Chapter 3- The Cheer for Heroes

Cobalt climbed the steps to the third stadium, he could hear cheering. He looked over the track, he could see cheerleaders with pompoms in their hands shouting "Mo-go! Mo-go! Mo-go!"

"Mogo?" He looked around the track and saw the racer. He was certainly fast on his bike, but he was only just ahead of the racers.
"How can he get cheerleaders?" Cobalt thought, then he looked at the leaderboard. It showed that Mogo was a whole lap ahead of all the other racers.
"Interesting," Cobalt thought with a slight grin. Just then, Mogo picked up a star laying on the ground. Cobalt thought "Someone must have dropped it after being hit by the thunder." The cheerleaders kept cheering, "MOGO!! YEAH!!"

When the race was finished, Mogo took off his helmet and bowed to the wild crowd who whistled and cheered. "This man is obviously very popular," Cobalt muttered.
Mogo looked around, raised his hand to the crowd, when a cheerleader ran towards him to give him a hug. Mogo smiled, and whispered something in her ear.

After the applause died down, Mogo shouted, "Thank you! Thank you! Now, lets spice things up a little! I shall have my cheerleaders race me instead, with one as my partner!
"Let's see, which one.." Mogo thought as he scanned them, "One of them must have some decent racing ability."
Mogo then thought "I have already seen all of these girls race, but not that new girl; lets give her a chance!"

Mogo announced, "Ladies and Gentlemen! My racing partner shall be... Hooktail!"
The blonde-haired cheerleader skipped to Mogo's side and waved to the crowd.

As soon as Cobalt saw her, memories stirred in his mind, haunting memories of what could not possibly be unchanged.

He could see it clearly as if it were happening now, a vision of his past, the image of a girl, a girl close to him, who was now gone for good...
All his fault...

He was snapped back to reality by the sound of mechakitu signalling the start of the race.

"3....2....1....GO!"

As they raced, Mogo and the cheerleader pulled ahead, but all Cobalt could think about was what had happened before... The resemblance between them was striking...
He forced himself to snap out of it, and focussed on the race at hand.
Mogo was far ahead again, and the girl was racing well. This was abruptly halted, however, as her bike got hit by a red shell, sending her flying from the bike.
When Mogo noticed this, he instantly shifted his bike into reverse, trying to catch the falling girl.
But he was too late, as she hit the ground with a hard "thump"
He rushed to the girl's side as she struggled to get up. "Don't worry , I've got ya" said Mogo as he picked her up and rushed her to his bike.
Rules state that the racer has to cross the line, not the kart/bike, to register the place.

This has led to many amusing situations where racers have ran across the line instead of karting there.

Both Mogo and the girl jumped onto Mogo's bike.
While Mogo raced, the cheerleader would hurl items at the other racers randomly, but effectively. They then went on to win the race, with Mogo sending the girl to the hospital straight after.

Cobalt was amazed. "That was the best teamwork I've ever seen. Also, this "Mogo" is an extremely good racer and the girl is an extremely good shot with her shells." This is just what both Fred and Cobalt were looking for.
He swiftly followed Mogo to the hospital, buying flowers for the cheerleader on the way.

At the hospital, Cobalt listened from the door as Mogo asked,"Will she be alright?"
The doctor replied, "A few of her vertebrae are out of place, but she should be fine in a week or two."
"Thank God," Mogo replied with relief. As the doctor left, Cobalt entered the room.

"Who are you?" Mogo asked in a slightly hostile tone. "Calm down, I wish the girl well", putting the flowers by her side. "We need to talk..."

Cobalt then told the story of how he and Fred and going to over-throw the tyrannical dictators and make this world peaceful once again.
And that they needed help like him and the cheerleader.

Mogo thought deeply about this for a moment, then replied, "My father is gone because of this rule. I have raced for him, hoping he will return."

"If we defeat these evil rulers, then we will make sure he returns." Cobalt said.

"Why should I trust you, anyways?" Mogo replied harshly.
Cobalt paused, then said with hints of a steely resolve in his voice, "I too, have lost someone because of this new rule. However, even if they are defeated, she will not come back. Therefore I can never forgive them!" He ended on a harsh tone, raising his voice to a primal yell.
Mogo thought for a while, then responded, "Okay, I'll help, but I will not leave here until she makes a full recovery", pointing at the sleeping cheerleader.
"I understand." Cobalt said, as he left. "I'll contact you again in the near future..."

The Trio had been found...