
"You idiot!" yelled Hi-Test. "Do you realize how long it took me to get my Transtector body mode to look flawless? Now you've ruined it!"
"You're just like those other morons in the Fearsome Five!" NegaDuck snapped back. "Always letting the trivial get in the way of the essential!"
A huge blast was fired from Archforce's cannon at them, and Auto-combatant fired his lasers as well.
"As in right now it's essential for us to stay alive!" NegaDuck hastily added.
The intense battle lasted for a while. The citizens of Naha were left scared stiff. But just then, from the sky above, the amateur superhero Kick-Ass descended on a rocket pack with Gatling guns added to it.
"Good job we kept this thing!" he smiled to himself.
He opened fire on the three teams of villains, taking out their tyres and tracks and causing great damage to the bodies of their Decepticons and vehicles.
"Damn it! Get that little snot now!" yelled NegaDuck as Hi-Test leaned out the window with a laser pistol.
Suddenly, the road was blocked by Kick-Ass's Autobot partner Top-Heavy. Sitting in the drivers' seat was the ten-year old superhero Hit-Girl. She laughed as she turned Top-Heavy's Patriot missile around to face Archforce, Auto-combatant, Hi-Test and NegaDuck.
They all slammed on their brakes and turned pale. Hit-Girl kept one hand on the launch control and got over her PA.
"Okay, you (bleep)s! Let's see what you can do now!" she sneered as Kick-Ass flew back into Top-Heavy and sat beside her.
The villains were stunned at the young girl's foul language.
"Now, don't even think about trying any more crazy shit before the finish line!" Kick-Ass warned.
"We'll be watching you." Hit-Girl added. "And if you jerk-offs try any shit: show's over mother(bleep)ers!"
"What are they teaching kids these days?" asked Adon as Top-Heavy drove off, with his missile still trained on them.
…
Yukino Miyazawa and Soichiro Arima were in the Okinawa World theme park, admiring the curious Gyokusendo Cave. Having left Rev outside on the parking lot, they felt for once during this race, they could share some peace and quiet together…and some quality time.
But that all changed when a whole string of Gumballers crashed into the park. Vash the Stampede rushed into the cave with Fastlane, having too much fun playing cat and mouse with truck load of villains such as Loki, the Saint of Killers, Mohawk's group, Princess Azula, Envy, Wolf O'Donnell, Naraku, Nicole Wallace, Doomsday, Shinnok, Imhotep, Carmen Sandiego, Catherine de Bourgh and her driver Nick Nack, Forte and Gospel, the Meanos, High School Musical stars Sharpay Evans and her brother Ryan Evans, and all of their pissed off Decepticons.
It was no doubt that Vash had made a lot of enemies during this whole race. And they all wanted a piece of him.
Fortunately, he had a plan and lured his pursuers out of the cave, driving straight towards the Habu Park, inhabited by the poisonous Habu snakes. Vash steered Fastlane through the park with precaution, careful not to allow any of the snakes land onto his vehicle. With skill, he managed to drive out of the park unharmed…but it wasn't the same for others. The Decepticons and their partners struggled to get out, as they were all left covered with Habu snakes.
Vash laughed with delight and floored his accelerator, leaving Okinawa World. Mr. Bumpy and his crew were there in the park as well, and witnessed what had happened.
"Wow, that guy sure knows how to improvise." said Squishington.
Molly Coddle was struggling with a Habu snake, which so happened to be biting her leg and dragging her slowly away.
"Um…" she said nervously. "…a little help here, guys?"
High Beam blasted the snake with one clean shot.
"Let's get going!" Mr. Bumpy said.
…
The Keeper pulled up beside Maccadam. The finish line at the Peace Memorial Park was a few short miles away. Michael and Drebin were now going for the final showdown.
As Michael revved Maccadam's engine, he turned to Drebin.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.
"A lot has changed." Drebin replied seriously as he revved the Keeper's engine in return.
"You're right."
Michael looked in his rear-view and saw just about every other Gumballer, by land, by air and by sea, rapidly approaching. It was the moment of truth.
"GO!" yelled Drebin as he floored the Keeper's accelerator and rocketed off the starting line so fast that he did a wheelie.
Michael followed and so did the entire pack.
The end of the resurrected Gumball Rally and the crowning of the one and only winner were inevitable.
It was just a question of whom it would be.
Several of the Gumballers caught up with Maccadam and the Keeper within moments as the intensity of the race rose.
By land…
Crash Bandicoot and his sister, Coco, were in first position for a mere moment with Brawn…until Blinky Bill's group intervened with Outback. Then came Gumby's group with Small Foot, who were knocked aside by the Blockheads with their Constructicon, Hook. Seo Jang Geum and Nezha raced ahead with Cy-Kill and Re-Cycle, but their speed was rivaled by Evil Kabukiman and Count Olaf with Axer and Slicer. Amalgamous Prime knocked them aside with Mister Mxyzptlk and the Impossible Man at the seat, but he was forced to deal with Devilman Lady, Korosuke and MC Skat Kat in Beast Prime, Minicon Prime and Alchemist Prime.
By air…
Quatre Raberba Winner and Warmonger were ahead of the game, but were forced to swerve and avoid heavy fire from Deathsaurus and Eaglebreast, piloted by Dr. Strangefate and HAL 9000. This offered Gigolo Joe and Mr. Skullhead the chance to overtake them with Groundshaker and Powerflash…but they too had to slow down when Shao Kahn attacked their teams viciously with Blitzwing's fire.
"You got any more good ideas or bad ideas?" Rita asked.
Mr. Skullhead simply shrugged, accidentally letting the Powerpuff Girls Z slip past them in Solus Prime.
By sea…
Agador and the Goldmans were rejoicing together on Waver momentarily when they became the leaders of the race. But they rejoiced too soon, because the Skipper and Gilligan gained speed with Seawatch and easily overtook them. But they in turn were overtaken when Scuppers the Sailor Dog steered Rodney right around them. Greendog then surfed by with Aquastar, letting the waves bring him ahead of his competitors. He nearly fell off his Autobot though, when Pippi Longstocking zoomed past him with the speeding Bullet.
However…
It was Optimus Prime who took the new lead…followed second by Megatron.
Optimus Prime could clearly see the finish line up ahead. Mary Poppins could see it as well too, keeping her hands firmly on the driving wheel as she maintained a fast but steady speed. Michael and Jane hoped, they begged, they prayed that nothing bad would happen to them now, after having come so far.
But unfortunately, they were met with trouble once more. As stubborn and persistent as he was, Megatron kept behind their trail…and this time, he had brought serious company. On both his sides were Galvatron and Galvatron II, ridden by Kingdom Hearts villains Xemnas and Xehanort. With three Decepticon tanks locked and fully loaded, Judge Doom drove forwards and led the attack.
"Don't think you're so lucky, Prime! Your luck's just run out!" Megatron shouted. "Don't let them out of your sight, Doom!"
"This is it, Mary Poppins!" Doom yelled, determined as ever to knock his long lasting rival out of this race for good. "You're going to be playing golden harps by the time we cross the finish line! Don't bother saying your prayers either. Nobody's going to hear them!"
The Toon Patrol laughed hysterically, but Doom wasn't complaining. He fixed Megatron's cannon onto Prime's trailer, whilst Xemnas and Xehanort did the same with their Decepticons.
"Well, then!" Galvatron laughed as he fixed the aim on his target. "It'll be a perfect hit! MWA-HA-HA-HA-HA!"
"DESTROY THEM!" yelled Galvatron II.
The three Decepticons fired without mercy, setting off a series of explosions, making the track to the finish line an utter war zone. Michael and Jane ducked under their dashboard and covered their ears, frightened out of their wits. Mary sat firm, avoiding the enemy gunfire as much as possible.
But her efforts didn't prevent Optimus Prime from being damaged when Megatron got a near clean hit of his trailer. The force of the blast raised the trailer off the road momentarily, before slamming back down again. Galvatron made his hit, which Mary narrowly avoided, but the blast scraped Prime's left side and knocked away a side mirror. Galvatron II made his hit as well and missed, but the blast again scraped Prime on the right, knocking away his last side mirror.
Without knowing what the Decepticons were going to do next, Mary floored the accelerator, hoping to evade whatever was coming. Suddenly, her vehicle was struck when Galvatron rammed her from the left…and then Galvaron II rammed her from the right. Prime began to slow down as he was wedged in between the two tanks. Xemnas and Xehanort smiled demonically as their Decepticons held the Autobot leader in place, giving Megatron the time he needed to make a perfect shot.
"Farewell, Poppins." Doom smiled, making his mark.
"It ends here, Prime." cackled Megatron.
Doom's thumb was about the press the trigger…when out from somewhere, two blasts struck Galvatron and Galvatron II. A Cybertronian Winnebago Camper and a Cybertronian Pontiac Fiero roared past Megatron on both sides, revealing themselves as Autobots Hot Rod and Dark Hot Rod. Sora and Roxas drove their Autobots towards the Galvatrons and attacked them with adrenaline, damaging their tails severely.
"Phew! Just in the nick of time!" Hot Rod sighed in relief.
"AAH! CURSE YOU, AUTOBOTS!" Galvatron II screamed.
"Come and get us, you suckers!" Sora laughed and blew a raspberry at Xemnas and Xehanort, who were furious. "Or are you too chicken?"
Galvatron growled in frustration, trying to ignore the heavy damage he had taken. "AFTER THEM!" he yelled.
"OF COURSE!" Xemnas snorted.
The Galvatrons left Optimus Prime and turned their cannons towards the Hot Rods, who were escaping to a side route. Judge Doom and Megatron, on the other hand, were not pleased with this at all. They were not willing to let Optimus Prime and Mary Poppins get away.
"GET BACK HERE, YOU FOOLS!" Doom yelled at the Kingdom Hearts villains. "DON'T FORGET ABOUT THE RACE!"
"Some things are more important than winning!" Xehanort replied.
The Galvatrons left and followed the Hot Rods on a different path, leaving Megatron alone to tackle with Prime.
"DESERTERS!" Megatron yelled. "At least I'm not mad enough to lose this race against these puny Autobots!"
There was no more time to waste. Doom floored the accelerator and tried to catch up with Mary. The Toon Patrol loaded Megatron with more ammunition. Megatron went full speed ahead, firing his cannon at Optimus Prime in a fit of rage.
"I WON'T LET YOU WIN, PRIME!" Megatron yelled. "NEVER!"
"EASIER SAID THAN DONE, MEGATRON!" Was Optimus Prime's answer.
Mary Poppins kept her eyes on the road, calm as a whistle. "Michael, Jane, brace yourselves and keeps your heads down. I don't think Doom has any more intention of fooling around. We're almost at the end."
Indeed, for now they were only about a mile away from the end of the Gumball Rally. Doom fired blasts with impulse and with no clear aim. Explosions scattered everywhere on the roads and on its sides. Michael and Jane covered their ears again and shut their eyes, hoping they'd make out of this dangerous race alive.
Nearer to the end…
BOOM!
Nearer…
BOOM!
And nearer…
KABOOM!