Inside Marathon's Player Center, a young man wearing a fox onesie trotted down one of the hallways. His padded suit's feet brushed along the carpet, and reflected in the polished wood paneling of the walls. A couple of tails dangled behind – not an ordinary fox, but one inspired by Japanese legends.
The man's face was all that could be seen, under a hoodie resembling the fox's head, ears, whiskers, and all. He had boyish features, but a worried expression dominated him. His fingers clung to a fresh mug of coffee.
The fox reached a sliding door, which led into the Navigator's Access. Inside, multiple stations were set up for virtual reality. Three rows of four stations each. A handful were occupied. They were the eyes and ears of Marathon's speedrunners.
One of the navigators, a buff man of African lineage with large and long dreads, turned in his swivel gaming chair that read 'RACEWAY' on the headrest. His clothing style denoted his flashy fashion sense, especially with the color red. He shot a pitiable smile, "Did they figure it out?"
"Yeah, we're back online. Whoever sent that trojan's a real piece of work. It had IT in a tizzy," the fox, Talis, found his station and plopped into his chair with discontent. The other navigators were too busy to focus on the conversation. Which was probably a good thing, "Not to mention Tristan's yelling his edgy soliloquies down the hall. That didn't help."
"How is he?"
"He's basically throwing a tantrum. Boss man's trying to calm him down right now," Talis rolled his neck and stretched. He tapped a blonde-haired bobblehead on the side of his desk to calm his own nerves.
"Tristan can always earn his points back by beating Gamer in the race. Plus more," the African man pointed out.
"I think he's more concerned with the humiliation, Nuckolls. The internet is eating him alive," Talis refused to even look at his social feeds.
"He needs to learn how to let things go. Like water off a duck's back. Or maybe some good ol' therapy."
"Yeah, right, he's too prideful...and stupid."
"Natsuki's still in – she's pulling a hype train," Nuckolls honed in on his computer.
"Seriously? She's gonna be the death of me," Talis slipped on his virtual gloves and headset. He initiated the startup.
"Eeeh, you may want to give her a moment..." Nuckolls just saw her livestream. His expression was a mix of shock and embarrassment.
"The sooner she's out, the happier Marathon will be," Talis jumped right in. The headset, already linked to his neural drive, induced unconsciousness. Soon thereafter, Talis navigated the virtual space, finally free from the malware that inadvertently appeared in his systems.
Talis connected to Sonia's IP address, secured a comm link, and her stream began to load. Her character data filled one side of his vision. He sent, "Oh, boy, I tell you what. Whoever hacked my system is nasty. But we bypassed their blocks and I'm back in business! Oh, and just as a warning, Shade is on his way back |-_-"| Prepare yourself."
Sonia barely registered what Talis said, "Yeah...okay..."
"|╭ರ_•́| What's going on, Sonia? Are you..."
The stream loaded in. Talis saw Sonia, leaned back on the edge of the hut's bed. She looked haggard; her lips were slightly parted and her breathing unsteady. Her legs hooked over Asterion's shoulders, and his muzzle was buried in her groin. She held onto his horns like handlebars on a motorcycle.
"Sonia!" Talis audibly gasped.
"Daijōbu, I changed the stream to Adult," Sonia hung her head back, enraptured.
"That's not the concern! |ᗒᗩᗕ| Why are you colluding with the enemy?!"
"I invited him in for a bite to eat," Sonia snickered to herself, before hissing.
"Sonia!" Talis felt like a big brother.
"Oyasumi, Talis," Sonia giggled, and closed his window.
The brush of Asterion's muzzle across her lower quarters sent shivers up her spine. Her eyes yearned for delight, "I'm not going to lie, Asterion; I am so attracted to your avatar. I love hairy men. Now, let me see your monster..."
"You speedrun sex, too?" Asterion pulled his face out from between her legs.
"I'm a horny hedgehog. Don't keep me waiting."
Asterion cracked a smile and stood up. He began to undo his sash. Sonia wiggled in anticipation, her eyes following every motion.
"Fair warning: since you're petite, it may not go well for you," Asterion cautioned.
He offended her, "What, are you a coward? You're not leaving this hut until you break me."
"I've killed people with this weapon," Asterion tried to scare her. Big mistake; his words only intensified her anxious needs.
"Oh, yeah? That sounds hot as fuck. Irete hoshii!" Sonia spread her legs in a wide V. Her assertiveness in the face of danger disarmed the minotaur.
"Honestly, I think you and Gamer would get along," Asterion tossed his sash aside. His pants hung low, and gave the adrenaline junkie a nice portion of his happy trail to stare at.
"Mmm, and why do you say that?" Sonia doubted it.
"Same energy," Asterion removed his scarf next. "It must be a younger generation thing."
"Pfft, whatever he can do, I can do better. Don't compare me to a cheater. In the end, ya vyigrayu."
Asterion closed in on her, and darkened his countenance. His thighs aligned with hers, and his mound met hers, "You know, if we continue down this path, I could easily claim your high score. Six hundred thousand is a nice haul."
Asterion squeezed a single hand around her throat. Not enough to cut air, but enough pressure to stimulate the adrenaline addict. Sonia stifled some pleasurable breathing, and her glowing eyes remained. She continued to pierce him with seductive eyes, "I bet you'll cum before I die."
"Is that a Gamer's Gambit?" Asterion smirked.
"Da..." Sonia smirked.
Just then, Shade burst through the hut door. Asterion and Sonia stared at him, and he stared back at them. He erupted, "What in the Seven Hells is this?!"
Shade equipped a gnarly shotgun made from the bones of different animals. He cast it towards Asterion, but Sonia yelled, "Damare, kono yarō!"
Her words practically disarmed him, "Huh?"
"We're banging, dude! You can't just cock block me! Put the gun down or I'll personally make sure you get a second dose of embarrassment today!"
"Are you deranged? I will do no such thing! He aligns with Gamer!"
"Just so we're clear, I'm better at perfect guarding than Gamer is," Asterion glared down the barrel of the shotgun. Sonia loved his veiled threat. The minotaur then pointed a finger to the window, "Besides, you don't want to anger them a second time."
Shade turned to see two women peeking through the hut's window. It was Shivervale and IronRat. A yandere expression made Shivervale appear sinister, while IronRat remained chibi and cute. Shivervale spoke with a hint of homicide, "You wouldn't be threatening our good friend Asterion, would you?"
"I am Satan!" IronRat reminded everybody. It was unorthodoxly adorable next to Shivervale's questions.
Shade's face reddened, from a plethora of emotions. He wanted to attack Asterion, murder Gamer, and level Sonia with demeaning insults. His mind numbed upon visions of ripping the Vtubers limb-from-limb. However, he lowered his weapon. This satisfied the wolf Vtuber, "Oh, good choice! Thanks! Now have fun, heheh!"
The Vtubers left them alone. Shade glared daggers at Asterion, "You're lucky to have those sluts on your side, old timer. I'd show you how much karma I've accrued, otherwise."
"Maybe if you didn't insult people so much, you'd have allies, too," Asterion retorted, and Sonia simply nodded in agreement.
"I didn't insult you, stupid!"
The minotaur rolled his eyes and shrugged, "I'm gonna plow Sonia now. You can stay and watch, or leave. I don't care."
Sonia melted into a puddle on the bed and squeaked, "Ye..."
"Filthy, low-life noobs..." Shade turned on his heels and exited the hut.
He slammed the door shut and paced away. He barely heard Sonia's gasps under the bull man's weight. "Ah! Ikisou! Iku..."