A/N: I apologize for the delay in this chapter. Sudden sickness combined with writers block kept this chapter from being completed for a while, but I finally got it done. I'd like o thank those who read and those who reviewed. You guys keep me going and you all just rock for that. Anyway, here's the next chapter of RBTLG. I hope you enjoy!
Rancis looked in shock, at Cadbury's face. His face.
"Who the heck are you!? Why do you look like me?" Rancis yelled. Cadbury just shook his head.
"Wow, you're not too bright are you?" Cadbury said. "Mirror World, Mirror Racers. This making any sense to you, buddy? I'm YOU!" He chuckled a bit. "Well, I guess not quite you; I'm much better looking." Taffyta and Candlehead looked at each other in confusion. Gloyd shook his head. Rancis was still absorbing the fact that there's another him.
"Oh my gosh, he's even worse than you when you're looking at yourself in a mirror, Rancis." Taffyta said. Rancis just sighed. He clearly had enough of this doppelgangers talking.
"Listen guy, we really need to get by." Rancis said. "So if you don't mind, we'll be leaving now." Cadbury laughed at Rancis' statement.
"Oh, but I do mind!" He said. "Didn't you hear what I said? You're trespassing! That means you don't belong here." His eyes turned red. "Now you all be good boys and girls and turn back, or I'm gonna have to take care of you myself!" He became enveloped by a deep red aura, as he reached to his side and pulled out what appeared to be a candy long dagger. "So what's it gonna be?"
"How about this?" Taffyta said. She reached into her kart and pulled out a huge black cherry. "Light it, Candlehead!" she said, tossing the cherry to her. Candlehead caught the cherry, and lit the stem using the candle on her head. Cadbury's eyes widened.
"Are you crazy!? You'll blow us all up!"
"Take this!" Candlehead shouted throwing the cherry at Cadbury. It exploded and covered the entire cave in a shroud of smoke. Everyone, including Cadbury was coughing.
"Come on, let's get out of here!" Taffyta said with a cough. The others revved their engines and drove past Cadbury who was still coughing. They made their way out of the smoke and through the rest of the mine.
"Well, the welcoming committee seemed nice enough." Said Gloyd.
"Oh yeah, I felt really welcome." Said Taffyta sarcastically.
The smoke was starting to clear inside the mine. Cadbury was still inside, waving his arms around trying to clear away the smoke and coughing. He looked and had noticed that the trespassers had escaped. He scowled.
"Oh, don't you think it's going to be that easy!" He yelled. He punched the walls of the mine. The whole mine started to shake. "I'll bury you all!"
Stalactites were falling down around Rancis and friends.
"What's going on!?" Taffyta yelled.
"The mine is collapsing!" Candlehead responded.
"I thought that bomb wasn't explosive!" Gloyd said.
"It's not, you pumpkin head!" Taffyta yelled. "It's a smoke bomb! Something else is making the mine collapse!"
"It doesn't matter! Let's just get out of here!" Rancis yelled. They continue on at high speed as the cave seems to collapse all around them, dodging the stalactites getting closer and closer to crushing their karts as they stay barely out of the increasing harm's way. Eventually they see a light up ahead.
"There!" Taffyta points "Gun it! Give it all you got!" The four racers push their karts o the limit. With a final burst of speed, they made it out of the cave before the entrance collapsed. Right outside of the mine, in the Ice Cream Mountain they drifted to a stop.
"Is everyone ok?" Rancis asked.
"We're all here." Said Gloyd. He sighed loudly. "That was pretty intense. I'm surprised we made it out."
"All of us, except Rancis' evil twin." Said Taffyta. "He talked big, but in the end he buried himself." Rancis nodded in agreement to the statement. They haven't been in this world for too long, and the first guy they meet, is a murderous doppelganger. Rancis wondered about what else they would face. Were there others? And if there are, could they hopefully not be like Cadbury?
"He talked big, but in the end he buried himself."
"That's what you think." On the higher part of the Ice Cream Mountain, Cadbury, seeming miraculously unscathed, was looking down on the four racers. "As long as I have this virus, I'm invincible. Enjoy your time here for now, because you're not making it to the castle…" He laughed to himself. "I did what Clair wanted. Guess I'd better report back to him." He said before disappearing in a streak of red.
Inside the castle, Clair was in his room, sitting at a table facing the window. He was wondering if Cadbury was the right choice to guard the mine. 'I dare not question Milady out loud, but I'm not sure if Cadbury was the best choice to send. He's strong, but he's vain, and he talks too much. He tries too hard to show his strength, and I fear that might get him killed someday.' He smirked a little. 'But, he's the mirror of the one who tried to fight me on the other side. That alone interests me and it's for that reason I sent Cadbury on this mission with a few secret orders...' His thoughts were interrupted by a sudden knock on his door. "Come in." He said. The door opened, showing Cadbury as the visitor. "Well, that was fast, Cadbury. He made it through, then?" Cadbury laughed and smirked.
"Well, not without some trouble." He said. "He has crafty friends, that's for sure." Cadbury's smirk turned into a frown. "I don't see why I couldn't have just killed him. Lady Marzipanne is going to be upset when you have to tell her that they got through. Why are you so interested in him?" Clair sighed at the question.
"I'm not quite sure." He said, with a laugh.
"Whatever, weirdo." Cadbury said. "I'm going to my quarters; I have to wash Nougat Mine out of my hair." He left and closed the door, leaving Clair alone once again. He sighed once again.
'The truth is, when we he tried to fight me, and save the Princess, I felt something inside my code. Something familiar, but at the same time completely foreign to me.' He made a fist and slammed it on the table. 'And it bugs the heck out of me!' He sighed once again. "No matter. If it comes down to it, I'll eliminate him myself and rid myself of whatever this feeling is." He got up and walked to his door. "Time to report to Milady. She won't be too mad that racers from the other side made it through…"