When all is said and done, the first stage is finished, with Aloy narrowly managing to snag the first time bonus from an unusually lucky Inspector Gadget. But where does this luck come from? What other surprises are in store? Keep watching and find out.
As the racers all pile into the area next to the Santa Maria Church, a blue light flashes high into the sky. They look up to see a dimensional rift in the sky, and from it, something manifests that begins to descend down towards the checkpoint.
"Whoa. What's that?" Stan asked.
"Is… is that a care package?" Kyle asked.
"So, is this the main method of obtaining supplies?" Josee asked.
"You're all correct in that aspect. Every once in a while, a rift opens up near the location of a racer to give out supplies." The Golden Voice explained. "Keep this in mind though, the rift will be seen in a large vicinity around it, and even competitors a few kilometers away can see it. So if you find one, proceed with caution."
The care package lands in front of the church, and Aloy approaches it to inspect it. The care package was a 2 meter cubed box made up of a seemingly synthetic material. The color scheme was a dark cyan on the top half and a matte black on the bottom half. On one side of the box was a circular pad in the center, and it seems to be an interface to open the box.
"Aloy. Since you have won the first stage of the Multiversal Steel Ball Run, you have the honors of opening the care package as a demonstration." The Golden Voice explained to the huntress.
"Okay, let's see what's inside." Aloy said.
Aloy places her palm on the glowing pad on the care package. After a moment, the walls of the care package began to disappear and reveal a large heap of supplies that shocked the competitors.
"Whoa! There's so much rations!" Owen quickly directed his attention to the food.
"Hoho, now the Canadian is speaking my language!" Cartman agreed with the remark on the food.
"Wait. Hold on." Josee noticed something odd.
Josee quickly approached the supplies and dug around for the weapons. Quickly did others notice as well as Josee uncovers an assortment of bows, arrows and other such primitive weapons.
"These aren't the weapons I was expecting. Where are the more modern shit?" Josee demanded an answer.
"The care package scans whoever opens it, and can select items from their universe based on the will of who opens it." The Golden Voice explained. "Since Aloy is a huntress at heart, the supplies granted is a stable mix of lightweight weapons, ammunition, navigational gear and rations that can last for weeks."
"I was thinking of items that are lightweight and have increased longevity." Aloy stated. "The amount given is a surprise though. I don't think I can carry all of this and still be fast enough for the race."
"Well, then I guess we can have our share." Cartman thought to take some of the supplies for himself.
"I know what you're thinking, fatass. Don't." Wendy interjected after hearing this. "The huntress earned being first place. She earned the time bonus, and she earned those supplies."
"Actually, I can't bring all this stuff with me." Aloy stated. "You can take some if you'd like."
"Alright." Cartman greedily smirked.
"But let me take what I need first." Aloy quickly added.
"One more thing. The second stage will be through the entirety of the Arizona Desert." The Golden Voice explained. "From the church, you will ride through the desert to reach a town in Monument Valley, Utah. A total of 1,200 kilometers."
"1,200 kilometers, huh? On horse, that might take around two weeks to traverse." Carmen stated.
"I don't think we are even gonna survive that long." Owen doubted.
"Not if have anything to do with it." Priya smirked with confidence. "Millie, do you have an idea on what to do?"
"I have a rough sketch in my head. Maybe we can discuss it later to have a more focused plan." Millie was unsure.
"Well then, gather here after 15 minutes. I wish you all luck on this monumentous race." The Golden Voice gave an exit remark before disappearing.
With the racers now being left to their own devices, Aloy and a few other racers began to scour the supply pile for what they need.
"There's a huge arsenal of my weapons here, I don't think I can take all of them." Aloy was in awe of the amount of weapons. "I can only take my bow since its lightweight. There are also some rations, medkits, ammunition and…"
Aloy narrowed her eyes in confusion as she noticed something strange. She digs deeper to find an arrow, but not any arrow. With its strangely intricate gold designs, Aloy knew this was no ordinary arrow.
"Hmm. Strange. I don't think I've encountered an arrow like this before." Aloy commented on the arrow's designs. "Maybe…"
Aloy tapped open her Focus and used it to scan. Almost immediately did the Focus' holographic interface began to glitch out.
"Whoa!" Aloy was quickly taken aback by this anomaly. "What?"
Aloy quickly tested her Focus by scanning around the area. After seeing nothing out of the ordinary, she turned her gaze to back to the strange arrow. This in turn causes the interface to glitch out again.
"Huh. Must be something the Voice has added. I'll might have to keep this just in case." Aloy stated.
As Aloy continued to gather supplies, Gwen and Owen were seen bringing the stuff they've gathered to Priya and Millie.
"I think this is enough food for us. Of course, Owen had to bring extra because of his appetite." Gwen stated.
"But this stew is incredibly filling, so I might only need to drink 2 at once." Owen stated.
"Really? Can I have some?" Priya asked.
"Here." Owen tossed a large flask to Priya.
"Thanks. So, mind telling me what you have in mind, Millie?" Priya asked before drinking the stew.
"I've been observing a lot of the more competent competitors around us. Maybe we can give some of the Apex Legends a shot?" Millie suggested who she thinks would be good teammates.
"No. I don't really think so. The daredevil's too impulsive, while three of them seem to have their own thing going on. And I don't even want to know about the thief and that toxicologist." Gwen wasn't happy about the suggestion.
"The Trollhunters have teamed up with the Ladybug, Carmen and her agent friend have an alliance with those kids, and many of the others don't seem to get along or seem to be willing to find teammates." Owen gives his take on the situation.
"So I guess that leaves us with the benders, the elf and prince duo, the forest ranger and the huntress." Millie stated.
"I say the huntress. She seems incredibly determined and she seems to have a lot of skills and tools we can learn and use." Priya suggested.
"I agree. The huntress seems like a good teammate to have." Gwen stated. "What do you think, Owen?"
"I guess so. Besides, I've always wanted to try archery." Owen stated.
"So, we're picking the huntress?" Millie asked to which the others responded by nodding. "Alright then."
Lynn Loud was currently seen searching around the weapons area of the supply pile for anything she can use. Clyde and Ronnie Anne were standing nearby.
"Can any of you do archery or just me?" Lynn asked.
"I've dabbled in it a couple times." Ronnie Anne stated.
"So not you, Clyde?" Lynn asked.
"Nah, I don't think I can use a bow and arrow." Clyde declined the offer. "I'm thinking Lynn should bring the weapons and ammunition while me and Ronnie Anne bring the food and water."
"What about other ammenities like medicine or tourniquets?" Ronnie Anne asked.
"You can bring the extra ammenities, I'll handle the navigation." Clyde stated.
"You know what? Here." Lynn stood up.
Lynn then tosses a dagger to Clyde, who hesitantly catches it. He then inspects the weapon in silent awe.
"Take it. No man should walk around unarmed." Lynn smirked. "And besides, if we need to hunt some wild game, you might be able to carve the carcass once needed."
"Maybe, but if my navigation is sharper than this knife, I won't have to do that." Clyde lets out a crummy one liner.
"Ha! Now I know why you're my brother's favorite." Lynn chuckled at the one liner.
"So, let's look around for a bit, and see who we can team up with." Ronnie Anne slung her bag of supplies over her shoulder.
As the group left in search of teammates, Kenny and Cartman were seen gathering supplies as well.
"Are you gonna take anything other than food, fatass?" Kenny raised an eyebrow at the fat kid's behavior. "What about the other essentials? Like water, medicine, all that shit?"
"You and the others handle those. I'll know who to go to when I need it." Cartman rolled his eyes at this remark.
"Whatever, dude. Just make sure not to bitch around when you forget to drink." Kenny scoffed.
As Kenny was about to grab a compass, Josee immediately grabs it away from him, to which he responded with a perplexed look.
"Hey! What's your fucking deal, bitch?!" Kenny shouted out angrily.
"I'm not really giving an exact number here, but you are among my biggest threats on this race." Josee sarcastically says. "I am gonna win this race and take the gold, I'm gonna do anything I can to get it."
"Oh, already you're giving me a taste of how bitter you are?" Kenny asked. "To be honest, it tastes just as bad taste of your sweaty armpits in the heat of the desert."
"Whoa-ho! Didn't expect that!" Cartman chuckled at this insult.
"Whatever. But keep this in mind, parka kid." Josee stated. "I am not playing around. If I find you in the race, you better be ready to lose."
"Lose what? Use of my nostrils?" Kenny rhetorically asked.
"Bah! Ha!" Cartman began to laugh uncontrollably at this insult.
"Well, at least I have a compass. Now to find a map." Josee turned away from the
As Josee walked away from the two kids, Kenny shrugged the interaction off and continued digging around for the supplies.
"Well, that happened. I'm not really sure what she'll do, but I hope we don't have to encounter her in the near future." Kenny was in deep thought.
Suddenly, Kenny's eyes were drawn to something inside the pile. He reaches inside to find a small wooden box the size of his hand.
"The hell is this?" Kenny was curious of the contents.
Kenny opens the box to find something that seemed familiar. Small triangular devices made of metal. The same ones on the Aloy's right temple.
"Huh? Are… are these Focuses?" Kenny exclaimed.
Kenny takes a single Focus and places it on his temple. As he does so, a purple holographic interface appears in front of him, giving him data on whatever he glares at.
"A second sight… this is amazing!" Kenny excitedly celebrated.
As he turns around to tell his teammates on what he has found, a doubting feeling emerges within him. He begins to hesitate as he sees Cartman pulling a spear from the supply pile.
"Hehe. I can't wait to see how much damage this can do." Cartman handles the spear enthusiatically.
Knowing how malicious Cartman was, Kenny's mind drifted to Josee's threat. He also took note of the fact that there were other bad people competing in the race.
"So, what you got in that box, Kenny?" Cartman turned to the kid in the parka.
"Oh, nothing. Just a box of herbs." Kenny spat out a lie to redirect Cartman's attention.
"Oh, well that sucks." Cartman became less interested in the contents of the box.
The Golden Voice appears in front of the church, which grabbed almost everyone's attention.
"The fifteen minutes grace period is up! Everyone gather in front of the church!" The Golden Voice announced.
"Oh shit! Kenny! Come on, we gotta race!" Cartman immediately called out his companion.
"I'm coming, I'm coming!" Kenny followed suit to the front of the church, while putting the box of Focuses in his pocket.
And finally! I'm starting to get my writing groove again. Expect more frequent updates from your favorite overthinker!