"It's time for Cake at Stake; c'mon, we don't have all day."
The contestants were a bit surprised to hear that line come not from the usual, monotone speaker box.
"Heyy! It's GB!" Leafy was a bit more excited about it than most of the others were. "How have you been, bud?" "As terrible as always." GB flatly replied. "Get moving, people." "Alright, alright." Eraser grumbled. "No need to repeat yourself; we're not deaf." All the other ones up for elimination would be quick to follow. "*Everyone*, get moving." Golf Ball repeated herself. "We *are*." Eraser shouted back. "Oi also think we're oll here." Bubble remarked. "Oi think." "All of you." The dimpled one clarified. "Not just the ones up for elimination. *Everyone*." "Wha- huh?" Match, already in the middle of talking to Pencil, was stunned. "Why do you want to, like, boss us around even *more*? Isn't playing around in your, like, dumb competition already enough?" "What if I say no?" Golf Ball replied. "Get going."
All the contestants slowly but surely made their way over to the Cake at Stake area; the place had been given a solid remodeling in the intervening time, and it was now also next to some giant room that GB just completely refused to address. "Those up for elimination, go sit over there." GB pointed to the central area with her foot. "Everyone else, sit there." She'd then gesture to the nearby bleachers. It took a few minutes for everyone to get comfortable with the refurbished seats; there'd be a little bit of murmuring regarding how soft they now were, which was definitely a solid upgrade. Perhaps it was a little bit of kindness to make up for the fact that one of them was basically about to die.
"So, uh, why are we here?" Pen asked. "For Cake at Stake, obviously." Golf Ball replied. "Didn't you hear what I *just* said? Are you deaf?" "Hey!" Eraser exclaimed. "That's *my* line!" "You *know* that's not what he meant." Tennis Ball interjected. "We were never forced to watch before, though we were allowed to if we wanted; what's with the change now?" GB rolled her eyes. "You're all here because we're testing out a new format for Cake at Stake, coinciding with its reintroduction." She'd explain. "The Announcer probably already explained the first part: instead of teams, you guys now have points; you gain or lose points depending on your performance in the challenges. Whoever has the least points after a challenge will be up for elimination." She'd take a deep breath. "Now comes the other part: You will vote amongst each other to determine who is eliminated; this time around, however, *all* of you will get to cast a vote."
There'd be a sufficient amount of gasping from everyone; GB didn't care one bit and proceeded. "Whoever has the most points gets to vote first, followed by the one with the second-most, then the third, and so on; whoever has the most votes will be eliminated." She'd pause for a moment to take another breath. "Any questions? I'm sure *some* of you might need clarifications on a few things." Eraser raised a hand, chuckling. "Uh, could you repeat the *whole* thing? Just to make sure we got everything?" Golf Ball sighed, briefly contemplated her options, and decided to humor him just this once to curry what little favor she could; she'd reiterate what she said verbatim, which the readers will thankfully not have to deal with. That's the magic of writing. "Got that?" GB concluded. "Uh, I think so." Eraser smiled. "But, uh, just to be *really* sure, could you repeat everything *again*, but also clarify every step along the way? You know, rephrase it in a way that makes sense to everybody?"
Golf Ball blinked.
"Teardrop, go ahead and vote; just, uh... point to whoever you want out of here." TD quickly nodded and immediately pointed straight towards Eraser. "*What*?" The manly one was baffled. "I didn't even do *anything* to you! In fact, Pen told me about how much of a cool gal you were!" Teardrop folded her arms, unconvinced. "Pen, is that true?" Leafy asked. "Uh..." Pen rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Eraser asked me about it, I told him, and-" "Well, how nice of you!" The leaf smiled. "I'm happy to see more and more of us warming up to our silent friend; you're forgiven. For now."
