It was yet another perfectly ordinary day in Goiky.
The sun was warm, the grass was soft, and existence was just... miserable all around. It was more of the same, really; things were exactly the same as they were yesterday, and will most likely be exactly the same tomorrow. The host might suddenly pop up and start a challenge or something, but at the end of the day, the average remains the same: just... *more* existence, more of the usual more of the cycle. The cycle of endless torment, endless pain, endless agony. Those that are up for elimination worry about whether or not they *will* get the boot. Those that aren't worry about if they'll be the next ones at risk. Those that don't concern themselves with any of that worry about other things; whether it be team dynamics, their physical and mental wellbeing, or just looking for a source of cheap entertainment. All around them, the world kept on spinning; the sun and moon continued to traverse their usual arc along the sky, the wind and the breeze blew past with little to no fanfare, and the Hotel continued to abuzz with all sorts of activity from the guests, whoever they may be. Things were fine, except for all the parts that weren't. And yet, despite things being (relatively, anyway) more peaceful than ever, despite being left alone to do whatever they wished, the contestants of the Battle for Dream Island: The Power of Two just couldn't find any relaxation, any sense of serenity. Much of that is because of the reasons already stated earlier, but for some, for an *exceptional* few, there was another thing that bothered them to no end, yet another little trouble, an itch they just couldn't scratch. On the one hand, the lull in-between episodes meant that they had time to themselves, to get their thoughts in order. On the other hand... the lull in-between episodes meant that they had time to themselves, to get their thoughts in order. It gave them time to think about the 2,763 little things they usually overlook, things that *really* don't deserve all that time and attention. Perhaps the biggest issue of them all is the problem of where all of this was leading up to: all these years of competing, of enduring constant strife and mischief, and for *what*, exactly? It was supposed to be just one season, a single, simple Battle for Dream Island. Then Leafy stole the island, then there was another one. Then a brief breather, then *another* one, this time for some dumb, mysterious prize, and by a host that's somehow even *worse* than all the other ones combined. Then a split, leading to yet *another* battle for some intangible object. And that's just the overall summary of it all; doesn't even get into the subtle minutiae, all the terrible, horrible, awful, no-good things they've had to do, all labeled as 'challenges'. Humiliation, it was more like. Who comes up with this garbage, anyway? These ideas for challenges have been growing more and more inane by the day, becoming more and more complete nonsense, even for something of this caliber. And that's on top of all the *other* things they've got to worry about as well. Keeping track of their team, their sanity, and *now* their worries about potentially just... ceasing to exist. Because, *apparently*, the all-powerful hosts don't have control over every single facet of this competition. Someone, *something*, has apparently been snagging all the eliminated, presumably subjecting to horrific faiths worse than death. And they were just supposed to accept that Bomby and Bell, Barf Bag and Needle
Two would spontaneously appear out of nowhere, with absolutely no fanfare whatsoever. They've been doing the eliminations beforehand, so perhaps that was to be expected. "Alright, challenge time." They'd declare. "C'mon, you guys." They'd do one or two claps with their hands, and they and all the contestants would suddenly be transported elsewhere in Goiky. Somewhere... *completely* different. Completely foreign, completely alien. Dull floors, dull ceilings, dull walls, dull *everything*. Everyone naturally had their concerns, their questions; some were interrupted in the middle of whatever shenanigans they were up to, and so had a number of complaints regarding this treatment. The algebralian didn't seem to care one bit, however; they looked as if they've been battling something in the intervening time, their eyes sad and miserable, a scratch or two if you looked *really* hard. "So, uh, what *is* the challenge?" Eraser broke through the crowd, asking the *very* important questions. "I was getting to that." The green numeral waved a hand, using The Power of Two to magically push the parallelogram away. "Shoo. Shoo." After a momentary period of awkward silence, they'd continue with the explanation. "I'd like to welcome you all to the... To the... Uh... The, uh... The... Erm... What's the name... the... the nuke... nuke... nuke lard... Sheesh, what're these names... *Nuclear*..." As the host continued tripping over themselves (metaphorically speaking, anyway), the contestants exchanged glances at each other, unsure of how to react to... any of this. Two was usually so much more enthusiastic, more upbeat, even in the face of certain danger or death. Had the whole weight of it all *finally* gotten to him, perhaps? They probably should've seen it coming, perhaps; the algebralians, unlike the speaker boxes, aren't exactly known for being soulless or emotionless. If anything, it was perhaps the exact opposite. "Nuclear... Nuke... Uh... Nuclear... plant. Nuclear plant." Two blinked. "That's a *dumb* name. This whole thing is dumb. Nuclear plant? This looks nothing like a plant at all! Who on Earth comes up with any of this..." They'd grumble; arguing about this nonsense, especially to nobody in particular, probably isn't a good way to spend one's time or energy. "This is the nuclear power plant. Say hi, everyone." The contestants were a bit reluctant to do so, but you don't exactly refuse the commands of a toddler that somehow wields the abilities of a deity. "I'm *really* tired right now, and I'm just about out of ideas for challenges, so, uh..." They'd shrug and wave their arms about. "The challenge is to... survive. Whatever. Stay for as long as possible, try not to get yourselves killed... You get the gist." They'd blink once. Or twice. "That's it? Really?" Pen interjected. "That sounds kinda-" "A nuclear power plant?" Tennis Ball got in front of him. "Sorry, it took me a little while to *truly* process what you just said, did you *really*-" "Yeah, nuclear power plant." Two nodded. "What, you think all the power for the Hotel and all the other things comes from nowhere? Get real." They'd sigh. "And speaking *of* real... Do keep an eye out for the... the, uh... you know, the thing.... The thing. Something to do with melting, or whatever." Finally, their eyes seemingly lit up. "Oh! That reminds me, my tub of ice cream is probably melting by now; gotta get back to it before it all turns into goop. Uh... Three, two, one, go!"
And just like that, the four teams of the Battle for Dream Island: The Power of Two were stuck here, in this place they had *absolutely* no clue about, with absolutely no guide on what they were supposed to do. Well, *some* of them acted like they did. "Alright, CloudYAY! Listen up!" Golf Ball shouted, as if her words meant anything. "I know we've had our differences, but it's about time that we put all those aside and actually work together. As the only one here with any actual knowledge as to what a nuclear power plant is, I am the only one that can-" Pencil then proceeded to give her a swift kick, causing her to roll away, down a hall and into the darkness, never to be seen again. "NO! Golfy!" Tennis Ball promptly ran after her, and he too would disappear into the abyss. "Well, you guys heard what Two said." Pencil remarked. "All we gotta do is stay here the longest. This place is kinda boring, but it'll do. We just gotta sit back, relax..." She'd find a perfectly good corner to do just that." "And just wait for the win to come to us. It's been *ages* since I've had a proper break time, anyway." "Yawn!" Pillow scoffed. "Rest? That's *boring*. New location means new things to take a look at and investigate!" She then proceeded to walk down a random corridor, and no one would dare to follow her. Meanwhile, Team 2 would be having problems of their own. "Alright, New Strongest Team!" Snowball shouted. "We struggled a bit last time, but that's alright; that just means we're gonna rise harder and stronger than ever before! So, here's the game plan-" Unfortunately for him, however, everyone else didn't seem to care one bit; the rest of his team immediately started walking around and wandering about, not finding anything else to do with their time. "Oh, come *on*!" The few acres of snow would then grumpily proceed to mope; Grassy would take notice, and would then walk up to him to try and make him happy, with... *mixed* results. *Meanwhile*, the team with a name that is *far* too difficult to translate into letters was also just... existing. Continuing to exist in this cold, cruel, unjust, indifferent universe. The universe that was apparently governed by mad people with even madder ideas. Seriously, a challenge set at a nuclear power plant? They've had their fair share of wacky contests throughout the years, but this just takes the cake for complete, absurd, abject lunacy. Who's the cosmic script writer that comes up with this utterly ridiculous nonsense? Don't they know what sorts of suffering they are causing? How come they're all forced into all sorts of completely ridiculous, wacky events such as this? Can't something perfectly fine and normal happen to them for once, as opposed to this utter ludicrousness? Can't they stop to think just this once, think about how they're being driven to insanity by this careless tugging at the strings? While most of the others were... *trying* to keep themselves in check, Pen was just about on the verge of losing it. Liy, wanting to make herself look useful after spending *so* long in the darkness, would approach him. "Hey. Hey." She'd awkwardly pat him on the shoulder. "What's up? Something bothering you? You can tell me: from one P.A.C.Ter to another." The writing utensil let out a deep sigh; he had little to no affinity towards a team he left *ages* ago, but he did need someone to vent out these feelings to. "These past few..." How long had it been, really? "These past few *moments* have just been a lot, is all. I mean, I *finally* get out of prison after *so* many years, get a new chance at life, then it's just..." He'd grumble. "I get separated from my friends, then I don't get any opportunities for me to *truly* show my worth, to show that I've actually changed." He'd pause for a moment to breathe. "Only recently did I think I *actually* had a shot; I thought becoming buds with Needle would change things, but then she-"
The area would suddenly be illuminated by bright red lights, and their eardrums would nearly burst by the sound of deafening alarms; the thing that Two had haphazardly warned them about had finally come to light. "Alert! Alert!" TV blared. "Guys, I think the nuclear power plant is having a meltdown!" Basketball shouted. "I think that's what the real challenge was about: to try and stop *that*!" "...Stop *what*, exactly?" Eraser asked. "This thing is gonna explode at any moment!" The orange sphere put it about as clearly as she possibly could. "Yeah, that *definitely* doesn't sound good." Tree remarked. "Black Hole, you think you can... you know, stop that?" "Uh... Maybe." The void replied. "I don't really know what there is *to* stop, though; this challenge is so poorly thought-out, so completely absurd, with such little regard for safety or-" "Just suck up whatever looks dangerous, alright?" Fanny shouted. "You heard what Basketball said: we could explode at any moment! Get to it!" The abyss grumbled. "Alright. Alright."
He would float up and out of there, and would begin making the rounds; he'd absorb anything that looked at him funny, anything that seemed to be a threat to their lives. He'd continue orbiting about until a sufficient amount of the place was wiped from existence, until whatever was causing the alarms stopped doing that, and everything was back to normal. *Some* semblance of normal, anyway.
Alright, cool.
