All Stars! 🌟 Start Your Engines!

Chapter 7 - Finish Line

"Are you sure this is going to work?" I asked Alex. We were both close behind Reala and what Alex was suggesting was pretty crazy and could cost us a lot.

"Reala won't know what hit him." Was Alex's response. I sighed.

"Alright, tell me when you're ready." My hands were hovering over the steering wheel which NiGHTS was now moving for me. I pushed one of my legs against the seat and prepared to spring up.

"Wait for it..." Alex held his hand up so I wouldn't jump. He was waiting for us to get closer to Reala. I rapped my fingers on the seat impatiently. The finish line was just ahead. "Okay, now!"

I jumped out of the car and landed in the back seat of Alex's motorcycle. NiGHTS detransformed. "Now that feels better. I was beginning to feel a little crammed." He flew over to Reala.

The red Nightmaren glanced over to see his brother just relaxing in mid-air. NiGHTS was laying down while flying, keeping up with Reala easily. "So, I guess this means you forfeit?"

"No," NiGHTS replied. "It seems as though you forgot that there's still one more racer left. Reala looked behind and a scowl left his mouth.

Alex and I came up right next to him. Reala rammed into the motorcycle, or at least tried to. I held my foot out, pushing the car outward to keep it from skimming the motorcycle. Reala tried to grab my leg. I kicked his hand up. Something blue glinted in the sunlight. I reached my hand out and caught it. It was the gemstone.

"Hey! Give that back! I'm warning you!" Reala shrieked. NiGHTS laughed at that.

I looked over at Alex. "It's all you now." He nodded and slammed his foot in the gas. Reala jumped forward, clearly angry at our antics.

We were neck and neck. It seemed so close that I wasn't even sure if NiGHTS could tell. As we both crossed the finish line, there was a sound of tires popping. "What was that?" I asked.

Alex took a quick glance to the side. "Look! Reala ran over something!" He quickly pointed. Reala was slowly descending as the air in her tires started to get released. In the tires were bits and pieces of plastic. A little red button popped out in front of us as we hopped off.

I picked up the button. "And this, kids, is why you don't leave stuff on the road. It could cost you a big win." I stated as I threw the button in the trash can.

"But how? I was so close!" Reala shouted.

"Some teamwork and a little luck can go a long way." I explained.

NiGHTS came over. "Alright Reala, a deal's a deal. Send all the Nightmarens back to Nightmare and leave the waking world."

Reala cackled. "You really think I'm going to keep that silly promise, brother? A race won't change anything!"

"What about not having an army?" Alex suggested.

Reala's eyes grew wide. "Not having what?" Alex pointed behind him at the stands. Hanging just above the ground were three golden cages. Instead of being full of spectators and racers, it had the Nightmarens trapped inside.

Now, Reala's eye was twitching. "Why those little-!" I grabbed him and sped over to the cage. I threw him in there. He finished screaming his thought. Whatever he did say, the other Nightmarens didn't seem too happy about it. I couldn't see him under the pile.

"Glad that's done." Tails dusted his hands off. "Those Nightmarens sure didn't know what hit them."

"But apparently, they also don't know who to hit." Shadow crossed his arms and took a glance at the cage. The Nightmarens had finished their fight. Reala day in the cage. He was bruised in quite a few places, and also looked very annoyed. "What do we do with them anyways?"