AQUA OLYMPICS
Event 10: The Hippo Event
(All characters mentioned here are copyright their respective owners.)
Author's Note: It's Robert again, and this is another crazy, unusual event
that could only come about from the planning of three sick and twisted minds.
Guess that's why it's so good, huh? But seriously, I highly doubt anyone
out there reading this has ever read anything of the sort before. If you
have, let us know. I've heard of weirder things, but not by much. Take care
and Happy Reading!
Trevor: "Hello, everyone, and welcome back. We're drawing near the end
of these games, and we're now at the Hippo event. Take us through the
rules, Robert."
Robert: "Well, we have 5 heats, of 2 competitors each. They'll start in
an air pocket in this cave. They gotta swim thorugh this cave, but
it's not that easy, is it, Brian?"
Brian: "Well, there's a giant hippo guarding the exit to the cave. And
he doesn't like that we've sent our competitors into his underwater
home. He's looking to TAKE them out before they GET out. There are two
points in the case that serve as safe areas that the hippo can't reach,
but there's only one way out of the cave, so they have to confront him
eventually."
Trevor: "But of course, you may be asking, why on god's name does the
hippo have it's back turned. Well, it's got it's ass pointed right in
there. He's going to.... let loose, once in a while. Take it home,
Robert."
Robert: "And since each safe point can only protect one competitor,
things will get interesting when that hippo's about to let loose, as you
put it. Be warned though, those zones are not air pockets, so they
can't stay for too long. Fastest out wins. And here come our first two
competitors now."
Brian:: "And looking from the luck of the draw, it's Bingo and Alvin.
Looks like they're not gonna wait long to set that rivalry into motion
yet again. And this time, it may be for keeps. They're both ready and
looking very intently into each others eyes as the hippo is in
position... and there they go!"
Trevor: "This will be much fun to watch, folks. These two hate each
other at this point, and they'll get to settle some things here. As
they approach the straightaway, there's also a very important gear rule,
Mask and snorkel only."
Robert: "Very true, which is why they can't waste time. Bingo makes it
to the first safe spot and pauses a bit, but Alvin forges ahead! I
don't know if that's wise...."
Brian: "Well, he knows that he has to use what air he's taken in to
start, and his is shorter than Bingo's, so you can't blame his strategy.
But that also means he'll face the hippo first."
Trevor: "Alvin might not have much choice in the matter. Bingo's
finally comes out of the hole, and is plowing ahead. However, Alvin is
closing on the second zone, and has decided to take a quick refuge."
Robert: "Good thing too, because that hippo's about to let loose. Wait
a minute! Bingo shoved him out of the safe zone just as the hippo
farted! Alvin's done for!"
Brian: "Pulled him out is more like it. He saw it coming and made the
quickest dodge I've ever seen. Not to mention the fastest clean and
jerk. But now, as Alvin fades to the floor of the cave, Bingo still has
to sneak by, cuz that hippo still hasn't moved anywhere... yet."
Trevor: "Alvin clearly wasn't expecting it... anyway, Bingo finally
moves out, and he's going to try to moves past the hippo on what very
little room he has. Oh, jeez.... the tail just brushed on it."
Robert: "And the hippo felt it, and he's after a beaver lunch. But
Bingo's turned on the turbo with his tail and just breaks the surface,
making the hippo back off. Time?"
Brian: "Time? He got out in the nick of time, his tail was mere inches
from the hippo's jaws! But he's out with an amazing time of 2:00 even,
and an intact tail to boot."
Trevor: "Bingo's probably most pleased about him getting out and not
Alvin, whose body they're recovering now. Our next two competitors are
Buster and Cubbi, and odd pairing to say the least. Cubbi's gonna have
it tough here."
Robert: "You can say that again, Trevor, but that cub looks mighty
determined. It's hard, but I wouldn't count him out just yet."
Brian: "Right. We've done that before, and look what's happened."
Trevor: "Well, the proof is in the playing, and they're going in!
Cubbi's just going as fast as he can, straightaway. Buster's being far
more cautious. Think this is the only path Cubbi can take, guys?"
Robert:: "Has to be, Trevor. Cubbi's breathhold is barely long enough
to get him through the cave without the hippo in the way."
Brian: "Luckily for him, though, he's small, so he may scoot by without
the hippo even knowing he's gone. Meanwhile, Buster's laying back in the
first safe area just waiting for the anticipated boom here."
Trevor: "It doesn't seem to be coming though, as Cubbi's forging
further and further ahead. Buster finally leaves, and he's moving on.
Hey, Cubbi's drawing close to the hippo, guys."
Robert: "You see the strain on his face, but he's holding on
bravely....and he just scooted by the hippo! He shoots up to the
surface as Buster just watches in awe. Time?"
Brian: "I'll get back to you on that. Buster's literally freaked at
this. He's now making a quick move to catch the hippo off guard himself.
But he's much farther back, guys..."
Trevor: "This is a little dumb, trying to copy Cubbi's feat. Besides,
Buster's having large sized air problems himself now. Well, nothing's
happened yet and he closes on the guardian himself."
Robert: "He's trying to slip past the hippo, but the hippo just took in
a deep breath and Buster's pinned against the wall! He'll be crushed."
Brian: "You mean he IS crushed. I think we'll need the waterproof
HandiWipes for this one. Meantime, Cubbi's celebrating his :40 up at the
surface. That puts him in the lead."
Trevor: "It sure does, Brian. Well, at least Buster didn't feel much
pain.... he didn't even have time to scream. Anyway, about to be taken
into the air pocket are Theodore and Tummi."
Robert: "We have a rivalry here as well, with the two biggest
competitors in this heat. They've been going at each other pretty bad
whenever they've met in the past, I expect this to be no different."
Brian: "But this may not be the best time for it. Given their size,
both of them will have a difficult budging past you know who, so they
should focus on the strategy of that first."
Trevor: "True, but they're the ones on the spot in these situations,
Brian. They must decide for themselves. As they start, They're both
progressing without incident, trying to beat each other to that first
safe zone. This is slow these two trying to race."
Robert: "Trying being the operative word here, of course. They make
it to safe zone 1 at about the same time....and here we go, they're
fighting over it, especially seeing as that hippo's getting ready to
fart them out of the water."
Brian: "He may be a little farther than he was in his previous blast,
but they know it's still potent. And there it goes! Both make the dive
for the zone and-- what the--They got there at the same time again and
wedged themselves in!"
Trevor: "So much for one person at a time.... well, the hippo just
blasted, and now they're trying to move out of the zone... and here we
go again, to the next zone, folks. This is starting to get
interesting."
Robert: "This zone looks to be smaller than the first, no chance of
them both getting in this one. But it looks like they're going to try
anyway."
Brian: "I got a question. Does the hippo have enough for more than one
blast in such a short amount of time?"
Trevor: "Yes, the hippo can blast 3 times in a heat, amazingly enough.
And speaking of which, it's looks like it's getting ready again....
Tummi and Theo are still fighting over the safe zone."
Robert: "Theo seem to have position....yes, he just planted both feet
in Tummi's face and shoved him down right into the fart! Looks like the
Gummies won't sweep this event as Tummi's out of the running."
Brian: "And check the force on that. I didn't think Tummi was that
aquadynamic, he just went flying! Even Theo's a little stunned. After
having witnessed that, he's quickly shaking the image and shooting back
out to try and make his big move."
Trevor: "Theo's trying to finish this off, and he's trying to sneak
past, but his air's gotta to be getting really low, and I think it's
really starting to show as he's looking like he's panicking some."
Robert: "So it is as he's abandoned the sneaking and is just taking off
as fast as he can, which isn't all that fast anyway. He's slipping by
him now...wait, the hippo noticed him!"
Brian: "This is trouble guys. The hippo's trying to turn around and
redirect his shot as Theo goes by. He's gearing up as he's turning,
what's gonna happen..."
Trevor: "This may actually be a mistake by the hippo, he should be just
trying to chase down Theo and lower the chomp on him.... and he takes
too long redirecting the shot and Theo breaks the surface! Time?"
Robert: "Time is....3 minutes 15 seconds. In 3rd place for the moment,
but will it hold up against our next pair? Only time will tell."
Brian: " I was thinking for a second the hippo might blast him out. The
angle was there for it. But Theo made it, lucky for him. While he gets
his senses back, Simon and Monty prepare for their heat."
Trevor: "You know, after over half of this event, all the competitors
that didn't make it were killed of by the hippo in some way, but it'll
be interesting if the competitors themselves are the cause at some
point. In any case, they're off!"
Robert: "Both starting off at a good pace, keeping hteir eyes on the
hippo and not each other here. They both pass by the first safe zone, a
bit of a surprise if you ask me."
Brian: "They're figuring on that last run that the longer they're in
there, the more danger they're in. The hippo doesn't mind, though, he's
already gearing up. And they're still headed right for him, what are
they doing?"
Trevor: "They're trying to hit the next safe zone, perhaps In any
case, they're going need to, I think. And they're there, and now
they're trying to fight over the zone! This is some good stuff, folks.
Something you'd have to see."
Robert: "And Monty just ripped Simon's mask off, blinding him and
cauing him to gasp involuntarily, losing a lot of his breath! Never
thought I'd see that from Monty...."
Brian: "The genius never saw it coming. And WHOA! He sure didn't see
THAT, either. He got just as good torpedo time as Tummi did! Monty's
tucked away letting it all fly past."
Trevor: "Owww.... Simon's splattered against the wall, eww... anyway,
Monty's trying to move past the hippo. Slow and steady seem to be the
watchwords for the Get Along Gang leader."
Robert: "It worked for the tortoise, but with it work for the moose?
Doesn't look that way as he can't find a way past. Wait a minute,
what's he up to now?"
Brian: "He looks like he's charging all of a sudden. Going headfirst
right at the hippo from behind. Trevor, what in the world is this gonna
do?"
Trevor: "Oh, jeez, I see what he's doing... he's sticking his antlers
on the hippo's ass, trying to poke hard enough to make it move.... and
he succeeded enough to make an opening! He's dashing up, and before the
hippo knows it, Monty's up! Time?"
Robert: "3 minutes flat. That bumped Theo out of third for the moment,
but with one heat to go, that could all change."
Brian: "This event just keeps getting stranger, I'm hard pressed to
imagine what Louie and Plucky have for a closer after everything we've
just seen."
Trevor: "I don't know, but they seem very eager to show us, as they've
already taken off! They're both looking to be the first to that safe
zone, but Louie has already gotten there slightly ahead of Plucky! Now
both are in and they're fighting, and it looks really intense."
Robert: "They're kicking up so many bubbles and ripples, I can't see
what's going on. Can either of you guys?"
Brian: "All I can see is an occasional foot or fist popping out of the
mess. First Plucky's, then Louie's, it's going back and forth. At this
rate, we'll be lucky if either of them is still alive before the hippo
even gets to fire once!"
Trevor: "Wait... the hippo just let go, but since they're both still in
the safe zone, there's no effect, but it did make them stop fighting in
stunned silence at the blast. You gotta be there to feel the full
effect, guys. Wait... Louie's got Plucky from behind, and he's trying to
drown him, I think!"
Robert: "Plucky's trying to scrape Louie off against the wall, but it's
not working I don't think. You should never get distracted when in a
fight like this."
Brian: "Distracted? We still can't see anything, how can you tell
they're distracted?"
Trevor: "Wait, here we are, another camera... and you can tell many of
those bubbles are from Plucky as Louie's close to success."
Robert: "Plucky's trying to land a few elbows, but they're just not
having any effect in his weakened state. It's just about over for him
now."
Brian: "Plucky's still swinging, but Louie ducks another elbow right
there and takes Pluck's head right into the cave wall. Ew, is that red I
see...? I think he's done now."
Trevor: "And.... yes, there he goes, the bubbles coming out his beak, a
sign of drowning, and he goes limp. Louie now speeds out of the safe
zone and is now going right for the exit!"
Robert: "Oops, he's had to duck into a safe zone to avoid the hippo's
blast, and he just made it too. But he's back charging at full
speed....and he's out! Wait till he breaks the surface...and time!"
Brian: "He had to beat 3 minutes to medal, and he makes it in 2:40!
That burst of speed pays off, and Louie's on the stand once again."
Trevor: "Well, that ends this event, guys, and we'll interview a few of
these guys after the break. Gold, silver, and bronze go to Cubbi,
Bingo, and Louie."
Interviews
Trevor: "OK, everyone, we're ready to start the interviews for the
Hippo event. And first up on our list is out very happy winner, Cubbi
Gummi. Your second gold, kid. How does it feel?"
Cubbi: "It feels awesome! I still don't know how I did it. One minute
I was getting ready, the next I was breaking the surface."
Brian: "We can see the shock is still with you. Now, there were two
things that had a lot of people wondering in this event for you were
your small size and small breathhold. How did you plan this event
knowing those constraints?"
Cubbi: "Actually, to be perfectly honest... the only planning involved
was knowing all that, I had to go all out to have a chance. So that's
what I did."
Robert: "One last question before you go. Do you think you would have
done better or worse if you were bigger than you are?"
Cubbi: "Well, I'd like to think so, but I really don't know. I'm just
glad I made it."
Trevor: "A tactful enough answer. OK, we're going to let you go now,
Cubbi. We now have Bingo with us. Well played, Bingo."
Bingo: "Not as well as I could have though. I'm not too disappointed,
but I am surprised at that bear. I think we've all underestimated him,
even after he won the Assault."
Brian: "That's for sure. But go back through your fight now, and the
speed you poured on to keep your tail from getting chomped. What was
that like?"
Bingo: "The longest few seconds ever."
Robert: "Short, sweet, to the point. I like it. And now a prediction
if you don't mind. We've got one last event, the Gauntlet. How do you
think that will go?"
Bingo: "Well, I expect to medal, of course, I'm not too confident
about winning, in all honesty, but I'll do good."
Trevor: "And once, again, I'm the one that ends this interview.
Thanks, Bingo. And now, we have our bronze medal winner. Louie, come
on up here."
Louie: "Thanks. Another medal, even though not the one I wanted.
Still, that's better than no medal at all. I wish my brothers could go
through this too."
Brian: "Well, they're cheering you on back in Duckburg, so don't worry.
You've been very skilled in the majority of these events, and now with
the Gauntlet left to go, your thoughts on the whole competition."
Louie: "I suppose I can't say I'm displeased with how I've done... but
I want to cap this off with a decisive victory in the Guantlet."
Robert: "You're not the only one. But it was good to talk to you.
We'll let you go now to get ready for the final event. Good luck."
Brian: "And with that, we get set for our final event of these games,
and the wildest one of them all. It's everyone for themselves in the
Gauntlet!"
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