Chapter 4
Ryan finally picked himself up on the robot-control platform and got to the center of the arena.
The girl he was fighting stood there, too.
"OK, I want a good clean fight," the arena droid stated, "No ear-biting, claw-digging, kidney-punches, or eye-gouging…unless, of course, you just can't help yourself."
Ryan looked at the girl. "Hey. I'm Ryan."
She just scoffed at him…and hit him hard enough to knock him into the wall.
The others Loonakids (and Brenda), still in the control booth, winced again.
"And that," Sarah groaned, "That also looked quite painful."
Ryan picked himself up, the robot he was on still following his every move.
The girl smirked. "Hey. I'm Demi." She held her hand out.
He cautiously reached out his—
And her robot grabbed his, throwing him again.
In round two, she jumped him, pounced him, collapsed him, and flipped him before finally grabbing him by the ankles and swinging him in the air, making him fall so hard to the ground that his life count cut from 7 to 6.
Ryan groaned, unable to get up. "Help me."
Demi then walked up and put her foot on his robot.
He then got an idea…he, without need to get up yet, swung himself around, flinging his robot's legs into hers and making her fall.
She quickly jumped back up as he picked himself up. She started to rush him but he jumped over her, making her pound herself into the wall.
"Nope," Robert smirked at Sarah, "That's what hurts."
Demi brushed herself off…her life count appearing and cutting from 9 to 8…and then to 7.
In round three, Ryan jumped out of her way and started circling her. She couldn't keep up or corner him and lost all track of her own motions, collapsing in dizziness and confusion. He then simply had to walk up and poke her to make her collapse entirely.
She fell so hard that her life count dropped straight down to 3.
"Well, well, well," the host said as he brought in the others to Ryan, "For a kid who doesn't know how to fight…you sure know how to fight."
Ryan smirked as he pulled his teammates (and Brenda) onto his platform. "If we told you the truth, you'd never believe it."
The host smirked. "Well, congrats…and keep the controller." He then pushed down the platform and sent them hurtling back to earth.
In the Toymaker's lair…
The Toymaker was no pacing in his digital cavern. "So let's just go over it all so there are no mistakes, no errors, no lack of communication amongst us. What I want—what we want—what do we want?"
Three forms of him stood there.
"Well, our time on this planet is drawing to a close," his smart form said, "It belongs now to our youth."
"And we control their minds!" his soldier self stated.
"We could start the world over and cure it of its diseases," his hippie half smirked, "We could begin anew."
The Toymaker glared at all of them. He then threw a rock at them (it went right through them, they were holograms after all). "Then what we could do is what we should do! Am I doing the right thing?"
"It's not about the right thing, it's about the smart thing," his smart form said.
"And I think I speak for all of us when I say WE WANT OUT!" his soldier self stated.
"You have the children's minds in your hold, the question now is what are you teaching them?" his hippie half asked.
The Toymaker just looked at all of them. "Who are you people?"
The three of them exchanged looks. "We are you."
"Oh! Right. Forgive me. I sometimes forget the extent of my programming powers and for a second there I actually believed you existed. Goodbye." He then hit a button and they all disappeared. "Out, out, out—I've been in here too long!" He sighed and looked at a layout of the game world. "But this childish game will soon be over and then…the real one begins."
Meanwhile…
The ten heroes got themselves together. They then approached a ramp leading to the next level.
There stood Rick, Artie, and Greg.
Greg whipped out a Tech-Pad…and looked at their energy signatures. "No way…it's really them!" He rushed up with his two friends. "You're really the Loonakids!" He then noticed Brenda. "Who's that?"
Brenda glared at him even as she was filing her nails. "A friend. Who are you?"
"She's our lifeline," Lucy explained to the boys, "She'll help us get to Level 5."
"So you can win the game?" Rick asked.
"…I guess that's one way of putting it."
"Come on, boys, just because they all made it out of Robo-Con in one piece doesn't mean they're really these super kids."
"He's the first I've seen to make it out with the power laser."
Ryan looked at the control on the wrist not holding the stopwatch (which by now read 4:09:18).
"Give me a break," Rick groaned, "These wimps are phonies." He then stormed off.
"Well, one way to find out," Artie smirked, "Mega-Race. Fastest, most dangerous race in the game world."
"Whoa, wait a minute, there are easier ways of proving—" Ryan started.
Artie pushed him. "Go."
"I'm going." He walked off, the others following.
"The race will begin shortly," the Toymaker's voice sounded over the track as the gamers all rushed to the starting point where a large arrangement of racing cars were arranged, "Claim your vehicle."
"Well, you're up, buddy," Jack said, pushing Ryan into a bike.
Ryan glared at him. "Why is it always me?!"
"You're the game-geek that wanted us to do this," Sarah sneered as she and the others went off to their positions farther back.
Lucy just groaned. She got the last bike…and it was small. "You've gotta be kidding." Still, she got on.
"This race will tell us if you're really the Loonakids," Greg said.
"If you are, you can hang with us," Rick said, "But if you're phonies, Artie will crush you." Even as he said that, Artie approached one of the taken bikes and tossed it, flinging the gamer inside across the track before getting in.
"Can't we just show you guys our powers?!" Michael demanded.
"That'd be considered cheating; you'd get an immediate Game Over and have no chance of getting to Level 5."
"…race is good." He then looked at Brenda. "Of course, it would've been nice to know that before we started the game."
"Don't look at me, I just got here," Brenda sighed.
"There are no rules in this race," the Toymaker's voice sounded again, "except win. At any cost."
Suddenly, every bike on the track was enhanced.
Lucy smirked as hers gained controls (that she could read instead of tech-speak) and extra wheels. She flipped her hair out of the way as she grabbed the steering mechanisms. "Now that's more like it."
One of the other racers, wearing a helmet, got in front of Ryan and pointed at him before making the "you're dead" gesture.
Ryan looked at his friends. "What did I do?"
Rick just smirked. "We'll try to help you guys out…as much as we can."
"The race will begin…now. 1-2-3-GO!"
Before the gang could process this, everything started up.
Suddenly, Ryan was dodging obstacles set up by the other players. Finally, he hit a button…that sent a very large pie flinging at the helmeted player doing the sabotage. He smirked. "Easy as pie."
Meanwhile, Rick was right next to Nadine. "Hey, pinky! Hit the red button!"
Nadine looked at the button on her panel. "The one that says 'do not push'?!"
"Yeah, hit it! It's a turbo boost!"
"Are you sure?"
Rick nodded.
Nadine groaned and reluctantly hit the button…which popped her from her seat and sent her flying up at a post. She quickly grabbed on, leaving her dangling fifteen feet over the track with her life count fading to 6, dead-even with Ryan's. She then saw Rick coming up and dropped, landing right on the back of his bike…and starting to fly with the speed. She held onto the back of the bike but it wouldn't keep her tethered from the ground for long. "HEY! GIVE ME A HAND!"
"Yeah? How 'bout a foot?" He crushed her hand with his foot, sending her flying into Brenda.
Brenda looked at her, holding her there with the hand not holding the steering mechanisms.
Nadine smirked. "Hey."
Brenda groaned and moved over enough in the seat to give her a place to sit.
Rick just smirked. "Sucker." He then saw the flaw in his plan: Nadine's empty bike right in front of him ready to crash. Once his bike hit it, both bikes were sent flying. He fell to the next track (his life count falling to 7 as he did so) and landed on one of the other riders' back. He smirked. "My turn." He grabbed him and threw him from the bike, dropping into the seat and taking over.
The racers kept going…and saw that they were headed for a ramp that went straight into the air and then back down.
"Uh oh…" Robert quickly latched onto the others' and took them in a straight line down the ramp. "OK, not doing that again," he groaned as he shook himself off.
Please note here that Greg wasn't so lucky and fell between the two arches of the ramp and fell until his life count hit 6.
The racers kept riding down the track and fell into a tunnel. They ran through the curves and swerves with ease…until the track hit a dead end and everyone started free-falling twenty feet. Naturally, everyone in the tumble lost a life.
Ryan thought fast and grabbed one of the bikes falling with them, gesturing to his friends to do the same, and got the motor running as they landed back on the track and started off on the final stretch.
They pulled around corkscrews and sharp turns until finally…the helmeted racer came back and started attacking Ryan again.
Ryan dodged every attack…except the one when they ran over the back of his ride and he was left riding a hubcap. He quickly started charging up momentum, actually grabbing onto Kelly and having her fling him forward.
"5…4…3…2…1… WINNER! By a hubcap! Ryan Coyote!"
Ryan got himself together as the other racers came to the finish line, actually flipping the hubcap in question like a skateboard and grabbing it.
"Wow," Greg smirked as the gang got together, "You are the Loonakids. You've got some mad skills."
Ryan just smirked.
Then the racer with the helmet came up and revealed themselves…as Demi. She smirked. "So. I hear you're the Loonakids."
Sarah smirked back. "No kidding." She then looked at Demi, Rick, Artie, and Greg as a group. "OK, here it is. If we really can't use our powers here without shutting down the whole mission, then we need you guys to lead us to Level 5."
"Alright then, we work together," Rick said as he walked forward, "But if you fail us or if you're not who you say you are, those life counts will be hitting 0 faster than you can say 'oops.'"
"Deal. Now let's move!"
And so they set off.