The Best Racer

Six racers. One champion. Who will come out on top?

The Underdogs

The fancy avenues of Felynia were all the more jubilant on one Saturday morning, as the sun dawned on a fantastic performance by their pride of the Marble Rally the previous day. However, the marble victorious was hardly sighted in the city — though this was not atypical during Marble Rally season. Crazy Cat’s Eye was a competitor that would celebrate hard after a successful race but would take no time to put their game face back on for the following week’s challenges.

Rather, Crazy Cat’s Eye was in the environment that suited them best for their training: the Cat’s Dunes, due east of Felynia. The veteran rally marble always preferred to be alone while training, with nothing but the sound of the sand under them as they darted from one dune to another.

For hours on end, Crazy Cat’s Eye was in isolation at the Dunes, only calling it a day once they caught a glimpse of the golden-colored sky as the sun set on Felynia. However, with the help of their sharp hearing, they quickly realized they weren’t alone. Glancing behind, they saw a red cat’s eye marble that couldn’t be mistaken for any other: Red Eye, the two-time Marbula One racer’s champion.

“I figured you’d be here,” they said with a rather serious expression. Crazy Cat’s Eye peered at them for a moment out of bewilderment; despite being two of the most renowned athletes in the city, the two of them hadn’t been the closest in recent times. Red Eye was a racer who relished in the fame, while the Marble Rally athlete found it bothersome many a time. Still, they rolled towards the Crimson Cat, curious as to what brought them to the city’s outskirts.

“I know you’re under a lot of pressure right now with the final race,” Red Eye continued. “I thought I’d come out here and give you some advice. After all, you’ve been a great help to me and the rest of the team in tackling some of the struggles we’ve had in sand events before.”

“Thanks for the offer, but I’m okay. I know my fight isn’t with the marbles at the top — even with a win, I can’t guarantee I’ll even finish top 3,” Crazy Cat’s Eye replied.

“How can you say that?!” Red Eye retorted incredulously. “If a championship is even a tiny bit possible, surely you have to be aiming for nothing less! Felynia deserves a title in the Marble Rally.”

Crazy Cat’s Eye sighed, looking towards their fellow athlete. “Look, I’ve been racing for almost double the time you have, but I’m still the underdog; I haven’t had the luxury of being in a title-winning position every season. I’ve medalled the last two races by focusing on myself to maximize my result every week. Race 10 is just another race — so my plan isn’t changing.”

“Sometimes, it’s good to forget about the wider picture, forget about all the drama with the marbles ahead. It can get to your head pretty easily,” they commented. “Besides, I’m racing for myself first, and Felynia and everyone else can be happy with whatever result comes from it.”

Memories of the dramatic final stand on home ground flashed before Red Eye, who realised the maturity of the rally marble’s words.

“You’re right. Championship or not, we’re all going to be very proud of what you’ve done this season. Get us a top-five finish — but don’t discount that rookie Amethyst either.”

“You’d know a lot about rookies turning up and shocking the world, wouldn’t you?” Crazy Cat’s Eye replied, both chuckling as they rolled towards the city center together.

Several miles away on the other side of Marblearth, Amethyst peered out towards a vast lake, with nothing but the moonlight illuminating the scene. Despite nightfall, the lilac-colored marble was restless. They were in deep thought about their debut season and the final race.

Amethyst began to roll around the edges of the lake, reflecting on how much they had changed across the season. They weren’t optimistic going into the Marble Rally, and were in disbelief about how far they’d come. Everything happened so fast: qualifying convincingly, that first race win, and now an outside shot at the title with one race to go.

Rolling towards the very edge, Amethyst gazed across the sparkling water surface. Its inviting gleam was captivating, almost beckoning the marble to plunge into its frigid depths. As Amethyst looked towards their reflection, it was like it was staring back, questioning them. What did Amethyst see?

Amethyst thought about how great of a leap it was; to put themselves in the highest tier of marble rallying competition and face some of the greatest sand racers on Marblearth. That was the marble they saw in the lake. With that thought, they realized there was still a leap to be taken: to finish this season as strong as they started in the final race.

The marble’s reflection continued to gaze back as if it could read their mind, urging them to take that leap. Knowing what they had to do, Amethyst sprung into the icy lake, swimming to the opposite side. At last, they felt at peace with themselves for who they were: a contender for the Marble Rally title.

The Prospects

On a bright, sunny afternoon, two of the most talented Marble Rally athletes had come together to set out for the most challenging hiking trail in Tapai. It had been three days since Ducktape and Slimer had shared the podium for the second time in three races, and through their friendly rivalry that grew as the season progressed, the former had invited the latter to train together at the tallest peak of their hometown.

“Tapai isn’t the most enormous city in Marblearth,” remarked Ducktape, “…but it sure has some great spots to go racing. This trail sure is one of them… if you don’t already lose your breath once you’re at the top.”

“Hey, back home at Lemono, there’s no shortage of hills that loom over you either. These tricky conditions are my jam — that’s actually how I got recruited for my rallying academy in the first place!” Slimer replied, though tiring a little after one particularly steep section.

There was an aura of competitiveness amongst the two throughout their journey — both were friendly to one another, but both knew that they were each other’s fiercest competition for the final podium step and neither would let it up so easily.

Ducktape stayed an inch ahead as they climbed, glancing at their dark-green rival on their side. They knew that Slimer was the best marble without a title, and thus perhaps the hungriest for it going into the final race.

Slimer caught glimpse of Ducktape eyeing them up but looked forward in introspection. They were certain to not let anything disturb their mental fortitude — their secret to success in the back halves of every Marble Rally season. By now though, Slimer knew that every time they were caught off guard for even a moment in a race, Ducktape would be right there to snatch any victory away if they could.

As they scaled the peak, the marbles’ bodies grew wearier, but their willpower grew stronger. They might not have had the optimal starting positions to be considered title favorites, but this Marble Rally season had shown that anything was possible from the greatest athletes. These two prospective marbles would give it everything.

“Almost there!” Ducktape exclaimed, as they huffed and puffed towards the summit. The entire town was visible from the height they had reached — Slimer gasped as they took everything into view. Marblearth may be full of competitive athletes, but it had some ravishing sights as well.

Taking their final few rolls before they reached the top, Ducktape looked out towards the surroundings of Tapai. “I’ve met just about every marble in town; it’s small enough. They’re all elated whenever I even just get third place — I haven’t even won a race yet!”

“Just imagine what they’d be like if you won the championship,” remarked Slimer.

“Yeah…” sighed Ducktape, dreaming of that glorious outcome. “It’d be awesome.”

“Anyway, we’ve reached the summit and it’s time for the best part! We get to race down to the bottom. Whoever wins gets good luck for the finale!” Ducktape said excitedly, snapping back to reality.

The marbles dashed down, both eager to get to the starting point of the trail before the other despite how much effort it took to climb up. Ducktape loved the idea of one-upping their rival here for a confidence boost, but the more experienced of the two got out ahead at first.

Slimer wasn’t going to let Ducktape ahead for even a moment — they firmly wanted to prove they were the better racer. If they could emerge victorious on what was Ducktape’s home soil, surely Slimer would have the measure of them at Dopersduin Bregtdorp. They rolled on, using their agility and experience to avoid any natural obstacle that could be thrown at them.

Ducktape was catching up, but did they have enough time? Slimer saw the hint of purple nearing ever closer but was on their way to capture the victory as the bottom of the hill was in sight. With just a few meters left, it looked like they were unassailable, until—

“Argh!” Slimer let out a groan as they were stopped in their tracks by a round obstacle that evaded their vision. Ducktape shot by, cheering as they reached the bottom of the hill. The green marble had been denied once again by a tumbleweed, and memories of the 2017 Marble Rally finale came flooding back.

Dejected, Slimer rolled down to Ducktape, whose smile quickly vanished as they realized what had happened. “Hey, it’ll be okay. Good thing this happened here and not in the actual race. You’re a much better racer than who you were six years ago, and if it’s just a tumbleweed between you and a championship, that’s not going to stop you on Friday.”

Slimer looked at Ducktape with appreciation, realizing that they were speaking to them not as a rival, but as a friend. Ducktape may not have been there on that day in 2017, but Slimer knew that they understood how it must’ve felt.

“Thank you, Ducktape. May the best racer win,” replied Slimer.

The Champions

After a hectic couple of months, Ghost Plasma could finally say they were doing something to unwind since the start of the Marble Rally season. They had been invited by Cell, the coach of Team Plasma, for dinner at a high-end restaurant at the heart of Fantum with the whole team. Following nine races of fantastic highs and soul-crushing lows, Ghost Plasma was not hesitant to accept the invitation and catch up with their namesake team — they hadn’t a chance to meet since well before Race 1 or the Marble League 2022 Showdown.

Ghost Plasma was running slightly late, so they were hasty as they rolled towards the restaurant on the Tuesday evening of the week of the finale. They heard that Cell had booked a large round table for the seven of them, so the Marble Rally champion didn’t want to leave them waiting for too long.

As they arrived, Ghost Plasma was met by loud cheers and a round of applause. The team was not irked by their lack of punctuality, rather, they were delighted to see them. It was as if Ghost Plasma had already been crowned Marble Rally champion of Season 6.

“You’ve been a treat to watch this year,” remarked Fearo, the captain of Team Plasma. “Those races in the middle of the season, you were unstoppable.”

“I’m not kidding, whenever we’re together watching you go from 16th to 1st in a matter of seconds, we go as ballistic as our fans are!” Ecto exclaimed. “Sometimes we even play a game to guess how fast it takes for you to lead,” they continued, met with laughs from the rest of the team.

Ghost Plasma chuckled feebly along with the others, but couldn’t help feeling down about their last two races. Not finishing two races in a row had been a huge dent in their morale and they struggled to think of anything besides the letters “DNF”.

“Thanks, everyone, but I’ll admit, you set a tough standard with your dominance in the 2022 Showdown. I think seeing you do that helped me earlier on, but it’s getting harder and harder towards the end. I really don’t want to lose this championship like I lost the last one.”

“I know you mustn’t be too thrilled with how the races have been going lately,” Cell replied. “But that’s actually why we decided to invite you here.”

“To… give me a pep talk?”

“More or less,” Phanto confirmed. “Look, we want 2023 to be the year of the Plasma, and while the Plasma group may be in the past, it’d still be magnificent if the year of the Plasma was kicked off with a Ghost Plasma championship in the Marble Rally.”

“We’d like to do anything we can to help you for the final race,” added Gloomo.

Ghost Plasma felt a wave of gratitude towards the team. Few other athletes in the Marble Rally had such a connection to a Marble League team — a group of athletes who all knew what it was like competing at the upper echelon of marble sports.

“Thank you, all of you. I don’t want to let this championship go. I made history with those three wins in a row — I deserve to win this thing. But even the most experience in the world might not be enough to beat Superball, Slimer and Ducktape.”

“You’ve undoubtedly performed the best out of anyone. I’m sure you have what it takes—”

Ghost was interrupted by a swarm of reporters who had made their way inside; after all, it didn’t take long for the city of Fantum to realize their Marble Rally champion and Marble League Showdown champions were together at this restaurant. It seemed as if the owner was just as excited to meet the athletes to care about how bustling and crowded it had gotten.

“Ghost Plasma, it’s my pleasure,” declared Cyto, an eager reporter, as they shoved a microphone towards them. “Can we expect a Marble Rally championship this weekend?”

“How do you plan to avoid any stoppages this time?”

“Who’s your greatest competitor for the title, Plasma?”

The former champion was surrounded by a slew of questions, unable to answer anything — it was all so overwhelming. Luckily, Fearo noticed and took the mic. They looked towards the cameras facing them, smirking.

“Look everyone, Ghost Plasma is the greatest in the Marble Rally. They have one of the best spots to start from, and without a doubt, Ghost Plasma WILL become a two-time champion this weekend. You heard it here first,” remarked the captain of Team Plasma, met with cheers all around.

Across Marblearth in a dimly lit bar in Supozi, Superball and their personal trainer had taken some time out together after a long training session. A marble on the television screen caught their eye though: Fearo of Team Plasma.

“…Ghost Plasma WILL become a two-time champion this weekend.” Fearo declared from the television.

“Let’s go,” Superball said curtly. “This isn’t worth our time.”

The pair of them swiftly left the bar. Superball was evidently not happy with what they had heard.

“I thought you were friendly with the other marbles?” Superball’s trainer asked. “It’s not like you to be like this.”

“It’s all fun and games until a championship is on the line. Ghost Plasma has finished in the bottom 2 overall twice, but they win three races and it’s all Plasma this, Plasma that,” responded Superball.

“Maybe, if they were truly the greatest, they wouldn’t DNF twice in a row. I’ve got more overall podiums than DNFs and I’m the only one to do it. I’m going to win the final race and prove that I am the greatest of all time.”

The defending Marble Rally champion rolled off into the shadows of Supozi city.

Six racers. One champion. Who will come out on top?

The best racer of Marble Rally Season 6 stands among these six. Choose your marble…

…and may the best racer win.

Credits

• Writer: Ramen Powder
• Artist: Toffeeshop
• Photographer: Jelle’s Marble Runs
• Reference: Marble Rally Season 6
• Release: 07/04/2023