Nextgen Kids: The New Era

Helping Hands

I've been rewriting some of my first stories. Give them a reread when you can!

Chapter 3: Helping Hands

Planet Aquaria

"I don't even know how I did it!" Sind was telling his friends. "I just got the idea and figured, 'Eh, what the heck?' but I CAN'T believe I actually MADE IT!"

"Don't even ask me." Lulu told her friends. "I'm calling that pure luck. And heck, it was pretty awesome!"

Karin had overheard their discussion as she walked by. She noticed Jinta, shirtless and doing warm-up exercises. She cocked a brow, remembering his performance in the Home-Run Contest. "Hey, Jinta." She approached him. "How exactly did you hit the Sandbag that far? Was it your bat?"

"I don't think Ururu made any recent modifications to it. 'Guess I was stronger than you thought!"

"Yeah, you, Sind, and Lulu, too. Don't you think something weird is going on? Just when they think they lost, they steal the show. I know you're good with a bat, but how could you have possibly matched Sheila's strength?"

"Who cares? It scored us a ton of points, right? But just beware when I challenge you to arm-wrestling. Hehe!" Jinta winked.

"Well, after that exciting trial of balance," Mako announced, "it's time to cool down with another survival-type challenge! And when I say cool down, I mean we're getting warmed up! ...And then cooled. Because our next challenge is 'Too Hot, Too Cold'!"

Their attention was directed to a giant pot over a pile of wood. "Don't worry, our contestants won't be served for dinner. It's just a cleverly-disguised hot tub. Our contestants will don swimsuits and sit together in this boiling pot. The fire beneath will grow hotter and hotter, steadily cooking them dry. If anyone leaves the pot, they will lose, and the game only ends when only ONE person remains! But if the heat is too much, don't worry, for the flame will be replaced with one of ice and give our players a real chill! As you can guess, this one is a test of endurance. So, based on previous research, we have chosen the people we deemed as the 'softest.'"

And these people were Sector V's Kirie, Sector W's Sally, Sector L's Eric, Moonbase's Cheren, IC's Miyuki, W7's Aeincha, JP's Ururu, SA's Goombella, KB's Sapphire, GF's Candy Chiu, GKND's Arianna, GT's Ally, MG's Kiki, $'s Carol, Luna Nova's Lotte Jansson, U.A.'s Minoru Mineta, DNK's Ahcom, and Marzipan's K. Lumsy.

The fans took delight with seeing each of the girls in cute swimsuits, and Mineta seemed delighted in getting in the same tub as them. "This is the happiest day of my life..." he said as he walked close to Arianna, staring at her purple legs. "Hey, sweetie, do you taste like grapes?"

"Um, I don't know, but I would like it if you not find out." she replied, creeped out by him.

The contestants walked up the stairs that led into the boiling pot. One by one, they splashed in the water, either taking a spot against the edge or floating around the middle. "Ururu, would you help me?" Aeincha asked.

"Okay, Aeinchan." Ururu held the Lilliputian as she floated.

"Cheren?" Sally asked. "I didn't think you would be deemed the softest."

"Yeah, it would've been Larry... if he hadn't refused to compete. Or Zach, if he wasn't planning to cheat with his Kempo."

"Ready? Get set? BOIL!" (Play "Heat Test Minigame" from Breath of the Wild!)

At Mako's command, Aurora ignited the pot. The competitors calmly rested in place, enjoying the warm feel. "This isn't so bad." Goombella said. "Sector SA is hotter than this."