It's time for the next event. It's a Survival Race.
Rules will appear in the chapter. Are you all ready?
Disclaimer: OCs belong to their respective owners. I don't need to tell you who they are.
Chapter 11: Night Race, Survival Chase.
In the last race, the results ended up like this: Raine (30), Rector (27), Armand (27), Sonic (26), Wave (24), Galeon (23), Howl (21), Rampage (19), Nightscream (18), Basil (15), Jet (15), Tails (14), Knuckles (12), Axel (9), and Storm (9).
It was time for the first Survival Race. It was nighttime in Future City. The Metal City track had been redone, opening some new areas while closing access to others. There was no drop off before the split tunnel, because that drop off was on the closed out part of Metal City. The rest of the track was the same, except for the nighttime sky and the lit-up city.
As the racers stood around the starting block, Gerald started the pre-race announcements.
"Alright, everyone. It's time for the first Survival Race at the Night Chase track, also located in Future City. Actually, this track is a redesigned Metal City track. As usual, the team leaders will go first, then the flying types, then the remaining five will go.
"Now, for the actual rules. There will be one Chaos Emerald set somewhere on the track. We have placed 4 gates around the track, in various places. Your objective is to go through a gate while holding the emerald. You lose it if you're bumped, attacked, or your board runs out of air, in which case you'll be zapped and the emerald will be set back on the course. Oh, and if you stop while holding the emerald, you'll lose air so fast you won't know it, so don't try and wait the clock out. All attacks are set at level 2, and the only power ups are speed up, slow down, and air power ups. There's also a chance you'll get nothing.
"To balance everyone out, the one with the emerald loses air at a steady rate. The ones who don't will have near limitless air. Your boards have been equipped with an air regulator designed especially for Survival Races. Also, the one with the emerald goes a bit slower than the others. The first to reach the point limit wins, and receives 5 points on their total score. The others receive points based on what rank they have in terms of points. In the case of a tie, we award the same number of points.
"Let's say Sonic and Armand both have, say, 8 points, and Rector scores the final point. Sonic and Armand both finish second, and receive 4 points to their score if nobody is in front of them.. That's basically it. Oh yeah, and if you go off course, you lose the emerald. Basic rules apply. It's impossible for a first place tie, because it's over as soon as time runs out, or someone reaches the point total. If you get no points in the race, you'll get one point added to your total for a good try. All boards will come to a stop, but not so hard as to throw you off. You have 5 minutes to score 5 points. Well, that's it for the rules, so let's get started."
Gerald finally wrapped up the announcements, and headed to the announcer's booth. Sonic, Rector, Armand, Jet, and Galeon took their places at the start line.
3…2…1…GO!
The five racers shot out of the starting gate. As they raced down the slope, they saw the emerald waiting. Armand boosted and picked it up first, then jumped the ramp. If this were a regular race, there would be grind rails, flight accelerator rings, and obstacles. But shortcuts were off limits during Survival Races, so there were none. Armand saw the first gate up ahead, just before the first turn. Just as he was about to pass through it, Galeon attacked with his katana. Since a racer gets the emerald right as the attack connects, Galeon got the first point. Armand recovered and sped up to keep with the others.
"Damn it. Now I've got to catch up." Armand cursed.
Galeon saw the next gate just short of the split tunnel. He boosted towards it, but lost his remaining air, got zapped, and lost the emerald. Sonic and Jet sped by as he regained his balance. Through the tunnel, Sonic saw the emerald just after the third gate. He boosted to pick it up, but right as he got it, Jet attacked with his paper fan, stealing the emerald while he was at it. He pulled an air slide around the corner and shot towards the final gate before the start line. It was in the middle of the road. Jet boosted through it and picked up his first point before he hit the ramp. Sonic and Armand followed, then Rector and Galeon afterwards. As they sped up the pulley, Rector managed to get ahead of the others, and stopped after passing Jet in the starting block. He waited for Jet to get ahead, then attacked and stole the emerald. There was about 4:10 left on the clock after the first lap.
The second lap started. Rector had the emerald. As he hit the ramp, he landed on the left side of the obstruction. The others landed on the right, and stopped, thinking that Rector was behind them. But by the time they realized that he was ahead, he was already making the sharp turn, going through the nearby gate at the same time. They boosted ahead to catch up, but by the time they got through the turn, Rector had already reached the split tunnels, as well as the gate. He went through it and picked up his second point. The others soon reached that particular gate, but Rector had already sped through and was at the crossroads. He passed through that gate, gaining his third point.
"Oh yeah. Three points for me." Rector gloated.
But his luck soon turned bad. As he sped on, he failed to realize that his board was running low on air. As he slid through the turn, he ran out of air, allowing the others to catch up. There was 3:30 left on the clock. Rector had the lead with three points, followed by Galeon and Jet with one, and Sonic and Armand with zero. That would change soon.
Armand sped by the others and picked up the emerald after the gate. As he hit the ramp, he saw that the others were closing in. He sped through the pulley, then used some air to lay a tornado that would buy him some time as the third lap began. He ran low on air by the time he reached the ramp, but pulled off a trick that would buy him enough air to reach the gate. As he passed through, the others were just landing on the road. They had to catch up.
"It's my time to shine." Armand said to himself.
As he rounded the corner, he found himself low on air. He had no choice. He would never make it to the next gate, so he let himself run out of air. The emerald reset itself, and Armand let the others catch up to make it fair.
"Well, it was fun while it lasted." Armand said sarcastically.
As the five racers sped to the emerald's new location, Sonic decided to take the right tunnel. It turned out to be a smart move, as he shot out in front of the others.
"Oh yeah. Now it's my turn." Sonic said.
Sonic picked up the emerald and sped towards the corner. As he rounded it, he dropped a tornado trip up the others. It worked. Sonic sped ahead as the others recovered from the tornado. He passed through the gate, hit the ramp, sped up the pulley, and landed back at the start. The time remaining was 2:30. Half of the time they were given had passed by. Sonic sped down the incline, over the ramp, and landed on the right side.
"Looks like I've lost them." Sonic said to himself.
How right he was. Sonic was too far ahead for the others to catch up. But he knew better than to let down his guard. If he did, someone might sneak up on him and steal the emerald. Sonic kept going. He passed through the next gate, which brought him up to ¾ of his air tank full. He kept on. After passing through the next gate, giving him his third point, he saw Galeon and Armand gaining ground. Sonic knew they would try to stop him.
"Now how am I to lose these guys?" Sonic asked himself.
He got his answer when he came up to the next gate. Just before passing through, he dropped a tornado. He passed through the gate. He now needed one more to win.
"One more. Then I'll win." Sonic told himself.
As he rounded the corner, he knew his air tank was running low. He only needed to go a little further to win. As his tank reached the danger zone, he sped up to the gate. Armand was nearly caught up. Just as Sonic's tank ran down to its last bit of air, Sonic passed through the gate, giving him the win. All of the gears stopped as the results were tallied.
"Using his last bit of air, Sonic managed to pass through the gate to gain his final point. Sonic wins!" Gerald announced.
"Sweet! I won!" Sonic exclaimed.
"Bummer." Galeon muttered.
"Dang." Rector nearly cursed.
"I'll win next time." Jet vowed.
"All luck, but some skill." Armand muttered.
As the team leaders headed back to the starting block, the points were totaled up. The results for part 1: Sonic finished 1st, Rector got 2nd, and Armand, Galeon, and Jet all finished 3rd, having one point each. The results: Sonic (+5), Rector (+4), and Armand, Galeon and Jet all earned 3 points. Now the totals were: Rector (31), Armand (30), Sonic (31), Galeon (26), and Jet (18). Rector and Sonic were tied for the lead, since flying-type Raine had 30. Speaking of flying types, it was their turn.
"Will the flying types please report to the starting gate?" Gerald requested.
Tails, Wave, Raine, Nightscream, and Basil went up to the starting gate and waited. The gates were in the same place, and the emerald was at its starting position.
3…2…1…GO!
The next survival race started. Tails was the first off the line, followed by Wave, Basil, Nightscream, and then Raine. Tails, being in the lead, picked up the emerald first. He launched himself off of the ramp, and landed on the right side. The others landed on the left. Tails clearly had the advantage. As he passed through the first gate, Wave tried to attack. Tails moved out of the way, only to be hit by Nightscream. Tails did a short hop to regain his boost ability. He boosted and caught up. Just as Nightscream was about to earn his first point, Tails stole the emerald and got the point instead. Nightscream wasn't too happy about this, and tried to attack Tails. When Tails dodged, Basil bumped the emerald from him. Basil went through the tunnel and sped through the gate. He earned his first point.
"One down, four to go." Basil counted.
That countdown was short-lived. Wave hit Basil with her wrench, sending him into a spin. Wave sped down the straightaway, towards the corner. She rounded it with ease. But that didn't help, as Tails came up again and attacked, stole the emerald, and went through the gate. Tails already had 3 points, and not even a minute had gone by. That was truly amazing. Raine sped up to Tails.
"Sorry, Tails." She said as she attacked him.
Tails lost the emerald, and Raine took it. She launched off of the ramp to the low road. She grabbed the pulley as it swung her around, then took her to the top. She sped across the start line, down the incline, and went to the ramp. She launched off, and landed on the left side. She sped on, and managed to reach the gate near the turn. But she didn't get through it in time.
Nightscream caught up and bumped into her, stealing the emerald. He went through the gate, rounded the corner, and boosted. This took a big chunk out of his air, but it paid off. He made it through the gate, and headed through the tunnel. But that's where Tails attacked him.
Spinning his plug around, he hit Nightscream and took the emerald. Passing through the next gate, he was one point away from the win. It didn't take long. Tails would earn 3 bonus points if he won in within two laps. Tails rounded the next corner and sped towards the gate. Tails passed through it, and won.
"Tails wins within two laps. Truly amazing." Gerald announced.
"Ha ha. Did you see that?" Tails asked.
"I need to tune up my Gear." Wave told herself.
"I lost? What a pain." Basil muttered.
"Oh, I hope Rector isn't mad." Raine said, unsure. She looked at Rector in the stands, who just stood there with a smile. Raine had done the best she could, and he was proud.
"Dang. I hope Falcone didn't see this." Nightscream complained.
Up in the stands, Cream cheered. Her husband had won the survival race within two laps.
The points earned: Tails (+5) (+3 for winning within two laps), Nightscream (+4), Basil (+4), and Wave and Raine each had no points, so they both got one point. The totals for them: Tails (22), Raine (31), Nightscream (22), Basil (19), and Wave (25). It was time for Howl and the power types. Howl was determined to win.
"Going against a bunch of power players? This isn't fair. But I can hold my own." Howl told himself.
Knuckles, Storm, Howl, Rampage, and Axel took their places.
3…2…1…GO!
Howl was the first one out of the starting gate. He sped down the slope and got the emerald. But it didn't last long. Knuckles boosted and took the emerald from him. He passed through the first gate, sped around the turn, and boosted towards the next gate. But that little move didn't pay off. He was zapped, and the emerald reset itself…right after the next gate.
Rampage was the first one to get it, and went through the tunnels. He boosted towards the next gate, and passed through it. He went on through the sharp turn, and launched himself towards the next gate. But Knuckles wanted that point, so he stole the emerald by bumping into Rampage. After Knuckles went through the gate, Rampage attacked and took the emerald back.
But that didn't last long. Storm came up from behind and attacked, stealing the emerald. He hit the ramp, landed, and went up the pulley. After passing the start line, he sped down the slope, and hit the ramp. He landed on the left side, and sped towards the gate. He passed through it, earning himself a point. But shortly after, Knuckles took the emerald, rounded the corner, and boosted towards the next gate. He passed through it, earning himself a third point.
"Two more to go." Knuckles said to himself.
Howl came up and attacked in the left tunnel. He got the emerald, and boosted to the next gate. He passed through it. Howl managed to keep the emerald through the next gate, around the sharp turn. He had two points. Then Knuckles, determined, came up and bumped him, taking the emerald. He hit the ramp, went up the pulley, sped past the start and down the slope, hit the next ramp, landed in the left side, and passed the gate. He managed to keep his air from running out. He passed the final gate to win.
"Knuckles wins." Gerald announced.
"No contest." Knuckles said.
"Aww. I lost." Storm complained.
"Damn it." Axel cursed.
"No way. This can't be." Rampage said.
"Why me?" Howl asked himself.
The results after this race: Knuckles (+5), Howl (+4), and Rampage, Axel, and Storm each got 3 points for having one goal. The total results: Knuckles (17), Howl (25), Rampage (22), Axel (12), and Storm (12).
"After looking back at the three races, Team Sonic has dominated this event. Sonic, Tails, and Knuckles all win. Congratulations." Gerald announced. "Well, with this over, we'll head to Splash Canyon, outside of Future City, for the next race. See you all there."
Gerald left, and the racers returned to their hotel rooms to sleep. They would board Jet's airship the next morning to go to Splash Canyon.
End of Chapter 11.
Team Sonic has dominated this event. Amazing.
The results:
Rector: 31
Raine: 31
Sonic: 31
Armand: 30
Galeon: 26
Wave: 25
Howl: 25
Rampage: 22
Tails: 22
Nightscream: 22
Basil: 19
Jet: 18
Knuckles: 17
Axel: 12
Storm: 12
TWO three way ties. One for first between Rector, Raine, and Sonic, and one for eighth between Rampage, Tails, and Nightscream. Talk about amazing and close. The next race could break it wide open.
Read, and you may review if you want.