Chapter 7
Although Chase had been named team captain for the whole team, Nathan and Bradley had the three female pups (Skye, Everest, and Ella) draw a playing card from the deck again, and Skye had the highest card, so she was named captain of the girls division. This was due to the fact that while the pups really were working together to save Adventure Bay from Harold and Codi, there was enough in the budget to award other cash and prizes for various reasons. Chase, by default, was captain of the boys division in addition to being captain for the whole team, but he said that if he had to nominate a vice-captain, he'd choose Marshall. (Skye would choose Everest in that regard.)
"So what does he get to do as team captain?" Marshall asked.
"That really just means he got first choice of what track to race. He can also swap you pups around as needed if he thinks there needs to be a switch due to injury or other reasons," Bradley explained, "which means Tuck can act as an alternate if needed. But I think for now, the choices are locked in. Is that correct, Chase?"
"Yes, sir; Bradley, sir!" said Chase. "The pups picked their tracks based on their greatest strengths."
"I couldn't have done it better myself," Ryder added.
Codi, however, would not win anything as far as prizes were concerned, because she was technically an illegal participant, but due to a clause in the contract, she couldn't be arrested again until the end of the competition. If she or anybody left early, then the whole thing was null and void, and Adventure Bay would become a ghost town. However, the authorities made note that she wrote the contract herself (with Harold's help), and so they looked for loopholes to exploit so that Mayor Goodway would have her town back in the end.
Right now, however, it was time for Skye to take on Death Wind I. "This Mighty Puppy is going for a spin!" she announced with a smile as she got into her hovercar.
"So why is called 'Death Wind?'" Mayor Goodway asked. "I don't want them to die!"
"BA-BUCK, BA-GERK!" Chickaletta clucked.
"They won't die, Mayor; you're overthinking this," Nathan explained. "But it's called Death Wind because it is known for its heavy winds, probably in excess of 70 to 80 MPH if I am correct. Don't let the simplicity of the track fool you." Indeed, the track was just a simple oval, although the racers were going clockwise instead of counterclockwise. Yet, because of the heavy winds, and the dash plates on the course, it was very easy to get out of control, and eventually suffer an explosion from the power meter getting all the way to empty, so Nathan and Bradley made sure to explain this concept to the racers.
The racers didn't feel the effect of the heavy winds, however, until the light turned green to begin the race, and it thrust everybody to the left. Harold had the most difficulty getting himself back under control, but he did manage to get the car under control in the end and take the lead back from one of the AI opponents. Eventually it turned into a back-and-forth battle between him and Codi.
Skye struggled to keep third place, and it didn't help that one of the racers trying to push her into the walls was Codi, but she remembered to keep calm and keep on racing. She most appreciated the fact that she could hear the other pups cheering her on, and she also was thankful that there was a pit area on the back stretch, and she made sure to use her Super Jets wisely. Out of a habit that she developed resulting from the other missions she had carried out for Ryder from her special air suit, she would press the button to use the Super Jet and say, "Ruff! Jets!" She wasn't actually activating anything, though. (The pups still had to bark to make their pup-packs work, even as anthros, but they didn't have their pup-packs with them when inside their hovercars. When watching from the sidelines, though, they'd put the pack back on.)
All the while, Mayor Goodway kept saying to herself, "This is a total disaster! Everything's a disaster!" This was due to the fact she was worried Skye wasn't going to finish the race in the end.
"Calm down, Mayor," Tracker reassured her. "We don't have to win every single race. We just have to have more points than they do."
The final lap was a back-and-forth struggle for Skye just to keep third place, but she did remember to use her Super Jet as soon as she got back on the home stretch, and so, thankfully, she did manage to secure third place, earning 5 more points for the Mighty Pups, bringing them to 50. In a twist of fate, though, Codi managed to edge out Harold in a photo finish, earning 15 points for herself, bringing her to 20. Harold's 10 points brought him to 35. (Note that Codi and Harold were brought to the main deck where Bradley and Nathan were stationed so that they could see the photo finish. The deck had a removable middle wall with two doors, which allowed the two hosts to do their part without violating anything themselves, since Bradley was communicating with the villains, Harold and Codi, referencing his role in the cartoon as a villain himself, while Nathan was communicating with the Mighty Pups.)
"Finally, I won something!" Codi exclaimed. "This is only the beginning! Adventure Bay is mine!"
"Yeah; well, don't forget, I'm racing to win the town for myself, too!" Harold shot back. "And when I do win, I will be able to prove to everybody, but especially my uncle, that I am capable of being the super mayor of everywhere!"
"In your dreams, loser," Codi muttered to herself as she stormed out of the main deck.
Meanwhile, Skye got out of her hovercar, and the pups (and Sonic's team) ran to check on her. "How do you feel, Skye? I know that was crazy for you," Silver spoke up.
"I'm a little phased by it," said Skye, "but at least I know what to expect next time, since there's a second track to this world. Tell me, though; is that the reason it is called 'Death Wind?'"
"Yes," Nathan nodded. "That is exactly why it is called 'Death Wind.'"
The fifth and final race of the Knight League was Silence. "It's called Silence," Nathan told the audience and racers, "because there is absolutely nothing on this planet creates any noise. There's absolutely no living creatures that call this place home, and no life can be found here. Yet they still put an F-Zero track on the planet; go figure."
Everybody, even Harold and Codi, took a moment to be respectful by being silent, and could see and hear that this was so. (When the virtual reality brought up the other tracks and environments, the appropriate ambient sounds and noises could be heard, but because the planet was Silence, that's all there was: absolute silence.) Everest was the first to speak when it was appropriate to do so, and she said, "Whoa; that is amazing. You could hear a pin drop in here."
"So sad that nobody would want to live on this planet," Rocky added. "But why would they still put F-Zero tracks on here?"
"I don't know; that's a good question," said Nathan. "Whatever is the case, it is Ella's turn to race on behalf of the Mighty Pups."
"It's time to think BIG!" Ella cheered as she got into her hovercar.
The course was a tricky one, due to the fact it had 90-degree turns and curves, and a shortcut, but there were mines in the shortcut. Codi found this out the hard way on the first lap, because she hit one right after the other, which subsequently sent her into the walls, and the next thing she knew, her car had blown up again, and she had teleported right back to the main deck. "Hello again," Bradley greeted. Then he took another look at her. "Wow. Your face gets really red when you get mad, doesn't it?"
Ella went on to win the race and 15 more points for the Mighty Pups, bringing them to a winning score of 65. As for Harold, he ended up in fourth place at the end of the final lap, and so he did not score any points whatsoever. He finished with 30, while Codi stayed at 20 points.
"All scores," Nathan reminded everybody, "will be added together to determine the overall champion. However, we don't officially add the points you accumulate in the Queen League to these points until the end of that, and likewise with the King League. But for now, let's get the award ceremony underway, shall we?"
"Award ceremony?" Harold asked in confusion. "Oh, right. The winners get prizes. I'll win the next one, though; I can still do this."
"Even if I don't win the competition," Codi groaned, "I will find a way to make my dream town a reality!"
The lion and bulldog gave out medals to each of the pups based on how they did, meaning Skye had a bronze medal while the other pups had gold medals. The catch was that only the pups got medals because they won the overall league, while Harold and Codi got nothing. "It's your fault," Harold mumbled to himself (as if he was talking to Codi, but he wasn't), "because you are the one that wrote the contract." (And she did; she had it in her head that she was going to win the whole thing, which is why she wrote it the way she wrote it. She clearly did not expect it to backfire on her in such spectacular fashion.) Bradley then presented a trophy representing the Knight League to the whole team, and Ryder announced that he planned donate the cash prize that went with it ($500,000) to the city, to be put to good use.
The Queen League's trophy had a cash prize of $1 million attached to it, while the King League's cash prize was $5 million. "I can only imagine the massive mega meltdowns our mayor would have if the kids were get their mitts on that money," Captain Turbot commented. "Better pray hard they don't mess this up, Francois."
"I will do that, cousin," Francois promised. "I have faith in the pups, though."
"I do, too."
"And me," Jake added.
"And me, too," Carlos put in.
"BA-BUCK, BA-GERK!" Chickaletta clucked.
"You too, Chickaletta?" Goodway asked. "Well, then, I guess I will, too."
TO BE CONTINUED
PAW Patrol © Nickelodeon, Spin Master, and everybody else who owns the rights, and created by Keith Chapman.
The characters Nathan Nigelson (Nathan the Super Lion) and Bradley Barkus (General Braticus) are my original OCs. They belong to me and me alone, so do not even think about stealing them!
Sonic the Hedgehog © SEGA
Biker Mice From Mars © Rick Ungar (creator), Brentwood Television Funnies, and everybody else who owns the rights
F-Zero © Nintendo