Recaptured Memories (1/?)
“What!? No way! You can’t do that!”
Sandra looked around the room curiously. She was sure she had heard a voice, a girl’s voice, but all she saw was some weathered furniture and all the sand that had collected over the years. Where had it come from?
Neo looked up from what he was doing and noticed the confused look on her face. “Sandra? Something wrong?”
Sandra hesitated but shook her head. “No, it’s nothing. I just thought I heard—”
“Oh, ho! I assure you, Miss SugarSprinkle, that I can do whatever I please~”
That had been a different voice, and Sandra still couldn’t decide where they were coming from. It sounded like they were coming from everywhere at once, but that wasn’t possible. Sandra spun in a circle. They had to be coming from somewhere.
Neo took a step toward Sandra and frowned. “You sure you’re okay? You’re acting kinda strange…”
“No!” Sandra answered, quickly shaking her head, “I mean yes! I just…didn’t you hear that?” Sure, the voices may have been a little muffled, but surely he should have been able to hear them.
“Hear what?” Neo bit his lip. “Sandra, if you don’t want to do this right now, that’s okay. You’re still healing. No one would think less of you if you want to go h—”
“But this is my home!”
Sandra suddenly felt as though someone was tying to drive a white-hot spike between her eyes. She screamed and dropped to her knees, her hands pressed against her face. There was a hand on her shoulder, and she could hear Neo’s voice. ‘What’s wrong? Where does it hurt? Calm down. It’s going to be okay…’ As the pain piercing through her skull grew worse, his voice grew fainter and fainter, until she couldn’t hear him at all. She couldn’t feel his hand on her shoulder anymore.
And then suddenly the pain stopped.
“But, my dear, you’re the only racer who lives out here. Surely, we can accommodate you in a more populated area of the game.”
Sandra frowned and opened her eyes. The voices were clear now, and she could tell where they were coming from. She turned to looked and her eyes widened.
The room she was in now was spotless. No missing doors or piles of sand collecting in the corner. It almost looked brand new. And there, standing on either side of the desk, were two racers. King Candy and…herself.
No. Not quite. That wasn’t her. It was Saharandra.
“But I don’t need to be ‘accommodated’ in another part of the game. I live here!” Saharandra argued. Funny. Sandra didn’t think Saharandra looked so bad when she wasn’t stabbing or threatening her. In fact, she didn’t have any of that ill-will in her eyes at all. She just looked upset.
Sandra stood up and walked toward the desk. This was surreal. What was happening? She stopped next to Saharandra and stuck her hand out, only to have her fingers pass straight through her. What was this?
“No, you don’t!” King Candy answered, slamming his fist down on the table. Sandra flinched. Saharandra didn’t. “Not anymore. This whole area is being vacated and the track will no longer be used.”
Saharandra scowled. “It’s not fair to discontinue a track just because you’re not good at it!”
King Candy paused, narrowing his eyes. “…What was that?”
“The only reason you’re getting rid of this track is because you’re bad at it. This isn’t about the temperature being a problem. If it were, the snowy courses would have to be removed too. But they’re not. You’re not doing this to be ‘fair.’ You’re doing it because you’re a sore loser!”
There was a tense silence, and then King Candy sighed, knitting his fingers together. “…You know, Miss SugarSprinkle, it’s so much hassle trying to reprogram an avatar.”
Saharandra frowned, clenching her hands into fists. “Excuse me?”
“Oh, you know,” King Candy went on, a sickly sweet tone creeping into his voice, “When someone’s becoming a problem, all you have to do is change them and it goes away. Except it’s not all that easy to do. Easier than trying to get rid of someone entirely, but it’s still no picnic. There’s a lot of work put into something like that, what with having to reprogram entire personalities and backstories and what have you.” King Candy giggled, and Sandra stepped back from the desk. He may not have been tangible, but she didn’t like where this was going.
“Are you threatening me?” Saharandra asked.
King Candy grinned. “Now, now, hold on! I haven’t gotten to the best part! Because you—! You, my dear, are different. I’ve seen your code, and I know what fun surprises it has in store.”
Saharandra was getting more agitated the longer he spoke. “What are you talking about?”
“Why, all your old, unused code of course! There’s the potential for an whole new person inside you. One with no memories or a bullish personality to deal with. A whole new racer. Saharandra 2.0, if you will, though her coding is older than yours…” King Candy waved a hand dismissively. “Anyway, all I have to do is switch off your coding and switch on hers. Then I can get rid of this accursed desert track without having to deal with you!”
“I won’t let you do that!” Saharandra cried, “You can’t!”
“Ah, but I can.” King Candy snapped his fingers and the door burst open. Sandra just barely caught sight of Saharandra being grabbed from behind before the pain returned, forcing her to close her eyes again.
It only lasted a brief moment, but Sandra felt her knees go weak. Everything felt heavy. She was just about to collapse when someone caught her under the arm. For a split second she imagined Saharandra being grabbed again, and she tried to struggle out of the grip.
“Sandra! Sandra, stop! Calm down!” It was Neo. She was back in the run-down version of the building. King Candy and Saharandra were gone.
Sandra blinked and glanced back at Neo. “Wh-…What?”
“Hm?” Neo’s eyebrows shot up. “Wait, are you responding to me? You finally came to your senses!”
Sandra frowned. ‘Came to my senses? What are you talking about?”
“Well…you were walking around earlier but it was like you couldn’t hear or something… I was really worried. Come on, I’m gonna help you back to the kart. You need to go home and rest.”
“No!” Sandra answered, struggling helplessly in his grip, “Wait! Not yet. I… I learned something.”
“…Learned something?”
Sandra nodded, though the motion made her dizzy. “It was King Candy.”
Neo raised an eyebrow. “…What was King Candy?”
Sandra was finding it a little difficult to think, but she tried her best to answer.
“It was… It was before. With Saharandra. King Candy… He…” Sandra frowned as a wave of exhaustion washed over her. She blinked and opened her mouth to finish what she was saying, but then the world went out of focus and she passed out.