Tales from the Locker of Losers

Breaking Out and Checking Up

TW: depression, slight sexual themes

Pen woke up the next morning laying up against the cold TLC wall. And, they were moving.

"...huh?" Pen tiredly said. "Why are we moving...?"

"You said you wanted to check up on Coiny, didn't you?" Snowball said, pushing the TLC wall.

"Yeah, but I didn't expect you to start going so early." Pen responded.

"Well, here we are." Blocky added, also pushing the TLC.

They remained silent for a few more minutes before a lightbulb went off in Pen's ink brain.

"Hold on, hold on." Pen said. "Stop pushing, I have an idea!"

"And that is?" Snowball asked, still pushing the TLC wall.

"If you're strong enough to push the TLC, then you should be strong enough to break it!" Pen hypothesized.

"Now THAT'S a good idea!" Snowball said. He stopped pushing the TLC wall and started relentlessly punching it.

Eraser, Pen, and Blocky joined in, too, but it wasn't enough. It was only enough to make a dent.

Pen huffed in exhaustion and frustration. "Well, that didn't work."

"Well, we have everyone else over there." Blocky said, pointing to the others stuck in the metal prison.

"That is a good idea..." Pen said before turning to the others.

"HEY, GUYS!" Pen yelled from one side of the TLC to the other. "DOES ANYONE WANNA HELP US PUNCH THE TLC WALL?"

Silence. Before a certain flammable contestant spoke up.

"Oh, nuh-uh, no! No way I'm, like, punching through THAT! My hands are gonna, like, break into, like, a bazillion pieces!" She protested.

"Oh, for Huang's sake, Match..." Snowball muttered under his breath.

"You wanna see Pencil again, don't you, Match?" Pen asked.

"Uh, like, of course, I wanna see Pence-Pence again!" Match said, annoyed.

"Then if you wanna see Pencil again, you're gonna have to help us." Pen said.

Match sighed in reluctance. "If that's what it takes..." She said as she trudged over to the eastern TLC wall.

"HEY, COME ON EVERYONE ELSE!" Pen yelled once again to the other side. "DON'T YOU WANNA BE FREE?"

Contemplating for a bit, everyone eventually agreed.

And then, they punched. They punched and kicked and rammed and shot projectiles at and did everything in their power to break it down.

And eventually, it worked.

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Coiny hasn't been doing the best. Since his failed attempt at saving Pin, he's fallen into a depressive state. Not talking to anybody, barely showing emotion, and having Pin's shrunken, lifeless body by his side at all times. Bomby, Nickel, and the other remnants of W.O.A.H Bunch tried to talk to him, but they always got a "Go away", a "You don't have to do this", or just pure ignorance.

Freesmart and Team No-Name, on the other hand, weren't as emotional. Tennis Ball, being the ball of care he is, was also worried for Coiny, but GB and Fries were indifferent on the side of worry. Pencil, Book, and Ruby couldn't care less. They had competition in mind.

And then there's Needle. Sure, she's a Freesmart member now and has to act indifferent, but deep down, she's just like W.O.A.H Bunch. Worried. She, like the rest of her old team, periodically checked on Coiny, but she got the same responses as everyone else.

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Coiny was sitting up against a tree, Pin's shrunken body right next to him. He just wanted some alone time with Pin.

Coiny likes to imagine that Pin's right there, sitting in a loving silence with him. Just silence and sweet little nothings.

Coiny also's been having dreams. Dreams of Pin. Of talking with her, hugging her again, playing around like the good times, and the more... ahem, intimate parts of a relationship. He doesn't really know why he dreams of the last part. He'd ask Pin about them when he gets the chance. If he even gets the chance.

He was just looking off into the distance before hearing metal falling near behind him.

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The gang cheered as a big hole appeared in the TLC wall. Now all that was left was left was... the LOL walls. Dang it.

(A few hundred more punches, kicks, etc. later...)

The LOL walls fell. The sunset light shined into everyone's eyes. For the first time in years, everybody felt the beautiful feeling of grass.

Everybody cheered again as they ran their directions, but Pen, Blocky, Eraser, and Snowball all knew their goal to find.

Coiny.

They had actually found him pretty easy, too.

"Hey, Coiny! What's goin' on, man?" Pen cheerfully said, unaware of Coiny's state.

Coiny did not answer.

"Hey...? Coiny? Somethin' wrong?" Eraser said, concerned.

Coiny did not answer.

"Coiny, c'mon, bro. We've been your friends from the start. Whatever's happening, you can tell us." Blocky said, surprisingly putting his prankster attitude to a temporary rest.

Coiny did not answer.

"Okay, this is getting real creepy," said Snowball. "Why aren't you talking to us?"

"Did we do something wrong?"

"Just tell us what we're doing wrong."

"Are you sure you're ok?"

"Should I call someone?"

The boys bombarded Coiny with questions. Questions Coiny didn't want to answer.

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Needle had heard a huge crashing sound earlier. She figured it was nothing, until she saw approximately 40 contestants, some previous, running across the fields. And this just made Needle confused AND worried.

She dashed over to where the booming sound was, and only saw a blue metal box with a gray interior and TV. In that order.

And then, Needle felt a tap on her shoulder. "Huh?" Needle said, confused.

She turned to see Pen. "Hey, Needle! Uh, is there... something wrong with Coiny?" Pen questioned.

Needle's face went pale for a few seconds, before shaking it off and sighing. "That's... a long story."

"Well, I spent 3 years in a box that was inside another box. I have time." Pen jokingly boasted.

Needle obliged, and began walking with Pen, telling him everything.

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(985 words. That's all you Peneedle shippers are getting. ...for now. Maybe. I dunno yet.)