Take-Over: A BFB/TPOT AU

Chapter 54: Pair Up

Book

"̶͕̣̯͓̖͊̉̀̐͒̒̈́̀̇͊͊͘͘̕B̴͖͖͓̭̲͍͙̙͊̐̋̍̇͐͑̈́͛̀̇̚̚͘ó̵̢̡̘̭̯͎̠̤̯͍͚̓̀͗͜͝ǫ̶̡̦̣̞̥̼̂k̷͍̺͈͒̆?̸͉̦͔̹̊"̵̢̛̥̻̩̦̲̙̜̪̝̖̟̟̈́̍̔̒͋̈́̽̐̽̊

"P-Pillow?! Is that you?"

Book couldn't see who was holding her down, but she recognized that voice, even with how distorted it was. Pillow's claws only dug in further. She heard growling and the pain grew sharper. The sphere was a few feet away from them, a large crack visible on it. Pillow had Book's arms held down, and her left foot was on Book's back. 

Was Pillow always this powerful? Book knew that Pillow was stronger than her and most contestants, but she didn't think she was this strong. Book couldn't move an inch, and she certainly couldn't reach the sphere. Why, oh why does this have to happen now? I'm so close to finding Gaty and Saw, why now? 

Her mind started reminiscing, recalling all the time Book had spent on the show, before, with her friends, it all came back to her. She felt tears and started sobbing. Pillow didn't move, still having a firm grip on Book. However, she didn't grip harder, she just stood still, watching Book cry. Book felt even more weak by this. She was ready to give up, ready to let Pillow finish her. She closed her eyes and gave a small smile. She was ready to die, and she accepted her fate. 

"Why hello contestants! Welcome to the final eight!" 

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APE 

Four was standing above as they looked down at the remaining 8 contestants. They were all confused as to where they were and why. Four looked around at all of them, they didn't expect that these contestants would be the final eight. 

There was Book, whose arms were bleeding ink and was on the floor, breathing heavily. Bomby and Naily were together, the former holding Naily close to him as they looked around. Gaty was standing up, scratched but mainly untouched. Eraser was nearby Bottle, who seemed too shaken up to notice she was somewhere different. Eraser meanwhile was looking around, taking in his surroundings. Coiny was gripping onto David's arm, only letting go when Eraser called out. 

"Where are we?" 

Four smiled, appearing to them as they walked to the edge. "Hello you eight! You are the final contestants in this challenge, congratulations! You all get a reward for making it this far. Four snapped their fingers, a wrapped present appearing at the remaining eight's feet, one for each of them. 

"Don't open them here, I just brought you all to declare some...changes that will be made to the arena." 

A small smirk appeared on Four's face as a board lit up behind them. It was a map of the arena, the circle dome split up into eight areas. "As you see, the arena is split up into 8 areas. With only eight of you left, it makes sense to shrink the field isn't it?" 

X appeared next to Four, looking scared as they began to move their hands in a way that affected the arena. Large cracks appeared as the dome was split in half, one of the halves sank into the ground, the other was fixed, walls being built to surround all of it. Four grinned as it finished, showing a new semi-circle arena. "Perfect! Thank you, X, you may go now." 

X walked away, giving the remaining contestants a pitying look. Four turned back to them after X vanished, a grin still visible on their face. "Now that the arena's been halved, we can get back to what I was talking about! There's eight of you now, and four separate areas. This gives us 2 objects for one space. Which means you'll all be partnered with someone!"

The contestants looked around at each other. Some of the duos looked relieved, while other lone competitors looked uncomfortable at the thought. 

"Don't worry, you'll all be paired with someone random! That way, nobody can be left out." 

They snapped their fingers and a wheel appeared before the contestants. It had eight slices, each with one of their faces. The duos who were relieved at first looked crestfallen now. 

"Okay, going by alphabetical order... Bomby! You get to spin the wheel first."

Bomby let go of Naily hesitantly, stepping forward to the wheel and giving it a weak spin. Four looked disappointed but said nothing. The wheel slowly spun, soon landing on Eraser. Four clapped once and Eraser was teleported with Bomby to the side, a dark pink bracelet appearing on both of their wrists.

"Book! You're up next." 

Book didn't move. Sitting up as she held her forearms, still bleeding from Pillow's claws. She couldn't move her legs, not even if she tried. She glared at Four and stayed sitting. Four let out a sigh and snapped. Book soon felt the bleeding stop, and she felt less tired than before. She looked down at her arms and saw that they were flawless, no scratches or marks. Before she could move, she was teleported in front of the wheel, and her right arm involuntarily gave the wheel a harsh spin. She pulled it back after, massaging it from the force. 

It spun for a while, later stopping at Bottle. Four snapped his fingers and soon the two were next to Bomby and Eraser, a light teal bracelet appearing on their wrists just like Bomby and Eraser. Bottle let out a relieved sigh as she felt herself be whole again, her body devoid of cracks. 

"It's your turn Coiny!" 

Coiny walked up to the wheel, a frown on his face as he spun it. His face didn't change as it landed on Gaty, only raising an eyebrow at her. Gaty didn't look at him, instead looking at Four when they were teleported. A silvery pink bracelet appearing on their wrists. 

"That leaves David and Naily together. Now that that's out of the way, let me explain what's going to happen." A bracelet of light grey appeared on the remaining two's wrists.

Four clapped twice and the contestants were back where they were originally, standing next to all of their respective partners. 

"You all have a bracelet on your wrist, the color corresponding to you and your teammate. They're here as a sort of tracking device." 

"What do you mean a tracking device?" Coiny asked the host.

"The bracelet picks up your heart rate, and it sees when you are alive or if you have died. Here's the most important part of them, so pay attention!" He gave them all a wide smile, leaving the contestants to feel uncomfortable at what it could be. 

"If your bracelet senses that you've died, your PARTNER will die too!" The contestants looked at their partners, a look of worry on all their faces. 

"Hope you guys have good teamwork with your partners! You'll need it." 

He snapped his fingers a final time and the contestants were teleported back into the arena. Each of the pairs in one area of the new dome. 

Four looked at the screen behind him. 

"This is going to be good..."

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No New Dead/Infected Characters.

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Changes have been made, now what will happen with the new pairs? Which pair will be the most successful? Which one will get out first? Thanks for reading.