Disclaimer: I don't own Snowboard Kids
Chapter 1: A Race By Moonlight
"Come on Slash! You're taking forever!" called Tommy, angry at his companion. "Hey, I've got to make my hair look right. We don't have to be there for a set time so it's fine, no-one will care about it!" Slash dumped a huge amount of gel on his fingers and ran it through his hair, acting the cool guy in the whole process. He then proceeded to work at it and doing the same thing over and over again for what seemed like forever to Tommy.
"Finally you're ready!" exclaimed Tommy as Slash finally emerged from the bathroom, with his hair looking the same as it did half an hour ago. "Wait no, just let me get something!" Tommy refused to believe how unbelievable Slash was. He cursed to himself in quietened anger. Again, he had to stand there, tapping his fingers on the table, wondering how on earth Nancy could actually like him. Well, at least he thought Nancy liked him…
"And so we finally leave, after what took you forever to get ready. What's the matter with you?" said Tommy with a puzzled look spread out across his face, which amused Slash. "Tommy, I'm just a guy, that's all…" he grinned at Tommy, admiring what he had just said as what would probably be the best thing he'd say all day. They walked out of the end of the driveway and proceeded left towards the other side of Snow Town where Linda's house was, where the party was being held. The snow was falling thick and fast, forming an even thicker white blanket on the already snow-covered ground. As they walked down the road, laughing at jokes and the day's happenings, something lurked in the bushed beside the pavement, listening intently to the conversation between the two kids. It was doing a good job of keeping silent, not attracting any attention. That was until it tripped and fell into the bush, making a rustling sound which aroused Slash and Tommy's attention. They wandered over to the place from which the sound had emerged from and stared into the bushes there, yet there appeared to be nothing there; they were about to ignore what had just happened and continue on their way when they heard a voice from behind them. A voice unlike that of anyone they knew. A low, hoarse voice.
"Good evening, boys." The figure was clad in a black cloak from head to toe, which covered all but the top of his face, preventing Slash and Tommy from seeing his identity. In the darkness, Slash could just make out that he had black silky hair which reached his shoulders. He was quite a sight, and loomed above the two kids in height, and had a mysterious tone surrounding him. Slash finally broke the silence. "Who are you?" he asked in an indignant tone. "That is unimportant to you. Do not interfere, as it is none of your business. Before you ask why I am here, I shall answer that question. I do not wish to harm you, for I am here to race you. This will test all your racing skills. However, the reason for this race will remain unknown to you for now yet you shall discover the answer soon. We will race on the conveniently placed Night Highway course, which happens to begin right behind where you two are standing. We shall proceed with just one lap, as that is all that is necessary. I see that you have your boards with you. I trust you have raced the course before." Slash replied, "Of course we have, don't have too much experience on it but we know it well enough for a race. Bring it on…" The figure once again spoke with the least amount of movement in his lips possible. "Then so it shall be…"
With that he swept away the side of his cloak, revealing an amazing board, with enthralling detailed patterns emblazoned all across it's aerodynamic shape, on the inside of his cloak, which he took in hand and stepped towards the start of the course, the cloak flailing behind him due to the strong piercing wind which was blowing on this night. Slash and Tommy gripped their boards hard and followed the character to the starting line. The figure spoke again, "All weapons from the shops littered around the course may be used. We will start on the count of 3… Good luck." With that he brushed aside his hair elegantly whilst Slash and Tommy prepared themselves for a race unlike any they had raced in before…
"3… 2… 1…Go!" And with that the 3 people leapt from behind the starting line on to the course, which at this time was now deserted, empty and silenced. The 3 characters sped along the first straight, tearing up the snow as they went with their experience. At the first jump, Slash leapt into the air performing an incredibly complicated trick whilst Tommy and the dark figure simply dropped to the ground. Slash sniggered at his trick abilities, "Did you see that Tommy?". As they rounded the corner, Tommy started to pull ahead due to his amazing speed, but Slash counteracted by quickly entering a shop and grabbing a freeze shot which he fired straight away with perfect aim at Tommy, making him freeze in a large ball of ice, resulting in him being unable to move before he broke free a few seconds later, by which time the 2 other racers had gained some ground on him.
Slash cast a sideways glance at the mysterious character as he began to overtake him, considering the fact that he had greater boarding capabilities. The 2 entered into the lit up tunnel and rounded the turn skilfully and smoothly, yet Slash was starting to lag behind. He intended to grab a weapon, but he did not have enough money so was helpless to gain the ground necessary. By this time Tommy had recovered and was close on Slash's tail. Tommy subsequently used a speed fan he had just obtained to zoom ahead of Slash on the next straightaway and draw level with the figure whilst travelling downhill through the next tunnel. Turning the corner, the figure stretched out a hand towards Tommy and gave him a quick shove, sending him straight over. "Hey! That wasn't fair!" cried Tommy indignantly from the ground. The character ignored him and continued round the turn and off the next jump, performing a simple stylish trick. Whilst Tommy was getting off, Slash zoomed past him, laughing at his failure, only to lose concentration and fall off the cliff at the bottom of the jump. Now Tommy was the one laughing as he sped along the track, where at the side Slash was clambering up the cliff face in frustration.
The two kids desperately needed to gain ground on the mysterious figure, especially Slash, who's fall had been vitally devastating. Tommy now made a jump, and landed on a narrow piece of track with no barriers at the sides, meaning he'd have to be careful if he was to stay on the floodlit track. Thankfully, he smoothly weaved in and out and grabbed a ghost at the end, using it to slow down the leader of the pack temporarily, who was now only just slightly ahead, at the bottom of the next jump. Slash was still only at the start of the unguided part of the track, and his anger was building up. He was the kind of person who got extremely annoyed when losing, which, in turn, annoyed everybody else.
Further on the track the ghost had been a big asset to Tommy and as he jumped off the next jump, the figure hadn't managed to get far, and he unleashed a snowman attack he had been saving on the character, trapping him in a snowman, making him unable to move before crashing into the wall at the side of the track. Yet as soon as Tommy overtook him with glee, Slash had just obtained a pan attack, and used it immediately to send pans crashing down on top of him and the other character, giving Slash a chance to catch up. As the other 2 racers recovered, the 3 of them were tightly packed together, with Tommy at the head, the figure in 2nd and Slash close behind him in 3rd.
Slash then raced through a shop, grabbing a pan attack. However, he decided he would save it at any crucial moment that popped up. As they leapt off this jump, Slash once again pulled off a spectacular spinning leap whilst the other two deemed such a thing unnecessary. Slash then grabbed a parachute from a shop and fired it straight at the figure. But his aim missed and the shot fired past the figure and smacked into the back of Tommy, sending him flying into the air before he began to float down slowly. It was at this point that Slash and the mysterious racer zoomed underneath Tommy whilst he remained helpless and could only stare on in anguish.
The 2 leading racers zoomed through the final tunnel, with the strange figure just slightly ahead of Slash as they leapt over the gap in the track which, if they had fallen into it, would have meant certain failure in the race. As they raced through a final enclosed, brightly lit tunnel, Tommy was far behind and was still in the previous tunnel, disappointed since he knew he couldn't catch up with the other 2 racers. As Slash and the figure exited the tunnel, they prepared for the massive final jump whose height was exclusive to the Night Highway course. This was an extremely big jump…
The figure reached the edge first and jumped off, performing a smooth 720 spin, landing comfortably on the home straight. Yet Slash lost his balance as he neared the edge, tripped and fell head first down the jump, and the realization struck him with a feeling of horror. He landed face down on the snow and was buried in the white blanket covering the course. Looking up, he saw the figure nearing the finishing line. But he knew it wasn't over. As he leapt up, he remembered he had saved a pan attack. He unleashed it knowing that this would be his ticket to success and would surely slow the figure down enough for him to comfortably win the race. Yet as it was coming down on top of the figure, he used an invisible item, meaning that the attack was useless as he had become invisible. It simply bounced on the ground and stopped, while the invisible character zoomed over the finish line in 1st place. "NO!" cried Slash in shock. He came to his senses and sadly crossed the finish line. Soon after, Tommy appeared clumsily at the top of the large jump, landed and crossed the finish line to join the two.
"So, did Slash win?" asked Tommy cheerfully, unaware of what just happened. "Nope, I should have done though!" shouted Slash, clearly annoyed at losing.
"But you passed the test…" Slash and Tommy were startled by the voice of the figure, as he finally spoke for the first time since the race ended. "What do you mean, we passed the test, what test?" Slash had a confused look on his face, which made Tommy chuckle to himself. Tommy loved Slash's exaggerated emotions… The figure spoke again; "This race took place to test your racing skills. Regardless of the fact that you failed to win, winning could not be expected of you and you still showed worthy racing skills. Worthy enough for this…" The figure once again swept aside the right side of his cloak to reveal the inside pocket from which he brought out a small card, with some writing on it and gave it to Slash. He spoke again, "I hope to see you there… Farewell…"
And with that, the stranger turned his back on them and quickly walked off before any reaction was produced from the kids. "What does it say?" asked Tommy. Slash turned over the card – "Let's see, shall we?"
You have been invited to the Masters Snowboarding Tournament. We have analysed that you and your various other friends racing skills' are of a high standard and we wish you to attend this contest. You will compete against other great snowboarders for the chance to win a great prize. The contest will start on the 14th January and competition will continue until the 21st January. Please attend the Snowboarding Lobby in Blizzard City at 12AM on the first day of competition. We hope to see you there.
Regards,
ABSS (Associated Board of Skilled Snowboarders)
"Wow…" exclaimed Slash in disbelief as he re-read the card over and over again. "We should go tell the rest of the gang! This is great!" Slash was almost jumping up and down with excitement. Tommy stared at him with a strange look before speaking;. "Well we're starting to get really late for the party. If we don't get going now, we won't be telling them at all! Remember you're gonna tell Nancy how you feel later, it's about time you should…"
The two kids walked off towards Linda's house, unaware of the amount of events that this tournament will cause for them. This would be one adventure they wouldn't forget…
Chapter 2 should be up soon, where we find out what happens at the party, and whether Slash gets to express his feelings...