[ Cruel Winter - A Inanimate Insanity Invitational AU ]

Chapter 11 - Everyone's Perspective

Lightbulb was twitching excitedly. "SOooososososos we're finally going to the meeting? Are we??" She asked. "Tomorrow, Lightbulb-" Goo insisted. "Ahhh I'm just so excited!" Lightbulb was spinning in a circular motion until she got dizzy.

"Woah-.. Ahaha..." Lightbulb tripped. And nearly fell on her face. She quickly had to catch herself so she wouldn't break. "Haha- Oops-" She sat herself back up.

"Honestly, I'm excited too!," Bot stood next to Lightbulb. "I can't wait to see Clover again!" They giggled. "Don't you remember, Bot? That Nickel doesn't want us to even look at her." Goo huffed.

"Ehh, who cares what Nickel says?" Bot replied.

"I dunno guys, that coin is scary. Very very very small, but scary..." Lightbulb mumbled.

"Nah, he won't do any harm." Bot rolled their eyes.

Fan and Test Tube were sitting by the fire. Fan sighed, staring at the flames. He wondered what it was like being a fire. Completely carefree until someone tries to put it out. M
Completely carefree until it was harmed.

Is that what Test Tube felt? Fan turned to Test Tube quickly. "Hey, Test Tube, are you sure you'll be able to get to the meeting tomorrow night? I mean, your injury is still healing.." He muttered.

Test Tube blinked and turned to him. "Oh... Er, yeah, I'll be fine." She replied hastily. "Are you sure? You really really really REALLY need to be well because if you aren't I will literally explode-" Fan whimpered.

"Ahah, calm down- I'm not gonna faint in the middle of the meeting or anything, silly... Buuut... Thanks for caring." She smiled nervously. "No problem." Fan smiled.

"Anywayyys, I'm going to sleep. G'night!" Fan bounded near the hammock and fell asleep on the floor randomly. Test Tube stared at him and chuckled.

"That silly little dude-" She put a blanket over him and sat down next to him, staring at the fire blankly before slowly falling asleep.

Candle and Yin-yang–while everyone else was excited–were fidgeting around nervously. They knew what tomorrow night would be.

The night Silver Spoon comes back.

"Do you really think he's learned his lesson...?" Candle asked, eyeing Yin-yang. "I doubt it." Yin-yang scowled. "We should've just killed him or something." He added angrily.

"Don't think like that, Yin-yang. Who knows? He might've changed." Candle replied. "Hell, why are you trying to defend him? I mean, you were the main person he bullied at school." Yin-yang rolled his eyes.

"...I believe that there's good in everyone, Yin-yang. I have an open mind, you see? Not everything is black and white." Candle sat down against a tree. Yin-yang blinked.

"...Huh... I guess you're right..." He muttered, sitting down beside Candle. "I always am." Candle chuckled. Yin-yang was still lost in thought. What if Silver Spoon didn't change? What if he was still a jerk?

Yin-yang wanted to blindly assume Silver Spoon had changed like Candle could, but he just didn't feel like it was true.

Yin-yang shook his head. "...No, no. I'm just being paranoid." He muttered. Candle's gaze directed toward him. "Who are you talking to?" She asked. "Oh! Er- Nobody, Candle." He replied.

"...Nobody at all." He looked to the starry sky in disbelief.

Balloon, Nickel, and Clover were back at the willow tree. "So... Tomorrow night is when your plan comes to fruition..?" Clover asked.

"Yep! But we'll have to get everyone's attention. Do you guys have any cool explosives? Or fog machines perhaps? Those would be cool." Nickel asked.

"...Nickel, we're survivors in a neverending winter. Do you REALLY think we have fog machines and explosi-" Balloon was cut off. "I HAVE FIRECRACKERS!!!" Clover exclaimed.

"Oh! Perfect!" Nickel smiled. Balloon spotted a hint of sinisterness in his expression. Balloon gulped as Clover handed Nickel the firecrackers.

"Goodness, um... That's a lot of firecrackers." Balloon whispered. "Eh, it'll be fine! Like you said, Nickel is a responsible individual!!" Clover exclaimed. "...Oh uh... Haha... Yeah, right." Balloon laughed nervously.

Oh my god, why did I tell her that? Now she- Balloon's train of thought was interrupted.

"Balloon. Look, I need you to set off the firecrackers." Nickel snapped. "Wha- Why me...?" Balloon raised a brow. "Because, Clover is the people pleaser who will convince everyone, I'm the one who will present the option, and you'll get their attention with the firecrackers! It's an ingenious plan, isn't it?" Nickel asked.

Balloon put his hand behind his head. "...I guess." He muttered. Nickel blinked up at him. "You're doubting me?" He asked angrily. Clover had been long gone, back to camp by now.

"Come on Nickel, firecrackers? Don't you think this is going a bit too far? Those things can be dangerous!" Balloon snapped. "Balloon, we're living in a world with far more danger than a simple firecracker! Look, all you need to do is set one off behind me, and you don't have anything else to do. You have the easiest job! Why can't you just appreciate what you have?!" Nickel snapped.

"...Is it not good enough for you...?" He asked.

Balloon felt a twang of guilt. "...I- It's fine, it's fine. I'll go out with the job." He stammered.

"Great!" Nickel exclaimed, heading outside. Balloon followed as well, all guilt instantly erased.

Paintbrush headed into the room where OJ and Silver Spoon were. "Oh, OJ, what are they going to think of me-?" Silver Spoon asked.

"You're turning a new leaf, Silver. They might be harsh at first, but once you prove yourself, you'll be trusted! Don't worry about it, haha." OJ exclaimed.

"Actually, you should worry about it!" Paintbrush snapped. "You do realize that you basically tried to murder 2 people last month, right?" They asked. "...I've been trying to forget." Silver Spoon replied.

"Yeah, I wouldn't forget if I were you. Regretting your past gives you good reasoning to try to improve." Paintbrush huffed. Silver Spoon and OJ blinked at Paintbrush as they exited the room. "...Damn," Silver Spoon muttered. "I did not know they could give advice like that." He added. "Agreed." OJ stammered.

"...Well... Get some rest. You'll need it." OJ started stepping away. He turned around for a brief moment. "Oh, and to reward how good you've been, you get to sleep in for your last day here." OJ winked as he left the room.

Silver Spoon stared at the ground. He couldn't believe how fast a month had gone by.

All those fun times, fishing, being productive... All of that would be gone by tomorrow.

He sighed, taking off his robot arm and setting it on the desk, slowly falling asleep.