Authors Note

I'm posting fairly on time today, yay! We got some more questions and suggestions in the last chapter, and that's awesome!

Chapter 6

After the awesomeness that was STAR TOURS: The Adventures Continue, the group headed across the way to Buzz Lightyear Astro Blasters.

"It's a ride that is geared towards the modern day video-gamers," Katie said with a slightly scary smile. "It's a game."

The twins and Tamaki immediately ran towards her, interested in what this game was about. It was an unspoken challenge amongst them. They all got in the five minute line.

"You have a blaster, which you have to aim and fire at these Z's, as in the Evil Emperor Zurg!" Steph picked up on the enthusiasm easily. "You have a score keeper on the vehicle and you have a joystick to control the car. Whoever gets the most points and defeats Zurg is the winner!"

"Whats the prize?" Kaoru asked.

Katie thought it over with a smirk. "Bragging rights." It was enough.

The twins and Tamaki raced inside the ride interior, all scrambling to get in first to win and dragging poor Haruhi along with them. Katie chuckled and winked at her sister. Steph laughed and went to follow the squabbling bunch.

Honey was running around in gleeful circles while Mori and Kyoya listened to Katie as she whispered some tips to the two darker-haired men.

"Don't continuously press down on the trigger, press and release the laser. Also, the targets that are lit up are worth more points as are the diamond shaped targets. Don't spin too much and look for hidden targets. Those are worth a lot. Your blaster will make a noise if and when you hit a target, so you don't have to continuously look down at your score. Good luck. By the way, I will get the most points, because I know all the cheap spots, and Steph might get more than me, but she is taking a handicap because she likes a challenge. I'd bet money that the real competition is right in front of me." She winked and continued on.

The ride only had two seats per car, so the order went Steph first, followed by the twins, then Tamaki and Haruhi, Mori and Honey, with Kyoya and Katie at the rear. Everyone enjoyed the ride, but each car had their own experience.

Since Steph was riding alone, she had an open blaster and thought that she would even the playing field with the newbies. She used both blasters, one for each hand and tried to never hit the same target twice. She had an interesting experience trying to control the spinning of the vehicle, but she enjoyed it.

The twins were more interested in spinning the car and spent half the time fighting over the joystick that controlled the spinning. They also held the trigger down, thinking that will get them more points. They had a lot of fun chanting "Pew! Pew! Pew!" fast and with a lot of enthusiasm.

Tamaki and Haruhi were a different story. Neither of them really touched the joystick, but Tamiki never stopped talking the entire time.

"Your alien creatures are no match for me, you evil Zurg!" He would say as he blasted another target. "You will not harm my Haruhi!"

Haruhi, however, was quiet and enjoyed the feel of the ride. She had read the signs in the loading area that had some of the stuff that Katie mentioned to Kyoya and Mori. She ignored Tamaki's ramblings and loved the ride.

Mori and Honey, being skilled with martial arts and kendo, took the game as an exercise in hand eye coordination and precision. Mori was in charge of the spinning and used it appropriately. Honey greatly enjoyed the mechanic aliens and the story of the game and did very well. Mori took Katie's advice in stride and had a slight smile the entire time.

Katie and Kyoya, however, dominated. Kyoya, practiced in multitasking, watched Katie as she found the trickiest, also the most generous point wise, spots. At one point during the ride, it stopped. She just smiled and pointed her laser at such a spot. Kyoya found another spot like it and followed her lead.

"Why did the ride stop?" He asked as they relaxed and watched their points grow.

"Probably a person in a wheelchair had to get on," She casually explained, snagging another target that was glowing. She only used her eyes and wrists in the process, so Kyoya tried the same tactic. It was surprisingly effective. She only used the joystick when she needed it and, once the ride was going again after about a minute, she stayed on one target repeatedly until it was out of range.

When they got to the end and was shown their scores, the order went like this: Katie, Kyoya, Mori, Steph, Honey and Haruhi (they were so close they tied), the twins, and Tamaki.

When she saw her score, Katie frowned.

"I haven't gotten that low of a score in a while!" She muttered. Kyoya looked at her in astonishment and Steph rolled her eyes, because that score beat the highest in the past week.

"That was fun!" Honey said as they exited the ride.

"I agree, I want to go again," Haruhi exclaimed.

"There will be another chance later, but its time to move on," Katie said, forgetting her 'low' score.

Tamaki was sulking again. "Mommy, why did I score so low? I wanted to win…"

Before Kyoya could reply, Steph interrupted with "Well, you were so focused on saving Haruhi, you made that your priority. And you saved her, which is what really matters!" Since she was two cars ahead, she could hear Tamaki's voice over the ride.

Tamaki brightened and proceeded to brag to the twins about how he actually won that contest. Haruhi just rolled her eyes.

As they were exiting the ride, they noticed a bunch of booths lined up.

"While I go secure our spots at the next ride," Katie said to the group, "Go and try these out. You can send a picture of you on the ride to your email free of charge. It will take a while for it to send, probably a couple of days. Hurry now!"

So they all did. Steph's picture made everyone laugh as they saw her with a smile on her face and wielding duel blasters. The twins looked silly and devilish, and Tamaki looked brave while Haruhi was concentrated on the targets. Honey and Mori had big smiles while Katie and Kyoya looked as relaxed and cool as if they were changing channels on the television.

Everyone loved their pictures and sent them to their respective emails. Everyone left in high spirits and the competition was forgotten.

Author's note

please tell us you thoughts on the chapter and suggestion for the future. Also, if you think we might have gotten something wrong or could have done something better, let us know, criticism is totally welcome! By the way, recently celebrated Katie's Birthday, and she spent the day throwing up. Please wish her a speedy recovery and happy birthday!

Astro Blasters link: /LC4LyZCjDDQ

~that's all!~