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| - Summary: The first competition of the 2929 Olympics! A race to the finish over rocks and lava on the hellish plant Thrull! Crazy Galvatron? Yeah that's our bad. Behold! The hellish lava pits of Thrull. A planet still in its initial stages of forming, Thrull's landscape is a churning mess of lava and molten rock. Volcanoes dot the landscape, spewing ash and smoke into the atmosphere. The central landing area has been made civilized via an outpost protected with a forcefield. The nearby area, consisting of lava pits, is conditioned to be safe to breathe. Known galaxy-wide for their psychological "benefits", the lava pits range in size from ocean to "convenient hot tub shape". In fact, there are only a few places on Thrull that are not covered in lava. In the northern hemisphere stretches the largest of these "plains", hosting a modestly-sized Spaceport, and the newly-constructed Six Lasers (tm) Olympic Omni-Arena 5000. More adventuresome tourists & gladiators can venture out beyond the safe areas to the magma rivers. Considered by many to be the favorite for this race, the gleaming red Decepticon Redshift heads towards the racetrack, hovering over the molten lava and hot stone that comprises the landscape here. This planetoid has an ominous history, it houses the laval pits that may be partly or wholly responsible for Galvatron's madness. Unlike many of the competitors, Redshift has already been undergoing training on the track, and he's used to it's tricks and traps by now. Sunder, representing the Sweeps, is eager to make a good showing for this event. None of his fellow Sweeps seem to be present for the race, which is a bit disappointing, given that Sunder knows that Geist would probably easily win--or rank very highly. He flexes his talons in anticipation. T he dark, sleek, autobot femme makes her way to the tracks. Her chrome hair moving with each of her rythmatic steps. Her emerald green optics looking over the track and all those who are attending. She was known way back when for dancing and singing, now for being the 'ninja' to some decepticons and the femme a few cons just like to slam into the dirt after a few battles. Not only did she have grace, the looks, the moves, but she also had speed along with her skills, but for this event, she wasn't so sure how well she do, ah well-- she could do her best and that is what counted. DepthCharge smiles to himself and begins to go through the motions of flexing his arms and legs this way and that. Ensuring that his servos are all properly lubricated and there are no nasty burrs in his rotators. He's a good runner. Having pretty much existed most of his life without an altmode capable of travelling over land, he's had no choice but to be a good runner. And now he'll put these less used skills to the test. It's a foot race! And he's got two of them, doubling his chances. Foxfire is, of course, representing his fellow tapes--Autobot tapes, that is. He's sauntering toward the starting line, a casual sort of smile on his muzzle. The first time he ran this race, he came in first; last time he wasn't so fortunate, but his hopes are hi, and even if he doesn't win, it's no big deal. He's mostly here to just have fun! Catechism stomps over to the track. She is here so that Redshift will not whine piteously that he had no backup. That's the only reason, really. She has no hope of even placing, and she knows it. Momma Lambor's favorite son has stepped onto the track, claiming a lane near Tempo.. not that he intended to stay in it. He wore a riotous grin despite the heat and the large number of Decepticons. "Bet you can't knock over big purple befor I can." he dared the dark femme. Ahh, heat. Now this is the kind of place that Impulse would almost feel at home -- the only way it would be better is if this were being held on Alteron itself. In the meantime, though, he moves up to the track, optics dimming as he checks himself out, stretching a little before heading towards the line. Americon hustles over to the starting line, wearing red, white, and blue leg warmers. He jogs in place, occasionally putting two fingers against his neck, and extending his other arm so that he can stare at his wrist. "Hoof, hah, gotta stay pumped up! REDSHIFT!? Are you pumped up!?!" From Bleachers, Focus climbs the steps into the Bleachers, careful not to trip since he's keeping his special sensors dimmed because of the all the activity. Too confusing for him. He taps with his cane and slowly makes his way up the steps, this time finding the right section for the autobots and drops down carefully into a seat. Fireflight hasn't found an energon vendor yet. That, or he's spilled it already - but no, Fireflight doesn't show any of the usual marks of a recent collision as he makes his way up to the top of the stands to get a view of as much of the track as he can. From Bleachers, Fireflight enters the area and looks around. Sideswipe spotting a face he'd been looking out for, Sideswipe poked two fingers into his mouth and gave a shrill whistle, "Impulse!" he shouted out, "Watch your aft, I've got to kick it later on!" Sideswipe added after a moment, "Twice!" Thrull does not take things as light-hearted as the Nepsans do, apparently. Where Nepsa is full of happiness, jokes, and wackiness, Thrull is Serious Business . You can tell this due to the billboard at the spaceport that reads 'We Are Serious Business '. From there it's a half hour hover-skiff ride out to the course. The course for the 2029 Olympic Foot Race is unlike any track that's been used in the past. There is no 'track' to speak of, but rather a harsh obstacle-course over the hardened lava flows that includes jumps over magma rivers, hopping from one floating piece of molten rock to another piece of molten rock, mad dashes under lava waterfalls, sprinting past fire geyers that shoot up at regular intervals, and back around again. Rather than a 'track', the way is marked by discreet floating beacons that occasionally give out a white pulse. This requires more than just running speed, but other skills as well. The overall feel of the course is very natural to the rest of the planet. The bleachers are positioned far away, with televisions and holographic projectors showing the audience what's going on at various parts of the course. This twisty, windy course is about 5 miles per lap in length, though it feels much longer due to the harsh terrain. There is a very serious element of danger in this race. The starting line consists of just a small holographic hovering white bar, which the racers are to stand behind. Impulse snickers as he glances over at Sideswipe, moving up to his marked position. "Yeah, yeah, whatever," he comments good-naturedly. "We'll just see how it goes." Redshift smrisk down at the little red, white and blue tape. "I was built pumped. I'm in my element... Pure velocity, the wind in my face, the grit beneth my feet, servos functioning so smoothly I don't even ned to think... Just RUN." Redshift says, and turns to Catechism. He nods his head to her, glad to see she decided to tag along. Without her and Americon, it looks like Redshift would have been the only Decepticon competing. His blue doppleganger isn't even here. He mosies on up to the white bar, his posture one of tightly bound energy, the red racer can scarcly contain himself. Catechism has a posture that speaks of a sullen desire to tackle the other racers and beat them senseless. She stretches, hands down to her knees, and she cracks her knuckles loudy. Slowly, she gives a nod of her cone to Redshift, and she smirks. Tempo looks at this 'track' and can only smirk. She wasn't built for heat, but she can take the pressure, after all, she loved danger-- and it seemed to love her in return. The dark femme readies herself for the race and grins wildly like a mad cat in a hatter's party. Wheelie has arrived. Yeah, we'll see!" he shouted back, pointing a finger at Impulse, his smile threatening to engulf his entire face. Leaning over, he gently elbowed Tempo, cooking a finger over to his double-foe in the fights, "So going to kick his butt." Foxfire stretches out his legs. He's got four of them, after all! He preps himself while glancing around at the competition--a few of his friends are here, so that's good! For those in the audience, the guy in the Kremzeek mascot outfit steps up to a podium. Those at the starting line can hear his distinctive voice through well placed speakers. "Ha ha, welcome to the Foot Race! Is going to be a lot of footing for you all to race with. This is not just a foot race but also a foot /death/ race. Ha ha, I kid, I kid, but seriously, this is dangerous. You will be jumping over lots of lava and fire. Ash may come raining down on you." "If you are prone to being set on fire, I advise wimping out right now." Kremzeek stops, waiting to see if anyone will indeed pussy out. "Ok, now that this is settled, we will be running 4 laps. This means first one to hit 5 laps will win. Body contact is allowed, but only after ten second head start. We want a clean race remember! No biting or hitting below the belt." As Kremzeek mentions biting, the camera displays are focusing in on Foxfire. Coincidentally. Wheelie cracks his robot knuckles, looking over to Foxfire. He's decked out in an Orange adidas track suit with a matching head band. Soundwave hears the line about body contact, and then gets up and heads down to sign up late. Soundwave joins the race. The Aquabot eyes the obstacles and lava and pits and all sorts of dangerous things that promise to kill them until they are dead. Like of few of those here he wasn't designed for heat. But he does have his handy, dandy, forcefield projection systems. Adjusted to protect against the head of atmospheric re-entry. If he falls in the lava, hopefully that will stop him becoming fried fish. Now the biggest problem during this race is to not accidentally forget himself and activate his anti-gravs. From Bleachers, "But we don't wear belts, and how would Foxfire put on one anyway?" Fireflight wonders from the last row of the stands, where he need not worry about either blocking the view of anyone behind or getting his stabilizers stuck in some alien's idea of comfortable seating (again.) Soundwave moves down to the starting block. Most runners usually crouch and brace themselves to leap off the starting line at the sound of the gun. This one doesn't. He just stands there stock-still, knees locked, and preparing to get underway within approximately .000001 seconds of the race start. Sideswipe pays the Olympic Kremzeek his due attention, hearing out the warnings and rulings with consideration. "Yeah yeah, fire, lava, ooh scary." he jabbers befor crouching down, ready to erupt from the starting line. Wheelie spins his little arms around in mini circles, jumping from foot to foot. He's preparing himself physically.. ...as well as mentally. He approches the blocks and assumes the starting position, at the last minute unzipping his adidas track suit to reveal... ...a matching orange pair of shorts with a tanktop... ...geez, someone definitely sold out. From Bleachers, Silverbolt takes the headphones out of his ears and smiles to Fireflight. "nice to see ya here, FF. Decided to watch rather than stay on earth?" Knowing that there are several Decepticons in the race, and many of them will no doubt want to have a lot of 'fun' at the expense of trying to slam Autobots into lava geysers or lava pools or... lava something... Impulse's optics dim slightly. This is going to be a tough race, of that there is no doubt. He approaches the starting mark, crouching down as he takes his position. Optics dim briefly, then brighten up again. Current Race Participants: 1) Sunder 2) Tempo 3) Redshift 4) Sideswipe 5) DepthCharge 6) Foxfire 7) Catechism 8) Impulse 9) Americon 10) Wheelie 11) Soundwave Tempo crouches down low, her feet reading to push off when the 'gun' fires, or whatever they use to trigger this race. Like Impulse, she is sure the Decepticons will play a cruel game-- but today, she is putting her honor aside and if they wanna play dirty, so will she... Foxfire sticks his tongue out as the displays focus on him. He's a *good* fox, honest! He glances to Wheelie with a raised optic ridge and an amused smirk, but says nothing. He crouches, like a predator ready to pounce. Catechism likes to see Autobots set on fire. She's evil that way. She is not thrilled by being set on fire, herself, but if it happens, it happens, and she'll deal with it. She flexes, arms behind her head, and shelens, putting her weight on the tips of her feet. Sunder strides into place, flexing and flaring his wings. He notices the lava pits and idly wonders if he'll get an opportunity to *oops* knock a bot into one. He whistles innocently as he crouches down in the "racer's start" position. Redshift croches down, his expression tight and focused. He digs his feet into the rough, rocky ground, getting ready for maximum acceleration. He hasn't competed head to hed in a race in several stellar cycles, but it feels like only yesterday... And today, he'll add more gold to his list of medals. Americon snerks, yelling, "I do not fear fire! Lava is a bit scarier than mere fire, sure, but not scary enough to keep me out of the race! And I will make sure that the only thing burning will be me, burning rubber! With my... feet! As I outrun the Autobots! YES!" Hearing a familiar stomp, he quirks his head over to a certain blue Decepticon. "CREATOR! I will deliberately throw the race if you are in second behind me, just for you!" Then, he crouches down, looking ahead with a manic grin. "This one's for AMERICA!" The camera focuses in on each participant in turn. Various title bars are displayed for some of the racers. We see Redshift crouching down. The title bar at the bottom reads 'No, not the stupid one. The other one.' Sunder is flexing as he crouches. The title bar reads 'Dunno which one. Geist maybe?' Foxfire's just reads: 'Prone to biting'. As Impulse's optics dim and brighten, the message the bottom says 'Kup and Blurr's Love Child'. Meanwhile, back at the bleachers, the guy in the Kremzeek costome makes a grand show of walking over to a positively gigantic button on the podium. He hovers his finger over it, looking up at the crowd occasionally to draw cheers and shouts of encouragement. Should I? the look asks. The roar of the audience is enough of an answer for him, and he presses down on it. The white holographic bar holding the racers back flashes from white to different colours. Red... red again... red again... and then briefly green before vanishing altogether. The race has begun! Soundwave is off the starting line within the millisecond! Is he running? Nope! He's walking. POWER-walking! Just like in the cartoons, folks. Running is beneath him. foot smacking against stone after the other. He's not Blurr, he's not Kup, but slaghgit if he isn't going to give this his best shot! The light goes green, the dark, black femme pushes off with her feet against the rough terrain and takes off. Her chrome hair moving behind her as the green lines along her body flicker for a moment using a bit extra energy into the launch. Her emerald green optics narrow, and she allows her sleek form to hopefully give her an edge on aerodynamics, after all, that is what her alt mode was all about, so why not her robotic form as well. She had the moves, the skill, and hopefully, the speed! Americon yells, "NYAAAAHHHH!" as he launches out of his crouching position, arms frantically flailing, legs blurring as he dashes ahead. "MAKE WAY FOR AMERICA! RRAAAAHHHH!" And.. they're off! As the signal lights disappear DepthCharge jumps into activity, legs lurching forward and sending him sprinting forward along the hardened lava flow that is the track. He contemplates to himself as he runs if the organisers have actually gone through and tested the stability of these hardened rocky areas. Sure.. rock is solid and hard. But if it is thin or there are pockets of still molten puddles beneath, one solid heavy Cybertronian footfall will send the rock shattering. Foxfire takes off at a full sprint once the signal is given. His paws sound much lighter on the planet surface than the feet of the other racers, but he's got a good amount of speed for a small tapebot. He's still moving like a predator, running like he is in pursuit of his prey. Wheelie shoots Foxfire a grin and goofy thumbs up right before the holographic bar starts to change colors. He refocuses his attention on the 'track' before him, as the green vanishes, he explodes from the starting line. Well, as well as a mini-bot can burst forth, Wheelie is giving the race his all... ... ...machismo and banter aside. His optics squint as they are met with wind resistance. Catechism leans forward and takes off running. This terrain is bad, and honestly, she would really rather just fly. If she is left anywhere but the dust, she will be very startled. he race has started! Redshift's optics flash brightly, and his smirk widens into a smile. A real smile, not the fake ones or the mean ones... This is where Redshift really shines, pitting his speed against everyone elses... and WINNING. His servos kick into high hear, and launch the red Decepticon forward, as he accellerates.. and accellerates... faster and faster, he ignores the other racers, ignores the threats of lava and impending doom, he juts lets his motors do the thinking, and RUNS as if it was the only thing in the universe worth doing. Impulse launches forward in a streak of gold, black and red as the holographic bar blinks green and disappears. He isn't Blurr either -- but several Autobots have called him the next best thing. He might not get the speedy start others on the line will, but by Primus, he's gonna run it hard and fast. /This/ was what he was built to do... then rebuilt to do, after the Decepticons tortured him. If he ever wanted a field test to see how fast he was on the ground, this would be it. Sunder is off like a shot. Being a Sweep, he is very swift, even on the ground. He flares his wings backwards behind him so that the wind resistance is minimized. He utters a growl as the race starts, keeping his sensors peeled for any interlopers in his immediate personal space. "And they are off!" Kremzeek cries, flailing his arms around. "Oh we have two favorites in today's match, and by coincidence they were both torch bearers for opening ceremonies. Hah!" Kremzeek winks at the crowd, showing just how much of a coincidence this is. "One is evil Decepticon. Other is less evil Autobot. Together they are both fast. But which is faster? Will one be crowned glorious champion and other shameful loser? Or will BOTH be crowned shameful loser? Bookies are standing by! No refunds." The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 8) Redshift (lap 0) 7) DepthCharge (lap 0) Wheelie (lap 0) 6) Sunder (lap 0) Tempo (lap 0) Foxfire (lap 0) Impulse (lap 0) 5) Catechism (lap 0) Soundwave (lap 0) 4) Sideswipe (lap 0) 2) Americon (lap 0) Okay, so Sideswipe's 'explosive' take off wasn't quite a explosion and more of a.. pop. The others push on past him, leaving the Lambor in the dirt with only a itty, bitty tape trailing behind him. "Balls." complains Sideswipe as he ponders his choices. Soundwave's a Sneakly git, Catechism's a seeker.. but all the people he;'s really worried about have past him by. Gritting his jaw, Sideswipe presses on, attempting to make up some quickly lost ground. Soundwave power-walks for all his worth! But what's this? As the racers begin to round the first corner, Soundwave makes a bounding leap forward! His landing site? The Autobot Cassette Foxfire! Oh no, Foxfire, get out of the way! Since he can't crush Blaster this Olympics, it looks like he's taking out his hatred on the poor tapes! Soundwave tries to ram into Foxfire, without much success. DepthCharge's facial features are locked in concentration as he runs, not paying any attention to what is going over Autobot broadband. Instead, just concentrating on those racers around him. The Aquabot sees Redshift nearby resulting in DepthCharge clenching his fists and pumping his feet against the ground faster. He doesn't mind if an Autobot wins, but he is not going to let a Decepticon. So he does what he can to keep ahead of Redshift. There's a burst of a lava jet to his right, causing DephCharge to flinch but he doesn't stumble. He keeps sprinting. Trying to move up the ranks. Foxfire's hopes are still high. He's often underestimated because of his small size. He'll show them! He banks around a sharp corner, practically leaping off the edge to assist him in speeding around the makeshift track. Unfortunately, there's Soundwave. He blinks, and dodges to the side, away from the Decepticon tape master. "Rivalry runs deep," he comments to no one in particular. Tempo continued to run as hard has she could, fatigue for this femme wasn't an issue, losing her balance wasn't either, so she wasn't worried. Well, hopefully that is no one tries to shover her. She glances around her, There was Impulse, Foxfire-- whom Soundwave just try to run into, Sunder-- and Two bots ahead. She was Good, and for now she be a good lil' Black femme. Her green ventalition units kicked open to inhale more air into her systems as she pushed harder. Wheelie is running as fast as his lil-legs can carry him, navigating the terrain as best as possible. It's not as easy as it looks, the ground constantly sifting and churning, one must keep a nominal speed if they are to stay atop... ...less even compete with the others. To Wheelie's suprise, he's doing pretty well... ...all things aside. His lil-arms are a blurr of orange, pumping up and down at his side to propel him even faster. He's not paying any attention to the other racers current positions... ...rather focusing on his own. Redshift is off like a bat out of hell, his feet practically flying over the ground as he runs. He keeps a close watch on his heads up display, and his heat levels are staying well within tolerable limits, despite the tremendous heat of the lava-filled race track. Redshift speeds past the floating markers that denote the course of the race. He's run this track so many times, he could do it with his optics closed! He doesn't spare the briefest of glimpses behind him, the only thing that matters is what lies ahead! Redshift's reflexes are almost as intense as his raw speed, and he's going to need them! As the head of the pack, he's the first one to encounter the obstacles, which he leaps across with ease, his exceedingly speedy forward velocity carrying him long distances with each smooth leap. Americon huffs and puffs, limbs flailing as he stares down the truck. He scowls at the red Autobot ahead of him, and screams, "I'm gaining on you, Sideswipe! BETTER WATCH OUT! HERE I COME!.... stop running so fast!.... lemme catch up! Jerk!..." For the time being, Impulse isn't bothering with trying to bump anyone out of the race. For the time being, he's running it clean, moving as quickly as he can. Yes, he can already tell that he's going to want to boost his own speedster qualities at some point in the future, but right now, he has a race to run. And he's going to run it as fast and clean as he possibly can. Catechism has two Autobots aheads of her and in close enough range that she could try to... jostle them, as she passes over some particularly treacherous terrain. The question is just which. To that end, Catechism flips a coin. A lava pit eats the coin. Shrugging, she just goes for Impulse. Catechism crashes forcefully into Impulse! Unfortunately, the ground suddenly collapses under Americon, and he yelps shortly before sinking into a pit of lava. "Bnnnyargh in AMERICA..." Sunder sees that he is in good company. Lots of people are neck-and-neck with the Sweep. However, he does not feel it prudent to try to knock anyone out just yet. Too many people would gain an advantage over him. He will wait until there is only one person in proximity. "Oh look at this!" Kremzeek cries, pointing at one of the many monitors showcasing the race. "Redshift is winning and Impulse is losing! Impulse is getting beaten up also. Very bad for the forces of justice and goodness. Oooh but two forces of justice are in second and third place. Is very exciting!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 15) Redshift (lap 0) 13) Sunder (lap 0) Tempo (lap 0) Wheelie (lap 0) 12) DepthCharge (lap 0) 10) Foxfire (lap 0) 9) Sideswipe (lap 0) 7) Catechism (lap 0) Soundwave (lap 0) 6) Impulse (lap 0) 5) Americon (lap 0) Sideswipe pumps his red legs for all they are worth. He dreams of crashing sweeps, seekers, and Redshifts.. only to have the slaggers either pull to far ahead or fall behind! The only one close enough is Foxfire.. and well.. he's not that mean, "C'mon, Fox-bot, keep going!" he calls out from a few yards behind the bitey wonder. Americon's hand is the last part of him to sink into the molten rock, and... gives everyone the finger. Erk. Soundwave lands heavily after trying to stomp on Foxfire, and ends up having to build up to his full power-walking potential yet again. For some unknown reason, he glares at Sideswipe. "Affirmative," he emits, having received no obvious question. He does not, however, try to do anything so crass as attempt to push the Autobot off the track. Maybe later... From Bleachers, The crowd goes wild as Americon gets his big close-up on one of the track video screens! Too bad he's not in a position to appreciate it right now. ZOMG! Redshift speeds around the track, and passes the three-quarter mark! He knows this because at the 3/4 there's a river of bubbling, boiling molten rock with a few little not-quite-melted yet rocks in the middle. Redshift has no fear, however, because he's done this before! He leaps to the second safe rock, and then to the other side, bypassing most of the rocks and maintaining his lead. He's safe, for now... but soon, he'll be comig up /behind/ the pack of slower racers, most of whom will be out for blood. Foxfire isn't mean enough to crash into *anyone*. Bite, on the other hand... Well, that would just be bad. He risks a glance behind him at Sideswipe. "Doesn't look too good for either of us, but I ain't givin' up yet!" Wheelie is hurridly rounding the track, about 75% of the way through the first lap... ...when a mini-lava geyser erupts before him. Thinking quickly, the Autobot jumps into the air and turns sideways... ...to minimize the surface of his body that the lava could impact with. Some stray bits burn his orange adidas shorts, but nothing major. Landing, Wheelie pumps his legs furiously. Coming up to one of the rocky ends of the 'track' where lava flow has reclaimed the road, DepthCharge gits his mouth and juuuuump. Sailing through the air, arms and legs spinning, the Aquabot experiences the somewhat lucklaster feeling of racing through the air without the aid of anti-gravs. He doesn't go far. /Barely/ landing at the other end of the lave flow. He may be a good runner, but DepthCharge is not a good jumper it seems. This is going to be problematic. Impulse wobbles as Catechism slams into him, stumbling and damn near falling down. Growling, he picks himself up and launches forward again. Figures... he's supposed to be one of the favorites, and he's last place -- Americon doesn't count. He races ahead, trying desperately to catch up with the rest of the pack -- at this point, trying to catch up to Redshift is likely a physical impossibility. He'll likely be lucky to finish the damned race. Catechism is forced to consider her options, now. She could try to do something evil to Impulse again, or she could just keep running. She decides to just keep running. There will be other laps in which she can do evil things to people. She has only a limited supply of evil to dole out, after all. Evil is a precious natural resource! Tempo kept on going, she leaped over the gorge and watched the lava spray behind her when it errupted upward, she landed on the ground but kept going, keeping her balance, her arms swept back as she started lower herself more. Her feet moving faster, those green lines begining to glow as she was putting her energy into it. She needed to keep going, keep moving. Even if it ment staring at Redshift's aft-- Though the dark femme's green optics did glance over for a moment at Sunder, she didn't trust sweeps, after all-- last time she met a sweep, they tried to take her head, so she was waiting-- So far This wasn't to much of a problem for Tempo-- yet.. but she was keeping her finger crossed thus far. The Sweep nimbly leaps the gaps in the rocks, eying Temop and Wheelie. Not yet, but soon, he may try to knock one out of the race. But still, not yet. He notices that Redshift has pulled far ahead. Well, that figures. The smaller, more lightweight 'con would naturally be a speedster on his feet. Kremzeek watches and points, all excited as Redshift increases his lead. "Is doing well, but he is going to run into trouble when he starts lapping. That is when everyone will try to kill him! Ha ha ha!" The guy in the outlandish outfit heads over towards another button on the stage. There's a big sign here that reads 'MAKE MORE LAVA'. Kremzeek puts on a big show of inspecting the button and looking all confused. He looks at the audience if to say 'Should I?' The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 20) Tempo (lap 0) 18) Wheelie (lap 0) 17) DepthCharge (lap 0) 15) Sideswipe (lap 0) 14) Foxfire (lap 0) 13) Impulse (lap 0) 11) Catechism (lap 0) Soundwave (lap 0) 10) Americon (lap 0) 3) Redshift (lap 1) 1) Sunder (lap 1) From Bleachers, "YYYEEEEAAAAHHHHHH!!!!" Well, a lot of the crowd's roar consists of gurles, blips, and all sorts of indecipherable noises, but the collective reaction to Kremzeek's question is obvious. The people want lava, and they want it now! Soundwave looks over at Catechism as he glides -- slowly -- across the blasted landscape. Then he looks back. Waiting.. Catechism is apparently hanging out with Soundwave, Master of Power Walking. This is kind of creepy, really! She is quite agile, even if she is not particularly fast. The lava is met with acrobatic leaps from her. Wheelie approaches the end of the first lap, his pace only slowing down somewhat to compensate for the distance he'll have to run. Some nimble jumps here and there, nothing fancy for the mini-bot as he continues to speed through the track. The noise of the crowd reaches his audio receptors however, propelling him a little bit... ...as if the entire crowd would cheer for Wheelie? Somewhere in the leaping and avoiding being burned, she lost her traction and more correctly, somewhere along this race, some lava got her, and yea-- she can handle heat, but lava was another matter and it got her good. Her armor was melted by the impact, she-- had fallen behind the pact. Cursing her her breathe, Tempo pushed on even in pain. When she came to another leap, she pushed hard to make it and nearly was caught by the flames leaping upward for her. Even if it ment getting last place-- she would finish this race. Another jump and DepthCharge is feeling under the pressure. Things are heating up here. Well, things were hot already. But running in such intense conditions isn't easy. Especially since he wasn't prepared for a Lava Planet. But he does what he does. Runs on, forgetting about the feeling of energon within his veins starting to heat up. He runs so as to win victory for the Autobot faction. . . unaware of that darn crowd crying for more lava. Sideswipe runs and runs and runs, passing by Foxfire and offering a wave in parting. Ahead, Depthcharge, behind, Foxfire.. he was getting antsy about not having anyone to punch in the face yet.. but that Redshift Guy would have to come around sometime! Rubbing his fists in anticipation, Momma Lambor's red son leaps across the river of Lava that had just troubled Depthcharge, not doing much better with his landing, scrambling to keep from falling because of crumbling rock. Redshift raises his hands triumphantly as he is the first to enter the second lap of the race! He flashes his best smile at the waiting cameras, his face full of excitement as he runs around, coming upon the flatter, beginning section of the track. His heat sinks are doing thier thing, keeping his vital electronics cool despite the enviroment and the heat from his own stressed servos. Soon, though, he'll need his reflexes more than his speed, as he'll have to dodge and weave among potentially hostile racers in addition to the harsh rae conditions. Thankfully, it didn't take long for Impulse to get back into the swing of things -- and seeing his chance around one curve of the course, Impulse dives down for the bottom of the curve... and streaking past Catechism and Soundwave both. Two down, seven to go. And he's tearing up the track again. The heat is intense... but one advantage Impulse has is that he's used to such heat. And still, he's not trying to bump into anyone. Let his fellow Autobots run their race. He'll run his own race... and hopefully keep in stride and keep charging back for the front. Foxfire is surprised to find that he's far ahead of Soundwave. But there's still a good amount ahead of *him*, too. Without missing a beat, he leaps gracefully over a pit in his path, and immediately dashes further down the track. Current positions: 20) Tempo (lap 0) 18) Wheelie (lap 0) 17) DepthCharge (lap 0) 15) Sideswipe (lap 0) 14) Foxfire (lap 0) 13) Impulse (lap 0) 11) Catechism (lap 0) Soundwave (lap 0) 10) Americon (lap 0) 3) Redshift (lap 1) 1) Sunder (lap 1) Sunder seems to have pulled ahead of the competition for now. He's going to build a comfortable lead before knocking anybody out. The heat doesn't bother him at all, and the obstacle course aspect only serves to interest him more. He doesn't mind if Redshift wins--really, he doesn't, after all, let the best mech win, as long as it's not an Autobot. Tempo was moving along, she was leaping over the lava, sometimes getting close to being burned, sunder was ahead of her-- so was redshift. She growled lowly, her headlights flared on as she attempted to pick up the pace. Flames licked around her, nearly knicking her armor, melting some of the black paint off, but she kept going. No pain-- No gain! Kremzeek puts a hand to where his ear would be as if he can't hear what the audience is trying to tell him with their shouts, gurgles, and blips. Finally he pretends to get the idea. After giving a helpless shrug as if to say 'well this isn't my fault', Kremzeek gleefully presses the big shiny red button. A sad trombone sound FX plays on the speakers near the audience, but the effect for those racing is noticeably different. The various jumps have gotten significantly more dangerous as the amount of lava increases. Jets of hot, liquid magma shoots into the air, and the ash cover is considerably darker. When viewing racers passing through these dark clouds, the image shifts to 'Ash-O Vision', which according to the Six Lasers website uses some kind of heat sensors, even though this is a lava planet and heat sensors would probably be retarded. At various lava river crossings, the little stepping stones people have to use to cross are almost getting washed away. The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 20) Foxfire (lap 0) 19) Impulse (lap 0) 16) Catechism (lap 0) 15) Soundwave (lap 0) 13) Redshift (lap 1) Americon (lap 0) 7) Sunder (lap 1) 4) Tempo (lap 1) Wheelie (lap 1) 2) DepthCharge (lap 1) 1) Sideswipe (lap 1) At this point, you have to wonder if Soundwave is really trying.. Catechism has gotten away from Soundwave! Until he rams her. Such is life as a Decepticon. She demonstrates her acrobatics skills (see +skills), vaulting from stepping stone to stepping stone, sometimes landing on her hands, sometimes on her feet. The ash and soot in the air clots her frame, darkening her paintjob. Soon, she will be Nemesis Catechism. Foxfire is growing a little agitated. No one seems to be advancing past an opponent, nor does anyone seem to be slowing down. With a frown on his muzzle, he continues running as fast as he can, darting around rocks and pits that litter the track. Redshift absolutly TEARS around the track, passing familiar markers as he goes. The markers go by so fast they're almost a blur to Redshift, but he's pretty sureh e just zipped past the half-way mark a few seconds ago!He hasn't actually lapped anybody yet, but he's getting there! He's glas he's been safe from interferance thus far, giving him a substantial lead over the competition. Howeve,r there's more than Autobot runners to worry about: The lava is starting to become worrisomly high! Redshift leaps over a growing pool of lava, and his foot dips into the edge of the pool on the far side, searing away his (heat resistant)paint. He clenches his teeth against the pain, and races on, optics alaert for danger. From Bleachers, A ripple of tentacles, foam fingers, and a few smaller spectators being flung straight up into the air by their larger seatmates marks the leader's passage as Redshift nears the spot where Americon went down the first time around. Looks like human sports fans have exported The Wave. Wheelie crosses the first lap, his resolve to see this race to the end unwavering... ...that is until the track begins to shift and mold even further, insuing more lava and jumps of grand magnitude. His matching outfit of an orange tanktop and track shorts are stained with lava that's pelted it over the course of the first lap... ...he begins to wonder if Adidas will still pay out if the outfit is destroyed during the course of the race? He shakes the thought and re-focuses on the race. DepthCharge has successfully completed a lap! He sees Foxfire, Tempo and Sideswipe all around him and he gives them a nod, turning his attention back to running. No, he's not going to crash into fellow Autobots. It's all about getting the Autobot faction to win gold. Doesn't matter if it is him or someone else. He keeps running and then suddenly the planet seems to decide to spit in their faces. More Larva (tm) suddenly starts to spring from everywhere, a cloud of ash suddenly obscuring his vision. Too hot, too hot! Touching a panel on his armour, the Aquabot begins to try and reduce the heat by passing the current of his repulsion field along his armour. Further insulating himself. Tempo continues onward, she notices the change in the track and narrows her optics, she still performs well, but she notices the heat is now starting to talk with her systems, but she has a good lead, she is gonna keep it, and she is getting tired of seeing a sweep ahead of her, if this kept up-- Sunder was hers.. Impulse still keeps running, glancing at Foxfire for a moment and smiling at the tape-fox. He's almost caught up with the cassette turbofox now, but not quite yet. But that's okay. He's going to keep running a clean race, at least for the time being. Sideswipe is growing aggitated, all the decepticons are either Speedy McFastpants or so slow that he's already passed them! Grinding his teeth, Sideswipe keeps on trucking with thoughts of busted Decepticon face plates filling his mind.. He should have known better. The rock nearby rumbles and shivers befor erupting in a hot spray of molten rock and metal ore. He luckily puts on some fancy foot work, avoiding a direct hit but unabl;e to avoid splatter. The molten ooze burning his armor. He'd come prpaired however.. no.. not really.. He just sort of swats at the hot spots to little effect. Sunder is still behind Redshift, but also pulling ahead of Tempo and Wheelie. The gaps that widen are still no problem for the Sweep, given his size and ability to jump. He gazes ahead at those he is bound to lap, pondering knocking one of them out just for the fun of it. But for now, he concentrates on staying in it, hissing as a jet of steam erupts from the lava mere feet from his position as he leaps another gap. Kremzeek admires the situation, looking up at the giant scoreboard with the rankings. He covers his ever-grinning mouth with a hand as Redshift manages to avoid getting himself in hot water (get it?) as he begins lapping people. "Will his luck hold out?" Kremzeek asks. He doesn't even need to specify who he's talking about. The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 12) Sunder (lap 1) 10) Tempo (lap 1) 8) Sideswipe (lap 1) Wheelie (lap 1) 7) DepthCharge (lap 1) 6) Foxfire (lap 1) 5) Impulse (lap 1) 3) Catechism (lap 1) 2) Soundwave (lap 1) 1) Redshift (lap 2) Tempo continues, and the dark femme does, however as she makes a jump, she nearly looses her footing at last and some flames do nail her, lick her black sleek armor and take away the paint, but she rolls when she trips and right back up on her feet. She grits her teeth, the pain felt on her leg that got nailed. She can't let Sunder get any further head, she couldn't let the cons get ahead. The dark femme kept pushing herself, her energon starting to run warm, her emerald green optics burning with all the strength she had. Soundwave definitely isn't trying anymore. He's just waiting for someone to become unlucky enough to lap him. Someone other than Redshift, apparently, since he leaves his fellow Decepticon alone. Who will it be who gets the clothesline? Lets wait and find out! Impulse finally makes his first lap -- and it figures, about the time he gets a quarter of the way around the track, that he hears some cheering -- sounds like Redshift's already finished his second lap and starting on his third. He keeps running hard and charging ahead, though he's waiting for his chance... and ready for the moment Redshift tries to pass him. It'll slow him down, but it'll derail Redshift for the moment -- long enough for an Autobot to try and catch up. YES! Redshift has made it to the beginning of the third lap! He flashes another of his award-winning smiles at the cameras, and waves to the crowd as they are no doubt cheering for him... At least anyone who put bets on the speedy red racer ought to be! Redshift is comig up along behind Soundwave, who is hopefully here to lend a hand by knocking down the Autobots. He keeps running, despite his damaged foot... No pain no gain, right? He warily eyes the growing lava and bursting geysers ahead, and the Autobots whom is is likely to catch up to soon.. Sideswipe puts on a burst of speed from somewhere, maybe it was a sudden eruption of hot, facemelting magma behind him, maybe he'd just got a good look at Tempo's tail lights.. maybe he was cheating. It's not clear, but through that thick cloud of chocking ash ran a Lambor, he ran like crazy, he jumped like nobodies buisness and if something with a purple badge cam around he will make sweet swett lo-, no wait, he will punch them! Yes.. he will punch them with fists. From Bleachers, Ramjet secretly wishes Sideswipe would make sweet sweet lo.. punch.. wait. Wheelie is racing down the track, his body leaning in with the turn... ...when suddenly a large ramp appears before the bot. He does his best to scale the obstacle, because deterring either left or right would obviously waste precious time. Up and up, the little boy-bot climbs until the ledge stops... ...where he jumps off, soaring through the air... ...reminds him of the time Grimlock literally threw him at Ramjet. Catechism is wheezing, the soot and ash clogging her air filters. This atmosphere would be the Pit on her engines. She pants, her systems screaming at her. There's Soundwave, just behind her, and Redshift, coming up from behind. Well. She's not going to get in Soundwave's way. He knows where she sleeps. So she runs. It's so tempting for Foxfire to simply extend his wings and activate his anti-gravs. He decides against it. He may be a fox, but it's not in his nature to just cheat. He glances around him quickly, making a mental note of where his comrades are... From Bleachers, The cameras follow Tempo eagerly as she jumps and rolls, one of the video scenes showing it again in slow-mo even as she gets back up. She looks more like a patch of interstellar void than a living mechanism against the glow of the lava background, but parts of the crowd sound appreciative as the camera pulls back from her optics to show Tempo again in full stride. It's hard to tell exactly who is winning here, what with all the ash and smoke the Aquabot considers. But DepthCharge keeps sprinting, having remembered the track layout from his first lap. He leaps where he can, but what with the new lava flows things have become even more dangerous. At one point the little rocky island he jumps onto shakes and then begins to go under, the Aquabot narrowly jumping just in time. This is madness. What type of sport involves such dangers? Lucky for him, Sunder's beard filters out all the nasty particles. Where optic sensors fail, his other sensors tell him where solid ground is. He jumps again, this time through a cloud of ash, and pinpoints his landing point precisely. He starts thinking of the Autobots on the track as prey, to be chased down and tripped. Nobody's in range yet, but he flexes his talons in case he catches up to one. Kremzeek puts his hands on his hips. The hell? The Decepticon still hasn't gotten pushed in a lava flow yet? What's wrong with those Autobots? Despite this, the grin has not shifted from the mascot, and the Six Lasers host instead plays it up. "Oooh and Redshift still has big lead! Big lead! Will robot heroes of justice be able to stop his big lead? Ooooh, only in Six Lasers, folks!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 19) Sunder (lap 1) 17) Tempo (lap 1) 13) Sideswipe (lap 1) 12) DepthCharge (lap 1) Foxfire (lap 1) Wheelie (lap 1) 10) Impulse (lap 1) 9) Redshift (lap 2) Soundwave (lap 1) 7) Catechism (lap 1) Soundwave streaks ahead of Catechism! The power-walking is paying off!. Oh look, and there's an Impulse right ahead of him. Cruising up right behind the Bot, he extends his hands in what looks like will be a shove ahead. But in truth it turns into a 'outta my way, fool' manuever, wherein Soundwave grabs for Impulse's shoulder to shove him to the left, off the track. Maybe into some Hot Lava! Soundwave crashes forcefully into Impulse! The dark femme see's Sunder ahead, she seems to not lose on him or gain on him either. It is like she can't get any footing over the sweep. She growls and keeps moving. As she comes up to a lava run, she leaps over it with ease and keeps moving. The green strips along her armor flare brighte as she puts all her energy into her run now. However, she couldn't keep this speed forever, but maybe she can get some footing on the sweep! 'Don't give up,' Foxfire tells himself. 'There's still a chance...!' He keeps on running, suddenly thankful that he's not organic, otherwise he doesn't think he'd be able to keep this up. Catechism is now behind Soundwave. How did that happen? She shrugs, stumbling, and choking. In one leap, one of her wings is hit by a flying glob of lava, which burns a hole through her wing. Wheelie sails through the air, then lands... ..his adventure in flying has obviously cost him some track position. He's still trying to advance, but it's not looking that good. Remember his shorts being scorched? Well they are in full flame now, his aft literally on fire. The mini-bot continues down the course, but with his hands swatting at his butt. "OWOWOWOWOWOW!" Just like the little red engine. 'I think I can, I think I can', DepthCharge runs. But he isn't a little red engine. He is a big blue sub. So such positive thoughts won't work. What would a sub do? Sink or swim! With this in mind, DepthCharge leaps over another lava burst and starts putting as much enegon to his legs servo as he can. Come on, make up time! Sideswipe keeps trucking like a mad mother trucker who just doesn't know how to do anything else. Lava flows are lepts, magma spouts avoided, soot and ash charged through. He's flying by the seat of his sweet, sweet aft and that's just how the ladies like it. He's running towards the baddies on a big fat circle.. it's like chasing foxfire's tail only less fun. big lead indeed! Reshift is now almost at halfway around on his third lap, putting him more than half-way through this most EPIC of races. The Olympians themselves would be in awe of the speeds and glory o this race. He nods as if in thanks to Catechism, and his smile widens as Soundwave lunges ahead to knock down a member of the oposition, Impulse.. Who, despite being one of the 'favorites' for the race, Redshift has /just about/ lapped him! Redshift does his best to stay out of the burning lava, although it's getting harder and harder as the competition progresses. Impulse keeps running, though being grabbed from behind keeps him from advancing any further, at least for the moment. But one of the things he can do is grab on, spinning around... no, he's not going into the lava. He's making an attempt at wiping out Redshift! But can the red aerial Decepticon evade? Impulse tries to ram into Redshift, without much success. From Bleachers, It's hard to tell over the crowd noise, but the stadium sound system plays what sounds like a galactic symphonic orchestra attempting to cover 'Yakety Sax' as the video screen shows Soundwave's unique racing style. As he grabs and shoves Impulse, the crowd bursts out in a round of air-horns and cowbells... or are those the spectators' own voices? They seem to be cheering on the chaos, either way, music and audience roar both keeping on as the close-up switches to Wheelie and his flaming shorts. Sunder notices the femme trying to gain ground on him, but he pours on the exertion and tries to speed ahead. So far the obstacles are nothing to him, not even the ash and smoke can deter him. From the bleachers, some unidentifiable food object sails towards him, missing him by a few meters. He chuckles. Haters in the crowd, eh? We'll see to that later... Kremzeek grins (as always) as Redshift and Impulse draw close to one another. "Oooh now look! Torch bearers are together. Fast Decepticon and fast Autobot, but only one is in lead! Will fortune change? Ha ha ha, they aren't carrying a torch together NOW, are they? Hah!" Kremzeek's entire body shakes as he laughs. He watches the crowd as it cheers Impulse getting shoved by Soundwave. The crowd loves violence, as Kremzeek knows so well, and he is happy to deliver it for them. The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 20) DepthCharge (lap 1) 18) Wheelie (lap 1) 17) Sideswipe (lap 1) Foxfire (lap 1) 16) Redshift (lap 2) 14) Soundwave (lap 1) 13) Catechism (lap 1) 10) Impulse (lap 1) 7) Sunder (lap 2) 2) Tempo (lap 2) Soundwave triumphantly maintains his lead on Catechism, moving into third place.. from last. Yup, it's blue skies and clear sailing from here! Impulse grumbles, picking himself up. Someone apparently painted a giant bullseye on him for some reason. He's off again, though, not about to give up. At least he tried to slow Redshift down, but fast as he's moving, there's little chance of being able to slow him down enough. But if he has his way, he's going to work his way back up. Though if the Decepticons keep making a point of hitting him, then he's going to be lucky to finish the race. Catechism is still behind the Master Power-Walker. She staggers and stumbles, slipping dangerously close to the lava. Blurts and blasts of lava pockmark her frame, but she refuses to cry out. Instead, she trudges on. Slaggit. She wants to ram something! A plan comes to mind...and he doesn't really have much to lose. Foxfire's attention settles on Redshift--it's risky, but he doesn't care. He slows down slightly so that he closes in...and attempts to trip him with his small body! Keeps on trucking ahead, his minature running partner pulling ahead, following after Depthcharge.. But maybe Sideswipe wasn't trying so hard this time, maybe he was taking it easy. Foxfire is given a bright smile from a soot covered face as he pulls up along side.. Redshift is given a wicked one. Momma Lambors favorite son could almost be heard to cackle once the speedy Decepticon comes up fast in his six. Sideswipe halts his forward movement, turning on his heels and propelling himself shoulder first towards the red mech. Sideswipe tries to ram into Redshift, without much success. Foxfire crashes forcefully into Redshift! Gotta get ahead! Gotta run. Another jet of lava sprays right before DepthCharge, this one actually catching him before he can move. Arcs of electrical energy run across DepthCharge's form as his ionised armour attempts to repel the lava from his body. The Aquabot consults his internal systems and notes that another hit like that is going to pretty much wipe out his energon reserves. Gotta keep away from Lava. Gotta run! The dark femme was watching Sunder get ahead of her, the ash was starting to get in her intakes, and she had to kinda close them off a little to keep to much ash effecting her movement. As she came on a turn, she nearly slipped on the rocky road, that injury she took early from the flames was getting to her, but she wasn't going to stop. Come on, she told herself, move it! Keep going! You gotta do this! You can't let the cons get the better of you! Your swift, your fast, your sleek. Yes, Tempo was getting worried now... From Bleachers, The instant replay of the race leader getting duoble-teamed by Autobots shrinks into a split-screen effect alongside a graphic of bars flickering up and down as if to show volume, urging the crowd to outdo itself with the yelling. Such is the price of success. Everyone who isn't as good as you has to try and drag you down to thier level. Redshift manages to escape from Impulse after Soundwave broadsides the smaller Autobot, but with two of the autobots now ahead of him, this is going to get messy... Redshift spots Sideswipe's clumsy attempt to shoulder-shmash him, but then he trips up in something small. That has a tail. And is a fox. Redshift's super-fast legs are knocked out from underneath him, and he tumbles to thr ground, all him momentum being transferred inot his face as he crashes to the ground. He glares at the pair of Autobot, and lunges out to tackle the little fox. Redshift tries to ram into Foxfire, without much success. Wheelie continues on down the track, geisers erupting around him like armageddon... ...or SW3... ...take your pick. He's managed to extinguish the fire that was on his backside, his shorts hanging from his waist in black tatters... ...more resembling a torn dress than a pair of track shorts. Sunder notices Redshift get hauled down. He growls, plotting revenge, if he can. The cameras focus in on Foxfire, Sideswipe, and Redshift as the clash of two titans (cough) is about to occur. Foxfire pulls up alongside Redshift, and bumps into him! Kremzeek makes a motions for the boys running the cameras, and a replay is instantly shown of the crash alongside the audience cheering bars, this time with a hilarious cartoon sound FX. This collision is repeated five more times, with a more outlandish sound FX each time. Finally the show returns to normal, and Kremzeek exclaims, "It is not over yet! Down goes Redshift! Ha ha ha!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 20) Foxfire (lap 1) 19) Sideswipe (lap 1) Catechism (lap 1) 18) Soundwave (lap 1) 17) Impulse (lap 1) 16) Redshift (lap 2) 13) Sunder (lap 2) 6) Tempo (lap 2) DepthCharge (lap 2) 2) Wheelie (lap 2) Soundwave keeps cruising along at a steady pace, this time exchanging places with Catechism.. again. Seemingly undeterred by his complete inability to get anywhere in this race, he rushes in behind Sideswipe. Putting his head down and shoulder forward, he attempts to body-check the Autobot into the ground. The big blue jerk.. Soundwave tries to ram into Sideswipe, without much success. From Bleachers, Fireflight pauses from cheering Tempo and DepthCharge on as a bunch of racers clump up approaching the start/finish line. "Well, this could get ugly." Catechism sees the four-legged abomination unto Primus come into view, as she wipes the soot from her optics. That little jerk caused trouble for Redshift! He must pay for his sins against both nature and against the Decepticons. Also, Catechism just likes running into things. Now ahead of Soundwave, but for how long, she does not know, and she doesn't care. Instead, she just tries to accidentally on purpose step on Foxfire. Catechism crashes forcefully into Foxfire! Impulse thankfully gets back on track again, and is coming in hard and fast. And... wouldn't you know it, he sees another chance to slow down Redshift. He's gotta take the opportunity... and a streak of gold, black and red moves to careen into Redshift as he keeps going, hoping to further slow down the red Decepticon and give the other Autobots a fighting chance to win the race! Impulse crashes forcefully into Redshift! Wheelie tries to increase his speed, the other Autobots are causing quite the ruckus among the racing Decepticons... ...maybe it's Wheelie's time to shine? Tearing the orange/black tattered clothing from his waist, the orange boy-bot picks up some speed. Maybe it wasn't quite the bright idea to wear flammable clothing on a race track full of lava? The Aquabot runs, a cloud of ash suddenly parting as DepthCharge gets to a new, more stable rocky section. Now for the first time being able to see who is ahead of him. And it appears to be a Decepticon! Keeping in mind that gold should be going to the Autobots, DepthCharge grits his mouth and charges ahead. Head down. As fast as he can. Determined to crash into that Decepticon and send him sprawling! Sideswipe's intial attempt is less then steller. Over-balanced, Sideswipe topples to the hot, hard ground. He pulls himself up and sees that Foxfire took care of the job, "You the fox!" called out the Red son as he got to his feet. Something big, blue and Jerky was fast on his heels however. A glance behind him provided a moment's grace, allowing Sideswipe to side step away from the bull rushing tape deck, "Lame." he dubbed the attempt befor he charged forward, attempting to catch upto Catechism.. who hand just cruely preformed a bit of a fox trot, and jerk the femme back by the point of her cone. Sideswipe tries to ram into Catechism, without much success. Foxfire lets out a loud bark as Catechism more or less steps on him. Afterward, he ducks out from under her, needing to take a moment to get back into action. He groans softly and shakes his head. "Ow..." He glares after the femme. "Why don't you pick on someone who's not less than half your size, huh?!" He takes off again. Redshift grumbles, and pushes himself up off the ground. He's a bit banged up, but a quick look around shows that despite taking a nasty tumble, he's still in the lead! Redshift gets to his feet, his exuberance replaced by a grimmer kind of determination. This is less fun with everyone trying to break his legs. This is the one time of the year when he's NOT trying to KILL people, and STILL the blasted Autobots can't leave him alone. Impulse again tries to knock Redshift down, and this time suceeds, sending Redshift back to the dirt, leaving another set of bright red paint scrapes on the rocks. From Bleachers, Subaru Outback has, as is his wont and privilege, passed out under the bleachers. Pity. He wanted to be in this event, but, sadly, work calls. And he's still there. On the office computer. Which is why this will be his only pose for the night. HeSo, Durango lies under the bleachers, empty bottles of enerbeer scattered all around. Sunder utters another growl as he sees the devilry of the Autobots in full display. While this would of course probably put him in first place, he still feels the need to curse them for their insolence. And give him an excuse to take out some sort of revenge on them. He notices that Depthcharge is attempting to gain on him. "Not if I can help it," the Sweep hisses, leaping over yet another obstacle, and further streamlining his wings. Tempo notices Depthcharge with her and smirks softly. She allows herself to move at her steady pace, her systems recycling as much air has they can get, her energon getting warmer, but she was saving some of her energy bursts for the next lap. Sproing! Doink! Ping! All these sound effects are played whenver Redshift gets hit, and the crowd laughs each time. Those cheering bars are going haywire! With the golden con temporarily not going anywhere Kremzeek takes this opportunity to check in on the other leaders. "Let us see how others are fairing now that Redshift not looking so red anymore, ha ha ha! We have big scary Sweep in second (not for long though!), but big Autobot brigade coming up fast to take him down! Oh this race is turning into a close one. I say there is only one thing missing - nobody has gotten burned to cinder yet? Well we can keep hoping! Hah!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 20) Foxfire (lap 1) 19) Impulse (lap 1) 18) Sunder (lap 2) 16) Redshift (lap 2) 14) DepthCharge (lap 2) 12) Tempo (lap 2) 7) Wheelie (lap 2) 2) Sideswipe (lap 2) Soundwave (lap 2) 1) Catechism (lap 2) Soundwave just can't get away from Sideswipe! Or.. perhaps it is the other way around. Optic glowing, he strides out alongside the Autobot, then turns sharply into him, intent on walking him into a rock outcropping! What will our Heroic Autobot do?! Soundwave tries to ram into Sideswipe, without much success. Catechism evades Sideswipe, and yet, he manages to get ahead of her. There is only one explaination: he's better looking than she is. Perhaps she should introduce that pretty Lamborghini to the ashen ground. Catechism leaps over a lava flow and attempts to smack into Sideswipe as she comes down the arc. Hey, he picked on her first. Catechism crashes forcefully into Sideswipe! Tempo keeps running, her legs moving, she watches Depthcharge pass her and knows she may be in trouble now, but-- long as an autobot gets the medal, that is that matters. Her mind wonders for a moment as she runs, remembering the past before the great war, things like that. She grits her teeth once more, optics dim for a moment, before they flare up. She comes to a leap and jumps over it, its a long leap, and the lava leaps up right in front of her, just as she jumps over, it falls as she passes over it, and she catches the egde, and keeps running. She finds a rock on the side of the track getting in the way on the track and she leaps up, and pushes off it, to jump over some flames that blast out. Landing down, the dark femmes laughing softly to herself. A growl of frustration comes from DepthCharge's mouth as he speeds along, trying to catch up to the Sweep. It's even more frustrating that Sunder keeps getting further and further away from him. He sees now instead Redshift up a head.. once again they're getting closer to an ash cloud. He needs to put a little more energon into this and he should be able to catch up. Come on! Redshift is finally free from meddling Autobots, and quite glad to have his fellow Decepticons running with him. He leaps to his feet, again, and sets himself for a fresh sprint. His heat levels have dropped since his servos have had a break, and his systems are ready for peak operation. He takes off around the track again, trying to clear his mind of the obstacles and opponents. Just him, and the track. And the lava. Foxfire seems to be right behind Catechism...another risk he can take, and get a little revenge on the process. He darts along, attempting to trip her as he did to Redshift previously. Sideswipe laughs manicly, he missed his attempted grab for Catechism's cone but the bits of fox stuck to her shoe must have slowed her down, allowing the Lambor to pull ahead. Soundwave came up along side and tried to Sideswipe the Sideswipe! Nothing doing. Ducking low, Sideswipe avoided the brunt of the impact throwing his side into Soundwave and providing a hurdle for the tape commander to topple over rtather then knock over himself. Turning, Sideswipe backpeddled, pointing a finger back at Soundwave and laughing.. and that's when a femme came out of the air, "Slaggin' Seekers." curses the Lambor as he is knocked back onto his back by the crashing femme, sent tumbling upon the dark ground.. his form begining to resemble a black repaint. Nemesis Sideswipe! Wheelie is sprinting around the track, improving his position to fifth place. The mini-bot's legs have lost feeling... ...but yet he strives onwards. No Decepticons have gotten close enough to him to trip, and none have tried to trip him either. Maybe they don't perceive him as a threat in the race? Sunder sees his opportunity. Impulse is within his grasp, and he will pay for knocking into Redshift. Dropping quickly to all fours, Sunder gains speed and lashes out with a talon, like a cheetah trying to trip a Thompson's Gazelle. Oh, this was like hunting prey! Sunder crashes forcefully into Impulse! Foxfire just keeps running. Nothing to see here, folks, please move along. Impulse senses Sunder moving up close behind him. And he's got to give the other Autobots a chance -- because actually winning this race, at this point, is beyond him and he knows it. He doesn't have the speed, and he knows it -- but he has to give it his best shot. But Sunder, it seems, intends on doing the same thing to him. Impulse tumbles /again/! But this time... his legs lash out at Sunder's. If the Sweep wants to pounce, then perhaps Impulse will have a chance to trip him up as well, and give the Autobots that much more of a chance. Impulse crashes forcefully into Sunder! Kremzee holds his sides and laughs as Redshift is finally able to get back up. "Despite all the hard work of the Autobots, two Decepticons STILL in lead, and I think Su- oh ho ho, what is this! I speak too soon!" Kremzeek is referring to Impulse and Sunder crashing into one another, and both getting knocked around as a result. "Is Redshift once AGAIN going to be in lead? Can nobody stop robot dynamo?!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 19) Impulse (lap 1) 18) Sunder (lap 2) 17) Tempo (lap 2) 14) Wheelie (lap 2) 5) Soundwave (lap 2) 4) Foxfire (lap 2) Catechism (lap 2) 3) Redshift (lap 3) 2) Sideswipe (lap 2) DepthCharge (lap 3) Soundwave stomps past Foxfire! No, wait, he actually walks in front of Foxfire and surreptitious stops to swing his foot back at the foxbot's face! Oh, the foxmanity! Soundwave crashes forcefully into Foxfire! Sunder gets knocked back by Impulse and Tempo takes her chance. She goes to Shove and trip up the Sweep before he has a chance to get some leg again. "Sorry about this.." She almost says with a laugh as she goes to also pick on Sunder- who says Autobots can't play dirty? Now the question is-- can she trip him up.. or herself? Tempo tries to ram into Sunder, without much success. Soundwave stops to surreptitiously swing his foot, etc. Foxfire barks again as Soundwave pretty much kicks him. He snarls, but he's got other problems. He's close to Catechism--a perfect chance to strike! He attempts to slam into her leg with his shoulder. Catechism sees that Soundwave has already put the abomination in his place, and so, she concentrates on stumbling through lava and trying not to get her feet melted off in the process. Straxus, she needs a drink and a cold shower, in any order. Foxfire tries to ram into Catechism, without much success. Wheelie exhales, dodging around some more lava pits that have recently sprung up. Bots all around him colliding with each other, but the boy-bot pays it no mind... ...racing around the track, closing in on his third lap. Sideswipe grunts, left in the ash and dust by the dangerous duo. He climbs back up to his feet.. just in time to see someone red streak by, "You again!?" he barks, having not expected to see the mech so soon. Getting back in motion, Sideswipe works furiously in attempt to catch up and lash a boot out at Redshift's quickly working heels. Redshift races around, although the ever-growing river of lava near the end of the last lap was difficult to get over, possibly only passable by virtue of his wings giving him a little extra lift, boosted by the hot air rising off the laval. Now, he's on the third lap! He sees the viciuos little fox ahead, and Catechism, and he counts himself lucky the the fox isn't attacking him again! He doesn't look back ,though, because he doesn't think he'll like what he sees... Sideswipe crashes forcefully into Redshift! Sunder growls as he's taken down along with the prey...errr, Impulse. He glares briefly at his victim, leveling a murderous gaze before noticing that Depthcharge has passed him. He leaps to his feet and starts running again, opting for all fours to make up for lost time and speed. He pays no heed to the failed attempt by Tempo at tripping him up again. He just /had/ to regain his lead over the Autobot Sub. Impulse rolls with his tumble, and suddenly is back on his feet again. And he's not above giving the Sweep another tumble himself. He's not likely to get too much farther ahead, but he has to give it the old college try... metaphorically speaking. So it's time to see how the Sweep likes the prospect of being swept... again... Impulse tries to ram into Sunder, without much success. DepthCharge runs ahead, seeing Sunder and Impulse suddenly fall behind as they tackle into each other. The Aquabot makes a point to thank Impulse later. And the best way to thank him is to ensure Autobot victory. There, so close, close enough o touch, is Redshift. The race leader. He needs to be stopped, no matter the cost! DepthCharge is about to jump forward and try to slam Redshift off the course, but he sees Sideswipe already doing this. He isn't going to waste precious speed or energon if another Autobot is already doing so. So DepthCharge runs on still. Focusing on furthering the Autobot's lead in this race. "Oh poor Redshift. Poor poor Redshift. He came so far but is going to lose! Sideswipe is making sure of that. I'll stake my money on it!" Kremzeek shouts. "And it not too late to bet /your/ money on it too. Operators are standing by for last minute wagers!" he cries. "Make the races more fun to watch. Now..." Kremzeek squints at the screen, apparently not recognizing the Autobot. "Now space submarine in lead. Space submarine? Ha ha ha, that is retarded! Is space submarine fast in water, space, /and/ foot? It cannot be!!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 19) Tempo (lap 2) 9) Catechism (lap 2) Soundwave (lap 2) 8) DepthCharge (lap 3) 5) Sideswipe (lap 2) 4) Sunder (lap 3) Foxfire (lap 2) 3) Redshift (lap 3) 1) Impulse (lap 2) Wheelie (lap 3) Tempo growls as she misses Sunder and puts herself back a little by doing so, she kicks up the dirt again, and after she makes another leap, her wheels kick down beside her feet and she startes to skate along the rocky track. It is a bit faster then her feet, would be even faster if it wasn't for the rocky ground, but at least its faster. She spun around and started to skate backwards to see who was behind her, before she spun back around again in a turn and slide up along a mountain face, to 'kick' off it, and do a flip in the air, to avoid the splashing of lava, and landed on her 'wheels' again, to keep up her speedy move. Once she got enough time on the tires, the retracted back down and she went back to huffing it on foot. Soundwave slows down as he sees DepthCharge coming up from behind. This is it, his moment to really swing things for the Cons. He abandons all pretense of trying to get ahead in the race, turning around and rushing forward (backwards down the track) with his arm out to clothesline the Autobot Sub! Soundwave crashes forcefully into DepthCharge! Foxfire now finds himself next to Sunder...but he decides not to go after him. Instead, he tries to trip up Redshift again. Foxfire tries to ram into Redshift, without much success. Wheelie pulls ahead another position, his luck doing pretty well as of late. A nasty splash of lava almost ruins his trek... ...if it wasn't for the mini-bot dodging to the side. All he wants is a medal... ...not the whole blasted race... ...just one medal! Sideswipe sends Redshift tumbling, "Haha, Sweet!" exclaims the red son as he runs on, watching over his shoulder as Sunder comes in out of the gloom. Stopping, Sideswipe suddenly reverses direction, running full bore at Sunder and leaping, his feet thrusting out towards the sweep in a amazingly unsportsman like drop kick! Sideswipe tries to ram into Sunder, without much success. Redshift grits his teeth, as he pushes himself off the hot, rocky ground AGAIN. He's got a whole slew of news names for the kill list, but right now ,there's a race to be won. Redshift gets back to doing what he does best: Winning! His earlier practice runs don't do much good, though, as the course has been steadily changing. He's not going to trip over the fox AGAIN, but instead he jumpes onto the cassette 'bot's back and uses Foxfire as a springboard to launch himself past the next boiling pool of lava. Catechism sees that Soundwave is getting all the awesome crashing action in. She is a sad Nemesis Catechism! However, she continues to run. Maaaaaybe, if she is very lucky, she can catch up with Tempo and push her into a ditch. That would really make Catechism's day. He's sprinting, coming in ahead! The Aquabot is going to be getting past the pack leaders! He runs onward, only to find the arm of Soundwave suddenly directly in front of him, clothes lining him. WHACK. The Aquabot staggers this way and that, trying to regain his footing and speed. He staggers this way and that as he tries to regain his footing and form. He staggers this way and that. . right at Soundwave! DepthCharge crashes forcefully into Soundwave! Impulse mutters to himself as he misses on tripping up Sunder, and pours on the speed. There's no chance whatsoever of him winning this race -- the first crash alone insured that. The second and third crashes only sent him further behind... Sheng would probably be equal parts laughing at the display and being royally POed that 'big brother' has been pummelled so thoroughly. But one thing is for sure -- he's going to get himself some upgrades to his overall speed. And so he runs, not bothering with trying to mess with anyone -- not that there's a point to it now, since the only one in range is Wheelie, who's already lapped him once. And Impulse isn't /that/ mean. Nothing is stopping Sunder now. Not the Fox, not the Lamborghini, and certainly not Karma. As fate would have it, the Fox goes for Redshift again, but misses. This is enough for him. He knows that the time for fooling around is over and he has to get serious about winning this race, or at least placing second. He leaps spectacularly, like a tiger through a flaming hoop, over Sideswipe's outstretched foot, uttering a "ha!" as he thunders past quadrupedally. He dares not waste the time or effort to retaliate. Time and track space are far too precious now. "Oh oh, space sub is in trouble now," Kremzeek notes, tsking at Soundwave and Catechism (aka the LOVE DECEPTICONS) have teamed up once again, running the race together. "And space /ship/ out of trouble. Wow, what maneuver. And maneuver by OTHER Decepticon space ship too! Redshift back in it! Did Kremzeek bet his money too soon? Were YOU smart enough to wager against Kremzeek? Ha ha, only you and your bookie know for sure!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 15) Catechism (lap 2) 11) Redshift (lap 3) 9) Sunder (lap 3) Soundwave (lap 2) 8) Sideswipe (lap 2) DepthCharge (lap 3) Impulse (lap 2) 7) Foxfire (lap 2) 6) Wheelie (lap 3) 4) Tempo (lap 3) Soundwave clotheslines DepthCharge and then is thrown to the ground himself! Rolling over quickly, he lunges for DepthCharge's feet. If Soundwave can't make any progress, neither will the Autobot! Soundwave crashes forcefully into DepthCharge! Catechism runs far, far away from Soundwave, for she is a ZEALOT Decepticon, not a LOVE Decepticon! Hah! She also finds herself terribly, horribly alone. So alone... Tempo keeps running, leaping, moving. As she goes over the lap, heading into lap three, she folds her arms back, gets low, gets her body into a more aerodynamic pose of movement and those three headlights flare on, with that last bit of energy she had been reserving kicks in. Her legs start to beat the rocky ground harder, the chrome had become tarnished by the ash, her pain been scorched by the heat, but she wasn't about to stop. Tempo keeps going, even as the lava threatens her, she wont stop till she drops! Sideswipe's gambit fails, he crashes to the earth but shakes it off, quickly springing to his feet and taking off in a dead run.. His little pudding piston was somewhere back there.. and if he could get this head-gunned sonuva sharkticon to lay down and play dead then he was going to try and get her a spot on that podium. He pushed himself hard, at times barreling through obsticles that should have been avoided. He was a mech on a missions, a mission to grab hold of one of Sunder's wings and slam that sucker to the ground! Sideswipe crashes forcefully into Sunder! Redshift speeds past many of the other races, notably Impulse and DC, and Sideswipe, and Foxfire...Virtually all of his competitors are left in his wake. Redshift flashes an evil grin to the Autobots who were sideswiped, and then speeds up more, putting himself quite a ways ahead of the competition. He can finally get back to just ENJOYING the race, as opposed to having to fight over it, and his smile shfts back into one of genuine enjoyment, as he puts he pedal to the metal for one last big push, reaching and /exceeding/ his own personal best speed, his HUD flashing his velocity at just over 300 miles per hour(or the Cybertronain equivalents), making his quitep ossibly the fastest Transformer EVER Foxfire REALLY should have gotten that velocity upgrade... Oh well, nothing he can do about it now. He'll just have to better prepare himself for the next Olympics. He keeps on running! AGAIN Soundwave gets DepthCharge, tackling his feet and tripping him. The Aquabot once again falls, flying forward with the momentum of his run without the aid of feet to keep him stabilised. He goes flying forward and tumbles over the ground.. he staggers back to his feet starts running again. Trying to regain his speed. At this point, Impulse is moving for all he's worth -- what little he's worth, now. There's an apologetic look of sorts given to Foxfire as he passed the cassette fox. He sees Soundwave bring down DepthCharge again... Sideswipe and himself both in prime position to try and trip up Sunder, if DepthCharge doesn't take the shot... And Sideswipe suddenly takes the shot at Sunder and trips him up. With Soundwave trying to slow down DepthCharge, Impulse just focuses on moving ahead, zipping past the tumbling forms of Sideswipe and Sunder alike, past DepthCharge and Soundwave... this is one race that Impulse is determined to try and finish... wherever he can. It was apparent that Sunder hadn't quite gotten enough distance away from Sideswipe, because suddenly he feels someone grab a wing and drag him to the ground. He's already going to be delayed, so retaliation will not cost him. He lashes out with a talon with a sharp growl, to impede Sideswipe as well. "You will pay for that interference, Autobot!" he snaps. Sunder crashes forcefully into Sideswipe! Wheelie speeds down the track, people falling all over each other in a horrid fashion in front of him. He does his best not to trip up, especially since Adidas promised triple the price if he finishes in the top three. His orange tank-top is in tatters now, but the orange headband is still intact. "I don't think anything is stopping Redshift now. Bookies are no longer taking wagers on THAT mech, let me tell you!" Kremzeek cries. "But second place is still matter to be decided. Oooh lots of Autobots and one Decepticon racing for second. Will Geist m-oh no, red Autobot took care of that, but now space sub taken down by robot that transform into device 40 Earth year out of date. Ha ha ha! Good work for obsolete Transformer!" Kremzeek puts on a big show of clapping for Soundwave's efforts. "Is Autobot representative Wheelie going to win? Is Kremzeek PSYCHIC for picking nothing but winners for torch bearing and speech giving? Ha ha, we shall see!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Current positions: 16) Impulse (lap 2) 13) Foxfire (lap 2) 12) Wheelie (lap 3) Soundwave (lap 2) 9) Sunder (lap 3) Tempo (lap 3) 8) Sideswipe (lap 2) DepthCharge (lap 3) 1) Redshift (lap 4) Catechism (lap 3) Foxfire just keeps running. Yep. Soundwave picks himself up and quickly moves away from DepthCharge, leaving the Autobot to wallow for as long as possibly in the dust (and rock, and lava). Now he really pours on the power-walking speed, weaving angularly around all sorts of nasty fiery death hazards as he tries to catch up with at least part of the pack. Ahead of him is Wheelie. He doesn't even slow down to consider what to do, opting for just pushing a boot out in front of him to try and shove Wheelie to the ground and walk over him. Soundwave crashes forcefully into Wheelie! Sideswipe had thoughts of simply running on ahead once he had tossed Sunder to the ground.. hehe optimism. He attempts a get away only to have claws rake across the back of his heel, riping through metal and casting him to the ground once more with a pained 'Oomph!'. He's up on his feet again however and Sunder's trying to escape. "Oh no you don't you slagging rust licker, C'mere Princess!" he barks oput as he gets up and running, attempting to out right tackle Sunder into one of the hazerds. Sideswipe crashes forcefully into Sunder! Wheelie is knocked around by the much bigger Decepticon... ...there isn't much he can do, other than stay on track and run as fast as he can. Retaliation might settle his nerves, but it won't increase his chances for a medal. He spares a look back at the trio of Autobots on Sunder's heels... ...hoping that they'll ensure he doesn't get through them unscathed. Tempo runs right along side Sunder, her optics burn right toward the Sweep. No words are said, just a cold stare from the dark femme. By the time she looks away, Sideswipe has taken down Sunder and Tempo races onward, she let the red devil deal with the Sneeky Sweep. Tempo comes around a turn and takes it good, she is keeping up her speed thus far, the lines still glowing bright and those head-lights a warning to anyone ahead, 'The lil' black femme is right behind you!'. And it seems all around him the track errupts into crashes and bashes. Decepticons and Autobots colliding around DepthCharge. DepthCharge isn't going to have any of it though, his mind is focused on getting his rhythm and speed back up. Getting to the end of the track. Feet falls once again impacting against solid stone, the Aquabot sprints back down the track Redshift's limbs are nothing but red and black blurs as he speeds around the track... The final quarter of the final lap! All of the competition is behind him, thanks to the efforts of his Decepticon comrades-in-arms. Redshift comes up to the finish line, and shifts his weight, sliding across the fisih line with a long, drawn-out skid, throwing up a plume of dust that only serve to illuminate the winner of the race... and really, was there ever any doubt? Redshift's face is lit up like a kid on Christmas opening a Powermaster Prime, except covered in ash and dust. He smiles for the camera, posing with his arm across his chest in his best effort to look bad ass. Catechism waves to Redshift and tries to give him a high-five, but he's probably past her before she can even get her hand up. Impulse just keeps running. No sense in doing anything else. The question is if he can at least get to the third lap before the medals are all awarded. Sunder howls in rage as Sideswipe takes him down yet again! However, keeping Sideswipe down is not going to affect the race much at this point. He ponders...Depthcharge or Tempo, Depthcharge or Tempo...he gets up, dashing after the femme, since she has better position than Depthcharge, lashing out with his claws to try to trip her up. Sunder tries to ram into Tempo, without much success. The Kremzeek mascot claps for Redshift. "And we have a winner! Hooray for torch bearer Redshift! Hooray! Kremzeek sure knows how to pick winner, huh?" he announces to the crowd, working them over like the smooth performer he is. "Picked him for torch bearer." There's a bunch of shouts from the crowd, though it's tough to make out what they're saying. Kremzeek seems to hear, though. "Oh, you mention OTHER torch bearer? Well he must be big failure then, because I don't see HIM winning." Kremzeek's grin makes it hard to tell if he's joking or trying to be mean, but his tone of voice is light. He turns back to the screens. "Red robot is one mech wrecking crew!" Kremzeek shouts, cheering Sideswipe on. "Look at him pound soapdish robot. He's doing worse damage than lava EVER could! Wow, that is surely against rules!" Kremzeek reaches under the podium and pulls out a gigantic oversized book with the words 'RACE RULES' on it. The mascot also pulls out reading glasses and somehow puts them on. He goes through the motions of opening the book up and pretending to read for ten seconds or so. "No rule against beating up soapdish!" He shouts, tossing both the book and the glasses back over his shoulder. "Back to race then!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Soundwave walks over Wheelie and keeps on moving ahead. Unable to completely break from the pack, however, he is determined to do as much damage as possible. It may, in fact, be why he signed up in the first place. His rather moderate stride keeps him in the thick of things, and it isn't long before DepthCharge comes around again. It doesn't look like he'll stop a Bot from taking the next spot, but he'll be damned if anyone will get by him without a fuss. Soundwave slows down a bit, then rushes ahead to push at DC forcefully on the shoulders! Soundwave crashes forcefully into DepthCharge! Sideswipe is cast off and out run.. but not for long. He gets up and running. Sunder's lash at Tempo is almost enough to earn him another whoopin'.. almost.. Tempo's just too fast for the fragger. He's happy enough to simply try and out run Sunder into the third lap. Foxfire just runs. Not much he can do right now. Tempo keeps going, Soundwave to far-ahead, and it looks like she might make third, but impossible to tell at the moment. However ahead, it looks like Soundwave just lashed out at DC, and she quickly keeps moving, along the 'boys' to have there fun. She has to keep pace, keep moving, keep pushing herself, and Primus was she ever. Ash getting into her systems or not, she didn't care now, she was going to get to that finish line! Determined, strong willed, focused, Tempo moved on, with no obstricle able to stop her, including the rock that fell down, which she used her hands to push off of, flip over and keep on running. If they cybertronians had to enter a acrobatic game, she be the one who be good at it! Wheelie tries to increase his position, but at this point it doesn't look good for the Wheelmeister... ...Soundwave's push might have closed the doors on the orange mini-bot getting a medal. And for Impulse, it's charging hard and fast. He won't medal... but he looks like he might actually place higher than he expected. So he's just going to run for all he's worth. The Sweep hisses as he tries to make up for lost time once again. He is still on all fours, for maximum movespeed, and he's leaping and dodging obstacles and shooting lava bursts like a pro. He ignores Sideswipe again for the time being. Oh, the Red Lamborghini will pay for his insolence out of his hide. But not now. Another tumble, and DepthCharge almost topples off the track into the lava below. It is through sheer luck that he is able to jump back at the last moment and avoid becoming an Americon! But it seems to have cost him dearly and once again he is falling behind the pack. He starts to run again, but will he be able to come 3rd? "Oh no, Soundwave is challenging Sideswipe for most vicious robot." Kremzeek announces. "Look at him push space sub. Come on, space sub! Push back! Push big obsolete Transformer into lava! Ha ha ha, that would be good for ratings! Very good!" Kremzeek laughs and goes through the rest of the rankings. "If space sub cannot deal with 1980's robot then Autobot... um... er..." Kremzeek pauses as he gets a transmission from the boys upstairs, telling him who the heck Tempo is. "Autobot Tempo may take Silver anyway for Autobots. Soundwave cannot stop them all. Or is Kremzeek wrong? You think Kremzeek wrong? Then go wager against Kremzeek! It never too late to bet!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. "Ok it too late to bet now," Kremzeek says. Current positions: 20) Tempo (lap 3) 19) Wheelie (lap 3) 18) Soundwave (lap 2) 17) Sunder (lap 3) Sideswipe (lap 2) 16) DepthCharge (lap 3) 11) Impulse (lap 3) 4) Foxfire (lap 3) Impulse just... runs. It's all he can do. It's all he can hope and pray for to Primus. Finish the race... just finish the race... Soundwave pulls a little past DepthCharge, after knocking him toward the back of the pack. Staying locked in what he's quickly turning into a rolling melee, he sets his sights on the nearest Autobot ahead of him: Wheelie, again. "Autobot," he says, breaking his silence, "Cease forward progress." And he lunges forward to bat Wheelie out of the way! Soundwave crashes forcefully into Wheelie! Foxfire is just running, running, running...no one's paying attention to him! Sideswipe is smiling like a mad man. He'd given up placing in this race befor he crossed his first lap. He was here to cause trouble and have fun.. truely the Autobot way in his eyes. He rushed headlong, Sunder quickly catching up.. but screw the Sweep, Sideswipe had other suckers to bother now. As Soundwave jerked out, Sideswipe came up from his six, "Decepticon," he said, echoing the blue punk, "Kiss my aft." and he lept at Soundwave, attempting to bring him down in a hard tackle! Sideswipe tries to ram into Soundwave, without much success. Tempo pushes foreward, she can see the end of the lap ahead. Her systems start to flash a warning of being over-heated and she needed to slow down, but oh no, this femme wasn't going to do that! Tempo only did the opposite, the systems said slow down, and she pushed harder. Her hands tightened, her legs moved across the ground, the flames splashed past her. But the sleek femme didn't stop, no matter the danger, no matter what mother nature of this planet tried to do, she just kept going. "..almost there.." She whispered to herself, her optics flickered. Then she heard a rumble ahead of her, the ground gashed up and large steam of air of fire, which she let out a battle cry toward, as she leaped foreward, pushing right through the flame itself. As she came through the hot flames, her black paint was nearly taken away, the tires resting on the side of her legs melted, her chrome features charred, but when she touched ground, she kept running. Wheelie is sprinting towards the finish, his entire body almost completely drained... ...and he hasn't said a word the entire race! Well, that owowowowow part doesn' count now, does it? Anyways, The mini-bot is moving along as fast as possible... ...then suddenly Sounders crashes into him yet again. This is getting to be quite an annoyance. He was lined up for silver... ...then lined up for bronze... ...will he even medal? Only time will tell... ...and mayhaps the activities of his teammates...? All in all there's only one thing that is important, and that's Autobot victory. Wheelie and Tempo are ahead of him. But it looks like Wheelie may not make it to the stands thanks to Soundwave. DepthCharge has gotta ensure that the Decepticons aren't able to take 2nd or 3rd. With a yell DepthCharge sprints forward and attemps to slow down the only Decepticon that might make it to the medal tally. Sunder! DepthCharge crashes forcefully into Sunder! The Sweep snarls again as he's taken down viciously by Depthcharge. He knows that he /must/ stop the Autobot from placing. If he can't have Bronze, /nobody/ can! Well, not nobody...but he'll darn sure try to make certain that Depthcharge, who is within his grasp, doesn't get it. The claws come out again in an attempt to waylay the Aqua-bot. Sunder tries to ram into DepthCharge, without much success. "Oh and Autobot Tempo is going to win Silver, I think," The guy in the Kremzeek costume says. "That is good. I approve! I approve since beautiful robot girl will look good up on podium. Many highlights. Ha ha ha!" The crowd laughs along with Kremzeek. He has them eating out of his hand. This is a very successful marketing campaign so far. Hopefully the real Kremzeek doesn't somehow take offence to all this. "Oh and space sub still in it. Space sub has defeated soapdish robot! Wow! Kremzeek cannot believe it! I wonder how much money Six Lasers is losing due to people betting on space sub. Ha ha ha!" The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Tempo goes across the finish line and raises her hand in the air, even if she is feeling the pain as she slows down, it doesn't stop her from putting a smile on her face, which even with the chrome charred slightly, it still has a wonderful look to her features. She comes to a stop and off to the side, where she goes down on her knees at last to rest, coughing gently to get the ash out of her systems. Soundwave sadly has no one left to crash into. He strolls on ahead. :(Wheelie is running towards the finish line. Foxfire is still running. If he could, he would bite Soundwave. But he's not a mean fox. Sideswipe's attempted tackle is all for not.. but hey, He made it across befor that fricken sweep. He runs forward at his remaining pace. Wheelie and Depthcharge will be coming up soon and the race will be decided. Finishing it might be the diligent thing to do but hee'd much rather just have his fun and be done with it. DepthCharge is running too. He's pretty exhausted but glad he was able to both tackle Sunder and dodge the Sweep's retaliation. After this is all over he wants a nice, long, COLD recharge. Lava sucks. So do Lava planets. And especially tackling tape decks. Impulse keeps running... and he knows he's coming into dangerous territory again, coming up alongside Sunder. He could crash into him... but no. This time, he edges up neck and neck... and just pours on the speed. It's a question now of what will happen... and who will possibly take the bronze. Sunder is only focused on trying desperately to at least get the bronze. He does not see any benefit in trying to trip anyone now. He just grits his fangs and surges ahead, uttering a soft growl as he pumps all four limbs. Oh for the chance to place... The crowd is up on its feet as the Autobots pull off a bit of a comeback to take Silver and Bronze. Kremzeek for once doesn't have anything to say right now, and instead basks in the glowing warming glow of the audience's cheers. Oh Kremzeek is going to be getting a raise in his salary tonight! Kremzeek might even buy that moon he's had his eye on! With the race about to end, the mascot waddles on over towards Redshift, "Hooray, congratulations on your gold medal!" he says. "What you have to say for kids at home who want to be just like you when they grow up? Be quick! Commerical in 45 astrosecond! Bronze determination in 3 second! Quick!" Kremzeek checks his watch. The racers speed around the track.... The scoreboard lights up with the new race standings. Soundwave is still near no Autobots when the buzzer sounds. It's too bad. He totally would have pushed another one even after the end of the race. He turns and walks off the course, wondering about the ones that got away.. Redshift has finally made his way to a nearby podium, after trudging his way through adoring fans and the occasional angry bookie who just lost a lot of money. "Chill out, quick is my middle name!" Redshift says affably, still living off his runner's high and the rush of the victory. "They can't be like me, I'm a one-of-a-kind, they broek the mold when they made me!" And Blueshift, and all the others. "But I have to put a shout-out to The Decepticons who knocked out the competition, especially Catechism.. and my trainer slash pit crew, Scrapper. You don't MESS with the Decepticons!" Sunder saunters off the track, growling savagely. "This wasn't a race, it was more like a Hunt," he rumbles, "Only, I couldn't gnaw on the Prey." He's displeased that he couldn't keep Depthcharge or Tempo from placing, although his anger is somewhat placated by the Gold Victory of Redshift. At least a 'con took the top spot. Meanwhile, the Sweep looks around for Sideswipe. The two have unfinished business...which could probably be settled in a holo arena somewhere. Tempo slowly gets back up to her feet and still coughs gently, gritting her teeth a little in pain, but she seems to regain her composure, and makes her way to the podium, undoing her cable hair and shaking it out gently. The charred bits fall off revieling the the shimmering chrome once more, before she hooks it back into a pony-tail once more. Sideswipe brings up the tail end for the Autobots. The last one in red to cross the finish line.. but hey, he enjoyed every click of it, he smashed, droped, kicked, and otherwise just made general trouble for each and almost every 'con that made it past the first lap.He's blackened, he's burnt, he's got volcanic ash clogging his ari filters.. and he's feeling fine! He makes his way off the track, pumping a fist in the air excitedly to the crowd as he makes his way over to Tempo, halting outside of the press ring for the photo-op medel presentation. Wheelie just stands around after the race, obviousbly peeved off that he didn't get a medal. Wheelie glares at Soundwave with a look that could kill. Kremzeek beams and grins as Redshift explains why he is so awesome (not that Kremzeek can do anything /but/ grin). "Ha ha, Kremzeek learn that lesson now for good! No messing with Decepticons. Ok you off and have your oil test. Make sure you no hopped up on steroids. Ha ha! Just kidding, that's ok." The mascot pats Redshift on the back (he is about the size of a minibot) and moves over to Tempo. "Hooray for the Autobots! You took pain in lava but you still took Silver. What you have to say for children at home who want to fight evil and race on lava worlds like you?" Foxfire slows to a stop. He would be panting if he was organic. He staggers off the track, then simply collapses, exhausting. "Mmm...comfy..." DepthCharge staggers across the line and almost falls down also. Primus that thing was hard. He needs energon.. and ice.. and water. He gives a brief wave to the crowd when he hears that he came in 3rd, being a good sportsman and show man, and then activates his radio to talk to his fellow Autobots.========================= 2029 Olympics ==========================
Message: 37/6 Posted Author Results: Foot Race Fri Aug 08 Scrapper GLD: Redshift SLV: Tempo BRZ: DepthCharge 4th: Sunder Wheelie 6th: Impulse 7th: Foxfire 8th: Soundwave 9th: Sideswipe DNF: Catechism DNF: Americon ==============================================================================
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