At the same time that Juliet was eyeing the orchid for the Red garden, Gnomeo was getting ready for a lawn mower race in the alley. While Benny and Shroom made the final adjustments to the Blue lawn mower, Gnomeo stole a glance at his competition.

Tybalt was a tough-looking gnome who, much to his embarrassment, had a colorful flower painted on his broad chest. Gnomeo knew he would have to be careful with Tybalt. While most of the gnomes took the rivalry between their two gardens seriously, they didn’t really want to see anyone—or any gnome—get hurt. But Tybalt was a bully who longed for nothing more than to win to make himself look good. Gnomeo was positive that Tybalt would resort to all manner of dirty trickery to be sure he came out ahead.

Tybalt’s crew wasn’t much better. Fawn was a doe-eyed, dim-witted concrete deer who would do anything Tybalt told him to do. He was the bully’s biggest fan. There was also a gang of small bargain-basement gnomes collectively known as the goons who hung around Tybalt constantly. And at the moment, they were crawling all over Tybalt’s shiny red lawn mower, making sure it was ready to race.

By the time Gnomeo and Tybalt pulled their lawn mowers up to the starting line, a large crowd had gathered to watch.

“Tybalt, go! Tybalt, go! Tybalt, go!” the Reds chanted.

“Gnomeo! Gnomeo! Gnomeo!” the Blues chanted back loudly.

Gnomeo revved his engine. He had to win this race!

Tybalt sat atop his mower, soaking in the cheers of the screaming Red crowd. “Still stuck with your dad’s old rattletrap!” he taunted Gnomeo.

Gnomeo stared Tybalt in the eye but refused to rise to the bait. “Start us up, Dolly!” he called to a pretty girl gnome.

Dolly stood in front of the two mowers. She raised a black-and-white-checkered flag high above her head. She shouted over the roaring engines, “To the end of the alley and back. Your garden’s pride is at stake. You know the rules: no hitting, no clipping, no trucking, no busting, no pruning, no flirting, no belching, and no cheating!”

“No cheating?” Fawn asked. “That’s not fair.”

Dolly finished, “On your marks…get set—”

“Sucker!” Tybalt yelled, slamming his foot on the gas before Dolly said “go.” He took off down the alley, leaving Gnomeo in his wake.

“Go! Go! Go!” Dolly shouted.

Gnomeo cranked his mower into gear and roared down the alleyway. He leaned over his steering wheel in concentration, driving his mower faster and faster until he was almost even with Tybalt. But the big Red gnome swerved in front of him and pulled the mower’s release lever, spraying Gnomeo with grass cuttings.

Before Tybalt could enjoy his moment of foul play, Gnomeo sped ahead of him. The Blue gnomes cheered and danced with excitement.

Tybalt pulled another lever on his mower, giving himself a turbo-boost. He bumped Gnomeo from behind, sending the blue-hatted gnome careening toward the fence.

Gnomeo spied a pile of trash ahead and got an idea. He accelerated and aimed right for the garbage. Using the trash pile as a ramp, he shot into the air. The crowd went wild!

But Tybalt wasn’t about to give up so easily—even if he had to cheat. The red-hatted gnome reached for a broken pipe in the pile of trash and hurled it at Gnomeo’s flying lawn mower.

Clank! The pipe hit Gnomeo’s mower, sending it out of control.

Ka-thunk! The mower landed with the dull sound of metal on concrete before bouncing out into the street. Gnomeo was thrown clear, landing safely in an old tire.

Tybalt drove a victory lap around Gnomeo, giving his defeated rival a smug grin. Then he headed toward the finish line.

Before Gnomeo could make another move, a skateboarder zipped past the end of the alley and Gnomeo had to dive for cover so the human wouldn’t see him. As soon as the coast was clear, he ran to salvage his lawn mower, only to see—CRUNCH!—his prized mower mowed down by a speeding car. The lawn mower bounced back into the alley as a crumpled, ruined heap of metal.

Tybalt skidded to a halt on the winning side of the finish line. Fawn, the goons, and several Reds surrounded him, all cheering wildly.

“You’re the greatest, boss!” shouted Fawn.

“Oh, please, please, my friends. Tell me something I don’t already know,” Tybalt replied, loving all the praise he was receiving.

Benny charged up the alley, waving his arms angrily. “A cheat, a cheat! That’s what you are!” he shouted at Tybalt.

Tybalt turned toward Benny. “Well, Benny, I didn’t think it was possible, but that mouth of yours is getting even bigger than your hat!” he growled. Then he kicked Benny to the ground!

Gnomeo stormed over, clenching his fists, ready to defend his friend. “Tybalt! You just crossed a line!” he thundered.

“Yeah, the finish line!” Tybalt replied with an arrogant laugh. “Adios, loser!”

At a wave of Tybalt’s hand, Fawn and the goons started pushing the mower back toward the Red garden. Gnomeo fumed as he watched them disappear through the garden gate.

Benny raced after Tybalt. “Come on out and fight like a gnome!” he yelled.

Gnomeo scowled. Tybalt hadn’t deserved to win that race any more than Benny deserved to be treated so meanly.

Gnomeo knew that the Blues would expect him to uphold the honor of their garden. And for that he was going to need Benny’s help.

“Well, if he won’t come out,” Gnomeo said, lowering his voice and giving Benny a sly grin, “I guess we’ll just have to go in.”

“Go in? There?” Benny gasped. “No Blue has ever gone in there.”

“Then I say it’s about time someone did,” Gnomeo replied. “And payback is going to be fun.”