Chapter 9
With a three-way tie in the Queen League at 20 points each, it was anybody's game as the racers prepared to race the first of two races at Red Canyon. This meant that for the pups, it was Rocky's turn to shine. "This is a location," Bradley explained to the audience watching, "that is notorious for being the base of operations for one of the most hated racers in 'F-Zero,' Samurai Goroh. He once claimed that anybody who loses a race in the canyon has to forfeit their machine; ironically, he once lost a race to Captain Falcon, but still had his machine. It's also the site of many space pirate ambushed, and as a result, it is the most dangerous of all the F-Zero venues. It's worse than Death Wind, and even worse than the dreaded Fire Field, which we haven't gotten to yet, since that is the final race of all, being the finale of the King League."
"Have you pups ever dealt with space pirates?" Nathan asked the Mighty Pups.
"I don't think we've ever dealt with space pirates," Rubble replied, "but I wouldn't be surprised if ever one day, we did. We have, however, dealt with a traditional pirate."
"Oh, really? Who was that?"
"Sid Swashbuckle." The pups and Ryder briefly mentioned Sid and his pup, Arrby, and the encounters they've had, as well as why Sid worked hard to steal anything he could get his hands on. The lion superhero then commented, "That almost sounds like one of the enemies the fictional me battles in the cartoon. It's not just Braticus I battle, although he's the most common."
"Do you battle a pirate?" Skye asked.
"Yes. He calls himself Captain Arf!" Nathan elongated the letter "R" in pronouncing the word "Arf" for effect, and the pups got a good laugh out of it.
When it was time to race, Nathan turned back to Rocky and said, "Go show them how it's done, Rocky!"
"Green means go!" Rocky cheered as he boarded his hovercar. "Green also means glow! But it means 'no go' for you, Harold and Codi!"
The race began, and it got off to a rocky start for Rocky (pun not intended), since Harold and Codi were bumping him around as if he was a pinball and they were the bumpers, but an accidental push from one of the computer opponents who was on the verge of blowing up (which caused his car to blow up) set the recycling pup back on course. It did, however, take away a significant chunk of power from Rocky's power meter, so he had to remind himself to get to the pit stop whenever he came around to it again. Fortunately, he was able to do so, even though it cost him the lead.
"He's playing it smart, though," Nathan said to Ryder. "Sometimes you've got to sacrifice the lead just to keep yourself in the race."
"I'd rather have smart pups doing that than not-so-smart pups always winning," Ryder commented. "But that's what makes them all such good pups."
Because many TV networks were broadcasting live coverage of these events, Mayor Humdinger was watching the races on a TV from his high-security solitary confinement cell, where he was living the remainder of his life. "How I wish I was there with my kittens so we could sabotage everything," he said to himself, "but it would still be pointless because my mother is there, and she'd call me out. On the other hand, I am getting a kick out of watching that girl fail. Let's not forget, Harold just wanted to teleport all the buildings to his own area to make his town a reality. This girl would have destroyed everything in sight. I hope she gets a big dry-cleaning bill."
"Hey; shut up in there!" one temperamental prison guard yelled. Mayor Humdinger just stared at him before turning back to the TV.
Back at the arena, Rocky took advantage of some of the mines on the track blowing up when Harold and Codi went over them, slowing them down and taking away a good chunk of their power from the power meters. As a result, he regained the lead, and when it got to the final lap, he did not lose it. What confused him, though, was the lack of other hovercars on the track. "That's odd," he said. "I thought I was going to have to dodge more cars that the three of us had lapped already. Oh, well; I can't let my guard down." And he didn't. He also reminded himself not to let the win go to his head, even though it was tempting to do so, since it was one of the eaisest victories for the Mighty Pups. They earned 15 more points for a total of 35 when Rocky crossed the finish line.
As for the other two, Harold did secure third place for 5 points, making his total 25, but Codi did not score due to finishing in fifth place on the last lap. "Ugh!" she grunted. "Why can't I do anything right? I should have just relocated the town to start with; then I would have had my dream city, Codi Cove!"
"Codi, you realize we can hear everything you say, don't you?" Bradley's voice came over the intercom. This was done to ensure there was no cheating as part of the rules; everything she and Harold said, Bradley could hear it. Likewise, whatever the Mighty Pups said, Nathan heard it clear as crystal.
"Ugh!" she grunted again. "Nosy announcers! There's no privacy here! I should have you arrested!"
"One more cross word out of you and you are disqualified, rendering your own contract null and void. You got that?"
"And I thought you were on my side!"
"I'm hosting the event alongside Nathan; we must show true impartiality during the event. I play a villain on TV, but I'm not one in real life. Now you just sit in your car for a moment and think about that."
"Oh, I give up!" Cody groaned as she bonked her head on the steering wheel (which in her car more resembled a yoke used for aircraft).
Meanwhile, Rocky had to abruptly exit his hovercar, for while he won the race, his power was low considering he did have a problem or two with the walls. However, because it was virtual reality, he didn't have to worry about fixing the car. He offered to help, however, and the staff said yes, since they were curious about his powers. "I can fix anything, and with my energy tools I can summon, it is a breeze," he said. "Ruff! Energy pliers!" His energy pliers appeared out of nowhere, and he proceeded to use them to assist the staff as needed. (They also would ask for his help in checking the AI to see where the glitch occurred, so that they'd get an explanation as to why the AI-controlled Captain Falcon was so eager to destroy Codi. However, this was just a glitch. It had nothing to do with anybody sabotaging anything.)
Everest, who had been very patient, was now going to take her turn, and because of the way it was set up, she was going to race twice in a row, as her tracks were White Land I and White Land II. "But let's just concentrate on White Land I for now," Nathan commented to the contestants and to the audience. "Everest, this would be right up your alley. It's called 'White Land' because it is frozen all year and has constant snowfall. It remains a popular tourist destination for certain people of the galaxy, just as Sand Ocean does for its own reasons."
"Go, Everest!" Jake cheered.
"Ice or snow, I'm ready to go!" Everest announced as she got inside her hovercar. "It's time to give Harold and Codi the big chill!"
"The two are back to back; how do you tell them apart?" Chase asked Nathan.
"This diagram should help," Nathan replied, showing the diagram to the rest of the pups. "White Land 1 has 2 main U-turns and a large amount of Jump pads, Magnets while having a small amount of Snow (Dirt) and slip zones. Afterwards, in White Land 2, it features two tight U-turns, more slip zones and Snow (Dirt), and a tricky jump that can only be completed if done correctly. I'm sure Everest won't have any problems with it."
"I have to second you on that, dude," Jake commented. "She's a joy to have around. She saved my life many times, too."
"Oh, did she?" Nathan asked.
"You bet." Jake then proceeded to tell the story of how he and Everest first met. Nathan and Bradley were very impressed with her heroism in both rescues, and the success that she had ever since as a member of PAW Patrol. Since that time, the group had expanded to many more members, and thanks to Ryder's induction of Wild (formerly Wild Cat), the Cat Pack was also included on the list, even though they simultaneously acted as their own subgroup.
Like Rocky, Everest to remind herself not to let the victories go to her head if that was the case, but as fate decided to have it, it was the case. She scored the win on both races in the end, although White Land II was a tougher race for her because of those tricky U-turns and the jump. She finished White Land II with only half the power in her power meter as a result, whereas with White Land I, she finished with about 3/4 (three-fourths) of the power meter full. All together, her 30 points in total gave the Mighty Pups 65 points. "Just as it was the last time," Rubble commented. "It must be our lucky number."
In both races, neither Harold nor Codi managed to score any points. The difference was that Harold was still driving his car, but wasn't able to finish the fourth lap in fifth place or better. Codi, on the other hand, suffered an explosion in both races, and ended up teleporting back to the main deck where Bradley was. The first time, she muttered to herself as she immediately left the room, but the second time, the big, muscular bulldog was able to stare her in the face and say in a stern tone, "Not a word!" The greedy mad genius then left the room again, forever frustrated with herself more than anything.
Harold was too afraid to say something in case he were to say something wrong, primarily because Helga was watching, and she was already irritated with him. However, he was quicker to accept defeat that Codi was, given that he had more defeats delivered to him by the PAW Patrol (mostly as the Mighty Pups) on his record than she did.
The award ceremony was underway afterwards, and as before, the Mighty Pups received medals for their individual races, a team trophy, and the cash prize, which here was $1 million. "The next one is the King League," Nathan commented, "and because it is the King League, the hardest of all, it is worth $5 million to the victor. But remember, it's the total points that determine the overall champion of the whole league, and in your case, who gets control of Adventure Bay."
"The King League is going to have harder opponents as well," Bradley added, "and so your hovercars will need an upgrade for this. In the case of you Mighty Pups, you won't be able to drive them as is."
"Then that means it's time to charge up!" Ryder echoed, and the pups did so, touching paws and leveling up their superpowers.
At the end of the Queen League, the scores were as follows:
PAW Patrol: 65
Harold Humdinger: 25
Codi Gizmody: 20
When added to the Knight League's scores, the grand totals were as follows:
PAW Patrol: 130
Harold Humdinger: 55
Codi Gizmody: 40
Mathematically speaking, the worst that could happen to the Mighty Pups, in the event they didn't score a single point in the King League, was that Harold Humdinger could tie them at 130 points in the end. The best Codi would do was 115, and as a result, she could not win no matter what she did. It made her really hold a grudge on the pups, and she began to regret (from her perspective) not just relocating the city with her Relocator.
Out of curiosity, Mayor Goodway asked Codi's (now former) parents, "Has she always been like this?"
"I'm afraid so," said the dad. "Why else do you think we disowned her? That was obviously a mistake on our behalf, because now we can't make amends with her, even if we wanted to. She wouldn't accept our apology, anyways. All she wanted was to rule the world. I don't know where it started. No other Gizmody was ever like this. This is different from the Humdinger family."
How would the King League go? Would the pups pull off the triple threats? Would Harold or Codi win the league, and get revenge, even if it wasn't enough points to overtake them in the end? (It was still possible.) Would Mayor Goodway regret signing the contract, putting her whole town at risk and leaving her to be remembered as an absolutely irresponsible person? And what time was Chickaletta eating breakfast the next morning?
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