"What is she doing?" a girl whispered.
"How long is she going to keep that up?" another added.
"What a weirdo," a boy said.
Their attention was on Nox, who since the beginning of the race had been constantly dancing without any set form or style. She heard their words but ignored them completely, she had a race to focus on.
"Jinsuke has retaken the lead but Reika is not far behind!" Matt shouted. The crowd was now a mix of cheers from the spectators enjoying the tense race for first and boos from those who wanted anyone but The Voyage to win.
Jinsuke was quickly approaching his dancing teammate. The tides were turning in their favor and this would be a massive help.
"Nox!" Jinsuke shouted as he jumped from the ground that he rode on.
Determined, Nox leaned out and the two touched hands as Jinsuke landed thus passing the race to her. Without a moment's hesitation, Nox turned and dove into the water.
"Well it's been fun talking to you," Hitsu said to Racer as he placed both of his hands on the track and lowered himself to one knee.
"Hey wait!" Racer said concerned, "You haven't gotten tagged in yet!"
Suddenly, the sound of rushing water erupted from where Nox entered the track.
"Tornado!" Nox shouted under the water. The wind-based dance that she had been charging the entire race was now immensely powerful. In an instant, Nox blasted off due to a massive swirling gust of wind firing out of her feet. Water was blasted into the air and in the few seconds it took Reika to reach Karen, Nox was already halfway across the water portion of the race.
"Damn," Karen growled as water still rained around her. She quickly swung her arms in a circular motion and in the blink of an eye now had five duplicates on each side of her body. She quickly kicked her legs and did the same. The extra limbs seemed to fit on her body naturally and despite the odd nature of the power, Karen still had an alluring aspect to her appearance. Now equipped with her extra limbs, Karen dove into the water after Nox. Using five arms and legs she was able to push through the rough waters with ease. She easily swam five times faster than a normal swimmer.
Nox's dance began to lose its power as the water's resistance gradually slowed her to a normal speed. Luckily for her, she was already nearly finished. Nox paddled as hard as she could and grabbed ahold of the ground at the end of the water portion.
"Incredible!" Matt shouted. "Nox is done with the water portion of the track in under one minute. But this race isn't over yet, and Karen is making great time as well!"
Nox pulled herself out of the water and tagged the back of Hitsu's foot. She then took a deep breath and submerged herself once again.
"Huh?" Racer said aloud.
Hitsu's entire body began to give off a pink glow and then he shot off at a high speed leaving a trail of light behind him. The wind blew from the force of Hitsu's running and some of the other runners covered their faces. Racer stood and watched with joy as Hitsu ran.
"Wow," she said excitedly, "he really is fast!"
As Nox emerged to watch and catch her breath, Karen reached the end of the water track.
"Racer!" she shouted as she reached out of a tag.
Racer quickly touched Karen's hand before turning and running.
"You might want to get down again," Karen said to Nox. The two quickly dove back under the water.
Racer took running steps forward at a normal speed before...
FWOOM
Racer's body shot forward like a bullet sending another large burst of wind behind her. Her arms and legs moved at a rapid rate as she ran after Hitsu.
"This is it!" Matt shouted energetically. "Hitsu has the lead but Racer has the speed advantage!"
He was right. Racer began to gradually gain on the pink blur ahead of her, but the finish line would arrive eventually. Would she be able to catch him in time?
Back at the swimming section of the track, Karen helped Nox pull herself out of the water.
"I can't believe I'm saying this," Karen said, "but Racer might lose a race."
"She's so fast," Nox said as she watched the broadcast feed. Racer had gained enough distance that she and Hitsu could be seen in the same camera shot.
"It's a simple power, but it suits her," Karen replied as she joined Nox in viewing the screen.
Across the track and across the world eyes were glued to the approaching end of the race. The members of both teams gathered by the nearest televisions to what reward their efforts granted them. Fans at home and in the arena watched with mouths agape, unsure of who would be the victor. The other teams, Futaro, and Koji all watched with a collective unspoken understanding, that these two would be their competition.
Even though Racer wasn't tired, she never was, she could hear her heart beating in her ear.
"This is it," she thought, "this is an actual race!"
She was gaining on Hitsu, less than two full seconds behind him. She was close enough now that she could see his face. For only a moment, he glanced back over his shoulder and smiled. Racer understood that he was happy she finally got what she wanted.
"Wow," Racer thought, "heroes... Really are amazing!"
With the finish line quickly nearing the two gave it everything they had. They somehow ran even faster as they were now nearly equal, running at almost the same speed.
"It's neck and neck!" Matt shouted. "Who's going to win?! Who's it going to be?!"
"I got so distracted by proving everyone wrong I almost forgot why I'm really here." Hitsu thought. "I'm a hero... Because I'm going to make everyone smile."
Racer pulled ahead, but then Hitsu did the same. Back and forth the two went, holding the lead by a matter of inches.
"Racer... I'm happy you could get the race you wanted. Win or lose, I'm going to give it my all. For me, for you, for our teams, for everyone..."
The two dashed closer and closer to the end. The finish line greeted them as they threatened to cross it in mere moments.
"...I'm going to do my best!"
The crowd roared as the racer's athletic battle neared its end. Cheers rang out from spectators across the track, across the arena, and across the world, and then...
...they crossed the finish line.
...
End of Episode 63