Shut Up and Drive

Ibex Cup Racetrack - Ibex

Home of the famous Ibex Cup race, this racetrack has hosted Cybertron's finest racers. A hall of statues lines the promenade leading up to the track. Among those honored with statuary are Blurr, 16-time winner of the Ibex cup, a strange red and white racer with a finned helmet, and a white and black six-wheeled racecar whose statue is posed in an action pose of creating an earthquake. Around the track are comfortable stands and many beverage vendors, which all sell healthy energon, low in gunky additives, guaranteed to clean out clogged lines. Other vendors sell souvenirs made from recycled parts to produce hand-crafted artisan gifts.

This particular solar cycle is a very special cycle in Ibex. The streets are bustling with preparation for the big racing event the city-state has decided to put on. Merchants hurry to the track to get first pick of customers, and the various shops are preparing for the rush! Mechs from all over Cybertron are going to be flocking to this event--terrestrial racing had always been a major part of Cybertronian culture. And guess who had a starring role in that for the final parts of it before the war caused the planet to erupt into chaos?

Yep, that's right, Blurr.

And that's why today is such a special day, because it's the 5th millenium anniversary of his first Ibex Cup Championship. Yes, they really have been keeping track for that many vorns, because they practcially worship the speedster. After all, he was the last remnant of the sport they so dearly loved!

So they've invited him here to celebrate the anniversary by presiding over an open-roster race. And the reward? The winner will have the opportunity to compete against the racing legend himself one-on-one...and probably get beaten by him, but seriously according to these guys, just being on the track with him and him alone is amazing enough already.

Down by the starting line, a group of Ibexians are giving the various potential contestants the look-over to make sure they qualify for the race, though they won't be doing any in-depth scans, so a mech probably wouldn't need to be all that sneaky to get past them even if he didn't really qualify.

Grapple has absolutely no idea what he was doing here.

Honest, he just came over to look at the Ibex racetrack itself! Surrounding buildings has been built to give the track itself such a focus that it was practically it's own category of architecture; Grapple just loved all the little minute details that made a building what it was. So much culture could be picked up by the way a wall is built, after all.

But then Grapple went and wandered to the racetrack, curious about all the hubub. Then a number got taped on him. Then someone just pushed him to the other contestants. Next thing he knew, he was being scanned. Uh-oh.

Race: Grapple joins the race.

Pink Techcar  idles at the starting line, her motor occasionally reving. The techcar is in as good a shape as ever, her tires even refitted for the special race. She muses to herself, "Haven't ever been on a track, but there's been more than enough intra-Cybertron pipe running experience to work with. I should really get an engine overhaul...." Her headlights pop up.

A few mechs in the audience let out mechawolfwhistles.

""Ugh, Petrolpigs....Alright, Ready to do this!"

"Oh relax Elita," Sandstorm's voice comes from the jacked up buggy at the line next to her. "Just keep going forward and smash anything that gets in your way. It's not hard." An extra thick plume of exhaust belchs out of his exhausts as he revs his engine a few times, but no sand spewing sprays. Yet.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ibex! It's supposed to be the racing capital of Cybertron, right? So how come Zipline feels a little uncomfortable being on the Ibex race tracks?

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline probably stands out a little as being one of the smaller racers. And being one of the racers who are actually using their legs instead of wheels. She fidgets on her feet at the starting line, shifting one from one paw to the other. Her tail gives a bit of a flick now and again. It's probably just excited twitches; there's some big names in this race after all. It'd be hard to tell one way or the other by how she acts.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Not gonna find any illegal equipment on this chasis," Zipline says to one of the bots working the scanners. "All this sweet gear and totally legit."

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline lifts her head to look at Sandstorm next to her. Then rears back on her hind legs to look past him at Elita. "And just don't even worry about the others trying to do the same to you!" Zipline adds helpfully. "Just slag 'em if they try."

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> has to have an eye on this, and given that she has to observe, she may as well participate. Carjack gave her a car mode for whatever inscrutable reason of his. It's a pretty fast car mode, too, but nothing to write home about. She rolls up to take her place, engine idling.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> ... is trying not to feel rather... sick as he takes in all this revolting Blurr-adoration. He's been wanting to purge his fuel pump ever since he got here. All this Blurr love is just.... ***ugh***. It's taking all the Combaticon's self-control not to just start flailing and shooting at anything that even remotely *reminds* him of the speedster. So why is he here at all? He figures it's an opportunity... for one, to watch Blurr's behavior when he doesn't *know* Blast Off is around, perhaps learn things about Blurr from the other racers, and, more importantly, to sneak his way into close proximity to the speedster.

<p class="MsoNormal">He'd LOVE to beat Blurr at the final race, then reveal his true identity AFTER he won... ha ha ha, how *sweet* that would be. That is... if he doesn't just use his close proximity to shoot the Autofool when he's not looking. Take out Blurr right here on his own racetrack.... the wonderful irony! So for now, the Combaticon shuttle sits near the start line, holo disguised as... a ground pounder. ...

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">This is SO humilating. He can't believe the depths he's sunk to, to even *try* this.... but destroying Blurr would make it worthwhile. For now, thanks to the holo disguise.... he looks like a black hovercar with yellow stripes. Named "Streamline". One who hasn't spoken much. Because really, what's he gonna say? How he *admires* Blurr or something? HA....

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> joins the race.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> isn't entirely sure why she's doing this, but she supposes she doesn't need a serious reason. After this past week, she kind of needs a fun day. And after trying to get through Ibex traffic to get here, which is not much different than trying to drive in Miami, she needs a little fun.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- +Grapple                      5   0   NEUTRAL        -- +Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      5   0   GUARDED        -- +Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 6  0   AGGRESSIVE     -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     8   0   GUARDED        -- Zipline                      8   0   AGGRESSIVE     -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 9  0   FEARLESS       -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    10  0   GUARDED        -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">And the green holobar drops, the racers peel out, and Elita One is there with them! Almost instantly she roars a bit off to the side, fishtailing a bit as she dodges Sandstorm, "Not exactly nervous, Bots, but thanks for the reassurance." The Femme Commander starts to drive a bit up the side of the curved wall, dodging a strangely placed block in the road. "Obstacles eh? Now suddenly I'm more interested!" She guns it a bit further, able to cut loose for once and maybe just relax a bit.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">The mechs scanning the contestants let Zipline and everyone else through with a wave of the hand. Blast Off they kind of look slightly suspicious at, but finally let through because he must just be a hovercraft like Blurr is! And yes, truly there is a LOT of Blurr admiration. Statues, figurines, posters...

<p class="MsoNormal">And when he comes to step out onto the platform above the track where the Ibex Cup used to be, the crowds roar and squeal with delight, chanting his name. He waves and smiles, then without hesitation gives the signal for the race to begin. The barriers at the front of the track fly up, and a loud siren signifies the beginning of the race!

<p class="MsoNormal">And the light goes green! And people start cheering! And Grapple... Finds out that tires made for construction zones are actually really good for race tracks. Who knew? Maybe it's the grip or something.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">So right now, Grapple's spirits are pretty darn high, even though he has no real idea why he didn't protest joining in the first place. And -- oh. "Hello, Arcee!" Chipper! Cheerful! Friendly!

<p class="MsoNormal">...And then he almost rams right in to one of the blocks placed in the road. Whoops.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is seriously not pushing the issue. Matter of fact, she's probably holding back quite a bit, just to 'troll' the fine people of Ibex. Hell, someone has to be comic relief. She can be a real instigator, sometimes. "Hi, Grapple!" she greets, pulling alongside him. "Nice day for a race, isn't it."

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> hits the gas when the go signal is given, but doesn't open it up full out just yet. He's been in enough races to know you need to have some sense of pacing or just burn all your energon and get nowhere fast. "Don't lag behind too long guys!" He calls back to Arcee and Grapple as he pulls ahead of them, but the real speedsters are already getting well in front.

<p class="MsoNormal">But then again, since when did the Wrecker ever get involved in these things to -win-

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> might have a built-in rocket-boost. You know, maybe.

<p class="MsoNormal">...

<p class="MsoNormal">Yeah, she does, which is why she's right behind "Streamline". Is she the only Decepticon here? Are people mistaking her for a Blurr fan because she is blue? She doesn't care. It's just her and the track, tonight.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> isn't really even trying hard, yet... and easily pulls out ahead of the others. Well, *naturally*. He's just that *amazing*, after all. Though... who's this? Contrail, coming up behind him? Heh, figures that the first and second position in this race so far have gone to the Combaticons/Decepticons... because *they* are just that good. Poor Autofools. Blast Off doesn't attempt to engage her in any conversation, however, since, unlike her, he's in disguise. Wouldn't want her to give away his identity, even by accident. No, he just concentrates on winning the race. Got a job to do here, and enduring all this Blurr adoration better slagging be worth his while at the end, ya know? Gah.

<p class="MsoNormal">All four of Zipline's legs tense as she settles back at the starting line. She half crouches, looking like she's about ready to pounce her way out of the starting line. Only the flicking of her tail behind her realy betrays the nervousness that she's beginning to feel. And when the signal is given, she practically /does/ pounce her way out of the starting line. But when her front legs hit the ground again, she is off like a bolt, speeding down the track with all four legs hitting the ground in quick succession.

<p class="MsoNormal">Obstacles? Where'd they come from?! Zipline is moving too fast to outright dodge one, but no one said she HAD to. She lunges up on top of it, then leaps off of the obstacle. To land right on top of Elita One's hood. Zipline should really should watch where she leaps. "Whoops, coming through!" She bounces off again, lunging to the side of Elita. "Don't mind me!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Aaand they're off!" Blurr announces as the racers take off down the track. "Streamline is in the lead, with Contrail right behind him!" The crowds cheer just at hearing his voice. He gives them a half-smile. "Hey, who is this 'Streamline' guy, anyway? Never heard of him! Lucky rookie, eh?"

<p class="MsoNormal">And oh, looks like there's another commentator up there, probably the usual guy who talks on the channels. "Primus Blurr, I dunno--maybe he's trying to prove he's your #1 fan! Hahah!" A generalized chuckle comes from the audience, and Blurr smirks as well.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well! Maybe so. I'm wondering if anyone's going to start playing dirty yet, after all, there's a Decepticon down there!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>       15  0   GUARDED        -- Grapple                      17  0   NEUTRAL        -- Zipline                      19  0   NEUTRAL        -- +Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 2  1   FEARLESS       -- +Pink Techcar <Elita One>     3   1   FEARLESS       -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 10 1   FEARLESS       -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    10  1   GUARDED        -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> almost laughs as Zipline seeks a landing pad on her hood, "Not bad, not bad. Just watch the hood, Zipline." Of course in mere moments, the cheetape has cleared here and moved on up ahead. She swerves out of the way of a small pool of water, her left tires splash into it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Moments afterwards, she finds Sandstorm at her side. "What made you decide to jump into this, Sandstorm? Didn't think you'd be a Blurr fan." She guns it a bit more, flashing her taillights as she tries to overtake the Wrecker.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> is still dogging "Streamline". Who is he, anyway? (Speed Racer's older brother?) She drifts left and right, trying to get a better look at him. Contrail doesn't think she'll be passing him, though. He's just a *little* too fast...

<p class="MsoNormal">She reviews her weapons loadout again.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> weaves back and forth a few times, mostly for his own amusement. But that doesn't last for very long. Which would probably be why he whips a 180 and when he pulls up alongside Elita it's driving in reverse. "Blurr fan? The glitch you talking about? Races just tend to get pretty wild on the track." Why else would he be here? Tires screech as he spins himself around to face forward again, and then punchs the pedal to the metal fully.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Grapple is... Now waaay in the back. And he actually doesn't seem to mind. "This is surprisingly enjoyable!" Is the response to Arcee, as he swerves around another obstacle. A look around; the two of them have actually fallen so far behind that they couldn't really catch up even if they wanted to. Maybe. He tries to zoom up. "I lack the engine for this." He sounds more amused than anything else.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, but then he spots Elita One further up the track. "HELLO ELITA!" ...Now he's just goofing off.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is trying to seem perfectly harmless, and she's also pretending to be trying the very best she can be. Neither of which is even remotely true. Those who don't realize she's an effective sniper in battle probably just think she's a silly bimbo with not nearly enough nitro in her tank for this challenge.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Hello, Grapple."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Grapple sounds giddy. "This is as fast as I can go!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Get inventive, I think I've spotted four shortcuts so far, you're the architect.  Use your know-how"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "Don't count Grapple down just because of his vehicle mode. That guy won a drinking contest after all."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Did he now?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Grapple says, "I have no memory past the second drink."

<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as Zipline hits the ground again, she's off like a shot. "Catch you on the flip side!" Zipline shouts back at Elita One, while bounding off ahead of her. But the cheetah's attention is on the bots ahead of her. "That's a lame sort of fast," She mutters, glowering irritably. Her cannon materializes on her back, which slows her somewhat already. But she doesn't let that stop her. Instead she levels the end of it just ahead of the front racers. The cannon charges briefly, and begins firing a couple of shots just ahead of one of the racers ahead of her - Less trying to hurt them, more trying to just make them mess up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline misses Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her Experimental Mini-Railcannon attack! [Pulled -4]

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> notices Contrail starting to check him out... (and I mean that in a completely and totally *professional* way, by the way...) He hears Blurr talking about him over the broadcast system.... uh oh. He'll have to be careful when he wins and they want to speak with him. (Of course, he believes he's going to win- this is already in the bag, right?) His engines grumble a bit at the mention of "must be Blurr's #1 fan", but he doesn't have too much time to think further about it- a cannon shot comes racing towards him from somewhere behind... but the shuttle sees it coming and banks to the right, continuing on his way. Heh.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- +Grapple                      3   1   AGGRESSIVE     -- +Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      3   1   NEUTRAL        -- Zipline                      7   1   FEARLESS       -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     10  1   GUARDED        -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 10 1   FEARLESS       -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    10  1   PROTECTED      -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 14 1   AGGRESSIVE     -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">I've been looking for a driver who's qualified, So if you think that you're the one step into my ride

<p class="MsoNormal">I'm a fine-tuned supersonic speed machine, With a sunroof top and a gangster lean

<p class="MsoNormal">Elita One takes a sideramp up off the main road and instantly regrets it. Large obstructive posts start thrusting out of the ground, causing her to dodge them repeatedly, putting her into a fishtail at the end. She calls out and aside to Sandstorm, now below her. "Well this IS Blurr's celebratory race here, Sandstorm. I'm in it as a show of comradarie between departments, but sure, if you're just here to get some roadrage going, then I'd better stay out of your way, eh?"

<p class="MsoNormal">With that, she clips one of the posts on her side, sending her into a spin. The high road ends with authority, as it just ends right there. She hits the air in full spin, then hits the ground four lengths ahead of Sandstorm, her tires squealing. "Well that was interesting."

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Whoa! Well there they go, just like you said, Blurr!" The other commentator exclaims. "A couple of shots from the feline down there, but Streamline's too fast for 'em!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr nods. "I knew it would start getting dirty at some point!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"So Blurr, are you rooting for anyone in particular, besides just your team in general?

<p class="MsoNormal">"Actually, I'm kind of hoping a neutral will win. You know we 'Bots are in full support of factionless mechs just wanting to make a living doing the thing they love." he says with a winning grin. "Without getting blown up."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well, we'll see how this goes, we're all looking forward to seeing you race again, Blurr!" The crowd roars its approval at these words. "Whoa, take a look at that! Contrail is catching up to Streamline! Looks like it's neck and neck! This is gonna be a good one, Ibex!!!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> swerves to avoid a cannonball that comes thundering by, focusses on regaining her forward drive, and... "Hi."

<p class="MsoNormal">That's Streamline she's next to. "Big Blurr fan, huh? Blast Off says he knows you and wants you alive, which means one of two things... either Blast Off's friends with a neutral or an Autobot *or* if you're a Decepticon, that you're displaying treasonous taste in racers. Which is it?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">A low 'hmm' comes from Grapple as he keeps zooming along. The racetrack did have obstacles and a few shortcuts here and there; maybe he could use that to his advantage. Make this more interesting, and maybe -- MAYBE -- not end up in dead last place? Not that he would mind either way, but it might be nice!

<p class="MsoNormal">So, while he's moving along -- and avoiding another large rock -- he spots... Hmm. This as either going to be fabulous or hurt very badly.

<p class="MsoNormal">A rock is set at a slant; he guns it and drives on it like a ramp. AIRBORN CRANE. Somehow, Grapple manages to twist mid-air until he's... Driving on the wall. Then his crane arm latches on to some piping further up the track, and pulls himself FASTER.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Roadrage nothing. You should see the races on Velocitron." When Elita hits a pole and starts to spin out the Wrecker veers to the side to avoid her.

<p class="MsoNormal">By getting his left wheels against the retaining wall and angling up against it, propping himself up on the right pair to squeeze past both Elita and the batch of obstacles.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> strikes Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her J'Accuse! attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is just...biding her time, biding her time. Not wanting to look too terribly suspicious, she accelerates...just a little bit, though. Because there's racing going on, right? That's what this is about!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">And Zipline's shot goes wide. And not only that, but taking the shot cost her some speed. She grumbles at herself as both Elita and Sandstorm passes by in her attempt to slow down the front racer. "Forget that. Time to burn some energon!"

<p class="MsoNormal">The cannon dematerializes from Zipline's back, and the effect is almost instant. Without the cannon, she's already moving a bit lighter. Energy lines along Zipline's midsection glow slightly as she draws energy from her kenetic generator, and pours the energy into her movement systems. She strains them harder with the extra energy, and piles on the speed, legging it as fast as she can manage it. With her smaller size, she might even be able to squeeze between them easier!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> has been spending too much time worrying about what he's going to do WHEN he wins the race and not enough time worrying about the fact that he hasn't actually WON it yet. And it costs him, as Contrail pulls up. He still doesn't answer, not wanting to give himself away, but then she attacks! She is fast, and for once the speedy shuttle just doesn't have to time to evade her. The attack sends him flying into the track side with a crash. "GAHHH!" He finally radios her, << Slaggit, Contrail, I told you NOT to attack him! I mean...>> He sighs before he says "I mean ME", not wanting to explain further, and revs up his engines, trying to get back into the race. In the meantime, others are probably racing by, leaving him in their dust.... OH the HUMANITY.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- +Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      3   1   NEUTRAL        -- Grapple                      7   1   NEUTRAL        -- Zipline                      14  1   GUARDED        -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     15  1   PROTECTED      -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 15 1   PROTECTED      -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 1  2   PROTECTED      -- +Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    2   2   FEARLESS       -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail>'s machineguns waft smoke that is left far, far behind her. When Streamline doesn't answer verbally, she's more than prepared to make this a hit and run. But she gets a curious local radio from Blast Off. Once Contrail realizes that she has pulled ahead, she starts driving more cautiously, trying to avoid these jagged rocks that are strewn over the track. How rude!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, hey, Grapple caught up with Arcee again! "Hello, Arcee!" ..He's still driving on the wall. It takes a few seconds for his crane arm to let go of the piping on the wall -- and only because it ENDS -- and he rather quickly starts dropping down.

<p class="MsoNormal">... And swerves erratically. Cranes are not meant for stunt work. And, oh no, he's a little too close to Arcee!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple strikes Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> with his Ram attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">"Well would you look at that! Contrail's just slammed Streamline right off of the track to seize the lead from him!" Blurr's fellow commentator exclaims. "Mech, what are you going to do about this, Blurr? It looks like a Decepticon is going be the winner!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr just smirks at this. "Hey, I'm not going to cut any corners, the winner's the first one to cross the finish line, end of discussion. Autobot, neutral, or Decepticon. Besides," he puts the fist of one hand into the palm of the other. "All the better when I get to make the winner of this race cycle my engine trails through their front intakes!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Haha, that's the spirit, Blurr!" The mech laughs. "The race goes on!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Got you where you wanna go if you know what i mean, Got a ride that smoother than a limosine

<p class="MsoNormal">Can you handle the curves? Can you run all the lights? If you can baby boy then we can go all night!

<p class="MsoNormal">Elita One darts off to the side as Streamline suffers from Contrail's attack. "Tsk." She says as she comes up alongside the hovercar, "Decepticons always making trouble. You're not badly hurt are you?" She swerves a bit to the side as the terrain roughens up, "The track is shifting, interesting." She idles for a bit, running at a smooth speed as the track takes a bend, just to see where it takes her before anything else...

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> pulls away from the wall, still running on two wheels. And wobbling a bit more as it gets harder to keep up speed and balance in this awkward position. Sandstorm finally drops down onto all four tires, only to catch a bad patch of the track and go into another spin. "Yeeeeeeeeah!" And sounding like he's enjoying it a little too much as he struggles to himself back under control again.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> finally gets going again, and pulls himself back up into the air... but not too far up, of course. Gotta look like a hovercar, after all. A slightly beat-up looking black hovercar with yellow stripes. Elita One actually stops and asks if he's alright, and the Combaticon has to resist the urge to start firing at her... but no, job to do, right? He's got to catch up and beat that slagging Contrail ASAP. He just mumbles, "...M'fine." Then the shuttle's engines rumble to life and he starts hurtling down the track as fast as he can go. No time to be as careful as he would like, he's got to give it all he's got now.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline's attempt to zoom on through the ranks doesn't go very well. She nearly runs straight into the far wall as the track makes an abrupt turn, but she checks her speed only just in time. Instead of hitting it head on, she grazes the wall briefly as she runs just along it. "That's going to leave a mark on the paint job."

<p class="MsoNormal">Her eyes scan the road ahead of her as it begins to change, becoming more bumpy and rough. She might have paws instead of wheels, but she keeps her speed checked anyway, running a little more carefully through the rougher terrain.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Ka-WHAM!! Arcee gets checked pretty hard by Grapple, and not expecting to get broadsided like that, she gets dented pretty badly. "Geeze!! Watch where you're going!! That was about as nice as the freeway traffic on the way here! -- You know I'm on *your* side, right? Ow." Is she going to smack back? Apparently, not yet -- but she's thinking about it, now!

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>       7   1   NEUTRAL        -- Grapple                      14  1   NEUTRAL        -- Zipline                      19  1   PROTECTED      -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     1   2   GUARDED        -- +Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 2  2   NEUTRAL        -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 7  2   GUARDED        -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    12  2   GUARDED        -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">"Wow, Streamline is sure determined!" Blurr remarks as the mech appears to quickly scramble up from the crash and get back on the track.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah, I'd agree! It's certainly admirable! He must have really been crazy about you all his life!" says the other commentator. "We'll have to snag him for an interview afterward if he wins, and even more so if he actually manages to beat you!" Though he laughs at the prospect, because it's pretty much impossible, anyway. Right? "For sure I'll have to ask him how many holo-posters with your signature on it he's collected."

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> sighs as she roars around the corner, "This isn't helping Blurr's ego at all. Oh well, everyone needs a moment of relaxation." She comes up on the finish line, neck and neck with Sandstorm again, "Pacing me Sandstorm, or you thinking the same thing I am?" She notes Streamline's immense acceleration, "Wow, he'd better be careful or he'll end up in orbit..." Speaking of that, Elita One jumps the track onto the secondary structure, a worm track affectionately known as the cassettetape worm. Here gravity is generated against the track itself, the trick is to use that to your advantage. Almost instantly obstacles, walls and...a turtle, was that seriously a turtle on the track?, roar by as she swerves around, in a disorienting series of dodges, and near collisions.

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">Grapple wobbles a bit as he drives along for a while. "Ah! Sorry, Arcee!" He sounds a little disoriented. "That... Was a terrible idea." He's quite a bit dented, himself. Still, he's moving along and not going off to the sideline, so he isn't exactly leaving the race.

<p class="MsoNormal">In fact, he's.. Nowhere near any of the other racers now. Just stumbling along.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> partially pulls out of his spin as he goes through a turn, sparks flying from screeching tires as he attempts to drive through the corner. And almost gets there until a sudden spike strip pops out of the ground. "Gah! No fair to non-hovercars!" Trying to pull out of the drift and avoid the spikes, Sandstorm fishtails wildly as he struggles to keep traction. "I take back what I said about this not being as devious as the Velocitron tracks, hah!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> sees that mysterious yet strangely familiar 'Streamline' coming up behind her in her rear-view. Her spoiler rack comes down, and out comes her shrapnel launcher. "Heheh, let's see if I can throw a little random disarray into the game, 'cause why not."

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> misses Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her Shrapnel Launcher attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Things are great for Zipline when she has a long stretch of track ahead of her! They're not so great when the track begins to worm and curve around back and forth. Zipline is forced to slow down through the curvy portion of the track to avoid bumping into opposite walls like a spotted pin-ball. But she can see Elita One and Sandstorm ahead of her, and even through the curves, Zip tries to keep up.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> falls behind Streamline, whom Blast Off is defending really hard. She thinks that she's going to have Spinister go murder Streamline for her. Streamline is obviously a bad influence on Blast Off!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> accelerates and quickly regains much of the distance he lost... though he's still got racers all around him. The shuttle's engines grumble again at the race commentary... slag, he'd like to send an orbital bombardment their way right now.... but given his luck, Blurr would just dodge out of the way anyway. No... focus, focus... though Decepticon channel chatter is NOT helping right now. But as he races around the track, he spots Arcee as he catches up with her again. Ah yes, the femme who distracted him while Wraith nearly annhiliated him recently... (Slag, Wraith better not be around here...). He expects trouble seeing her, and sure enough he gets it. Shrapnel is launched his way, but he sees it and dodges in time. He smirks inwardly but continues on, trying to pull ahead again.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>       10  1   NEUTRAL        -- Grapple                      17  1   NEUTRAL        -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     1   2   FEARLESS       -- +Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 5  2   NEUTRAL        -- +Zipline                      6   2   NEUTRAL        -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 7  2   PROTECTED      -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    12  2   PROTECTED      -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Cos I'm 0 to 60 in three point five...Baby you got the keys...

<p class="MsoNormal">The worm track wasn't doing so hot for Elita One, it was better for hovercars apparently, although the strange speedstrips helped out a little. She mutters, "This isn't helping...Time for a course change." With that, she starts to drive constantly to the right, building up some momentum, as she dodges walls and taffy traps, after the tenth revolution, she hits one of the zipstrips and catches air. The pink car flips into the air..

<p class="MsoNormal">Shut up and drive

<p class="MsoNormal">She sticks the landing on a second tier track, which promptly ramps back down to the rest of the road.

<p class="MsoNormal">Grapple is still stumbling along, somewhat dazed from his misadventure/attempt to go faster. He has enough mind left to avoid the rocks strewn around, but doesn't seem quite ready to pull another stunt like that again. Not any time soon.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, but what's this coming up in his rearview mirror? It's... A racer! One he doesn't know! Who's probably in first place and ahead of everyone else! Well, that's hardly fair...

<p class="MsoNormal">Maybe Grapple's feeling a bit bitter. Maybe he's feeling a bit mischevous. Maybe it's some weird combination of the two. Either way, as 'Streamline' moves in to pass, he SWINGS his crane arm around!

<p class="MsoNormal">"Aaand Streamline is back in the lead!" Blurr shouts over the amplifiers. "Contrail a few lengths behind, but not impossibly far! Come on mechs, give us some more action! I mean, right?!" The audience screams its approval of this. "We have to have some close calls for this to be a good race! If anyone knows that it's Ibex, am I right or am I right?!" More screaming and roaring in approval.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Exactly!" the other commentator shouts. "Will Streamline prove himself as Blurr's #1 fan?! Or will Contrail leave him in the dust and move on to the final competition--an opportunity to beat Blurr here himself!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple strikes Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with his WHOOPS attack!

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is really getting into this, now. Race? What race?? Oh, and look who just lapped around. She waits for Contrail to close in, then she suddenly changes lanes as if she weren't even looking. NOW, she's driving like she's in Ibex!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> strikes Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> with her Ram attack!

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Blurr, how much did you pay that announcer to stroke your ego?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Right now even winning the race doesn't really matter. Sandstorm is having a wild time with the obstacles, and to him that was likely a better challenge than winning is. When portions of the track start popping up panels at angles instead of slowing down he guns the throttle enough to speed up one and off it like a ramp. True to form the stuntmech launchs himself off the ramp in such a way the he corkscrews in the air before dropping back down towards the track.

<p class="MsoNormal">Right as Elita is coming back onto the main path. And not being able to transform he can't do much to stop the fact that she's now right in his path! Best he can do is yell a warning of "LOOK OUT BELOW!" and the possibly inevitable unintended collision!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> strikes Pink Techcar <Elita One> with his Stunt Driving attack! [Pulled -4]

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: That attack has temporarily impaired Pink Techcar <Elita One>'s Agility. (Crippled)

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "Sorry 'bout that!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Oofh"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Serves me right for showboating, like that floater Neutral...Showboat"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr chuckles. "Er, nothing, actually."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One answers skeptically, "If you say so."

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> is slammed into one of the wall by Arcee and spins out, unable to recover and move forward. She cusses, "Autobot glitch! I'll get you, you'll see..."

<p class="MsoNormal">But not, she's just stuck.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> is finally back in the lead where he belongs, and is hurtling around the track... when he spots Grapple. PFFFFT. Hahahahah, oh now... that's just sad. Why is a vehicle like HIM even IN this race? Someone like Arcee is at least understandable, but..... a crane? SERIOUSLY? HA HA HA HA.... *SMACK*

<p class="MsoNormal">The Combaticon gets smashed by the swinging crane arm, knocking him off into the side of the track. OW. That hurt, too. This is getting to be an annoying recurring theme here. Also, Blast Off is going to be extra, extra determined now that NO ONE EVER KNOW this was him... because if people learn he received the smackdown from a CRANE... oh slag, he is NEVER living it down.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm hehehe. "Sorry Lita, but I can't transform during the race so I couldn't just fly outta that jump."

<p class="MsoNormal">It takes a little while for Zipline to actually get the hang of this whole 'worm' thing. And by the time that she does, it's already a bit too late for her to take advantage of it. She speeds out onto normal track again, and that throws her for a brief loop again as well. "Cassettape worm my flank."

<p class="MsoNormal">But just her luck, Zipline is on a straight course again. She tenses her gears, and guns it a little harder. But she speeds right past the ramp that'd take her to the second tier track - Ramps and runners don't exactly go together. Instead she takes the low road.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "It's fine Sandstorm"

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>       18  1   NEUTRAL        -- Grapple                      1   2   PROTECTED      -- +Zipline                      6   2   PROTECTED      -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 7  2   PROTECTED      -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 7  2   NEUTRAL        -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     11  2   FEARLESS       -- +Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    4   3   NEUTRAL        -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Ha-ha! Grapple is actually rather pleased with himself for smacking that mystery bot like that. Give evryone ELSE a chance, maybe.

<p class="MsoNormal">...Well, except for him. He's... Very far behind. But he helped do SOMETHING.

<p class="MsoNormal">With that, Grapple happily moves along, avoiding obstacles and losing a hubcap along the way. He doesn't seem to notice.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> spins out, just after her ultra-cool moves! The vehicle comes to a complete stop, fortunately off to the side enough that she isn't say....run over by a crane or something of that sort. She takes a moment to reasses herself before burning rubber-equivalent! The techcar roars back into the race, "A little less showboating, a little more incredibly aggressive driving." And she puts it to good use too, her agile altmode roars around the next turn, hugging the inside track so tightly, her inside wheels start to hint at lifting. The handbrake is hit next, smoke trails her, as she drifts around the tight turn.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is quite pleased with herself, now. She'll pay for it later, but...worth it, so worth it, to wait for passers-by. She puts on some Skrillex and jams through the turns.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Whoa! Look at that! Just look at it! I sure wasn't expecting THAT! Vector Sigma, that's got to be embarrassing!" The neutral commentator exclaims as Grapple's crane arm swings right into Streamline and the crowds make a sound of shell-shocked surprise. "Who is that crane down there, Blurr? He's got the badge..."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr chuckles. "Oh, that's one of our Operations mechs. Grapple. Construction and architecture, mostly. Not sure what he's doing here."

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ah! Well maybe he just wanted to branch out a little, have some fun. And it looks like he's come to the right place for that!"

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">"Wait, the pink one just drive our second place contestant into the ditch! Oh-ho! And--would you look at that! We asked for dirty driving, and we sure as the afterspark got it!" the neutral 'bot announces.

<p class="MsoNormal">Up ahead near the start/finish line, a new obstacle is rising out of the track. It's quite literally a thick zolanium steel wall with two narrow tunnels through it. It's probably about 1 hovercraft-length thick or so, but only 2 people can go through it at once. Some kind of tie-breaker, most likely, should that be the case!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">As it turns out, taking the low road can sometimes be beneficial. Zipline speeds past Elita One and then Sandstorm, mostly in part by not being there when Sandstorm came crashing down on top of the other. "Hey guys," Zipline says, as she runs past. "Bye guys!"

<p class="MsoNormal">But Zipline is watching her energon reserves, and they're not looking that good for the long run. She eases the strain on her kenetic generator, switching it into charge mode.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> gers herself back on the track, driving... much more carefully now, after her close encounter with Arcee. The Triple-Changer silently fumes to herself. There will be revenge. So much revenge. All of the revenge... and also, now that she's driving carefully, she drives around the spike traps and prepares herself for the tunnel...

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> rebounds from practically landing on Elita, hitting the track fortunately with enough oomph to keep going before the femme-car can come back after him. One of his front wheels is wobbling a bit from all the roughing up but he's not paying it any mind. All part of the event.

<p class="MsoNormal">Let's see who's coming up ahead. "Lookin good there for not using wheels kid!" he cheers at Zipline as he pulls along the cheetah-bot for a moment. "At least you've got an advantage when you need to jump over obstacles... and what's this?" He just noticed Contrail right ahead of them thanks to Arcee's handiwork. "Just keep runnin'."

<p class="MsoNormal">And then he floors in. Right towards Contrail. Or maybe he pulls aside at the last moment and is just trying to spook her so Zipline has a chance to get by. "Outta the way, ya knockoff!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> strikes Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> with his Ram attack! [Pulled -3]

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> strikes Zipline with her Light Breeze attack! [Pulled -2]

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> pulls up ahead again, somehow.... though the other frontrunners crashing around him certainly helped. Wait, no, the only reason he's currently winning is simply his own amazing MAGNIFICENCE. Yes, that's obviously it. Hmmm, Arcee is here, too... and at this point, Blast Off has lost track of whether this is her 1st lap, second lap... whatever. He has no idea... he's just got to SHUT UP and DRIVE. ...Fly, whatever. He zips by, ignoring her... focused only on winning. He's a professional, after all. ...Though.... he does try to make sure she's right in the path of his engine exhuast, provided he passes her again..... >_>

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings...

<pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Grapple                       10  2   NEUTRAL        -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      10  2   NEUTRAL        -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 13 2   PROTECTED      -- Zipline                      16  2   PROTECTED      -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 18 2   PROTECTED      -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     8   3   NEUTRAL        -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    14  3   PROTECTED      -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, Grapple is feeling a bit more beaten up than he thought. He.. REALLY shouldn't have done that jump-off-the-sides thing he did before. What was he thinking, trying to be DARING?

<p class="MsoNormal">He's going to need a nice, long nap after this. For now, he just... Stumbles along. Not giving up! Nope!

<p class="MsoNormal">Well that was good for getting some of the desire for crashing and bashing out of his systems. But that front wheel is looking really rough after two collisions in a row. Sandstorm finally relents and cuts his speed to give his suspension a chance to realign, and conserve some energon while he's at it.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Talk about recovering from a crash!" The neutral commentator continues. "Streamline is still in the lead, with Elita One a few paces behind! The final lap is kliks away, folks! We've got tiebreaker wall coming up here in just a few astroseconds!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr nods and keeps watching the front of the line. "I guess I should be saying, 'see you on the track in a few, Streamline!'"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Ha! I know right, he must've been waiting for this moment his entire life!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> is shoved off the track, again, by Sandstorm, and rather peevishly, she tries to blow Zipline over with some blanks in one of her machineguns. And now Elita One is ahead? This day can't be over soon enough.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> roars down the track at top speed, while not enough to keep up with Streamline, she's got nothing but road around her. No stunts, no fancy moves.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pothole!

<p class="MsoNormal">Erm, one swerve aside, nothing but speed was being used here, and the Femme knew how to focus on it. Her spedometer hits the redline and holds there as the techcar simply goes pedal to the metal!

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline flashes a grin alongside at Sandstorm. "Thanks! That's what I was made for; Making slag out of race tracks!" She briefly matches his pace for a few paces, until starting to draw energy from her generator again. A nod is given at Sandstorm, and Zipline pounds paws harder on the ground, eager to get on ahead. "Slag her good, big guy!"

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">And for a few nano-seconds, Zipline pulls on ahead. But then machine-gun fire begins peppering the ground at her feet. "Whoa, what gives!" She loses track of where her paws are in an attempt to try and avoid the blanks, and ends up toppling head over paws into a wall instead.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Laaaaaaame," Zipline complains, untangling herself. It'd be hard for her to actually get ahead now but... Eyes track 'Streamline' as he comes around the track again, and the cheetah grins a little. She's up on all fours again, and begins to run. But as Blast Off comes up to her, Zipline abruptly lunges. Claws out, she tries to land on his hood the same way she did to Elita One on accident. But this time, she uses her claws.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline misses Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her Hyperstatic Claws attack! [Pulled -2]

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> still looks pretty good outwardly, but inwardly she knows she's got trouble brewing. A lot of her systems are redlining, but it was worth it just to play derby. For now, she plays it safe. Maybe she can make it with her dignity intact, even if she doesn't manage to finish. She enjoyed derby a lot better, anyhow.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> nearly crashes again listening to that commentary. Wait a minute.... if he wins, they'll want to.... oh slag... they'll want to TALK with him, won't they? Suddenly the Combaticon wonders if this was such a great idea after all...... But there's no time to change his mind now. His own stubborn pride demands he win this thing he's already endured so much **sob*torment* from already. And Blast Off's pride is a very, very demanding master.

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline suddenly lunges at him, but he avoids the attack. He rumbles his engines at the cat cassette, then make his own "Roar" as he tries to surge ahead. But.... a small one, don't want to give himself away here.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Grapple                       15  2   NEUTRAL        -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 16 2   FEARLESS       -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 18 2   NEUTRAL        -- Zipline                      18  2   NEUTRAL        -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      19  2   FEARLESS       -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    14  3   PROTECTED      -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     16  3   NEUTRAL        -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Grapple is still moving along, looking a bit worse for wear. But, oh, who's that in his rear view? "...Hello, Arcee." Not as much energy as before, but he still sounds pretty chipper. "Ah.. Sorry about before." He wobbles a little as he swerves around a pothole.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Nice try Spots! Don't feel bad, that guy's been a pain to hit all night." And why does his outline look familiar? Eh, whatever. Sandstorm is just cruising at the moment.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> grunts as she keeps up maximum velocity, a blur of pink herself as she concentrates on the speed, on the track. Perhaps this is what the real Ibex racers did, how they focused and concentrated. She put the thoughts out of her mind, not unlike a sniper in the field. There was only the objective, though she hadn't a lot more left to give. Her pace slows a little, sticking to the main track, another turn, another sway of the road. Noting the Decepticon behind her, her focus drops, 'Probably going to open up with those guns if I don't watch it...'

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate meant to show up to cheer Sandstorm and Blurr on, but somehow, he fell into idling five breams before the race started so he's now only just arriving, hurrying as much as one carrying several toasters can. "Ah, slag! I'm late!" he mutters to himself. Then he stops in his tracks and deadpans a little when he sees Blast Off. that toaster terrorizer. Hm, maybe he regrets bringing his kitchen comrades along. "Keep on keepin' on!" he hollers to the Autobot racers.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pounce and a wiff! Zipline ends up meeting ground instead of Blast Off's hood. In her defense, she manages it in a controlled tumble that lands her on all four paws and makes it so she can get back up to pace quickly. Doesn't stop her from glaring daggers at the offending racer's back-side. Still, while she might not win, but she's not going to just /stop/. "He just pisses me off for some reason!" She replies to Sandstorm, keeping pace with him.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">"HI, Grapple!" Arcee calls over to good ole Grapple. Is she going to ram him into the wall??? ...Well, no. No, she's not. She likes Grapple. That, and she just doesn't have enough energon to pull it off. Such is life for the pink one.

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> ends up slightly ahead of Streamline, because he has lapped her. She decides to try to slow his approach to the tunnel by swivelling a gun back to shoot him...

<p class="MsoNormal">Blast Off will whine about his precious neutral buddy, but Contrail is in a very, very foul mood.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> strikes Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her FN Minimi 5.56mm Light Machine Guns attack! [Pulled -1]

<p class="MsoNormal">"Weeellll it looks like Streamline is going to get the prize AND the #1 Blurr fan title!!" Says the voice from the commentator's platform. "But--wait! Contrail's opened fire on him! How's he going to take it?!" The crowds are still going crazy, of course. It's hard to tell who exactly they're cheering for.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> keeps going... slag, it appears Contrail is getting close again, and the shuttle tries to move a bit away from her.... but there's not really many places to go. He hears a familiar voice in the crowd and... it troubles him. A brief scan and... hmmm, Tailgate. The shuttle has to refrain from trying to lauch a laser blast towards him, as well. Slagging mini-bots. Especially THAT one. But the distraction is a costly one.... Contrail aims a well-placed missive at the shuttle, and off he goes into the wall again. OUCH.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings... <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">============================[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- Grapple                       19  2   PROTECTED      -- Desert Patrol Vehicle <Sandst 1  3   GUARDED        -- +Zipline                      4   3   GUARDED        -- +Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 6  3   NEUTRAL        -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      8   3   FEARLESS       -- +Pink Techcar <Elita One>     3   4   NEUTRAL        -- +Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    5   4   AGGRESSIVE     -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> hits the next lap without much issues, and finds herself a hair behind Grapple and Arcee. "Enjoying yourselves?" She pulls up a bit closer to Arcee, "Arcee, if you're going to make your move, you'd better start, that Streamline is a fast one!" She revs her engine, doing a quickshift to burst a bit more speed, "Come on, let's see what you can do."

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, that Elita, what a motivator. Arcee decides, what the hell. She'll try and give it all she's got, because she doesn't have much left. Why stow it away at this point? So she guns it. As she does, her damaged insides whine in protest.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> sets her defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh hey, there's Tailgate in the stands. Alas Sandstorm has no way to wave to his minibot buddy. Before he can think of a way though he's getting lapped by whoever this Streamline is. Not that laps matter much to the wrecker. "Hey look, it's the race newbie. You must really be a big fan of Blurr to get into the track with this lot of lunatics. Which, by the way, I happen to be one of."

<p class="MsoNormal">Gouts of thick exhaust belch out as Sandstorm finally slams his throttle back into full gear, and attempts to give Streamline a grind against his side. "But if yer gonna get to that finish line you've gotta survive that long!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, look, there's Elita. Grapple's headlights flicker in a mimicry of a blink. "Hello, Elita!" He sounds chipper enough, if a bit, well, out of sorts.

<p class="MsoNormal">Then, he notices Elita begin to speed up. "Be careful!" Oh, looks like he noticed her straining systems. How... Sweet? Disturbing?

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> strikes Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with his Giving the 'newbie' a proper Wrecker welcome to racing (Ram) attack! [Pulled -3]

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus' current form begins to reconfigure itself, shrinking in size, and he eventually emerges in his robotic form.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "Problem, Grapple?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> now tries to get her head back in the race. Avoid spikes! Drive around rocks! Drive off ramps! Yeeeah!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">As they round about towards the starting line, Zipline puts on a little bit of extra speed. The wall with its two tunnels doesn't entirely worry her; She's small enough to squeeze into a tunnel with someone else if she needs to. But as she rounds the bend, her optics focus on Contrail.

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">"Oooohhh decepticon~!" Zipline says, far too sweetly. Her cannon materializes on her back, and its rails level on Contrail's back-end. "Got a present for ya, courtsey of What Goes Around Comes Around!" The cannon charges briefly, and fires a blank at Contrail's skidplate.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline strikes Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> with her Experimental Mini-Railcannon attack! [Pulled -5]

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Grapple says, "Hmm?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus shows up in one of the many comfortable looking stands lining around the Ibex race tracks, and soon he seats himself, "Looks like the race is already well under way." The big guy pulls up a datapad and links it up with the Ibex wireless data services before checking the racers' placements, "Hrm, looks like a solid race so far." Maximus leans back into his seat and begins spectating the race, his jaw dropping ever so slightly as he watches mechs shooting others. Looks like he missed the memo that the Ibex races can get a little violent.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Neutral.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> is just trying to win the race, slaggit, which would be fine and great and wonderful if it weren't for all these crummy RACERS in it. Who somehow keep hitting him. And just to illustrate the fact again, here comes Sandstorm to ram against his side just as he starts moving again. "Ahh!" Slag it all.... Shuttle go BOOM against the wall... again.

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate clutches his toasters closer to his chassis, optics wide and anxious. However, when he sees that Maximus has arrived, he hurries up to the bigger mech and hides behind his ankle (or whichever body part near to the ground that is large enough to obscure a minibot like Tailgate). "I'm scared!" he chirps at the larger Autobot.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings...

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Grapple sets his defense level to Protected.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> laughs as he speeds along. "Com'n newbie, don't give up just from a few bumps!" Now Sandstorm is really enjoying himself. Especially when Zipline lets one rip on Contrail in revenge. With her cannon that is. "Ooooh, that girl has a bitchin' taste in armaments!" He's too busy admiring Zipline's portable firepower to try and smack anyone else around at the moment.

<p class="MsoNormal">Grapple is still barely holding along. In fact, he's so far behind, those in the lead are PASSING HIM BY.

<p class="MsoNormal">

<p class="MsoNormal">On the up side, he actually notices Tailgate in the stands. He waves his crane arm in greeting as he stumbles on by. Honestly, it looks like he might need to be towed off the track.

<p class="MsoNormal">It doesn't help that Grapple's appearances that he actually gets stuck behind a rock for a few minutes.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> sets his defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">"And Streamline gets slammed again, this time by Sandstorm!" The amplifiers shout again as Blast Off is sent into the curved walls around the track.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blurr stands up excitedly, getting quite into this race! "Talk about teamwork! Elita one has stolen the lead from Streamline!" The crowd is roaring even louder now. "Haha! We Autobots have always been proud of our cooperation skills." Which in this case seems to be quite true, at least in comparison to how the Decepticons are currently doing in that particular regard.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> starts to pass by Grapple, "What's wrong, Grapple? What're you scared of?" She starts to pass him slowly, "Hit me on the radio if I'm out of range, actually trying to focus on this thing..." She pushes on ahead, noting Arcee taking things in stride. Of course, Elita One hadn't known all the shenanigans that were going on back there, so perhaps her inspiration was mis-timed. Again she pulls up near Sandstorm, "We meet again, Wondering why anyone..." She veers a poorly placed ramp that'd lead up into the second tier, "why anyone'd bother with the second tier tracks, anyway..." She slowly starts to pull away from Sandstorm to the side, expecting him to 'oops' into her. "See you at the finish line."

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus looks down at Tailgate in surprise, and also with a certain amount of confusion when he hears the Minibot's comment. He spares another glance at the VIOLENCE happening on the race tracks before looking back down to Tailgate inquisitively, "I also didn't expect the Ibex races to be so heated, Tailgate, but it's not anywhere as distasteful as what we see in everyday life. What's gotten you so scared?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline keeps her cannon out this time. Never know when she might need it. But it also means that she's got that weight sitting on her back. She eases the draw on her generator and settles into a steady pace as she comes up alongside Contrail. But for once, Zipline doesn't take the oportunity to goad the Decepticon. Zipline instead grins, and pushes on towards the wall at the starting line.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Grapple says, "I am not FRIGHTENED, Elita, I am... ... Are there tow lines available after this event?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "I'm sure there are."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Grapple says, "Oh. Good."

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> 's engines GRRRumble in protest at Sandstorm, but he gets himself going again and starts moving down the racetrack. Elita One races ahead. GAH. There's NO WAY he's going to be beaten by a GROUNDPOUNDER. .... The shuttle revs up and tries to pull ahead again... the finish line is getting SOOOO close...!!!! This is the time to make it count, and he launches into full speed, trying to pull ahead of Elita One. Contrail would be bad enough to lose to, given her behavior... and he'll need to have a word with her later.... but an Autobot? No way!

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> has sort of given up on the race. She is driving, yes, but she expect something dumb to happen, like maybe a taffy truck will come out of noewhere and drive over her. She starts to compose a memo.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> is going the distance. She's going for speed. She's...all alone (all alone!) in her time of need. Because she's racing, and pacing, and plotting the course. She's fighting and biting and riding on her horse! She's -- in terrible, terrible shape, in fact. Barely hanging in there. But she decides to give it all she's got. She's got haters in her rear-view, but she can't think about that right now. No time!

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings...

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate simply crouches lower, nearly curling into a ball and making a small, frightened noise. He clutches his toasters closer to his chassis, burying his helm in between his knees. However, he doesn't miss Grapple's crane arm waving to him. Aw, what a trooper, getting lapped, but he's still going strong. The minibot uncurls, leaning over the railing towards the race track. "You can do it, Grapple! You're a champ!" But as he releases one hand to wave back at the architect, he drops one of his toasters. It tumbles under the stands and down the stairs. "NOO!" he cries, utterly dismayed as he chases after his conventional device in vain.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> starts to lose a bit of endurance in her drive as well, Arcee's not alone on that front. The techcar starts to sputter and cough, "This...is a lot tougher than I expected. I really need to do some drivetraining or something.....soldier on, soldier on..." Regardless of her mentality, her mantra perhaps, Elita One is definitely feeling the strain of running at top speed for so long...

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> sets her defense level to Guarded.

<p class="MsoNormal">Either something is very wrong with Grapple, or he's just phoning it in now. He's still moving along, but... Barely. He's got to be going at the minimum speeds possible just to keep up appearances. In fact, he's not even avoiding the speed traps.

<p class="MsoNormal">He's been nudging a block for several minutes, now. Not even moving. Just...

<p class="MsoNormal">...Actually, now he's nudging the block along the track. Slowly.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Streamline is back in the lead, but not by much!" An announcer exclaims over the roar of the crowd. "Will Elita One steal it back, or will Streamline be the #1 Fan in the one-on-one race with Blurr himself?!!"

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">Blurr doesn't say anything more for now, starting to feel slightly suspicious of this Streamline character. He seemed awfully quiet. Who exactly is he? His roster entry looks weird.

<p class="MsoNormal">Meanwhile, as Tailgate tries to tumble after his toaster, which has fallen down into the track right in front of the finish line, the Ibex track security mechs try to stop him from obstructing the race. "Ahem...excuse me sir, but that isn't safe. You can retrieve your item from the track once the race has been completed."

<p class="MsoNormal">Aw yeah! Arcee's really moving now! She's catching up! She's...she's...

<p class="MsoNormal">She begins laughing like crazy, as she realizes she just hit ran out of gas. "Oh Primus. On live TV. The whole universe can see this." Arcee takes a quick image of her dashboard, and sends it off to Daniel Witwicky, with the caption, 'Yes it DID happen, LOL'.

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate is way to desperate to really let anyone or anything get in his way. "NO!" he cries urgently. "You don't understand!" Being the tiny minibot he is, he manages to wiggle past the security mechs, optics wide and frantic. He dashes out onto the racetrack, searching frantically for his toaster, which has tumbled somewhere out of sight. Nearly in tears, he runs about in utter desperation as he searches for his kitchen comrade.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Go Elita go!" Sandstorm cheers. Since she's the only one that's really in any position to get close to Streamline at this point. Idly he swerves through some remaining obstacles, but mostly just watching.

<p class="MsoNormal">Until a toaster comes tumbling down the steps. While Sandstorm wouldn't really care about that, there's the fact that Tailgate is chasing it. And if the minibot runs out on the track? That's not going to be pleasant.

<p class="MsoNormal">Sandstorm slams into high gear, that loose front wheel wobbling in protest as he pulls to the side and bump two wheels up onto the wall to squeeze through quickly. A very quick calculation as he closes in on the steps, and then Sandstorm rocks himself off the wall. As he's passing the bottom of the steps the Wrecker flips over and transforms as he flies past. Feet slam into the pavement as he skids in a crouch JUST barely missing the sleep-driving Grapple by no more than a few microns. Remains hunched over for a moment, letting the smoke cool off his heels.

<p class="MsoNormal">And then stands and thrusts one arm over his head, toaster safely in his hand. "STAY THERE TAILGATE, I GOT IT!" Because the minibot getting run over would of been a lot worse.

<p class="MsoNormal">Desert Patrol Vehicle < Sandstorm> transforms into his Sandstorm mode.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee> manages to find a small reserve. "Oh, dignity, your name is emergency fuel ration..." As she stops off at the side, she gets passed up a few times...but darn it, that's less embarassing than getting towed later on!

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus reacts to Tailgate's behaviour with confusion, but does his best to be empathetic, "Hey now, hang in there. It might be a messy race, but it's all simulated", or so he hopes anyway. He lets out an approving nod at the Minibot who is now cheering for Grapple and follows along, "That's the spirit, Tailgate." Maximus also follows along and cheers for the other Autobots as well, "Go on now, Autobots! The finish line is just ahead, and a little team work will go a long way in securing that win!" Ruh oh. Tailgate drops his toaster and the Minibot chases after it, leaving Fortress Maximus dumb founded and speechless in response. He hasn't read up on Tailgate's profile and doesn't know of the mech's obsession with inanimate mechanical objects. "H-hey, Tailgate, that's dangerous!" Maximus gets up and does his best to chase after Tailgate, but it looks like Sandstorm has come around to save the day! Dat Wrecker!

<p class="MsoNormal">WHOOSH, Zipline is through the wall at the starting line and isn't looking back. While it may be unlikely that she's going to /win/ at this point, that's not entirely going to stop her. Now she's just enjoying the feel of the speed, of the track racing under her paws. Is that her energon gauge blaring at her to stop wasting so much energon? Who cares!

<p class="MsoNormal">Obstacles rise up in her way as the track continues to change. Zipline dodges one, and then another. But when a third threatens to smack her right in the face, she instead leaps straight up, and lands on top of the pillar. Just in time to see 'Slipstream' zoom past her. Again.

<p class="MsoNormal">She glares at him. Seriously, why does he piss her off? Zipline pushes off hard from the pillar to the next, then to the track wall. She pushes off of that, and straight down at Blast Off's back end. She might not be large, but she's got speed behind her. "Oops! My bad!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline sets her defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Zipline misses Space Shuttle <Blast Off> with her Really it's an accident! (Ram) attack! [Pulled -3]

<p class="MsoNormal">Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> is not sure about this. Nothing terrible has happened to her. Yet. She keeps driving and writing her memo.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Police Lamborgini Gallardo <Contrail> sets her defense level to Aggressive.

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> can see the finish line... it's so cloooose.... but he's still surrounded by a pack of Autobots- and CONTRAIL. This is not looking good. Sure enough, here comes Zipline again... but hey, Zipline, don't you know Blast Off doesn't like that up close and personal stuff? He banks to the right, evading her with another GRRumble of his engines, then gives it all he's got.... time to see if he can make it to the finish line before someone ELSE send him crashing! And he's a glass cannon- this rough tackling stuff is NOT his thing. His launches into another surge of speed, ...time to see what happens.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> sets his defense level to Fearless.

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: The racers speed around the track, and the scoreboard lights up with the new race standings...

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: Pink Techcar <Elita One> crosses the finish line!

<p class="MsoNormal">Race: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> crosses the finish line! <pre style="white-space: pre-wrap;">

=
===============[ Racetrack Attack! ]============================= Racer                         Pos Lap Defense-Level -- +Grapple                      2   3   PROTECTED      -- +Sandstorm                    5   3   GUARDED        -- Zipline                      7   3   AGGRESSIVE     -- Pink Saturn Sky <Arcee>      8   3   FEARLESS       -- Police Lamborgini Gallardo <C 15 3   AGGRESSIVE     -- Pink Techcar <Elita One>     10  4   GUARDED        -- Space Shuttle <Blast Off>    16  4   FEARLESS       -- + Racer within ramming distance

=
==============[ Sorted by Leadership ]===========================

<p class="MsoNormal">Oh, hey, Grapple isn't running in to a rock anymore! Oh, now he's.. ... Nudging the wall. How his wheels got turned, who knows, but now, he's just... Nudging the wall.

<p class="MsoNormal">After a few minutes, his wheels just stop. And he sits there. ...Not moving.

<p class="MsoNormal">Pink Techcar <Elita One> 's tires just seem so heavy, her engine so overheated, and her motor...sore. Yes, apparently Cybertronians can get sore motors. While Streamline is definitely pacing her, she manages enough determination to get closer to the finish line. Her strength gives out, reflexively shifting into neutral to let the momentum carry her across. "come on.....got to try at least.....a bit further..." Her wheels wobble, her steering wheel, which is actually more of a yoke for fighter planes for some strange reason, shifting side to side to adjust. Certainly Streamline was having issues too, but who could say who'd be a winner here? She did her best, for a race. It almost made her laugh. How many times in the past had she put everything on the line, to escape that one foe (SHOCKWAVE), to get that last shot (AGAIN SHOCKWAVE), to come up with that last second save, or to put her body on the line? Her mental processors were redlined...due to a race. She murmurs a quiet laugh as she starts to head towards the finish line...

<p class="MsoNormal">"C'mon ELITA!!!!" Arcee cheers, hoping her sister-in-pinkness will achieve a spectacular racing finish! As for her...she's still moving, can't ask for a better outcome than actually making it to the finish line without a tow or without falling apart altogether.

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate heaves a sigh, optics wide with relief when he sees that Sandstorm has rescued his toaster. "Oh Sandstorm! You're really the best Wrecker out of all of them! Thank you so much for saving Buttercup." His optics scrunch happily at Sandstorm. Then he spots Blast Off coming around the bend towards the finish line, and he becomes unnerved again. "Oh no..." he says anxiously, "Sandstorm, maybe Buttercup is safer with you for now--you know that Combaticon guy is out to get all my toasters, and here he is now!" He frowns then, looking puzzled. "Why'd they let him race anyway? I mean, I thought Blast Off's only other alternate mode is a shuttle." He pauses momentarily, looking frightened again, glancing back up at the other toasters in the stands. "Better go keep an optic on my other friends," he says, not waiting for Sandstorm's response. Instead, he starts hurrying across the racetrack back towards the stands. But just as he reaches the middle of the track in front of the finish line, a protruding boulder proves to be a significant obstacle in his path. He trips and face plants, then lies there for a few moments, looking dazed. "Ungh.."

<p class="MsoNormal">Zipline growls LOUDER in response to Blast Off. And properly! GRRR! She manages to land on all fours properly this time though. And promptly gets back into the running, albiet quite far behind.

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus rubs the back of his head in concern over Tailgate's antics, "There's something really odd with that one. I might have to read up on him a bit more." Uh oh, looks like things are going to get even more iffy if Tailgate stays on that race track any longer. He points urgently towards the side, "Tailgate, you got to get off of that race track before you end up in an accident!"

<p class="MsoNormal">The security mechs try their best to stop Tailgate, but alas, he slips between their legs, because he's so small! "Wh--hey! Come back here!" they call out, but it's too late, the minibot has already run out onto the track, right in front of the finish line as 'Streamline' and Elita One are headed for the end of the race!

<p class="MsoNormal">"It's going to be a close one, folks!" Blurr's voice booms over the amplifiers. "Streamline and Elita One are tire to tire! Only the chronomete--" Wait. His voice cuts out. Have the speakers failed? Or has the speedster spotted something? Ugh, is that Tailgate? Why the slag is he down there? Primus, he's going to have to have a word with Ibex Racetrack Security later!

<p class="MsoNormal"><< Slag it, Tailgate! What the frag are you doing down there?!>> he hisses into the comms, clearly upset. This is not good.

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> compares his Agility to 100: Failure :(

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> compares her Agility to 100: Failure :(

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Space Shuttle <Blast Off> compares his Agility to 90: Success!

<p class="MsoNormal">Combat: Pink Techcar <Elita One> compares her Agility to 90: Success!

<p class="MsoNormal">Sandstorm keeps the toaster over his head as he leans backa nd forth a few times to avoid the other racers speeding by. Well he's no longer in the race having had to transform out of his vehicle mode, so Sandstorm just saunters over to the wall to haul himself up and sit on top of it. He's about to hand 'Buttercup' back over to the minibot but pauses at what he says, glancing back out at the track. "Combaticon? Where?"

<p class="MsoNormal">GAME: Blurr rolls a (100)-sided die:

<p class="MsoNormal">ROLL: Blast Off rolled a 76

<p class="MsoNormal">ROLL: Elita One rolled a 2

<p class="MsoNormal">So Elita One is lightly coasting to the finish line, and there suddenly is Tailgate, so concerned about his precious appliances. The moment slows down, as Elita One just keeps rolling towards the possibly oblivious, and sincere minibot....What collision could result of this? The masses wail and gnash teeth as they see the incident unfold...

<p class="MsoNormal">Except that wasn't slow motion.

<p class="MsoNormal">Still in neutral, Elita One coasts closer and closer to Tailgate.....

<p class="MsoNormal">tap.

<p class="MsoNormal"> <p class="MsoNormal">Right on the leg.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr says, "Slag it, Tailgate! What the frag are you doing down there?!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "That Combaticon guy! He's out to get all my toasters, didn't you know!? I mean why is everyone calling him Streamline? That's Blast Off!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr says, "...uhmm...okay..."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Zipline says, "... Uh.  Wha?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr hmms...

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, ".... Wait."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "That would mean Contrail was attacking him as part of a cover up."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr says, "And what makes you think that's Blast Off, Tailgate?"

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> is soooo, sooo close. Elita One is on his afterburners, but the shuttle is so close to winning he can just TASTE it.... wait, no.... that's not what he can taste. He can taste... well....uh... toast? Turbo-toast? Why on Cybertron can he taste, or smell, actually, turbo-toast?... OH SLAG TAILGATE. No, not the mini-bot, anyone but that mini-bot... always ruining his plans. And he's a MINI-BOT....*sob*. No, Grapple was bad enough, he's not losing this thing on account of that mini-bot, too.... the shuttle shifts wing elevons just enough to bank to the left and JUUUUST misses Tailgate. The Combaticon rushes past- and crosses the finish line. SUCCESS!!!

<p class="MsoNormal">Tailgate glances hazily over at Elita One, who's managed to avoid turning him into road kill. "Oh, hi, Elita," he says innocently, "sorry if I'm in your way," he glances over at Sandstorm, "but THAT guy Blast Off is notorious for murdering my toasters," he says mournfully as he points at the Combaticon.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "don't worry about it Tailgate.  just glad you're...not harmed."

<p class="MsoNormal">As soon as Blast Off passes the finish line, the crowd goes wild! If the announcers said anything, it was simply drowned out by the enormous roar of the thounds of mechs in the audience. And now they're all pouring down from the stands, coming to surround this 'Streamline' to congratulate him. Likely the commentator is coming down with them though, to get an interview from the new rookie of the year!

<p class="MsoNormal">Yup, they're all pulling on him and throwing confetti and stuff all over him. And slapping Blurr's #1 Fan details on him, too. The most enthusiastic of the crowd are now trying to grab him and lift him up above their heads so they can parade him around the track with all the Blurr-esque accolades they have awarded him. Of course, they're convinced that Streamline is having the time of his life!!! They just want to make sure it really is the best day of his life, like a dream come true!

<p class="MsoNormal">Really, this is Ibex. Did Blast Off not expect it?

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "My toasters know him like the back of their grills. They told me when I got here, that 'Streamline' moves just like that fast flier, Blast Off.  Even though he's on the ground. Plus, I can kinda see his jet engines from this angle."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr says, "..."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "Well"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "..."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "well its over, either way.   I need myself a refill and a recharge"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "If it is Blast Off, he's about to go through a ironicly fitting torture."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "All those BLURR fans thinking he's one of them...."

<p class="MsoNormal">Sandstorm kicks back on the wall. "You and your little friends can relax Tailgate. If it is him, he's not gonna do anything if he doesn't want to ruin his cover right now."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Arcee says, "Oh, Tailgate! We could have had total femme victory here! Darn it..."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "well the difference is...Blast Off was willing to run over Tailgate to win, I wasn't."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "I'm sorry! But you know that Blast Off is always trying to ruin me....."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Elita One says, "It's fine, Tailgate.  after this you can show me the toaster you want me to take care of...after I recharge of course"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "And my toasters!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "Oh, right!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "Good plan."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Zipline says, "Ugh, so he cheated.  Typical Decepticon!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "Wait, is he still gonna race Blurr, then?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "And Blurr can kick his afterburners"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Arcee says, "Heck yeah!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Ibex Commentator says, "Streamline! Tell us! What's it like knowing you'll get to have the track with Blurr on it ALL to yourself soon?!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Zipline says, "Can I still shoot his face after?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "He don't got much of a face to shoot, but sure."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Blurr says, "Have at it, Zip."

<p class="MsoNormal">Space Shuttle <Blast Off> reaches the finish line, which he thought meant all his dreams come true, right? ....Then suddenly it becomes obvious that he REALLY, REALLY didn't quite THINK THIS THROUGH WELL ENOUGH. This is like... everything he hates. A MASSIVE crowd of people getting WAY TOO up close and personal, and all the Blurr adoration, oh slag...

<p class="MsoNormal">He has to really refrain himself from trying to tear off all those horrible, horrible Blurr's #1 decals. I mean really, it makes him shudder just thinking about it. It's almost enough to make him just want to tear away and go flying off into the stratosphere... but he's come THIS far. And besides... he would never live that...uh, "Grapple Incident" down if he did. So he resigns himself to the crowd's loving admiration. TEH HORROR.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "Oh, here Tailgate. Don't forget Buttercup. Lemme know if you ever find one of those home brewing kits."

<p class="MsoNormal">Blast Off shifts into his battle-ready robot mode.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "....you can keep her! I think she loves you for saving her today."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "I -am- pretty awesome."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Zipline says, "... Uuuuuhhhh..."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "Of course you are! As awesome as Hardhead. And he's a lot of awesome, so give yourself a pat on the back!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Blast Off says, "<NOT Blast Off says, ".......Uh, me?""

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Sandstorm says, "I would, but I might cut a digit on my rotors."

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Ibex Commentator says, "Yes, your name is Streamline, isn't it? How does it feel?!?!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Blast Off says, "........... Great?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Ibex Commentator says, "Come on now, tell us! You've been dreaming of this all your life, haven't you? You'll finally get to race with Blurr, in a 1 versus 1!!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Ibex Commentator says, "He might even give you some racing tips, eh?!"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Autobot> Tailgate says, "Er...! Then just be proud of yourself. And take good care of Buttercup! She's forever grateful."

<p class="MsoNormal">Fortress Maximus lets out a sigh of relief, it's likely a habit inherited from Galen because... well y'know Cybertronians don't need to breathe and all, as he watches Tailgate narrowly avoid being turned into roadkill, "Whew... that could've gone bad. Great driving there, everyone."

<p class="MsoNormal">The pink Cybertronian tech car splits apart to reveal Curvy Autobot Warrior Arcee! She's ready to kick aft!

<p class="MsoNormal">And so, the congratulations from Streamline's fellow fans continues, since he does nothing to stop it. Meanwhile, Blurr's still up on the commentator's platform, smirking to himself. He knows now just who 'Streamline' is. He had been tempted to reveal it, infuriate the Ibexians. But he'd thought better of it, because clearly Streamline is having SUCH an amazing time! Plus, listening to the commentator on the broadband is highly amusing.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Ibex Commentator says, "Streamline? Well, it looks like he's so elated, he's speechless!"

<p class="MsoNormal">Arcee transforms, and spots Fort Max in the stands. "Wow. That was something," she admits, plopping down in the seat next to him.

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Blast Off says, "Yes...I mean..... YEAH. Yeah, I mean YEAH. ...Uh, Yeehaw?"

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Blurr chuckles. "Well Streamline, I guess some congratulations are in order. You did a great job down there. See you on the track next time, pal."

<p class="MsoNormal">Sandstorm swings his legs over the wall to hop down into the stands. He's not going to spoil Tailgate's fun, since it cheered the minibot up and got his mind off Blast Off. "I must be getting soft," he just murmurs under his breath in amusement as he strolls off. "Com'n Buttercup, I've got a nice soldering set you can keep company."

<p class="MsoNormal">With the race done, Zipline vacates the track. But regardless of the fact that she lost, she's still smirking at Blast Off's 'winnings'. "Heh, serves that lame cheating decepticon right," She says as she takes to the stands to find some place to watch.

<p class="MsoNormal">Blast Off is just trying not to start flailing at all this indignity. But everyone is questioning him, and expecting answers, and it would seem strange not to talk. But if he talks, and sounds refined and sophisticated and intelligent LIKE USUAL, it'll be an obvious clue that's he's... well, Blast Off. He's got to sound different. He's got to sound.... like an idiot. Someone who is a complete OPPOSITE of HIM. Some loud, obnoxious mech who's just.... enthusiastic, but not ... refined. Someone like.... OH.

<p class="MsoNormal">OH! Suddenly the Combaticon shuttle is reminded of a certain Combaticon TANK he knows very well. He steels himself internally for this final indignity, then slams a fist into his other palm. "Uh... YEAH! I ..I DONE GOOD! I feel GREAT! YEEHAW, that was AWESOME!" He then waves his hands around. Oh slag, he can feel his IQ dropping already........

<p class="MsoNormal"><Cybertron> Blast Off says, "THAT WAS AWESOME, YA'LL! And yeah... YEAH! YOU have NO IDEA how MUCH I've been LOOKIN' FORWARD t' THIS! WooHOOO!!!!!"

<p class="MsoNormal">The crowd cheers even louder when 'Streamline' expresses his enthusiasm.

<p class="MsoNormal">"Yeah! That's the spirit!!!" They shout, and throw more decorum, jumping up and down with excitement.

<p class="MsoNormal">"OH, Streamline, get his autograph for meeee please!!!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"OH OH ME TOO!!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"Streamline! Over here!" Another mech is waving his arms wildly. "Join my racing league!"

<p class="MsoNormal">"You should see my Blurr figure collection, I swear you'll love it!!"

<p class="MsoNormal">And on and on. Nope, these fans aren't going to be heading back to their hab suites for a while yet....