It's time for the tournament to continue.
The next two events will take place in the treasure room of Babylon Garden. How will that be? Read and find out.
Chapter 23: The Not-So-Digital Dimension
Basil picked up another win for himself, and Rampage picked up his first win in the previous Survival Race. The standings were: Raine (22), Basil (19), Rector (18), Galeon (18), Rampage (16), Armand (15), Sonic (13), Jet (11), Wave (10), and Knuckles (8).
But Gerald noticed something about the scores. Something didn't seem right. He took a look at the race records, noted the bonus points anyone had received, looked at the points everyone gained for finishing positions, and he finally noticed the error.
"Wait a minute everyone. There has been a slight error in the standings. The 5 bonus points Rector earned in the Babylon Garden race for 9 attacks in 9 seconds were not added to his score. As compensation, we will give those 5 points to him immediately." Gerald announced. With that, Rector's score went from 18 to 23, bringing him into the lead in the standings.
It was time for the Digital Dimension race. The only problem was: How were they going to make it appear?
"Now, it's time for the Digital Dimension race, so let's go." Gerald told everyone.
"Uh, yeah, just one problem, Gerald: HOW ARE WE GOING TO GET THERE!?" Damien yelled. Unfortunately, he had yelled into the headset, and everyone had to cover their ears to avoid going deaf.
"Jeez, Damien, don't yell into the headset. You'll give us all headaches!" Gerald told him. "At any rate, that's a good question. How are we going to get there?"
Jet came up with that answer.
"Leave it to me." Jet answered. He then pulled out Shahra's ring. "Shahra, I need you!" Jet called. Shahra came out of the ring.
"What do you need, master?" Shahra asked.
"I wish that the Digital Dimension track was in the Babylon Guardian's chamber." Jet spoke out his wish.
"As you wish."
Shahra then waved her hand at the chamber, and a slight earthquake took place, signaling that the track was ready.
"Your wish has been granted. The track has been set and is ready to be raced on." Shahra told Jet.
"Thanks." Jet replied. Shahra then disappeared.
The racers headed into the treasure room. Almost immediately, the large room changed into the track. The starting line was up ahead. The room had changed from a large room with a blue floor and ceiling to a place that looked like the world of hell.
"Well, this wasn't what I expected." Galeon said.
"Rector, I'm scared." Raine nervously said as she hid behind Rector.
"It's okay, Raine. Nothing's going to happen." Rector reassured her.
"We just want to warn you all, this place is not for the faint-of-heart. If you don't want to race, I won't stop you from leaving." Damien said to everyone.
Sonic, Knuckles, Jet, Wave, Galeon, Rampage, Armand, Basil, Rector, and Raine stayed. Without looking, Damien could tell Gerald was trying to slip away.
"Gerald! Get back here!" Damien commanded. As soon as he heard his name, Gerald stopped in his tracks.
"But I thought you said if we didn't want to race, we could leave." Gerald tried to protest.
"That's the thing. You're not one of the racers, so you can't leave." Damien pointed out.
Every racer was nervous, but they knew they had to race or be disqualified. Everyone was ready. Gerald and Damien had brought in cameras so everyone that didn't come in could watch the race. And the spectators didn't want to come in because of the scary nature of the track.
"Alright everyone, welcome to Digital Dimension, one of the scariest tracks ever devised. This track is not a track that those of you who get scared easily will want to race on. As usual, the standard race rules apply, so we don't need to go over them again. After this race, we'll take a few hours in order to let the racers calm down and gather their thoughts together, then we'll do the next Survival Race. So let's get this over with. I don't like this place." Gerald announced.
The racers took their places at the starting line. The countdown to the race began.
5…4…3…2…1…
GO!
The 10 racers crossed the starting line and hopped onto their boards to start the race. The race started with a quick double-turn that led left and then right. If you went too far to the left, you could fall into the abyss. The racers knew this, however. The power types could take a shortcut through a Babylonian statue that bypassed the double-turn. The power types took that little shortcut while the other racers were left to take the double-turn. They headed down a slope that led to a ramp. Unlike other ramps, however, waiting in the abyss past the ramp was a spirit ball that was in the form of a ghost face. Sonic, Knuckles, Jet, and Wave were used to the ghost, but the others weren't.
"Whoa! What is that?" Galeon asked.
"Don't worry. That isn't real. This track tests your bravery in the hell, tests your concentration in the heaven, and tests your senses in the digitalized corridor. You'll know what I mean when we get to those areas." Jet explained.
That calmed everyone down. But it was only temporary. They couldn't land on the upper track for this one, so they had to take the low road, and they couldn't believe what they saw. A bunch of spiritual hands were emerging from the pit, trying to grab anyone who came too close. Jet decided to lead them past the obstacle.
"Stay on the outside and they can't reach you. Just don't go into that purple flow, because it will slowly pull you towards the hands." Jet told them.
They followed Jet around the area until they were clear of the hands.
"After that, the rest of the track isn't that scary. Now let's continue the race." Jet told them. Then he kicked the booster.
The race continued. Jet had taken the lead after telling the others about what was incoming. Raine wasn't doing too well since she was nervous. She had no idea what would come next. Rector saw this.
"Are you okay, Raine?" Rector asked.
"Y…yes, Rector." Raine answered. "I'm…just nervous."
"It's okay, Raine. You don't have to worry. Just stay by me." Rector told her.
Rector and Raine caught up to the others, and they weren't that far ahead of them. Jet still had the lead, but Sonic was catching up to him. With an attack, Sonic took the lead, leaving Jet behind. The attack allowed everyone to pass him since they weren't far behind him.
"And I thought I would keep that lead." Jet said to himself.
Jet then caught up to Raine and Rector. But he didn't bother attacking them. Instead, he passed them and attacked Basil. They were near a large green gate. It opened up and they saw a bright light.
"Get ready to enter the heaven!" Jet called to the others. Everyone heard him.
They sped into the door and found themselves rising up in a bluish-green void of light. It took them up to the top where they were shot out in a heaven-like place. There was nothing but white light surrounding them. There were some old buildings throughout the area, but they didn't distract the racers. On the far left was a 100-ring capsule, and some flight accelerator rings. On the right was a grind rail that led to the upper floor of the first track structure. Power types would have to go through the structure, but they could bash through the glass windows without a problem. Armand, Sonic, and Jet took the grind rail on the right, Raine, Wave, and Basil took the flight accelerator rings on the left, and the rest remained on the main path. Why did Galeon remain on the main path? Up ahead, he saw another grinding rail.
On the roof of the structure, Armand, Sonic, and Jet found a semi-sharp turn that led to another grind rail. They hopped on it and grinded to another rail. They had to jump to get to this one. Down below, Galeon hopped over the side just before the next structure and landed on that grind rail. He grinded around the structure and landed in front of it. He was now in the lead. On that structure that Galeon just landed in front of, the other speed types had just found another rail that led to what looked like a drop-off.
The flying types saw that the accelerator rings led to the top of the second structure. They saw the speed types were near the second structure, so they decided to keep following the accelerator rings. All of the racers were close together. It could be anyone's race for the time being, with Galeon in the lead.
As they were nearing the end, the environment suddenly started to change.
"Get ready for the digital void!" Jet called out.
The environment suddenly changed to a black digital tunnel. Every couple of seconds, white lights would flash across the walls, following the track. Up ahead, there were 3 type shortcuts. On the left was a grind rail, in the center was a power barricade area, and on the right were some flight accelerator rings. The speed types used the grind rail, the power types took the power barricade path, and the flying types took the flight accelerator rings. If a racer couldn't hit the shortcut, then that racer had no choice but to take the low road, and it was much slower. At the end of the section, there was a ramp. It led to a right turn that lead…to a dead end. The racers launched off of the ramp and landed near some dash pads. They sped up the slope, made the turn, and headed for the dead end.
"Get ready! We're about to enter the hell again!" Jet called.
And sure enough, the digital void disappeared and reformed into the hell again. The racers hit a slight drop-off and crossed the finish line to begin the second lap, with Galeon still in the lead.
This was a close race, because all 10 racers were within 2 seconds between first and last place. It could be anyone's race. Galeon led the others through the double-turn before heading towards the ramp. The spiritual face was still there, but the racers jumped the ramp like it was nothing. Wave landed on the bottom track, while the others landed on the top. Wave couldn't believe it. She was the only one that landed on the bottom track. She wasn't worried, though. Ironically, even though she was on the bottom track, she was in the lead. She just repeated what everyone did on the first lap: stay on the outside, away from the hands. She was rounding the turn when she saw the statues, which signaled the end of the spirit hands. She boosted towards them.
All of a sudden, one of the hands seemed to go out of control. It blocked Wave's path. She tried to swerve out of the way, but the hand followed her movements. It then grabbed Wave and slowly started to pull her into the abyss. As if that wasn't enough, the hand started to crush Wave. She was slowly losing air, but she managed to work up enough of a breath to scream.
"HELP ME!" Wave screamed.
Up on the top track, Jet was the first to hear the scream. He looked down and saw Wave about to be pulled in. He also noticed that the hand was extended further than usual, and it was crushing the life out of her.
"No! Wave!" Jet yelled. The others noticed what was going on. Gerald saw what had happened and cut the camera, then locked the positions in the way they were before the hand grabbed Wave.
"Forget the race. Wave's life is more important." Jet told everyone. He then leapt off of the side. He then pulled out Shahra's ring.
"Shahra, I need your help!" Jet called to the ring. Shahra suddenly appeared.
"What is it, master?" Shahra asked.
"I wish Wave was free from that spirit's grasp!" Jet told her.
Shahra tried to free Wave with her magic, but nothing happened.
"Something's wrong. My powers are useless. I don't know what's going on!" Shahra told Jet.
"What!?"
"I'm sorry, but I can't do anything." Shahra said.
Just then, Jet had an idea.
"Alright then. I wish I had the green Ark." Jet told her.
"That I can do." Shahra replied. She then waved her hand, and the green Ark appeared and latched onto Jet's left wrist. Jet then sped down towards Wave.
"I'm coming, Wave!" Jet called out to her. Wave looked up and saw Jet coming to save her.
"Jet!" She weakly said.
But a bunch of spirit hands rose up to Jet and tried to stop him.
"That's not going to work. GRAVITY CONTROL!" Jet called.
Jet's Ark started to glow, and a gravity field appeared around Jet. He then shot the field at the hands. The field enveloped the hands and stopped them. Jet then continued to speed down towards Wave, hoping he wasn't too late. As he neared Wave, he looked at her, and saw that she was near death. He couldn't stand it. He reached Wave and took her hand. He could barely feel a pulse, so Wave was still alive, but barely. He tried to pull Wave back up with him, but the hand increased the strength of its pull. Jet was slowly losing the battle until he realized that he could still use the Ark. He then knew that he could rescue Wave by saying two simple words.
"GRAVITY DIVE!"
Jet's Ark then glowed brightly, and a small black hole formed. Jet went through it, and he shot out at speeds faster than sound. The hand couldn't retain its grip on Wave, and was destroyed from the speed and power. Jet pulled Wave along with him as he shot out of the abyss. He landed on the track, where the others were waiting. Jet set Wave down, then checked her pulse. It was slowly decreasing. Jet felt rage build inside him. Could he have been too late?
"She's losing her pulse. Is there any way to save her?" Jet asked.
"I don't know. I have a life potion right here, but I don't know if it will work." Raine answered.
"Well, now would be a good time to find out. Use it." Jet told her.
Raine did so. Jet opened Wave's mouth enough for Raine to pour the potion in. The potion went into Wave's mouth. Jet sat her upright to help the potion go down. It went down, and after a few seconds, Wave had regained her normal pulse. She was breathing normally again. Jet was relieved.
"Wave, I'm so glad you're okay." Jet said as he hugged Wave.
"Thank you for saving me, Jet." Wave replied as she returned the hug.
"Well, you have to thank Raine as well. It was her potion that brought you back." Jet told her. Wave turned to Raine.
"Thank you, Raine."
"You're welcome." Raine said.
Gerald got to where the racers were.
"What happened here?" Gerald asked.
"Wave got caught by one of the hands. It reached out and grabbed her, then tried to kill her as it brought her down into the abyss." Jet explained.
"I saw that. When that happened, I locked the racing positions. It looks like we'll have to do the same thing we did in Babylon Garden." Gerald told them.
"You do that. But even though I was in the lead, I want you to give Jet the win." Wave requested. Jet was shocked at what Wave had just requested.
"But Wave, if you do that, it will put you down in 7th place." Jet told her. Wave then kissed him.
"You deserve it after saving me." Wave told her. "I don't care if it puts me down in that position."
Gerald acknowledged it, then contacted Damien.
"Damien, it's Gerald."
"Yo, G-man, what's up?"
"I want you to announce what had happened, and tell them that Wave has given first place to Jet." Gerald told him.
"I'm on it." Damien responded. He then started to announce the incident.
"I just got word that Wave was almost killed by a spirit hand gone out of control. How it happened, I don't know. But Jet managed to rescue Wave, so she gave Jet the win even though it puts her down in 7th. With that, Jet wins." Damien announced.
The race was over. The results would turn out to be: Jet (+10), Galeon (+9), Armand (+8), Sonic (+7), Knuckles (+6), Rector (+5), Wave (+4), Basil (+3), Raine (+2), and Rampage (+1).
"Well, after this, we'll take a few hours for a break. This will allow the racers to gather their thoughts and calm down, and we'll be back for the survival race. Until then, see you all later." Damien announced.
Gerald and the racers left the treasure room, which had turned back to normal. The racers headed towards Jet's airship to rest up, while Gerald and Damien took their leave. Wave went into Jet's room, because after what she had gone through, she knew Jet was the only one who could comfort her.
End of Chapter 23
Someone is deliberately trying to end the tournament in terror. But who could be the one trying this? You'll just have to keep your eyes on the story to find out. This story is winding down. There will be 4 chapters left for races, and I have something special planned for the last chapter or two. I have yet to decide on how many chapters I should do after the final race.
As for the standings, here you go:
Rector: 28
Galeon: 27
Raine: 24
Armand: 23
Basil: 22
Jet: 21
Sonic: 20
Rampage: 17
Wave: 14
Knuckles: 14
Now Rampage is the only OC in danger. Sonic, Jet, Wave, and Knuckles had better find a way to rebound, or else they will be eliminated after the next 3 races. You'll have to find out as the chapters come along.
Read, and you may review if you want.