[center][img]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/defangbasilica/Nympha-1.jpg[/img][/center]
[center][img]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/defangbasilica/GrandpaEllie.jpg[/img][/center]

“Out of my way!” 

Nympha pushed the old man aside as she sped pass once again. She was starting to get annoyed that he managed to keep up with her till now. [i]Dirty old man![/i] Shye grinned wickedly as she spotted a familiar glint up ahead. [i]Bingo![/i]

“Not so fast, missy!” 

Ellie shot forward, nearly knocking Nympha over. He stuck out his tongue as he zipped pass the mystery box. He waved the power up tauntingly overhead as the reels spun wildly. The not-so-gentlemanly Ellie shook the box violently even when he knew it wouldn’t affect the reels. One by one the reels came to a grinding stop. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JIDms6UTFVQ]He grinned like a mad man as the box shuddered and expanded.[/url] [i]Oh yeah![/i]

[quote=Announcer Goomba]“Would you look at that! Things are getting ugly folks, and we aren’t even at the second leg. Time to change your bets, ladies, gentlemen, celery sticks and potatoes! People are getting eliminated left, right and center. Stay tuned to find out who goes down.”[/quote]

He whipped round and aimed his pie-launching bazooka at the faerie girl. “This is for the thunderbolt!” 

[url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIm1KOWNMNg]He sent 2-lbs of cream and custard towards the poor girl.[/url] [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ggFKLxAQBbc]Nympha’s brown eyes widened in horror as she barely dodged the first one, when a second one came hurtling towards her, then another.[/url] There was no telling how many pies were loaded in that ridiculous contraption! Just as she was about to resign to her fate, the hovercrafting enthusiast spotted another mystery box a few feet away. She veered towards it, barely missing the next pie coming her way. The competitor behind her wasn’t so lucky. 

“Sorry!” yelled Ellie insincerely as the boy fell onto the invisible net below along with two other competitors. All of them covered in cream, custard and crust. The crusty old inventor tossed his now empty pie launcher after them. 

Nympha’s eyes glinted evilly as she aimed her freeze gun at the pie-throwing maniac. “I think it’s time to say good-bye!”

She didn’t waste any time pulling the trigger. A bright blue beam shot from the gun as the recoil sent her back slightly. The girl watched with bated breath before swearing loudly. [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFTlzJNoogE]Every word was so foul that the tv crew had to do live censoring to protect the children.[/url] Only one phrase was polite enough for them to allow on air. 

“Who in the celery god’s unfathomable [censored] [censored] is that [censored] [censored] [censored] red head with Lavi? [censored]! That will teach them to intercept my only shot.” 

[quote=Announcer]“Sorry for the technical difficulty folks. We are live once again! Looks like most of our contestants are now entering the outskirts of the Central Business District. Yes, folks and gentle lunchables, the mayor has kindly allowed us to race within the city itself! Our contestants will have to battle it out among the cargo ships, the trams, the heavy traffic, the hazardous road works and the geyser lifts for the seven mystery keys.”[/quote]

Members of the audience ooo-ed and ahhh-ed as the cameras zoomed in on various parts of the all too [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bHXaWm8eksk]familiar city center[/url]. Clearly the area has been minimally modified for the race. Random power up boxes and bobby traps dotted the roof tops, the sewer entrances and balconies. This was the first city race ever! 

[quote=Announcer]“The second leg tests the contestants' wit and not their speed. They will have to solve puzzles and navigate through hidden mazes to find all seven keys. Only one chest contains the trophy, and contestants are allowed to snatch keys from one another in this winner-takes-all competition! Shoutcaster Jake shall provide us with tantalizing live updates and gossip for this leg.”[/quote]

[quote=Local Shoutcaster Jake]“Thank you, Goomba! Yes, I am now broadcasting live from the CBD itself. The first few contestants have just arrived. They are given time to refuel their hovercrafts, catch their breath and read over the instructions written on the board. I heard rumors that some even crashed into the hovercraft pit. Boy, I can’t remember when the first leg was ever this intense.”[/quote]

[quote=Announcer Goomba]“Neither can I. More than a third of our competitors have already been eliminated. Not to worry folks, there should be fewer eliminated competitors this round.”[/quote]

[quote=Shoutcaster Jake]“Or this will be the shortest race ever! The [s]blood bath[/s] fun always begins in the third leg.”[/quote]

[center][img]http://i57.tinypic.com/2116trp.png[/img][/center]

One by one the vultures flew off thanks to Ace. The dangerous duo hardly got the chance to thank Ace before she disappeared into the distance. Toby was nowhere to be seen either. All Ran could do was hope that the other two stay safe, and he and Riley manage to land somewhere in one piece. He had volunteered several times to jump off the hovercraft onto the invisible nets below, only to find Riley clinging onto his arms so that he can’t let go of her waist. A loud rumble came from the hoverboard engine. This time the shaking won’t stop. He gulped. Did they just drop several feet?

“Errr… I think… err…. LAND HO!”

There were so many buildings up ahead. Some were freakishly tall and others had only a three to five floors. All of them covered in glass. Ran found himself shielding his eyes slightly as they inched closer to the business district. The sun beating down on the buildings at the moment, and he could see the air shimmer slightly. Soon sweat began forming on his brows. Boy, this place is hotter than Vegas!

“Hey you two! Come here and get your board checked. She looks like she’s gonna crash any minute now.” 

Both of them turned to look. A man in overalls was waving at them from above. Ran craned his neck a little more and spotted a sign – Pitt Stop! He shook Riley’s shoulders a little and pointed to the sign. The board refused to lift no matter how hard they tried; in the end it had to be lifted up using a complex system of ropes of pulleys. The shuddering grew worse the higher they climbed. Ran was literally gripping Riley’s shoulders till his knuckles turned white. He prayed the craft would remain in one piece now that they are twenty five floors above the streets below with no additional platform underneath.

“Oh fudge cake!” 

Ran let go as soon as they touched down. The pit crew raced over to inspect their hovercraft, and the two were pushed aside unceremoniously. The man accepted the box of juice offered to him and he began sipping it slowly. There was no telling how long they were going to be grounded. Apparently their combined weight did something to one of the hick-a-magigs, so the crew was now trying to customize their board so that it can support two people instead of one. He turned to look at the countdown timer. One hour and twenty minutes before the gates to the next leg of the race open, and a few keys have already been found. This guys are fast!

He chewed on his straw thoughtfully. “Looks like we can opt to explore on foot using the [url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4jd0UWGPgY]jet shoes[/url] found around the pits.”