INTO THE FINAL LAP

The zombie sky dragon roars and swings its tail, sending both the smoke demon and the zombie on the hoverboard flying. Adam then appears directly in front of the dragon's eyes and swings his bat, striking the dragon's jaw upwards. He then thrusts downward towards the dragon's heart. They crash onto the island as Adam attempts to break through the dragon's hard scales. Suddenly, the dragon stops him with its claws, and one of its giant claws stabs Adam from behind. The dragon then tosses Adam away, causing him to crash into the tank and set it upright.

Grace opens her window and calls out, "Adam, are you alright?"

Rune steps outside and notices that Adam's chest wound begins to slowly heal. He says, "It's my turn to fight now. Let our main star rest and conserve his energy for the final lap."

Adam slowly gets up and responds, "I'm not done yet. This is nothing compared to war with the riders. Henry provided a more challenging fight than this dragon."

Mr. Direct then emerges and adds, "Mai also agrees that Adam should save his energy for the final lap."

As the timer hits the 10-minute mark, portals begin to form in the sky, at the edge of the island, and underground. The sky dragon roars as the dead whale zombie floats high above the dragon, surrounded by magic. The whale zombie's body then explodes into magic particles, which merge with the sky dragon, transforming it into a water sky dragon zombie. Whale fins sprout from the dragon's back, resembling wings.

Rune looks at the newly transformed water sky dragon and says, "Now it's even stronger than Henry was."

Adam smiles and replies, "I'm the only one who can kill this dragon. None of you stand a chance against it."

Suddenly, dozens of tsunamis and tornadoes form all around the island, breaking it into pieces. The storm intensifies, more ferocious than ever. A few zombie cars and the beast zombie escape through the portals.

Mai speaks through their earpieces, saying, "It might be best for us to escape rather than fight this dragon. Our main goal is to win this race. Even if we defeat this dragon, Adam will be out of magic, and our tank won't be fast enough, even with a head start, to win the race."

Mr. Direct agrees, adding, "We should leave now before it's too late."

Grace steps up and says, "The other zombie racers have already escaped into the final lap. If we escape now, we'll be behind anyway. Besides, I can tell Adam is more eager to fight this dragon."

They all watch as the zombie on the hoverboard continues to dodge the dragon's many attacks while still fighting fiercely. Rune then says, "I'll support whatever Grace decides since she's our driver."

Grace takes a deep breath and continues, "That zombie on the hoverboard plans to survive the whole way through. That zombie has the best chance to win this race. We'll fight on, and whatever happens, we'll have to deal with that zombie once we get to the final lap."

Mr. Direct refuses, saying, "Grace, you could die if we stay here."

Grace responds resolutely, "If that's what it takes to win this race, then so be it. Robbin City has suffered enough."

Seeing the determination in Grace's eyes and Rune's support, Mr. Direct reluctantly agrees. "Alright, Grace. You must stay in the tank at all times, and we'll handle this dragon."

Adam's wound fully heals as he stands next to Rune and Mr. Direct, ready for the storm that rages around them. Grace drives off, skillfully navigating through the storm.

Here's the rephrased version with dialogue included:

Nearby, Panda is hanging off the edge of a piece of the island, holding onto a hero's hand. The hero says, "It's been a pleasure to work as a hero with you, Panda hero."

Panda watches in shock as the hero's body disintegrates, carried away by the wind. Stunned and overwhelmed with emotions, Panda is unable to react as the storm engulfs him, spinning him into lightning bolts and heavy rain.

Vesper spots Panda caught in the electric vortex and speeds towards him on her motorcycle. She hits Panda with a powerful thrust with her motorcycle, knocking him out of the vortex. Panda, still dazed, tells her, "Escape!"

Vesper picks him up and responds firmly, "I won't leave without you."

As the storm sweeps away her motorcycle, she continues to carry Panda. Suddenly, a magic rope grabs Vesper, her motorcycle, and Panda, pulling them into Grace's tank.

Panda, tears streaming down his face, covers it with his hands. Vesper stands strong and says, "Even when smallest light is engulfed by darkness, heroes will always shine and aid those in need of help."

Panda wipes his tears and stands up, declaring, "You're right. We must win this race, save Robbin City, and bring Mr. Direct back to Nemura City."

The water sky dragon strikes Rune with a powerful surge of magic, sending him crashing into the fragmented pieces of the island. Adam is pinned down by a barrage of tornadoes and vortexes. Mr. Direct roars as he skillfully dodges the dragon's relentless attacks.

Determined, Mr. Direct shoots his magic hand towards the dragon, using most of his energy to enlarge it into a giant form that grabs hold of the dragon. As the magical hand constricts the dragon, Mr. Direct's magic flows into it, causing the dragon's movements and attacks to be reverse, stunning and confusing it.

Seizing the opportunity, Adam bursts forth with his magic. His skin transforms into white snake scales, and his bat sharpens further. His snake-like eyes glow with renewed intensity as he dashes forward, leaving his bat behind. He touches the dragon, releasing a torrent of magic from his hand, engulfing the dragon in a massive magic ball.

Adam then exclaims, "Batter up!" as four squares appear at each corner of the shattered island. Each square shoots out a pillar of light, creating towering magic walls around the island. Adam hurls the massive magic ball toward his bat, then teleports back to it.

"This is going to be a homerun hit!" he shouts.

With all his strength, Adam swings the bat, striking the massive magic ball. The ball hurtles toward the magic walls, ricocheting off them with increasing force. Each bounce causes the magic ball to grow larger and larger.

With the final bounce, the ball soars high into the sky, reaching a size as large as the moon. The massive magic ball then explodes thousands of times in the sky, shaking and breaking apart the entire realm. The sky and sea below are ripped from existence and return to back their space realm. The shockwaves from the explosion also stop all the storms around the island.

Adam falls onto his back, panting heavily. "If I had fought alone, I probably would've died a few dozen times before defeating this dragon," he admits. "Mai was right... I'm completely out of magic."

Suddenly, the dragon plummets from the sky, still barely alive but reverted back to its original form—much smaller than before. It crashes onto the island and speaks, its voice rasping, "In all my life, I've read tons of books about the dragons of the past, the strongest creatures in the world of Terra. It's unthinkable that humans like you guys could ever compete with a dragon."

Rune appears, slashing the dragon's body relentlessly with his weapon while dodging its magic attacks. He thrusts his blade into the dragon's chest, aiming for its heart, but before he could fully reach the heart with his blade, the dragon slams him to the ground with its powerful tail. The dragon sneers, "No human is stronger than a dragon!" It begins to charge a massive energy ball in its mouth.

But before the blast can be fired, Grace rams the dragon with the tank, dragging it across the island. Enraged, the dragon redirects the energy blast toward the tank. Panda smashes through the tank's front windshield, grabbing hold of the dragon's neck and forcing the blast upward into the sky.

The dragon retaliates by wrapping its tail around the tank, slamming it repeatedly into the ground. Panda struggles to hold on, but then he notices Vesper's smoke demon grasping Rune's weapon still embedded in the dragon's chest. With all its might, the smoke demon pushes the weapon deeper, piercing the dragon's heart.

Vesper, riding on her motorcycle, drives off the smoke demon's back and leaps off her motorcycle, katana in hand. As she dives toward the dragon, she shouts, "You were once human too! Your imagination will never be as strong as a real dragon!"

With a powerful strike, she plunges her katana into the dragon's skull, destroying its brain and finally killing the dragon just at the timer hits zero. 

Suddenly, all the portals in the realm merge into one massive portal that sucks everyone into it. Moments later, they find themselves in front of Robbin City, where flags are placed around the city, marking a race track. They look up and see a magic track high in the sky, with the other zombie racers speeding down, trying to reach the city.

Above them, a giant sign flashes: "FINAL LAP."

Mr. Direct stumbles towards the broken tank and spots Grace unconscious in the driver's seat. He rushes over, shaking her gently but emotionally. "Grace, wake up," he pleads.

Grace slowly opens her eyes. Mr. Direct, relieved, says, "The race isn't over yet."

He tries to start the tank's engine, but it won't turn on. Frustrated, he carries Grace outside, only to notice a nearby zombie waking up. The zombie hops onto its hoverboard and heads straight for the race track in the city.

Panda slowly rises to his feet and mutters, "At least one of us needs to cross the finish line."

Rune, also struggling to stand, picks up Vesper's motorcycle and turns it on. Just as he's about to take off, Grace grabs the handle.

"With your driving skills, Rune, you won't be able to catch up with that zombie," she says.

Rune glances at Grace's wounds and shakes his head. "You're in no shape to drive anymore."

Grace pushes Mr. Direct aside and, with fierce determination, declares, "I've been waiting to win this race ever since the world ended. No one is going to take this from me and no one else can win this race but me."

She climbs onto the motorcycle and looks back at her team. "I'll win it for everyone."

Rune hops onto the motorcycle behind Grace, holding onto her. "I'll come along," he says. "We promised you'd drive for me, and I'll handle the combat for you."

They take off onto the city tracks, racing toward the final lap. Meanwhile, Adam, still lying on the ground, groans, "With their condition, they have about a 5% chance of winning this race. They need a stroke of luck... but there's a way." He pauses, then adds, "If you kill me, I can reset my magic and stamina to full. I don't have time to explain everything, but if you want a chance, you need to do it—quickly."

Mr. Direct looks at Adam in shock. "You can't be serious! I know you're strong, but that kind of power... It's beyond human. Wait, are you even human?"

Vesper rises with her katana in hand. "We don't have time for questions, Mr. Direct. Adam was the reason why we defeated the sky dragon zombie. We have to trust him."

Without hesitation, she plunges her katana into Adam's chest. His eyes go lifeless, and Panda shouts out emotionally, "Vesper, have you gone mad?!"

Mr. Direct, receiving information through his earpiece, says, "Mai just told me about Adam's powers."

Meanwhile, Adam wakes up in his inner realm, looking up at the radiant, shining trees.

Gand descends from the tree, observing Adam thoughtfully. "Everything you've gone through so far has been pretty intense, Adam," he says. "If you go back now, it would be too easy for you and your team to win the race."

Adam furrows his brow, confused. "What are you saying, Gand?"

An older version of Adam steps forward, joining the conversation. "Gand won't offer you an easy way out. We want to see if these humans can win without the power of the gods."

Adam pauses, considering his words carefully. "I should be angry," he admits. "I should do the right thing and help them... but a part of me doesn't care much about it... about them." He sighs. "But I promised them I'd help. So, I'm going to help."

The older Adam plucks a shiny apple from the tree and hands it to him. "If it's a happy ending you want, then a happy ending you shall have," he says with a smirk.

Adam looks at the apple in his hand and shakes his head. "It's not about a happy ending," he replies. "If I don't help them, the people who helped me so much will be broken. And I'm already broken—I can't let them fall apart, too." His voice hardens. "If you don't want me slipping back into darkness, then respect my decisions."

The older Adam chuckles, "We wouldn't want you to go through another mental breakdown. It would derail our plans again, and that's not what we want."

Gand laughs as well. "You won't always have it your way, Adam."

Ignoring them, Adam takes a bite of the shiny apple. As soon as he does, life floods back into him, and he returns to the waking world.

Adam looks around, realizing that this isn't the real world. He rises to his feet and surveys the broken castle around him. Shaking his head, he mutters, "This isn't where I'm supposed to be."

He scans the ruins, the eerie familiarity of the place tugging at his memory. "I've seen this before... in Rune's memories." The image becomes clearer—this is Fen's place, the ruined castle where Rune once wore the crown and glimpsed the lives of all the past crown bearers.

"I don't have time for this right now," Adam says, frustrated. He channels his magic, causing half of his body to fade away. With a surge of effort, he pulls himself back to reality.

As he gets up, he sees Vesper, Mr. Direct, and Panda standing strong, preparing for the other zombie racers charging toward them. But Adam's mind flickers back to the ruined castle once more, where he sees a woman descending the staircase toward him.

Suddenly, his mind snaps back to reality. Mr. Direct calls out, "We'll handle the other racers, but we need your help to win this race!"

Adam shakes his head, trying to clear the confusion. His thoughts are disjointed, his mind swapping in and out of different places. "What's... going on?" he mutters, struggling to regain focus.

Adam shakes his head once more, trying to steady his thoughts. Without another word, he dashes off toward the city tracks, determination and confusion surging through him as he speeds toward the final lap.