Chapter 94: Pushover
"What?!" Sonny exclaimed once the Extreme Gear shop owner tallied the amount for the three Extreme Gears he, Miles, and Chuck picked out. "1,500 dollars?!"
"That's right," the shop owner said casually. "Each Extreme Gear costs 500 dollars each and since there's three of you, that adds up to a total of 1,500 dollars for the three Extreme Gears you purchased. Will you be paying with cash or credit?"
Before Sonny could reply, Miles said, "Is it possible for us to trade an Extreme Gear for the three we want?"
"Well, sure," the shop owner replied. "Depending on how much the Gear you want to trade is worth, it could be substituted as payment for your Extreme Gears but you'll need something really good in order to do that."
"Like this?" Miles said and lifted Sky's Extreme Gear onto the counter.
The shop owner examined the board carefully and then he exclaimed, "This is an S-Type Gear, and in good condition too!"
"So how much is it worth?" Miles asked.
"About…5,000 dollars," the store owner said after a pause. "I could trade it for the total amount your Extreme Gears cost but I don't have enough change for—
"Deal!" Miles said, and grabbed his Extreme Gear while Sonny and Chuck took theirs. "We'll be on our way, then."
"Oh, but don't you want any of these cool sunglasses or goggles to go with your Gears?" the store owner said, pointing to a rack that had the objects he was describing. "I could add them to your trade free of charge."
"Sure," Sonny said, and picked up a pair of green-tinted sunglasses. "I had my eye on these since we entered the store."
"Same here," Chuck said taking a purple-lensed pair of ski goggles.
"Fair enough," Miles said and took a pair of ordinary goggles. "And you can keep the change, mister. We don't need it."
While the store owner stood baffled, the three boys left the shop with Extreme Gears in their hands and eye-ware on their heads.
"Are you sure that was a good idea, Miles? Trading an Extreme Gear we technically stole from one of the members of Team Babylon for ours?" Sonny said as soon as they were outside the shop.
"Then would you rather have paid 1,500 dollars for the Gear plus 60 for the eye-ware?" Miles asked rhetorically. "Besides, Team Babylon deserves a taste of their own medicine and that's what we just did."
"How?" Chuck asked.
"Because they steal artifacts and sell them for money, I think it's only fair that they have something of theirs stolen and sold for money," Miles said coldly.
"That's pretty cruel thinking, Miles," Chuck said. "I like it. Now all we need is a Chaos Emerald and we're good to enter the tournament, right?"
"You and I will search the city for one with my Emerald Detector," Miles said pulling out the hand-held radio-shaped device. "Sonny, if you could head back to the secret hangar outside Central City and grab some tools for me that would be great."
"What do you need tools for?" Sonny asked.
"I think our Gears need to be modified to suit our individual abilities," Miles replied.
"Why? They look fine to me," Chuck said as he examined his Gear.
"If we're to win against the best Gear riders in the world, we need our Gears to be in top-shape," Miles said.
"You're really determined to bring Team Babylon down," Sonny noted. "Are you sure you're not taking what they've done a little too personally?"
"I'm fine, Sonny," Miles said in an annoyed tone. "Now go get the tools already. We're wasting time!"
"All right, fine, I'm going," Sonny said, and dashed off.
###
A couple days later, the EX World Grand Prix was underway. Crowds of people lined up along closed-off streets that were going be used in the first race-track of the tournament, while the actual riders were lined up in a packed stadium for the Opening Ceremony. After King Doc gave his opening speech via webcam, a small robot that resembled a Chao with a propeller attached to its head that kept it afloat appeared holding a normal-sized microphone in its round hand.
"Hi, everyone!" the little robot said in a squeaky voice as crowds cheered. "My name's Omochao, and I'll be your eyes in the sky providing live commentary while our teams of fierce riders race along pre-determined tracks around the world for your entertainment! Now for those of you who aren't familiar with Extreme Gear racing, here is a quick breakdown of the rules: each team will race three laps around our selected track and the first three to cross the finish-line on the last lap win, but if one member of the team should lose the whole team will be dropped from the tournament. Riders may use their Gear to push others out of the way, but not their hands and any rider who is caught pushing another off their Gear will automatically be disqualified. Tricks are encouraged to replenish the air that pumps through the Gears and keeps them afloat, because otherwise the Gears will run out of air and fall to the ground. If that should occur, the rider of the Gear that falls is dropped from the race. There will also be no foul play or cheating allowed. We want a nice clean tournament for everyone to enjoy. Now let's meet our teams for this year's EX World Grand Prix!"
As each team flew around the stadium on their Gears, Omochao introduced each one. Then once that was done, the crowds made their way out of the stadium to the sidewalks while the two teams that were selected for the first race made their way to the starting-line which was located inside a tunnel at the top of a sloped street. After the teams were assembled and the crowds were cheering, Omochao's voice silenced them all.
"All right! For the first race of the Ex World Grand Prix, we have two newbie teams. On the right side of the track we have Team Heroes which consists of Sonny, the Speed Demon, Miles, the Flying Ace, and Chuck, the Knuckle Buster. In this round, they will be facing off against Team Rose on the left side of the track which includes Amelia, the Sonic Maiden, Crème, the Spring Rabbit, and Victor, the Snapping Crocodile."
"I can't believe this," Chuck said irritably. "We have to go up against them of all people?"
"Don't worry, Chuck," Miles said assuredly. "This just means an easy victory for us."
"I heard that!" Victor snapped, wearing the same green sweatpants and hoodie along with the signature headphones. "You don't think we've got what it takes to beat you guys? How long have you been practicing on your Extreme Gears?"
"Two days, Victor," Miles replied. "And we were able to complete a dozen laps around the city in just five minutes without scratching our Gears!"
As the crowd gawked, Victor gave a sharp laugh. "Two days? The girls and I have been practicing on our Gears for the past few weeks! Let's see if you can top that."
While Victor wasn't looking, Crème whispered to Miles. Unlike her usual attire, she was wearing an orange top with a yellow star on it, matching sweatpants, and a yellow visor. "Please go easy on us. We've actually only been practicing since yesterday."
"Don't encourage them, Crème!" Amelia said firmly. She wore a pink and white sports-top and pink sweats to match. "I want to win this race fair and square. But if my team wins, Sonny, you'll have to take me out on a date afterwards."
The crowd made a series of 'oohs' in response, causing Sonny to flinch. "So that's why you joined this tournament. I wish I had known sooner."
"Well, too late now!" Amelia said as she smirked. "May the best rider win!"
"Riders," Omochao said as three traffic lights blinked red above the street. "On your mark…get set…GO!"
As the traffic lights turned green, both teams got onto their Extreme Gears and hovered down the street to the cheering of crowds along the side-lines. While Sonny made his way into the lead quite easily, Amelia was right behind him for a good stretch of the track. So Chuck tried to cut Amelia off by ramming into the side of her Gear, but he was soon rammed into by Victor who nearly knocked him off with one shove. This in turn forced Chuck to draw back which caused Victor to nearly hit Amelia but stopped himself at the last minute. Meanwhile, Miles attempted to fly higher to get ahead of Crème but she managed to block him by flying high as well.
"It looks like this first lap is going to go to Team Rose," Omochao commented. "Though Sonny's clearly in the lead, Amelia is close behind along with Victor while Miles and Crème are tied for fourth place with Chuck bringing up the rear. If Team Heroes is going to win this race, they're going to need to pick up the pace and reach the top three spots in the next two laps!"
Spurred by Omochao's words, Chuck made his way past Miles and Crème during the second lap and rammed into Victor's Gear from behind. Because he was unprepared for it, Victor lost his balance and almost fell off his Gear. Fortunately, he caught himself at the last minute but by the time he recovered Chuck was already ahead of him. Miles then managed to catch up as well after using a series of mid-air flips to get over Crème. The trick surprised Crème so much that she yelped, which caused Amelia to slow down to see what was wrong which allowed Sonny to cross the finish-line with Miles and Chuck behind him.
"Nice recovery!" Omochao exclaimed. "It looks like Team Heroes managed to catch up to the first three slots while Team Rose has faltered behind. So with one victory for each team, the final lap will determine who the winner of this race is!"
While Sonny maintained his place in the lead position, Miles and Chuck worked together to keep Amelia's team from catching up. While Miles took on Crème again, Chuck was busy dealing with both Amelia and Victor closer to the ground. Though Victor tried to ram into him again, Chuck used a mid-air flip to avoid collision. As a result, Victor accidentally hit Amelia's Gear which caused her to fall off. Concerned, Victor managed to catch Amelia before she hit the glassy street below while Crème noticed and flew back to help. This in turn caused Sonny and his friends to continue on down the track and across the finish-line without any competition.
"Wow, what a win!" Omochao cried. "With two laps completed, Team Heroes wins the first race of the Ex World Grand Prix tournament! If Amelia and Victor hadn't accidentally collided with one another, they might've had a shot at winning. Fortunately, it looks like Amelia is unhurt as Victor and Crème came to her rescue. A great show of teamwork, but too bad they couldn't use it to win the race. Better luck next time, Team Rose!"
As Sonny, Miles, and Chuck slowed down the crowd cheered loudly at them as pictures were snapped and their names were called.
"So, Team Heroes," Omochao said as he flew towards them with his microphone in hand. "How does it feel to win your first Extreme Gear race?"
"It feels…" Sonny looked past Omochao at Amelia, who was getting to her feet with help from Victor and Crème. Once she noticed him watching, Amelia smiled which caused Sonny to say, "…Great."
"Think you got what it takes to go up against Team Babylon?" Omochao asked.
"Absolutely!" Chuck replied. "Just you wait and see! We'll beat those guys in no time!"
A series of murmurs past through the crowd, followed by some cheers.
"It seems you guys are pretty confident in yourselves," Omochao said unfazed by the slight tension in the air. "Would you mind telling us how you were able to beat Team Rose so easily?"
"With my mechanical expertise and a little bit of research into Gear technology, I was able to modify our Gears to suit our unique abilities," Miles bragged. "Sonny's Gear Blue Star, for instance, is able to go at top-speeds without exhausting maximum amounts of air, while Chuck's Gear Red Rock is able to hit other Gears without getting damaged too easily, and my own Gear Yellow Tail is able to fly higher than most Gears."
"Very impressive!" Omochao said, and then he turned towards the television camera that was facing him. "Well, there you have it, folks! A trio of confident riders with a young mechanical genius among them! Let us know if you think these guys have what it takes to take on Team Babylon on our website at or sent letters to our mailbox at PO Box 2006 Egg Factory, Metal City. So until the next race, which will be held in Splash Canyon next week, this is Omochao signing off!"
To be continued…