"Where'd Rull go?" Match asked Pencil, sitting on the edge of the ravine that was included in the tug-of-war challenge.
Pencil, who was behind her laying on the grass, shrugged. "I don't know. They just kind of vanished."
"Well it's been a DAY." Match groaned, flopping onto her back and landing partway on Pencil's lap. "They should be back by now." They laid in silence for a little bit, staring at the sky, bored.
Eventually, the sound of fast, approaching footsteps caught the girls' attention. They both sat up, squinting into the distance to see who it was. They got closer and closer...
"Bubble!" Match and Pencil said, getting up and standing side-by-side.
Bubble slowed to a stop and caught her breath. "Hoiy," she greeted with a small smile, waving a little. "Roioby said I should get you goiys—"
"Girls!" Match interrupted.
"—uhh, goirls... Rull's back!"
"We were JUST talking about them!" Pencil said, grabbing Match's hand and walking back towards the main area with Bubble trudging behind them.
When they arrived, Rull was standing on top of the HPRC, hands on their hips and a huge grin on their face. They saw the final contenders get there and lit up immediately.
"Finally!!" They shouted gleefully. Even though their eyes were never open, Match, Pencil and Bubble could tell that they were staring right at them. "Members of the show commonly known as BFDIIIIIIII," Rull began, drawing out the I for a few extra seconds. "I am happy to announce that we have received our very first quesrioneg."
There was a little gap of silence while Rull smiled brightly.
"A what?" GB mumbled from the crowd.
"A QUESRIONEG!" Rull declared, sticking their hand out and making a small pink book appear closed in it. They quickly opened it and flipped it open to the first page. "...Two of them, actually!!"
Before anyone could say anything else, Rull held the book out in front of them with both hands, open and facing up. They stood still for a moment, then jumped off of the HPRC.
Instead of landing on the ground, they phased through it. It happened so quickly that nobody had time to properly react, as Rull promptly resurfaced, sliding back out of the ground in front of Pin. They put the book down on the grass, still open. Everybody could see that it was blank paper.
Rull once again stood very still, frozen for a few seconds while everyone looked at them.
"Touch it." they suddenly said.
"What?" Pin replied, looking up at Rull.
More silence. Rull's perpetual smile did not alter. "Touch it." They said again, in the exact same tone and volume as before, as if someone had recorded the audio and played it.
Pin looked down at the book, then hopped a couple inches forward, landing the edge of herself slightly on its pages.
Instantaneously, a image projected from the very centre of the book, like a hologram. Pin had to scoot backwards and lean back in order to see it properly.
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Pin looked at the question, then at Rull, the down at herself. "No, I didn't." She said. "Not to mention, I'm also still metal. So is everyone ELSE that ate the yoyleberries Ruby had."
Rull nodded again. "That's true." The pink book teleported into their hand and they snapped it shut. They used their other hand to snap again, and in less than a second, every metal contestant blipped back into their original forms.
Rull began to phase through the ground again but stopped halfway in. "Pin? Would you like to have your limbs back?"
"Wait, you can just do that?" She asked in reply, and Rull zipped back out of the ground and beamed.
"One second." Rull said, and stuck their arm out beside them. it stopped being visible midair, extending further and further into nothing, just cut off halfway yet clearly reaching for something. Finally, they pulled something out of thin air — Pin's limbs that Puffball had chosen to be removed from her. Rull picked Pin up quite easily, stuck each limb back on one-by-one, then dropped her. She landed on her ass.
Now that they were done, Rull slid back into the ground and popped up in front of Golf Ball. GB stumbled back a little and frowned at them. "Don't startle me like that!" She demanded, then stood up straight. "...Do I have one?"
Rull threw down the book and it landed open, no bounce, no sound, no movement when it hit the ground. GB blinked a couple times and stared at it.
"Touch it." Rull said, in the exact same tone, volume, AND pose as before. It was like flipping a frame back to a previous moment.
GB said nothing and tapped the book with her foot, and then looked at the image projected into the air a little ways above her. She stepped back a few paces to see it clearly.
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GB didn't even finish reading it before she grunted and kicked the book. Her kick simply passed through it as if it were made of air. "NO, no no no NO. She stole our prize, hid away for a year, and hasn't even apologized yet!!" She ranted. "Can i skip? What was it? A refusal??"
"Golf Ball, don't you think you're overreacting...?" TB said, looking at her, concerned. "It's been—"
"TOO LATE! Rull grinned. "She used one of her five refusals. If she changes her mind in the future, she does not have the right to get her refusal back. It is now gone forever." Rull whipped the pink book and a pencil out from behind themself, making a single mark on the page. GB stared at the ground where the book was just a second beforehand with a puzzled look.
After making the tally, Rull appeared atop the HPRC again. "It's been a great episode!" They announced, looking down on everyone surrounding them. "I sure hope you guys are enjoying this as much as I am. This is SO much fun." Their everlasting smile somehow grew wider.
Then they blipped out of sight, disappearing just like the last time. The contenders were left alone once again.
