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[img=http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/defangbasilica/JayBanner.jpeg][/center]

[i]"Bend your knees, keep yourself balanced. It'll be easier for you to maneuver sharp turns in the city and avoid traps, heck, it might even keep ya from getting knocked off your board. Steer with your legs, rotate with your upper body. If you do it the other way around, you'll end up flying through the air upside down like you were a few minutes ago, heh. Try not to fly too high, you'll be an easier target for those cannons. Oh, remember to smile for the camera too, no harm in putting on a show, this is for fun after all.[/i]"

Toby recalled the advice Jay had given him, which was proving to be quite helpful as he progressed in the race. "Excuse me! Pardon me! Coming through! Beep beep!" He capitalized on a sharp turn and wooshed passed two competitors in an effort to catch up to his friends as fast as possible. The boy hanged back for some time to get a handle of the hoverboard, he wasn't sure how far back he was though. Nobody was passing him, so that either meant he was better at hover-boarding than he initially thought, or he was in last place. Hopefully it wasn't the latter. 

Since the competition had begun the boy couldn't think precisely, he was appalled at the loud shouts and cheers of the audience. Toby absolutely loved being the center of attention. Being surrounded by an audience as large as this practically gave the kid an adrenaline rush. Although the whole thing was quite exciting it was difficult for the boy to calm down and pay attention to the race. He found himself relishing in the crowd's cheers, thankfully Jay had set him on the right course both figuratively and literally. Now he found himself in the very thick of the race, speeding through the air amongst the other competitors in search of his friends. Even amongst the lighthearted chaos Toby could somewhat make out the fire red hair that could only belong to Ace. However, Riley and Niran were nowhere to be seen. The thought of them being eliminated dampened the boy's excitement. 

Toby squinted his eyes, his tongue stuck out as he concentrated on the race. He was determined to catch up to Ace when suddenly a small object floating in the distance caught his eye, which was no doubt an item box. A troublesome smirk overcame the boy as he pondered what the box would award him upon retrieval. "Dibs!" Toby shouted to himself as he pressed on towards the box. The closer he came within the items grasp the faster his heart beat. His eyes grew wide as the box was now only twenty or so yards away, his arms reached out, prepared to grasp the object.

[center][img=http://i.imgur.com/tRE3r6B.jpg][/center]

[i]yoink![/i]

"WHA?!" 

Toby shouted in disbelief as Namine snatched the item box for her own before he could grab it. The two had spotted it at about the same time, however Namine had been flying below the boy and used the element of surprise to her advantage, ascending quickly into the air and grabbing the item box for her own just as Toby came within inches of taking it for himself. The savvy rider now flew above him, holding the box between her arm and hip. She gave a cheery smile, "Sorry! First come first serve I guess," The girl spoke in an apologetic tone, she seemed genuinely sorry despite her smile. Even so, Toby was left flustered, his troublesome grin now an agitated frown. "HEY! That's mine! I saw it first!"

[quote=Announcer Goomba]Take a look at this! As the first leg comes to a close another item box makes it's way into the hands of a rider. No doubt this is a critical moment for the competitors, an item now can make or break you![/quote]

The sound of a cannon firing startled Toby, he looked to his left to see a blue ball soaring through the sky towards him. The boy prepared himself for impact and caught the ball, an action he was quite familiar with thanks to numerous games of dodgeball he participated in as a child. With ill intentions he watched as Namine delightfully held the item box in her hands, waiting for the slot machine to come to it's conclusion. Toby hurled the blue ball at the girl just in time, knocking the item box out of her grasp. "Wha? Hey! Not fair!" Toby couldn't help but laugh at her reaction, even he was surprised the ball met it's target. 

[quote=Announcer Goomba]How creative![/quote]

Toby and Namine chased the item box as it flew through the air. Both of them managed to catch up to the item, simultaneously grabbing the box as they sped through the air parallel to eachother, moving at the same pace. Both riders now found themselves playing tug of war with the item box. "You're lucky I promised my mom I wouldn't hit girls!" Toby shouted and began to pull with all of his strength. "Yeah? Well you're lucky my hands are on this box, otherwise i'd punch you right in the throat-WHOA!" As Namine yelled her comeback at the boy, he intentionally released his grip on the box, causing the girl to spin 360 degrees on her hoverboard. As gravity brought Namine back to an upright position she was momentarily disoriented whilst attempting to regain her balance "Son of a carrot" She muttered. Toby didn't hesitate to snatch the item from her hands. 

"Mine!" He shouted with joy, where as the girl immediately bent down, grabbing his hoverboard and pulling it from beneath him, causing Toby to reel backwards and release his grip of the item allowing Namine to take possession of the box once more "Mine," She said in a sarcastic tone as to mock the boy. Toby once again found himself flying upside down. A troublesome smirk overcame him once more as he suddenly spun himself in a circle whilst flying upside down, using his hoverboard to launch the item out of Namine's hands through the air and into another riders possession. 

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"Hm? Yves, seem's an item box has made it's way into your hands."

"It appears so. Today must be my lucky day." Yves studied the item box in his hands curiously, as if he was intrigued by it's presence. "Out of all the days. I'd say that's quite fortunate, wouldn't you Landon?" 

"Quite fortunate indeed" 

The two seasoned veterans spoke in what seemed to be english accents. Both Landon and Yves intentionally decided to pull back from the lead as to avoid the mayhem caused by Ace. The two were a perfect example of the saying "slow and steady wins the race," and took the competition a bit too serious. Yves waited patiently for the slot machine to come to a stop. Once it did, his face remained blank, as did Landon's. Even so there was still a hint of arrogance surrounding the two. 

"Not a bad item," Landon said, Yves gave the box a look of distaste, "It would've been much more useful had I obtained it earlier,"

Toby eventually regained his posture and balance, the boy was quite irritated, even to the point where his cheeks were starting to turn a little red. "Hey! Numbskull! That's my item!" He shouted and with haste began to ascend towards Yves, blinded by his sudden obsession to claim the item box for himself. Namine's eyes suddenly grew wide as she realized what item the box had provided. "Wait, hey stop! Stay away from him!"

"Mine as well use it now," Yves spoke in a non-chalant tone and turned his attention towards Toby, aiming what appeared to be [url=http://i.imgur.com/lFHZDTD.jpg]some type of pistol[/url] in his right hand. "I'm really kinda getting super annoyed, I saw it first an-OH! Oh geez, what is that?" Steam began to shoot out of two holes in the pistol which began to make a sound similar to that of a teapot whistling. The sound of a gunshot shook the audience as a [url=http://i.imgur.com/SBBN4M2.jpg]pointed bullet[/url] whizzed through the air and lodged itself into Toby's hoverboard. Within moments the hoverboard began to shoot out steam as well and gradually started slowing down. "Oh no, oh no no no come on, what did you do!" The pointed bullet damaged the mechanism that allowed the hoverboards to actually hover. "Poor fool," Landon remarked, he and Yves sped off as Toby made the slow and inevitable journey to the ground. He began to curse profusely. 

"Heeeeeeyyyy!" Namine flailed her arms about at an attempt to catch the boys attention. "Go to the pit stop!" Toby looked up, cupping his hand around his ear with a puzzled look. "What?"

"Go. To. The. Pit. Stop."

"Huh?!"

"GO TO THE PIT STOP!" 

Namine's voice faded as she eventually sped off as well. The boy turned his attention to what lay below him and managed to catch sight of a sign labeled "Pit Stop," There weren't many options, in fact the pit stop was Toby's only option at this point. He sighed, and slowly began to descend towards the Pit Stop, eager to get back into the competition as soon as possible.