[center][img]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/defangbasilica/Nympha-1.jpg[/img] [img]http://i805.photobucket.com/albums/yy334/defangbasilica/GrandpaEllie.jpg[/img][/center] [quote=Shoutcaster Jake]“Looks like I’m out of the race, folks! Gosh what an opportunity this is. We shall provide you with exclusive interviews with the fallen… or shall we say the free falling. It’s a long way down!"[/quote] “Give up old man!” “NEVER!” Both Nympha and Ellie continued racing at breakneck speed as they home in on the key hovering a few feet ahead. All other competitors have disappeared. Some unfortunate enough to be entangled in their on-going battle have been pretty much eliminated. Well some. The others in the area evacuated as soon as they can. The audience grumbled slightly at having missed the actual fight as the cameras panned in on the wreckage left behind. Drying wads of paper and glue covered several windows, multicolored balloons were flying everywhere and millions of brightly colored feathers drifted ominously from a window above. [quote=Announcer Goomba]“Glue guns, paper bombs, balloon traps and feather whirlwinds in a cans – nothing ever stops these two heated rivals. Nothing! Celery God help those caught in warzone. They even knocked Shoutcaster Jake out of the race. Even I didn’t know that was possible. And… the key goes to…”[/quote] The two racers reached out for box containing the key. Their fingers brushed against the surface of the transparent box at the same time, and it began shimmering. They refused to let go. Nympha and Ellie grabbed the glowing cube with their other hand as well. They pulled the box back and forth in a deadlock tug-o-war when a burst of blinding white light engulfed the entire area. [quote=Announcer Goomba]“Rabbits, mallards, peaches and all that go on a biscuit! What was that?”[/quote] The faerie scrunched her eyes tightly a couple of times as tears began leaking from all corners. She groaned. Slowly she opened her eyes a little, but still couldn’t see much except greyish outlines here and there. She blinked more. The outlines sharpened and color returned though millions of white dots swam around stubbornly. Nympha attempted to wrestle her hands away. They seemed to be stuck. She squeezed her eyes close one more time, and then stared ahead. She gasped. [i]Censored![/i] Both her hands were curled round Ellie’s two clasped ones. Binding their hands in place was a thick chain with combination padlock. The stupid lock was placed at such an angle that a third person was needed to undo the [censored] thing. She searched for the key only to notice it dangling from one of the links closest to the padlock. She staggered a little as her arms were yanked forward. The faerie retaliated by attempting to pull her hands closer to herself. “Don’t you silly donut! I will fall off my board.” “Pffft!” [quote=Announcer Goomba] “First they were bitter enemies, now they are team mates. I can’t wait to see what these two will come up with next!”[/quote] “We'll hafta fly sideways, but at least we'll keep our key,” Ellie said gruffly. [center][img]http://i57.tinypic.com/2116trp.png[/img][/center] “Where would I hide if I was a key?” Ran smiled a little as his mind came with several answers at once. The more ridiculous the answer the more likely it would happen. This place was certainly more whacky than the average episode of the Simpsons. Heck they even used stars for money like Mario. What next? An avatar like turtle island? Or or Judge Totoro? But at least they were still pretty straight forward with their clues - "check out our key location". The word key was had bolded fonts and it was heavily underlined. How kid friendly ([s]in a creepy sort of way; almost like pokemon[/s]). Putting his suspicions aside, Ran memorized the directions on the poster, as he finished his juice. He can't help wondering what the other posters said. Six others had been ripped clean off the wall. “Thanks for everything!” He waved cheerily to the mechanic and the rest of the crew as he launched himself into the air. Words cannot describe the experience. It was like riding an elevator or using a set of automated rollerblades minus the usual balancing act. The whole thing was almost like dancing! Niran pirouetted round and round and round in the air in front of Riley. He grabbed her arm suddenly to stop himself from kneeling over. The entire place won't stop spinning! This was worst than riding those teacups in a fun park. "This will be fun, won't it, Toby?" Hearing no response, he looked up, and noticed one person was conspiciously missing. He swivelled his head round from side to side till he spotted the boy. The rascal had his back to them, and he was accelerating! [i]Wait, where was Toby going? He can't leave. Not yet! Not when they were about to find a key. [s][i]Toby was leaving them behind. Again! Why? Noooo...[/i][/s] [quote=Toby]"Uh, sorry to go all lone wolf on you guys, but i've got a score to settle with some other competitors. I'll catch you guys later, give Ace my regards!"[/quote] “Toby! Wait. TOBEEEEEEEEEEEE.” He watched as the chirpy teen disappear out of sight. Somehow he wished the bubbly boy could waited awhile longer. The kiddo would certainly love where they were headed next. Maybe they could change his mind if they bumped into him again? Maybe. The happiest people are usually the most bull-headed (especially in manga), and Toby was no exception. It made Toby, well Toby, the sugar coated bubbly bundle of joy. Ran sighed. “Guess Toby will miss out the fun. So let’s go find the key?” He jetted off to the right and motioned for Riley to follow him. The once clunky duo flew smoothly with fewer mishaps towards their destination, and hopefully the key. A huge sign board hovered over the next street they passed – Cog City’s Largest Bouncy Castle. The older human grinned as he turned to look at his partner. Several competitors were heading there too. “I was right! There’s a key inside the bouncy castle!” The bouncy castle was housed in a towering roofless dome. There were ladders and cloud-like platforms here and there. Some platforms were moving while others remained stationary. None of the platforms were accessible without a hoverboard. Ran watched in awe as the other competitors zipped the nearest platform only to use it to bounce towards another platform. Basing on the number of failed jumps he witnessed, the man realized that not all every cloud acted like a trampoline. Some even disappeared after people landed on them. He fell backwards as something whizzed pass his face. He gaped as he saw the feathery object hovering mockingly out of reach. The key… [i]it had wings![/i] “Harry Potter rip off!” He grumbled.