Maho Drive Begins! The First Step Towards the Great Race!
If you haven't read Maho-Shojo Sunsetta, this might be confusing. Go read that first.
"This is the worst."
The Dazzlings sat in the cafe, listening to Adagio go over her extensive list of why she hated everything that ever happened.
"Sunset Stammer, super-powered? It's like the universe hates me."
"You could at least shut up about it once in a while," spat Aria. "And, I dunno, actually accomplish something for once."
"Says the girl whose idea of a good time is kicking any living thing she can reach," replied Adagio. "Don't make me add you to the list."
Basically, none of them were having a good time. Not only did Celestia banish them to this place, making them endure a thousand years of pain, suffering, and two world wars, and not only did they lose to a kids' show wannabe band, but now one of their worst enemies had the ability to transform into a strangely-dressed fire queen.
The more Adagio thought about it, the more she wanted to strangle the nearest living being.
Aria inched away slowly.
"I am sick of always being second best to that--that Faust-bucking spawn of a buck-weasel! Why doesn't anything good ever happen to me? Wh--why? *sob* It's not fair!!"
"Cool it, faucet," said Aria. "It's not like being a baby's gonna get you anywhere."
"Yeah, I tried that," said Sonata. "It was weird."
Adagio rolled her eyes. "I need some air..." she said through grated teeth. "You guys follow me. I might wanna punch somebody."
"...and she thinks she's so great and powerful, just because she got those fancy magic super-powers! I mean, what's she actually do? Yeah, she saved the school a bunch of times, but come on, those sheep would leap off a bridge if Celestia went first! It's just so...I'm so sick of all the...things she do!"
"Things she do?" Aria scoffed. "Adagio, you've been running your chew hole for an hour. Shut it before I force-feed you a knuckle sandwich."
"FOOD?!" Sonata leapt up. "I wanna pastrami on rye with jalapenos!"
"Will you both shut up?"
Adagio sat down on a nearby stump, having led the Dazzlings into the middle of the woods, where she wouldn't get in trouble for screaming too loudly. "I just wish there was some way we could be as popular and omnipotent as Sunset Stupor."
Then, as if it was a badly written plot device in a story that wasn't going anywhere otherwise, a massive crash sounded throughout the forest.
"Wha'sat?" Adagio leapt up. "Something happened."
"Maybe it was your brain finally crashing..." muttered Aria, smirking.
Sonata raised a finger. No, not that one. "Look! Smoke! Maybe there's a barbecue!"
"Sonata, do you ever think?" asked Adagio.
"I tried it that one time," replied Sonata. "It hurt."
"Go back to sleep, Sonata," said Aria.
"You already used that one," said Adagio. "Try again."
The three teenagers approached the tower of black smoke. "Whadda ya think it is?" asked Sonata. "Pork BBQ? Ham BBQ? Bacon BBQ?"
"Those are all the same things, and it's not food!" replied Adagio. "Something crashed. I can feel it."
"Like how you felt going to CHS was a good idea?" asked Aria. "I say we go back to the swimming pool locker rooms and make fun of all the fat people in their bikinis."
"That's just you, Aria," said Adagio. "And, also, eww." She stopped. "There it is."
In a clearing, surrounded by downed trees and rubble, was a strange, winged...thing. It had two balloons strapped to either side, and a propeller at the back, but didn't look like any kind of flying vehicle on Earth.
"I bet it's an alien ship!" said Sonata. "Like in that one movie!"
"Our life isn't a movie," said Adagio. "That part ended when we ran off the stage, humiliated."
"Let's grab everything valuable and get out," said Aria. "I don't like the look of this."
Something stirred inside the ship. "What...was that?" said Adagio.
Suddenly, a door flew open, and something tumbled out, covered in soot and obviously wounded. "Help--me..."
"KYAAA!" Sonata leapt backwards. "It's some guy! Run!"
"Wait..." Adagio approached the figure. "You. Almost dead guy. Is this your ship?"
"Y--yes..."
"Can I have it?"
"Um...sure? *cough*"
Adagio pushed the guy under a bush and looked around inside the ship. "Guys, I think we found our new home," she said. "No more living in that abandoned greeting card factory!"
"Does it have HD TV?" asked Sonata. "Or food? Either one's fine."
Adagio ran a hand over the dusty, broken controls. "Whatever hit this thing, it hit pretty hard," she said. "Not like I want to, but this thing isn't gonna fly anytime soon."
"What's this button do?" shouted Sonata, slamming down random switches and levers. "What's this button do?! Ooh! What's this button do?!"
"Hey, what's this?" Aria picked up a piece of paper. "It's a note."
Help
Cloud Empire here
No time
Evacuate
Do someth
The rest of the note was torn off. "Who writes a note during a battle?" asked Aria. "It's just stupid."
"Maybe whoever wrote it was hoping that, when the ship crashed, someone else would get the note and send help," said Sonata. "That'd explain why they made it a point to crash towards a populated area; or, at least, it's what these readings say."
"But that's just a string of random numbers," said Adagio, looking at the screen Sonata was pointing to. "How do you know what..."
"Hey! Look!" Sonata ran over to another screen. "It's got repair drives!" She pushed a lever. "This'll get the ship up in no time!"
"Again, how do you know so much about this stuff?"
"I read a lotta sci-fi."
The Dazzlings walked home having covered the airship in branches and leaves. Adagio had insisted it'd make it less noticeable, but the resulting mossy teepee was more suspicious than any downed alien ship.
"Well, now," said Adagio as they re-entered town. "I think I know what we're gonna do tomorrow."
"Go see that one movie?" asked Sonata. "'Cuz I heard it's really good."
"No, Sonata," said Adagio, grinning evilly. "We're gonna take care of Sunset Schism once and for all. And this time, well have something we didn't have before."
"It's an alien spaceship, isn't it?" asked Sonata. "If I guessed right, do I get marshmallows? I want marshmallows."
Author's Note
So, the Dazzlings now have a heavily weaponized vehicle to toy around with.
This can't be good...
(Story arc suggested by MrB.)
Maho Drive! Race One, Part One: Vs. The Cloud Empire!
Adagio woke up that morning with an evil smile, an evil plan, and a very evil cramping feeling in her lower torso.
"Business can wait," she said, rolling out of bed and slipping on her horrible, horrible glam-rock-rip-off clothes. "Aria! Sonata!"
"Down here!" called Sonata. "There's bacon!"
Adagio walked downstairs to find Aria and Sonata stuffing themselves with bacon. "I never liked pigs until now," said Aria. "Strange how food changes you, huh?"
"Wha--why--I don't--screw it." Adagio sat down and grabbed some bacon. "So, here's the plan."
"Does it involve taking the airship, flying it to Sunset's house, and opening fire?" asked Aria.
"No," replied Adagio. "The plan is this. Step one; we fix up the airship. Step two; we fly it to Sunset's house. Step three, and this is the brilliant part; we open fire on her house! It's genius!"
"Yeah, that is a lot better than my plan," said Aria. "Sonata, gimme more bacon."
"Yeah! Sure!" Sonata walked into the kitchen to get more bacon, where Featherweight was just walking in.
"Hot girl...in my house...wait, how did you get in here?"
"You really should lock your windows," shouted Aria from the other room. "Also, you're out of milk, and I might've buried your dog. Um...by accident."
After a rousing breakfast and a loud fight with Featherweight's older brother, the Dazzlings were ready to head off to the airship.
"This time, I packed bug spray," said Aria. "Anyone want some?"
"I'm good," said Adagio. "Just keep quiet and follow me. We don't want to attract too much attention."
After a fifteen minute hike through the woods, the Dazzlings arrived to find the ship's auto-repair had worked; it sat in the clearing looking brand-new. "Well, that makes things easy," said Adagio. "Now, Aria. You know how to drive, right? Drive that thing to Sunset's house."
"Yeah, whatever..." They boarded the ship, started it up, and prepared to exact their plan for revenge.
Far away, in Space, the swamp planet of Droewei was just receiving news of the Mikah-Hakim's disappearence, at about the same time a Resistance ship had crashed on the same planet the Mikah were supposed to be on.
And, as with all news, the mega-corporations were the first to hear.
"Earth," said the catlike alien creature. "A planet of primitive life-forms, pollution, and salt water. Of those three, salt is the only thing we desire."
"What does that have to do with anything?" asked an employee.
A sliver of oily black rubber-like substance shot out from the darkness behind the first speaker, impaling the employee and quickly draining his juices.
"Any other questions?"
Dead silence.
"Good. As I was saying, Earth is rich in salt. Unfortunately, under galactic law 409-908-992, we cannot invade or mine there. However, now that two major forces are involved, it is possible for us to strike."
He tapped his foot, and a screen descended from the ceiling.
"The Great Race," he said. "An event in which 64 chosen champions compete for an ultimate prize; in this case, Earth."
"But isn't that event dangerous?" asked another employee. "I don't think we should risk attracting the attention of--urk!"
Impaled.
"This corporation is too powerful for the law to shut down," said the alien CEO, pacing around. "Make sure Earth is one of the 64. We must crush them if we are to take their planet legally. We'll rig the brackets so that Earth has to face all the toughest racers straight off, before they get any practice."
He stroked the short fur covering his body.
"And, also, make sure to add Ketone Corps as a racer. Any champion from Droewei would do, but I want to crush them personally."
"Will do, Ketone," said an employee.
Author's Note
Pronunciations (for those of you who don't English so good):
Droewai -- DRO-weh-why
Ketone -- KEY-tone
