When the shaking stopped, Terrell was the first to move. He dashed for the door, picking up his board along the way.

The twins exchanged glances and Naomi jumped off the counter. She rushed over to hide behind Alegra. Sahara held her breath. She didn't know why, but part of her expected something big was about to happen. There were a few moments of silence.

"Well...that was interesting," Alegra finally said.

"Are we still alive?" Reagan, who had squeezed his eyes shut, opened them again.

"What just happened?" Sahara asked.

Arden shrugged. "The last time the city shuddered was when our engines stopped..."

"Maybe they started up again," Sahara suggested.

Arden shook his head. "No...it doesn't feel like it."

"Are we going to die?" Naomi asked Alegra.

Alegra placed a comforting hand on her head. "That's not possible, Naomi. Remember why?"

Naomi nodded. "I have to live until a really old age or else you will haunt me."

Alegra nodded.

Just what other things has she been teaching her? Sahara couldn't help but wonder.

"Whatever happened," Alegra looked up, "I'm sure Terrell headed out to find out. He'll probably let us know when he gets back." The words were barely out of her mouth when the door opened. All eyes turned to it to see Orion enter. He was carrying a large paper bag.

"Anyone know what Terrell's up to?" Orion asked as he shut the door behind him. "He just zoomed past me." He turned back around.

"Didn't you feel the city shake?" Arden gave him a questioning look.

Orion nodded, his face showing little concern.

"And you aren't worried in the least?" Arden added.

"If it was the engines starting up again we'd be feeling it. If it was a hole in the bubble we'd all be dead...same if it was the ventilation system providing our air. Therefore, it can't be anything too serious," Orion explained as he walked over. He lifted the bag he had in one hand. "I got what you asked for."

"Perfect." Alegra took the bag from him. She placed it on the table and pulled out three big bags filled with lollipops. Opening one, she grabbed a handful and began to hand them out.

"Oh, I was wanting one. Thanks," Reagan beamed.

"They're not for you to eat," Alegra replied as she gave Arden, followed by Sahara, a bunch.

Reagan's face fell.

"Just what is going on?" Orion asked as he, too, was given a handful.

"They're for Terrell," Alegra replied. "Always keep some on you. If he gets grumpy, give him one. If he asks for strawberry milk, or is about to buy some, give him one. If he gets angry..."

"Give him one," the twins finished off for her.

"Right." Alegra nodded. She looked pleased that they had caught on.

"It's like the ultimate Terrell repellent!" Reagan beamed.

Orion gave them all a blank stare.

"To help him withdraw from strawberry milk," Sahara explained as she stuffed some of the lollipops into her pockets, "Alegra's trying to get Terrell addicted to something that won't run out as fast."

"Ah," Orion commented. He didn't ask further, seeming to have adapted to the odd ways of the crew long ago. "Oh...by the way," he addressed the whole group, "I got us another race."

All eyes turned to him and Sahara felt her heart leap.

"I couldn't track down the Tornadoes, but I found the Tricksters," Orion continued.

"The Tricksters?" Arden asked.

"What are they? A bad joke?" Reagan snickered.

Arden rolled his eyes.

"They're one spot below the Tornadoes," Orion explained.

"And you got them to challenge us...how?" Alegra's eyes narrowed.

Orion shrugged. "It wasn't hard to dig up some dirt on their leader. I just let some things slip and one thing led to another. They wanted a status group race at once. Sahara will have to let them know she doesn't feel they're worth the effort and that we'll take over."

"When's the race?" Sahara asked curiously.

Orion glanced at the clock in the room. "An hour."

"Are you crazy?" Alegra asked as Sahara's head reeled. "Why didn't you let us know?"

"Race!" Reagan sung as he looked excited. He and Arden high fived.

"Terrell's not here, Sahara can't race yet," Alegra told Orion. "We aren't ready."

"I was prepared for this scenario," Orion replied calmly. "Sahara can scout as Terrell already showed her the ropes..."

Sahara wanted to protest, however, she bit her lip. If Terrell wasn't there, then she had to join in some way or they wouldn't have enough members.

"Arden and Reagan can block like usual..."

"You want me to race again?" Alegra asked as she crossed her arms. She didn't look too happy.

"Actually," Orion pushed his glasses up, "I'll race. You can tow."

Alegra raised an eyebrow.

"Ohhh," both twins exchanged excited glances.

"And me?" Naomi asked excitedly. "What do I do?"

"You get to play the most important part," Orion replied.

Naomi waited for his explanation expectantly.

"Cheer us on from the finish line," Orion finished.

Naomi's face fell.

"You can help Sahara," Alegra told her as she shot a glare at Orion, daring him to argue. "Right, Sahara?" She glared at Orion as she said it.

"Y-yeah," Sahara agreed.

"Well, it looks like everyone understands," Orion pulled up a screen. "I might as well let get you all prepared and let you know about the Tricksters' style of racing."

Everyone gathered around him as Orion pulled up a picture of a group of boarders.

"They like to concentrate on the race. Unlike our last race, they won't attack right from the start. Instead, they tend to try and lose us right by speed. If they can't shake us off by half way, they'll go for the tower. Then they aim straight for the racer with any way to slow them down..."

In the following moments Orion explained so many things about the other crew that it left Sahara in awe. She didn't know how he came up with all the information. In fact, by the time an hour was almost up, she knew so much about the other team that she even knew their leader's biggest fear was spiders.

The Falcons headed out a little before they time of the race and headed out to meet the Tricksters. There had been no word from Terrell since he had left and so it looked like he really wouldn't turn up for the race.

The other crew turned up moments after the Falcon's had arrived. Sahara went through the same routine with her crew making a big show of how the other crew wasn't a challenge enough for her. The Tricksters didn't argue when Orion announced he would be racing in her stead.

"Good luck," Alegra told Sahara as Sahara turned and headed off to scout with Naomi.

Since Terrell was no where nearby, Sahara turned the gravity pull on her board on. She wasn't comfortable going high with none. For if she fell, there would be no Terrell to catch her. Naomi followed on a board Alegra had miraculously 'found'. Though it was too big for the little girl, Naomi kept up with Sahara, even going ahead of her as they went up.

Once they were above the buildings Sahara came to a stop. She couldn't go as high as she had with Terrell, she was just too scared.

"Here's good," she told Naomi. Carefully, she turned her gravity pull off so that she could sit on her board. When she was safely doing so, she let out a sigh of relief. Naomi followed her lead and sat down, gazing at the area below.

"Alright," Sahara murmured to herself. She pulled up a 3D map of the area below. Orion had shown her how moments before. A red arrow showed Sahara the rout to the finish line. She scanned it before beginning to look for anyway that would be shorter. "Hmm..." she murmured.

Naomi moved so that she lay on her stomach. She waved her legs in the air as she hummed to herself.

Sahara's bracelet began to ring and she picked up the call from Orion.

"Everyone ready?" he asked.

"Yup," came the replies from all around, though Sahara's was somewhat less convincing than the others. She was still trying to find the best route to go.

"Ten," the countdown began.

Sahara glanced at the second screen which popped up beside the first. It showed the race from Orion's view. Her eyes darted back to the first screen where dots appeared, each signifying a different crew member from both crews.

"Five," the voice said.

Where do I tell him to go? Sahara felt panic build up. There were so many ways, and yet one wrong one could make Orion take longer than if he went another way.

"Two."

This isn't going to go well.

"Race!"

Orion and the others shot forward. As predicted, the Tricksters went straight for speed. They pushed right ahead. Orion led the Falcons, with Alegra right behind and the twins following. They stayed behind, making no move to try and challenge the other crew. According to Orion's plan, they were going to follow for now.

"Sahara?" Orion asked.

"Uh..." Sahara's eyes scanned the screen. "T-take the next left!" she blurted out.

Orion did just that and the others followed. Sahara's eyes widened as she realized it wasn't the turn she thought it would have been.

"Right!" she quickly ordered as she tried to get them back on track.

The Falcons did as told.

"Right?" It came out more as a question than a command.

"Sahara, calm down," Alegra's voice told her. "You can't give random directions. Look and figure it out."

"Right," Sahara nodded.

The crew turned.

"I didn't mean turn. I was agreeing!"

Arden laughed.

"Not funny!" Alegra scolded him. "Come on, Sahara, you can do it," she added.

"Um...left in five meters."

Naomi stopped humming. She sat up and cocked her head. Then, she crawled across the board. Once closer to Sahara, she peered over her shoulder into the screen. "They'll be behind if you make them continue that way," she told Sahara seriously.

Sahara turned to look at her, her eyes wide. "W...what would you suggest?" she asked.

Naomi leaned closer, her board tipping dangerously to the side. "A right in fifteen meters."

Sahara paused. Perhaps she's better at this than I am. She considered it for a moment. "Turn right," she said as she turned back to the screen.

The crew followed her instructions.

Sahara shot a helpless glance back at Naomi. The little girl seemed to understand.

"Take a left and follow the straight."

Sahara relayed the little girls every command, feeling like a parrot as she repeated. It didn't take long for the Falcons to end up parallel to the Tricksters on a different road.

"Alright, time to take action," Orion spoke so that everyone could hear him. "Sahara, guide the twins to the other racers. Alegra and I'll follow. Once we reach them, Alegra you'll help me by slinging me forward."

Naomi yawned and leaned back, seeming to lose interest in the race. She rocked back and forth on her board, singing something about Blue the whale. Sahara didn't ask. Naomi had helped her out enough for her to take over. She was sure she could do it from here on; the finish line wasn't far off.

"Arden and Reagan, if you speed up and take the second left, you'll come out right on top of their racer," she informed them.

"Rodger that," Arden replied as he and Reagan leaned forward and moved ahead of Orion.

Sahara watched the dots of the other team. If things went according to Orion's plan then... Yes! She thought in excitement as she watched the dot of the Trickster's racer fall behind his two blockers. As their scout had seen on his own screen that the twins were moving in, he had informed his crew and the blockers were getting ready block the twins attack. However, this was just what the Falcons wanted.

"It's progressing as planned," Sahara told Orion excitedly. "The blockers have moved forward."

"Alegra," Orion told her.

"Here we go," Alegra replied. With a new burst of speed she moved so that she shot past Orion. Settling right before him, she switched to towing mode. Two blue lights appeared, trailing behind her board. Orion skillfully moved right behind her, locking on at full speed so that she was now towing him.

"Take the next left," Sahara told them. "It's a tight corner, so watch it."

"Perfect," Alegra replied as she pushed her board to go even faster.

Just then, the twins shot out, right next to the boards of the Tricksters. Arden moved into action at once, ramming into a blocker from the side. The blocker shoved back and the two boarded side by side, locked in battle. Reagan moved differently. He surprised the other boarder when he braked hard and settled right in front of the racer, blocking him off by swerving in front of him every time he tried to pass. The second blocker, and the tower, rushed to help, both going for Reagan. However, the damage had already been done.

Alegra hit the corner at full speed. She raced around it, Orion in tow. A millisecond before she hit the straight, she disabled the tow mode. Orion shot past her with the momentum gained from being pulled around the corner behind her. He flew into the lead, leaving the other racers behind. The Tricksters finally managed to get Reagan out of the way by knocking him to the side, forcing him to break in order to not slam into a wall. However, he had done his job well. For Orion now had a lead with which he was uncatchable in the last stretch. Arden, seeming to realize this, slowed down, pulling out of his battle with the other blocker. Even Alegra was taking her time.

"We've got this one, boys," Alegra commented.

Sahara watched breathlessly as Orion shot towards the finish line. She felt relief rush through her. They had won this one.

"Hey!" She heard Reagan's yell.

Changing her screen to his view, she was just in time to witness two new boarders crash right into Reagan's board. He went spinning.

"Reagan!" Arden yelled as he boarded towards him. However, another boarder appeared and smashed into him, sending him out of control, too.

"What on earth?" Alegra asked as she rounded the corner just in time to witness Reagan go flying from his board and smash into a pile of boxes. "Hey!" she yelled as she saw the boarders turn towards Arden. Upon hearing her, they looked up before turning and boarding off.

Alegra ignored them as she came to a stop. Sahara watched the scene, confusion filling her.

What just happened?

"Reagan!" Arden yelled as he recovered and rushed over to his brother.

Orion, who had just crossed the finish line, skidded to a halt. "What's going on?" he asked.

"I...I don't know," Sahara replied in shock as she watched Arden come to a halt beside the boxes and jump from his board. "Some boarders just came out of nowhere and crashed into Reagan."

"What?" Orion asked.

Sahara didn't reply as through her screen she watched Arden digging through the boxes to find his brother. I should help, she thought. Shakily, she got to her feet. "Let's go," she told Naomi.

The little girl followed her without a word. Once they were closer to the ground, Sahara felt safe enough to move forward at a faster pace. She zipped through alleys, heading towards the twin's location.

"Are you alright?" she heard Alegra's voice, showing that she had gone to help.

"What game are you playing?" Orion was shouting, most likely at the Trickster's leader. "Sending in three more members to attack just because you're losing? That's low!"

"Hey, they weren't ours!" Sahara heard the reply at the other end.

"They better not have been or the Keepers will hear about this," Orion threatened. He sounded furious.

Sahara rounded the corner to see Arden and Alegra standing in the middle of boxes which were spread all around.

"Please be okay," she breathed as she boarded over. Naomi followed.

"Don't move," she heard Arden commanding as she skidded to a halt.

"I'm fine," she heard the quiet reply.

Sahara felt relief fill her at the sound of Reagan's voice. She caught sight of the younger twin sitting on the ground. He was holding a hand to his head as though dizzy.

One of the Trickster's blockers had stopped some distance away and was watching.

Arden crouched down next to his twin. "Any broken bones?" he asked.

"Maybe bruised ribs," Reagan replied. "My wrist kind of hurts...probably just a sprain. Everything else feels fine..." he winced.

"Really?" Arden asked.

"Really," Reagan replied.

"You're bleeding," Alegra informed him.

Reagan lifted his hand to stare at the blood on it."Eeeek! I'm going to die!" he yelled.

Sahara let out a sigh of relief. He sounded perfectly fine.

"There's a lot of red," Naomi commented as she peered over at Reagan who had lay back down and was moaning.

"He'll be fine," Arden said. He looked relieved. "It looks like you skinned yourself quite good though," he added as he lifted Reagan's arm and glanced at his elbow. "You've also got a nice cut on your head. Looks like this one might leave a scar."

Reagan stopped moaning. His eyes shot open, filled with horror. "My beautiful face," he whimpered.

"Look at the bright side," Alegra told him, "If it does leave a scar, I'll at least be able to tell you two apart."

Reagan looked ready to cry at the thought.

After seeming to realize that everything was okay, the blocker who had been watching turned and left. Orion arrived at that moment.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked.

Arden looked up and nodded. He was ignoring his twin who was clutching his arm and trying to convince him that if he got a scar on his face, Arden would have to get one too.

"I looked at a re-play. Those guys looked like they meant to attack you," Orion told them grimly.

Reagan stopped talking.

"Tricksters?" Alegra asked.

Orion shook his head. "They weren't from their crew..." His eyes turned to the twins. "Anyone you know?"

"I didn't get a look at their faces," Arden replied.

Reagan paused. He scowled, yet as all eyes turned to him he shook his head. "I didn't even know they were there until my world began to spin."

Orion frowned.

"At least everyone's okay," Sahara told them as she tried to lighten the mood.

"True. Thought it looked like they wanted to do a lot worse," Alegra muttered.

"At least they didn't come in any earlier or it could have cost us the race," Arden commented.

Reagan's eyes widened slightly at that, yet his twin didn't seem to notice.

Reagan lifted his hand and tugged on his brother's sleeve. "Arden..." he began pleadingly.

"No," Arden replied right away. "I'm not going to hit my head to get a scar for you," Arden told him dryly.

"But...but we're twins!" Reagan replied as if that explained all.

"And what if you don't get a scar?"Arden asked him.

Reagan looked thoughtful.

"Alright goofball," Sahara told Reagan as she cut in. She was looking at the cuts, Reagan had obtained, with worry. "We should probably get all that cleaned out so it doesn't get infected."

Arden nodded in agreement before he pulled his twin to his feet.

Once standing, Reagan turned to Sahara. "Mother..." he wailed as he ran towards her, his hands held open for a hug. He was just about to reach her when a hand reached out over his face, blocking him from going any further.

Sahara stared in surprise as Terrell stood there. She hadn't even notice when he had arrived.

"What happened here?" Terrell asked as he shot a curious look at the bloody Reagan.

"He went crash," Naomi told him happily from where she was sitting on her oversized board.

"I see that," Terrell replied. He shot Orion a questioning look.

"Some random guys interrupted out race..."

"Did you win?" Terrell asked.

"Yes," Alegra stepped forward. "No thanks to you."

Terrell shrugged as he moved his hand from Reagan's face. Reagan stepped back, rubbing it.

"Did you find out what's going on?" Orion asked.

Terrell nodded. "One of the coolers is down."

The others exchanged glances.

"Cooler?" Sahara asked.

Arden shot her a surprised look. "Yeah, you know, the thing that keeps our temperature nice and cool."

"Ah..." Sahara tried not to show him that she wasn't sure what he was talking about.

"Rayne will figure it out," Alegra shrugged. She grabbed Reagan by the back of his collar. "We should get you cleaned up."

"Owe," Reagan protested as Alegra dragged him over to where his board was hovering. "Careful!" Reagan whined. "Right now I'm really breakable."

"Hah!" Arden followed.

"I think he hit his head pretty hard," Alegra told him.

"Don't worry, there isn't much more that could get damaged in there," Arden replied.

"Hey!" Reagan protested.

Orion followed at a distance and once she was sure he was out of ear shot, Sahara turned to Terrell. "Cooler?" she asked.

"It's super hot outside of the city," Terrell told her as he got on his board. Sahara followed his lead. "It's another thing that would make living there impossible. That's why we have the cooling system to keep our temperature controlled."

"So...is it bad if it breaks?"

"Not if it's just one."

The others had gotten on their boards.

"It just means that things might get quite a bit hotter around here," Terrell added. "Because in order to fix one, the others will have to be turned off for a bit."

"I see," Sahara replied as she followed Terrell and the others. She was just about to follow them around the corner when she realized that Reagan wasn't with them. Pausing, she turned to see him standing on his board. He was staring in the direction in which the boarders who had attacked him had disappeared, a frown on his face.

"Reagan?" Sahara called.

He didn't seem to hear her.

"Reagan!" Sahara tried again.

Reagan jerked slightly, as if surprised. When he turned and caught sight of her, his frown was replaced by a grin.

"Coming!" he chirped, way too happily for someone who had claimed he was dying only moments before. When he zoomed past Sahara, she paused for a second to glance in the direction she had seen Reagan gazing. Narrowing her eyes, she leaned forward.

Is it just me or is someone there? She blinked and then shook her head. Turning, she followed the others. Nah, it's probably just my imagination.