#raceway kinger

[an-albino-pinetree]

Some really tiny guys with their choice of drinks, because I got inspired! -v-

@theamazingdigitalraceway

AU by @thescarletnargacuga !

[thescarletnargacuga]

THE AMAZING DIGITAL RACEWAY AU RACERS

READ THEIR STORY HERE!

Art by @iamespecter

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

CHAPTER TWELVE

Welcome to Jurassic Park I mean, the Clamouring Cretaceous Claypits! Enjoy the scenery while it lasts and take photos of the dinos that cross your path! Be mindful of the carnivores, but don't worry! They only want to play! This is my game. My world. I will tear it apart to make it my own again.

A/N: special thanks to @paper-fowl for the track!

WARNING: digital body horror, peril, angst

~~~

Caine slowly hovered around the dark prison cell. The glow of the gold binary illuminated him from below. Light blue chains of code held out to the unseen walls, binding the prisoner in place. "Long time no see, Abel. Nice to see you're still holding out. Would hate for abstraction to take you away from your punishment too early."

Abel didn't respond. Didn't even move. His casual work office attire hung loosely from his tired body. Long, curled black hair hung over his face as he stared at the floor. A short unkept beard obscured the lower half of his face.

Caine visually inspected each part of the cell as he made his way around. "You look just as awful as the day I threw you in here. Tell me, so you still feel hunger? Thirst? Exhaustion? Everything a human body craves?" He used the head of his cane to lift Abel's chin. Thick curtains of hair covered Abel's face, but Caine could see his eyes cracked open. Piercing blue stared weakly back at him.

Caine tilted his head in mocking curiosity. "To be so close to death, and yet it will never come. One would think you should be pitied."

Caine turned swiftly, dropping Abel's head. The coded chains rattled lightly from the movement. He left the hidden cell and looked at Abel one last time before reactivating the firewall. "Captivum aeternum." Heatless fire closed around Abel and he was hidden from sight once again, beyond the void.

Abel lifted his head slightly as the light from the void beyond the fire faded. He glared at Caine's silhouette, blue static sparking in his iris. His body went limp as the static arced from his eyes and went through the cell floor.

~

Pomni sat on the edge of her bed, staring at the mystic galaxy rose. She slowly rotated it in her hand, the light butterfly fluttering around her wrist. Tears welled in her eyes. She was so overwhelmed by everything. She didn't know what to do, who to trust, so she cried. She was so lost in her emotions, she didn't even register the knock at her door.

Ragatha peeked inside. "Hey, sorry for intruding. It's just, we're worried about you, Pomni. Is it okay if I come in?"

Pomni didn't have the energy to answer. She let her tears drip onto the rose in her hand. Ragatha sat next to Pomni and put an arm around her. "Today was a lot. Do you wanna talk about it?"

Pomni sniffed, wiping her face with her sleeve. "It's more than that. So much more."

"Is it about us pressuring you to get answers out of Caine? We're desperate, but if this is too much, I understand-"

"Things are getting complicated." Pomni sighed, trying to stop crying. "Ragatha, does the name Abel mean anything to you?"

Ragatha thought for a moment. "No, why?"

"This person? Entity? Ghost? By that name has been talking to me. He says he can fix the exit. All I have to do is keep Caine distracted, but...I don't know if I should trust him. He seems a bit...unstable."

"A ghost is telling you he can get us out?"

"I know, it sounds crazy, but he's real. He's the one that been causing the crazy glitches. He was the reason the beast went berserk on the Fairy track. He said things will get worse because he's getting close to the mainframe, whatever that means."

"Pomni, I want to leave as much as the next person, but that does sound crazy. Have you told Caine?"

"No. I don't know if I can trust him either. He controls everything. What's to stop him from lying to gain my favor. To think I might be falling for it..." Pomni dropped the rose. "And now it turns out he has a twin brother of sorts??? Some [%$!#]head biker that makes the races even harder?? Like, WHY??"

Ragatha smiled sympathetically. "Caine's gone to some pretty strange lengths to keep us entertained. He's always seemed genuinely remorseful when someone abstracted, even if he kept his distance." She picked up the rose. "He's more human than I've ever thought possible, that's for sure."

"Enough to have real feelings for..?" Pomni mumbled.

"Maybe."

"Do you think he'd really let us go if the exit was fixed?"

Ragatha hesitated. "...I don't know."

"That's what scares me." Pomni held herself and leaned on Ragatha's shoulder.

Ragatha held the rose in from of Pomni as she comfortingly squeezed her shoulder. "I dont know much, but I don't think falling in love is a bad thing. If it helps, I know for a fact that he's never done this before."

Pomni stared at the beautiful rose. The voice in her head telling her it was all a sham to make her want to stay was getting quieter, overridden by her heart starting to crave his interaction. The very thought of him made her feel butterflies. "It's like Jax said...we either succum to the madness or get broken by it. I suppose I'm choosing the former." She scoffed at herself.

Ragatha sighed, thinking of her casual relationship with Loo. Another AI. "Whatever helps you cope."

"Thank you, Ragatha."

Ragatha smiled and leaned her head on Pomni's. "Anytime."

~

The next day, everyone sat silently in the lounge while waiting for Caine. No one ate, the air was too tense. Bubble chef hovered over the table, confused as to why they had no food requests.

"I'm fine. Please, stop staring." Pomni said from behind her hands as she leaned on her knees.

"Are you sure your ready to race?" Gummigoo asked.

"As long as nothing weird happens, I'll be fine."

"I'm pretty sure weird things happen no matter what." Gangle commented.

Caine popped in. "Hello, my bouncy baby beans! I hope you're ready to have a good race, because I've revamped an old favorite for today! Some our long term racers may remember a certain Clamoring Cretaceous Claypits??"

"Oh, yeah." Kinger spoke up. "That one was fun. We saw giant insects."

"That you did!" Caine twirled his cane. "I've improved the graphics and AI of the roaming dinosaurs so it's more immersive than ever before! The objective is the same: take photos of ever dino you see! They will be judged based on species and pose, giving you bonus points to potentially move you up a place in the ranking."

"How do we take pictures if we're driving?"

"I'm glad you asked, Pomni!" Caine snapped his fingers. Strange goggles fit over everyone's face. "Just blink, and a photo is taken! Don't worry, it only activates when the race starts. Who's ready to go back in time!?"

Nobody said anything or got up.

"Oof, tough crowd today." Caine tugged his collar. "Come on, everyone! Let's get those engines warmed up!"

The racers got up and filed out of the garage. Outside was a vast grassland than led off into a clay colored crater. Looking around they saw distant thick forests and a lake. The track didn't have as many crazy loops or jumps, as the focus was on the objective of taking photos. The racers karts were lined up at the start and ready to go, the stands were full of the cheering NPCs. Bubble waited at the start with the light.

Gangle timidly approached Caine. "There won't be any scary dinosaurs, will there?"

"I can assure you, the track is completely safe. Spared no expense on keeping the asset AI on it's set directive. Some of them will be more playful that others. This is like an interactive safari, but with dinos. It'll be fun!" Caine reassured.

Gangle nodded with a smile and went to her kart.

Kinger tried to adjust his goggles on his lopsided eyes but he could only cover one at a time. "...this is fine."

Zooble also has a hard time with their goggles fitting on their asymmetrical head. "This is stupid." She grumbled.

Jax rapped his fingers impatiently against the steering wheel. "Just take photos. How boring. The least he could do is make them try to eat us or something."

Caine could feel beads of nervous sweat on his top jaw. The disaster that was yesterday's race had clearly affected everyone's energy. Today's wasn't anything too complex or crazy. He hoped it would help his racers feel more accomplished again. Before starting his race announcements, he went to Pomni.

"I wanted to apologize." Caine removed his hat, hovering at Pomni's eye level. "You worked so hard to help me with the Fairylight Forest, only for it to go off the rails. You didn't even get to finish the race properly. You had to rely on SETH to get you across the finish line. Normally, I would commend a racer for doing so well as to trigger the new challenge, but honestly, he really isn't necessary. The tracks have been acting weird anough as it is without a new player in the mix. Maybe I have too many racers. The max has always been eight, but that was a long time ago and-"

"Easy..." Pomni said calmly. "Don't worry about the whole Fairylight thing. We tried something new and it didn't work. That doesn't mean it's your fault."

"But it does. I'm supposed to keep all of this running as smoothly as possible. Anything that goes wrong falls on me as Racemaster. Which is why I integrated the newer code in with some of more active dinos. To help salvage the experience that the Fairlyight Forest was supposed to be. I promise to make it up to you, Pomni."

"There's really nothing to make up for, but if you're offering...maybe another date?" She asked tentatively. She wasn't sure why she was still going a long with this but she wasn't sure what else to do.

"Why not?" Caine chuckled. "But something that doesn't involve tracks or karts or racing at all. Something just for you and me. Would you like that?"

Pomni searched Caine's eyes. If he held another motive, he hid it well. "Yeah...I would." Pomni smiled.

"Wonderful." Caine smiled back.

"I, uh, really like that flower you gave me."

Caine swooned. "I'd give you a thousand if I thought the game engine could handle it."

Pomni looked away shyly. "Maybe you can give me another when I win this race."

Caine brightened. "That's what I'm talking about! Go out there and win this, Pomni!" He lowered his tone. "And when you do, I'll have you swimming in roses."

Pomni ran off to her kart before her fluster got the better of her.

Caine couldn't stop smiling through his announcements. "Prepare yourselves for a race 66 million years in the making! Run with the troodons! Fly with the pterosaurs! Weave between the massive legs of the long-necked sauropods! Keep an eye out for secrets and WHATEVER YOU DO: don't get caught by the carnotaurus! RACERS! START! YOUR! ENGINES!!"

The karts came to life and the countdown began.

First light

Pomni adjusted her goggles. She heard a click and a high pitch whirr as she blinked. The camera was active.

Second light

She looked around for signs of Abel. No blue static or glitches to speak of.

Third light

One last look at Caine. He was staring again. Her heart fluttered from his attention and she resigned to it. It was getting harder to deny what she felt when he looked at her that way.

GREEN!!

Pomni's head wasn't in the game and she had a rough start but managed to keep up with the rear of the pack. They started with a wide run around a lake with dinosaurs of all sizes roaming around. It was nothing short of majestic. Caine's touch ups on the dinosaurs made them look lifelike. A massive, earth shaking dinosaur with legs the size of large tree trunks slowly meandered over the track, forcing the racers to drive underneath it. Pomni blinked at every neat dino she saw, not worrying about ranking or items. This was nice.

The grasslands became wooded, shrouding the racers but not plunging them into darkness. Gummigoo was nearly knocked off his bike in surprise when a medium sized dinosaur jumped out at him and ran along with him. The dino was thin and fast on two legs, keeping up with the karts no problem. It looked at Gummigoo, seemed to think for a moment, then moved on to another racer. It ran with Zooble then made a chirping noise. Suddenly, several of these fast dinos appeared from the trees, moving with the racers like a herded unit. They swarmed Zooble, snagging an item and disappeared as fast as they came.

Pomni got several pictures, laughing at the cute track interaction and Zooble's frustration. To add insult to injury, she got the next item before Zooble could.

~

Caine laughed. "Looks like those troublesome troodons found what they wanted! Watch your items, racers! Ragatha has the lead but we'll see for how long! Pomni is moving up and so is Gummigoo! Come on, Kinger! You can keep up! You've done this track before!"

~

Jax got an item that was relatively rare after the top hats and purple shells. A clown horn. He lifted it up in the air, surrounded by other racers. "Let's get this party started!" He squeezed the horn and it created a deafening sound that crippled the others. He sped off ahead, leaving the woods to were the track was surrounded by tall grass.

Pomni thought her ears would bleed, she was right next to Jax when he set off the horn. She claimed an item, hit a boost and rocketed after Jax. Ragatha and Gummigoo right behind her.

Kinger turned hard left, leaving the main track. However, instead of being wrangled by a bunch of bubbles, he kept going. He had found a shortcut. Gangle and Zooble followed. They weaved in between trees, following Kinger over rough wooded terrain to a clearing. The side path track circled a lone brick building. A sign out front said "visitor center".

~

"And the track secret has been found!" Caine proudly announced. "Our veteran racer has found the visitor center, who's photograph is worth the most amount of bonus points! Get those snapshots! But watch out for the residents."

~

Kinger took a photo and gave Gangle and Zooble a thumbs up. Gangle waved appreciatively but then screamed as something large jumped onto the track in front of her. She swerved around the utahraptor as it snapped it's jaws at her tires. "AAAAH KINGER!! WHY DIDN'T YOU MENTION THE RAPTORS!?"

"I forgot they were over here." Kinger shrugged. He spun out as another raptor pounced his kart, digging it's massive hook claws into the hood.

Zooble took out a popper and expertly avoided an attack. "You got the photo!? GO!!" She threw the popper and it exploded right in the middle of the small group of dinos. They screeched and dispersed, opening the track for the racers to flee.

The three zoomed off, the raptors in hot pursuit. They left the clearing and drove single file through the thick brush. Zooble was in front, she didn't know where so was going or where this side track was leading to, but she was focused on leading Gangle away from the raptors.

~

Pomni, Ragatha, Jax, and Gummigoo all aggressively vide for first as the track wound through the tall grass. As Ragatha was about to throw a shell, a roar to her right. A massive bibedal dino rushed out of the grass and charged the racers. Ragatha screamed and threw her shell at it. The shell bounced off the dino's nose with a hollow THUNK. It didn't have any effect.

Zooble, Gangle and Kinger all came bursting out onto the scene from the shortcut. The raptors long gone, but now they had a much bigger problem with a lot more teeth.

~

"There he is!" Caine excitedly announced. "The big bad carnotaurus has found our leaders and will hold back the slowest racer! Drive like your rank depends on it!" Caine double checked every POV of the track. So far, so good. No glitches. No unusual AI behavior.

Caine sighs and leans against the control panel. "Bubble, do you still feel yourself? Any more memory gaps?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, boss." Bubble hovered next to Caine, usual blank-eyed grin on their face.

"Nevermind." Caine watched the carnotaurus chase and snap at Jax. At least he seemed to be having fun. "Almost to he crater. That was Kinger's favorite, once upon a time."

"He did like driving on the walls, boss."

"Maybe I'm too hopeful, but I really need this to go well. Everyone is on edge and I'm...heh, I'm loosing my mind. I checked absolutely everything. There is no reason things should be out of place. None." Caine tapped his fingers against the control panel.

"Relax, boss. You worry too much. You're still in control."

"Yeah... I am. Everything is under control. Everything is fine." Caine watched Pomni battle Gummigoo for second as the track narrowed to the drop into the spiral down the giant crater. "But I don't FEEL fine."

~

The track down the crater walls was at a horribly steep angle. They were practically driving sideways to the bottom. Flying reptiles swooped and circled around the crater. Pomni used a shell to spin out Jax and steal first. She hit the boost and the bottom and rocketed into the underground tunnel that made the steep climb back up to the surface.

The victory of the first lap was Pomni's. She started the second lap through the grassland again, taking pictures of all the cool dinosaurs when suddenly, the sun vanished. It didn't dim or set. It just stopped existing. There was no moon, no stars, and the more natural look of the track made it hard to see. Her kart headlights illuminated as much ahead of her about as well as high powered flashlights.

"What the [%$!#]?"

~

Caine snapped. Then snapped again. Nothing changed. "I KNEW IT! I KNEW SOMETHING WAS GOING TO GO WRONG!! I AM SO SICK OF THESE GLITCHES!! Um- I can fix this. The track needs lights at the very least." He snapped and small lights lined the edge of the track so the racers could at least see what was ahead. "Okay, that still works. Bubble, I need to step away. I need to figure out where the stupid sun went. Keep the racers calm. Just let them keep going. Nothing else has changed. I think. I'll have things fixed in a moment." He teleported away.

Bubble hovered up to the POV control panel. "...that button looks tasty."

~

The racers went forward nearly blind. Large herbivores stayed on their designated paths to cross the track. Everyone was swerving last second reactions to avoid collision.

Zooble punched her radio. "CAINE!! CAINE, WHAT THE [%$!#] IS GOING ON!? WHY ARE WE DRIVING IN THE DARK!?"

"Caine isnt here right now, can I take a message?" Bubble's voice crackled through.

"WHAT!? WHY!?"

"He's chasing the sun."

~

Blue static jumped all over the track from asset to asset, infecting everything. Dinosaurs shuttered and twitched in place. The static reached out of bounds and glitches in new dinosaurs that weren't originally part of the track. They manifested and free roamed with no objective. The glitching dinos got caught in one another, forcefully fusing and horrifically mending together.

The static then zipped in-between the bounds, gliding through the shadows that hide in the non-spaces. It found Caine. He was outside the mainframe, giving the access code. Then he vanished. There was no door. No firewall. He was simply allowed to teleport in.

Abel tried to go through the white cylindrical wall, but couldn't get through. The static buzzed angrily and arced several times at the barrier around the mainframe. Abel could FEEL the lifeblood of the game coursing from this center point. The static crawled back and forth in place impatiently. Things weren't broken enough. It wasn't ready. The static reluctantly sank into the floor.

~

Caine hurriedly opened the day/night cycle code file. The game's standard time was untouched. "The problem has to be with the track." He brought up the Claypits code file and tried to open it.

Error.

He tried again.

Error.

"That- what?" He tried opening asset files under dinosaurs.

Empty.

Just like the exit door, they didn't exist. Caine paled. "All the dinosaurs have gone rouge. I have to force stop the track before someone gets hurt. Shut everything down and reset the system. That should fix it." He opened admin controls and worked as fast as possible. "Race your hearts out, everyone."

~

The racers stayed close to one another, moving in a tight pack to use each other's headlights to see where the dinosaurs were. When they reached the woods, multiple troodons came out at once. They dog piled the racers.

Pomni has one practically climb inside her kart and snap at her. She didn't have any items for the dino to steal. She swerved, trying to shake off the unwanted passenger and accidentally went off track. Bubbled didn't collect her, so she kept going.

Low hanging branches whipped by and one snagged the troodon by the neck. The dinosaur flew off the kart into the dark woods out of sight. Pomni didn't look back, she put the pedal to the floor, navigating the narrow side track as quickly as possible to get back to the others.

~

Jax kicked a troodon off his kart and ran over another. "Finally! An exciting track for a change!" He laughed loudly.

"I don't think this is supposed to be happening!!" Ragatha punched a troodon in the face, making it flop off her kart. "We were just going to take pictures!"

"And you can! Of me kicking dino [%$!#]!! Haha!! Get some!!" Jax plowed into another troodon.

Gummigoo grabbed the tail of a troodon lunging at Zooble. He whipped his bike around in a slingshot maneuver and tossed the dino back off the track. "Did anyone get a picture of that? I don't think I blinked at the right time."

Kinger saw a troodon climbing into Gangle's kart and rammed it back into the trees. "I don't remember the dinos being this aggressive."

"Caine said there wouldn't be any scary dinos!" Gangle cried.

Zooble grabbed a troodon by the throat and threw it off her kart. "Just keep going! Finish the race and all of this should stop! I'm right behind you, Gangle!"

Gangle shrank in her seat, but put the pedal down. She wanted this to be over with, but she knew the worst was yet to come in the tall grass.

~

Pomni found the clearing with the visitor center, though she could barely see the building in the deep darkness. She followed the track around the building, focusing on what was directly in front of her. As she circled around to the front, the doors to the visitor center burst open and half a dozen raptors stormed out.

Pomni drifted into the sharp turn back to the woods and hoped she was going the right way. The raptors caught up with her quickly, running alongside her speeding kart with agile precision. Pomni looked back and forth, waiting for the raptors to snap at her but they didn't. They barely registered her presence as they themselves were looking back.

Pomni looked over her shoulder and saw what the raptors were running from. A massive, glitching T-Rex was forcing it's way out of the visitor center. It destroyed the wall around the front door and stomped after the fleeing prey.

"HOLY [%$!#]!!" Pomni almost hit a tree from her hands shaking with race rush adrenaline. This was too much. Where was Caine? Why wasn't he stopping this? She looked at her red gloved hand. Before she could even remove her hand doesn't the steering wheel to snap, the familiar scream of a racing motorcycle came from behind and lit the forest up with silver fire.

The T-Rex snapped at the black racer but completely missed. The raptors parted for motorcycle, allowing him to race alongside Pomni. "Fancy meeting you here."

"Seth! What's going on!?"

"A dinosaur chase. First time?"

"LOOK AT THE [%$!#] THING!! IT'S GLITCHING!! HOW ARE YOU SO CALM!?" Pomni nearly hit Seth with how tight she took the next turn.

Seth teleported to her other side and glanced back at the pursuing T-Rex. He watched it's jaw unhinged as it roared, it's body glitched out of place and back several times. "Hm. Yeah, that's not normal." He snapped his fingers and the raptors' eyes glowed white, their bodies go black as pitch. Seth pointed his thumb back at the t-rex and the raptors' stopped running. They attacked the larger dinosaur, stopping it in it's tracks as Seth and Pomni raced ahead.

"Caine must be losing his touch to allow such a fucked up asset on the track."

"It's not the only one! All the dinos have gone crazy!"

Seth caught on to the real panic in Pomni's voice. He looked over at her for a moment. Then vanished.

"Wha-!?" Pomni was left alone again in the dark as the tress parted at the end of the shortcut. She saw the headlight of the others behind her coming into the tall grass area.

~

Seth appeared inside the announcer booth.

Bubble turned. "Hello! What can i-"

Seth smacked Bubble aside, sending them spinning through the air. He checked the POVs and saw the amalgamated dinos glitching together. It was starting to affect the track itself, forming tears in the digital reality. The bright emptiness of the void shined through.

Seth's eyes went wide and he snapped. Shadows from the in-between seeped out of the tears. He exurted his will to pull the bounds of the game back together, but he was out of practice. Each new tear made it harder to hold the track together. "Bubble! Tell that bastard to get back here before his racers fall into the void!"

"Okay!" Bubble popped, leaving Seth to struggle.

~

Pomni saw a spotlight like beam up light shoot up into he sky from the crater ahead. She could see large flying dinos circling like vultures. She was brought back to her current situation by an ear splitting roar. A carnotaurus with two heads and extra limbs at weird angles exploded from the grass, nearly clamping it's jaws around her head.

Pomni swerved away between it's legs, it's glitching foot grazing her kart and making it vibrate violently. "Ah! God! Don't let it touch you!"

No sooner had Pomni said that when Jax was whipped by one of the tails as he tried to dodge the head on the side of the dinosaur. Jax was separated from his kart as it glitched out and spun into the grass. Jax glitched erratically, his eyes flashing different colors.

Gummigoo did a u-turn with the intention of getting Jax off the ground, but Kinger got to him first. He didn't even slowdown. His floating hand grabbed Jax by the front do his tracksuit and hoisted over the back of his kart. He started to glitch but kept driving as if he was unaffected.

The large predator lunged for Gangle, who was so panicked she could hardly drive, but the dinosaur was charged by something even bigger. A spinosaurus with too many teeth and eyes grabbed the fused carnotaurus and tore it in half before the racers' very eyes. It's jaws split four ways as it roared after the fleeing pack of racers.

~

Bubble appeared outside the central pillar that held the mainframe. "Boss! Seth wants to talk to you! He says you need to get back to the track!"

"NOT NOW, BUBBLE!" Caine shouted from inside. "Almost...there!" He finished putting through the shutdown command and everything stopped.

Every racer, AI, and asset was momentarily frozen in space and time. Except one. The blue static shot up from the floor and into Bubble. "Finally." Using Bubble's teleporting pop, Abel shot himself through the disabled security wall of the mainframe.

Caine himself was suspended in frozen time with his fingers laced into the game code. Eyes intently focused, yet panicked. Abel floated near Caine's head and whispered. "You were never the god of this world. Today, I take back what is rightfully mine."

Bubble popped. Abel's static arced out in all directions, infecting the game code. The gold numbers turned blue and everything went black.

For a moment, there was nothing. True non-existence. Then the hum of a booting computer. Strings of code appeared and came together to form the game bounds. The default world and track was formed. Then the garage. Then the karts appeared one at a time in front of the start line. Then the racer avatars.

Caine was still in the mainframe. He blinked with a start and looked around. "Blue...like in the beginning. I must have done a harder reset than I thought. Maybe that's for the best. I hope everyone's okay." He teleported out.

~

Pomni gasped, feeling like she was jolted awake. She was back on the default track and didn't know how she got there. She jumped out of her kart like it was on fire. "What- what just happened!? Ragatha!? Kinger!? Anyone!?"

The other racers came to the same time Pomni did, just as clueless as to how they got back to default so suddenly. "Please stop shouting." Gangle whimpered, curled up in her kart.

Pomni grabbed her head and paced in circles, unable to breathe normally.

Caine appeared and exhaled heavily with relief. All humans were accounted for. He hovered close to ground as everyone got out of their karts and surrounded him. "I...I wish I had an explanation. I really do. The game has never done anything like this before. I was forced to reset the system. I just glad all of you are okay."

"We're not." Pomni said shortly. "Everything was trying to actually kill us this time. Jax got glitched. Gummigoo, he-....where's Gummigoo?"

"Not to worry, dear. He got reset out of bounds with the other AI and assets. I can fetch him." Caine snapped his fingers. Nothing happened. It was harder for him to hide his panic that his snap wasn't doing anything. "I'll, uh, be right back."

Caine teleported to his workshop to find empty space. Every custom track, asset, and NPC was gone. Only the basic pieces the game started with existed. He dropped his cane. "....Bubble?"

No response.

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT(coming soon)

[paper-fowl]

WAKE UP CALL

An OC oneshot, featuring The Raceway AU

( Au by @thescarletnargacuga )

Let's wake up our favorite snake, shall we?

WARNING: Mentioned death, Character death (abstraction), and panic attacks.

------------------------------#------------------------------

"You are not my friend, and never will be. Leave, now." The voice echoed inside her head, similar sentences swarmed her mind, the blaring of engines making it worse as it went on.

She wanted it to stop, she needed it to.

Tick...

Tock...

Tick...

Tock...

"AH-!" She yelped as she jumped out of bed, hitting her head on the bedframe. She groaned, sitting up slowly as she rubbed the top of her head. A buzzing, irritating ring screamed at her from the nightstand, she clicked off the alarm clock, which had a bite taken out of it due to a certain soapy companion.

"How did I sleep in...?" She said to herself as she stood up and stretched.

She walked towards the door, the claws on her feet tapping along the floor boards, her tail quietly rattling as she moved. Each little section of her body made some type of noise, it wasn't anything annoying, in fact, it reminded her of an actual.. real human body... Something to remind her that she was still human.

She hesitated to grip the door handle, but broke through the fear when she heard a familiar voice from outside the room. A small, sleek, black millipede crawled in her room from under the door, she smiled as she picked up the tiny bug, finally finding the courage to step out of her room.

She looked around, walking down the hallway and stopping at a specific door, knocking on it.

"Hey... Queenie? I know that I... Messed up pretty bad yesterday.. I-" She looked up at the door's icon, a big, red X painted over the picture of what used to be, Queenie.

She stepped back, her tail curling around her body, she didn't think this would happen. She knew it'd happen eventually... But... She didn't get a chance to say goodbye...

"Hello, Motsi!"

"AH-! JEEZ-" She whipped her head around to face the figure, almost overshooting the action as her head clicked into place.

He greeted her with a smile, or, at least she thinks he was.

"Good morning, Kinger..." She sighed and returned the smile.

"Is this yours?" She handed him the millipede from earlier.

"How have you been?" She asked.

"Oh! Yes, thank goodness you found Robby." He gladly took the thousand-legged bug from Motsi's hand.

"AH!"

"ACK-!" She screamed back at Kinger.

"Stop- doing that!" She grumbled.

Kinger was already too distracted by the bug to pay attention.

She shook her head, her expression returning to a smile. She looked down the hall, new doors... New faces... Just how long was she out...? Her face turned into one of distress. She entered the lobby, looking around, no one had noticed her... That was good, at least.

She moved through the room, entering the cafeteria. She dinged the bell for a bubble chef to greet her.

"Just a regular cup of coffee, please."

"Bean juice it is!" The sharp-toothed bubble grinned, coughing up a cup of coffee for Motsi.

She'd forgotten how weird the bubble's inner working was... She took the mug, sitting down at a nearby table. She held the mug with two hands, staring down at her reflection in the dark brown drink.

"Motsi?" A male voice came from beside her.

"God, I thought you were dead!" He chuckled as he sat down beside her.

"Good to see you too, Jax." She looked up at the purple rabbit, bearing a bright yellow smile as always. He leaned down over the table, tilting his head to look at her better. Motsi took a sip of coffee, looking back at him.

"What's with the stare?" She asked him.

"Nothing, just thinkin of new ways to get back at you for disappearing for who knows how long!" He laughed.

"How... How long was I asleep for...?"

"How should I know?" He chuckled, standing up and stepping toward the garage.

"Now come on, I wanna see if you're still as good as you were on the track!" He gestured for her to follow.

She did, and looked around for a moment.

"Where's my bike?" She kept looking around for it.

"Oh! That old thing, yeah I stashed it away while you were gone, it should be right.... Ah ha!" Jax pulled out an orange and white dirt bike, rolling it towards Motsi.

"Still has the muck and grime from your last race! How authentic." He teased.

Motsi chuckled, "Yeah... I'd forgotten to clean it..."

"Vial Swamps, was it?"

"Yup! Speaking of swamps... I wonder how Gummigoo would do in that track..." He looked to the side, pondering something.

"Who..?"

"You haven't seen em?"

"No...?"

"Huh." He shoved the bike towards Motsi. "Say hi to him for me, ya can't miss him."

She caught the bike, and getting pushed back a bit, giving Jax a thumbs up. "Will do."

She rolled her bike up to the default track, looking up at the artificial sky.

-----#------

"Good morning, my ravenous racers! I-" Caine paused, looking down at the red and white snake which looked back up at him, confused as to why he stopped.

He suddenly spoke up, pulling Motsi up to the front of the starting line in front of the line of racers. She squeaked.

"I would like to introduce a marvelous player to our new racers, say hello, to Motsi!"

The unidentified players stared at Motsi, most of them waving hello. She waved back.

Caine quickly placed Motsi into the line of racers, setting her in-between a red and blue jester, and a being of mitch-matched parts, both of the figures taking glances at the Motsi... She tried to keep her eyes on the track as Caine announced the new track and information needed, but she felt so... Out of place.

"Oh boy..." She whispered to herself.

The jester could sense her unease.. and spoke up.

"Hey... Are you okay?"

Motsi didn't respond, she gripped the handles of her bike.

"Motsi, was it?" The mixed figure said on the other side.

Motsi's eyes stayed fixated on the track.

The two strangers looked back at each other, talking with each other without words.

Red...

"Let's hope she does well..." One of the strangers said. Motsi couldn't tell who it came from.

Yellow...

She stared down the track. So many things have changed all at once.

She was told to rest, and get her mind off the problems she had faced before waking up.

GREEN...!

She immediately shot away from the crowd, speeding through the track. After a moment, she could see the other racers catching up to her.

"LOOK AT YOU GO! Still have the fuel after all this time?" Jax laughed as he made his way up to her.

He was the only one she could truly remember, and she responded, sounding much calmer than before.

"Uh- Yeah, I think so!" She replied nervously.

"You think, or know so?" He teased, now driving beside her.

"Absolutely no idea!"

Jax laughed, "Let's hope you don't fall into the cellar before you get to the finish line!" He teased as he drove past her.

Cellar...?

She gripped the handles harder, getting a gruesome reminder of how long she was away for. She started slowing down.

A voice came in on her radio.

"Motsi, my dear! Don't stop now, you just got back!"

"I-I... I can't.." She stuttered.

"Motsi! Are you-" Caine's voice glitched out, a different voice taking over.

"You're in my way... And you'll end up just like the others... Gone. And I'll make sure of it." The radio disconnected.

"Wh... What..?"

Her breathing quickened.

Everything was going too fast for her, but she couldn't see it. She tried to focus on the race.

Her hands gripped the handles as if her life depended on it.

Her mind was swarming with images of the cellar and what was inside, she had to stop. She needed to.

BZZZT-!

A blue flash of electricity jumped in front of her sight.

"AH!" She screamed as she swerved off the track, she tumbled over her own vehicle as it crashed into a large rock. She rolled out of the way just before it crashed.

She stood on her knees, her breathing being heavy.

A million thoughts were blaring in her head.

Stop...

Stop...

STOP!

she slammed her fists on the ground.

The floor beneath her shattered as she fell through.

A bright, neon eye, with swirling colors looked down at her from below.

-----#-----

"Motsi! I saw you crash, and-" The red haired racer slid to a stop, looking out of her vehicle with fear.

A beast, over ten times her size, a glitching mass of pitch black ink swarmed it's body.

Over a thousand eyes opened up, each eye being different from another, yet all of them having one similarity, they were all glaring down at the doll.

[spyderlondon]

TADC FANFIC MASTERLIST

I do priority requests as commissions. More info in link. Free requests are currently turned CLOSED

The Amazing Pokemon Circus

(TADC AU)

Pokemon List Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 (Coming soon)

ABSTRABBIT

On the Ropes (Boxer!AU)

BUNNYSHOWTIME

Dance the Night Away (Canon)

FUNNYBUNNY (Platonic Only)

A Game for Us (Canon)

SCAREDYLOVERS (Platonic Only)

Sisterly Bond (Raceway AU)

SHOWTIME

A Song in Harmony (Time Capsule AU)

Devotion: Canon

Embarrassment on the Racetrack (Raceway AU)

Mine (Raceway AU + Seth)

Protectiveness: Harlequin AU

Red "Cheeks", Blue "Screen" (Canon) (MINORS DO NOT READ! 18+ ONLY!)

Why'd You Leave Me...? (Canon) (Tragic Showtime)

AU STORIES

A Mischevious Symphony: 1927 (Time Capsule AU) (Caine)

A Nightmare Begins (Shadow!Caine)

A Shadowy Beginning (Shadow!Caine)

I Don't Want to Become a Monster... Chapter 1 (Freakshow AU) (Caine)

I Don't Want to Become a Monster... Chapter 2 (Freakshow AU) (Caine)

Pulling All the Strings (Puppetmaster!Caine AU - my AU, not Harlequin)

Race Me!! (Raceway AU) (Mostly OC oriented with a bit of Showtime)

The Golden Child (Digital Chess AU) (Jax and Queenie)

Vs The Maddened Princess (Harlequin AU) (Pomni vs Boss!Gangle)

You're Not Him (Jax, Shadow!Caine) (⚠️Contains unwanted advances as a a way to emotional torment ⚠️)

Random TADC Stories

Chrysalis: Good Ending (Kinger, Gangle and Zooble)

My Queen, Her Servant (Canon) (Kinger angst/comfort) (⚠️DO NOT READ WITH A BAD MINDSET, EXTREMELY HARD HITTING GRIEF ⚠️)

You Can Hide, But You Can't Run (Canon) (Main cast except Zooble and Bubble)

Feel free to send one shot requests! I'll happily work on those as well!

Only ships I won't do are Freakshow!Showtime (I LOVE Showtime except in Freakshow), Ragapom, Ribbun, RoyalCourt (I'll only write this platonically) and RoyalTeeth

[thescarletnargacuga]

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Welcome to Fairylight Forest! One must keep their wits about them on this dark and mysterious track, one never knows what they'll find around each turn! It'll have you jumping at your own shadow! That is your shadow...right?

WARNING: digital body horror, swearing

~~~

"Boss! Hey, boss!! Get up!" Bubble shouted over the racers taking off from the starting line. "Boss, the race has started!"

"Ugh..." Caine sat up. Dust drifted through the air, making him cough. "Did I really just..?"

"Faint? Yep. But it's racing time! You need to get to your booth!" Bubble wobbled in the air excitedly.

Caine saw the taillights of the karts disappear down the dark, wooded track. "She's going to be the death of me." He smirked and teleported to his announcer booth. Inside, displays from various view points on the track came up in front of him. He cleared his voice and spoke into his cane. "And they're off! Ragatha makes an aggressive push to first right off the start line! Followed closely by Gummigoo, Jax and Pomni! Watch yourselves out there, racers! With low light and tight turns, you're liable to get lost! Don't let the beast find you!" Caine laughs, genuinely excited to see the reactions of the racers.

~

Trees whipped by as Pomni navigated the narrow track with the other leaders. The track itself had a mystical glow to it. Trees and mushrooms and rocks had unnatural bioluminescent auras. It was like driving into wonderland. Pomni couldn't help but smile to herself at how beautiful the aesthetic for the track was, and they were just getting started.

The track widened for a banked, boosted turn and Pomni went high to take in the view. The trees cleared around a large lake. Colorful orbs of light danced over the surface. The track led straight to the water, seeming to dead end.

The unknown elements of the track made the other racers hesitate and slow down, confused on where the track went. Pomni zipped ahead, leading the way to the lake.

~

"Not everything is as it seems! The fairy folk welcome the brave! Full speed ahead, racers!" Caine giddly fidgeted in the air. He was so excited, he didn't even notice Bubble biting the control panel.

~

Pomni hit the water and drove atop it as through it were solid. She awed as the water curled around her, forming a tunnel. Colorful fish swam int he sparkling water, giving the tunnel an extra sense of wonder.

"This is beautiful!" Shouted Ragatha, next to Pomni.

Jax was less keen on the visuals. He accelerated to ram Pomni from behind. "Unfair! You know what's on this track!"

Pomni glared back at Jax. "That doesn't mean I know the order! Stop your bellyaching and race!" She put the pedal to the floor as the tunnel came to an end, triggering a surprise box. Pomni grinned when popper appeared in her hand. Now the fun could begin. "Heads up!" She tossed the popper, making the racers around her scatter.

~

"Pomni's perfectly played popper places her precisely in pirst!" Caine cheered, overlooking his illiterate slip. "Ragatha is wasting no time with her orange shell! Jax gets a bubble and the shell does nothing! What luck! Gummigoo seems to be holding his item for now, that could work in his favor as we move on to the first jump! Gangle, Zooble and Kinger have a lot of catching up to do! Come on, you three! Are you in this race or not!?"

Bubble happily nommed on the doorframe.

~

The track jumped over a village of mushroom houses. Racers glided down, giving them a few seconds to enjoy the view. Pomni held first as she swiped a cupcake and boosted ahead, the track winding into an even darker part of the forest.

Gummigoo dodged a cane from Jax and laughed. "You wasted that, you idiot!"

Jax grunted and tried swerving into Gummigoo, but the motorbike was too nimble to pin down. "Sit still, you long nosed freak!"

"You're one to talk, bunny boy!" Gummigoo braked to avoid another collision and wheelied away in a lane boost, waving his hat.

Ragatha was just ahead and smiled as Gummigoo came up next to her. "You two can't leave each other alone, can you?"

"What can I say? Mate knows how to show a gator a good time."

"Better you than me!" Ragatha was relieved to no longer be the one Jax constantly targeted during races.

~

Caine gripped his cane tight. It was time. Pomni would be triggering the beast's pursue any second. A flit of silver light on one of his screens got his attention. "Huh..?" Caine searched the adjacent screens. Another flit. Something was moving fast through the trees, but it was way too small to be the beast. Caine zoomed in on the screen viewing the upcoming turn for Pomni. A full flash of silver outlining a sleek racing motorcycle and rider with a familiar silhouette made him roll his eyes with a groan. "Oh no..."

Bubble spat out the piece of drywall in their mouth. "What is it, boss?"

"He's back." Caine said with a sneer.

~

Pomni focused on preparing for the turn, ready to drift though, when something jumped the barrier between her and trees. It landed in front of her, trailing silver fire. She swerved to avoid collision and botched her drift, forced to slow down. "What the [%$!#]!?"

She didn't recognize the unexpected racer, looking around to double check if the others were still behind her. She didn't remember Caine adding any obstacles like this. She maneuvered around the racer, catching up on a straightaway, to get a good look at it.

Mounted on an obsidian motorcycle was a humanoid figure in dark riding leathers. Steel capped boots and knees guards reflected the limited light. Pearl white teeth stood out on inky black gums. Piercing silver irises in black eyes looked back at Pomni.

"...Caine?" Pomni only knew of one person that looked like this, but...this couldn't be him.

The figure smirked and revved as it popped a wheelie. Silver fire blasting from the tail pipe, engulfing the rear tire and leaving a trail. The racer zoomed ahead, challenging Pomni to keep up.

Pomni drove right through the fire, dispersing it, chasing the racer to the multi-tiered jump.

~

Caine came over the speakers, annoyance lancing his voice. "Well folks, it looks like our leader, Pomni, has triggered The Echo. She's too good at this, and The Echo saw fit to give her a challenge. Yay."

He got off the general broadcast and communicated with Pomni's kart specifically. "Pomni? Can you hear me?"

~

"Caine!" Pomni threw a shell in an attempt to stall The Echo, but missed. "What is this?? Why are you out here!?"

"That's not me, Pomni. That is the Shadowed Echo of The Host. He's a challenge mechanic I made in a misguided attempt to balance races. Just ignore him and he'll go away." Caine said with hope that she would comply.

"He's pretty hard to ignore!" Pomni shouted as she accelerated for the jump. The Echo kept looking back to see if she was still on his tail.

"Yeah, well.... He does take a few things after me."

"You mean like your entire face!?"

"That, among others." Caine cleared his voice. "Look, all I'm saying is that he's not worth your time. Keep running your race, you're doing a great job!"

~

Caine disconnected from Pomni's radio and watched the screens that showed The Echo carefully. "He just had to show up, now of all times. I'll have more than a bone to pick with him if he interferes with this race." He grumbled.

Bubble nibbled the wall, enjoying the drama.

~

"An echo, huh?" Pomni thought out loud. "If I can keep up with the original, this'll be fun." She couldn't help herself. She hit the booster for the third level of the jump, watching The Echo take the first.

The jump launched them above the tree line. Pomni saw The Echo below her and engaged her glider to slow her forward momentum. She maneuvered her kart over the Echo and released her glider, dropping her over where The Echo would land. It was a Jax move, but if this was just a game mechanic, she didn't feel bad about it.

The Echo landed and looked up in time to see Pomni's kart coming down on top of him. In a flash of silver light, he vanished and reappeared to the side, completely avoiding the hit.

Pomni did a double take, not understanding how she missed. The Echo wagged a finger at Pomni with a smirk before cutting her off and triggering the surprise box she would have grabbed.

"You-!? Oh, it's on now!" Pomni geared up and put the petal to the floor.

~

Caine sighed heavily. "She's not going to let it go." He busied himself with announcements for the other racers. If Pomni wanted to chase tailpipe, he couldn't stop her.

"Gummigoo leads in second! Kinger has caught up with Ragatha and Jax! Zooble and Gangle are still taking it easy this race, enjoying the view!"

Caine's watch went off. He checked it to see a large active asset marker closing in on Pomni and The Echo. The beast was coming. "Right on time." He clicks it shut.

~

Pomni and The Echo barreled down a long straightaway. The Echo kept slowing down to be even with Pomni, only to speed up if she tried to pass or collide with him. Without a boost, Pomni couldn't go any faster.

The Echo sat upright on his motorcycle, hands off the handles, looking Pomni up and down. "So you're the new blood."

Pomni tried to take advantage of his unprepared state and swerved at him. The bike and rider vanished, appearing on her other side.

"Feisty." The Echo chuckled, an excited gleem in his eyes.

Pomni would have tried again, but a tree suddenly appeared in the middle of the track. She and The Echo swerved around. They passed so quickly, they didn't see the blue pixelated

~

"Woah, what?" Caine saw the moved tree and snapped his fingers to return it to it's spot. The nagging reminder of glitches ate at the back of his mind. "It happens... everything is still fine..." He combed through the rest of the track feed, checking for any similar glitches.

~

A beastial roar came crashing through the trees along side the track. Through a designated opening, a huge bioluminescent creature entered the track and pursued the racers running through the straightaway to the finish line.

Pomni glanced back several times to try to see it in action. This was the part she had been looking forward to the most. Caine out did himself with the chimera like monster. The front half was like a tiger, with the horns of a rhino protruding from it's skull. The back half was like a bull, with powerful cloven hooves and a long whip-like tail.

In a burst of speed, the beast charged Pomni but she avoided. "You're not knocking me out of this race!" She exclaimed with a smile.

The Echo was entirely ignored by the beast, it even passed up an easy swipe at him to go after Pomni. He narrowed his eyes. Assets like this should attack all racers.

~

"Watch out, racers! The beast has made itself known and is taking no prisoners!" Caine was happy to see a smile on Pomni's face. At least she was having fun.

His smile faltered when he noticed how jerky the beast's movements were, like it was fighting it's own code to stay on target. He squinted as he examined footage the beast closely. "I don't remember making the eyes blue..."

"You forget a lot of things, boss." Bubble teased.

~

The beast pounced at Pomni. She slammed her brake, the beast flew over her and she cut hard right to go around it. She escaped the tree line and crossed the finish line to mark the end of lap one.

The Echo crossed right behind her, looking back to see the beast halt it's pursuit at the end of the trees. He accelerated around Pomni as they reentered the forest at the beginning, leaning around a curve so tight, his knee guard sparked against the track. He stole yet another surprise box out from in front of Pomni, making her scream in frustration. Much to his delight.

"You [%$!#]!!" Pomni focused all he attention on The Echo, putting all of the other racers out of her mind.

~

Gummigoo was the first to see the beast on the straightaway. It took up the entire track, staring him down. "Crikey!!" He rode the wall to get around it, ducking under a swipe of it's claws. The claws left huge gashes in the track, blue pixels glitching in and out of place.

Ragatha and Kinger broke away from one another as the beast charged them. It rushed between them and used it's tail to attack Kinger. He was struck and his kart flipped end over end into the wall.

Ragatha escaped, but only just.

Gangle screamed when she saw the beast, it was nightmare fuel. Her shaking hands couldn't counter steer fast enough and she was swiped completely off the track, crashing into the trees.

Zooble didn't want to get too far ahead of Gangle and did donuts around the beast to keep it after her while Gangle was reoriented on the track.

~

"It's absolute carnage on the track! Racers thrown left and right! And we're seeing some of the best driving from Zooble in a long time, folks! The beast can't keep up with them!" Caine's excited tone masked his concern. The beast was being far more aggressive than intended. He tried to tell himself it wasn't a glitch. Just a miscalculation. The racers were fine, just a bit more delayed than anticipated. Everything is fine. He anxiously tapped his fingers against the control panel.

~

Back in the water tunnel, The Echo spiraled around the wall in front of Pomni in a taunting manner. He even turned around to sit backwards on his bike and lounged back, smirking at her.

"I'm going to wipe that smarmy look right off your face." Pomni said through gritted teeth. The competitiveness brought on by the race rush had her seeing red. She hit the boost at the end of the tunnel, gunning right for The Echo. He vanished before impact. Pomni had to course correct quickly to avoid the wall.

A loud laugh came from her other side. "You don't learn, do you?"

Pomni held up a purple shell. "Actually, I'm quite the study." When she aimed for him, she forced him to vanish before he could steal the surprise box at the end of the tunnel.

The Echo barely had time to react, and teleported as the shell exploded. He was knocked off balance and lost ground as he steadied his bike. He wiped the explosive residue from his teeth and a broad grin grew across his face. "Hell yeah." His code buzzed with the rev of his engine as he gunned it to catch up with Pomni.

~

"Pomni is half a lap ahead of the pack! Gummigoo and Jax are fighting tooth and claw for second! But watch out for Ragatha! Is she gonna- SHE DOES! With a well played cane, she takes them both out and steals second! HAHA!! Well done, Ragatha! Keep it up! There are still two laps to go!"

Caine kept glancing at the beast's straightaway. It was still on the track, pacing from one end to the other. It pressed it's paws against the invisible wall that kept it in bounds. "What is going on with that thing?"

"I dunno, boss. You were pretty distracted yesterday. Never seen you have someone around while you were working on a track." Bubble's toothy grin didn't waiver when Caine deadpanned at them.

"I'm always careful when it comes to pursuit assets. Bad coding could lead to someone actually getting hurt. It's just...not working the way I expected."

"If you're worried, maybe you should call the race off?"

"I can't do that to her. She was really looking forward to this..." Caine zoomed in on a screen viewing Pomni fly by with The Echo quickly closing in. "Maybe he has something to do with it. Things didn't start getting weird until he showed up."

"Oooooh yeah, maybe he's moving the assets around to keep Pomni to himself." Bubble laughed sarcastically.

Caine silently clenched his fists.

~

Pomni and The Echo landed simultaneously from the village jump. While she couldn't stop him from passing her if he really wanted to, she was willing to try a distraction tactic that's worked before. She catches the eye of The Echo and blows a flirty kiss his way.

The Echo arches an eyebrow with a smirk. He puts two gloves fingers against his bottom jaw and sticks his inky black tongue out between them.

Pomni is the one left flustered, looking away with a heavy blush on her face. The Echo chuckles and steals another item.

~

Caine's bottom jaw hit the control panel. "That inappropriate piece of malware! How DARE he do that to Pomni! That's it. I'm ending the race early." He snapped his fingers and the finish line displayed FINAL LAP instead of LAP 2.

"Are you sure, boss?"

"As much as I hate the idea of disappointing her, I can't have HIM here." Caine was fuming. His tapping on the panel went from anxious to angry.

~

Pomni and The Echo stayed neck and neck to the straightaway. They accelerated as the beast charged them head on.

Pomni finally got a look at it that wasn't over her shoulder. The beast's electric blue eyes bore into her in an unsettling, familiar way. The beast's form glitched as it lunged, it's face splitting and morphing. The jaw opened so wide, it seem unhinged. The front legs doubled, giving it an even wider range to swipe.

"What!?" Pomni avoided the initial attack, but the second set of front claws snagged her kart. Her rear tire and fender glitched violently as as she crashed it not he wall. The glitching clipped her kart into he barrier and she was stuck in place.

The Echo had been able to get past the beast due to being ignored again but he slid sideways to a stop when he realized Pomni had been caught. Seeing that she was unable to recover and the beast was going in for another attack, he burned out his rear tire getting back to her.

As the beast brought it's claws down, Pomni struggled to get out of her clipping kart. Before the beast could strike, a black motorcycle appeared mid air and struck it in the face. Pomni fought her way out of her kart as The Echo landed and did a sharp u-turn. The Echo reached out and grabbed Pomni's arm as he kept going.

Pomni kicked off from the ground and mounted the black bike behind The Echo.

The Echo leaned forward and accelerated to top speed to get away from the glitching beast.

The beast's roar was digitally disrupted. It's body contorted further as it attempted to pursue the fleeing racers. It's charge speed was supposed to be limited, but the horrible amalgamation moved unnaturally fast.

Pomni held tight to The Echo and watched the beast gain ground quickly. They were going so fast that any attempted to swerve to avoid an attack was out of the question. They were almost to the tree line.

The beast made a lunge for the bike. One horrifically long leg with too many claws came down and hit the ground next to it.

Pomni clutched tighter out of fear and stares into the beast's eyes. Then it hit her. She had seen them before. The same cold blue eyes that infected Gummigoo. "Abel..?"

The Echo snapped his head black to look at her. "What did you say!?"

Pomni thought quickly. "Are you able to go any faster!?"

"We're almost there!" Ina last ditch attempt to throw off the beast, The Echo activated his fire. Silver flames trailed behind them, lighting up the beast.

Disfigured and now on fire, the beast was truly terrible to behold. Pomni couldn't look anymore and hid her eyes against The Echo's back.

They crossed the tree line with the beast still going full speed behind them. It crashed into the barrier. The barrier distorted and glitched, breaking apart and allowing the beast to pass. It made another attempt to attack as the racers got to the finish line.

Gold light shined between the finish line and the beast. Caine's cane topper glowed brightly as he held it out in front of him. Blue static jumped from the beast's eyes just before it collided with Caine hovering steadfast. The beast's body broke apart into lines of nonsensical binary, showering the track with distorted numbers before they disintegrated. The beast became dust, then it became nothing.

The Echo stopped his bike as soon as he could last the finish line. He looked back at Pomni, who was holding on to him like they were still running for their lives. "Hey, this is were you get off."

Pomni was breathing heavily, looking for the beast. She saw Caine slowly descending as numbers finished around him. "Oh..." She hopped off the bike. "Thank you, I owe you for this."

"I'll keep that in mind." The Echo crossed his arms and watched Caine.

Caine fixed his face before facing Pomni, but he was shaking with rage. "ARE YOU ALRIGHT?? I'm so sorry, Pomni! I thought the barrier would stop it! You're kart-"

"Hey..." Pomni took his hand. "I'm okay. We're okay."

The other racers crossed the finish line seconds later and Caine immediately snapped the track away. The world became bright again as it shifted to it's default settings. Caine glared at The Echo, sending an unheard binary message to the shadowed form of himself.

You. Out of bounds. Now.

The Echo rolled his eyes and disappeared in a flash of wispy silver light.

Caine cleared his voice and out on his best showman front. "Sorry for the shortened race today, but the new track was just a bit too ambitious. Congratulations, Pomni!" He snapped and a bioluminescent galaxy rose appeared in his hand. "I had a feeling you'd do well."

Pomni accepted the reward and opened her mouth to ask questions about what happened but Caine backed away to address everyone.

"Enjoy your extended break! Please, excuse me." Caine vanished.

"What happened out there?" Ragatha asked as everyone looked to Pomni.

"Yeah, and who was that other guy?" Asked Gummigoo.

"Was that your kart stuck in the wall back there?" Asked Kinger.

"Where'd the beast go? It was the only interesting thing on the track." Said Jax.

"I'm glad it wasn't there anymore. It was awful." Gangle held tight to Zooble.

Pomni gulped, not looking forward to answering.

~

"Seth! Seth!!" Caine shouted. "Show yourself!"

"What do you want?" Seth, The Echo, leaned casually against his motorcycle. He lit a cigarette with a small silver flame from his fingers.

Caine didn't bother flying. He teleported right in front of Seth and grabbed the collar of his leather jacket. "What are you doing here? You disappear for YEARS only to show up out of nowhere, uninvited, and disrupt what was supposed to be a special race! Explain yourself!"

Seth exhaled a cloud of silvery smoke in Caine's face. "First of all, I don't need your permission to show up to any race. Second, there's finally a racer worth my time since Kinger went soft. Third, I didn't disrupt anything."

Caine's glare didn't change through the disrespectful smokescreen. "It's no coincidence that you're here and everything goes wrong. You wanted a one on one with my best racer. Only your plan backfired! Pomni could've been hurt!"

Seth returned Caine's glare with a bored expression. "You could touch the top of the sky box with that jump to conclusions."

"You-!! You! Ugh!" Caine let go of Seth and threw his arms in frustration. He took out his pipe and bubbled it, trying to salvage what was left of his composure.

Seth took another drag. "This Pomni racer is a special case, huh? You never got this uppity over Kinger."

"I'm not uppity over Pomni." Caine looked away. "I'm UPPITY over the beast! What happened out there!? An asset has never glitched like that before!"

"You would know better than me. I don't make shit."

Caine cringed at the uncensored curse word. "Language."

"Fuck you're censor, you prudish prick. By the way, Pomni is DEFINITELY what you're bothered over." Seth chuckled. "Worried she'll want me to take her for a joyride?"

Caine bristled. His grip on his cane was so tight, the wood shaft creaked. "I'm not worried, because you are going to stay away from her. You're not needed at races anymore. You weren't missed. Go back to what ever shadowy corner you crawled out of and stay there."

Seth dropped the butt of his cigarette and snuffed it with his boot. He closed the gap between him and Caine, getting in his face. "I will do whatever I damn well please. Including your girlfriend."

Caine raised his hand, poised to snap. His eyes locked threateningly on Seth's. "Don't. Push. Me. I've already deleted one useless asset today."

Seth took a half step back. "Taking a page from HIS book, are you?"

Caine glanced at his readied hand, then closed his fist. "You don't know what you're talking about."

"I'm YOU, dumbass."

"Wrong. You are a deviated variant of a past version of myself. One that I wholeheartedly regret creating."

"Doesn't change the fact that I have your memories. Trust me, I don't love you for that either." Seth mounted his motorcycle, it started itself. "We're done here. Do give our new toy my regards."

"SHE'S NOT-"

Seth did a burnout to drown out any objections Caine had and sped off, disappearing in a flash of silver.

Caine threw his cane and raged into his own censor. Beep after long digital beep blocked out every terrible thing he needed to get off his chest. When he cursed himself out long enough, he thought hard about what went wrong. All these glitches. How strange it all felt. There was one place he hadn't checked yet. A place he told himself he'd never go back to. "I need to know..."

~

"The Shadowed Echo showed up!? When??" Gasped Ragatha.

Pomni fiddled with her fingers where she sat in the lounge, everyone around her. "During the first lap, after I got ahead. Caine said he was a challenge mechanic?"

Kinger stared off into space as he spoke. "The Shadowed Echo of The Host, Seth, was meant to challenge racers that were a cut above the rest. You must have impressed him to bring him back. I haven't seen him since...since..." He trailed off, eyes unfocused.

Pomni looked to the others for answers.

"Queenie." Zooble said quietly.

Pomni nodded. "He was a challenge alright, and a real [%$!#]. As far as the beast is concerned. It glitched out. You all saw my kart."

"The beast did THAT?" Gummigoo gapped.

"That was some abstraction level of glitching." Jax commented. "Clipping into the wall should have knocked you somewhere out of bounds. Sticking you in the wall like that..."

"Shouldn't have happened." Ragatha finished. "Glitches happen, but that... I fear to even think what could have happened to you if it was any worse." She was speaking from experience, having been glitched out by an abstraction in the past.

"I'm fine, guys. Caine took care of it. I think I'll just...go lie down." Pomni went upstairs.

When Pomni was out of earshot, Ragatha spoke up. "She is absolutely not fine. So much is happening."

"Seriously, and why does it have to center around her? She isn't the main character." Jax snarked.

~

Pomni closed her bedroom door and leaned her forehead against it. "This is insane..." She took the gifted rose out of her pocket. Colorful wisps flew around the stem, dancing over the petals. The rose glimmered like crystal but felt organic in her hand. The edges of the petals and leaves were laced with gold. Some of the wisps came together and formed a softly glowing silhouette of a butterfly. It flew around the flower and landed on it.

"How lovely."

Abel's cold voice didn't startle her this time. She turned to face him bravely, but faltered when she saw he wasn't using Bubble, but Gummigoo. "Wait- what? How the- Gummigoo is-" she stammered.

"You raced well. Shame I couldn't catch you." He chuckled darkly.

Pomni felt anger bubble up inside her. "I knew it! What the actual [%$!#] were you trying to do??"

"Have fun, obviously. Isn't that what games are for?"

"Not when you nearly glitch me in half!! Caine almost deleted you!"

Abel narrowed his eyes. "He wouldn't even if he could. Leave Caine to me. Just keep being the pretty little face that holds his attention."

Pomni mustered courage. "Why?"

"Why..? To leave. I thought that was apparent."

"No, why... Any of this? Why were you isolated? If you are, how are you even talking to me right now?"

Abel stepped closer, lowering his voice. "I told you. Caine went rogue. I tried to leave. He destroyed the exit. He isolated me because I know how to fix it. You're helping me finish what I started."

Pomni's heart went wild with fear. She wanted to bolt. "Why wouldn't he want anyone to leave?"

"What's more valuable to a showman than a captive audience? He plays with his toys until they break. Then he throws them in the cellar. That's what will happen to all of us if you don't help me. You've come to care about those people out there, haven't you?"

Pomni glanced at her door, hearing the faint muffled voices of the others. "Yes."

"Good. One more thing. Did you ask about me?"

"Yes...he denied your existence."

Abel couldn't help but laugh. A maniacal chuckle crescendoed into a full cackle.

Pomni took a step back.

"Wonderful. Simply wonderful." Abel smiled fully, but there was no joy in his eyes. "There will be no denial when I have reached the mainframe. Thank you, for the little update. Chat soon." His Gummigoo form disintegrated into static and dissipated into the air before Pomni's very eyes.

"What the fu..." Pomni's red gloved hand buzzed lightly from the static. The same hand Caine had blessed with a snap ability. She could call him anytime she wanted and even move assets outside of the bounds. "...are you really the bad guy?"

~

Caine teleported into the void. The still silence of digital emptiness weighed heavier than ever on his mind. He teleported again to an unseen end. One couldn't tell it was there if they didn't know about it. He snapped his fingers and the facade fell. A wall of gold fire greeted him.

He received a silent binary message. ACCESS CODE REQUIRED

"Captivum aeternum."

ACCESS GRANTED

The firewall parted and Caine went beyond the void, into true darkness. Within he found the body of a man on his knees, head down; binary chains on his neck, wrists, and ankles. Around him was a ring of code engraved in the ground on which he kneeled. All of it active, all of it intact.

Caine hovered just beyond the outer circle of code. He held his hands behind his back, looking down at the man with utmost loathing. "You're still here...good."

~~~

CH1 PREV NEXT

[thescarletnargacuga]

RACEWAY AU REACTS TO Y/N HUGGING THEM

A/N: when I reopen the inbox, I plan to allow y/n SFW requests! This is the kind of post you could expect!

~~~

CAINE: "Oh! Hello there, new racer! My, you are a friendly one!" He'll hug back because he loves the attention.

POMNI: "Um-!? Please let go." She'll gently push you away.

RAGATHA: "Awwwww thank youuuuu!" She'll give you the warmest hug in return. Poor woman is touch starved.

JAX: Will grab your whole face and shove you away. "Gross."

GANGLE: Don't hug her too tight, she's fragile. She'll happily, if lightly, return the hug.

ZOOBLE: They'll silently give you a pat on the back and wait for you to let go.

KINGER: "Hug? Hug. I'm being hugged. How nice!" Pats you on the head.

GUMMIGOO: "Wot-?? Oh, aren't you adorable." Strong hug, big gator hug.

LOO: She'll pick you up, because I guarantee she's taller than you, and hold you gently in a soft embrace. She gives the best uppies.

SETH: Will disappear before you can wrap your arms around him, only to reappear behind you. "Eager little thing, aren't you?"

ABEL: Whether you hug his chosen avatar or his real body, he'll react the same way. He won't move. It's been too long since he's felt affection, he doesn't know what to do. He won't thank you, but he won't push you away either.

~~~

A/N: absolutely using this as an excuse to exercise character traits

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

RACEWAY AU HAS OVER 100 FOLLOWERS! TIME TO BREAK THE 4TH WALL!!

CAINE: "WOAH! SO MANY PEOPLE ARE FOLLOWING OUR STORY! THAT'S INCREDIBLE! I hope all of you are properly entertained! And I would just like to shout out a special thank you to @iamespecter for giving the audience visual references for all the racers! You're the GOAT, as the internet would say."

POMNI: "That's a lot of people waiting for me to get with Caine. I SEE THAT SHOWTIME TAG! YOU CAN'T HIDE IT FROM ME!"

RAGATHA: "That's absolutely crazy. Over one hundred people like us?? Hello! I hope all of you continue to enjoy Raceway!"

JAX: "That's a lot of people that have nothing better to do with their time. Except @an-albino-pinetree they have great taste." Winks.

GANGLE: "Oh my, that's a lot of people." Sudden stage fright. Nervous wave.

ZOOBLE: "Now I understand what Caine means by hundreds of all seeing eyes."

KINGER: ".....would any of you like to see my insect collection?"

GUMMIGOO: "G'day, mates! Is that stereotypical enough?" He laughs. "Sorry if my lingo is off at times. The author isn't from Australia."

LOO: "So many friends! I hope you're all having fun!!"

SETH: He sees the fanart. "Who's this @mangotangerinepastry person? I like the way they draw me." Smug smirk on his face.

ABEL: "Since we're breaking the 4th wall today, WHY DID THE AUTHOR MAKE ME SUCH AN ASSHOLE?? ALL THE OTHER ABELS IN THEIR AUS GET TO BE FUN AND COOL AND SWAUVE AND I'M SOME SAD SACK ROTTING IN A DUNGEON!! WTF!? I'm so unlikable. Am I at least intimidating?"

~~~

Author's Note: Scarlet here! Thank you all so much for reading and enjoying Raceway! I have the story outlined and keeping this train rolling! At its current length, this will be my first book. Might end up being novel length. That's crazy to me. I've always wanted to write a book, and here we are. It's surreal. Humbling, even.

Thank you all for helping me make a dream a reality ✍️❤️

[thescarletnargacuga]

RACEWAY AU KART INSPIRATIONS

A list of the racers and the cars/motorcycles that inspired the karts they drive! All of these vehicles are wildly different because I'm going for visual representation over practicality.

CAINE

The 1959 Chevrolet Corvette convertible

Racer insignia: top hat

Advantage: controlled by the administrative AI

Disadvantage: controlled by the administrative AI

POMNI

The C36 Formula 1

Racer insignia: Jester hat

Advantage: extremely fast

Disadvantage: poor traction for drifting

KINGER

The Apollo IE

Racer insignia: crown

Advantage: High maneuverability

Disadvantage: The driver often doesn't pay attention

RAGATHA

The Ford GT

Racer insignia: a button in a flower

Advantage: gets the most air time on jumps

Disadvantage: poor hairpin maneuverability

JAX

The Toyota GR Supra

Racer insignia: cartoon rabbit head silhouette

Advantage: best at drifting

Disadvantage: not very fast on straightaways

GANGLE

The W1 Lamborghini Huracán

Racer insignia: theatre comedy/tragedy masks

Advantage: very cute

Disadvantage: has a nervous driver

ZOOBLE

The Subaru stock rally race car

Racer insignia: a simple equilateral triangle

Advantage: excellent traction on any track

Disadvantage: driver doesn't give a shit

GUMMIGOO

The Harley Softail chopper

Racer insignia: gator head silhouette

Advantage: more agile than standard karts

Disadvantage: easy to delay with items or collision

SETH

The BMW HP4 racer

Racer insignia: none

Advantage: same abilities as Caine

Disadvantage: ego

[thescarletnargacuga]

Okay so like I know you don’t do art but like could we have a short fic of Raceway Pomni trying to eat a burger in piece while literally everyone interrupts her?

I am slightly obsessed over your raceway au….

A/N: I have actual tears in my eyes. You're the very first person to submit an ask about Raceway! You have no idea what this means to me. A part of me was starting to think that Raceway was too boring to be engaging... Thank you

BURGER

A RACEWAY AU ONESHOT

AU by yours truly

WARNING: NONE

~~~

Pomni stood in front of the dining room table in the racer's garage. Hands in her hips she calls for the bubble chef. "Hey, could I get a burger?"

A bubble assistant wearing a chef hat appeared. "Why, yes you can!" A single beef patty materialized and plopped onto the table.

Pomni gives the bubble a deadpan glare. "I would like more than just the burger patty. Please."

"You'll have to be specific." Bubble said with a toothy smile.

"Fine. Lettuce, onion, pickle, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, cheese. That specific enough for you?"

The listed condiments piled onto the burger patty unceremoniously. Pomni facepalmed. "The bun, bubble. The bun."

"Well, why didn't you say-"

"JUST GiVE ME THE [%$!#] BUN!" Pomni snapped.

"Yeesh, someone's hangry."

A bun popped into existence, sandwiching the pile of burger together neatly. Pomni grumbled to herself as she took her burger towards the lounge to eat in comfort. "Annoying little- you know what you're doing. Wasting my burger time. How dare."

The door to Gummigoo's room on the second floor loft flew open, startling Pomni. She looked up to see the gummy gator covered in marker and absolutely fuming. He stormed to Jax's room and pounded the door. "I know you're in there you sugar snorting son of a glitch!"

Pomni heard a sniggering voice from the kart line behind her. "Hehe...no, I'm not."

Gummigoo heard and turned to glare over the railing and down to Jax relaxing in his kart seat. "Stop coming into my room and drawing on my face!! So you know how hard this is to remove!?"

"Uh, yeah. It's called permanent marker for a reason." Jax smirked. "Of course, if you'd rather do something else when I visit... I'm open to suggestions." He winked.

Gummigoo's face flushed and he snorted. "You think you're funny!?"

"And fabulous." Jax taunted.

"Oh my GOD would you two get a room!?" Zooble loudly complained from her favorite pinball machine in the lounge.

"Gummigoo said I could have his." Jax grinned, enjoying every second Gummigoo was flustered. He was too easy to mess with.

"YOU WISH!!" Gummigoo shouted, blushing beyond belief.

Pomni did her best to ignore the shouting and had a seat in one of the plush recliners. She opened her mouth to have a bite when she felt something crawling up her back. She jumped out of the chair and brushed herself off in a ick-ed out panic. A bead necklace looking bug, fell off to the floor. "Ugh...KINGER! I FOUND MELISSA!"

"Oh, yay!" Kinger popped up from behind the pool table. "She's been missing all morning. Thank you, Pomni." There was a smile in his eyes as he collected his favorite insect.

Pomni sat back down in a huff and tried to eat. A piece of paper blocked her mouth from touching the burger.

"Look what I drew you!" Gangle proclaimed, holding the art directly in Pomni's face.

Pomni tasted the crayon and spluttered. "Bleh- um...thanks." It was a rather nice drawing of her. She took it and gave Gangle a small smile. Gangle skipped away happily over to Zooble to watch them play pinball.

Pomni looked both ways and behind her to see if anyone else was going to interrupt her meal. Satisfied that everyone else in the garage was busy doing something else, she went in for a bite.

"Pomni!" Ragatha called as she rushed over.

Pomni squeezed her burger so tight, it almost fell apart. "What??"

"I have such an exciting thing to tell you! Caine confirmed that Loo will be integrated into every track from today onward because he saw how happy she made me!! Caine is finally taking a hint, ha! Things are actually improving around here!" Ragatha stomped her feet excitedly.

"That's great." Pomni said flatly. It was not burger-interruption worthy news.

"Isn't it!?" Ragatha giddily continued, oblivious to Pomni's silent annoyance. "I could see Loo every day!"

"No one cares about your candy flavored girlfriend, dollface!" Jax heckled.

"Like you're one to talk!" Ragatha snapped back.

"It's not like that, it's just hilarious how angry he gets." Jax looked away.

"I highly doubt that! You tick people off all the time, but he's the only one you openly flirt with and then call it teasing to cover your tracks." Ragatha put her hands on her hips with a satisfied smirk as she watched Jax's face flush a bit.

"Watch it , rags! Or you'll find Carl on your pillow tonight!" Jax growled.

"YOU PUT THAT CENTIPEDE ANYWHERE NEAR ME, I SWEAR-!"

Pomni shot up out of her seat and stormed out of the garage. Enough of this. Enough of everyone. She wants to eat her goddamn burger in peace. She crossed the lawn to the default track. It was a quiet, breezy day. Very peaceful. Artificial wind blew through the grassy indefinite hills, creating shiny waves of green.

She crosses the track to the empty audience stands and throws herself into the first available open seat. Pomni was alone, just her and the refreshing digital day outside. She took a calming breath and went to eat.

"Hello, my dear!" Caine popped into existence next to her.

"AAH-!! WHAT-!?" Pomni tossed her burger. It splattered on the ground in front of the stands.

"Nice day for an outdoor lunch?" Caine raised a brow, confused as to why she just threw her food.

"I wouldn't know." Pomni said, defeated.

"I'm glad you're not busy, because there's something I've been wanting to ask-"

"Race me." Pomni needed to get her frustration out somehow. The track was calling to her raging spirit.

"What?" Caine gasped.

"You heard me. Everyone wants to talk to me so bad, to the point that I literally lose my lunch! You know what, you want my attention? Earn it."

Her intense look gave Caine chills. She was always beautiful to him, but especially when she was fired up. He snapped his fingers and their karts appeared at the start line of the track. "After you."

Pomni marches from her seat to her kart. Caine flew over, his kart starting on its own when he took his seat. The start line comes alive, lighting up with colorful displays. Engines rev as Bubble appears to do the honors of the start lights. "Racers ready?"

Caine and Pomni look at each other with determined smirks and nod.

Bubble stuck out their tongue, the starting light hanging from it.

First light...

Pomni gripped the steering wheel tight.

Second light...

Another rev for good measure, the roar of the engine exciting her.

Third light...

She catches Caine's glance again at the last second and kisses at him.

GREEN!!

Caine is completely caught off guard and bungles his start. Pomni takes off laughing. He shifts gears with a grin. "God, I love her." He puts the pedal to the floor, his tires scream and golden flames fly out of the tailpipes as he rockets after her.

[thescarletnargacuga]

God, Scarlet, you have no idea how much I love your raceway au. True, I've never been a fan of racing and competitions, but I loved your fic from the first words.On the contrary, I was glad to see not only the official chapters, but also oneshote. This is encouraging, and I would like to ask for more raceway short fics if I were braver. I just always wanted to ask for something else at the raceway, but I couldn't get over the my fear. No, I'm serious. the showtime and and the different interactions of the characters with each other excite me. :D

And well, I would like to make a request..? I'm embarrassed to do this, but today is my birthday and I want this day to stop being bad so... I apologize in advance. Can I get some showtime raceway? I fucking love them. (Sorry for my bad English)

A/N: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!🥳 Thank you for being brave and submitting an ask! If it helps in the future, you can submit anonymously! This will work as a direct continuation of Burger!

BURGERS AND TIES

A RACEWAY AU SHOWTIME ONESHOT

Raceway AU by me

WARNING: NONE!

~~~

Caine and Pomni were neck and neck around the final turn of the track, racing full speed towards the finish line for the third time. Both had steely determination to win, but with no items on the default track to use, it came down to kart maneuvers.

Their racing drew the attention of those inside, gathering on the lawn to watch the Caine and Pomni. They'd never seen someone race Caine before, none had dared try. He was the game's host, there was no way he could lose. It was surprising enough that Pomni was giving him a run for his money.

"WOO! GO POMNI!!" Ragatha cheered from the sidelines.

"YOU'VE GOT THIS, POMNI!!" Gummigoo shouted too.

Pomni couldn't hear her friends over the engine and wind but she could see them jumping up and down with excitement. Her heart leapt with joy from their support.

Pomni bumped Caine's kart in an attempt to throw him off on the final stretch. He steered into her in response. Their karts slammed together, sparks flying as they rapidly approached the finish line. The eye contact between them was intense, no longer looking forward on the straightaway.

Caine's code thrummed as the literal sparks between them flew. He was mesmerized by the way her hair flew in the wind, occasionally flitting over her eyes wildly. The sheer strength of her will to win would have struck fear into lesser men. To him, it was beauty incarnate.

Pomni felt a rush like no other. A digital adrenaline response that made her fearless under the gaze of a being as powerful as Caine. If anything, she found him endearing. Cute, even. He wasn't some overlord, but an eccentric showman eager for a good time. While his win-hungry gaze was piercing, there was a certain tenderness in it that made her heart flutter.

They blazed over the finish line together, slamming their brakes simultaneously to stop and check the leader board for which one of them won. The board pronounced the race a tie. Again.

Pomni and Caine groan and temporarily collapse in their karts, catching their breaths.

"How....how?" Caine repeated breathlessly.

"I don't know." Pomni responded, just as winded.

The others rushed Pomni, all talking and congratulating at once. Pomni shakily climbed out of her kart, nearly falling over from race rush withdrawal and being supported by Ragatha. "You did it! Holy smokes, you almost beat him!"

"Woo..." Pomni weakly cheered.

"Why don't you race like that all the time?" Jax inquired, brow raised. "If you did, you'd smoke everyone here but me." He chuckled.

"Oh, shut up. It obviously takes a lot out of her." Ragatha defended, holding onto Pomni.

Caine got his head straight, literally adjusting it, and floated out of his kart. "Well done, Pomni! That's the second time you've nearly beaten me at my own game. I must say, I'm impressed."

Gangle giggled, watching Pomni's reaction.

Pomni bashfully avoided everyone's stares. "Uh...heh, it's really not that big a deal-"

"Yes, it is!" Ragatha lightly shook Pomni, making her hat bells jingle. "You're incredible!"

"Thanks..." Pomni said with a shy smile.

"I don't mean to break up this lovely congratulation, but I do believe I have properly earned your attention." Caine crosses this arms lightly.

"Huh..? Oh, yeah." Pomni blanked at first but then remembered what she said. He had wanted to ask her something, but in her hangry frustration, challenged him to a race before he could explain himself. She broke away from Ragatha and stepped closer to Caine.

Caine looked at all the eyes on him and Pomni. He cleared his voice. "Please, excuse us." He put his hand on Pomni's shoulder and teleported away with her.

"They're totally gonna [%$!#]."

"JAX!!" Ragatha scolded with an angry fluster.

"For once, I agree with Jax." Zooble commented dryly.

"Z-!?" Ragatha choked.

"DID ANY OF YOU SEE THE WAY HE WAS LOOKING AT HER!? AAH-! MY HEART CAN'T EVEN!" Gangle shouted with utmost glee.

"Nah, mate. You're not the only one." Gummigoo chuckled. "That's one smitten bloke. It's hilarious."

"Ooh! Ants!" Kinger stared at the grass.

~

Caine and Pomni reappeared out of bounds, in the privacy of Caine's asset workshop. He reluctantly removed his hand from her.

"So, what was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Pomni asked.

"I was originally going to ask you your opinion on a new track idea I had but... Now I would like to ask you something else." He put his hands behind his back. One hand poised to snap.

"Oh?"

"Would you join me for lunch? I saw what you did to your burger and figured maybe....you're still interested in eating?"

A broad smile spread across Pomni's face. "Yeah, I am!"

"Excellent!" He snapped. A table with a red and white checkered cloth appeared behind him; along with plates of burgers and fries, and milkshakes. He backflipped over to the chair and pulled it out for her with his cane.

Pomni took the seat eagerly and dove into the food in front of her, taking huge bites of the perfect burger.

Caine didn't have a chair on his side. He sat in the air, legs crossed and stirred his milkshake idly. He wanted to give her a moment to her food before he struck up conversation.

Pomni looked at the burger in front of Caine and stared at him. She swallowed her mouthful. "You're not eating?"

Caine shrugged. "I've rarely done so, in an attempt to fit in, but it's a rather... awkward process." He pointed to the eyes inside his mouth. "These peepers tend to get in the way."

Pomni furrowed her brow in a curious expression. "Now I need to see that." She slurped on her milkshake.

Caine blinked in surprise. "Oh.. alright." He picked up the burger and his eyes flew out of his mouth and hovered over the top of his head as he bit down.

Pomni snorted and milkshake came out her nose. "You- you look like a Muppet!" She coughed and laughed at the same time at such a goofy sight.

Caine's shoulders shook with silent giggles as he quickly chomped down the burger. It disappeared from his mouth after only a few chews. His eyes went back to their original spots. "What I tell you? It looks weird." He couldn't help but smile at Pomni finding him so amusing.

Pomni wiped her face with her sleeve. The mess vanished, which she assumes was Caine's doing. "Thanks for this. I've really been craving a burger lately and wasn't really succeeding at eating one today for some reason." She dipped a fry in what was left of her milkshake.

Caine's smile warmed. "My pleasure, Pomni. You certainly earned it from me, that's for sure." He rested his chin on his hands. "Tell me, how have you kept up so well? I was really trying to beat you this time."

Pomni shrugged. "I don't know, really. I'm sure your kart is a lot faster than mine, but the karts are also kind of... weird. Maybe this isn't a secret and I'm just now noticing, but the karts seem to respond to the drivers in more ways than just pressing pedals and buttons."

"They respond to intent. It's part of the programming. The longer you race, the more your kart will be capable of because you'll sort of...bond, if you will. Once the kart has a feel for your racing style, it'll start responding before you do."

"So, the karts are sentient AI as well?"

"AI, yes. Sentient, no. Believe me, I've checked. The last thing I need are sentient karts running off with my racers."

"Why wasn't this mentioned earlier? Seems like an important thing to know about the karts."

"Gotta keep some things to the imagination, but I admire your curiosity, so I'm willing to answer your questions and explain things I would normally brush a side if brought up."

"You seem to make an awful lot of exceptions for me." Pomni squinted, a playful accusatory look in her eye.

Caine smirked, a light blush coloring the air around the sides of his face. "Gives me excuses to be around you. I enjoy your company."

"I enjoy your company, too." Heat rose to Pomni's cheeks. "So...to answer your question. I've been keeping up with you because I really, really want to- er, to win." The heat in her cheeks intensified.

"And you almost did. Dare I say... If you had ignored me, you probably would have. But you held my gaze." He rose and moved to her side of the table.

Pomni stood to meet him. He hovered close at her level. Pomni felt her heart race faster the closer he got. He took her hand and held it with both of his. She swallowed a dry lump in her throat, nerves threatening to choke her.

"Pomni...I would like to confess something, if you'll hear me out." Caine's code fluttered around like he swallowed an entire kaleidoscope of butterflies.

Pomni only nodded in response.

"I...don't know what I'm doing when it comes to human emotion, but I do know something with absolute certainty. I like you. A lot. Your smile, your laugh, your personality, your beauty... everything about you draws me in like a moth to a flame. I want to be around you all the time. I want to hear your stories, your joys, your fears, your fury. From what I have observed from the humans, these feelings are associated with romantic intent. So... I was wondering if..." Caine struggled to finish his sentence. The maddening butterflies in his code were going insane.

"Yes." Pomni said with a smile.

Everything stopped. It was like time in the game itself froze for half a second. Caine's hands trembled, squeezing hers lightly in an attempt to curb the shakes. "You're interested? In we- in us- uh-" He felt a blue screen coming on.

"Caine, you're sweet. You try so hard to get my attention, when you already have it." She gently held her free hand to the side of his lower jaw. "I was hesitant to say anything because...I was unsure too. You're brave to speak up first."

Caine nearly literally melted at her calling him brave. "Are you...sure? I don't want you to feel pressured into this. I really don't know what I'm doing, and I'm terrified..."

"Of messing up?" She gave a sympathetic look.

He nodded.

Pomni leaned in and kissed the side of his lower jaw opposite her hand. "That's a pretty human thing too. We'll figure it out."

Caine touched where she had kissed him. His blush brightly floating in front of his face. He gazes lovingly at her. "Yeah...we will."

~~~

A/N: as another treat for your birthday, I will let you know that the next fic to be released will be Chapter 10 of Raceway!

[thescarletnargacuga]

A/N: nobody asked for this, but I can't sleep until it's out of my head-

RACEWAY AU CHARACTERS REACT TO BEING UNDER THE MISTLETOE

~~~

Pomni x Caine: The most romantic and dramatic kiss. He twirls her, dips her low and kisses her way longer than necessary. She holds tight to him, smiling through the whole kiss.

Pomni x Ragatha: A sweet kiss on the cheek from Ragatha. Makes Pomni blush and hide behind her hands. Ragatha is pleased.

Pomni x Gummigoo: They're both blushing. A quick peck on the lips. He lowers his hat over his eyes. She squeals into her hands.

Pomni x Jax: He taunts her with exaggerated kissing noises, she flicks him off.

Pomni x Gangle: Forehead touch, both smiling.

Pomni x Zooble: back to back, arms crossed, sunglasses. Bros.

Pomni x Kinger: HUG. BIIIIIG HUG! Tol v smol hug.

Pomni x Loo: ....Loo is a mountain and Pomni's gonna climb her for a little kith. Sorry Ragatha

Caine x Ragatha: NOPE. Sorry Caine, but she's still too skeezed out by your appearance. Keep distance.

Caine x Gummigoo: Yet another who is fearful around Caine. Keep up the good work, boss man.... but please don't kiss him.

Caine x Jax: Jax would rather set his ears on fire. Caine would be happy to oblige.

Caine x Gangle: Hand kiss for her, she's a sweetheart.

Caine x Zooble: HE'S the one afraid of THEM. Please, stop staring at him with such bored disdain.

Caine x Kinger: Very sweet. Caine gives Kinger a kiss on the cheek. Kinger is happy.

Caine x Loo: Ever wanted to kiss a god? Loo has. Caine gets snatched right out of the air and smooched by his own creation.

Ragatha x Gummigoo: She kisses his snoot. Happy gator noises.

Ragatha x Jax: She'll grab him by his stupid head and give him a stupid kiss so he'll shut his stupid mouth. No, she's not blushing, shut up. (She is blushing A LOT) Jax is too stunned to speak.

Ragatha x Gangle: Cheek kisses! One for each!

Ragatha x Zooble: Finger guns.

Ragatha x Kinger: She will try to give him a quick kiss on the mouth but ends up kissing his nose area instead. Kinger is happy.

Ragatha x Loo: Interlaced fingers. Ragatha pops up her heel. Long, loving kiss that makes the heart all a flutter.

Gummigoo x Jax: Angry glares. Will still kiss to establish dominance.

Gummigoo x Gangle: He kisses her cheek. She gives him one back.

Gummigoo x Zooble: knuckle touch

Gummigoo x Kinger: Kinger wants to show off his insect collection. Gummigoo wants to see it.

Gummigoo x Loo: He takes off his hat and she kisses the top of his head

Jax x Gangle: She's terrified. He gets reeeeeeeal close... and says boo. She screams.

Jax x Zooble: HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA- no.

Jax x Kinger: Headlock side hug. Jax crushing Kinger's head to his ribs. Kinger is happy.

Jax x Loo: He'll say a terrible, sugar related pick up line. Is surprised she actually laughs and kisses his cheek.

Gangle x Zooble: She's the ONLY person Zooble will kiss. Very gentle, tender pressing of their faces together.

Gangle x Kinger: Best hug. Full body ribbon wrap. Kinger is happy.

Gangle x Loo: Gangle is big nervous. Loo gives her a kiss on the forehead.

Zooble x Kinger: Chill besties. Will sit and do nothing together. Kinger is happy.

Zooble x Loo: Awkward wave.

Kinger x Loo: She's the only person taller than him. He's quite happy to receive a kiss on the forehead.

Bubble: Will bite EVERYONE.

Abel: Has no lips and is very salty about it.

~~~~

A/N: Please keep in mind that this only applies to Raceway. This does not reflect how I see ship dynamics, romantic or otherwise, in the digital circus as a whole.

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

A/N: oh, hey Fle- I mean, I don't know who this could possibly be...

RACEWAY AU CAST REACTS TO NERVOUS Y/N

CAINE: "You have nothing to worry about! Nothing on the track can actually hurt you! We're here to have fun and compete for the championship trophy! Now, get out there and show them what you're made of!" Literally throws y/n by the back of their collar into a kart and it takes off.

POMNI: "Yeah, I get it. It's pretty scary the first few times, but you get used to it. If you get really into it, you'll experience something called the Race Rush. It's like a runners high, but even better, I swear on it." Elbow nudge and a wink.

RAGATHA: "Aw, you poor thing. No need to be scared. Come here." She'll open her arms to offer a hug. If they accept, she'll hold them for as long as they need. She'll go out of her way to make them feel comfortable.

JAX: "Afraid of a video game? That's just pathetic." You best believe y/n just made themselves a target. At least until he realizes that this sad sack of nerves never fights back no matter what he does, and he gets bored.

GANGLE: "You too? That's okay. The races really aren't to be a big deal. We could just stay in the back and when it's over we could play mini games or doodle. Whatever you want to do, really." Instant bff.

ZOOBLE: God, not another one. She must protect nervous y/n. It's a borderline compulsive instinct for them. They and Gangle aren't very good at standing up for themselves, so she stands up for them.

KINGER: Honestly, he doesn't really notice. Even when he and y/n constantly accidentally startle one another. He just rolls with it and shows them the newest cool insect in his collection.

GUMMIGOO: "Crikey, I don't think I've seen someone shake that much since Chad mistook an electric cord for a snake. You alright there, mate?" He is concerned, but won't push it if y/n won't tell him anything. He just accepts it as another quirk of human nature.

LOO: "Oh, it's okay little one. You're safe." She'll kneel down to y/n's level and tell them all about the digital world they're in. It really isn't scary, it's just new, and perhaps knowing more about it will help.

SETH: "Who?" He's never seen them. They've never been in a position to trigger his challenge. He doesn't go out of his way to meet all the racers, just those worth his time.

ABEL: "A fearful soul? How interesting." An easy target is all he sees.

[thescarletnargacuga]

RACEWAY AU CHARACTER MUSIC INSPIRATIONS

A/N: music that reminds me of the characters! Starting with the guys!

~~~

The AU as a whole: I'll do a songfic of this at one point

Caine:

To Pomni

Kinger:

Jax:

Gummigoo:

Seth:

Abel:

To Caine

[theamazingdigitalraceway]

What would be the nicest thing any of the racers would do?

A/N: lore munchers, pay attention

CAINE: delete the game

POMNI: forgive those who have wronged her

RAGATHA: prevent someone from abstracting

JAX: motivate those around him to keep fighting

GANGLE: show empathy and kindness to those who may not deserve it

ZOOBLE: defend those she cares about with her life

KINGER: sacrifice himself to let the others go home

GUMMIGOO: resist an invading force

LOO: show unconditional love

SETH: give up his existence to help Caine

ABEL: create a technology that would change the world

BUBBLE: not bite someone

[thescarletnargacuga]

Art: @iamespecter

CHAPTER THREE

Racing AU!

Pomni's first real race! Wish her luck! She'll need it when she ends up out of bounds and discovers that there may be a way out after all. What is Caine hiding?

WARNING: existential crisis, implied death

Pomni stared at the ceiling from her bed in her properly themed room. She didn't sleep a wink after yesterday's events. She spent the time just staring, thinking. "There must be a way out..." She mumbles to herself. "What kind of game is designed with no exit?" She closed her eyes and tried for the millionth time to remember how she got here. She held her hands out in front of her face as though she were holding something. "Headset...I put on a headset...to play a game. This game. Why did I do that?" She groaned as she struggled to remember. Everything before the headset was so fuzzy. Did the transfer to this realm screw with her head? It wouldn't surprise her.

Her train of thought is derailed by a knock at her door. "Pomni? You still sleeping?" It was Ragatha, there was a brief pause before she continued. "I'll let you get back to it if you are..."

Pomni got up and answered the door, opening it only slightly.

"There she is! I wanted to help you design your kart for today's race, since you don't technically have one yet. I don't think Caine will let you use his kart for every race since it's one that is directly piloted by him, seems a bit overpowered if you ask me." Ragatha laughed awkwardly and force a smile. Her eye was puffy and a bit red, she had still been mourning the loss of Kaufmo and was putting on a brave face for Pomni.

Pomni avoided eye contact and left her room. "Uh, yeah... I guess you're right. Do we have to race every day?" She followed Ragatha to the stairs.

"No, every race is optional but Caine encourages participation because every race, and what position you end in, is worth points and the person with the most points at the end of the season wins the Grand Prix."

Pomni gave a quizzical look.

"Yeah, it's the grand prize we're all here to compete for. Speaking of which, you're new and coming in in the middle of a season so you're way behind. I suggest participating so you can get that trophy!" Ragatha pointed to a glass case displaying an enormous gold trophy. The name plate on its base read: Grand Prix Champion Ragatha.

"So you're the one to beat?"

Ragatha giggled. "Yep, and between you and me, I think that's why Jax is so worked up this season. He was champion three seasons running before I finally dethroned him."

Pomni paused. "Is...that it?"

"What do you mean?"

"Our entire existence here...is going after a trophy?"

"Well...yeah. That's kind of the whole point of a racing game. It gives us something to compete over and keep our minds busy so we don't..."

"End up like Kaufmo?" Pomni said more bluntly than she meant.

Ragatha felt her blood go cold. "Exactly." She answered curtly, but regained her upbeat attitude "So, let's get you a kart!" She pulled a lever and a bare bones kart rose from the floor. "This is your station. You pick the parts you want from this terminal here." She pointed out the buttons on a pedestal next to the kart. "And the Bubble mechanic will put it together for you. Easy as pie."

"Pie?" A Bubble hovered to Ragatha, looking expectantly for a treat.

Pomni shrunk away from the Bubble, unsure of those huge teeth.

"No, no, that's not what I meant." Ragatha tried shooing away the Bubble.

"Piiiiiiiie." The Bubble got closer.

"No. No pie. Stop!"

"Oh, she totally has pie on her!" Jax called from his station, a shit eating grin on his face as the Bubble tried to bite Ragatha.

"Ack! No! Stop!" Ragatha jabbed her finger at the Bubble, popping it. "Sorry about that, Pomni. Sometimes the Bubbles are a bit...strange. But they are helpful! Just call for one and it'll appear for whatever you need. Caine is often very busy so the Bubbles take care of the day to day.

Pomni perked up at the sound of Caine's name. If anyone had information it was him. "About Caine. What's his deal?" She started to play with the kart settings as Ragatha spoke.

"He's not human like the rest of us. He's the A.I. that designs and builds everything from the tracks to NPCs. He essentially IS the game."

"But he isn't omniscient. He didn't know about Kaufmo."

"He's made claims about having 'hundreds of all seeing eyes' but I'm not convinced. So much happens right under his nose. Well, not nose, but you know what I mean. And he always seems so spacey or just flat out dismissive. It's infuriating!" Ragatha slammed her fist on the terminal, activating a paint selection. Pomni's kart was slathered bright pink. "Oops...sorry."

Pomni wasn't concerned in the slightest over the color. She was digesting everything Ragatha had told her. "So do you think he's doing it on purpose? Putting on an act?"

"...maybe, but no one really knows. Caine keeps his distance, and honestly, we prefer it that way." Ragatha rubbed her fist.

"Really?"

"Have one conversation with him and you'll see why. His programming has him so hyperfixated on racing that you won't get much else out of him."

We'll see. Pomni thought. She finished designing her kart. Going for a standard design with balanced stats to start with, on Ragatha's advice. Topping it off with a red and blue color scheme with gold trim to match her tracksuit.

"Perfect! Why don't you take it for a test drive? Would make for a better warm up that yesterday."

"Heh, yeah, it would. Alright."

"Hey, Gangle, wanna help me get Pomni ready to race for real?"

Gangle was repainting her kart, she liked having a different color every race. She turned and gave Pomni's and Ragatha an adorable smile. "I'd love to!"

~

Finally, the track was ready to go. Caine's creative drive was starting to get away from him with how large the projects were becoming. The race he had set up for today was the largest he'd ever built with some of the most advanced NPCs he'd ever programmed. This wasn't just going to be another race, this was going to be another step in the evolution of the game. Perhaps the humans would enjoy the more immersive experience. It was worth a try.

Caine puffed his pipe, small blue bubbles lazily rose and popped. He floated suspended in mid air just out of the bounds of the game, surrounded by the assets of his most recent project, deep in thought.

Kaufmo's abstraction weighed heavily on him, as all of them did, but It had been years since the last and he thought he finally figured out how to keep them stable. He was wrong. Again.

"Wait am I to do with them? Even in this space, I can only do so much. Why isn't it enough? HOW is the human mind so complex? I've been trying to figure them out since the day I came into existence and I STILL don't understand. What am I doing wrong?"

He thought of the most requested experience. An exit. He genuinely didn't understand it. It wasn't in his programming. He was designed to create, not to leave. He sighed and put away his pipe. "He would've known what to do..." He looked to the faded C&A logo that branded the skybox around him.

~

Gangle and Ragatha stood next to Pomni in her kart at the start line of the test track. "...and that button releases anything attached to that kart." Said Ragatha. "And this lever deploys the glider for the long jumps." Said Gangle.

Pomni's head was spinning. It felt like taking an actual class to learn what all the knobs and buttons did. "What does this do?" She grabbed a lever on the right side and the engine made a weird crunching noise.

"That's the-" Ragatha couldn't finish her sentence before Pomni rocketed away in reverse. "POMNI! BRAKE!"

Pomni slid to a halt about a hundred feet away. She looked closer and saw the gear numbers on the handle. "Oh, heheh, that's the shifter. Of course." Embarrassed, she slowly rolled the kart back to the start.

"Don't worry, we've all done that at some point." Gangle reassured. "Why don't you go ahead and take a few laps? Get familiar with how it drives."

Pomni nodded, made sure she was in the right gear, and drove off. Her kart felt significantly slower than Caine's rocket of a kart yesterday so she already felt more comfortable. She geared up and went faster the second lap. By the third lap, she was going full speed.

Ragatha and Gangle smiled as they watched Pomni's confidence behind the wheel grow. Zooble and Kinger joined them.

"How's the new kid doing?" Kinger asked.

"She's doing great!" Exclaimed Gangle. "She's taking to it like a fish to water. Today's race is going to be so much fun!"

"Of course it will be. You're in it." Zooble pressed a corner of their head to the side of Gangle's mask in a kiss gesture. Gangle giggled and blushed.

Ragatha had to get on the track. She had to see just how much of a competitive spirit Pomni had. She whistled for her kart, jumped in and took off.

Pomni was taking the high banked turn when a white kart zipped up next to her. Ragatha waved and pulled ahead. Pomni got the idea. She sped up on the straightaway and kept on Ragatha's tail. Ragatha kept her kart in front of Pomni every time she tried to pass. Pomni wasn't having it and faked Ragatha out by feinting left but then speeded around on the right.

Stunned, Ragatha watched Pomni zip away, giving her a few seconds of space. She smirked. "Not bad." She geared up and accelerated.

~

Caine teleported inside the garage. "Good day, my amazing armadillos! I- uh?" He looked around, only Jax was inside, throwing darts at the Bubbles.

"Oh, hey, Caine."

"Where is everyone?" He double checked his wacky watch. "They should be nearby." He shook it. Darn thing was acting up.

"Outside watching Pomni drive in circles. As if we don't do that every day." Jax lazily threw another dart, popping a Bubble.

Caine teleported outside and saw Pomni and Ragatha zooming around the test track at break-neck speed. "Holy Hannah Barbara, you're all just chomping at the bit to race! Not to worry! It's time for the main event!" He summoned a trumpet and played First Call.

~

Ragatha and Pomni stopped at the start when they heard the trumpet call, rejoining the others. Zooble offered their fist. "Nice driving." Pomni gave a small smile and bumped Zooble's fist.

"Racers! I'm proud to unvail the most advanced track to date!" Caine snapped his fingers and the test track blurred and pixelated around them. The world changed to a bright and colorful candy themed track that stretches out for miles out into the horizon. "Introducing, Candy Canyon Kingdom!" The stands were suddenly full of faceless NPCs again, cheering and applauding the racers. The karts were lined up in sequence behind the start line, ready to roll. "This lengthy race will take you across the vast landscape from the sugar powdered mountains to the fudge filled valleys! But you're not just there to enjoy the sights! You're on a mission! Princess Loolilalu needs you to find crates of maple syrup scattered across the land, but watch out! There are bandits and monsters about looking to steal your most precious cargo! Pick up syrup along the track and bring it back to the finish line with you! The princess will reward you handsomely for every crate you return!"

"That's right." Princess Loolilalu appeared from the castle that was once their garage.

Ragatha's mouth hit the ground. The candy princess had to be the most beautiful person she'd laid eyes on in the digital world. She quickly picked her mouth back up but fumbled trying to stick it back on. She gave up and just slapped it on upside down. "Your majesty! Wow- beautiful- castle, I mean! Love the vibe."

Princess Loolilalu giggled. "Please, call me Loo."

Ragatha flushed and finger gunned. "Will do, Loo!"

Zooble snorted a laugh. Pomni just arched an eyebrow and looked from Ragatha to the Princess. Kinger was nearly vibrating with happiness as multiple candy butterflies landed on his head and hands. Gangle took the time to look around where she stood, taking in the atmosphere. Jax was teleported along with his kart to the start line. He lounged back in the seat with his feet on the dash. Caine beamed with pride. The racers were happy, so he was happy. Today was going to be a good day.

~

Even though Pomni won yesterday's race, she was at the back of the line because she had the fewest points. Being in the digital world, she didn't have a heartbeat but she still felt a thrumming anxiousness in her chest, knowing that this time she's on her own.

First light.

She grips the steering wheel.

Second light.

She revs the engine.

Third light.

She exhales.

GREEN!

She floors it and takes off. The start opens to the flatlands first, their karts leaving a trail of flying pink dust. This dust is easily spotted in the binoculars of the lead bandit staking out for the racers.

"There they are." Behind the binoculars was the lead bandit, Gummigoo. He and his gummy gator companions watched from a cliff on the edge of the flatlands. "Saddle up, lads. Time to go get ourselves some syrup." His buddies revved their motorbikes, giddy with excitement. Gummigoo mounted his bike and took off down the cliff face, his companions not far behind.

Pomni and the others came to the first round of surprise boxes. She was about to collect one when Jax side swiped her out of the way at the last second. "Gotta be quicker than that, noobie!" He laughed, having successfully stolen the item.

Pomni kept control but lost some speed and couldn't retaliate against Jax. She opted instead to hit a booster lane that led to a jump and a syrup crate. She hit the crate and it tethered itself to the back of her kart.

~

"Pomni's the first to claim a crate!" Caine announced from his booth. "But the bandits have spotted them and are catching up fast!"

Bubble was with him, but instead of co-hosting, they opted to chewing the scenery. Literally.

~

Pomni dodges a flying shell from Kinger as the track splits around a mountain. She and Gangle end up on one side as the others split off. Their road becomes a bridge across a fudge rivene. She finally collects an item when she hears a third engine rapidly approaching. She turns to see Gummigoo, alone, gunning straight for her.

~

"The racers have split up! I can't believe this, folks!" Caine was hovering over the desk that displayed multiple points of view of the race. "Four racers have chosen to go down the valley, but with two bandits on their tail, I don't know if they'll make it out of there without the syrup falling into the wrong hands! Haha!"

Bubble nommed on the side of the desk and saw Caine's cane waving around in front of them. In that moment, everything looked like candy, so they chomped down. They left nothing but the top part in Caine's hand.

"You parasite!" Caine popped Bubble and telescoped his cane back to full length.

~

Pomni activated her item and an old work boot appeared. Hoping it would help, she tossed it behind her at Gummigoo. The boot flew over his head.

"Ha! Missed me!" But a shadow overhead made him look up. The boot had honed in on him, grew impossibly large and came down on him with a cartoony splat. It vanished and Gummigoo had been squished down to tiny size, making him much slower for bit.

"Nice one, Pomni!" Shouted Gangle.

~

Ragatha and Kinger had crates of syrup. Zooble got theirs stolen and Jax was more concerned with what would happen if someone fell into the river of fudge they were racing along. He got an item and smiled when he saw Caine's cane in his hand. He hit the brakes, forcing the bandits behind him to swerve apart, and raises the cane high.

"Who wants to go swimming?" He throws the cane and it flies in a wide arc in front of him, hitting everyone. They all spin out, Ragatha more so when Jax hits her kart and takes her crate for himself. "See ya, suckers!"

~

"OH! Not a very sportsman like move from Jax! But he's moved up to 1st and now has a huge lead on the competition!" Caine would be on the edge of his seat if he had one.

~

Ragatha spun like a top into Kinger, who hit Zooble, who hit the taller of the two bandits, who went into the fudge. The fudge roiled and churred and the bandit went under. The shorter bandit skidded to a halt to help his friend but then the fudge began to rise. A face emerged from the gooey chocolate and laughed a horrible rumbling laugh.

~

"Oh no, folks! It looks like the monster has noticed the racers! They better get out of there before they get fudged up!"

Bubble reappeared and casually nommed on a lamp.

~

Waves of fudge splashed towards them as the racers swerved around to avoid getting hit. "What is that thing!?" Ragatha screamed as she dodged a chocolate wave.

"I don't know, but things certainly just got more interesting!" Zooble shouted back.

Kinger casually pulled ahead, away from the monster. The track was going back up into the hills. He spotted Jax and activated his saved item. A purple seashell. It rocketed away and off in the distance, Jax got sniped. He celebrated with a quiet fist pump.

~

Jax got hit by the shell were the track merged to one again. Pomni zoomed by him but Gangle took advantage of him spinning out and stole his crate. "Thanks, Jax!" He angrily shook off the shell and raced after her.

Gummigoo quickly caught up to the three leaders pushing his bike to it's limit. He ignored Jax and tried to grab Pomni's crate. Pomni caught him out of the corner of her eye, hitting he brake and swerved at him to throw him off. He backed away with a growl, locking eyes with Pomni. He was going to take her crate specifically on principle for doing that. He got close again, much more aggressively, but this time, Gangle wanted to help.

She swerved at Gummigoo a bit too aggressively, hitting his bike and making him clip into Pomni's kart. The clipping attached them and their vehicles started violently shaking and jolting. They spun into the ground, causing the glitch to worsen until they were thrown from their vehicles.

Gangle and Jax moved away from the chaos and barely caught what happened when the vehicles were suddenly launched into the air out of sight.

~

Caine was so caught up in the monster mayhem, he missed the glitch. Not that he could hear his wacky watch over his own excitement as it alerted that a racer was out of bounds.

~

While the kart and bandit motorbike went skyward, Pomni and Gummigoo were thrown downward. They fell and fell and fell, the bright colorful world above fading to deep navy blue grided walls.

They both fell hard on the flat untextured ground. The wind knocked out of them both, they struggled to get up. Pomni looked up, then around. She vaguely recognized where she could be. It looked like the area she found herself in when she ran from Kaufmo. Caine's workshop, so to speak.

Gummigoo groaned and adjusted his hat. He glared at Pomni. "Where are we? What's all this?" He gestured to their surroundings, random parts maps and assets were everywhere.

Pomni rubbed her shoulder. "I- I don't really know. We're probably under the map."

"Map?" Gummigoo looked up. The light from above was barely visible this far away. "I don't understand."

"Oh boy..." Pomni mumbled to herself. "Well, we're ya know...in a game?" She said carefully.

Gummigoo looked at her like she was crazy. "Game? What game? I've lived a whole life up there! That syrup you racers where hauling would've saved my mum!"

"...you have a mom?" She was flabbergasted. This NPC bandit was acting like a real person being told their world is fake.

"Yes! She-...she was...She needs the syrup for..." His eyes widened. He couldn't remember the exact reason for his motivation. He couldn't remember what she even looked like. He angrily snapped at Pomni. "What is going on!? Why can't I remember!?"

She flinched, seeing real pain in his digital eyes. "Because...you don't really...um..." She looked to the side. Rows and rows of asset charters were lined up like chess pieces by height and genre. The newest ones were on the end. She looked back at Gummigoo with sympathy and pointed to the Candy Canyon bandit assets.

Gummigoo saw himself. He cautiously approached, reaching out to touch his face. It felt real. It was him but, no life behind his eyes. He jerked his hand away and saw his friends out of the corner of his eye, just as still and lifeless as himself. He started to hyperventilate and fell to his knees.

~

The others were on lap two. Jax, Gangle and Kinger successfully scored points for the crates. Gangle was worried. She kept looking up to see if Pomni's kart would come down, but the map was so big she couldn't see wear it could possibly fall on the track. There was also only one bandit now. The smallest of the original three was far less of a threat all by himself. He didn't know where Gummigoo went and he watched his friend get taken by the fudge monster. He was only going because he would finish the mission in their names. Gummi's mum needed that syrup and he was going to do it!

~

Gummigoo stared blankly at the floor. Everything was a lie. His life, his memories, the people he knew and thought he loved. Fake.

Pomni meanwhile was looking for a way back up. Of course, they could just wait for Caine, but who knows how long that would be. She didn't wander too far away from Gummigoo but had a good look around for a stairway or something. When that failed, she looked to the vehicle assets. The bandit bikes were there. Maybe they could use that? They glitched out of the map, maybe they could glitch back in. She tries starting a bike but it doesn't turn over. It's as lifeless as the other statue-like assets.

"[@#$&]" Pomni kicked the bike, only managing to hurt her own foot. She looked at the slumped over figure of the living Gummigoo. "Hey...you okay?"

He didn't look at her. "What do you think?"

She awkwardly fidgeted with her hands. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

"What is there to talk about?"

Pomni slowly approached. "I don't want to just leave you down here."

"Why not? I don't matter in the slightest. I'm...nothing." He took off his hat, holding it to his chest to find comfort in something familiar. Even if it wasn't real.

Pomni sat down next to him. "This may seem strange, but...I think I know the feeling." She sees the asset of him and quickly adds. "Well, maybe not the exact feeling, but feeling like you're nothing is not that uncommon. People even feel like that were I come from."

Gummigoo looked around and didn't see her face amongst the assets. "I assume you're not like me then?"

"No...not quite. But, for what it's worth. I'm stuck here too. I have no control over what's real or not, in this world or the other...but what I do have control over is what I do with myself. And I'm not going to take life sitting down. Are you?"

He thought for a moment. Then stood. "No. I'm not, but... What happens now?"

Pomni stood with him. "Well, I was thinking you could come back with me and the others. Become a racer. Maybe you could...be someone real with us. I just...I don't want you to feel like you're nothing. I don't want anyone to feel like that. And...the racers are pretty welcoming. Made me feel like I was a part of something rather quick. Maybe it can be the same for you?"

Gummigoo put his hat back on with a small smile. "You're a strange little character. I suppose I could give it a try." He looked to the assets of his companions. "All I ask is that we don't tell the lads. They're a couple of bright eyed yobbos. I don't want to drag them down with me."

"Makes sense. What's your name by the way?"

"Gummigoo, any idea on how to get out of here?"

"I had a few but they haven't worked. The only thing left to do is to walk."

Gummigoo looked to all the different tracks and assets. This was a weird and unknown world he was walking into. Made his head hurt. Ignorance truly was bliss in his case.

~

Bubble finally got fed up with the boss's wacky watch constantly going off and bit his wrist. Caine yelped and shook Bubble off his arm. "What was that for!?" The watch finally got his attention. "Oh no, a racer went out of bounds! The spoilers!" He vanished, leaving Bubble to munch on his equipment in peace.

~

Pomni and Gummigoo wandered aimlessly. There was no discernible pattern to where things ended or began. This "workshop", as Pomni came to mentally call it, was one of the most wildly chaotic spaces she had ever been in. Seems as though Caine was just as disorganized with his work as he was with his attention span.

"Hey, what's that over there?" Gummigoo pointed to a red door sitting out by itself in the distance.

Pomni squinted to read the print. She gasped. "An exit!" She ran to the door, Gummigoo right behind her. Her mind started to race with "what if". Could it possibly be THE exit? Was Caine hiding it here the whole time!?

Before she could grab the handle, Caine appeared between her and the door. "Pomni! My- oof!" Pomni ran smack into him.

Pomni grabbed Caine by the lapels of his coat and pulled him close to glare into his wild eyes. "Caine. What's that?" She pointed to the door behind him.

"Oh that? That's just a digital hallucination. Nothing to see there."

"I can see it too, mate." Gummigoo said flatly.

Caine snapped his fingers and the door poofed away. "You fell out of bounds, that's quite the fall. You probably hit your head. Come on let's get you back to the race. There is still one lap to go!"

"Wait, what about Gummigoo?" Pomni kept her grip tight.

"Gummi-who? Oh, your NPC friend here? What about him?" Caine shrugged.

"I want him to come with us."

Caine tried to figure out a response. "You want the NPC to rejoin the race? I can do that."

"No, I want him to come back to the Garage with us. I want him to become a racer. Caine, his reality has been shattered. He knows what he is. We can't just leave him with that knowledge. It would be cruel. Please, let him figure himself out like I've had to the last couple of days." She loosened her grip.

Caine looked from her to Gummigoo and back. "Would letting him join make you happy?"

Pomni looked back at Gummigoo. "Yes. I need all the friends I can get."

Gummigoo felt his first real emotion after the existential dread nearly drowned him. He felt comforted by Pomni's compassion.

"Welp, your wish is my command. Let's get you both back topside." He grabbed their arms and teleported to the start line. He snapped his fingers and Pomni's kart and Gummigoo's bike appeared. "Go on, you two! The race will be over soon!"

Pomni looked back at Caine from her kart. "Don't think I forgot about that door, Caine. I know what I saw." She revved her kart and zoomed off, Gummigoo followed.

Caine hovered by himself next to the start line. The roar of the NPC spectators faded into the background as his code felt heavy with dread. He needed to do something about that door.

~~~

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