[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/5r7OTIh.png[/img] [b][color=Aquamarine]wordcount:[/color][/b] 3,819 (+4) [b][color=Aquamarine]Midna: level 8[/color][/b] EXP: [color=Aquamarine]//////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////[/color](88/80) [b][color=Aquamarine]Location:[/color][/b] Twilight Town [color=Aquamarine]Warp Charges:[/color] 0 [hider=warp locations] Virgin Victory teleport room Top of the Split mountain Outside the Convent of Our Lady of the Charred Visage Tostarena Town [/hider] [/center] [center][img]https://fontmeme.com/permalink/220729/023912a75a8a9b16c801799640a60148.png[/img] [img]https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/4/43/RoxasKHIII.png[/img] [b]Word Count:[/b] 3,819 [b]Exp:[/b] +4 [b]Level 2 Roxas[/b] (13+4=17 / 20)[/center] [center][img]https://i.imgur.com/tfV5JeK.png[/img] Level 7: 05/70 Word Count: 3,370~ Location: Twilight Town Points Gained: 4 NEW EXP balance--- Level 7: 10/70 (pending)[/center] [quote] “Hey, Princess Midna.” She said, pulling up alongside her and matching her pace. Balloons trailed from the top of Jesse’s car. Balloon-Car is born! “I’d ask why they gave you a license this fast but then I remembered they sanction street racing using scrap vehicles. Kind of answers itself. Must be a tourism thing, huh? You need any pointers? I got a B+ in my driver’s ed class so, I’m pretty much an expert.” She said, raising an eyebrow and glancing at Midna over the top of non-existent sunglasses. [/quote] The psycho masked princess (the windshield of her squat [url=https://imgur.com/MVEiBrA]technical[/url] was the most nonfunctional thing about the fat vehicle that looked like it had been built by someone who normally only made boats) responded by tittering and responding “Well I got a P for perfect” she replied, misinterpreting the P for pass on her test card. “It’s just like riding a beast, except you have complete control!” she insisted, before swerving uncontrollably to the right, grazing against Jesse’s vehicle just in time for someone in a leather robe that Midna had missed the introduction to go blazing past with a shout of [quote] “How about you eat mine!” [/quote] “Ah, drat dang it heck” Midna cursed as she got control of her vehicle, the piratial manikin manned turret on the back spinning wildly as she herself sun the wheel. Then once she had stopped her untended bumper cars moment she asking out loud “eat his what”, not having put two and two together regarding that comment and Jesse’s initial taunt. Jesse gripped the wheel as her balloon car was briefly sandwiched between two others with seemingly less control than hers. “Dust, Midna.” She said. “Like the dust getting kicked up from the wheels. For example:” She stepped on the gas, sped up, and overtook Midna, keeping her car in front of her but not speeding away. “Now I’m winning. Behold the power of balloon car. Now keep up, I’m gonna go catch up to that other guy.” She said, accelerating forward around the corner to get to Roxas. “Hey!” She called out to him. “Is there a finish line in this race, or what?” She asked, assuming he was a local. “Think so!” Roxas called back as an answer, “We’ve entered one of the race track circuits so if we just follow it we’ll find it sooner or later!” he decided to match her pace for a moment in order to communicate to her more clearly, “How about… 3 laps?” from what he had seen of the races, three laps was their usual number so it made sense to stick with that standard. And besides, he wanted to test his car’s ability to run a full length race. Up to now he had just done short test laps around the shop. So a full 3 laps around one of the circuits was the ideal performance test for his Twilight Blaze. [i]Think so?[/i] Jesse thought. [i]Okay, not a local. It almost makes me think its a tourist trap, but, again, it’s free, so…[/i] “All right, you’re on. Balloon car, away!” She said with faux-earnesty. Grabbing her car with Launch, she flung herself into the air. Immediately things went very out of control, but she managed to keep herself literally on track by adjusting herself with a few telekinetic shunts. “Holy shit.” She landed with a crash next to Roxas, barely making any ground on him. Casting a look over at him, she shrugged, before flooring it. Jesse was a decently experienced driver, but this was by the far the fastest she had ever done it. Only a few trips to go-kart places had given her similar experiences. Still, she [i]did[/i] have a driver’s license before coming to the World of Light. Midna in contrast, did not. Nor had she ever controlled, say, a cart, or chariot. No, all she had to work with was riding experience... Oh and magic to cheat with. “There’s no way you're leaving me behind that easily!” came a voice from behind the pair, along with the buzzing of wings as Midna used a massive Vibrava clinging to the body of her car as an auxiliary engine for a temporary speed boost that allowed her to catch up with the pair before it had to head on back home through another portal. “Yes, Midna! Use giant bug powers!” Jesse called out. As much as Roxas wanted to give himself another rocket boost, even he could tell that would be a bad idea. They were coming up on a series of sharp corners, three in total. If he tried to use his thrusters here he’d just end up ramming a wall or barrier. That simply meant he would have to wait a bit for his next big speed boost and try to get creative in the meantime. He observed the telekinetic shunting and summoning techniques his two opponents used respectively. Even to someone unfamiliar with the vehicles, it was still pretty obvious they were implementing their own individual abilities into their driving. [i]Well… guess I’d better do the same.[/i] Roxas steered into the oncoming corner and slid his car around it. In this moment he could get a strained view of his rear and took that opportunity. He removed one hand from the steering wheel and summoned Oblivion into it. He aimed the Keyblade back behind him and then chanted, “Blizzaga!” and shot back an icy blast that hit the track behind him. Upon impact it created a big icy puddle that could serve as a slippery hazard for whichever driver was coming in behind him. As clever as he felt, Roxas had no real time to do much else. The next two corners followed immediately after the first and so he would need his full concentration to get through them without losing control. “Balloon car!” Jesse said again, like it was a special move, or the name of a spell like Roxas. Having fun with it, she picked the car up with Launch but didn’t toss it, choosing to float over it. It cost her some speed and control but when she landed back on the track she was able to make the two corners. Jesse ran through a list of options in her head. [i]All of my abilities aren’t very sportsmanlike…[/i] She mused. Reaching into her pocket, she produced her Toolgun, still on balloon mode. “I’m shootin’ at ya.” She called out to Roxas as a heads up, and then leveled the Tool Gun at his back tire. Her first few shots missed, causing balloons to attach to the road, but eventually she started getting a bead on him. His tire began to slow down and float as she attached balloons to his tire. Behind her there was a crashing sound that sounded like it was the result of Midna crashing as a result of her run in with the ice, but was actually her slamming her shadow hand into the ground to correct her slide. The princess practically lived her every moment in a world of ice thanks to the maglev power stuck in her paldron, so she knew a thing or two about correcting her slides. She was, however, still firmly in last place after that. Roxas noticed his car slowing a bit as he turned into the third corner. On the bright side the slowdown helped him control the turn safely. But of course it also meant he slowed down and he watched Jesse slip past him into the lead. And if he didn’t do something right now, Midna would also pass him up and leave him in last place. With a flick of his wrist, Roxas summoned Oblivion once more. But instead of shooting a spell, he instead flung the weapon back behind him in the direction the car was being elevated. The weapon effortlessly flew through the balloons and destroyed them all, allowing the tire to drop back and for Roxas to regain his full speed again. As for the Keyblade, Midna might be surprised to see it just vanish in a small flash of light mere moments later. It was one of the best advantages of possessing such a weapon. It could be thrown and - no matter where it ended afterwards - it would just vanish and go back to waiting to be summoned again. After a short straight there was one more corner that led into a long straight away. It also happened to be where the finish line was located. And it would serve as a perfect spot for him to use his rocket thrusters again. All he had to do was make the corner. He could slip back into the lead once he hit the upcoming straightaway. Roxas steered into the inside corner as much as he could get away with, and then hit the thrusters at the earliest moment he was able to. Time to see if he could shoot past Jesse again like he had at the start. It was a perfect place for Minda to use her Vibrava boost again as well, the thruming of wings joining the fiery blasts of Roxas’ rocket engines. Jesse would just have to make up for lost time on the curves, since besides flooring it, she hadn’t any way to exponentially increase speed. Still, she put the pedal to the metal. Roxas would overtake her and Midna would once again close the gap. Jesse would try to slow down early and take the turns carefully, hoping being slow and steady would indeed win her the race. Maybe these big boosters would scrape against the wall and slow down enough that Jesse could win it. He was back in the lead for now but Roxas couldn’t get complicit. After the upcoming turn he’d be coming back onto the 3 sharp corners from before. Based on what happened last time, Roxas slowly realized that his car wasn’t built for reliable cornering. If he wanted to get through without hitting or scraping a barrier he’d have to slow himself down. That of course gave the ladies a chance to catch up and even overtake him if luck was on their side. But there was nothing for it. Roxas would just have to do his best slides and hope Lady Luck was kind. He steered into the first corner and slid around it successfully. Then did the same for the second corner. But that third corner was practically a sharp u-turn. Twilight Blaze was just too fast to get around without momentarily bumping its passenger side into the track barrier. That of course slowed him down a bit and he watched what looked like Jesse’s car manage to slip into the lead. Roxas slammed back down on the gas, determined not to let himself fall into last place. After the next turn he once again hit the rocket engines and shot forwards just like the first lap. Perhaps if he repeated this for the third lap he could lock himself in for the win. But only time would tell and a lot could happen during the course of a lap, especially in the more tense final lap when everyone would be more determined than ever to secure their victory. Midna, the worst driver, made up for her lack of training with inordinate amounts of magical shenanigans. On top of her Vibrava boosts she also started using her shadow hand to either slap herself towards with a rowing motion of right slap left slap right slap, or to take corners harder by grabbing the ground with dragon claws and pulling herself around them. Still, all this, other than getting her the ire of the city’s road maintenance division, was only enough to keep her in the race. If she wanted to win, she had to consider dirtier tricks. Over the roar of the engines and the rushing wind, no one could hear Jesse beatboxing the soundtrack to the race under her breath. Never before had she been in a street race with two wizards, and most likely she never would again. She enjoyed jockeying for the lead with Roxas, and at the end of the second lap he once again took advantage of the straight away with his rocket boosters after she beat him on the corners. Then she remembered that, like Midna, she wasn’t racing alone. Uncle Sven might be able to help. The track, of course, was a circle, and she’d been around it twice. If she timed a jump just right, she might able to leap over buildings and soar to victory by taking a huge shortcut. It was worth a shot, and she’d rather fail spectacularly than do decently well in a boring way. Jesse Faden didn’t do ‘fear’ anymore! Continuing to race, she bid her time until the right moment as she began to go into the third lap, driving defensively until she found the right spot for her Ooze Balloon Gambit. “Sven, Elastic Ooze!” She shouted. The mad alchemist appeared, grabbing onto the side of the car. “Let’s see what happens if-” He cut himself off with a toss of a potion. It shattered and the ooze spread. She hit it with her car and launched herself upward at the same time. “Woah fuck-” She swore as the air she got was alarming. Well above the neighborhood she cut across houses and streets. The third and final lap was going normally at first. But Roxas’ jaw nearly dropped when he saw Jesse attempt her crazy jump. Not good! There was no way he could catch up without trying something equally crazy. And as he saw the three sharp corners approaching, an absolutely insane idea formed in his head. He altered his angle of approach that made it look like he was going straight for the barricade instead of the inside corner like one would expect. And then he summoned Oblivion. “Blizzaga!” He shot the spell straight ahead and watched it glide across the ground until eventually hitting the barricade. When it did, a roughly ramp-shaped structure was almost instantly formed. Then Roxas did the unthinkable and used his rocket boosters just as he hit it. His car went flying forward clear over the first two corners and straight at the inside of the third. But there was more to his plan. He let go of Oblivion in order to grab the wheel and free up his left hand. Afterwards he summoned Oathkeeper - a white Keyblade. He stuck his arm straight out to his left. On the tip of the barricade was a tall street lamp that Roxas managed to hook Oathkeeper onto. With any other types of vehicles, this plan would never work. But [i]these[/i] vehicles were proven to be rather light overall and highly resistant to damage from crashes. That allowed Roxas to use his momentum to circle around and slingshot himself - car and all - around the third and final corner. All that was left was the straightaway. His rockets would get him about half-way to the finish line, but after that? It would all come down to who was luckier. Minda was still bringing up the rear, and she didn’t do something crazy of her own, she was going to be left out of the final sprint finish. Her solution to this shortcut situation? Leaping out of her veil, grabbing it in an oversized shadow hand, and then hurling the vehicle alone over the same jump, before diving into a shadow, appearing out of another just in time to reach up and catch her vehicle. “Push car go!” she shouted as she shoved her machine forwards to get up speed again, then using the physics bending nature of her shadowhand to, once it was fully outstretched in the push motion, lift herself up behind her vehicle while still holding the back of the car, swinging her own body around and popping down in the driver's seat of the free rolling machine once more. “Step on the gas” she echoed her teacher to herself as she did just that and went racing after the two human racers Jesse’s car had begun floating down, but she realized if she wanted to beat the boosted Roxas she’d have to hit the ground faster. Turning over her shoulder, she produced the Service Weapon- [i]Is this a misuse of my powers? It might be.[/i]- switched it to Spin, and shredded all of the balloons keeping the Balloon Car aloft. Now just Car, it dropped onto the track and directly in the way of Roxas’s vehicle. “Ah, fuck.” Jesse said unrepentantly. “Yes!” Roxas shouted as the finish line got ever closer. He was almost certain he had this, “Wait wait NO-” he cried out in panic when Jesse’s car hit the ground mere meters in front of him. His rockets hadn’t quite stopped firing yet so he wound up slamming into her car full stop. And despite the toughness of these vehicles, the two cars managed to break into large chunks which of course sent both Roxas and Jesse sprawling on the track. Even these cars had their limits, and the crazy stunts they pulled were probably just too much for the machines to handle. “Ugh…” Roxas groaned, pushing himself to his feet, “...what a mess.” he glanced around at the scattered components. He also wondered if anyone would be upset that they made this mess. But he ignored the components when he spotted Jesse and moved over in her direction, “Hey…” he said, “...you okay? Looks like we overdid it, huh?” Jesse had landed gently on her feet, a couple of pieces clattering to the ground next to her. The Director was in high spirits. Sure, she had a competitive side, but any disappointment about losing was trounced by how much fun she just had. Just then there came manic laughter approaching from behind, speed doppler affecting it till it zoomed on by, and Midna crossed the finish line ahead of the two feckless humans. It might be a victory born not from her successes but instead from the failures of others, but it was a victory nonetheless! The princess took a few moments to revel in it, before she performed a 7 point turn and rolled on back to check on the crash victims “You two alright?” Jesse rose a hand to greeting to the Princess. “We’re just fine. Hey, that was good racing, Midna. I say you earned that win.” She turned to Roxas. “That was somethin’ else, huh?” Jesse said, smiling. She looked at the scattered components. “Maybe we overdid it a little. But, I intend to build Balloon Car Mark 2 and succeed where its predecessor failed. I need rocket boosters on all six sides of the car!” She used Shield to gather all of the loose parts into a wall in front of her and then walked to the sidewalk, where they were all deposited in a pile. Then she approached Roxas and extended out her hand. “I’m Jesse Faden. There’s two types of people in this world: those that slow down at yellow lights, and those that floor it. I’m guessing we’re both the latter?” “I’m Roxas.” he replied while shaking her hand, “And I’d say you’re probably right. Both the latter.” but he wasn’t about to be a poor sport. He flashed a smile and thumbs up in the direction of the princess, “Looks like you have us beat. Enjoy the win… uh…” he hesitated, realizing he didn’t even name. Then he cast a slightly sad look at the pile of parts. “Shame about the cars. I thought I’d get to leave Twilight Blaze here intact when I left town, but… I guess not.” he gave a small sigh and then shrugged his shoulders, “It’s not like I could take it with me, too big and bulky. Anyway,” he turned back to face the two ladies, “Great race you two. I had a ton of fun. You both are new around here, right? Pretty sure I saw you coming out of the station with a few others. You wouldn’t happen to be the people Sectonia was waiting for, are you?” “That’s us. I’m Midna by the way, princess of twilight and best racer in town. Nice to meet you” the imp informed him, offering a hand to shake. “Pleasure’s all mine, Your Highness.” Roxas replied, knowing from experience how to act around royals. “If you’re already familiar with Sectonia, then I guess we’ll see you when we meet up again, right? Did she tell you about the Seekers? We’re looking for capable people with their heads on straight.” Jesse said. “Seekers, huh?” Roxas closed his eyes in thought. Was that their group’s name? Certainly an interesting choice, and definitely one that brought back a memory or two of Roxas’ previous battles, “Yeah she and I spoke a bit about it. The short version is that I have a bone to pick with Organization XIII - those guys you’ve all seen that dress like me. They’re old enemies of mine and so I asked if I could join you guys and check them out for myself.” Jesse raised her eyebrow, interest piqued. “Oh, yeah?” [i]Ramlethal was helpful for sure, but I can’t deny I’d like to know more about them. There’s so many unanswered questions about them. Among them; why wasn’t I invited? Maybe this Roxas guy could shed some like on things about that as a bonus.[/i] “Maybe we could share notes once the big meetup goes down.” Jesse said. “Well, we’re still waiting for them to ship into town. So in the meantime, guess how about we clean up this mess, and maybe I can learn a thing or two about fixing one of these machines afterwards while we wait? If you’ll show me the ropes” Midna suggested/asked. It would, after all, be a touch rude to leave the pair’s junked vehicles on the road “Sure, sounds good to me.” he thought back to what Ellie had told him, “The parts stick together real easily, and…” he did his best to repeat Ellie’s explanation. He probably didn’t explain quite as well but Midna would still get the basic gist. After some time spent clearing the junked vehicles, they’d eventually be ready to go to the big meetup.