Back to back. In 57 races, it had never been done, but Season 6 of the Marble Rally was making history all over the place. But after veterans failing to qualify, rookie wins, photo finishes and the highest percentage of DNFs ever seen in a race, Ghost Plasma was happy that at least one thing remained unchanged. For a third time, they had won three medals in the first four races of a season – and this time, they’d pulled off the back to back.
Ghost Plasma had thought the previous race was the best of their career, but that had lasted only a week. Starting from dead last on the grid, it had taken ten seconds for Ghost Plasma to catch up to Reflektor and begin a battle that lasted all the way to the end.
Similarly, Reflektor had pulled off arguably their best race ever. While they lost the top spot, they’d held off Ghost Plasma’s advance for a good while, and even bested the 2016 champion’s renowned blocking game at one point. They had never let the pressure off until a hard collision before the final straight decided the race, and as they crossed the finish line Reflektor felt both exhilarated and uncomfortable looking back at the near two-second gap to third place. “Feels good, huh?”
Reflektor turned back to Ghost Plasma. “I guess you’re used to this by now,” they replied, “but it feels weird seeing nobody behind you and not being disappointed that you’re last.” Ghost Plasma smiled, towelling the sand off their surface. “Oh, I know. It took me a while to get used to that again after that mess in 2017.”
Reflektor chuckled. “Good point. I still remember that wildcard race in 2019. Might as well have called that the comeback race, if only I’d made the most of it…” they noted, turning back to see Ducktape arrive at the finish, Pollo Loco hot on their heels.
While the top two had dashed off into the distance, Ducktape had been fighting for their podium position the whole way down, watching marbles crash out all over the place on the crumbling sand. A bad hit square into the back of the chevron had almost cost them, but Amethyst taking a similar line had saved them from becoming a seventh DNF and led Ducktape to their first back-to-back podium.
“Phew! Are we sure the Balls of Chaos didn’t design that course?” Ducktape joked, before pulling Ghost Plasma into a friendly hug. “I guess the universe really doesn’t want to separate the two of us, eh?”
As the two separated and Ducktape rolled away to thank Amethyst, coming across in 5th, Reflektor turned back to Ghost Plasma. “How’d you do it? That wildcard race completely turned you back to your old self. Heck, it turned Ducktape into a top competitor and they didn’t even qualify!”
Ghost Plasma laughed. “I don’t want to sound condescending, but you’ve got all the pieces so it really is this simple.” As Reflektor looked on with anticipation, the 2016 champion gave a wry smile. “This feeling you’ve got now? All you have to do is never let it go.”
Credits
- Writer: GhostDM
- Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Reference: Marble Rally S6 – Race 4 | Jelle’s Marble Runs
- Release: 03/03/2023
Project Marblearth 