Haze pt 1: START

Announcer:

Five…Four…Three…Two…One…Volcano Advanced Race begin!

Segun:

Woot! Let’s do this!

Racer:

Hey, s-stay in your own lane!

Segun:

Oh, sorry. I didn’t know. I’m not supposed to cross this chalky line?

Racer:

What are you, n-new to racing?

Segun:

Well, this is only my third race, and it’s my first as far as Advanced races go. Will we have lanes the whole time?

Racer:

No, j-just until we reach that lake up ahead.

Prima:

Don’t look so cute with your hand on the back of your head and fluffy tail waving, Segun. Look, you’ve got him blushing and all flustered.

Racer:

I-I’m not…Wait, are you Prima and Segun from the Expert Race?

Prima:

That’s us. Feel free to bow and bask in our glory.

Racer:

You look d-different in person.

Segun:

We’ve changed a bit since we were in the Expert Race.

Racer:

Yeah, weren’t Prima’s wings s-smaller…and purple?

Segun:

She got that monarch butterfly pattern as a prize for being my assistant in the Expert Race.

Prima:

Everyone who crosses the finish line of the Expert Race gets a prize because it’s a bit of a big deal.

Segun:

Because she applied the pattern just before we went into our Third Cocoon, it got rendered on her wings in black and azure.

Racer:

What p-prize did you get?

Segun:

Mine isn’t as noticeable right away.

Prima:

Or at all, really, if you want to be technical.

Segun:

Prima, you cheater, don’t just fly over the lake.

Prima:

It’s not cheating. It’s using my assets. Flying is faster than leaping across those steppingstones.

Racer:

The c-cave’s getting shorter anyway. She won’t be able to f-fly for much longer.

Segun:

This is such a beautiful cave, isn’t it? I mean, it’s not just a plain pond with boring steppingstones. The water sparkles, glowing almost, and its light draws squiggles on the ceiling and walls. Even the moss seems like art, like flowers and willow branches.

Racer:

Are you m-mocking the rest of us, commentating on the s-scenery and spinning while the rest of us are doing our best just to keep up while running in a s-straight line?

Segun:

No, I just think a lot of work went into crafting our surroundings, and I’m appreciating it. I love racing, and I’d never use it as a chance to mock anyone.

Racer:

You could have f-fooled me. You b-begin in the lowest-ranked start space, then prance around like this race is nothing. It probably is n-nothing to someone like you who came in the top three at the Expert Race.

Segun:

It’s not nothing. It means the world to me to be able to race. Like I said, this is only my third, and—

Racer:

So what are you going to d-do, play around and make us look bad for a decade until the next Expert Race c-comes along?

Segun:

I’m sorry if it seems like I’m trying to make you look bad. I’m not. I’m just trying to appreciate every moment of being here.

Racer:

Hey, don’t— Your fox ears are— Don’t hold them all c-crooked and sad like that. My heart can’t take it.

Segun:

Will you forgive me?

Racer:

Gah, halfway up like that is w-worse!

Prima:

Don’t kill him with your cuteness, Segun. Look, he’s turning the color of a tomato, and I think he’s forgotten how to breathe.

Racer:

~COUGH-COUGH~

Prima:

Poor guy, just before we have to go underwater, too.

Segun:

Wait, we have to go down?

Prima:

Unless you plan on carving a path through that solid rock wall, but there should be a much easier path beneath it.

Segun:

I’d believe you, but there’s a net only about knee-deep beneath the surface.

Prima:

Ow, my face!

Segun:

You should have listened to me before you dove.

Prima:

Hm, there has to be a way down there.

Racer:

Ag!!

Prima:

Aren’t you useful? Just gotta find another collapsible steppingstone. Here. This one looks slightly darker than the others.

Segun:

Wah!

Prima:

No fair finding one before me. You weren’t even really looking.

Segun:

Here. I’ll hold the flipping part of the net still so you can come through.

Prima:

I’m not your Second this time; I’m your competitor. Why are you helping me?

Segun:

Oh right. I guess that is kind of— Hey, wait up! Don’t just dive through after saying something like that!

~SPLASH~

Oh wow, the water’s actually very shallow. Thanks for catching me, Prima. Is there even anything below us, or does that blue stretch on forever?

Prima:

Lame-os who can’t fly should stay in the floating water.

Segun:

I get it. It’s like they’re still steppingstones, but now they’re liquid spheres, and I have to leap from one to the next.

Prima:

They had to go and try to make this complicated for fliers, too, with all these waving nets. How inconvenient to have to weave between the spheres to find the next openings.

Segun:

I’d tell you that you fly so gracefully ~SPLASH~ but I’m afraid it might go to your head.

Prima:

You should try to swim a little more gracefully. No one cheers for awkward penguins, and you know how much cheers help you.

Segun:

I’m not an ~SPLASH~ awkward penguin! ~SPLASH~ I move as ~SPLASH~ smooth and eloquently as ~SPLASH~ a dolphin.

Prima:

Keep telling yourself that.

Segun:

What happened to the other racer? ~SPLASH~

Prima:

He— Whoa, net, watch where you’re flapping. He has a stingray’s wings, so this is the perfect setup for him, gliding between spheres.

Segun:

Good. ~SPLASH~ Now he can’t complain it’s unfair when we catch up.

Prima:

You look like a drowned rat.

Segun:

And you look like a fly trying to dodge ~SPLASH~ spiderwebs.

Prima:

Alright nets, you’re annoying me.

Segun:

Prima, don’t breathe fire so close to me! ~SPLASH~

Prima:

It’s not like I hurt you.

Segun:

Someday I’ll get a mod that ~SPLASH~ lets me spit acid or something ~SPLASH~ and then we’ll see how much you like it.

Prima:

That’s just like you, to think up such a disgusting mod to give yourself. Guess you can’t really top my fire anyway.

Segun:

Just you wait. ~SPLASH~ I’ll have plenty of people ~SPLASH~ who think I’m cooler than you ~SPLASH~ I’m just getting started!

Prima:

Oh, I’m so worried. Oops.

Segun:

Prima!

Prima:

I hiccupped. It wasn’t on purpose.

Segun:

Just like I happened to be ~SPLASH~ in the last startup space. ~SPLASH~ I bet you rigged that, too.

Prima:

Why would I do such a thing and place myself in the third worst spot, besides?

Segun:

Then why? ~SPLASH~ We’re talented racers. It just makes the others look bad.

Prima:

It’s a penalty because we were a no-show at the Quicksand Advanced Race.

Segun:

But that wasn’t our fault! Our Third Cocoon started. ~SPLASH~ Cocoons are unpredictable, and you can’t get out of one until it’s done.

Prima:

It was poor planning on the part of our masters. They were riding the high of our incredible win and didn’t plan very well. They knew our Cocoon was close. They shouldn’t have signed us up for anything.

Segun:

Then why did you get a better spot than Random Dude? ~SPLASH~

Racer:

My n-name is Fluffy.

Segun:

You don’t look very fluffy. ~SPLASH~ Your mods are ocean-based.

Fluffy:

~SIGH~ My master’s older s-sister set my name as a ~SPLASH~ joke. She didn’t realize names c-couldn’t be changed.

Segun:

I understand. Officially I’m ~SPLASH~ Segundo, but I prefer Segun. I’d change ~SPLASH~ it if I could.

Prima:

He should be Infundibulum for those octopus suckers on his arms.

Fluffy:

Don’t fly so c-close to me. ~SPLASH~

Prima:

I ate an octopus once.

Segun:

Then you threw it up. ~SPLASH~

Prima:

It was weird.

Fluffy:

P-probably not weirder than you. ~SPLASH~

Prima:

Rude, pushing me.

Segun:

~SPLASH~ Prima, you didn’t answer my question.

Prima:

Because the answer’s obvious. I won my last race. Clearly, he didn’t.

Segun:

My last race was the Expert Race, and I ~SPLASH~ came in second. That should count ~SPLASH~ more than if he came in second in some other ~SPLASH~ race. Why wasn’t I placed ahead of ~SPLASH~ him? Don’t shrug at me.

Prima:

Maybe he has a record of winning his races like I do. But it’s obviously not as good a record as mine.

Segun:

I also have a record of winning. ~SPLASH~

Prima:

Yeah, a record of two races, and your baby race doesn’t count.

Fluffy:

I think we’re just ~SPLASH~ g-going around in circles.

Prima:

You’re right. This conversation is pointless. Segun’s never going to get it.

Segun:

Look, this net looks thicker than the others. I think it stretches further, too. And the hashing is just wide enough for me to squeeze through.

Fluffy:

Prima, please don’t— You’re shaking the whole thing— Your wings won’t f-fit!

Prima:

My wings are— Ha, made it through! Don’t doubt me. My wings are awesome. Any statement otherwise is a falsehood.

Segun:

And there she goes, flying off like a drama queen.

Fluffy:

Showing off like a p-prodigy. I bet ninety percent of the c-crowd is rooting for Prima.

Segun:

Hm, the breeze is coming from below.

Fluffy:

No one ever notices the s-slimy octopus kid. I don’t think I’ve ever had more than t-two people root for me at once.

Segun:

Maybe you just need to do something a little more outstanding.

Fluffy:

Like what?

Segun:

Jump off this net with me.

Fluffy:

Um, there is literally n-nothing below us.

Segun:

Nothing but air.

Fluffy:

Your smile is f-freaking me out.

Segun:

Come on!

Fluffy:

Aggg! I want it on record that you m-murdered me! I didn’t jump of my own…we’re not falling. We’re rising!

Segun:

Because the breeze is pushing on your stingray wings. Spread them further, and I bet we’ll go faster.

Fluffy:

Wouldn’t I go faster if you weren’t c-clinging to me?

Segun:

You’d consider dropping me here?

Fluffy:

Well, if it would w-win me the race…why do your ears look like they’re challenging me?

Segun:

It wouldn’t win you the race. By strict physics, this breeze shouldn’t be strong enough to lift you, let alone both of us, but it is, and that means people are rooting for us. In this world, the love of the crowd can keep you from dying. But what do you think would happen if you purposefully dropped me?

Prima:

I might consider catching her. I mean, I don’t think Nil would let me live it down if I happened to let Segun die in her first Advanced Race.

Segun:

When you roll your eyes as you say such things, I can really see how much you care.

Fluffy:

Oof, the c-crowd couldn’t have given us a better landing?

Segun:

My landing was fine. It’s not the crowd’s fault you didn’t pull your feet under you when you saw we were nearing the edge here.

Fluffy:

I was d-distracted by the million copies of me. Are these all m-mirrors?

Segun:

Yeah, they are a little disconcerting. All distorted, too. Look at this one. I’m like a pear.

Prima:

Yes, quite the pair you make. A pair of slowpokes who’ll end up last in this race, just like they started.

Fluffy:

Was that the r-real Prima I just saw or another reflection?

Segun:

She’s scary either way, honestly.

Prima:

I heard that.

Segun:

I didn’t intend for you not to.

Fluffy:

I can’t t-tell what’s real and what’s a reflection. Oh, my head. I can’t even tell if I’m the real m-me!

Segun:

Just close your eyes and follow my voice, Fluffy. Ooh, this reflection of mine has a handlebar mustache, hahaha!

Fluffy:

Don’t break out in m-maniacal laughter. This place is c-creepy enough. ~BANG~ Ow, my face! Aggg!

Prima:

That’s how you know you’re well and truly ugly, when you open your eyes to see your own reflection and freak out.

Fluffy:

My r-reflection didn’t have a head. I didn’t have a h-head!

Prima:

You’d better leave him behind, Segun. He’s only going to get squeakier.

Segun:

Come on, Fluffy, have a little fun. Look, this reflection of mine has fangs instead of eyes.

Fluffy:

You f-find that fun!

Segun:

It’s not real, at least, so yeah, I’ll laugh at it because it’s silly. Here, you laugh at your ridiculous reflection, too. Take your hands off your eyes.

Fluffy:

No, you can’t m-make me. This doesn’t bother you at all because it’s n-normal for you.

Segun:

How would this be normal for me?

Prima:

Now you look like Nil with your hands on your hips and all lecture-ly.

Segun:

Prima, are you purposely doing laps around us?

Prima:

Well, I’m certainly not lost in this simple maze. Ow! Stupid mirror jumped right out in front of me.

Segun:

Punishment for lying?

Prima:

I could have dodged it had I wanted. Just wanted to see what it felt like.

Segun:

Fluffy, answer me. How do you think I have the advantage here?

Fluffy:

Because you and Prima have the s-same face. All these g-grotesque reflections, it’s what you see every day when you l-look at one another.

Prima:

Hahahaha! Hit the nail right on the head, Fluff-face.

Fluffy:

Really, would you j-just go? I might be able to m-make if I didn’t have to see so many reflections. I don’t like c-crowds.

Segun:

Oh. Well, good luck. Hopefully we’ll see you closer to the finish line.

Fluffy:

Yeah, w-whatever.

Segun:

Prima. Prima! Do you really think— Ow, stupid mirror. Do you really see me as a grotesque reflection of you?

Prima:

Certainly no one could mistake us for one another, despite us having the same basic face.

Segun:

But my mods are cuter. I mean, we both have golden eyes, but mine are more feline and yours more reptilian.

Prima:

Are you trying to say cats are cuter than dragons?

Segun:

A lot of people think so, yes.

Prima:

Next you’ll say your fox tail is better than my huge, dazzling wings, and we know that’s not true.

Segun:

Well, again, the masters always call me cute when I wag it. It is kind of heavy now that’s it’s longer, though. I wish it could go back to being smaller and fluffier like it was before our cocoon.

Prima:

And those ears sticking up stupidly and giving away your every emotion, you think they’re more appealing than my mask of scales?

Segun:

That part of you is actually a little scary. I mean, it looks like eyeshadow gone very wrong and exploding into a beak where your nose should be.

Prima:

Oh how the artist is misunderstood by those with no taste. Farewell to thee.

Segun:

Wait, Prima! Don’t just fly off. How am I supposed to get up there?

Segun:

Hmm, that must really be the path. This is a dead end…unless maybe I can dig through the wall. It would be useful to have someone like Knight along with me for this. Who designed this room anyway? Who puts spikes on the ceiling, then makes everyone go up through the middle of them?

Segun:

I hope this wasn’t the maze exit that only fliers were supposed to find. Maybe I should go back and—Wah!

Knight:

HAHA! I HOPED THAT TAIL OF YOURS WOULD STILL HILARIOUSLY FUZZ OUT WHEN YOU WERE FRIGHTENED.

Segun:

Why would you sneak up out of nowhere and throw me like that? I was almost impaled on the spikes.

Knight:

BUT NOW YOU ARE EXACTLY WHERE YOU NEED TO BE, LITTLE GIRL. DON’T PIN YOUR EARS BACK LIKE A HISSING CAT. I JUST SAVED YOU A LOT OF TIME.

Segun:

How is this where I’m supposed to be, clinging from the ceiling and trying not to get stabbed?

Knight:

YOU REALLY ARE DUMB, AREN’T YOU? LOOK BY YOUR RIGHT HAND. SEE THE BUTTON? YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO USE THE ROCK AND SEE-SAW IN THE CORNER TO GET UP THERE, AND NOW WE HAVE SKIPPED THE NEED FOR THAT STEP. PUSH THE BUTTON ALREADY.

Segun:

What does the button do exactly?

Knight:

WHY SO SUDDENLY SUSPICIOUS? DID YOU NOT WISH FOR MY PRESENCE?

Segun:

Are you here specifically as a result of that wish? Or is this all coincidence?

Knight:

HAPPENSTANCE LUCKY FOR YOU AND SURE TO DRIVE ME FROM MY MIND. PRESS THE BUTTON LEST I MUST RESORT TO THE SEE-SAW.

Segun:

Ah, it squealed. The spikes are moving! Eek!

Knight:

DON’T “EEK!” LIKE A HELPLESS WORM. JUST MOVE OUT OF THE WAY.

Segun:

I’ve never heard a worm go “eek!” even when Prima ate them. Ooh, there are blocks on top of the moving spikes. Should I jump on them?

Knight:

IF YOU CANNOT FIGURE OUT THAT MUCH, THEN THERE TRULY IS NO HOPE LEFT FOR YOU.

Segun:

They should have called this the Steppingstone Advanced Race.

Knight:

PERHAPS IF YOU WIN, THEY WIL DEIGN TO ALLOW YOU TO SUBMIT A NAME CHANGE SUGGESTION, BUT THAT IS A VERY LARGE IF.

Segun:

Hey, if. As if you think you’ll beat me. I beat you in the Expert Race, didn’t I?

Knight:

ONLY BECAUSE I WAS NOT COMPETING. I WAS REQUIRED TO STAY WITHIN A CERTAIN DISTANCE OF QUINTIS AND AID HIM.

Segun:

Yes, Quintis, the best, most famous racer ever, and together you still lost to Nil, Prima, and I. Because we’re amazing. Mostly Nil and I.

Knight:

DON’T DALLY OR I WILL LEAP ON YOU.

Segun:

Also, if I stay on a block too long, I’ll get scraped off when it slides under other spikes.

Knight:

NOT AS PRESSING A DANGER AS THE ONE I MENTIONED WILL HAPPEN IF YOU DON’ HURRY UP.

Segun:

I’m hurrying, I’m hurrying. How far does this vertical, spike-covered tunnel go, anyway? That button really activated a lot of platforms.

Knight:

MUST YOU SPEAK TO MOVE YOUR LEGS?

Segun:

Maybe? At least I don’t have to specifically tell them what to do. Any words work.

Knight:

FINALLY, THE TOP, WHERE I NO LONGER MUST BE STUCK BEHIND YOU DUE TO LACK OF STANDING ROOM.

Segun:

Not my fault you take up so much space. Oh, wow. And here I was wondering why this was called the Volcano Race. Just look at all these lava falls.

Knight:

MAGMA.

Segun:

What?

Knight:

WE ARE STILL UNDERGROUND, SO THAT BURNING, DELIQUESCED ROCK IS PROPERLY TERMED MAGMA.

Segun:

So fancy. Well, it’s gorgeous, all these deep reds and oranges. It’s slower than water, too, almost like time has slowed, or like I’m running super fast. Watch, I can even dart through one of these gaps before it closes.

Knight:

I SUPPOSE SUCH ANTICS WILL WIN YOU THE ATTENTION OF FANS.

Segun:

Oh, sometimes I forget they’re watching me. Knight, you said you’d be glad not to be stuck behind me, but you haven’t passed me yet.

Knight:

YOUR PACE IS DECENT NOW.

Segun:

I don’t think you can run fast enough to keep up with me. Wanna try it? Really go all out and sprint?

Knight:

ONLY IMMATURE CHILDREN WASTE ENERGY.

Segun:

Is it really a waste if— Oh! Well, that was close.

Knight:

FOR SHAME. SUCH A LOVELY ROCK THAT WAS.

Segun:

And that lava geyser totally hurled it against the ceiling. That rock would have been me if I hadn’t jumped back.

Knight:

I WOULD ADVISE WATCHING YOUR STEP.

Segun:

I don’t think it’s our steps. I mean, look at how huge your feet are, and you shake the ground. There’s no way you could navigate a minefield.

Knight:

UNDERESTIMATING YOUR OPPONENTS IS THE STRATEGY OF THE MOST TRAGIC LOSERS.

Segun:

What I’m saying is, well, just watch.

Knight:

THE LUMINOUS SPOT FOLLOWS YOU, EVEN WHEN YOU LEAP, AS IF IT CAN SEE YOU.

Segun:

Yep. If it went by touch alone, I think it would be more attracted to you than me, but it aims for me because I’m moving more.

Knight:

A TRAP FOR SMALLER, FASTER RACERS.

Segun:

But if it only goes after fast racers it can see…

Knight:

DID YOU JUST…ARE YOU STILL THERE?

Segun:

Over here now, actually!

Knight:

DID YOU TELEPORT?

Segun:

You really didn’t see me?

Knight:

I DON’T SEE YOU NOW.

Segun:

Boo!

Knight:

NOT AMUSING. AH, I SEE NOW. YOU HAVE CAMOUFLAGING SCALES.

Segun:

Chameleon skin. It’s the mod I got for finishing the Expert Race.

Knight:

INVISIBILITY. THAT’S A USEFUL MOD INDEED. VERY EXPENSIVE ON THE BLACK MARKET.

Segun:

I’m not going to sell it. Besides, it went through my Third Cocoon with me, so it’s a part of me now. I can’t remove it. I wouldn’t want to either.

Knight:

WOULD YOU NOT RIDE ON MY BACK? I AM NOT YOUR TEAMMATE.

Segun:

Oh, I was just avoiding the geysers. They seem not to care about your shuffling.

Knight:

GET OFF.

Segun:

Okay, grumpy. Now tell me what mod you got for finishing the Expert Race.

Knight:

SECONDS DO NOT WIN ANYTHING.

Segun:

But Prima did.

Knight:

YOU AND PRIMA ARE GLITCHES. I EXPECT NOTHING NORMAL FROM YOU TWO.

Segun:

Are you sure you didn’t get a super special mod from the Expert Race?

Knight:

IT WOULD BE A DIFFICULT THING FOR ME NOT TO NOTICE.

Segun:

Then what’s that black swirling, galaxy-like thing growing behind you?

Knight:

WHAT?

Segun:

Don’t stop and stare at it. Just run!

Knight:

I AM LOATH TO ADMIT IT, BUT THIS IS MY SWIFTEST SPRINT.

Segun:

Maybe if I win this race, I’ll submit a suggestion to change your name to Turtle. Move it, big guy! It is literally right behind you!

Knight:

I CANNOT SEE ANY CLAWS, BUT I FEEL THEM WRAPPED AROUND ME.

Segun:

Thrashing is only slowing you down. Keep running! Knight! Knight? Knight!!!! It just…it just swallowed him. Maybe…maybe it’s just a holding trap, and they’ll let him out when everyone else finishes the race. Yeah, I just have to get up and finish.

Segun:

But why do I feel so heavy, like I’m trying to run in water with a boulder strapped to my back? The finish line is right there.

Fluffy:

Ears all the way b-back like that? Something wrong?

Segun:

How can you move so freely? I feel like I’m stuck in molasses.

Fluffy:

Hey look, there are only f-five others waiting across the finish line. I won’t actually c-come in last this time. I might even b-beat you, so I won’t come in second-to-last either.

Segun:

Wait, there’s only you, me, and Knight left?

Fluffy:

No way I’m w-waiting. This is m-my chance!

Segun:

No I. Can barely. Move.

Prima:

Not that this isn’t normal, but you look awful, Segun.

Announcer:

All racers have crossed the finish line. Please form an array for the awards ceremony. First place, Prima.

Prima:

As if it was going to be any other way.

Fluffy:

I…I actually didn’t get in last. I d-didn’t get in last!

Segun:

Where is Knight? Announcer, are they going to let him out?

Announcer:

And isn’t this unexpected? Our last place racer has unlocked a rare mod, the Ally Rose.

Segun:

It’s beautiful, really, but I’m not in last place. Where is Knight?

Announcer:

Prepare yourselves, racers. You will be teleported back to your Kennels in three seconds.

Segun:

Wait, Knight’s still not here. Why aren’t you answering me?

Announcer:

Please unhand this NPC. There is no information relevant to your query.

Segun:

Knight! You must know him. He was right there just a moment ago. This void thing ate him, and he’s waiting for you to let him out.

Announcer:

There is no record of a racer designated Knight.

Segun:

No, that can’t be. He was just…

Server, I know you don’t talk to me anymore, but can’t you tell me this one thing? What happened? Is Knight dead? Why doesn’t the Announcer remember him? Please Server? This can’t be right!

Continued in pt 2

Thank you for reading!

This story is a sequel to Second, which can be found here: https://theprose.com/book/1671/second-a-synths-dialogue-only-story