Grand Racing Times on Avalice (Freedom Planet)

-

"Hey, Lilac, you wanna race?"

The fan was chugging along quietly on this Saturday afternoon. Lilac was splayed out on the couch, while Carol was lying on the floor with her neck propped up against the couch, and Milla was sitting cross-legged and leaning forward at the TV. At a glance, it appeared that Milla was the only one truly entertained by the show. The TV was playing an episode of Magic Crystal Twinkle Star Peach, and it was at that point where the 5 characters would do their power-up sequences and cast magic spells to defeat the monster of the week, and Milla was making excited noises at the flashy special effects. For some reason, the show was naught but white noise for Lilac today; normally, she'd be more invested in the show, maybe sitting up front with Milla, but she just wasn't feeling it.

Lilac perked up at Carol's question and flopped over on her back.

"I don't know, Carol. It's really hot today, and you know I always win our races. It's no contest."

Carol scoffed. "Yeah, see, you would think that, but I went to see this guy, right? I got a pair of boosters on my bike, and I went on a test ride. You should've seen it, Lilac. I shaved like two minutes off my time without even trying! I bet I can keep up with you now. It's gonna be awesome."

Lilac sat up on the couch with a start.

"Carol, exactly how much did these boosters cost?"

"Uhhhhhhhhhhh...they were pretty cheap?"

Lilac stared obliquely at Carol. She had a nervous smile on her face and was looking everywhere except where Lilac was.

"Carol..."

"Okay, well, uh, I kind of promised him 100,000 crystals for the boosters, but it's okay, Lilac, I can just steal the money and pay the guy back by the end of the month! He's pretty cool about that sort of thing!"

Lilac sighed heavily and rubbed her hand against her forehead.

"Lilac, I know what you're going to say, and it's okay! I got this covered! It'll be like normal, I swear!"

"Avalice's sake, Carol, we talked about this. We can't stay here. We have to save up money to get a bigger house for the three of us. That can't happen if we keep using our money on dumb stuff."

"But, but...the boosters are way better than nitrous oxide! They use rocket fuel!"

"Rita, no!"

Milla's cry cut short a long and tired argument as the duo snapped to attention at what was on the screen. The monster of the week had attacked Rita during a vulnerable moment, and she was lying broken and unconscious on the ground. As the monster wound up for another attack on Rita while the girls were rushing to save her, the screen faded to black and the words 'To Be Continued' flashed on the screen.

Lilac exclaimed. "Are you kidding me? That's the second cliffhanger in a month! I can't stand waiting until next week to see what happens!"

Milla had tears in her eyes. "I hope Rita is okay!"

And then the TV froze for a minute. It started whining as the pixels glitched out and then abruptly switched to a screen that one did not normally see.

"13:30: Due to a service outage in Shang Tu, all television networks are temporarily offline. Estimated time of service restoration is at 21:30. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience caused."

Carol sat there open-mouthed. "Are you kidding me?! I was looking forward to watching Metal Bike Rider after this! What are we supposed to do for the rest of the day?"