The sound of two engines could be heard throughout all of the coast road, one slightly louder than the other. As two cars drifted around a corner at a level that left black tire marks on the road, and a squealing sound that almost overpowered the running engines.

If there was any one standing by as the two vehicles straightened out, they would see first a blue convertible sports car then what appeared to be a modified white buggy, but both vehicle had a similar logo on the side of the cars. The both had the words the words "Sky Riders" and underneath the words was a picture of a fighter jet with a trail of smoke behind it.

The blue vehicle had a sleek curved design in front and a large engine compartment. Towards the middle appeared to be a point where one could see the engine underneath a vented glass casing. The glass also stretched back to form the windshield and the windows next to the driver. Behind the driver and passenger seats was a wall of speakers. As the frame curved down into the back of the car it merged into a black frame which housed an oval shaped tail light with a black strip of metal in the middle and underneath was an oval shaped exhaust. The tires were a two spoke star shape with a orange stripe circling a black rim. This Vehicle was named driver was wearing a white short sleeve t shirt, black pants, and blue sneakers with white accents. To finish the outfit they wore a electric blue jacket with the Sky Riders logo on the back in black. Her dark brown hair stopped at her upper back.

The buggy had a smaller engine compartment with two silver vented pieces of metal that went from the top of the hood to the front of the hood and made up the headlights. The windshield of the car stretched up to make a glass dome that covered the vehicle's driver and passenger. Behind the occupants was a one inch wall that was connected to an x shaped frame which held the vehicles two wing spoiler. At the back of the frame, two edges moved further out, on either side, to hold the tires as well as the tail lights. Underneath the middle of the frame was a rectangular shaped exhaust. This vehicle was named Super Gnat. The driver was wearing a open dark purple jacket with the "Sky Riders" logo in a jet black color on the back with a plain white shirt blue jeans and black dyed white hair reached her shoulders. The passenger, on the other hand was wearing a dull white sleeveless jacket with the sky riders logo, also in jet black, on the back. She also wore a black tank top, black gloves, faded blue jeans with small tear marks in certain spots, and black sneakers with white accents. Her black hair was in a ponytail that reached her shoulders

"Talia If you wanted to see the leaders of Teku and Metal maniacs race then why did you take so long to get ready? Their race has probably already started." The driver of the convertible sighed as the cars ended up next to each other.

"'Cause I have to look good when I drive Brittany. Right Amy?", was the quick response from the buggies driver as she glanced over to her passenger. The passenger simply rolled her eyes.

" You look the same as you always do" Said the passenger of the buggy. The driver looked at her outfit, then looked back to the passenger to respond but was cut off as the sound of breaking metal around the next bend brought her attention back to the road.

"Lets go! Some one could be hurt!" Brittany said as she floored it around the next bend, the buggy close behind.

As the vehicles rounded the corner, they pulled up next to a black 1970 road runner with red flame stretching across the car and the iconic Metal Maniacs double M symbol. Next to it was a red SUV that had its engine sticking out from the hood, with what appeared to be a skull with white flames stretching from it. In front of the Road Runner were two drives the three knew as Monkey and Taro. Monkey wore light brown jacket with the sleeves rolled up and a white undershirt, light brown pants with silver knee caps and brown shoes. Taro was muscular and wore a black shirt with long red sleeves and had metal maniacs symbol ,and wore brown pants with black boots.

The three sky riders got out of their respective cars, and walked over to the two drivers. Taro, Who was looking in their direction as they walked up gave a slight nod as monkey said Hey, though it came out as more of a question by monkeys timid personality.

"So, what happened?" Brittany asked giving a nod in return to Taro.

Taro gave the quick explanation of " Nolo and Tork raced as planned, Wylde Interrupted, crashed the two, and went off the road when it showed up…" Taro stopped briefly as he gestured to a floating robot the three did not see earlier as the robot ended its conversation with another female drive known as Karma with "... They're robots, they're perfect ". Karma was a slim girl whit brown hair pulled into a ponytail, and she wore a white shirt with blue pants. She also had a blue and black that ended at the top of her abdomen jacket that was colored orange at the shoulders like shoulder pads and at the wrists of the jacket.

Taro finished his explanation catching the attention of the girls again with, "... and wylde is now coming back up."

As the robot floated away Taro said walking to his car, " Get your cars, there is a race and I know you three are capable." and Monkey ran to catch up as he tried to ask Taro something.

The three females shared a glance before nodding and running to their cars and started them up.

Just before they left they heard a yell of what could only be tied to rage.

"Nolo?" Talia asked

"Probably." Brittany replied.

1 hour later - in the california desert

Super Gnat and Roadster were driving through the desert, right in front of Taro and Monkey but behind Slingshot, Deora 2 and Chicane, of the Teku, in that order.

Slingshot was a white, rear engine, car with a frame that created an almost oval shaped bubble over the driver and stuck out over the rear tires with tail lights. The vehicle was not based off of any car the girls had ever seen.

Deora 2 was a rectangular white, also rear engine,car that Talia thought would be horrible for aerodynamics. The car had a windshield that stretched over the top of the driver and ended just behind the front seats. The vehicle also had a spoiler on the back.

The sky riders did not know much about these cars and could only go by what they had seen, Chicane on the other hand...

Chicane was a blue, rear engine vehicle, of the Teku. It was a combination suv and car that smooth but sharp corners from the front of the car to the orange windshield that doubled as the car's windows. Unlike the other cars of the team did not have the windshield double as the roof. On the back of the car there was a see through plastic covering over the engine, and below that was a trapezoid shape hole to allow air in and out of the engine, and below that was a twin exhaust pipe.

"So what's the big deal with this Highway 35?" Karma asked as they drove past a sign that read Highway 35 tearing it off its post.

"Yeah, I've heard you mention it once or twice before Vert." Brittany Added. The three Teku had, though never told, quickly realized the Sky Riders were tagging along, and each agreed that they should.

The driver of Deora 2 answered, "The real Highway 35 was built in another dimension by these weird ancient dudes called the Accelerons."

"That's what you call real?" Karma replied as Talia replied "Meh, I've heard weirder."

The driver of slingshot, Kurt Wylde, ignored the responses and said, " Tezla recruited the best drivers for the race" and Vert added " yeah it was me, Kurt, Taro and…" Before karma cut him off and asked who won. Vert was about to respond that he did but Kurt beat him to it and said "It doesn't matter who won. Tezla only wanted the wheel at the end of the track."

Their conversation was cut short when a black vehicle had driven around roadster and cut in front causing Brittany to hit her brakes and Talia to swerve out of the way, Before Talia said "Incoming Mainiac." The car then pulled up next to Chicane and rammed the vehicle causing it to slow down and fall in line in between Roadster and Super Gnat. The Driver then proceeded to hit Slingshot from behind causing Kurt to reply, "Maniac". The black car then drove around Slingshot and Deora 2 as the now 8 cars continued further into the desert.

A few minutes later the Drivers pulled into an old cube shaped building that has definitely seen better days the indicated by the multiple holes that were left throughout the building. The cars all stopped in the building, Super Gnat and Roadster pulling up between the Roadrunner and Deora 2. The front panel of the Deora 2, the frame of Slingshot, and the doors of the other six vehicles moved to allow the drivers to exit their vehicles.

As Vert exited his car he can be seen was wearing a black shirt with the Teku logo on the front in white as well as black sweatpants, white sneakers, and a white jacket with black line designs and fingerless gloves. Kurt wore a black shirt with a blue jacket with orange accents that had the word Teku diagonally across it he also wore blue pants and black sneakers and orange goggles.

Vert began to walk away from his vehicle to look around and as he was doing so a man walked out of the Shadows. Man appeared to be of African descent wearing a orange and brown jacket with the number 22 on it. He also wore orange pants with brown accent and orange gloves. He had his black hair in a ponytail.

"Vert, it has been a long time." the man said as Vert gave the man a fistbump as he replied "Kadeem, good to see you again."

Monkey deciding to jump into the conversation asked, "Is that tezla?" And Kadeem replied "My name is Kadeem. Who are you?"

Monkey about to reply was cut of by Kurt who said "He's just a freaky little Metal maniac." as Taro stood up from the hood of his roadrunner slightly insulted.

"That means he's the best,like me and Taro." said the driver of the black car. This driver was very muscular and wore a black tanktop with a red metal maniac symbol on the front. He also had black pants with two belts and black boots. Finally he wore sunglasses and had black spiked hair had black tattoos on his right arm and shoulder. This was Mark Wylde, brother to Kurt. His car, Spinebuster was black with sharp corners. It has 4 headlights, two before the hood and two on the front bumper. In between the two headlights on the hood was a red design with a white Metal Maniacs symbol on the front. The front tires had no frame on the top leaving them open to the elements. The hood had two vents but not much else. The drivers compartment had only a driver's seat before a wall next to the driver which had a burning fire that let in air through a open panel on the front windshield. Above the furnace was an intake that let air into the vehicle's rear engine. On the back was a piece of metal that made a rear wing and below that was three exhaust pipes. The cars art was simply red marks outlined in white.

Kurt not liking his brothers response said, "The real drivers are the teku."

Kadeem stepping in before a fight broke out said "I see how it is." as Vert changed the topic and asked "Did you get everything straightened out back home" to Kadeems reply "My people will have to wait because this can not." Kadeem started walking to his vehicle which was still invisible in the shadows. The sound of hydraulics lifting gave the indication that his car was one with no doors. Before he got into his vehicle he added, "I assume this will be more than just the world race drivers?" "Yeah," Vert said Before pointing from left to right and saying "Karma is on the left, then there's Talia, Amy, Brittany, and Monkey." Kadeem nodded as he entered his car and drove it out of the shadows to reveal a light brown vehicle that had a trident like design on the front with headlights on the front left and right pieces. In the middle was a one seat cockpit with an orange cover that doubled as a windshield. In the center of the car was a large dark brown engine that ended in two exhausts and a dark brown spoiler. This vehicle was Krazy 8s. Kadeem left the cube as the other 8 drivers quickly got into the vehicles and followed him.

It had only been a few minutes but Kadeem led them into what appeared to be a rock spire maze and they were traveling at a considerably dangerous speed for the area. "Stay behind me and match my speed." Kadeems voice said over the radio. Super gnat and roadster were at the end behind Slingshot. Talia glanced at her speedometer.136 MPH. A yell snapped her attention back to the road. "WOAH DEAD END" as she saw monkey hit the breaks but didn't have time to stop as her car left the road and went through the side of a wall landing on a track on the other side.

The vehicles pulled to a stop just before a massive looping track. The drivers exited their cars as Vert looked around and said "Woah Check it out…" Just before, in the middle of the track, a giant holographic orange head appeared.

As it moved a voice said, "Welcome to the Acceledrome. Gelorum and her drones have the wheel of power. Before the wheel was taken I discovered that it's more than just a source of power, It's the key to something much bigger than Highway 35. Countless new tracks in unique new worlds that I call the Racing Realms. Highway 35 was only the first step mapped out for us by the accelerons." Monkey had finally arrived catching everyone's attention as he asked, "Did I miss anything?" Everyone turned back as the hologram said "The journey of discovery begins here" as the hologram faded into one of a wheel.

Kadeem began walking away as he said " follow me" and led everyone up stairs to a conference room where everyone sat down at another table with the same hologram in the center. Karma asked the first question " So which one is the wheel of power?" To Kadeems answer "They are both holograms." "Exact three dimensional Recreations" came the voice of another female, with the floating robot next to her. She wore a light blue shirt with black accents, and grey overalls that connected to grey pants, and grey shoes.

Vert said "Lani! It's good to see another wave ripper." Before her response of "I'm not driving Vert. I've been working with Tezla In the acceledrome. He did not tell me who would be coming." She said eying Taro.

The robot changing the subject said "While studying the wheel Dr. Tezla recorde the unique pattern of wavelengths it produced" "Yeah yeah, Scrap the lecture gig. We're here to race." Wylde Interrupted. The robot ignored him and continued, "The holographic image resonates with the same emanations as the actual wheel of power." Monkey looked around confused and asked "He's speaking english right?" and Talia added "Not a single clue." Before being elbowed by Brittany. Gig continued, "In a very real sense the image is the wheel."

"And that means?" Karma asked Before Lani answered "Dr. Tezla believes the wheel of power has been opening the Racing Realms." gig added " And Gelorums Racing Drones have been entering them"

"We must reach the end of the next realm before the racing drones" Kadeem said their current goal.

"Why should we?" Kurt asked "Last time it was to get the wheel for Tezla. What's the crazy doctor want now?"

"The drones have already accessed several racing realms" Gig said before continuing "Dr. Tezla believes they get stronger with each one."

"Whatever is at the end of each realm must be even more powerful" Kadeem said before Monkey added "So it must be worth a lot of money?" Everyone looked at him then ignored him.

"Now more than ever the best drivers are needed to...", Gig said before Taro cut him off with "It's Moving" as everyone looked outside to see the wheel moving.

"A new realm is about to open", Lani said before Wylde lept up and added "Alright let's go!"

As he ran out Vert said "We need nitrox" and everyone followed him downstairs. As they reached the bottom as the three Sky Riders simply nodded as Amy ran off with everyone to get this 'nitrox' Vert mentioned. Brittany and Talia went to their cars and brought them to a lift. By the time their cars reached the top Amy had come back with a push cart with four large canisters. "Just hook them up as you would with nitrous." Lani said helping Karma with Chicane. Roadster went up on the lift as Super Gnat stayed on the ground. Talia opened the back and underneath the X shaped frame was a position for two nitrox bottles. As Brittany helped Talia lift them into place they watched as a dial to the left and above the steering wheel went from empty to full in a few seconds. They closed the back and went to help Amy Lift the other two bottles and install them underneath Roadster. As they lowered the car a screen on the inside of the car read ' Turbo system 100%'. The car hit the ground and Talia was in a already started Super Gnat with the passenger door open. "Let's go Amy!" Taili shouted as Amy jumped in. Brittany, Instead of opening the door to her car just put her hand on the side and lept over. "Show off" Talia mumbled, but it was still heard as Brittany smirked, as Super gnat followed by a now started roadster followed the teku onto a looping track

Kadeem said in the lead, "You must be going three hundred miles per hour when you reach the wheel

"This is so cool!" Talia yelled looking at her speedometer. 256 MPH

"Let's do this girls" Brittany said as the nine cars neared a blue sphere in the center of the hologram. 288 MPH

The cars entered the sphere and vanished. 300 MPH

Back in a control room Lani looked to Gig. "We should have told them everything" Lani said looking at a screen that counted down.

59:30

59:29

59:28

Next time

Storm Realm Survival