(do i write them off-character? thats a constant pain i have to think about and i hate the fact i can never be sure, if you guys do have any criticisms about what i do let me know)
Bomby and Nickel were minding their own business.
It was pretty clear from the beginning that the old contestants of the Battle for Dream Island and the newbies didn't exactly get along the best; they were more than willing to get along in their teams and all the challenges, but stick around long enough and it's quite clear that the two camps are very clearly delineated and separated. That original twenty (minus a few) had several years all on their own to develop their own tight-knit teams, alliances, and whatnot, and all of it happened before the newcomers were even the briefest passing thought in their minds. Though the new contestants can become familiar with the old, and vice versa, and they can become acquaintances, and perhaps even friends, it's quite clear that they never quite reach the same closeness that those of the same generation can achieve.
And that especially goes for W.O.A.H. Bunch.
The original members of that strange little team, the ones that could recall when that strange speaker box fell from the sky and started all this confusion, had a particular peculiar affinity towards one another; they were close in a way that seemed to outshine any other partnership out there. They worked together exceptionally well, got along despite all their differences and tensions, and basically were just a good duo - er, *trio* - overall. Really, W.O.A.H. Bunch could be considered as just them and a bunch of appendices, a bunch of supplementary bonus features.
And that becomes especially evident when trouble starts brewing.
"What're they *up* to?" Nickel could just about see them from their distant vantage point. "Beats me." Bomby shrugged. "From what I heard, I think it has something to do about me switching their vocal cords around; they probably think it's *far* too weird, I guess." "Ah, c'mon." Nickel scoffed. "What's their problem?" "Huh?" Bomby raised an eyebrow. "Why do they think it's some sort of big deal?" The currency asked. "I think it's just a bit of wacky fun! I mean think about it: you wake up one day and realize your voice sounds like someone else! What would *you* do with it?" He'd chuckle. "Really, I wish you swapped *mine* out with Coiny's; really would've made things come full circle, don't you think?" The living weapon didn't really see the entertainment value in it at all. "Really, I should've asked first." Bomby remarked. "I mean, what kind of prize *is* that? How does it even work?" "And why do *you* care?" Nickel inquired. "You're a living bomb, I'm a living coin; *nothing* here makes any sense. Just have fun with it!" "Well, I'm trying." Bomby replied. "And I'm sure the rest of them are too; but the sudden change in voices must've put them off. Apparently, I heard Pin was being all weird about it."
There was a moment of awkward silence before Nickel picked up the conversation again. "Hey, you wanna go roll down that hill?" He'd point towards the hill in question with a foot. "Huh?" Bomby was understandably bewildered and baffled by that detour. "Feels like those three are gonna be spending a lot more time doing whatever they're doing." Nickel remarked. "Why not have a little fun while we wait?" Bomby's eye twitched. "You can't just *say* that!" He'd shout. "Especially after talking about something so serious!" Nickel frowned. "Okay, okay. Sorry." He'd sigh. "But c'mon; do you *really* wanna spend all your time moping about that? Do you wanna keep thinking about problems that aren't even your own?" Bomby frowned. "I kinda caused it-" "Let's go!" Nickel exclaimed. "We're burning daylight. Let's get something done before that weird speaker box makes us do something again." Bomby tried to continue protesting, but Nickel was already up and away by the time he could string the words together; reluctantly, he'd catch up to the other coin creature as he began singing a happy little tune. "What's gotten into you?" The explosive asked. "You used to be so miserable all the time; no offense." "Well, one day I just thought: why should I waste my time with all of *that*?" Nickel asked. "There's a world out there filled with all sorts of fun and games! Why be so blue all the time when you can hang out with your *best* friends?"
Did Nickel even have a best friend?
No time to think about that; before Bomby could even come to terms with that new reality, they were already on their way to meet with that big block of cheese. "Spongy! My pal!" Nickel smiled. "You wanna get up and do something?" "Well, I guess." Spongy replied. "Beats listening in to *them*." "Great!" Nickel smiled. "Come with us, I'll let you in on the whole thing once we get there." Before either of them could ask any questions about the details of the aforementioned *thing*, the one that wanted to replace Coiny was already going off once again. Bomby struggled to keep up, and Spongy would doubly so.
Eventually they made it to the base of the hill, and that silly Nickel would finally reveal his grand plan. "Alright, Bomby!" He'd exclaim. "You ready for the walk up?" Bomby looked at the said hill; it looked a *lot* taller than it did at a distance. "I dunno-" "Glad to hear it!" Nickel interjected. "Spongy, you sit here and make sure that talking box doesn't get anywhere near here." Spongy frowned. "But-" "Trust me on this." Nickel interrupted. "This'll be *great*." Spongy tried to complain, but when was the last time *that* ever went well for him?
The walk up the hill wasn't really all that eventful. It was just tiring. They spent around half an hour making their way up, with much of that time spent not actually going anywhere and instead talking about whatever interesting blade of grass or flower or other random thing they happened to find just *existing* in the hill; Nickel in particular got ecstatic about each and every single one, while Bomby... was less enthusiastic. This new Nickel was *definitely* an improvement over how he was in the past, don't get him wrong. The last thing this new Battle for Dream Island needed was someone constantly dragging their feet and complaining about everything. This whole thing was awful enough as is. But this... this felt like too much. Whereas the old Nickel's problem was being too grumpy and miserable about everything, this one was too excited, too cheerful, too *happy*. The living bomb always felt like that currency's energy would manage to light his fuse through some sort of magic. And as much as he didn't want to say it, there were times where he just couldn't stick around him for much longer. Nickel was a great ally and friend when it counted, particularly in the challenges, but if he *had* to confess, if some hypothetical character were to ask right then and there about how he felt about him, he'd say he felt...
Nothing, really.
"Wow! Look at that view!" Nickel would say in-between deep breaths; the two of them had finally managed to make it to the top, and Bomby frankly couldn't be happier. That is, until he remembers just why exactly they're there. All around them were the vast fields, the various contestants in the Battle for Dream Island (Again) in all their usual groups, and the great distant unknown enveloping them all. "Ain't it great? Doesn't it just cheer you up?" Bomby looked at it all with the same interest he did while looking like ants. If ants *did* exist in Goiky, anyway. "I guess." Bomby remarked. "Maybe we can just sit and admire it? Instead of the whole other thing?" "Ah, c'mon." Nickel lightly tapped Bomby with his foot. "Where's the fun in *not* rolling down this thing? But I guess we can look around a bit longer." He'd sit down, and Bomby would do the same.
"So, what do you think?" The new Coiny asked. "Think about what?" The living hazard raised an eyebrow. "All of this." Nickel clarified. "This whole battle, this team, this..." He'd gesture to nothing in particular. "Y'know." "It's fine... I guess." Bomby replied. "The whole competition thing stresses me out a lot, but I guess with you guys it isn't that bad." "I *know*, right?" Nickel chuckled. "Feels like I would've gone insane twice over if I had to go at it alone." He'd sigh. "But thankfully I had people like you on my side; really made the bad days a lot better." He'd look at Bomby, smiling and feeling a bit flustered. Bomby would notice the slight red tint emerging and raised an eyebrow, perplexed. "Nickel, you doing alright?" "Wha?" Nickel stared back and nervously chuckled. "Y-Yeah! Of course. It's just..." He'd come up with a lie on the spot. "I just remembered that you're, you know, a *bomb*. A living bomb that could just go off at any second." Bomby wasn't all too amused. "...Right." "N-No offense!" Nickel laughed. "I-I think it's pretty cool that you're able to just live life like all of us despite that. You're more than capable of killing us without a thought, and yet you're here, being good friends with all of us and having a good time. It's quite... impressive, really."
His blush deepened, and he couldn't manage to keep looking. Definitely not in this state. "It's, uh... something I look up to." He'd confess. "Back when I was so down in the dumps all the time, I looked at my team, saw how they were all faring. I thought: how do they manage to keep their cool during all *this*? It's absurd! We're fighting for some island that may or may not exist, we get sent to some box if we lose, and yet they keep a smile on their faces. What's up with that? Did they go insane?" He'd pause for a moment to breathe. "Then I see you, and it started to make sense; well, perhaps *sense* is the wrong word, but..." He'd chuckle. "I realized: if *you*, of all people, could get through all this, then what was stopping me from being the same? And it's just... it *did* something to me." He'd start awkwardly kicking his feet around. "I started admiring you. I... I don't really know how else to put it." Bomby was... stunned, to say the least.
Unable to find a neat way out of this whole awkward situation, Nickel would go ahead and start rolling down the hill.
"Woah! Nickel!" Bomby quickly focused on that and tried to stop him, only to end up rolling down himself; there weren't any trees to block the way, nor anything else that could provide a bumpy ride, but it was still *extremely* uncomfortable for the one that could just *explode* at the slightest provocation. The whole thing lasted around a minute or so, and ended with both of them crashing into Spongy for a softened impact; Nickel went first and slightly jostled the yellow wall, then Bomby arrived and completely tipped him over.
Spongy understandably started crying as soon as he got a face full of dirt and grass. "Oh!" Nickel was quick to get up. "I'm so sorry!" He and Bomby would be quick to put him back up, but it wouldn't really do much about the whole high-speed collision thing. "Why did you do *that*?" Spongy complained. "It's like you don't care about your teammates at all!" "I do!" Nickel frowned. "It's just-" "I thought you changed!" Spongy continued. "I-I did!" Nickel frowned. "I turned my frown upside-down and started to see the better things in life; I started being *actual* friends to you guys! It's just... I did something without thinking." Bomby looked at all this commotion and sighed, placing a hand on Spongy's side. "You'll get used to it." He'd comfort him. "One day you'll come to terms with how nobody's your friend, and you'll learn to stop caring about them." He'd pause for a moment. "I'd know."
Nickel froze.
