It's time for the first race. Remember, teams no longer matter, though I will use team names occasionally.
Chapter 8: The Tournament Begins.
27 of the 30 racers returned to the stadium the next day. Team Triple Threat did not return because of Alexander.
Teams Babylon, Dynamic, Berserker, Virtex, and Sonic (due to Zeus's request) had reached the main tournament. The crowd quieted down as the preliminary announcer started to speak.
"With the preliminaries over, let's give a round of applause to the four teams that tried their hardest, yet were unable to make it."
Teams Velocity, Star, Music, and Legendary came out and looked around as the crowd applauded. Nobody cared about Team Triple Threat thanks to Alexander attempting to poison Team Legendary.
"Now, give it up for the five teams that made it to the main tournament. Teams Sonic, Babylon, Dynamic, Berserker, and Virtex."
An even louder round of applause and screams of joy responded.
"Whoa! I never thought that we'd get so much applause." Sonic said, surprised.
"Well, we did make it to the main tournament. Even if you got disqualified." Jet told him.
"I guess it's every racer for themselves, now that the preliminaries are over." Armand said.
"We'll just have to try our best." Galeon spoke up.
"Bring it on. I'm ready." Rector somewhat taunted.
The announcer then spoke up again.
"Now, it's time to bring out the announcer for the main tournament. Come on out!"
A yellow hedgehog came out of nowhere with a microphone in his hand, and a headset for news casting. This was Sonic's brother, Gerald.
"Gerald's the announcer?" Knuckles questioned.
"That's something nobody was expecting." Axel spoke up.
"Who is Gerald?" Rampage asked.
"Gerald is Sonic's…uh…brother." Storm told him.
"Yes. Gerald is Sonic's brother." Howl said.
Gerald started to speak.
"What's up, everyone? I'm Gerald the Hedgehog and I'll be your announcer for the
tournament." Gerald introduced himself.
"Ah, shut up and leave!" One spectator said. Some others started to throw items at him.
He left.
"As I said, I'm the announcer for the main tournament, and Sonic's brother. These teams,
except Team Sonic, made it to the main tournament through winning the preliminaries. In case you all forgot, Knuckles of Team Sonic cheated in their race, and they were disqualified. Thanks to Zeus's request, though, they're back. Well, enough about this. Let's get on with the main tournament. A special course has been set up in Station Square for the first race. You'll find the stands placed around various areas of the track. We'll see you there."
Gerald cut the microphone, and the crowd left to find a seat in the stands around the track. Sonic was the first to approach Gerald.
"Bro, what are you doing as an announcer?" Sonic asked.
"I signed up. When I heard about the tournament, I had to see it for myself. And I didn't want to be part of the crowd. Do you know how loud they can get? So, I became an announcer so I could watch the races, without being in the crowd. Plus, I'm already a natural at it."
"Okay, we get it. Just get into position. I'm getting impatient. When will the race begin?" Galeon complained.
"Please calm down, Galeon." Raine politely asked.
"Sorry. I'm just ready to race." Galeon replied.
"Don't fret, Galeon. We all are." Basil told him.
The 15 racers headed to the start line. The track would be located a few meters above the train station's roof. The start line was placed above the entrance to Casinopolis.
The racers reached the starting block. The electric gate was already up, and the green shock absorber was ready to start moving when activated. Gerald was already in the announcer's booth. He started to talk, so everyone quieted down.
"Here are the rules. First of all, forget the fact that you all joined as teams, because that doesn't matter now. It's now a free-for-all tournament. Everyone goes against everyone else. Now for the main rules. The first one is: No attempted kills. This results in automatic disqualification. The second one: No cheating. This also results in disqualification. The third one, and this one I'm directing mainly at Knuckles: No using off-level attacks. This means don't use a level 3 attack at level 2. Only use the attack that matches your level. This also means no using under-level attacks, also known as level 2 attack at level 3. Basic enough. Remember, the first one to finish wins. Points will be given out based on finishing position. First place gets 15 points, and last place gets you a measly 1 point. The top five at the end of the main tournament move on to the final race. We'll have two special racers from two of the losing teams coming back. They will take the last two spots. So, get to your positions, racers."
Gerald finished the rule-explanation, and the 15 racers took different places at the start line. A few started way back, while a few more got right up to the electric gate. Anyone else was in between. The countdown started.
5…
4…The racers started moving up.
3…
2…Those close to the gate got ready to dash out of there.
1…
GO!
The electric gate disappeared. Nightscream was the first out on the track. Raine followed up in second, Wave in third. They were all out of the starting block within 3 seconds. They came out in this order, from 4th to last: Howl, Sonic, Armand, Basil, Rector, Rampage, Jet, Storm, Tails, Galeon, Axel, and bringing up the rear was Knuckles.
The track started at an upward incline above Casinopolis, slowing the racers down some. Most of the racers kicked the booster to get up there, but those who didn't fell behind. Rampage and Tails were the noted racers.
"What? How did they get up there so quickly?" Tails asked.
"It's simple. They boosted, and we didn't." Rampage told him.
Luckily for them, a row of item capsules was coming up. They each got one, and as luck would have it, they were invincibility items. A field of blue sparkling energy surrounded both of them. They got up the slope, where they could see a ramp coming up. There was a high track, and a low one. Neither had an advantage over the other, so it didn't matter. Tails took the high road, and Rampage took the bottom. With the invincibility shields still intact, they blazed through some of the other racers. They were soon in the top 7.
Up at the front, Nightscream and Raine were battling it out. Both of them were at level 1, so their attacks were Nightscream's yell, and Raine's cute face.
"I'll admit, you're good." Nightscream told Raine.
"You're not so bad yourself." Raine replied.
Back in 11th place, Sonic had reached level 2. He saw his chance to take the lead. The top 10 were close enough that Sonic's level 2 attack could get them all. The top 10 were, from 1st to 10th, Nightscream, Raine, Wave, Armand, Howl, Galeon, Knuckles, Storm, Basil, and Rampage. They were all on the ground level.
"Heh. I think it's time to go for a little bowling." Sonic said while smiling.
Sonic started a level 2 spin dash, and charged forward. One by one, the top 10 spun out.
"Strike!" Sonic said as he took the lead.
"Damn it!" Knuckles cursed.
Because the top 10 were hit by Sonic's level 2 attack, they had fallen behind. The last 5 had now become the top 5.
Armand was the first to react. He spotted a 100-ring capsule nearby. He picked it up and went to level 3 instantly. He caught up to Rector and unleashed his level 3 attack.
"MEGA LASER!" Armand called out.
The Mega Laser hit Rector with full power, effectively burning him to a crisp. He did the same to Jet, then Tails, and finally Axel before catching up to Sonic. They were in a tight turn that hovered above the train station. The stretch after this would lead above City Hall, then a loop over Emerald Coast before a jump ramp led back to the start, above Casinopolis.
Armand boosted to attack Sonic, but Sonic swerved out of the way. Armand saw it coming, however, and swerved in that direction. He hit Sonic with the Mega Laser. Armand now had the lead. It would stay that way for two more laps around.
Two laps later…
Armand amazingly kept the lead until the third lap, when he got careless and his board ran out of air. He ran to an Air Pit, and topped off his air tank. By this time, however, Raine took the lead. Armand tried to catch up, but was hit by Rector's level 3 attack.
"CHAOS FIST!"
Armand got hit hard. The attack stunned him, allowing Rector and Raine to gain a lead on him. But Wave was in hot pursuit. She attacked Rector and then Raine with a level 2 attack.
"How's this?" Wave asked as she hit Raine with her wrench. Unfortunately for her, Rector saw the whole thing.
"Don't you EVER hurt her like that." Rector yelled.
"What? You're mad just because I hit your girlfriend." Wave taunted. That's something you are NEVER to do when Rector's around.
"SHE'S LIKE A SISTER TO ME!" Rector yelled at her.
Rector kicked the booster. He was very angry. He couldn't hold it in anymore. He sped up to Wave and wanted to punch her, but due to his chivalrous nature, he couldn't bring it upon himself. Wave saw this and hit Rector with her wrench again. Galeon came up behind them and passed Rector.
"I knew you wouldn't hit her." Galeon taunted.
Galeon sped ahead and crossed the finish line first, followed by Wave, then Rector.
"Galeon wins the first race!" Gerald announced.
Galeon couldn't believe it. He actually won the first race. He actually won.
"I…I won. I WON! YES!" Galeon said with glee.
The Results (Racer: Points earned.):
Galeon: 15
Wave: 14
Rector: 13
Sonic: 12
Basil: 11
Nightscream: 10
Armand: 9
Jet: 8
Rampage: 7
Raine: 6
Howl: 5
Tails: 4
Axel: 3
Storm: 2
Knuckles: 1
"So, congratulations to Galeon. Next, we go to the first Survival Battle at Babylon Garden's Dual Towers. See ya there." Gerald announced, then cut the mic and left. The crowd also left, planning to board ships bound for Babylon Garden. Jet had his airship ready, so the racers boarded it and headed off.
End of Chapter 8.
Galeon has won, and the competition will get even better.
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