Scene #9194: Star¤Twinkle PreCure ~ Pedal To The Metal ¤ Across The Finish Line!

Owner	Pose
Merelisa Shaynore	Once the Nottrigger of Blastoff is flipped over by Onslaught, Lala stands up on top of the camper van to hastily pull out a finishing attack. With her own pen, she sketches out a series of magic ribbon-light stars that all snap into place in a glowing heart-shaped constellation. When the connecting teal line traces the entire heart, it bursts into a sparkling cloud of magic that swirls around Lala, forming an orrery of the solar system with all the planets orbiting her at different speeds, locking into being aligned pointing towards the Nottrigger. After her callout, they all glow with teal-white intensity, then fire a massive column of energy at Blastoff. "Pretty Cure: Galaxy Shining!" Once Blastoff is purified back to normal, Lala and Hikaru both detransform and-- "Lala I need to hug you." Lala wraps her arms around Lilian and squeezes the moment she's able, practically running over as if the opportunity might vanish if she doesn't hurry. Hikaru wasn't invited, but she enthusiastically glomps into the side of the pair with a wide smile and a leg kicked back anyways (her sunglasses reappear once she's back in her civilian clothes). After a few seconds, Lala unburies her face and tilts it up to look at Lilian wide-eyed. "Why, lun? What did I do?" Hikaru leans off the side of the racing RV, shouting back at the Combaticons over the wind. "C'mon, Blastoff! We've still got a race to win! We can all do it together! Love Prime," She turns to face frontwards on the camper van, and flicks her sunglasses down from her forehead. "Let's hit it." "Understood. 'Hitting it' now, Miss Hikaru." It's the last leg of the race now, and Spinout's goons are far enough behind to not matter. Behind the Precures and their allies, a contingent of other racers have gradually closed the gap because of Eyewon's interference with the Nottrigger, and there's only a few minutes left to cement their lead before the finish line...!! The pink and yellow heart-covered RV starts to rocket ahead of the competition, fueled by a huge gout of blue-purple flame launching out of its jets from activating the alien nitrous that the girls have been saving this whole time, while Hikaru holds onto the railing to keep from being yanked off by the wind to open up the sunroof for Lala to jump back inside. But just then, as the racers are neck and neck and there's just a few corners and loops to speed around to victory, a flying saucer dips down below the side of the plasma racetrack and pulls a beaten and battered competitor back into the race--! Spinout, who had been Arcana Slaved, Kamen Ridered, and ran over, thrown aside in defeat by Natsuki, is being lifted back onto the track, and with a new ally on top of his hood! Eyewon is frazzled-looking, and patches of Nottraider-identifiable matte stilver and black metal repair damaged parts of Spinout's chassis, with a big purple eye slapped on the hood. "Get moving, dummy! Catch up to them!" "I'm tryin', I'm tryin'!" "Try harderrrrr!! They're, like, going to win!" "Girlie, you don't have processors strong enough to know how hard I can try." It's the last leg of the race! Love Prime is blasting at top speed, just barely behind Spinout, who's slower but nailing every drift around the corners with pinpoint precision, showing his real prowess as a racer, even without cheating! Eyewon and Hikaru are both crouched down and holding on top of their respective vehicles with their (eye)s squinting against the wind, and the finish line is in sight...!!
Combaticon	Once Blastoff is purified back to normal, he-- lays in the road, face-down, twitching in a large jet-shaped indentation in the metallic road surface. A vaguely wounded-looking Onslaught leans down, grabbing his subordinate and dragging him to the side of the road. His free hand lifts to the side of his helmet as he does so, clearing the track for oncoming racers who'd been left in the dust by the fastest 'bots on the track. "I have recovered Blastoff. Thank you, Pretty Cures." "Is he alright?" "Depthcharge has some dents to pound out of him." "Tch. It never ends." "Vortex: Proceed with the mission." "Uh-- right! It looks like Eyewon is interfering with Spinout this time." "You know what to do." At the side of the track, Blastoff slumps against the guardrail. A pace or so away, Onslaught slides down beside him. His faceplate retreats into the sides of his headpiece as he lifts his right arm. A little storage compartment flips open, extending a metal rod about the same thickness and length as his finger. Taking this in his mouth, Onslaught flips the tip of his thumb open to light the Cy-Gar's end. "Sorry, Big Bot," Blastoff mutters. "You have nothing to apologize for," Onslaught replies, "I am the one who failed you. Not the other way around." After taking a long drag, he holds the cy-gar out, eyes focusing on the cherry-red hotspot on the end. -- Vortex wheels around right as she gets Onslaught's order, rotors locking and folding back. Jet engines unfurl from the helicopter's fuselage, igniting and blasting her ahead over the trackway; skipping hairpins as shortcuts thanks to Aircraft Privilege. Only once she's caught up to Spinout do the thrusters fold back in and the rotors start spinning again-- Largely so Vortex can fly sideways now (Helicopter Privilege). "I am Vortex with the Decepticon Justice Division!" she announces through a loudspeaker, "Autobot Spinout, you are carrying a being wanted for assaulting DJD officers, pull over! Refusal to do so will be met with force!" She accentuates the threat of force with a warning shot; a burst of automatic fire from the underslung machine gun on the helicopter's nose. Her shot goes intentionally wide-- Showing she means business.
Angela	Nikki cackles, not unlike--say--an actual villain from a magical girl show as she sees Spinout be struggling to catchup and manages to get a, "Good luck--" taunt out before Angela interrupts her. "Nikki. Remember that the power of friendship and reaffirming the strength of family bonds is what is neccessary to win this race. Taunting enemy racers excessively will only prove to strengthen their own bonds of friendship and may push them to relying on the power of family bonds as well which is an unacceptable risk." Angela says. "Focus on positive affirmations." Nikki says, "Uh..." Rose says, "How about... 'You should have never messed with our family!'" Angela considers and then nods. "Acceptable." Rose turns her head to shout at Eyewon and Spintout, "You should have never messed with our family!" And then adds, "You'll never be able to break our family!" The Hell Train screams as well but it's probably incidental as it plows through a Transformer or two through the power of being a very large and evil train. Maybe it has found comradery with Love Prime, trying to eliminate any nearby competitors from the race by plowing through them--or maybe it just loves to kill! Either way, the difficulty for the Agents will be to figure out how to stop it once it gets going. Hopefully Nikki's soporific will work.
Natsuki Nuki	MOMENTS AGO. . . Natsuki, having been forced off her Hell Bike by the oncoming traffic of a hurled Concord Partner, had taken to skating on stormclouds and drifting behind the pack, losing time until she had found the aggressively boosting Love Prime and had launched from the nose! Pouncing as a bolt of electricity that bridges transformed racer and Transforming heel supercar, the moment of crashing leaves a bright explosion of arcing electricity that obscures the fine details, and ends with Natsuki standing to one side of the track, heaving with breath. The 'vwwwm! vw-vwwm!' of the track besides her is more rapid than the cycle of respiration, and her red-glowing eyes glare into the ditch that Spinout ends up in. Pulling out a dark handkerchief with white polkadots and a Baditz-Maru head in the corner, Natsuki starts wiping soot from her fingers and off from her neck and cheeks. Actually feeling a little better after running down Spinout, the Lady Nue stuffs her Sanrio handkerchief into her pocket with a scrap still peeking and fixes her long red scarf after. Looking up to see Eyewon's saucer still on the move - and closing!! Natsuki smirks toothily and chirps a 'hyoo-hyoo' chortle, finally turning away from Spinout's well-confirmed wreck. The mission was never to kill him! Just... send a message. With God Genm still using the Hell Bike, Natsuki turns towards the track and spring-pounces onto one of the chase racers of Cybertron with the help of a sticky grey loop of webbing in both hands. NOW. . . Riding atop the speedingly debilitated top of a muscle car themed Cybertronian caught quarterwise through transformation and held like a charioteer might guide a team of horses, Natsuki swerves through the pack while 'mushing' her maligned mount with heel pressure and web tension. Catching up with Hikaru and Lala at the front is a bit of a test, but... 'I am Vortex with the Decepticon Justice Division!' Helicopter privilege means you're up there, highlit against the sky. Seeing, impossibly, Spinout and Eyewon back in the race and gaining, Natsuki hauls on her captured victim's spider-reins and cuts across behind Love Prime, throwing up another thick cloud of vision-obscuring black! But this time, it's the exact kind of instant storm of rain and thunder and turbulence that would wildly frustrate Helicopter Privelege! The track is blanketed with heavy sheets of rain that make heavy bodies and thick tires have real advantage, while supercars of all sorts have to engage in hyper-dangerous roadslick drifts! It's a sprint to the end, not through smog, but through a headlamp-fogging soup of a joust between vehicles! "We're here to race!!" Natsuki shouts, whoops from the middle of the storm, and has to let one chariot go in a messy head-on collision to start bouncing and jumping across vehicles! She probably still thinks she's racing.
Timespace Riders	Girlie, you don't have processors strong enough to know how hard I can try. "Hm." The noise carries a certain impressed tone. Could something Woz have said reached this racer? Could unexpected help from Eyewon have opened his eyes to something, however small? Either way, with Spinout no longer cheating, Woz also stops harassing him with shuriken and kama violence, focusing entirely on technique. He follows Spinout's lines, riding his draft and coming out of corners on the outside to try and pass. Autobot Spinout, you are carrying a being wanted for assaulting DJD officers, pull over! Refusal to do so will be met with force! "Hold a moment, Vortex," says Woz, taking a corner aggressively with the green, kama-shaped head of his touchscreen polearm. He could pass the two of them--but puts himself between them and Vortex, instead. "After all that has been said today, by myself and others--it would mean a great deal to me if the two of them had a chance to complete the race." Further back, Zi-O holds another Ridewatch in his hand. The face looks like a cross between a Kamen Rider and a space shuttle. Fourze! An orange and black pocketwatch is slotted into the left side of the Driver around his waist, in the spot where the OOOs watch was just a moment ago. The LCD chronometer on the belt reads AU19. As before, the frantic ticking of a clock is heard just barely over the roar of Love Prime's engine, before Zi-O spins the Driver. ARMOR TIME! A disembodied suit of armor emerges from a pink portal that appears before him, almost left behind at this extreme speed. White with orange trim, its board-stiff posture and aerodynamic shape give the appearance of a space shuttle. It takes off after Love Prime, rocketing towards Zi-O atop the RV. The armor breaks apart and snaps into place over him. Three! Two! One! o/` Fooourze! o/` "Let's have a stellar time!" Fourze never said that, but Zi-O's exuberance as he leaps into the air and pumps a fist is still very much like him. He flails awkwardly in the empty air where there was an RV roof, before the big orange thrusters on his arms and their rear counterparts at his legs fire up. Shouting with effort, he not only catches up to Love Prime, but assists by adding extra thrust as a kind of external engine!
Lilian Rook	Lilian may not have invited Hikaru, but she includes her anyways. That's obvious. You just do that when the girls are best friends. It'd be weird if she insisted on keeping it private. Hikaru can have some hug too, in fact. 'Why, lun? What did I do?' "You've just come a long ways. That's all." Lilian says, strangely soft. She has to remind herself that Lala doesn't need her to grab her up and shield her from the sudden acceleration when the nitro hits. She hasn't ever done that before and doesn't know anyone who would need it outside of Lala's classmates; in as much as she 'knows' them at all. The thought rattles her a little as she grabs onto one of the ceiling rails and braces herself inside the camper, and turning it over in her head occupies most of the catchup time. She flips her shades back down once they're jostling for first. 'Get moving, dummy! Catch up to them!' "Oh my god come on." Lilian moans. She pokes her head out the other window while thinking about how, if she smoked, this would be the point at which she flicks her cigarette away dramatically into the wind. She decides the atmosphere must be getting to her. 'Try harderrrrr!! They're, like, going to win!' Lilian half-lowers her gun, and instead cups her hand to her mouth, hollering between the jockeying vehicles over the sound of their engines, "EYEWON? DID YOU MAKE A FRIEND? IT'S-- HANG ON." -----[stop]----- Lilian clambers out through the window with a meditative little 'huy-chaa' noise where nobody can hear her. When her feet hit the road, she throws her arms out and wobbles on the spot, then regathers herself and says, frowning, "Weird. For a second, I was almost sure I was going to go flying." Talking to herself whilst she walks across the short distance between Love Prime and Spinout, she says "It must be the racing mindset. No wonder they all talk like idiots if they simmer their brains in this all the time." She completes the set with a 'hup!' as she leaps up onto Spinout's cab, and then lowers her hands so that-- -----[start]----- --Lilian gently grips Eyewon's shoulders, knelt down on the cab behind her. She'd like to wave to Hikaru, but for a little longer, her focus is just on the Nottraider. "He isn't zapped by your dark pen, is he? It shouldn't be ready for use again so soon . . . So you two are teaming up? Even though he has a place on Cybertron, as a popular racer everyone loves and not an outcast who'd fit in on Nottrei, you were able to align your goals with his and work together to beat the Precures?" Lilian honestly has no idea if this will antagonize Eyewon or do something else, but she finishes out her thought anyways. "Well, it's not exactly friendship, but I'm really impressed. You're already finding people you can rely on. See how much closer you are this time? With even just on ally, you've almost beaten them. I knew you were a quick study, but you really can do anything you put your mind to."
Lilian Rook	'I am Vortex with the Decepticon Justice Division!' "Excuse me, but I am trying to have a moment here!" Lilian yells up at the helicopter who absolutely couldn't have heard any of that already. How absurd that not everyone can simply intuit that she is the main character at all times! 'Autobot Spinout, you are carrying a being wanted for assaulting DJD officers, pull over! Refusal to do so will be met with force!' "This loser is also carrying me now, so he's forbidden from stopping!" Lilian yells. Whether this is intentionally putting herself in solidarity with Eyewon or that is incidental to her being intensely offended for having her arc subject to machine gun fire is truly impossible to say. "I thought you didn't have jurisdiction over Autobot affairs anyways?! What kind of cop even are you?! Decide if you're corrupt or not already!"
Combaticon	> "After all that has been said today, by myself and others--it would mean a great deal to me if the two of them had a chance to complete the race." Vortex pauses. She hadn't really intended to keep shooting after the warning shot anyway, but something about the sleek black attack helicopter indicates she's considering Sougo's words. Just enough to get chastised by Lilian in such a way that the vehicle almost seems to wobble under the verbal attack. > "Excuse me, but I am trying to have a moment here!" > "I thought you didn't have jurisdiction over Autobot affairs anyways!?" "W-well . . ." There's no face and no hand, but one could imagine from the sheepish tone the 'bot scratching nervously at her cheek while averting her gaze, "I was gonna... let him go after I apprehended Eyewon? Last I heard, she's not an Autobot." "--Whoa!" Natsuki creates a storm over the track. No matter what she was planning to do before that, Vortex is forced to break off and keep her distance, swinging front-in towards the wind to better battle gusts. While the loss of traction isn't a problem for her, getting pushed around by the wind most certainly is.
Kuroto Dan	Previously, Kamen Rider Genm was thrown back, skipping and skidding across the ground like a tossed stone until he stops just a ways from Natsuki's vehicle. Thankfully, the Concord supports and promotes excellent beings like himself at any given opportunity. So rather than simply getting run over by her, he is handed a new power up, one that he graciously grabs hold of and slots into his belt after removing Shakariki Sports. He doesn't even bother to glance at whatever it was he was handed or if it'd even theoretically work, because other than the fact that (most) members of the Concord know what they're doing, his sheer creativity and intellect will allow it to work no matter what. Gachan! LEVEL UP! INTERSTATE TO ENDING, RIDE TO HELL! BAD! BAD! SKELETON BIKE! Genm's purple armor bursts away to reveal a form more reminiscent of his Dangerous Zombie form as his upper body is now adorned with a jacket that accentuates the broken HP meter on his chest, and purple scarf that always seems to flow dramatically even when there's no wind. More importantly than his looks, however, is the fact he has a ride again, though rather than a bicycle, it's an actual motorcycle. Praise be! Genm lets out a disgusting, almost gurgly laugh in what is probably a thanks to Natsuki, before revving the engine on his motorcycle and speeding off to catch up behind Zi-O and Love Prime. " I've said it once before, that the only thing that truly terrifies me in this world is my own genius, but perhaps there is something else I should fear. Yes! What I should also fear is how I am capable of utilizing the genius of others!"
Merelisa Shaynore	"You should have never messed with our family!" Spinout starts to snark something nasty back at Rose, but he's shouted over by Eyewon sticking out her tongue and blowing a raspberry that's ripped away by the wind. "I don't care about your stupid family! You and them can go lose!" She's probably assuming that the Precures are Rose's family, which is a bit of an odd thing to do even considering the magical girl EGO gear. Either way, the muscle car can swerve and weave around the Hell Train with no problems, even using the curve of the train cars around the corner to grind up against and slingshot even faster ahead. Eyewon yelps when Spinout performs the maneuver and wobbles on top of the car, but when they pull ahead she switches to cackling and hollering. "Get, like, bennnnnnnnt! Looooosers!!" The Hell Train is, however, very effective at culling the chaff racers that only managed to catch up because of the Nottrigger. Transformers swerve out of the way in panic when it comes charging at them, and slowing down to dodge puts them exactly in the path of Natsuki's storm too, and... no one on Cybertron knows how to drive in the rain! The Leidenfrost effect of rain on the plasma racetrack makes the slower, unnamed racers skitter around and spin out to fall behind right at the last stretch! ". . . So you two are teaming up?" "Wahh!!" Eyewon flinches at having Lilian suddenly behind her, almost toppling right off of Spinout from that alone. Her expression cycles between surprised, angry at being surprised, mollified because it's Lilian, confused, and then finally brattily angry about what she's actually saying. Simultaneously, she and Spinout both retort, ""We're not teaming up!!"" "Uh, actually, literally not teaming up at all! I'm, like, totally blackmailing this guy, actually! Because I went down there after he got owned so freaking hard and then I repaired him and now he totally has to help me! I'm, like, taking advantage of him, actually!" "I just hadta get a boost ta get back into the race and show those organics who's boss, and if she just happens to be ridin' too, then that's no grease off my gears!" "We're here to race!!" "Yea-heahhhh!!" Hikaru whoops in agreement with Natsuki. She flattens herself on the roof to duck under another overpass, and then the finale of the race is right up ahead past a straightaway, with the crowd of spectators even more densely packed to watch around it. "Zi-O, Love Prime, Lala! We've got this! Just a little further!" "Autobot Spinout, you are carrying a being wanted for assaulting DJD officers, pull over!" "Oup," Spinout grumbles while hitting a mini-turbo to be riding right up behind the camper van, dodging the flame from the turbo and Zi-O. "Slagging pigs again. OOOIIIII--!! Keep your slagging headlights on the road and remember I'm the best racer on this strip! You must be malfunctioning ta think you can pull me over!" Eyewon pulls out a little martian raygun gizmo and immediately starts Plotting with Spinout. "'Kay, like, break her line of sight, like, in a sec or two, and then I'll deploy a--" And then the combined deterrence of the other racers means that Spinout races past Vortex effortlessly, causing the helicopter to spin around a few times and get covered with exhaust, searchlights blinking twice in the cloud."Nyehhhh!!! You couldn't catch me anyways! Like, no prison can hold me!"
Merelisa Shaynore	The high-tech finish line has a flat sheet of checkered red and black light that snapshots the exact moment that each racer crosses it, to the roaring cheers of the crowd. In first place is Love Prime, pushed forwards by second place crossing right behind her, Sougo! Next up is Natsuki leaping off of a hobbling racecar who immediately unfurls and faceplants on the track in humanoid form once she stops pushing him to keep going forwards. And coming in fourth, it looks like Eyewon and Spinout are about to take it, but the microclick precision of the finish line scan shows Genm barely crossing in the instant before them by sticking himself over the finish line. The racers can all roll to a stop, with Hikaru and Lala celebrating-- "We did it! Lala!" "We did it, lun! AI! You were amazing, lun!"-- and the muscle car and magical girl villain grousing before Spinout turns back into his humanoid form. Then the announcerbot for the race puts up everyone's symbols on the giant floating television and calls out the final results. "In first place, taking home the gold and the grand prize, Love Prime! In second, we've got Zi-O! In third, ridden by a different organic than he entered the race with, Hell Bike! And then shockingly, coming up in fourth, his worst performance in years, Spinout!"
Natsuki Nuki	With the storm knocking Vortex out behind them, Natsuki eases up and focuses on the race, muttering a few quick words to ward away danger: "I'm sure they have insurance." Grinding another racer to the line and then hopping off of them like jumping down two steps at a time and walking away from the victim's rolling-to-a-crash past the line in the middle of the pack. After that one jump, Natsuki keeps walking, prancing to a stop, proudly pumping up her fingerless gloved fists at beating even the local hero at his own game for once. A crash that turns into 'bots figuring themselves out at a scramble still happening behind her, Natsuki grins at Eyewon and Spinout and drops one raised fist to wave with the other. Flushed and happy again, enjoying the pleasure of a well-cheated and heeled kill along the racetrack, the announcers run up their preroll and then get to the placements. 'In third, ridden by a different organic than he entered the race with, Hell Bike!' Spinning around and starting to go off on a particularly incensed tirade about the province of her very nice boots and what particular segments of the internal combustion engine she was going to jam 'it' in, which unfortunately is lost from the recordings due to atmospheric disturbance, racetrack sounds, and the announcer track dubbing over her stamping and hollering. ONE CUT LATER, Natsuki slicks back rain-washed white hair, and approaches Genm to shake his hand and draw the SKELETON BIKE racer in. A quick arm-about makes it look like a genuine hug! It sort of is, but her teeth are awful close to the side of his mask. "I'll let you stand on the podium as a special service - as long as you promise to eradicate anyone who calls me a bad racer. It's better for your company for your 'new game' to place in a race, isn't it?" She offers, and then releases the Rider and saunters away to watch the awards ceremony.
Angela	''I don't care about your stupid family! You and them can go lose!'' "Excellent work. In denigrating family, they are bound to fall further behind in the race." Angela says. " "We are sort of falling behind, though." Nikki points out. "Immaterial." Angela says. "Because we are family, we win so long as our family wins. If Lala and Hikaru take gold it is just as if we took gold, naturally." "...You are getting kind of into this, aren't you?" "...Of course not. This is simply me being practical." Angela crosses her arms. "Now. Go Hell Train... For Love And Peace." Hell Train screams again, wrecking cars, or chasing them off the track, or generally being a general nuisance to all the other Cybertronian racers. Angela is pretty sure that no matter what she does, so long as she and her fellow Agents say quotes about family, they'll win. The exact mechanisms of this relationship are not clear in the same way that it isn't exactly clear, sometimes, how an Abnormality--say--turns an Agent into a tree. But the first step of experimentation is observation and it is pretty clear that the premise shows promise just by virtue of how well the Precures are doing. Indeed, declaring 'family' have have been more beneficial than expected because Sougo and Kamen Rider God Genm make third. "We did it. We won all three medals. Good work, Agents. Now once we have crossed the finish line, we can stop our FILTEREDTrain and congratulation Lala, Hikaru, and Love Prime on their win." After plowing through another couple cars, the Hell Train eventually moves across the finish line and Nikki reaches down, spreading the spores to try and put the Hell Train to sleep. "...Aha...seems like it's taking a minute..." "...Um, Lady Angela.... I don't think it's working this time..." The Hell Train screams once more as it rises up in the air at an odd angle, throwing itself at the audience stands. Nikki tumbles off the top of the Hell Train, leaving Rose alone in the Train. The Former Captain of the Central Team tumbles off and rolls to a stop near Love Prime. Rose just keeps pulling levers and pulling on the horn to try and get the Hell Train to stop to no avail. Audience members no doubt scatter in a panic as the Hell Train toots off into the distance, rapidly fading from view as it just doesn't stop. "...Well," Angela says from her pad. "Congratulations. how do you feel about your victory, AI?" Angela asks, heedless of the fact that Nikki is just lying on the floor, dazed.
Lilian Rook	'Uh, actually, literally not teaming up at all! I'm, like, totally blackmailing this guy, actually!' Lilian raises an eyebrow high enough that the motion is visible despite the polarized glasses. She says "Really?" on the verge of sarcasm, but with a weird hint of unwholesome interest. 'Because I went down there after he got owned so freaking hard and then I repaired him and now he totally has to help me!' "Eyewon . . ." Lilian purses her lips like she doesn't know how to explain to her wheelchair-bound niece that she can't actually grow up to be a ballerina. "That sounds like you helped him out, so now he's returning the favour." It's incredible how she can look so poised about all this while triple digit kph wind is blasting the back of her head and the world is lurching all around her. Riding on top sucks. 'I'm, like, taking advantage of him, actually!' 'if she just happens to be ridin' too, then that's no grease off my gears!' Lilian glances up and down between the two. She hunkers down for a hairpin turn, but puts her hands on Eyewon's back again instead of sullying them on Spinout's roof. "Taking advantage of his . . . I see." What? His ego? His gratefulness? His psychotic desire to win? His ultimately altruistic Autobot sensibilities buried deep down? Hello? Five seconds later, Eyewon responds to Vortex's interruption by pulling out a gun-- even if it is a zappy space raygun-- and Lilian looks back from yelling at the Decepticon with open-mouthed surprise. As if she were shocked that even Eyewon would casually resort to such underhanded violence against the authorities, and so smoothly in cahoots with their old enemies too! Lilian claps her hands down on Eyewon's shoulders a second time, staring her straight in the face, and says. "You're getting it!" in a way that's almost choked up. She pushes up her shades and tilts her head down, squinting to wipe a dewy teardrop from her eye with the back of her finger, and says "You can always ask me if you need any blackmail advice, okay? It make me really happy to see that you're taking that advice to heart." That advice being 'most people don't really get along at all, they're just forced to pretend to by fear of being ostracized and ganged up on', but no one else needs to know that. Lilian has fully forgotten that she wanted to be on board the camper when Love Prime crosses the finish line in first by now. By the time the results have been announced, she's completely forgotten to dick on Spinout for losing, and all the energy she'd normally put towards taunting and humiliating him is being spent on Eyewon, hovering around her with a generalized prattle that involves talking emphatically with her hands a lot. "That was such a good idea! You should have started with it rather than relying on that loser to be a useful Nottrigger! See, the idea with taking advantage of the weak link is that you do it at the same time as projecting force, so that everyone has to deal with the big obstacle you put in their path while you're getting carried forward by someone else's ability you've bent to your ends; it doubles the gap compared to doing one only after the other. It's like they can't attack your true crony while your bigger, badder one is hassling them, you know? It's basically unbeatable if you can get the third point of the unholy trinity: someone who gives up, betrays them, or drags them down, inside their own ranks. It's all part of not having to beat everyone at their unified best; they're different forms of splitting up the task and delegating it. You're good at that, aren't you? In R&D--" She's only briefly distracted by seeing Hikaru and Lala popping off. She stops to wave while potentially still trying to hold Eyewon's hand.
Timespace Riders	We've got this! Just a little further! "Got it!" Another Zi-O appears on the roof, in the same space shuttle-themed armor--he must be from just a few minutes in the future! With the present Zi-O providing extra boost from the back of the RV, it's hard for him to see which way to go, therefore...! "Okay," calls the Zi-O on the roof, cupping his gloves to his helmet for the other to hear. "There's a big switchback coming up! Ease up a little, me! Left, leftleftleft! Good! Now, right, right, rightrightright! Okay, even it out! Almost there, almost there!" It's a photo finish! The Zi-O pushing Love Prime disappears to travel back in time and guide himself through the final stretch. The one on top of the roof bounces up and down exuberantly as things slow down, waving with both hands to the crowd before hopping off as they stop. He gestures to Love Prime with to get the crowd to show her a little more applause. Then, as Natsuki's ride faceplants across the finish line, he runs over and offers him a hand up. "Well done, kami-sama," says Kamen Rider Woz to Genm, offering sincere applause. "As ever, you have faithfully tended to the prayers of your people." And then the retainer turns his attention to Spinout. "The sting of fifth place is balmed by the privilege of seeing you devote yourself fully to your craft, when pressed." A little bow at the waist. "Have you met Eyewon, Woz?" asks Zi-O, on his way over. "Yes, albeit without a formal introduction." Which is to say he heard all of the trash she was talking and doesn't seem to mind it. "Hail to you," he offers politely. "Perhaps the time grows near to make a dramatic escape, though I hope this will not be the last time we--" "Woz! Sorry to interrupt, but do you have my notepad?" "Ah, of course." somehow he procures it from within the folds of the Shinobi armor's iridescent purple scarf. "Here you are, sire." "Thanks!" Zi-O hurriedly scrawls down notes. At the same... time as... projecting... force... doubles the gap...
Combaticon	Blown off course and spun about, Vortex takes several minutes to reorient herself, helpfully dealt with before Eyewon even has to shoot her; Once recovered, she gains altitude and dips forward to accelerate after the leaders in the race. Past the finish line, as accolades start going out to the winners-- the Precures and Love Prime justifiably winning-- she circles around and descends. That noise sounds out as she reduces in size and reverts back to her humanoid form to land somewhat heavily on both feet. Once there, Vortex raises one hand to wave at the victorious magical girls and their sentient ride. Swindle is visible in the crowd, selling merchandise. Photos and decals, a little Samaan rocket model kit titled 'Love Prime (Proto)' and ... an audio single of the episode's unique credit theme Hi-Speed Cyber Heart? How he got his servos on that is a mystery. Closer to the trackside, Brawl is easy enough to pick out, attending to the 'bots trampled by Hell Train's sudden and violent exit out into the wilderness of Cybertron. While she doesn't say much once she's reached the outer edge of the finish line arena, the way she rests her hand on the back of her head carries the gist of 'I'm sure that's fine.' Depthcharge is here, in the pit area, working on Blastoff who is clearly loudly complaining but inaudible over the crowd. Near them is Onslaught, his arms folded behind his back beneath the cannons. His eyes lift from the repair work to the leaderboard, then swing aside towards the racers as they're feeding in past the finish line. He still has the Cy-gar in his teeth, smoldering away. He says something to Depthcharge, who barely acknowledges it, and then he steps away. "Hikaru, Lala," Onslaught speaks up as he approaches, "And Love Prime. Well done, each of you. I had no doubt in your determination or ability." His eyes lift up to the camper van, a few thoughtful clicks ringing out, "As for the transformation cog-- Keep it. I will get a replacement. I can vouch for its quality-- May it serve you well." It's a robot society, replacement parts clearly aren't gonna be a problem.
Kuroto Dan	"I have gone above and beyond my initial promise! I defeated your fraudulent racing abilities with not only one, but two different bikes! If I were in your position, I would kill yourself now to escape the shame you'll be forced to live with for the rest of your life!!! If you can't do that, however, perhaps biting that tongue of yours and bowing down in apology is a decent second option." Genm talks down at Spinout as he basks in his victory. Sure, he got third place, but he only needed to get first if he was to fufill his promise to the two girls. Since they were the ones to win though, that isn't required- Wait. Did they say HELL BIKE? That's his or Natsuki's name! Just as he's about to make a fuss about it however, Natsuki slides on to put an arm around him and whisper in his ear. 'I'll let you stand on the podium as a special service - as long as you promise to eradicate anyone who calls me a bad racer. It's better for your company for your 'new game' to place in a race, isn't it?' Ignoring the fact that he still can't understand why someone would sign up their ride as the contestant and not themselves, Genm stops to think for a moment and nods. He supposes, even if it was his skill and genius and piloted the Hell Bike to victory, she was the one who created it. It's only fair that he upholds her honor if that's what she wants. "As I've told everyone here before, I'm a benevolent god. Consider anyone who so much THINKS that good as dead."
Merelisa Shaynore	"That sounds like you helped him out, so now he's returning the favour." Before crossing the finish line, Eyewon pouts, nebulously upset about something. "Well, like, maybe it sounds like that, but that's not really what happened. Because I was obviously, like, intending from the start to take advantage of him, so he wouldn't have agreed if I didn't have leverage. Or, like, implied leverage, at least. That stuff's not real. Just Star and Milky say junk like that." The fact that Hell Train crashing through the audience stands while the spectators scatter and scream isn't even commented on by the announcer is an exciting window into the expected scale of the way these races tend to go. Lala looks over at Hikaru, slightly worried, but Hikaru is busy shouting "Go, Express Train, go!" and so Lala just gets into cheering for the Train too. "Express Train, thanks for racing with us, lun!" "Congratulations. how do you feel about your victory, AI?" "And Love Prime. Well done, each of you. I had no doubt in your determination or ability." "Hm?" AI synthesizes pleasantly, distantly separate from the chaos and cheering in the stands and the hype of the other finishing racers. The front wheels slant to the side to tilt the front of the camper van towards the people speaking with it, but clashing with that unconscious anthropomorphization of the new van form, it beeps and doodles in thought for several seconds. "Data suggests that first place winners tend to experience spikes in dopamine production of up to 73.12%, correlated to the reward pathway of the brain. This is known as a 'winner's high', and so I would likely be feeling that." "But AI--!! You were really incredible out there! You should be proud!" "Lun! And look at you now! Now we can all travel together easily, lun!" As Hikaru and Lala wrap their arms around the front of the truck to gush praise towards AI, the camper van rolls back and forth slightly as if shifting its weight between its feet. "I see... additionally, Miss Hikaru, Miss Lala. My apologies for not sharing this sentiment during the race, and therefore opening us up to a reversal of fortune as my and Miss Angela's analysis suggested. However," The camper van, cozily organized with all of the girls' belongings stored inside, with room for their art lovingly displayed on the wall and their beds positioned for nightly sleepovers, each little precious object enshrined in its structure, is the form that 'Love Prime' has taken. "It has been an honor to serve as a home to you two girls ever since Miss Lala first came to Earth. I treasure the 'family' that we have together, such as it is. Perhaps it is these feelings that carried us across the finish line." "Me too AI... maybe both of us have 'come a long way', lun." "We can really keep it?" Hikaru looks up at Onslaught with wide, earnestly-thankful eyes. "Thanks a ton, Onslaught, sir! It's super duper twincool for AI to be able to drive around and it seems like it makes her really happy too!!" "You can always ask me if you need any blackmail advice, okay? It make me really happy to see that you're taking that advice to heart." Meanwhile, now that the race is done and Spinout is awkwardly looking away from the paparrazzi who are trying to grill him for his 'failure' of fourth place, Eyewon is confusedly wilting beneath Lilian's excited praise. One of her hair ties was torn out by the wind during the race, leaving a frizzy mess of curly hair sticking out of one side of her head, which she shyly tries to wrangle back into place as something to focus on besides Lilian's support and justify not holding her hand.
Merelisa Shaynore	"O-oh... like, for real? W-well, Lady Mujinko might send a letter or something if I, like, ask her... and you've already shown that you're, like, kind of cool, or whatever, so.... It's, like, possible, I guess." Focusing on the practical realities and possibilities enables yet another layer of deflection from Eyewon, escalating from trying to avoid holding her hand-- though she doesn't shake off her hands on her shoulders-- to not having to acknowledge compliments at all. "I-I mean... like, I'll just use that advice to beat the Precures, or whatever, so..." "Hold on, like, for a second!!!" She whips around to accusatorially point a finger at Hikaru and Lala, who are still holding hands and excitedly hugging their new van. "Yeah! I'll beat you next time! That's what this was, like, all about, by the way! If you even, like, noticed, anything past your stupid little noses! It's proving that I can still totally win!" "Okay!! I hope we can race again, Eyewon!" "Rrraaaahgh! Like, bye!!!" "Hail to you," Jarred out of her angry heel-turn and exit, Eyewon blinks her eye and lightly waves back at Woz. "Oh. Hi, I'm Eyewon. I'm the head scientist of the Nottraiders and stuff. I-- wait! I was about to do a dramatic escape! Like, for real, actually, like bye!" "Eyewon seemed to be in a really weird mood, lun... she wasn't nearly as mean as usual." "Perhaps that was the 'winner's high', Miss Lala." "Oyo... maybe that's true." After Eyewon disappears through the black hole portal, it's time for the top three racers to get up on their podium and be presented with their awards. Genm has to wheel the Hell Bike onto third place, and then suffer the indignity of them placing the bronze medal around the handlebars rather than his own neck, but he's allowed to be up there. Sougo, as long as he's still transformed into Fourze, is easily recognizable as someone who belongs among the people here, but if he sheds his armor it might take some insisting that he's in fact the same person that was on the racetrack. Meanwhile, not on the podium, but standing to the quieter backstage looking onwards thoughtfully, is... "The sting of fifth place is balmed by the privilege of seeing you devote yourself fully to your craft, when pressed." "Funny, ain't it? It's been a real long time since I've actually hadta push myself like that. Probably was the last time I wasn't standing there right up on that podium, too, in fact. Guess I still had it in me after all." Spinout laughs like an engine failing to start, then puts out a hand for Woz to shake. "Hurts my pride ta lose my own battle, but I gotta admit, you were right. I'll keep on searching for that feeling that put me inta racing in the first place." Back on stage, Love Prime, still in camper van form, is being presented with her first place winnings. The glowing Stellar Note with the Cancer astrological symbol on the side, along with a shining gold medal. "Congratulations, Love Prime! An unknown challenger out of nowhere, running away with the race! Now feel free to go back to your true form and we'll present you with the medal!" Awkwardly, the announcer ends up draping the gold medal around the nosecone of the rocket ship.
Angela	The Hell Train flies off into the sunset, its gentle screams wishing the Precures a wonderful life until the day they meet again. at least, it's possible that's what the Express Train is sasying. It has a language of its own, after all, even if it can't be understood in words. Angela, of course, is curious as to how AI is going to react to victory. The clinical analysis isn't quite what she's looking for, but Angela isn't the sort to blame an AI for starting with that. After all, Angela might have done the same thing. But she allows herself a small smile when hikaru and Lala spread their congratulations to AI and AI, of course, does the important thing and dedicate the victory to the power of family. "Mm. Well done AI." Angela says, genuinely--at least in the ways that matter. Nikki stares up at the sky, dazed, watching Rose cry and scream as Hell Train carts her to who knows where. They'll find her eventually, she's sure. She lays there as Hikaru excitedly speaks of a SECOND race to Eyewon. She doesn't know how mean Eyewon usually is, but she can't help but agree with Lala's vibe on the matter. ''Congratulations, Love Prime!'' Angela claps politely and then slants her eyes up towards Nikki expectantly, who starts clapping from her position on the floor. "Congratulations." "Congratulations." "Congratulations." Angela threw a second congratulations there so she could congratulate AI more than Nikki.
Combaticon	> "This is known as a 'winner's high', and so I would likely be feeling that." "Likely so," Onslaught's posture straightens slightly while addressing AI, "It was you and the girls working together." His head turns slightly, "And the support of all those here who put their faith in you. Just remember, Love Prime, that you have become more than your function." Without turning his head back, his eyes shift back to the camper van, "To these girls, you are indeed family." > "We can really keep it? Thanks a ton, Onslaught, sir!" Onslaught unfolds one hand just to reach up, pinching the brim of his cap and tugging it down over his eyes. Handily, this hides any embarrassment he might be showing behind the bulk of his palm, since his cy-gar keeps him from closing his battle mask over his face, "Of course. Love Prime would have a harder time helping you without it. Helping you makes her happy; Happiness for fellow positronics is important to me too." If the racing staff try to give Genm or Sougo any problem accepting their prizes, Vortex is right there to explain that Kamen Riders are 'a kind of Organic Transformer' and that they shouldn't worry about it too much. But even she can't quite figure out how to explain that Hell Bike is just a vehicle. When AI shifts back to rocket form to receive her prize, though; Vortex spreads her rotors and flits up to a good angle, using gestures to guide everyone together around AI herself; even Spinout is beckoned over. She even calls over Crash Test, Girder, and Fracture when they finally limp across the finish line. Most importantly, she positions Lala, Hikaru, and Yuma right up front where they're the easiest to see among all the racers, robots, Kamen Riders, and swordmagus helpers when she takes the photo. It's a print of this (and a copy of that Hi-Speed Cyber Heart single) that Vortex presents to the precures as souvenirs of their visit to Cybertron; alongside, of course, their winnings. "Here's something to remember us by, huh?" the copter'bot offers. She has no mouth, but the upturn of those glowing red eyes suggests a smile, "The Laserbolt Run is in a few lunar cycles, maybe you can give it another go."
Lilian Rook	'It has been an honor to serve as a home to you two girls ever since Miss Lala first came to Earth. I treasure the 'family' that we have together, such as it is. Perhaps it is these feelings that carried us across the finish line.' For the second time, Lilian has to uncomfortably pause and think about AI. She spends a little while turning over the idea that the routinely lobotomized extrusion of the cultural consensus engine at the heart of Samaan could have somehow achieved something like independent human feelings, then eventually discards it for being too corny and perfect to possibly be real, and chalks it up to consuming too many movies in preparation for the race. At least it seems to be good for Lala. 'O-oh... like, for real? W-well, Lady Mujinko might send a letter or something if I, like, ask her... and you've already shown that you're, like, kind of cool, or whatever, so.... It's, like, possible, I guess.' "Obviously 'for real'." says Lilian. "I don't just say things I have no intention of following through on. If you're serious, then I'm serious!" Even if she's accepting that she doesn't want her hand held, she must be attempting to corrupt Eyewon with the forbidden taste of Friendship and Acceptance, to draw her away from Mujinko's side! Probably. Right? "Wouldn't it be easier to just exchange numbers than send a letter? Or is that too much pressure?" Two minutes later, once Eyewon has jumped off into a black hole and vanished in a strop (and Lilian is done waving) . . . 'Eyewon seemed to be in a really weird mood, lun... she wasn't nearly as mean as usual.' 'Perhaps that was the 'winner's high', Miss Lala.' "Hmm? She didn't win though?" Lilian says, absentmindedly. "But she did much better this time. And for once, it wasn't just everyone all against her. A race is already sort of everyone for themselves, so I think the atmosphere suited her better; and most of all, someone was actually listening to her, even if he's a massive-- jerk." she hastily corrects herself. "I get the impression 'those three' don't mind hanging around each other on their home planet, but they dislike actually working together in the field. It's like they all have their own reasons to prove that they can do everything themselves. So perhaps it was a change for her to work with someone who could put aside his pride for the sake of winning?" This, of course, completely writes herself out of the occasion, but Lilian is far more interested in character analysis with Lala to care about anything she did herself. Anything she accomplishes is depressing and problematic, after all; the total opposite of poor sweet Lala. 'Funny, ain't it? It's been a real long time since I've actually hadta push myself like that. Probably was the last time I wasn't standing there right up on that podium, too, in fact. Guess I still had it in me after all.' As tempted as Lilian is to still lord the victory over the absolute heel she'd picked a fight with at the betting booth, her mood is a little too bubbly and Spinout is being slightly too little of a loser t naturally lead into it. "I'll bet your fans were happy to see you racing seriously again." she says, arms folded, not looking. "Everyone will gasp and coo at the little stunts you pull on the competition, but anyone who you appeal to that way will flock to whatever gives them a better spectacle; even when you need them. You saw that, didn't you?" Lilian certainly didn't miss the time his second trap didn't go off. "It's the people who admire you for your skills instead of your theatre who will stick with you."
Natsuki Nuki	Natsuki, having handled her own retreat off the platform to let HELL BIKE receive the award for 3rd place, hangs out at a lean, chattering animatedly and making light jokes while talking into her flip phone. Then, as the awards are recognized... She makes sure to clap for the girls! Eyewon included. 'Rrraaaahgh! Like, bye!!!' Not respecting the 'I'm leaving! Now!! I mean it!!!', Natsuki offers a heel smirk that melts into an upnod and wave. The Lady Nue flips out one last pair of aviators and sets them on her face. "See you next race, Eyewon." Natsuki offers-in-leaving, not really trying to hitch the one-eyed alien girl... Just make sure she realized, or at least it was in her head, that Natsuki had 'just' raced her. 'Guess I still had it in me after all.' Stopping and dropping a thumb into the tattered pocketside of her jacket, Natsuki looks over at Spinout, over to Onslaught, and then back to the supercar racer. "Most of the Cybertronians I've met, well, you've got your forms all figured out. But, that's not really racing, is it? Racing is pushing that limit, and riding past the [safe rail] and expected performances. What was still in you..." Natsuki points her long-nailed index finger at Spinout. "Is a hell of an ability to keep going after a crash." She starts laughing. "You're welcome for pulling it out of you!" Natsuki graciously grants, and then heads off to find anything edible in the land of chrome and cogwheels.
Timespace Riders	Rrraaaahgh! Like, bye!!! "Bye! See you next time!" Zi-O's wave is full-bodied and enthusiastic, like encountering a friend out in public rather than a dark general making an archetypal smokebomb escape. Eyewon seemed to be in a really weird mood, lun... she wasn't nearly as mean as usual. "That's because you and Lilian really reached her, I think," says Zi-O, his helmet bobbing in an approving nod. Much like Lilian did, he takes himself out of the equation. "That thing you said about her deserving to have all the things you've gotten--and asking if the people in her life were supporting her... I don't think she was expecting that." "Also..." his faceplate thoughtfully tilts towards the track, then zips back over to her. "I really liked it and I think it was really important that you said it." A firm thumbs-up. "As did I." I'll keep on searching for that feeling that put me inta racing in the first place. "I wish you a fruitful search--I suspect I shall not be alone in watching with interest." It's the people who admire you for your skills instead of your theatre who will stick with you. "Hmm..." Zi-O gestures for Spinout to come close, and whispers a little about past events, in the interest of helping the search bear fruit. After, he offers a second thumbs-up and stands on podium--finally taking his armor off. Thankfully, he's very polite for an aspiring overlord of time and is also backed up by Vortex!