Paraloop 6 -Trade-

Flyte,
I've got a surprise for you.  Come to the Factory's yard at 1 P.M. today.  Dress for flight.
TinTin

Every aspect of that text message clued Flyte in that she was in for something fantastic, especially the signature.  Anything that came from Tina was sure to be awesome.

Tina, a female koala bear with green eyes, was a genius at just about anything related to machines or computers, and was always working on another project to show off.  Her friends called her "Tinkering Tina", of which her signature "TinTin" was an abbreviation.  The fact that she shared Flyte's love of all things steampunk just made their friendship even stronger.

Flyte pretty much rushed through lunch that day, after which she bolted out the door, found a straight path to use as a runway, and took off into the air.  Normally the flying snake would relish the sensation of being so far from solid ground, but with Tina's surprise on her mind she couldn't think of anything else.

Moments later, the Factory came into view.  It was a dilapidated old industrial building with lots of rusted, broken-down machinery, which made it a favorite haunt of Tina's.  Flyte didn't even know what the place's original purpose was, and wasn't sure Tina did either.

Flyte banked left and made a beeline for the yard, easily recognizable by the upwards-pointing industrial fan built into the center.  Tina had long ago fixed up the fan, allowing the flying snake to perform all sorts of aerial acrobatics with the help of its wind.

And lo and behold, there was the koala herself.  Tina was sitting in a folding chair she'd set up at the corner of the yard, typing something on her laptop computer.  She didn't even glance up as Flyte touched down beside her.

Heh... typical.  She's so buried in her work she doesn't notice anything else.  A steam whistle wouldn't get her attention.

For about fifteen minutes, Flyte watched Tina type.  Not once did the koala leave her seat or even take her eyes off her screen.  At one point the flying snake peeked at the computer screen itself, but couldn't make heads or tails of its contents.

Finally, Flyte stood behind Tina and covered her eyes with her hands.

"Guess who!"

As soon as her vision was blocked, Tina snapped out of her trance, having apparently only just realized that she and her computer weren't the only things in existence.

"Oh!  Flyte... you're early!  When did you get here?"

"About fifteen minutes ago.  You're impossible to distract when you're working on something, you know that?"

Tina laughed as she stood up.  "I know, I know.  So you're ready for your surprise?"

"I passed 'ready' a long time ago.  What is it?"

Grinning proudly, Tina reached into her backpack and produced a small box.  She handed it to Flyte, who opened it without delay... revealing a pair of aviator goggles similar to her own.

Of course, an ordinary pair of goggles wouldn't have befit a gift from Tinkering Tina.  These were decorated with small brass pipes and gears aplenty; they were about the most steampunk-looking goggles in existence.

"Pretty nifty, Tina!" Flyte said as she slipped them on, putting her own goggles aside.

"Oh, there's more to those than meets the eye.  The little valve wheel on the lower right is a power switch; give it a little turn clockwise."

I should have known.  Tinkering Tina wouldn't stop at just a pretty frame.

Flyte found the valve wheel and tried to turn it, but it wouldn't budge.

"Other way," Tina pointed out.  "Clockwise as seen from outside."

"Right."

This time, the wheel turned with a soft CLICK.  Instantly there was a flash of light in Flyte's vision.  Startled, she looked around... and noticed a number large red spheres floating in the air that hadn't been there before.  Each one was identified with a number from 1 to 6.  She lifted the goggles from her eyes and the spheres disappeared, only to come back when she put them on again.

"Wow..."

"Like it?  Those goggles are fitted with augmented-reality lenses, plus there are little speakers in the sides.  I had no idea where exactly to put them since snakes don't have visible ears, so I gave it my best guess."

Flyte laughed.  "So what are the red balls I can see in the air?"

"It's a little game I set up to test the goggles.  Here."

Tina turned her laptop screen so Flyte could see and brought up a map of the yard.  The red balls and their numbers were visible on it, as was the snake's current location.

"I'll go and turn the fan on in a moment.  There are six balls.  What you have to do is paraloop all of them in order, without running into one or touching the ground.  Do either or paraloop the wrong ball, and you'll have to start over."

Flyte cocked her head in confusion.  "Paraloop?"

"Fly a circle around it.  I thought you'd played NiGHTS Into Dreams?"

"Oh... no, I never really checked it out.  Anyways, let's do this."

"Alright.  Stand wherever you're comfortable, and I'll start everything up."

Tina closed her laptop and ran into the Factory's building.  Moments later, the fan started up with a roar.  Flyte stood her ground as the mighty wind current started up.  Then a familiar voice came from somewhere by her right ear.

"Check, check, sibilance, sibilance... Flyte, can you hear me?  Raise your right hand if you can.  (She did.)  Alright, good.  Everything's all fired up, so start whenever!"

Flyte nodded her head.  She took a running start and jumped into the fan's airflow.  The instant the full force of the wind was under her, she spasmed, and the special ribs in her belly and tail areas flared out, forming glide sails.  The updraft quickly caught her, forcing her higher and higher as she circled within it.

There's the 4 ball... the 2 ball... ah, bingo!  The 1 ball!

Leaving the fan's wind, Flyte glided towards the virtual red sphere, then turned and circled carefully around it.  She could see a green line in the air, indicating her flight path.  The second she completed her loop, the 1 ball vanished with a -BLING- sound.

"Great start, Flyte!" Tina called out over the mic again.  "One down, five to go!"

Within minutes, the flying snake had paralooped the other five balls, not making a single mistake.  The sixth ball's disappearance was accompanied by a celebratory fanfare as Flyte finally touched down.

Tina rushed back out of the building, her computer in her arms.  "You were magnificent out there!  You're the best flier I've ever seen!"

Flyte smiled.  "That was fun!  You've got to install some new challenges on this thing.  Maybe I'll bring my boyfriend, too..."

"It sounds like my work's cut out for me, then," Tina replied, smiling as well.