Ghoul School Fools Part 2

As Emperor Grym was preparing himself for his little ploy to obtain the hearts of the ghouls, they, at that moment, were telling us the tale of their last year.
"And so...now you know," said Sibella.
"You mean...you guys were abducted and enslaved by the dark witch Revolta?" I asked.
"Revolta is said to be one of the most powerful sorceresses in all the world. Said to have even spawned from the depths of Hell!" said Rod.
"You'd better believe it," said Winny.
"But if it wasn't for our old teacher and his pets, we probably would have stayed enslaved!" Phanty added.
"And we have the Calloway guys to thank for that," said Tanis.
"You really pulled through there," said Aqualea.
"I didn't think that anyone would defeat Revolta. I could never stand a chance against someone like her," said Beth.
"What happened to her?" Ruben asked.
"She is presumed to be dead, as we have not seen her since," said Sibella.
"Creepy," Ruben thought.
"Well, I said good riddance to bad monsters," said Adam. "But none of you are bad."
"Thanks," said Strato.
"Now, we'd better get back to that go-kart for the big race," I suggested.
"Right," everyone agreed.

And thus, the maintenance on the kart began.
"Okay, ghouls, in order to build a proper go-kart, you will need some very important key items for them. And remove any, but probably not all, superfluous accessories," I explained.
"Why not any and all?" Tanis asked.
"Some accessories make the kart look cooler than an iceberg," said Ruben.
"I have a fondness of lightning, so lightning bolts would be a good choice for one," said Rod.
"You and I are on the same page for that," Elsa commented.
"What about a claw slash? Those things are pretty cool," Winny figured.
"Yeah. Tearing right through the surface of a kind of substance is always a cool effect, and a bit of a chilling one at that. Sends goosebumps down one's spine," said Ruben.
"And to really get things really pumping, you need to have an engine that is fully functional and complete free of all hazards, such as dust, hairballs, smog, and any gunk that can get in between. A clean engine is a powerful engine," Rod explained.
"Clean = powerful. Got it," said Strato.

While we were busy instructing them on how to build a proper kart, the cadets over at Calloway were taking a look at their competition.
"So, how is it looking?" Todd asked.
"It doesn't look like they have anything up their sleeve...yet," Grunt inspected.
"Well, we know that they usually have something special with their traits to give them an advantage," said Jamal.
"And so do we. This race is going to be ours! And we will be the champions! CHAMPIONS, I TELL YOU!" Miguel exclaimed frantically.
"Come on, Miguel. You're giving me more creeps than when we were trapped in the quicksand back at Baron Bog," Todd told him.
"You guys would have died if you had followed me and the colonel," Baxter reminded them.
"We know!" the other cadets groaned at that reminder. They were still trying to forget about that.
The Colonel was looking at the map of the course and noticed something.
"Cadets! Front and center!" he called them.
They ran over, but Miguel accidentally tossed their wrench over the gate, and Matches came across it and thought it was some kind of chew toy.
"I have discovered an alternate route for a higher chance at victory," said the colonel.
He was pointing at a shortcut that was more linear and shaved off about 20% of the regular route.
"A shortcut?" Baxter asked.
"Colonel, isn't that cheating?" Todd asked.
"It's not cheating, it's strategic planning and advantageous inspection," the colonel corrected.
"I guess it wouldn't be too bad," said Grunt.
"As long as it's still honorable," said Jamal.
Just then, Miguel realized he didn't have his wrench anymore.
"Hey! Where's my wrench?" he wondered.

Matches buried it right underneath a tree in the schoolyard.
"Matches, what have you got there?" I asked him.
Matches just shrugged trying to hide the fact that he was hiding something.
"Don't lie to me, you walking furnace. I know there's something in there and you need to dig it up," I told him. "Miss Grimwood told us about your little mischief this morning."
Matches gave in and dug up the cadets' wrench.
"Property of Calloway Military Academy. Well, it looks like they lost this, and the right thing to do is to return it," I explained.
And for that, no new chew toy for Matches. He was grumbling over that fact.

With that, we were returning the wrench to them. We rang the bell and the colonel opened up.
"Yes?" he greeted us.
"Colonel Calloway?" I asked.
"That's me," said the colonel.
"We think you lost this over your gate and we came by to return it," said Adam.
"Our wrench! They brought it back!" said Miguel.
"Hold it. This generous return of our belongings might lead us into a false line of security. The enemy is craftier than they appear," Todd warned them.
"Dude, we're just giving the wrench back!" Rod responded.
"They don't seem to be bad people," said Miguel.
"They're just giving us our wrench back," said Jamal.
"So, how's your kart coming along? We don't think it'd be fair if we won because your kart was either unfinished or made improperly," Ruben asked.
"They have honor in sports," said Baxter.
"I think I like these guys more than that last instructor they had," Grunt figured.
"Withdraw that statement, Grunt!" Todd ordered.
"Oh, he's just a grunt here? A bit of a new guy?" I thought.
"No, that's my name," Grunt corrected.
"Really? Your name is...Grunt?" Adam asked.
"Grunt? What kind of a name is that?" Ruben asked.
"Dude, your parents must have thought poorly on that," I figured.
"Have you thought of getting it changed to something else?" Rod asked.
Grunt was thinking about that a bit.
"Maybe they didn't think that through," Grunt sighed.
"Well...sorry about that! We'll be looking forward to the race!" I apologized.
"See you on the track!" Ruben told us.
And with that, we were off.
"What bizarre civilians," said the colonel.

Our kart was coming along pretty good.
"How are things coming?" Ruben asked.
"Well, we don't seem to have any wheels to get our kart rolling," said Strato.
"Let's see...wheels...wheels...where to find some wheels?" I pondered.
There weren't really any tires like you'd find at an auto shop for our wheels, but there did seem to be some old looking carriage wheels from a European Renaissance kind of time. Ruben looked at the wheels.
"These might be in pretty good shape. Just gotta spruce them up and they'll be ready to roll in no time," said Ruben.
"We'd be spinning our wheels if it weren't for you, Ruben," Rod commented.
With that, the wheels were being patched up and ready for the perfect driving effect.
"Okay, now we need to get an exhaust to let out any and all fumes that are developed," said Adam.
"I found a couple of good pipes!" said Phanty.
"Those should work," said Beth.
She pulled out her wand and said,
"Frog's appendix
Ocean's rising tide
Add these parts onto
Our latest ride!"
With that, she managed to put the pieces together and form one sweet looking haunted speedster.
"Now that is looking fine," said Ruben.
"We got us one sweet ride here," said Aqualea.
The kart was finished. The only thing left to do was test it out.

Meanwhile, Emperor Grym was watching the maidens in a magic screen.
"Yes...they all have their special powers and contributions in them. They are no doubt perfectly suited for the throne..." he said.
"But how can we possibly convince them to join up with us and live under your hand in marriage, sir?" Damun asked.
"That, my warlords, will be up to you. You must not harm them, but you must also convince them nonetheless," the emperor told them.
"We shall see what we can do," said Arium.
"But we may not pull this off as easily as one is to expect," said Ragar.
"In order to find out how to pull off such an endeavor, we will need...proper sources and details," said Damun.
"Do whatever you can! I will not allow any failure whatsoever!" Grym hissed.
The three warlords were aware of this.
"Soon, master...soon..." said Ragar.

We were ready to give the kart a test drive.
"Look at that, Miss Grimwood! One supercharged off-road deluxe speedster right to ride through any and all surfaces," said Ruben.
"And it's got some nice exterior decor to boot," Rod added.
"Think you could give us a hand in getting ready for a test drive?" I asked.
The floating glove was more than happy to oblige with giving a hand. It held up a green flag.
"Okay, girls, start up the machine!" said Adam.
Sibella pressed a button and the machine was revving up and getting ready to go.
"It purrs just like a saber-toothed tiger," said Strato.
"With this baby, I think the cup is as good as ours," said Rod.
"I wouldn't count on it," said Elsa.
"After all, the cadets aren't exactly pushovers," said Tanis.
"We'll be sure to give them the ol' one-two!" said Aqualea.
"Now, girls, we don't want to besmirch the good name of sportsmanship. But this race will be no-holds-barred, so don't use your powers unless you really need to," said Rod.
"Right. Can't get carried away," said Beth.
"You be careful out there and have fun and do your best!" Ruben added.
"We will have a fang-tastic time racing and likely winning," said Sibella.
"Okay, seriously, you got anything more original?" I suggested to her.
"Sorry. It's my thing," Sibella apologized.

With that, the kart was ready to roll and took off. Strato was at the wheel and driving with panache.
"This is one sweet ride!" Winny shouted as she leaned to the side and stuck her tongue out.
"Wheeeee! This is fun!" Beth cheered.
"Looks like the ignition is working like a charm," said Ruben.
"Hopefully not a charm that fends off spirits. Those always give me the creeps," Phanty winced.
"Go go go! Do it do it do it!" I cheered.
"ALRIGHT!" Elsa shouted as she was enjoying the wind in her hair that stood up constantly.
"Here comes a turn!" said Strato.
She gripped on the wheel, but the turning wasn't doing very good. They almost crashed right off course.
"Okay, that was a little too close," said Beth.
"Didn't factor in the turning point, did we?" Strato wondered.
"I guess not," said Winny.
"What do you expect? This is more built for speed!" said Beth.
There were a few turns that they almost didn't make and barely made it past the last turn alive.
"Okay, we should work on the turning junction of the machine, but as soon as we take care of that, we should have it perfect in time for the race," said Ruben.
"That was quite terrifying to witness," said Adam.
"And with all the crazy obstacles around here, it's no wonder we're relieved that they didn't get hurt," said Rod.

We checked to see what was wrong with the turning on the thing, and Ruben found the problem.
"Here's the problem. The turning function somehow got frozen up," said Ruben. There was some ice and frost on it.
"Hey, Matches! We've got a job for you here!" Rod called out.
Matches came on over and saw the frozen bit there.
"Think you can heat that up?" Rod asked.
Matches nodded and spat out a small flame that thawed out the turning junction.
"Okay, let's give it another go," said Strato.
"I'm not riding this time just in case," Winny protested a little nervous over the last ride.
"Okay, I'll go this time," said Sibella.
"Count me in," said Aqualea.
They got in and started up the run for another go.
"Okay, we're coming to the first turn," said Strato.
She turned the wheel to the side and it was much more smoothly.
"That's what I wanna see!" said Strato.

After going over a few hills and passing many sharp turns, the kart was ready to go and show the boys at Calloway who was boss.
"We're gonna win the race for sure with this," said Aqualea.
"That cup is as good as ours!" said Beth.
Just then, the Calloway cadets came driving on by with their kart, which had a military vibe to it.
"Hey, girls! Like our new ride?" Todd asked.
"If you think you can attract us with that heap of junk, you're way off," said Aqualea.
"Besides, you should be more worried about the turns and how our machine can make them very easily now," said Sibella.
"Even if you do have your little scare tactics, we're not scared at all!" Grunt stated.
"Said the boy with the sad name," Strato added.
"We're thankful for helping us in the past, but don't forget, we're not holding back for old friends!" Phanty exclaimed.
"You know it!" Miguel concurred.
"Looks like the rivalry lives on," I thought.
"See you on the track tomorrow!" said Baxter.
"If you'll be there," Grunt added.
"We'll be there, alright!" Ruben added.
With that, the cadets drove off and were more than determined to win.
"They seem to have their confidence intact," said Rod.

The warlords couldn't help overhearing this.
"A race? This may be the perfect time to capture them," said Damun.
"And we should also do something about their four mentors who are showing them the way," said Ragar.
"We must do what we can to ensure their imminent capture," said Arium.
They would have it all planned out.
"We shall lure them to Hatesong Tower through detours," said Ragar.
"And they will not be aware of what will be to come," said Damun.
"The emperor will be pleased," said Arium.

That night, everyone was having some pasta made out of worms and eyeballs. We teachers were not really in the mood for that kind of stuff.
"Um...we're really not all that hungry," I figured.
"But it's some of the best pasta we've had in ages," said Strato.
"It may be fine for you guys, but we humans and mortals don't really get into that sort of thing," said Rod.
"I do specialize in monster dishes than I do in others," said Grimwood.
I looked at the worm and slurped it up.
"Hey, you know...this isn't too bad," I figured.
The others just looked at me shocked at that.
"Did you just...?" Adam asked.
"Hey, if twin babies can eat these things without getting nauseous, surely full grown men like us can do the same," I guessed.
We looked at our platters and gobbled them up.
"He's right! It has a bit of flavor to it, too," Ruben figured.
"Not so bad once you get them down," said Rod.
We were starting to get the hang of monster chow.
"Pass the lava cake, made with real lava, please!" we requested.
It was a hotcake, in more ways than one.

The kart was tucked away safe for the night ready for tomorrow's race, and we were all off to get a goodnight sleep. But it was not going to be a peaceful sleep. The warlords came by my friends' windows: Arium to Rod's, Damun to Adam's, and Ragar to Ruben's.
"We can dispose of them now..." Arium started.
"...and hinder their resistance..." Damun added.
"...to Emperor Grym," Ragar finished.
They threw their weapons right through their windows, but missed by many hairs.
"DRAT!" they shouted.
The sounds of the weapons hitting the walls and shouting "Drat" woke up my friends. There' they saw the weapons lodged in the walls.
"Oh, it must be the moving armory again," Rod thought.
"We didn't call for sword practice," said Adam.
"Who threw that there?" Ruben asked.
I woke up myself and wondered,
"What the heck was that?"

Outside, the warlords were retreating.
"We'll dispose of them another time," said Ragar.
"Right now, we must prepare our ploy for our luring them," said Damun.
However, Matches saw the whole thing and was growling and snarling at them.
"You again?!" Damun asked.
Matches burned them again with the same results.
"Insolent fire demon!" Damun shouted as he kicked Matches right to the side for some heavy damage.
"That'll teach you to stand in Emperor Grym's way!" Arium shouted.
Ragar was still shaking off a flame right where the sun don't shine.

Meanwhile, we mentors were talking about the commotion going on.
"Did you hear some strange voices just now?" Adam asked.
"I could hear it in all corners," I answered. "What happened?"
"One minute I'm dreaming a pleasant dream, the next moment, CLANG! and a DRAT! and something is up," said Ruben.
"There was a large axe in my wall," said Rod.
"I had a sword in mine," said Adam.
"It's not the moving armor around here, is it?" Ruben wondered.
"I don't think it could have been. Those usually fight off intruders that Miss Grimwood finds threatening," I added.
Just then, Matches came by.
"What is it, Matches?" Adam asked.
The little dragon tried to tell us everything that happened.
"Three scary guys came by and...did a little juggling?" Ruben guessed.
Matches shook his head.
"We got the scary guys part, but what's the rest?" Rod asked.
We yawned and didn't have time.
"We'll worry about it tomorrow. Right now, we gotta get back to sleep and ready for the race," I told them.
"Righto," they agreed.
With that, we returned to dream land, hopefully not having to go through another nightmare that nearly took our heads off.

The next morning, the sky was a nice dim coloring as expected from this little hovel of haunts. The bats went to the belfry, the sharks were brushing their teeth, and Matches woke up to a nice little breakfast in his bowl.
"Up and at 'em!" I told them.
"I am Adam, but I do not know who Up is," Adam joked.
"Now that is how you do a joke," said Rod.
The ghouls were already up and ready to go.
"We've been up for quite a while now," said Sibella.
"The suspense was a little too much for us," said Beth.
"That is what I want to hear! Determination and early rising!" I told them.
The girls were more than certain that they would win.
"Let's get some breakfast, and then it's time for the big showdown on the open road!" Rod told everyone.
"Let's do it!" Aqualea cheered.

The cadets were also positive of their shot at victory for this.
"We can do this, troop! We'll be crossing that finish line first and bring honor and glory to our folks!" said Todd.
"Affirmative! And we even have a little extra something to help us," said Baxter.
They were of course referring to the shortcut that their colonel told them about.
"Cadets! Are you ready for the big race?" he asked them.
"Just about, colonel. We just need to get some nourishment, and we'll be ready," said Jamal.
"Good. Be on your way to the mess hall then," said the colonel.

And thus, after breakfast, both schools met at the starting line, eager to show that their school was the superior racing force.
"Hello, and welcome to the wonderful racing event of the year with the rivalry between Grimwood's School for Ghouls and Calloway Military Academy!" Ruben announced into a mic.
"Ah, Ruben, this isn't a recorded event," Adam told him.
"I know, but I just wanted to try something like this," said Ruben.
"Okay, so the race will go over Horror Hill, right through Baron Bog, across the stone bridge, across the Catacombs of Catastrophe, and finally, the karts will approach the finish line over a huge gap that they will be diving from with a soft landing," I detailed.
"Sounds quite challenging, but we shall face all obstacles and dangers as if they are mere child play things," said the colonel.
"Don't get too cocky, sir," Rod warned the colonel, "because it could end differently."
"Ready to eat our dust? Because we're gonna burn rubber more than Matches burns through wood," Aqualea taunted the cadets.
"Negative! This year will be ours!" Todd rebutted.
"Well, good luck to you, and may the better kart win," said Beth.
"And we will do just that," said Strato.
"We'll see," said Miguel.
"Racers! Prepare yourselves!" I announced.
The engines were roaring and it was going to be quite a race.

GRIMWOOD VS CALLOWAY
150CC DEMON CUP

Of course, it was not going to be an easy race for our ghouls. As the warlords had other plans for their race.
"It's time for them to come off course...and come claim their real prize," said Damun.
They were gonna make sure that their plan would succeed.

END OF PART 2