Oops. I forgot to upload this chapter. Sorry.
It's time for the next Survival Race.
In the last race, Wave nearly got killed by a spirit hand that went out of control for some reason. This thing somehow managed to resist Shahra's magic as Jet tried to save her. He did, thanks to the green Ark. Even though Wave was in the lead when the race got called, she thought Jet deserved the win since he saved her life.
Who is causing these incidents? Is someone deliberately trying to eliminate the racers? And if so, who is it? You'll just have to keep an eye on the story to find out.
Chapter 24: Surviving the Babylon Guardian
It was time to move on in the tournament. The standings at this point were: Rector (28), Galeon (27), Raine (24), Armand (23), Basil (22), Jet (21), Sonic (20), Rampage (17), Wave (14), and Knuckles (14).
After the last race, the racers took a few hours to calm down. Especially Wave, who needed to regain her composure after suffering a near-death. Now everyone was ready for the Survival Race, and they were hoping that nothing would happen to interrupt. Jet pulled Shahra's ring out.
"Shahra, I need you!" Jet called, prompting Shahra's appearance.
"What is your wish, master?" Shahra asked.
"I wish that the Babylon Guardian track was in the treasure room." Jet told her.
"Your wish is my command." Shahra replied. She then waved her hand towards the treasure room, and everyone could feel a light earthquake, signaling that the track was ready. The racers went into the treasure room. Gerald followed so he could cover the race from the inside. Damien stayed out so he could report the race to the spectators on the outside.
"Alright, everyone, it's time for the next Survival Race, and it's in the Babylon Guardian track. Yes, it's another one of those tracks, but the racers must do this or be disqualified. Remember, you have to score 5 points in 5 minutes. Let's see who will be taking part in the first Survival Race." Gerald announced.
The randomizer came up and started to shuffle the racers. It wasn't long before 5 pictures were lit up.
"The first 5 racers will be Sonic, Rampage, Wave, Raine, and Armand." Gerald announced.
Sonic, Rampage, Wave, Raine, and Armand took their spots. The countdown began.
3…2…1…
GO!
The survival race began. Raine was the first one out of the starting gate, followed by Armand, Wave, Sonic, and then Rampage, in that order. The emerald was placed about halfway through the starting straightaway. Raine, being the first one out, reached the emerald first. She preserved air by boosting just before picking up the emerald. This would allow her to keep the emerald longer. She saw the first gate up ahead, just before the first turn, which was a sharp one. It wasn't long before she reached the gate, and she passed through it to score her first point before she rounded the corner. But it was at that point when Wave took the emerald from her by bumping into her.
"Try to catch me!" Wave called as she shot around the corner.
Wave launched off of the ramp, doing a few tricks in the air to regain what little air she had used during her time with the emerald. She landed and boosted immediately, shooting through the gate that was placed just after the landing point, and thus scoring her first point. Because she had boosted before passing through the gate, she regained air. The next gate was located before the next sharp turn. Wave boosted once to gain some distance. She looked back and saw Rampage catching up. Wave boosted again, hoping to reach the next gate before Rampage stole the emerald. Luckily for her, the boost was enough to help her reach the next turn. She passed through the gate before the turn to score a second point before Rampage attacked and stole the emerald.
Rampage launched off of the ramp and shot towards the starting line. The next gate, which was the final one before heading to the first one again, was just behind the finish line. Rampage shot through it to score his first point, then he boosted, hoping to gain a lead so he could have a better chance of gaining a second point. He was halfway to the next gate before he looked back. He saw Armand trying to catch up so he could take the emerald. Rampage boosted in an attempt to get away. The next gate was just ahead. Rampage boosted, putting his board into the caution zone. His board soon went into the danger zone, but Rampage made it to the gate and passed through it, gaining his second point. Armand followed Rampage as he shot around the corner and sped towards the ramp. Rampage launched off of it and went farther than Armand. The gate was just ahead, so it was going to be a close one. Rampage and Armand both boosted, and just before Armand attacked, Rampage passed through the gate for his third point.
Armand was now in possession of the emerald. He and Sonic were the only ones who had not scored yet. Armand boosted down the straightaway towards the next gate located before the turn. He had managed to create some distance between himself and the other racers, so he could reach the next gate with ease. But Sonic was closing in, and fast. Armand had to score at least one point. He boosted again and the momentum was enough to get him to the gate. He scored his first point and sped around the turn to the ramp. He launched off of it and performed tricks to regain air, and it helped. Sonic didn't manage to go as high, so he couldn't go as far. Armand had opened the distance.
"Now if I can just gain a lead, I can win this event." Armand told himself.
Just before reaching the gate before the start/finish line, Armand laid a tornado. He then passed through the gate to regain some air and score his second point. Sonic got hit by the tornado, and that allowed Armand to open the distance even more. He boosted once to speed towards the next gate, located just before the turn. As he closed in on it, he boosted again. This action put him into the caution zone, but he wasn't concerned. He passed through the gate to score a third point and gain enough air to get him to the ramp. The time remaining was 2:30. Half of the time limit had passed since the survival race began.
"Only 2:30 left? I need to hurry up and end this thing." Armand said to himself.
Armand launched off of the ramp and regained more air. He passed through the gate located shortly after the ramp to score a fourth point.
"Just one more point and I'll win." Armand told himself.
"That's not going to happen!" Someone called from behind him.
Armand looked behind him only to get ran over by a spin-dash. Sonic had caught up and stolen the emerald. He couldn't believe it.
"Damn it. And I was so close, too." Armand said as he regained his momentum.
Sonic took advantage of Armand being stunned and boosted to the next gate. He boosted again as he came closer and passed through it to finally get on the scoreboard. Speeding around the turn, he launched off of the ramp and landed far ahead. He boosted to the gate just before the start/finish line to score another point. He used some of that air and boosted to the next gate. He didn't boost a second time because of confidence. He reached the next gate and scored his third point.
"That's three points. Only two more left." Sonic said to himself.
Sonic sped around the corner to the ramp and launched off of it. He passed through it to score a fourth point and tie with Armand. Speaking of Armand, he was approaching fast. Sonic looked behind him and saw this. This was going to be close. Whoever had possession of the emerald when they passed the next gate would be credited with the point and would win. Sonic and Armand boosted, Sonic to reach the gate, Armand to steal the emerald. It was between them. They were right at the gate. At the exact moment Armand attacked, Sonic passed through the gate. It was too close to call.
"This is too close to call. We'll have to check a replay to determine the winner." Gerald announced.
The replay was checked, and after a couple of minutes, Gerald announced the results.
"We just checked the replay, and it tells us that…Sonic wins this race!" Gerald announced.
"Yes! I won!" Sonic yelled as he jumped up.
"Dang it!" Armand said. He couldn't believe he had lost.
The results: Sonic (+5), Armand (+4), Rampage (+3), Wave (+2), and Raine (+1). The standings between them were: Sonic (25), Armand (27), Rampage (20), Wave (16), and Raine (25).
"Now that the first Survival Race is over, let's get the other 5 racers out here." Gerald announced.
Knuckles, Basil, Galeon, Jet, and Rector took their positions at the starting line.
3…2…1…
GO!
The race began. Jet took an early lead, followed by Basil, Rector, Galeon, and Knuckles. Since Jet was the first one out, he got the emerald first. Once he got the emerald, he boosted ahead, trying to put some distance between him and the others. Jet quickly reached the first gate and passed through it to score his first point. After rounding the corner and launching off of the ramp, he sped to the next gate to score his second point.
"Two down and it hasn't even been 30 seconds yet." Jet complimented himself.
Jet's air tank was full, so he could easily boost twice without going into the caution zone. He boosted once to increase the distance, then again to reach the gate. He passed through it to score a third point. He sped around the corner, launched off of the ramp, and was about to pass through the next gate to score a fourth point when Galeon bumped into him and stole the emerald.
"This race is mine." Galeon taunted.
"I'll get you." Jet yelled.
Galeon passed through the gate to score his first point. But it wasn't long before Jet regained the emerald. The other three had been left behind. There was no way they could win unless something happened. Jet boosted to put some distance between him and Galeon, then boosted again to reach the next gate. He scored his fourth point, sped around the turn, launched off of the ramp, and boosted through the final gate to win.
"Jet wins this one!" Gerald announced.
"I'm the best!" Jet gloated.
It was amazing. The results: Jet gained 5 for the win, Galeon gained 4 for finishing second, and the others got 1 point since they didn't score. Their standings were: Jet (26), Galeon (31), Knuckles (15), Basil (23), and Rector (29).
"Luckily, nothing happened in this race that threatened anyone's life. Now, let's return to Station Square for the Sega Carnival race. It's the final race of the main tournament, excluding the actual final race. See you all there."
Gerald wrapped everything up, and they left Babylon Garden. The racers boarded Jet's airship to head to the next track.
End of Chapter 24.
Yeah, I know. The second survival race wasn't that exciting, or long. But I've already got the final race in Sand Ruins in my mind. That's the race you all want to see, I know that. But I'm not skipping the other races. Plus, I've got the other two stories I'm doing in my mind.
The standings so far:
Galeon: 31
Rector: 29
Armand: 27
Jet: 26
Sonic: 25
Raine: 25
Basil: 23
Rampage: 20
Wave: 16
Knuckles: 15
Raine, Basil, Rampage, Wave, and Knuckles are in danger. They only have two more events before elimination. Will they be able to rebound?
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