The Splat Zone resembled a grocery store with about 21 aisles, but the would-be service areas were replaced with pits of water. There were stairs to second-floor walkways, from which they could jump down onto the shelves or cross ceiling light platforms. The contestants started on opposite sides of the field.
"Bubbles, bubbles everywhere!" Millium was excitedly blasting a bazooka of bouncing bubbles, covering the register area with blue ink as the group scattered. Sinon rushed over to the stairs to take position on the walkway. Her rifle could cover the whole field, each shot exploding and drenching the surrounding area on impact. After shooting miscellaneous spots around the field, she tried to aim at Sogeman; none of the shelves had groceries, so she could target people through them. Sogeman stopped to shoot something, so Sinon took the shot and struck him. For taking what the game considered a "fatal shot," he was teleported back to the start.
"!" Sinon gasped when she saw missiles heading her way, running as they crashed behind her. "Man, I hate missiles!" She recolored the spots that they inked and retained a snipe position. "Whoa!" Another sniper tried to hit her from the opposite walkway: the bullet missed and burst against the wall behind her, drenching Sinon in pink ink. The culprit was Mine, the pink pigtailed girl. Sinon ducked down to wait for the ink to fade and scoot away from that position. Unfortunately, Mine's weapon had powered up, firing a Hyper Beam directly along Sinon's walkway, even piercing its barrier. Sinon decided to jump off the walkway and onto the lower ground. Since she had a power-up herself, she fired a small nuke up at Mine's walkway and managed to "splat" her with the explosion.
"Mayyouperish" was shooting a bazooka at Millium, who swiftly dodged backward in the aisle and bounced bubbles at her foe. Millium was being shot from the left, realizing "Constanyou" was behind the shelves and shooting twin pistols. Paint was being dumped over her from the shelves, for one of the Blue Team's members, Chadley, was standing atop them. He seemed to be a white-haired boy in geeky attire. Constan retreated and climbed one of the other shelves, getting level to shoot at Chadley. However, she was easily sniped by Sinon.
"So, getting 'killed' in the Turf War wouldn't log you out of the game." Fie observed. "It just sends you back to your starting point. Honestly, whoever tested that out was pretty gutsy."
"It still makes me worried." Morg said.
"Me, too." Nagisa agreed. "But nothing seems to be wrong so far."
The other Blue Team member, a rhino Mobian, jumped across the ceiling lights and shot ink down with shoulder cannons. Mine spotted and tried to shoot the rhino, but Millium surfed up to her under a river of ink and jumped out before bombarding Mine with bubbles. Mine retreated, but panicked as Millium encased herself in a glass ball. She climbed a shelf to escape the Ink Ball, so Millium rolled around and left a trail of ink. The ball exploded into a bigger ink mass, but it was then she was splatted by Constan. The latter was using an Inkjet to fly around and shooting strong shots everywhere. Sinon was unable to get a good aim on the fast-moving target, and the sniper ended up splatted by May. Mine shot down the rhino player.
With one minute remaining, Millium was frantically bouncing bubbles everywhere to cover as much ground as possible. Mine aimed her rifle through a shelf and tried to snipe her through them, her teammates rushing to fix Millium's damage. Sinon ran back to the walkways to cover up any uninked spots. She then jumped across the lights, watching as Chadley confronted Constan and splatted her. May engaged Millium, dodging each other's ink, while Sogeman got behind Millium and cornered her. She simply dove through the shelves as a squid, then tried bubbling them from behind. Mine was about to land a shot on her, but Sinon sniped the sniper first. Millium then splatted Sogeman.
Sinon smirked and saw Mine respawn at her base. She tried to shoot her as she stepped out, but Mine jumped back in her base, which was protected by a barrier. Chadley came to splash paint around their turf, leaving Sogeman to deal with him while Mine tried to shoot Sinon down. Sinon dropped to the floor in retreat, and the Pink Team desperately tried to recover the floor. Sadly, the timer ran out.
The Blue Team covered 50% of the field, while Pink Team covered 48%. The victors were decided. "Ha ha! That was awesome!" Nagisa cheered.
"Let's hurry back and meet up with them!" Goombella ushered.
Both teams retired to the prep room. "Phew, that was a good game!" Millium beamed, raising a hand. "Awesome job, enemy team!"
"Oh, boo!" Mine whined, leaving in a huff. "I'll get you on the next round!"
"We need more training before we attempt the boss." Constan said. "We can't afford to hold back."
"I believe we are making some fruitful progress." Chadley said, his tone rather matter-of-fact. "You are all very skilled marksmen."
"By the way… your username is Oz73, isn't it?" Sinon asked Millium.
"Yeah. So?"
"I think you're the one who-"
"Millium, is that you?"
They looked as Sector SA walked in. Millium's face grew brighter at the familiar silver-haired girl. "SLURMYYY!" The Inkling became a squid and sprung to the ceiling, reforming as she sat on Fie's shoulders. "Fie! I didn't think you got this game, too!"
"I didn't think you would make yourself tinier."
"The tinier, the hotter! Not like you bothered to change your look."
"I used to be a wolf, but that Infinite guy wiped my avatar. At least you don't seem down about this situation."
"Yeah, but it's not like I'm just having fun." Millium moped cutely, lightly swaying her feet from her perch. "A bunch of us are practicing to defeat the boss of this level."
"Might you lot be here to practice as well?" Chadley asked.
"We're sort of just exploring." Goombella replied. "But we would be glad to help out! Though marksmanship isn't really my strong suit." She felt no need to explain why.
"Perhaps a Head Cannon would best suit you."
"Head Cannon?"
"It's specially suited for those who chose the Goomba species. The developers thought of everything, you know!"
"Then, I guess I could give it a try."
"I'll sign up, too!" Nagisa cheered. "But, question: can we use our element bending in Turf War?"
"Unfortunately, bending is disabled during Turf War." Chadley answered. "But it would be beneficial against the boss."
"Who are you guys, anyway?" Millium asked.
"Sector SA. I'm Nagisa, this is Morgiana, Goombella, and Killua."
"He's not part of our sector." Morg said.
"Yes I am." Kill smirked.
"So, you're KND ops, too! Hehe, and you'll fit into our team with that blue hair of yours!" Millium patted Nagisa's head.
"I guess I will! But by the way, who is the boss of this floor, anyway?"
"The boss is some sort of horseback-riding Grim Reaper." Sinon replied. "Supposedly, he lurks in Dead Man Valley out in the desert. But get this…" she began to speak darkly, as if telling a scary story. "Whenever a match in Gun Gale seems to be going too long, with at most four players remaining, the Reaper will appear in the battle area. The players are alerted to his presence by the sound of galloping hooves. He swoops into the field and shoots any player that crosses his vision."
"But if he does that, doesn't he make himself vulnerable?" Killua asked.
"Not really. It's sort of like one of those hidden superbosses: they have high HP and strength, so you'd want to avoid it at all costs. We think the Reaper is more manageable in his actual boss room, but he's programmed to be stronger while on the field. The story reason is probably because he gains power from all the death that had occurred."
"But this was when the players weren't literally dying, right?"
"Yeah. Just when the avatars were derezzed."
"Fortunately, the Reaper can't appear in the Turf Wars." Chadley replied.
"That sounds like our kind of enemy, eh Naggy?"
"It sure does! Let's sign up!"
"You can take my spot for the next bout." Chadley said. "I'm eager to see what you can do."
Constanyou had gone to talk with Mayyouperish. "It looks like Sogeman left." May said. "If that group is entering, we can have the pink-haired girl fill in."
"I actually know these people." Constan said. "They'll be much more useful than Sogeman."
"He's probably only here for fun. I mean, not all of us are brave enough to face the bosses."
"What choice do we have? We can't leave if we don't fight them."
"I know that, but it's not like they're KND operatives like us. They just want to survive."
"I want to survive, too… but I'm not afraid to fight." Constan raised her guns proudly. "I will make it back to my friends!"
Elevator Tower
"Like, the dude wasn't invested in the story at all!" Kazma ranted to Eddy as they entered the tower. "He just kept babbling about unrelated bullshit and otherwise only cared about over-leveling himself and being flawless at the game. He even fucking spoiled the final boss for himself just so he could make a strategy! I liked him when he was strict about no spoilers, so what the hell happened?!"
"I mean, he was obviously confused by the story because he didn't play the previous entries." Eddy shrugged. "That's the problem when you only go for the newest games. Ugh, and when he got to the dramatic, emotional ending, he started clipping memes into the video!"
"God, that totally ruined the experience!"
"Are you two just going to rant about random Let's Players this whole journey?" Quill asked. "Because it's already annoying."
"Well, maybe you'll like this one." Eddy began. "Say you're playing a game with cute, likeable characters. You start to get attached to a particular one. But suddenly, that character sacrifices himself for another and loses his life in a sad, heart-wrenching twist. How would you react to that?"
"I mean… that would be pretty sad."
"Yeah, well a popular gamer says, 'Hahahahahahaha! He looked funny! Hahahahahahaha!'" Eddy stretched his mouth in a mocking annoying fashion.
"Dude, I know who that is!" Kazma exclaimed. "Yeah, screw that guy!"
"Eh…you made your point." Quill admitted. "But just stay focused."
The group picked an elevator with no one else inside and boarded it. As they rose to Floor 51, Quill received a call from Raleigh via the Friend Code. He clicked his screen as Raleigh's image appeared. "Hey, Quill! Are you guys still in the Dragon Towers?"
"We're in the elevator. We're heading to the kart-racing level on Floor 51."
"That's perfect! Carol was able to upload a certain somebody into the game, and she'll love the racing floor! I'll send her up right now."
"I'm pretty hyped for it myself." Quill cracked a smile.
"Speaking of Carol," Eddy began, "we and other computer users have been keeping in contact through texts. According to them, one of Sector AC's operatives was trapped in the game, but Uiharu sent an A.I. in to protect them, too. Hibiki from Sector KB sent an A.I. in. He's trying to find the place where all the comatose people are supposed to load. Index from Sector SA says that her team is also in here somewhere. Speaking of which, she and Carol remember Infinite from Azoth Kingdom."
"Yeah! I didn't have a chance to mention it, but he works for Dr. Eggman."
"Exactly. Once we get this info to GKND, they'll hopefully work out a plan to locate Eggman and stop Infinite from outside."
"Infinite's destruction would be highly welcome." Boly replied. "However, the collection of the Pure Hearts must still be priority."
"'Highly welcome'?" Carmine asked. "Hehe, I didn't think you were so spiteful!"
"Infinite has destroyed my programming and ruined my game. I believe users would feel such an emotion in a similar situation."
"Hey, I'm as spiteful as they come!" Miko agreed with a scowl. "Screw Infinite! I'mma pound him into the pixels!"
"Damn right!" Jenny smirked. "Any other operatives stuck in here?"
"A few of them." Eddy answered. "Though actually…eh, I guess that's not important."
"What's not important?" asked Quill.
"It's just that a few other sectors happen to be on missions of their own."
"What could be more important than this?"
"That's why I said it's not important! Sectors MG and IC are supposedly on 'quests' of their own, that's all I know. I guess that means they won't be able to help."
"We can worry about ourselves." Jenny said. "Though… hey, Kazma. Where are you logged in, anyway?"
"Just in my room, at my house. My folks haven't seemed to take my helmet off, yet, so… I assume they got the message."
"Maybe I could fly to your house to check on you." Eddy suggested. "Where do you live?"
"Whoa, I'm not giving you guys my address! I like you guys so far, but not enough for that."
"Yeah, that's true…"
"I guess I'll keep searching on my own." Raleigh said. "Let me know how it goes!" He hung up.
Miko released a sigh and returned to the window displaying the passing levels. "Man, that distracted me from all the cool scenery." She admired the sights of Floria, though hadn't noticed Lexi and Kalluto walking across the central garden. They flew by Myujen on Floor 49, a Christmas-themed town with bright trees and flying sleighs. Floor 50, Algade, appeared to be a jovial town of pirates and sea shanty music, the buildings made of wrecked ships and an ocean surrounding the town. But the elevator slowed to a halt once they were at Level 51.
They walked out into a vast parking lot packed with racecars, hearing engines roaring in the distance as players were either driving in or driving off. Roads wrapped around the valley like ribbons, leading to various stadiums or environments. "Sniiiiiiiiff…" Quill inhaled a long breath. "Smells like rubber…"
"You're weird." Kazma snickered.
"Shut up. So, can we just take any car we want?"
"It costs 200 Cor to rent a standard vehicle." Boly answered. "More improved models will cost extra. However, there is also a workshop in which players can construct their own vehicles, but individual parts will cost Cor."
"What's Cor?"
"Cor is the currency of Aincrad. You have been collecting Cor with each enemy successfully defeated."
"Oh, yeah." Miko checked her inventory. "We do have Cor! About 5,000!"
"And I've got about 10,000 on me." Kazma mentioned.
"Dang, we're rich!" Jenny perked up.
"In that case, I'm off to construct a car of my own!" Quill fist-pumped. "Why don't you guys look around for any operatives?"
"Boly, which way is the Pure Heart in?" Miko asked.
"It is approximately to the southwest."
"I'll bet finding it will entail some sort of race. Better make sure I craft the best darn thing I can!"
While Eddy accompanied Quill to the workshop, the team split up to explore the parking lot, with Carmine joining Miko. The bomber was happily skipping along the roofs of the cars. The sky was far brighter than it was on Dragon Towers, the sun beating down and reflecting off the polished cars. The kids had to squint their eyes with sun bouncing in every direction, though it didn't impede Carmine's carefree jumping. "You're really enjoying it here, huh, Carmine?"
"Haha, yeah. It just feels so nice to have skin again! The sun feels so nice, the air is so clean, and even when the ground feels rough, it feels so nice to walk on!"
"Aincrad is designed to feel comfortable and adaptable for any and all players." Boly replied. "It is satisfying to know you are pleased by the product."
"As pleased as we can get." Miko figured.
"Haha." Carmine sat and rested on a car. "I know we're on an important mission, but… after we get Aincrad fixed, I feel like I'll wanna spend more time here. Like, maybe when we go to sleep, I can just log in and spend the whole night like this!" She stretched all four of her limbs with a lively expression.
"You are quite interesting, Carmine." Boly said. "Unlike me, you are a mortal, and yet you possess high appreciation for common mortal attributes. I can conjecture based on your initial appearance that you possess a disability that weakens your usage of such attributes."
"That's basically it. It's not that I'm ashamed of how I look, but it's like you said… I love being able to feel things again."
"It really is an amazing game." Miko smiled as she stared at her reflection in the car window. "If it wasn't for Infinite, I would probably get lost in this game for years. This would've been my dream back in the day."
"Me_K.O., I am curious as to why you did not log in upon the game's release. According to President Kayaba's data, you are a very devout gamer who has topped numerous scores."
"Well… it's because I wasn't sure whether to trust this game. Hinobi's glitches hurt my new friends, and they were sort of mad at me because of it. Playing their games just didn't feel the same, anymore."
"Your 'new friends' have negatively influenced your perspective on Hinobi's creations?"
"Er, they…" Miko went silent, realizing that Boly was technically such a creation.
Carmine frowned, sensing that the Program's feelings were hurt. "Boly, a lot of Hinobi's Programs malfunction and try to hurt people. They were glitches just like Infinite's robots. But you're not a glitch. You're a nice Program and we're glad you're helping us."
"You are correct." Boly's eyes saddened. "Hinobi's creations are imperfect. I am also imperfect. President Kayaba believed this game would be the true key to perfection, and I was to ensure this. But due to Infinite's interference, I have failed."
"Boly, people aren't supposed to be perfect." Miko said comfortingly. "And the same goes for Programs. But when we have each other, we can make each other better!"
"That is also correct." The eyes lit up. "Now that you are here, Me_K.O., we can attain perfection."
Miko giggled at what she perceived as a compliment. "Friendship is power! But you don't have to keep calling me by my username, just call me Miko."
"Acknowledged… User Miko."
Jenny and Kazma talked to miscellaneous players, but none of them confirmed to be operatives. Kazma kind of had to keep up the pace as Jenny was rolling along. He was curious as to why most of these cars had antennas attached to the back of them, pulling one and releasing it to watch it vibrate out of boredom. "…?" But through the vibrating antenna, he spotted three familiar faces: Arnold, Rez, and Francis, each checking out some cars.
"What's wrong, Kaz?" Jenny backed up to him.
"Uh, nothing. Just thinking."
Jenny glanced to the trio in question. "Let's ask those boys!" She rolled over.
"Uh, actually…" he tried to stop her, but she was too quick.
"Hey, boys!" The three turned to the roller-blader. "You wouldn't happen to be KND, would you?"
"Pfft, do we look like KND?" Rez chortled. "…" He frowned as he looked up a bit and noticed, "Is that Kazma?"
"Kazma? Are you friends of his?"
"Barely." Arnold sneered.
Seeing he was already noticed, Kazma manned up and marched over to them. "So, how's beating the bosses going? You make any progress?"
"What's it to you?" Francis asked.
"Heh. Check THIS out." Kazma opened his inventory and extracted a large, golden "B" key.
"Whoa! Where'd you get that?!" Jenny exclaimed.
"It appeared after I touched that Pure Heart. But you were too distracted to see it appear. I'm thinking these are what the bosses are supposed to drop."
"So, you defeated a boss, good for you." Arnold said. "But we got this floor covered, so go find another one."
"Geez, what's your problem?" Jenny asked.
"He likes to talk smack about our friend." Rez answered. "I'm sure you've heard of The Guy."
"What guy?"
"THE Guy." Arnold clarified.
The boys proceeded to explain what happened to The Guy upon Infinite's takeover. "I tried to pay my respects." Kazma reminded. "I may not've liked his guts, but I'm not heartless."
"Whatever. Anyway, just leave us alone."
"Hey, cut the guy a break." Jenny said, folding her arms. "When we're in this situation, we shouldn't be fighting each other."
"That's why we're telling you to leave us alone. Go find another boss to beat."
"No, we got business on this floor. A friend of ours is really excited to race on this floor, so we're gonna. And we wanna find the boss while we're at it."
"Well, we called dibs on it. Besides, you don't even know where to look."
"I-…" Jenny stopped herself. Actually, she deduced the boss was guarding the Pure Heart, which means it was to the southwest… however, she couldn't just say that. "Wait, do YOU even know where to look?" She cocked a brow.
"Not exactly." Rez shrugged. "But we picked up a tip on how to find-"
"Shut it!" Arnold smacked his stomach.
"Oh, I see." Jenny smirked. "You know the trick to finding it, and I know where the boss is?"
"Pfft, no you don't!" Francis chortled.
"Then let's make a little bet. Or rather… let's have a race. If I win, you give me your info, but if you win, I'll give you mine. Otherwise, if we don't know the other's info, we won't be able to search for the boss."
"Hmm…I see where you're getting at. But what if you're lying?"
"Then Kazma and I will polish your vehicles if we are."
"Uh, the hell I am!"
"Well, it's not like I'm lying, anyway."
"Y'know, why not?" Rez replied. "We'll take you on. Is it just you or are you bringing a buddy?"
"What, can we bring 'buddies'?"
"Each kart is allowed to carry two people in a race." Francis replied. "They ride in a buddy seat and they can carry an additional item."
"Alright, then I'll carry one of my teammates."
"Fine then." Arnold complied. "I think they're holding a race over there, so let's join in. If you can beat the three of us, we'll share what we know. But if just one of us beats you, then you lose."
"Perfect. Let me just go consult with my mechanic."
Inside the workshop, Quill studied all the available parts as he formulated a vehicle in his mind. "So, it looks like I can only make karts fit for two people… which means I'd have to make three karts. Unless we all squeeze onto the seats. You might have to shrink your avatar's dimensions, Eddy."
"Nah, I'll just take my own car." Eddy said as he used a ladder to climb the wall of kart parts. "Unfortunately, I won't be able to hack this system like we did against Gaz." He curiously noticed a tire with a green "?" trophy. He collected said trophy. "Should've known Riddler would be in this game."
"Hacking or no hacking, I can handle any jerky racer."
"Yo, Quill!" Jenny rolled into the workshop. "I think I got a lead on the Pure Heart!"
"A lead? But we already know it's southwest."
"I know, but that doesn't mean we'll know how to find it. I ran into these three guys who have a clue on how to find the boss; and I'm guessing the boss would have the Pure Heart."
"Couldn't Boly just tell us how to find the boss?" Eddy asked.
"Depends if its memory works well. Either way, I'm up for a good race, anyway. So, I'm gonna need a good vehicle."
"Do you want a Safety on it?" Kazma asked as he walked in.
"A Safety?"
"I just asked those three what those antennas were on the karts. Those are Safety Antennas. They keep players from going off-road or crashing. They also make sure the vehicles land upright whenever you perform tricks."
"Oh…" Jenny frowned. "So… I guess if we crashed, we'd… lose a ton of HP, huh?"
"Ugh…Safety." Eddy scoffed. "That's why modern games suck, always a Safety Mode. But I'm guessing everyone has to use it if they wanna race without dying."
"Then I'd better put them on our karts." Quill said. "So, what kind of vehicle you want, Jenny?"
Airplane Valley Course
The race course was an actual airport with planes either stationed on the ground, suspended in the air, or at least flying in set paths. Francis was driving an orange motorcycle with a single, large wheel at the front. Arnold drove a car that looked like a large preying mantis. Rez drove a yellow jetcar. As for Jenny… well… the racers and audience members couldn't hold in their confusion or laughter.
Jenny was driving a pair of oversized skate shoes. In fact, there wasn't even a steering wheel: Jenny was standing on a pair of motion-sensor platforms attached to the shoes. Those platforms were also attached to a buddy seat for Miko to ride. "Pfft! You plan to race with THAT?" Francis laughed.
"What? The tagline in the store said, 'Any car we can imagine, so long as wheels touch the road.'"
"Darn right!" Miko smirked. "Heck, if this game gets updates, they'll let us drive trains!"
"Actually, there are trains." Boly replied. Indeed, one of the racers, a tall lean man with a Vulcan avatar, was grinning giddily while waiting in his miniature train kart. His username was "Sheldor."
"Even so, this kind of craft looks gyroscopically unstable." Carmine said. "Videogame physics are pretty convenient."
"But in that kind of position, you'll have to keep your body more active." Arnold said. "While we have the comfort of using wheels and gas pedals. Even with that Safety on, you'll be toast."
"Who says I don't have gas pedals?" Jenny asked, tapping her toes to the boost buttons in her shoes.
"Hah, good luck working with that~"
The other racers included a purple- and black-clothed helmeted person on a blue and yellow uni-motorcycle, a guy that looked like Speed Racer, and a bat Faunus driving a Batmobile. A Lakitu hovered over the Starting Line and held the stoplights. "One… two… three… GO!" (Play "Mario Kart Stadium" from MK8!)
Stage 3: H-Zero
Mission: Defeat the Guy Trio in the race!
Act 1: Airplane Valley
Jenny pressed the gas buttons in her shoes and sped forth, kicking her rollers along the road to add speed. There was plenty of open space around the airport, but Jenny screamed as an airplane zoomed toward them. The Safety steered them out of the way, watching as the plane took off. "Kinda thought they would just stay stationary!" The racers had to drift rightward to go around a wall of luggage, then make another drift left. Jenny tried to lift the right shoe into rolling along the wall, but the Safety simply kept her away from the wall. The racers hit their first line of ?-Blocks, in which Jenny earned three Red Shells, designed to home on other racers. "Perfect! Miko, you do the aiming!"
As the turn ended, they went up some surfboard ramps, the racers doing flips to gain brief speed boosts, though Miko noticed the unicycle racer land on a treadmill along the right to go faster. Regardless, Miko shot a Red Shell at Arnold and stunned him, allowing them to pass. She shot another at Francis, but he used a Green Shell to shield himself, so the third Red Shell was used to knock him back. The racers had to go up a ramp that rose from the port: their gliders would automatically activate as they took flight to the sky. "Whooooaaaa!" As they flew directly toward a plane, they all curved upside-down and drove along the underside. "Heeeey! Why did the world flip?!"
"Gravity Zones!" Quill observed. "They pulled out all the stops with these courses!"
Disoriented for a bit, Jenny seized another ?-Block, earning a Green Shell, though not a handy item to have in 3rd place. As they crossed the plane, they had to veer off onto the left side in order to line up with the underside of another, vertical plane. "Jenny! Shortcut!" Miko alerted, seeing a series of far-apart small planes leading to a control tower. Jenny twisted her boots to make the jump to this route-
"WHAT?!" The Safety immediately stopped her. As she tried to readjust herself, the other racers zoomed right past. "You mean the Safety won't let us take shortcuts?!" She scrambled to catch up to the pack, Miko deciding to ditch the shell. They landed on another plane and had to steer to its roof, from which they could enter the hull of an airship. Jenny performed drifts to go up the winding stairs of the ship, ramming the Batkid as he was stopped by a banana peel. They grabbed another item as they exited the ship, having to bounce some planes downward toward the control tower. The tower had a Grav Path leading down it, in which Jenny seized a ?-Block. She earned a Super Star, designed to grant them invincibility and speed them up.
She immediately activated it as they zoomed toward a vent in the building's roof: the players were forcibly shrunken to enter the vent, later to drive on a conveyor belt inside. The tiny racers dodged around gigantic luggage, Jenny striking Sheldor, and she saw a shortcut to the left where they could jump the top of floor-level luggage. Sadly, the Safety forced her to stay on track, with Sheldor passing her. Jenny growled and tried to catch up as her Star wore off. They drifted left onto another belt, then would have to curve right to get off it as they returned to normal size. They crossed the Starting Line as Lap 2 began.
"You know what, screw the Safety! Miko, tear it off!"
"You sure?"
"Absolutely! I survived worse races than this!"
Miko nodded and tore the antenna off. Jenny saw an item block toward the left and turned to grab it whilst dodging a rolling plane. She earned the Blue Shell and decided to let it loose, the spiked shell making a siren sound as it sought the lead racer. It ploughed past Sheldor as Jenny passed him. She got another item before reaching the surfboard ramps, leaning rightward in order to land on the treadmill shortcut, which had Dash Panels to speed her up. She was able to pass the Speed Racer wannabe and get 5th place before making the flight to the airplanes. Her current item was a Place Swap, but she waited to fire it. She was intending to take the shortcut across the mini planes and reach the control tower faster… until Speed Racer used a Blooper item to ink the other racers' vision. "AAH! I can't see!"
"Jenny, just stay on the track!" Miko yelled, only one eye covered. "Keep going straight—now lean right, lean right—okay, go straight again!"
They got into the airship as the ink ran out, Jenny performing drifts to get up the stairs, but she was able to pass Francis. They saw Rez in the process of jumping planes toward the tower, so Jenny fired the Place Swap and struck him. Rez was taken off-guard as he warped backwards, accidentally falling off a plane. Luckily, his Safety triggered a balloon to carry him back to the airship. Jenny was in 3rd by the time she reached the tower, earning another Red Shell Trio. They shrank to enter the vent, followed by the luggage conveyor as Miko judged the best time to shoot at Arnold. She first wanted to take the shortcut to the left, but Rez suddenly caught up and blasted fireballs, destroying Jenny's shells and stunning her in place. Rez laughed and passed her, and Jenny growled as she was forced to stay on the main track again.
As she drifted onto the second conveyor, Jenny noticed a hidden path on the left that sloped down under the belt and would give her a ?-Block. She earned a Triple Mushroom, using the first one to speed up as they entered Lap 3. Crossing the port, Miko spotted a route to the right, but since it was covered in mud, it would slow players down. Their mushrooms could grant the boost they needed to cross the mud, going up a Flight Ramp that would glide them over the luggage drift zone. They passed Rez, seized another ?-Block, and leapt up onto the treadmill to boost them further. Sadly, the item block only gave them Triple Bananas. The 2nd place Arnold appeared to have a Bob-omb, dropping it on the Flight Ramp in attempt to hurt them, but Jenny expertly dodged and launched off the ramp. With a nicely aimed shot, Miko launched a banana at Arnold midflight, causing him to plummet.
His balloon would return him to safety, but Jenny bypassed him. Though the unicycle racer was still ahead, it was enough to be ahead of the boys. Still, it seemed that said racer was taking the shortcut across the small planes, so Jenny braved the odds and followed their example. She bravely leapt the planes and reached the tower whilst skipping the airship zone. They seized an additional item block, and Miko dropped another banana outside the vent. Once they entered the luggage zone—"WHOA!!" They were struck by a Blue Shell as it zoomed through. They regained their selves in time and acquired enough speed to jump the large luggage. They watched as the Blue Shell struck the lead racer, so Jenny was able to pass her upon crossing the shortcut. Said racer tossed a banana directly ahead of them, but Jenny dodged and hit the Finish Line. (End song.)
"Ha HAAAA! Holy frick, we came in First!"
"Way to go, girl!" Miko cheered, double-fiving her friend.
"YAHOOOO!" Carmine screamed, being the first to run up and congratulate them. "I was afraid you weren't gonna make it!"
"Dang, that was incredible!" Quill exclaimed.
The unicycle rider came in second. Francis used a Bullet Bill to bypass his friends and hit 3rd, and Speed Racer passed them with a Star to hit 4th. Arnold got 5th and Rez 6th. "Alright, a deal's a deal." Jenny stated. "You have to tell me what you know."
"Come on, that wasn't fair!" Francis argued. "You took the Safety off!"
"Since when was that a rule?" Kazma asked. "If anything, you cheated by having it on! So, tell us how to find the boss!"
The boys shared a look with one-another. "Fine." Rez decided. "All we know is that you have to hit some switches on one of the tracks. We're trying to figure out which track it is."
"It isn't just one track." A girl's voice spoke.
They turned to the helmeted unicycle racer. They pulled off their helmet, revealing to be a preteen girl with brown hair. "There's a switch on four separate tracks."
"And who're you supposed to be?" Francis asked.
"I'm Demetra. I've been exploring the tracks myself, and I found this." She displayed a holographic map, depicting four tracks with numbers beside each, and they were within crystal shapes. "It's a map I found inside the Mall Course. I recognize the four tracks on it. I wasn't sure what the crystals meant at first, but taking your switch clue into consideration, that must be it."
"So, we need to play those tracks and find the switches!" Quill deduced.
"Actually, I tried to explore the tracks myself, but I couldn't find them. But I only played them individually. So, my theory is the switches will only appear if we play all four."
"Oh, I get it!" Francis beamed.
"Get what?" Eddy asked. "I'm not sure I follow."
"Instead of doing multiple 3-lap races," Demetra explained, "players are allowed to compete in one, long race across four tracks. When this happens, different routes can appear on the tracks. That's probably what we'll need to do."
"Then we'd better hurry and reserve those tracks." Arnold suggested.
"Ah-ah." Demetra stopped him. "These guys beat you, so they get to go sign up first. I'm sure they'll be available though~" She passed a wink to Miko.
"Uh…okay? We'd better go then."
Miko rode on Jenny's buddy seat, Kazma rode on Quill's kart, and Carmine on Eddy's. Demetra was following them on their way back to the workshop. Demetra showed them the sign-up terminals and pointed out the tracks in question. "Ah! There're plenty of spots open." Quill said. "Then we just need to click these four… select 'Combined Track'… and sign our names. Perfect!"
"But how will we know where the switches appear?" Carmine asked.
"We'll have to stay behind one-another to have more chances of getting them. If the first racer misses, the second can get it. Though I guess these guys can help us, too."
"Still got room on those sheets?" Arnold asked as his group walked in. "If we get the Boss Door opened, we're going in first."
"I guess it technically doesn't matter who fights the boss-" Miko said.
"No, it has to be us." Kazma stated. "We're the ones who're gonna fix this game."
"Hah, you?" Rez retorted.
"Yeah, us. So, sit back and enjoy your Safety Mode."
"Hey, what's goin' on over here?!" a cheery, but nasally voice called.
"Alert! Unregistered glitch detected!" Boly shouted.
The group looked over at a very short racer wearing a white sweater with cyan edges and matching helmet, standing beside a candy kart. "Vanellope?!" Quill recognized.
The candy girl tapped her helmet and dematerialized it, revealing her smirk and big narrowed eyes. "I hope I'm not la—te to the party!" She stalled and flashed for a second.
"No, you're just in time!" Eddy said. "I should've figured Raleigh was sending you!"
"Raleigh? …I mean, yeah! Who else did you expect?" Vanel played along.
"Dangerous glitch detected!" Boly yelled. "Terminate immediately!"
"Boly, she isn't dangerous! She's another friend of ours!" Miko said.
"Not… dangerous?"
"Let's get you signed up, too, Vanel!"
"Yeah?" Vanellope approached, her body glitching as her pupils briefly flashed eye symbols. "What're we signing up for?"
"We'll tell you on the way there."
Eddy knelt down and whispered to her, "Don't tell those other guys, but we sort of know a way to fix the game."
"Wow, really?"
Somewhere else
"They have a way to fix the game, they say?" XANA asked himself. "How concerning… perhaps this has to do with the strange heart Love Machine mentioned. Lucky for me, these kids seem to be acquaintances of hers. Let's hope Wanellabee can keep this act up long enough."
Gun Gale
Goombella bit onto a wire attached to her Head Cannon, shooting a jut of pink ink. "I think I'm used to it! Let's test it out on the field!"
"All right." Morgiana said, wearing ringlet cannons on her legs. Thrusting a leg forward, she fired some pink ink. "Let's head to our starting areas."
The two of them were paired with Constanyou and Mayyouperish while Nagisa's team had Sinon, Killua, and Millium. "My school played paintball once." Nagisa said, tossing his twin pistols around. "I was pretty good at it, so I think I'll do fine here!"
"I'm not really into paintball." Sinon said.
"Well, you seem to be into Splatoon."
"Because I don't really have a choice at the moment. All I'm saying is, between paintballs or ink… they're not the same."
"When did you get so sour?" Killua asked.
"So, you like more mature games with 'real' guns." Nagisa figured. "I mean, that's fine and all, but that doesn't stop these kinds of games from being fun."
"It's not about 'liking' them…" Sinon mumbled.
"Huh?"
"Forget it."
As both teams stepped onto the field, Fie, Chadley, and some others watched from the audience. The world seemed to glitch. "Hm? That's strange."
"You felt that, too?" Fie asked.
"Yes… and it appears the timer has been extended." He indicated the Turf War's timer, now reading 15 minutes.
"Yikes… that feels kinda long for one match. Maybe I'll just take a nap." Fie lied down on her seat and relaxed.
The players remained relatively unaware of the extended timer, as nothing else seemed wrong. But they remained more unaware of the grim-looking figure that briefly glitched into being outside the field.