Relay Season 1 Episode 2

Shuttlecock woke up, seeing a blur in her vision. Where was she? She remembered so much, yet understood so little about what was going on. All she remembered was falling off a pole, though even that was a bit fuzzy.

She stared at Feather, her eyes still rapidly blinking from waking up. There was an indescribable pain on her nylon, hurting yet starting to numb from her waking up. It wouldn't hurt this bad the entire time, would it...? She felt so tired.

All she remembered was being killed by them.

Feather was still perched up on their pole. Shuttlecock seemed to have taken an injury, and it looked severe. They tried not to draw any attention toward them anymore, especially since it seemed like they would be stuck together for a while. This would be forgotten when they woke up anyway, it didn't matter, right?

"You... Y-" Shuttlecock attempted to walk towards Feather, yet failed due to the imbalance caused by the hole in her nylon. She would just have to see this through at the moment. "You- look at wh-" She had a stutter in her voice, caused by the pain that she still felt from the fall from the pole. "Look at what you did!" she shouted towards Feather.

Feather peered down at Shuttle with guilt at the sound of their voice. What would they do now?

As soon as Feather tried to say something, Airy interrupted. “Okay, I’m… gonna eliminate someone now.”

Juicebox couldn't wait to leave! Finally, they'd be able to get out of this strange place. "YESSS!!! It's me, right?! Right?!” Any moment now they'd be able to report on their mysterious teleportation to another dimension.

“uh…” Airy didn’t know how to respond.

There was an awkward silence before Shuttlecock suddenly vanished.

Juicebox’s shining smile of anticipation immediately turned to a broken frown. They stumbled as they buried their face in their hands, not open to paying attention to anything.

“Wait- where in the hell did they go?!” Hexagon immediately looked around in a panic. “They just… disappeared!”

Display followed with their own comment, albeit more towards their fellow contestants. "...Isn't that how we all got here??"

Afterward, Display realized how Juicebox seemed to be broken, head in hands. They tried talking to them out of sympathy. "Oh, uh... Juice Box… a-are you... okay?"

Juicebox remained stationary.

“...Oh.” Display doesn’t pressure any further, and decided to leave them be.

Feather merely stared at Juicebox with slight concern. It wasn’t like they could be of much help.

Airy adjusted his mic. “Alright, now that Shuttlecock has been eliminated, before we start the challenge, I… want you all to meet the new contestants.”

Hexagon was in complete shock and immediately yelled in protest. ”Wait, you’re bringing MORE?! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

Lavadrop was almost as furious. “New contestants?! What are you thinking?? Are you out of your mind!?”

“Why wouldn’t you just send them here from the start?” Feather asked in a slightly annoyed tone.

Airy ignored the competitors’ arguing and proceeded to press a few keys. An egg yolk, a paint palette similar to that of the MS Paint logo, and a cyanide bottle all appeared - similarly out of nowhere.\*

“So, did I… wha..?” the yolk said, unaware of what had just happened. “Where’s the… contest? Where am I- Wha??”

The paint palette seemed to be just as confused, looking around at the other contestants. They slowly grabbed their paintbrush and drew small question marks in the air.

The cyanide bottle simply stood there, taking longer to process what was going on around them. They stared off into space, and could only ask one thing. “Where… the fuck am I?”

“...Airy? Who ARE these people?!” Lavadrop asks, looking up towards the sky.

Airy responded beautifully, with excruciating detail that cleared up any misconceptions. “They’re the… new contestants.”

"contestants?" the yolk looks puzzled. "but... i was already... in.. a competition." the yolk said.

The paint palette walked over to the yolk and hit them with their paintbrush out of frustration. Said yolk slowly turned around and stared at the paint palette in response. “I hope you choke and die, paint palette.”

The paint palette in question was appalled. They repeatedly hit the yolk with their paintbrush to retaliate. However, said yolk had had enough. They extended two white arms, gripped the object’s edges, and tore the palette in half.

Feather saw the cold-blooded murder happening close by. They’d witnessed a death just a few hours ago, but this one had been violent and on purpose. Disturbed, they started backing away, eventually turning to walk farther and farther from where everyone else was. They were still trying to wrap their head around whether anything around them was real - this certainly didn’t help.

Lavadrop, while missing the murder, did notice Feather running away. They proceeded to follow them, plopping down on the grass next to them and beginning to talk. “I don’t get this guy, man.”

Feather remained silent for a while.

They glared at Lavadrop and finally asked, “...Airy?”

Lavadrop responded, “Yeah, like… he takes us from our lives to compete for this prize that we don’t even know exists. Then, he brings in MORE contestants, making the show longer… and… making it so we might not even get to go back, at all.”

Feather agreed. “Yeah, it is kind of stupid. Not to mention- his voice is starting to get a bit annoying.”

They looked away, staring at the sky as they continued to talk. “But honestly, I couldn’t care less. I have nothing better to do than this stupid competition, and I’m probably going to wake up any minute.”

“Wake up?” Lavadrop asked as Feather’s implication settled in their mind. “Well…”

“If this is just a dream, then… I guess I can commit crimes with no consequence.”

“Yeah,” Feather responded, “I could just wake u- wait, what?!”

Before Feather could finish, Lavadrop was already running full speed at the yolk, tackling them and burning them to a crisp. Screams of agony fill the grassy area.

Lavadrop rose from the carnage with a blank expression, unsatisfied. “...I feel no joy from this at all.”

He then walked back to Feather and sat down again. “Yyeah, I don’t feel like murdering anymore.”

Feather scooted a bit farther away from Lavadrop.

Lavadrop noticed this and tried to calm them down. “Hey, I’m not gonna kill you, man. At least… Not on purpose. Want to form an alliance, actually?” they suddenly asked. “I mean, it’d be good to have a friend around here.”

Feather was taken aback at the offering. “An alliance?”

They paused, thinking about it.

“...Sure. Why not.”

“Sweet,” Lavadrop said, raising his hand for a high-five. “Promise, my hand isn’t going to burn you!”

But before Feather could react, Airy spoke. “Can you guys… stop killing each other?” he asked.

This season was already more… chaotic, than the previous three. He didn’t expect the contestants to be this unhinged. Nonetheless, he revived the dead.

The yolk appeared with a traumatized expression, completely frozen and visibly shaking. They have never felt pain before that moment. To feel it at such agonizing levels had broken them.

As the paint palette reappeared, they seemed to have no care for their death and continued pestering the others, although this time in a much more exaggerated manner. They proceeded to angrily write “WHERE AM I” in large letters, in the sky.

“You're in an empty field taken hostage by an invisible host, competing for a prize of a wish for anything.” said a voice from behind them.

The palette turned to where the statement had come from. It had been Hexagon’s, who was crossing his arms with a tired expression.

The palette drew another question mark, still not understanding. They had been an app on a computer their whole life.

“...I’m not even gonna bother,” Hexagon said, unsure of how to clarify further. “Listen, if you want to leave, just… don’t do what that… voice tells you to do.” The palette nodded.

“Okay,” Airy cut in, “I’ve… given you guys enough time to become accustomed to the new contestants. I’ll just… Give you guys your new names now.”

A floating arrow slid into view, pointing toward the yolk. Airy then began to speak. “You, your name is… Yolk.” The arrow moved to the paint palette, then to the cyanide bottle as Airy continued naming the new contestants. “And you, you’re… um… uh… ms… paint. Yeah. And finally, you areeeeeeee… ..ccccyanide. Yeah, cyanide.”

“Alright. Now that you guys have… met the new contestants… we can start the next challenge. Just… Give me a minute to set it up.” Airy finished off, as Yolk then finally snapped back to reality, not even knowing what Airy had just named them.

“Okay, so. Your next challenge… is to find one of the rocks that I’ve… hidden around the plane. If you get a rock, and then… show me to it, you’re safe from elimination. After all the rocks have been shown, the two that don’t bring me their rocks are… up for elimination. Three, two, one, go…”

Everyone went off to do their own thing once Airy finished the countdown, and for the first time in their life, Juicebox was at a complete loss for what to do.

They'd tried their hardest, and despite their best efforts to appear mean, unlikeable, and deserving of elimination they still hadn't gotten it. It was probably because deep down, this... "Airy" understood that trying at all was what was desirable.

If they wanted to leave, they had to start employing some reverse psychology. All their efforts were not in vain. This was simply a failed attempt! Now they knew what they needed to do to succeed.

So after putting their emotions back together, they silently sat and watched others do the challenge -- carefully observing the things each of them chose to do.

If they didn't do anything, they'd have to lose and be put up for elimination again. Surely. And it couldn't hurt to gather more information. It was what they were best at, after all.

They simply kept their head buried in their arms, thinking to themselves and not paying any attention to anything else.

In the meantime, Yolk walked up to MS Paint. “Hey, uh… could you draw a rock for me? Pretty please?”

MS Paint, however, had the memory of their murder fresh on their mind, so they hit Yolk with their paintbrush as if to condemn him for daring to approach them.

Yolk slowly extended a giant hand, and MS Paint knew what was about to happen next. They slapped it as hard as they could before running off. As they ran, they wrote “LOOK, I GOT A ROCK” in the air, which trailed behind them.

But Airy remained silent.

“...Alright, then. Let’s go find some rocks,” Lavadrop told Feather as they darted to the nearest bush, burning it in the process. Feather nodded their agreement.

“Cool! Tell me if you find any!” Lavadrop shouted. He looked to see if any rocks were left in the ashes and found nothing. “Huh. Maybe I should’ve expected that.”

Feather gazed at Lavadrop and then saw this as an opportunity to transform. They did so, poofing into a bat and flying into a bunch of bushes in the opposite direction until they eventually found a small pebble. They then transformed back into their normal form and inspected the pebble that was now in their hand. “...Eh. Good enough.”

Meanwhile, Lavadrop climbed one of the poles from the last challenge, surveying the area from above, until he caught sight of a shiny rock in the distance. “Oh cool, there’s a shiny rock.” They swiftly slid down the pole, running all the way to the rock and grabbing it. “Hey, Airy!! I got a rock!!” He waved it around to get the host’s attention.

Airy finally noticed and responded accordingly. “Huh? …Oh. Cool. Lavadrop is safe from elimination.”

Lavadrop celebrated by running towards Feather and showed them his rock. “Yo, look at this shiny rock I just submitted!”

“Pretty neat,” Feather replied. “Look at mine, It’s smooth and tiny. I like my rock.”

“Oh, yeah!! That’s nice. Can I have it real quick?” Lavadrop asked.

Feather’s gaze shifted to the left as they started to speak. “Well… Airy never said I was safe or anything. I don’t know if I should.”

Lavadrop scoffed, as he believed that such a problem shouldn’t be considered as one due to how easily it could be solved. “Airy!! Feather has a rock!!!”

“Oh, uh… Okay. Feather is safe then,” Airy said, not bothering to look at the plane and check if this was true.

“...Well, what do you know,” Feather said, passing Lavadrop their rock. Lavadrop gazed at it in amazement for a while, until he got an idea of what to do with it. Feather noticed this and looked toward Lavadrop in curiosity.

While all of this was happening, MS Paint witnessed Lavadrop and Feather achieve safety despite their own efforts. They rolled their eyes and sat there, crossing their arms and pouting.

Cyanide dug through a bush, albeit a tad bit grudgingly. They were still oblivious to the nature of the competition. With no luck finding a rock they sighed. “Where are all these rocks I’m supposed to be finding?”

Cyanide pondered this until they got an idea. They looked to the rest of the contestants and devised a plan.

“Ay! Yolk!” Lavadrop yelled out. Yolk, startled, directed their attention toward them. They were a bit scared, but also curious about what Lavadrop needed him for. “Catch.”

Lavadrop threw the pebble Feather gave him toward Yolk. However, Yolk failed to catch it and was immediately hit in the face. “Or… don’t,” Lavadrop said awkwardly.

Yolk placed his hand where he had gotten hit as he used his other one to pick up the pebble Lavadrop threw at him. “Urngh… Hey. Airy. I… I got a rock.”

“Oh, okay then,” Airy responded. “Yolk is safe then.”

Lavadrop then proceeded to gloat to Feather. “See? With two rocks, I can help people gain safety, and I still have one left to mess around with!” He lifted his hand up that was supposed to have a rock on it, but Lavadrop is flabbergasted to see that he doesn’t have anything in his hands anymore.

“Airy, look!! I got a rock!!!” Cyanide yelled out. Airy took notice and then declared Cyanide safe. Lavadrop watched this unfold in disappointment. “Wh- u- my rockk!”

Feather would stare at Lavadrop and Cyanide blankly and eventually wander off to a bushy area that resembled a forest.

Hexagon was seen walking through that same forest, with no signs of rocks. He felt a strange sense of deja-vu with it, even though he had never been through the woods before. “Why can’t I find anything…? I mean, there has to be a-”

Hexagon abruptly tripped on a conveniently placed rock. He immediately got up and gazed at the rock placed on the ground. “Huh. What do you know.”

Hexagon picked up the rock and started to walk back until they suddenly met Feather on the way, slightly startled. He decided not to say anything other than a quiet and quick greeting. “...Hey there.”

Feather gave a small wave to Hexagon, but he didn’t take notice. In fact, all he did was look at his rock and then back up before deciding that the best way to get out of the awkward situation is to just swiftly run out. He needed to submit the rock to become safe, anyway.

Hexagon walked forward and eventually sped up until he eventually got out of the forest. Feather was about to say something, but was caught off-guard by Hexagon suddenly running away from them, and was now perplexed.

Hexagon ended up in the main area, breathing heavily. “Airy… I got a rock… right here.”

“Oh, okay. Hexagon is safe then,” Airy said. Hexagon let out a sigh of relief before laying down and resting. Only then does Airy finally notice the message MS Paint drew in the sky.

“Oh, uh… You have a rock, MS Paint?” Airy asked. MS Paint jolted upward, startled by Airy actually acknowledging them. They nodded as they then turned around and secretly drew a poorly looking rock that they couldn’t bother to find themselves. “...Okay. MS Paint is also safe, then,” Airy said.

Yolk also then noticed Juicebox sitting there, seemingly having a moment to themselves. They gazed at their rock and then back toward Juicebox, and slowly walked towards them cautiously before silently placing their rock next to them and running away afterward.

“Oh, hey. Juicebox has a rock as well. I… guess they’re also safe then,” Airy said. “Okay, hang on. Let me just… check who’s safe. Okay. We have Feather, Lavadrop, Yolk, Hexagon, MS Paint, Cyanide, and… um… Juice…box?”

“How is everyone- safe?” Airy asked himself, as an awkward silence then followed. “Well, other than Display, but… Okay, uh… I guess I’ll just choose who’s up for elimination then. Display, and… Cyanide. Are both up for elimination.”

Lavadrop immediately objected. “A-Airy! How is that FAIR?! Couldn’t you just choose who’s up for elimination through different means other than just by chance?!”

Yolk followed up with his own points. “Exactly!! Or do you just not care about the fairness of your competition in the slightest?!”

Feather could faintly hear the yelling from the middle of the plane as everyone started yelling once again, choosing to cover their ears with their hands, and try to fall asleep.

That was the last thing that happened before Airy eventually muted his microphone and walked away to wait for the next round. The contestants were either still protesting or trying to clear out the noise, and that continued on for quite some time.

A few hours passed, and the plane was once again in complete silence. Juicebox was lying down, eyes closed, but not really asleep.

Their attempt had failed. They weren’t put up for elimination, and it was by complete chance.

“What did I do wrong?” Juicebox thought to themself. “How did I not notice that rock right next to me?”

Hexagon glared at Fr-Juice Box, and eventually sighed and walked up to them, sitting beside them afterward. “...Hey there. Something on your mind?”

Juicebox glanced down at the rock Yolk placed beside them. “Yeah. I guess you could say that.”

Hexagon sighed. “...Figured so.” He then looked at the sky of an endless day and contemplated for a second. “So… what are you going to do once you go back?”

Juicebox laughed for a second and then started to respond. “Well, that entirely depends on how long it takes! At this rate, things are going to fall apart before I’m back to manage them again.”

Hexagon gained a slight smirk on his face. “Heh. Well, for me my life’s basically already screwed over. I’ve got basically nothing but my desire for peace, which that’s… probably never going to happen.”

“Your desire for peace..?” Juicebox asked. “What kind of peace?” Hexagon finally made proper eye contact with Juicebox before answering. “...Free of stress, to simplify things.”

“Oh, I get it. You want something out of this competition.” Juicebox said, with a little bit more certainty. Hexagon then continued to speak. “...Yeah. I’m thinking of using the wish to get rid of the problems that have been lingering on me for years. To stop me from worrying about the people that wronged me and the ones that I've wronged. It's... Complicated.”

Juicebox then stared at Hexagon with a sense of remorse. “It must be, it sounds like it… but I think I actually have a solid plan. What if we helped each other? I could help you win, and you could help me lose. Obviously, if you want…”

“...Sure,” Hexagon said. “I’ve been feeling a bit alone in this competition recently anyway.” “Alright, then. It’s a deal.” Juicebox said as they held out their hand for a handshake. “Friends? At least for now.”

Hexagon thought for a moment if he could really trust Juicebox. He deeply appreciated the help, but inside he questioned if he should trust them. Eventually, he came to the conclusion that he couldn't find much reason not to trust them and did the handshake.

“...Yeah. Friends.”

.

.

.

Shuttlecock was sent to her house. It was late at night. Her friend was gone.

Shuttle looked around. "Wh... What happened? Was that another hallucination?" She wasn't at the bar with her friend anymore, she was home. Did Az drag her home? It had happened before, so it wasn't out of the question, of course.

ShuElla went to bed. She should've been less scatterbrained, she was no longer drunk, but the Birdie just couldn't bring herself to think clearly. What... had happened?

She didn't have the money for a Nylon treatment. She just had to live with it now.

Ella woke up a bit late afterward. It was 11:11 AM. She may be lazy, but it wasn't often she woke up so late. It took a few minutes for everything to come back.

The Plane. The feather. Her death. It all came together now.

That was too vivid to be a hallucination. Hell, her NYLON was broken! It was impossible for it to be a hallucination! Was she partly telling this to herself because she wanted to believe what she saw in the afterlife? Maybe.

But nonetheless, Ella was right.

She took out a bowl of cereal. She still felt wrong in her head.

\*There was originally an extra contestant by the name of Finity, but due to the user playing that character being involved in serious drama, they aren’t present in this adaptation.