Ahead on the track, emotions rose up in Sonia. She passed by the tennis courts and was well on her way to the finish line. The audience stands came into view off to her left. She could see the wild, dark tendrils wrecking the structures like an eldritch void. Her anxiety matched her adrenaline – but her lifelong goal steadied her nerves.
"While Shade is running wild, Sonia is about to win the race," Nathaniel informed the world with his booming voice. He already knew the fate of Shade, and was informed to ignore the disturbances. "Nobody can catch up with the blue blur! With that, we...what's this now? It appears Gamer and his team have taken to the center of the track. Could it be...Asterion is about to attack Gamer!"
Sonia tuned in to the video boards to witness what was going on behind her. At the same time, a eurobeat remix of Kickstart My Heart sounded throughout the entire event.
Gamer stood in the middle of the track, his back turned to a lamenting Shade, and facing Asterion. Minnie bobbed her head along to the music DJ Samira provided.
Gamer took out the star mint and held it close to his mouth. Sweat dampened his forehead, "Gotta time it just right..."
Asterion lowered his head and body, and his countenance darkened. His muscles defined and tensed, and his skin reddened. The veins of the muscles bulged, and steam rose up from the heat buildup. He extended an arm to the side. The energy output from the minotaur made the ground shutter and air vibrate.
Gamer gulped down the star mint. Asterion scowled and, with pupil-less eyes and an echoing voice, lunged, "Nuclear Clothesline!"
Asterion dashed with incredible speed and smashed his arm into Gamer's chest. The destructive power could evaporate skin and tear bones like paper. The impact reshaped the land with a cataclysmic shockwave. However, as that force enacted on Gamer, the star mint kicked in. His skin and eyes flashed through the spectrum of star colors. His body resisted the killing blow, but they timed it just right to conserve the blowback effect. Asterion's Ultra shot the invincible Gamer like a shooting star.
Gamer flipped, flopped, and skidded across the ground with no real control at high speeds. He cut through the rain and left an afterimage in its momentary wake. He could control his limbs and twist around, but he headed in one unstoppable direction.
"...legalize lootboxes and conquer cringe!" Shade finished his rambling. His eyes widened as the starlight cascaded upon him and the image of Gamer approaching at supersonic speeds overwhelmed him. Gamer hit him with the hottest, spinning nae nae.
"G A M E R!!"
Shade's tendrils tried to catch Gamer, but his speed and invincibility eviscerated them. He plowed through Shade, and the dark entity digitized with a harrowing, glitched roar. Shade's pixels scattered in the wind as Gamer's body shot forward.
"Headshot," Asterion snorted.
The audience stands were freed from the darkness and tendrils, as they too digitized. Half the stands remained, and these survivors whimpered and cowered. They slowly realized Shade's onslaught was over. What punctuated it were the maniacal claps and laughter from Sweet Heart. He stared up at the video boards. The remaining crowd picked up the noise. They rooted for Gamer, with appreciation and reverence. Plenty of people online reported Gamer's 'heroism'.
"Are you serious?!" one of the councilors beat his fist against the VIP platform's railing.
The second councilor put his hands over his head, shocked beyond belief. He looked to Chad, and saw the fainting remains of pixels leaving his spot. He logged out. The other two cursed Gamer and followed suit.
Gamer skipped across the course with high velocity. The lackatoes could barely keep up. Any rock or course foundation that jutted up broke upon Gamer bouncing across it. The flytraps and squids he hit were obliterated.
Nathaniel narrated above the overzealous crowd, "Gamer has been sent flying by Asterion! Somehow he decimated the dark threat! He is barreling towards the blue blur!"
"Sonia, watch..." but before Talis's text could finish, Samira returned with a vengeance. She unleashed more distractions on the fox boy. It worked, and their avatars bumped corners.
"Here's a link for butthole enlargement pills! Use responsibly!" Samira sent.
"Tempting, but I don't think so!" Talis deleted.
"How about hot single grandmas near you?" Samira introduced a bunch of AI-generated elderly ladies asking for Talis to call.
"Sorry, but I'm married!" Talis was immune.
"Dah! Why can't I beat you? You're too hard!"
Talis ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°) and Samira (≖‿ ≖ )
"Would you two..." Sonia took a moment to close both their windows. That's when Gamer's spinning body appeared in her peripheral vision. She swerved to avoid his glimmering form.
He gifted her, while spinning like a pinwheel, a middle finger and a snarky grin, "I'm not losing!"
"Masaka!" Sonia gawked.
Nathaniel shouted like an overenthusiastic soccer mom, "Gamer is tied up with Sonia and shows no sign of slowing down!"
"Go, Gamer, go!" Asterion and Minnie wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders and cheered. Samira ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝, imitating many of those who watched online. Sweat Heart's wild eyes watched with piqued interest. Reaction creators, livestreamers, and all who attended were ballistic at the neck-and-neck race. Gamer, through tenacity and insanity, won the public over.
He pulled ahead. The motorcycle's speedometer rattled inside the redline, but unlike Gamer, Sonia fought the friction of the road. Gamer moved into first place. His lead increased from a few inches, to a few feet, and then some.
"Ofiget!" Sonia gritted her teeth. They weren't close enough to the finish line for her to pop a gem. She'd putter out, and Gamer would claim victory.
"Gamer claims the lead! He's going to win!" Nathaniel's voice cracked. It was no longer about stopping the cheater. It was about the nail-biting finale.
"Cheaters don't win..." Sonia took out one of her gems. She popped open the nitrous injection lid.
"Woah!ヽ|°〇°|ﾉ Wait, Sonia! You can't put a gem into the motorcycle! We don't know what that will do!" Talis warned.
Sonia's helmet rings became fully lit up. She jammed the gem in the motorcycle and screamed with mania, "Chaos!"
"Hey, that's my line!" Gamer glared over.
The energy from the gem fed through the motorcycle like a neon light. Its exhaust sputtered out flames that grew bigger with each spit. The whole vehicle rattled and kicked, buckled and struggled. Sonia clung onto the handlebar like she was bull riding.
Then the motorcycle exploded.
Through the smoke and the flames, after the crowd cried out in sorrow, Sonia flew out. She clung onto the handlebar, as it and the front of the motorcycle were all that was left of her machine. The gem completely destroyed the back half, replaced by a glowing streak of blue flames. The speed it produced outdid the motorcycle and matched Gamer's. Sonia flapped like a cape, her helmet flung off, and the wind hit her face with powerful force.
"I can't believe it!" Nathaniel gasped. His energetic cries personified the world's reaction.
The lackatoes faltered behind at such speeds, and instead set up ahead of the racers at the finish line. They switched feeds each time Gamer and Sonia rocketed by. This proved short-lived, since the two racers' turbulence created wind pressures that sent the lackatoes flying.
From what was captured on the brave, feet-pervs' recorders shocked the world. Gamer busted out laughing and straightened headfirst. He skipped along the track like a smooth rock over a lake surface. Sonia locked in and closed her mouth into a wild smile, snickering with crazed determination.
"They're both laughing!" Minnie found it infectious and laughed too.
"A couple of crazies..." Asterion joined in.
"Woah!" Gamer let out.
"Yeah!" Sonia joined in.
Nathaniel narrated, "Gamer and Sonia can't break away from one another! They are neck-and-neck! I can't tell who's going to win!!"
First place shifted between the two, neither holding onto it for more than a second. Sonia's unreliable gem-infused motorcycle ebbed. Their speed ripped up the track behind them and left a streak of destruction. The debris scattered across the beach and dumbfounded the potentas and lackatoes. The rain droplets shattered around them like glittering glass.
The star mint faded and made Gamer vulnerable again. Sonia's motorcycle failed and broke apart. Each bulleted forward with absolute resolve. Time seemingly froze for everybody watching right when they reached the finish line. A lackatoe nervously sat at the line, knowing the backlash to come, with a picture perfect frame to catch the winner.
Gamer and Sonia crossed the finish line at the exact same time and destroyed it in the process.
Nathaniel sheared his proclamation through the uproarious reaction across the world, "It's a tie!"