Triangle would snap his fingers, and... You get it by now. He'd immediately get right into it. "As some of you may know, you guys lost." Triangle said it in a rather monotone voice that would've made the Announcer proud. If it could feel pride, that is. "...That's surprising. For me, especially." Pin would then look at Triangle with suspicion, which caused him to realize that he had said too much. Pretending to have not said anything, he'd cough and clear his throat. "You all know how this goes, so just get to voting." Everyone would be rather hesitant to talk, being rather more concerned with the fact that Triangle seemed to imply he rigged the contest so that Team Sharp Minds would win, but eventually, with a little help from Triangles powers, they'd stop questioning it. Eraser would speak up to cast his vote first. "I vote Golf Ball, obviously!" He began. "Once again, she's disappointed her team. Where's all the strategies she's been coming up with? Definitely not helping us, that's for sure." "Yeah!" Blocky joined in.
"...WHAT? How did I-" Golf Ball was about to refute his statement, when Blocky interrupted her. "I thought you were smart enough to use the trees as a catapult, like we did!" "We already thought of that! It just wasn't feasible with the materials that we had, and-" "Whatever. Excuses, excuses." Eraser interrupted Golf Ball again. "It just sounds like you were too *dumb* to work it out." Golf Ball would lose her composure. She clearly didn't like that one bit. Of course she didn't, as it was a direct attack on her one defining quality. "...You..." She breathed once before proceeding. "YOU TAKE THAT *BACK*!" Eraser scoffed. "Of course not." "YOU TWO ARE BY FAR THE WORST MEMBERS OF THIS TEAM!" Golf Ball continued yelling, using as many simple words as possible to hammer the point home to them. "YOU SHOULD GET VOTED OFF FIRST!" "Uh... Golf Ball?" Tennis Ball intervened, not wanting to see her favorite ball freak out. "I see just a tiny a problem with that plan, though." "WHAT?" "There's two of them! Who do we vote off first?" Golf Ball would finally quiet down, much to the relief of the others, who were getting sick of having to cover their ears. In order to cool off, Golf Ball would do the opposite of yelling while talking to Tennis Ball. "Eraser is clearly the dumber of the two." She'd whisper to him. "Blocky still has potential, if we manage to sway him to our side. Let's vote for Eraser." Tennis Ball would nod. Golf Ball would pull away from him, continuing her yelling.
"Well, if we're going to talk about voting off disappointments, then I vote for Eraser!" Golf Ball continued her tirade. "Yeah!" Tennis Ball immediately joined in. "All you've ever done is talk to your 'pals' and push people around! You're even pushing your fellow teammates! That's just... Well, absurd!" Eraser let out a deep sigh. "What? Really? Are you guys serious?" As the argument continued, Triangle would try to remember if he provided cake during the last elimination. All this talk of Chaotic Energy and being metaphorically drunk (which is feeling drunk, but not really *being* drunk) had made him forget events which only happened days, or even mere hours ago. "...Aren't you going to do something about this argument?" The Announcer asked. "Of course I am!" Triangle immediately replied. "I'm just... Hrm..." Triangle would come up with yet another lie. "I'm just figuring out the best way to defuse it without anything going wrong. Hang on..." Just to be sure they did get cake regardless of whether or not he did give them some earlier, Triangle would snap his fingers, and an entire cake would appear at Team Prawns house for them to consume during the night. He'd also make sure not to forget to provide cake for Team Sharp Minds as well, summoning eight slices of cake next to him.
As Team Prawn watched the argument unfold, Pen would start sweating. "Oh... Oh no..." He'd quietly mutter to himself. "Uh... Pen, why are you sweating?" Firey, who was sitting next to him, would ask. "You know water's my poison... Right?" "N-Nothing! I-I'm not sweating." Feeling as if Pen didn't catch that last part, Firey would reiterate it. "...Waters my poison. You know that, right?" Pen would nod. "Uh... Of course! But i'm not sweating!" Pen would then proceed to wipe off the """imaginary""" sweat from his body. Firey scoffed. "...Sure." And would slide some distance away from Pen. "You *are* sweating!" Snowball yelled and pointed at one of the sweat drops in question. "You think I can't see that in the dark? I know what sweat looks like, and that's sweat, alright." Pen grew even more anxious, and more sweat would appear. "It's... It's just that Eraser's my friend! Even though we're in different teams, I still gotta look out for him! And seeing him close to being eliminated is just making me... Making me..." He couldn't express it, but Firey would then come back, content with hearing the real reason Pen was sweating. "I know your pain. I also have some friends... ...and enemies..." Firey spoke that last part quietly to himself. "...on the other team as well, and I also worry for them. And why wouldn't I? But you gotta think about your own team first! Think about your own safety first!"
Firey took a deep (fried) breath before continuing, still rather afraid of the sweat drops. "Don't *you* want that prize? Even if Eraser does get eliminated, you can just invite him into Dream Island if you win!" "Yeah, but..." Pen wanted to voice more of his concerns, but the support for him was now coming in full swing. "Pen, come on. You got me!" He'd pull him in closer, despite the sweat still stuck to him. "We're fine with each other, ...right? If we're not... I'll... Uh..." While waiting for Pens response, he'd look around to make sure no one was going to call him out if he tried to hurt him. While looking, he'd notice that Pin, who he thought was still watching the elimination, was now staring at him with pure anger in her eyes. Clearly she would have something to say about it, should it happen. "...If you don't consider me as a friend, then... I'll act more like one. We'll work out any conflict we might have, alright?" "Uh... Thanks, I guess." Pen would try to push himself away from Snowball, but his grip on him was a bit too strong for him to break free from. "But still, though... I can't help but be worried."
As they looked back at Team Sharp Minds, the argument was still going on, despite the fact that it had been several minutes, and despite their hatred for Golf Ball, they have to admit that she can come up with far more insults than Eraser and Blocky could muster. "Guys, guys..." Coiny would attempt to put an end to the nonsense once and for all. "If we're *really* discussing the topic of uselessness, then Match has done way less for us than Eraser! All I've ever seen her do was talk with Pencil, who's on the other team! At least Eraser has strength! I don't even think Match has any muscle! I'm voting for her." "WHAT?" Match was shocked, of course. "I've, like, done something! Like... Uh..." Match would, of course, struggle to name one thing she had done for her team. "Name *one* thing. Just one thing. One thing that you've done for the team, and maybe i'll consider voting for someone else instead. I *dare* you." Match would give up immediately, and so instead would change the subject. "I vote for Coiny! Like, stop being so rude, alright?" "Yeah, Coiny!" Bubble would agree. "That's not noice at all!" "Yeah!" Ice Cube joined in as well. "WHAT?" Coiny was shocked and confused that the two of them actually sided with Match, instead of what was clearly the correct side. At least, according to Coinys perspective. "Since when have you two been friends with *that* brat?"
Match sighed in relief, as Coiny had provided an answer to his own question. "You would, like, know that I was making friends with, like, the rest of the team if you were, like, actually doing that! I've been, like, doing that. And you haven't! All I've seen you, like, do was gush over Needle!" Coiny hadn't actually expected her to name one thing, and was rather shocked that she chose to attack *that* part of him. Everyone was quite surprised by the development, especially Pin. "W-What?" Coiny was lost for words. "But I... I... I've been... Been busy with... Uh... Oh, jeez..." Coiny would be overwhelmed with emotions, and would give up almost immediately. Triangle would become anxious over the sudden developments, and would look at the vote counter.
MATCH: 1
GOLF BALL: 2
ERASER: 2
COINY: 3
To him, that wasn't good at all. Triangle would also begin sweating, and would also notice that Needle and Pin were sweating as well, with Pin sweating a strange green liquid. He knew about how stuff like that can happen to certain objects during his research, but it looked strange as he saw it for himself. Not wanting to focus *too* much on Pin, however, Triangle would look at Needle instead, letting his worries about her take over his mind, as that was somewhat more manageable. After several seconds of staring at her, however, she would also suddenly stare at him, causing them to be locked in a rather awkward staring contest. Even though the argument continued loudly in the background, All of it seemed to fade away as they stared at each other. He'd finally snap back to reality when the Announcer began calling his attention, saying that Needle was the only one who hadn't voted yet.
Triangle then cleared his throat, and would begin talking again. "Uh... Needle, it's all up to you, now. How you vote could possibly change Coinys fate. Does he get immediately eliminated, or will he have a chance to stay in the game?" He'd then nervously look away, hoping that Needle didn't find the whole situation awkward as well, as it could possibly delay the elimination even more than it already has. "Um..." Needle would nervously look around, her eyes rapidly alternating between looking at Coiny, Triangle, Golf Ball, and Eraser. Although it seemed like that the correct course of action was perfectly obvious in her mind, she would be distracted and prevented from making her choice, her mind being clouded by memories of the days prior. The memories Triangle had wiped from her seemed to be returning, although she didn't know it was actually memories of actual events. As it all continued to return to her, one of the events she could half-remember was seeping back into her mind. Someone speaking out, requesting something. The way it asked, and what it was asking about, made it clear who it was. "...Eraser!" She'd call out his name out loud, unintentionally. She would quickly close her mouth shut afterwards, rather embarrassed by what just happened. She, and Triangle too, would be taken completely by surprise by that occurrence.
Triangle coughed, wanting to break the awkward silence that happened as a result. "Uh... Not exactly what I was expecting to happen, but sure." He *did* want Needle to vote for Eraser, as he was quite a hindrance to his plans, but he didn't expect it to be such an awkward affair. Wanting to proceed, Triangle would look at the vote counter.
MATCH: 1
GOLF BALL: 2
ERASER: 3 [X]
COINY: 3 [X]
His nervous expression would return to his usual cheerful one, as he was now able to distract everyone from all the awkward things going on with some good old action. "That's the first tie we've ever seen in a vote! Wow." He'd feign surprise. "I'd want to eliminate both of you, but I don't think the Announcer would be too pleased with that." "You're right. I wouldn't." The Announcer would reply. "...So I guess we'll settle it in a tiebreaker." "A literal tiebreaker?" The Announcers voice seemed to convey a sense of hope, even though it was the same monotone voice as before. "What? No..." Triangle wanted to come up with his own tiebreaker contest, but realized that it would take even more time, and frankly, he had wasted enough time as it was. "Actually, okay, sure." He'd snap his fingers, and two ties, one brown and one pink, would appear in front of the two candidates for elimination. Eraser would get the brown one, and Coiny would get the pink. "The contest is simple." Triangle began. "Just... Break these ties. The first one to break their tie doesn't get eliminated. Go." Eraser would try his hardest to break the tie, but would be horrified as he found out that it just stretched as he attempted to do so. "What the?" Eraser panicked. "It's like this thing is made of some super-strong rubber!"
Meanwhile, Coiny would easily rip his tie with ease, breaking it into two. "YES! I did it!" Coiny would immediately become happy once again, and Needle would also become happy as well, immediately recovering from the awkwardness of the previous situation. Everyone else would have mixed reactions, with some cheering, and some groaning in disappointment. Pin in particular would merely sigh in relief, as Coiny as a rather vital part of her plan. "WHAT?" Eraser continued freaking out. "This contest was rigged! Ties aren't made of rubber!" "What on Earth are you talking about?" Triangle looked at Eraser with disappointment, much like he did to Golf Ball during the team leader contest. "That tie is made of fabric. Same as Coinys." "No it isn't! Watch!" Eraser would try again with all his strength, but this time he would easily rip it in two. Triangle would chuckle as he saw Eraser being shocked and confused by this. Thanks to Triangles silly little powers, he was able to turn the tie into rubber as Eraser struggled to rip it, only to turn it back into fabric to prevent any suspicion from falling on him. "Now, i'm no scientist..." Triangle lied. "But rubber sure doesn't tear like that, no?" He'd struggle to hold back his laughter. "B-But, it wasn't..." Eraser would grab the two halves of the tie and would feel it with his hands. He swore that it felt like rubber the last time he held it, but now it was exactly like Triangle said it was: just fabric. But, of course, he couldn't believe it.
"Alright, fun's over." Triangle went back to being neutral in expression "Away with you, now." Eraser immediately protested against this. "No! It isn't fair! What did you-" Triangle would snap his fingers, and Eraser would disappear into the TLC. Coiny and Blocky would chuckle slightly, finding the whole situation somewhat humorous. Eraser was their friend and all, but watching someone strong fail to do something easy was *always* hilarious.
-
Everyone would then be teleported back to their houses as soon as Cake at Stake ended. Both teams would find that cake had been placed in small plates, resting on the beds of their respective houses, and they'd all immediately get to eating.
/Team Sharp Minds/
Needle sat on her bed, being rather sad, even though she had treated herself to a good old slice of cake. Match was doing her usual thing, with crumbs being spat out of her mouth as she talked, while Bubble and Ice Cube talked to each other right next to her. Blocky would be sitting on his own, drawing on a piece of paper with an angry look on his face. Once all the humor of what had happened in Eraser had gone, he realized just what that meant to him, which was losing one of his only friends in this god-forsaken team. This caused him to be rather upset, of course. Meanwhile, Tennis Ball and Golf Ball were talking to each other about nerd stuff, as usual. As she contemplated what just happened between her and Triangle, the whole staring contest thing and all, Coiny would sit down next to her. "Needle, seriously." He began. "What's been going on with you? Like, no offense, but you haven't been yourself for some time, now." Needle sighed. "...Nothing. I've just been thinking about how we lost." She'd lie. She was really thinking about what Triangle had in mind for her, and that was truly what worried her.
Coiny would put a hand on Needles shoulder. "Needle, relax. It's fine. We all lose sometimes. Just think about the first contest, for instance. We can't win *all* the time, you know. You even said so yourself." Golf Ball, realizing what was happening, would finish up her conversation with Tennis Ball, and would walk up to her. "Yeah, Needle." She began. "Besides, our chances of winning are still high! Just like I hypothesized, Team Prawn is at an obvious disadvantage! We picked the best members out of the ones available, and we are reaping the rewards!" She'd breathe. "Don't be so hard at yourself." Needle would look at Golf Ball as she talked, and as she did, a previously-forgotten anger seemed to reappear in her. Several repressed memories seemed to return to her as well. The memory of the orange powder seemed to dissipate as she stared at her, and what she remembered only made her more sad. And angry, of course. Fearing that they'd completely ignore her true sorrow, however, she chose to keep it to herself for the time being.
"I know... But I *really* don't know what's been up with me recently." She'd sigh. "I suppose it's just a phase, I guess. All the pressure of being a team leader must be getting to me." "Well, not to be rude, oh great leader..." Golf Ball began. Needle would retch as she used that title again, but she couldn't figure why. She was fine with her calling her that. It was a little weird, but sure, why not. "...but we can't have a depressed leader making our decisions! While you're down in the dumps, I can take over managing the team for the time being! You know very well how capable I am of that, right?" Needle almost gagged upon hearing that idea. She was fine with the idea. She knew that Golf Ball could take on the responsibility of managing the team for her. But something inside her kept telling her that it *wasn't* alright. As she continued to think about it, the anger she felt continued building up inside of her. She almost wanted to slap her for suggesting such an idea.
"Uh... She's right, you know." A sudden voice would immediately calm her down, however. "While you are a great team leader, and you seem to *really* care about us, you should also care about your own emotions. It's probably fine if GB takes over... Right?" After Coiny voiced his support for GBs idea, the anger seemed to fade away. She supposed that the sudden disappearance of her rage was due to the fact that Coiny encouraged the proposal. *Oh, Coiny.* She thought. She was doing this all for him, she'd think. But of course she wasn't *really* doing it just for him, right? As she calmed down, she began thinking straight again. At least, thinking like the real Needle would.
She'd sigh. "...I guess you're right. Golf Ball." She'd begin. "You can manage the team for now, I guess. But i'm still the team leader, right?" Golf Ball was perplexed, seeing the idea of overthrowing her as team leader was ridiculous. At least, for now. "Oh! Of course you'll still be team leader! I mean, Everyone here hates me! They'd overthrow me in a bloody coup if I tried *that*!" Golf Ball and Needle would chuckle, treating it as if it was a joke. It would die down as soon as it began, however. Just another one of GBs terrible attempts at humor, ruined by her big words. "Come on, let's cheer you up! Surely you have something to say about the recent events. Let's go talk about what's been going on. Won't that be fun, Needle?" A smile would seem to return to Needles face. "Well, if you say so..." Needle would begin laughing again, giggling like a little girl. She'd be a bit more confident as she did so, blushing a deep pink. Thankfully, Needle had now returned to normal. For now, at least. As she and Coiny began talking to each other, Golf Ball would make her way back to Tennis Ball. As soon as she was finally back in front of him, however, her sense of joy and enthusiasm seemed to fade away. Much like the wind, it had come and gone.
/Team Prawn/
Pencil was doing her usual thing of yelling out the window, while Spongy sat uncomfortably on his own corner of the room, rather sad that no one wanted to talk to him. Firey, Snowball, and Pen were talking to each other about what's been happening so far.
"YEAH, THAT FOREST WAS SCARY, RIGHT?" Pencils yell would've deafened the entire team, had it been pointed in the opposite direction. "LIKE, YEAH, OF COURSE!" Match replied back. From where she sat, Pencil heard it as if she was talking normally in front of her. As they continued their conversation, however, Teardrop would make her way to Pencil, and would tug on her arm. "Hm?" She would be surprised. "Uh..." Pencil would then look at Teardrop, and would then look back at Match. Making her decision, she'd continue yelling. "Uh... CAN I GET BACK TO YOU IN A MINUTE? TEARDROP WANTS TO TALK TO ME. I MEAN, NOT TALK, BUT... YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!" "OH? YEAH, LIKE, OF COURSE! LIKE, SAME TIME TOMORROW!" "SURE!" Pencil would close the window, and would focus her attention on Teardrop. She'd sigh, though only a little bit, not wanting to act rude to her team leader. "What is it now?" Teardrop had a rather uneasy look on her eyes, as if she was actually afraid of something. It was rather weird for Pencil, who had never seen the silent type actually show fear. "Uh... TD? You doing alright, there?" Teardrop would shake her head. Whatever it was, it was clearly bugging her. And if it was scaring *her*, of all people, then it must truly be messed up. Even though the gravity of the situation was apparent, Pencil would immediately think that she had murdered someone. Her motions were less confident than normal, and tiny drops would begin making their way down her body. Teardrop had never been seen sweating all that much, mostly because she was pretty much 100% water, but this time, one could actually notice it at a glance, as tiny bulges of water that protruded from her otherwise smooth skin.
"Okay... You're *clearly* not alright. What's up?" Teardrop would let go of Pencil, and would point towards Pin and Leafy, who were on their own corner of the house. They were also talking to each other, of course, but they were more quiet than the others. One could barely even make out who was speaking when, much less what they were saying. Pencil would look at the two as they talked, and then back to Teardrop. "...What about them?" Teardrop would only continue pointing at them. As Pencil continued paying attention, what was off about them became more obvious. The two of them were usually talkative, Pin with her leadership skills, and Leafy with wanting to make new friends. Them staying quiet for *that* long was an anomaly. "...You want me to eavesdrop on them, don't you?" Teardrop would hurriedly nod, and would indicate for her to quiet down, anxiously looking at the two to make sure they hadn't heard her say that. If they had heard her... Well, according to her, their lives would be over. Pencil sighed. "I suppose I can't say no to that. You are our team leader, after all, regardless of what Pin says." Teardrop would finally smile after spending the entire conversation looking worried, and she would then make her way to Firey and the others.
Pencil would slowly inch her way into Leafy and Pins corner of the house, making sure to not get too close. As she finally got close enough to finally hear them talk, Leafy was clearly in the middle of saying something. "...Coiny a threat? He's in the other team." Pin would nod. "I know, but he's important in breaking their morale. We need to keep him alive for as long as possible. The longer his relationship with Needle stays alive and well, the greater the damage we can inflict upon them once we break them apart." Leafy stayed silent as she thought about it for a moment. "How are we going to ensure that? We're on different teams as him, after all. We can't guarantee anything." "We make all the other contestants look bad in comparison. Match and Blocky are already doing that to themselves. Bubble and Ice Cube are easy prey. The two balls, however..." Pin sighed, struggling to think of a way to deal with them. "...We could tear apart their friendship, I suppose?" Leafy suggested. "Yeah, that's it!" Pin would nod. "You're a pro at building up friendships, and you can definitely do the opposite. Make them turn on each other, and those two will be gone in a snap." Leafy nodded back. "Yeah, alright. but what about our own team?" "...What about them?" "They can prove to be a hindrance, being rude and all... I mean, not to be rude, Pin. You're clearly doing a great job of managing them. But..." "Oh, be as rude as you want." Pin chuckled. "But..." "No buts. Friendship can't get us everywhere in life. Some people just *can't* be negotiated with."
Pencil would become more anxious as she continued listening in. Perhaps Teardrops fear was justified. "...I suppose we can prioritize a purge in our own team, first." Pin continued. "The weak ones have to go. The two of us and Teardrop have to stay, obviously. Firey..." "Firey can be useful." Leafy brought up. "But Firey is also fire. Given the recent contests, it's safe to say that a lot of contests will involve water." "Firey can burn stuff! Around half of the other teams members are flammable." "I suppose we can keep Firey, I guess..." Pin seemed to hesitate in saying that, but she continued on. "By that logic, Snowball and Spongy can also stay for convenience. Since Pen wants to defect so much, he'll *definitely* have to be one of the first to go." Leafy nodded. "Alright, so the elimination order will be..." "We can't exactly guarantee there'll be an exact list, as things can change on a whim." Pin sighed. "But for now... Pen, Spongy, Snowball, Firey, and Teardrop." "What about for the other team?" "We're even less likely to guarantee that it'll go according to plan, but we should try to go for Match..." Pencils eyes widened as soon as she heard Matchs name. "...then Ice Cube, Bubble, Blocky, Golf Ball, and Tennis Ball. Golf Ball should be eliminated as early as possible, and we should eliminate her as early as we can. Coiny will be the last."
"...But how do we manage it?" Leafy asked. "We have to eliminate our own contestants, then the other teams, and..." "We'll just alternate between them, of course." "I suppose..." Leafy nodded. "But what about Pencil?" "...What about her?" "I think you forgot her in the planning." "Oh, right." Pin sighed. "She is rather useless to the team, so I completely forgot she was even part of it. What does she do again? Gossip?" Leafy nodded. Pencil would begin feeling much the same fear as Teardrop had. "We'll take care of her first, then." "Ah... Okay." Leafy nodded once more. Upon hearing what the two had in store for her, she now realized that Teardrops seemingly irrational fear was completely justified. Her so-called 'alliance' seemed to be out to get her, and everyone else in the competition. She'd roll over back to her bed, and would try to look like she was asleep, as to not cause any suspicion. As she did so, the two would continue their conversation.
"...Pin?" "Yeah?" "...I still have some doubts about this." Leafy was now speaking in a more worried tone. Like Pin was going to murder her if she said something wrong, or if it was taken out of context. "I mean, just a while ago you weren't like this... Just what happened to you?" Pin sighed. "I told you not to question that..." Her calm voice would then turn angry. "Remember what happened. Remember what we must do." "B-But-" Pin would raise her hand, and Leafy would start to feel as she was being choked again. A deep shade of red began to grow from her fingertips. Pin would then stop, and Leafy would regain the ability to breathe. As she breathed heavily, Pin would just stare at her, content. "Don't. Question it. Okay?" Leafy would reluctantly nod. "Great." Pin nodded. "Now get some sleep. The next contest will most definitely be happening tomorrow." Pin would make her way to her bed and would fall asleep. Leafy would do the same.
-
Needle found herself near the edge of a cliff. A bench stood closer to the edge, facing the chasm. Triangle sat on the bench, and he was clearly waiting for somebody. As she took a few steps closer to the bench, she knew who he was waiting for: her, of course. Needle would sit on the bench with Triangle, who would turn to her and smile. "You're doing great, surprisingly." Triangle chuckled. "I mean, you're not dead yet, so that's a relief." "...Triangle." Needle clearly wasn't having any of his terrible 'jokes' right now, however. "What's been going on?" "What do you mean... What's been going on?" Triangle seemed confused. "I keep having these weird... Memories? Ideas? Dreams? I don't know." Needle sighed. "...I feel like I remember something that was wiped from my memory. I think I remember fighting Golf Ball once, and a fight breaking out due to it. I remember hating her." Triangle would stare at her for a few moments, completely silent, and then would simply laugh it off. "Oh, Needle..." He'd hold back his laughter. "That's simply absurd. You're on good terms with her, aren't you? You even generously gave her a position of power within your team." "I know, but..." Needle would suddenly realize something: Triangle was most definitely away during the several times Needle had given Golf Ball the ability to manage the team. "Wait-" "Come on, you clearly have way too many things going on in your head. Just relax for a moment. Does anything you're thinking about *really* make any sense?"
Needle would think about it for a moment. Perhaps it wasn't, she wondered. "...Well, no. But-" "But what?" She'd think about it further. "...But, it seems to make sense. I mean, in some ways, it does. But-" "According to your viewpoint, maybe. But it's just silly to me. Utter nonsense. Absolutely..." He'd chuckle. "Nonsensical. Why are you being so paranoid about things that aren't happening?" "I mean... They *could* happen!" "But they haven't happened yet." He'd look at Needle. "Have they?" Needle would shake her head in defeat. "Come on. Don't be so blue." Triangle would pat her in the shoulder. "Just... Do what you think is right. Do what seems normal. Don't act too far out of line, eh? I don't want you to be like those tinfoil hat-wearing folk." Needle had no idea what he meant by that, but she understood. "I don't want to be hitting Golf Ball, even if you feel angry. Violence is never the answer." Triangle was tempted to follow it up with 'Violence is the question', but he immediately felt like vomiting upon considering that. "But-" "No buts. Come on. Keep the spirits up. Keep morale up. You may just need it." "...Yeah, I do. We do, even. but I-" Triangle was on a roll now with his motivational speeches, which may or may not be actually motivational. "Your team needs leadership. Not just them in fact. Everyone else." He'd breathe. "You don't really know it yet. They don't, either. But what you, and several others, do now and in the future, will shape the future of the world as we know it." "Wait, i'll... *What*?" Needle would stare at Triangle with confusion, and he would simply just smile.
As she continued to sleep, Needle would begin to stir, tossing and turning as she continued dreaming.
-
It was pretty much routine at this point to wake up to the sound of Triangles whistle. The sixteen contestants lined up as usual. Triangle didn't even bother to say anything to them, allowing the Announcer to take the stage. It was his turn on the wheel, after all. The wheel of torture, and damnation, and death, and agony, and also of *fortune*! "The fifth contest is to cross a bridge." The Announcer began, yet again, with his flat monotone voice. "The team with more people who crossed wins." The contestants seemed rather puzzled by this. The contest was simply to *cross* a bridge? How was that even a challenge? They could barely think of anyone that could possibly fail that unintentionally. "...Wait, is it the fifth or the sixth?" Triangle interrupted. God, I haven't been getting sleep lately..." Triangle did, in fact, not get any sleep lately. Besides from an hour-long nap in the middle of the night, Triangle had been busy the entire time. Whenever he wasn't managing the competition, he was busy working away at his Base of Operations. "Wait a minute, that's not even important. Is there even a time limit in this contest? Sounds to me like anyone can complete this contest, given enough time." The Announcer would think for a moment. "...You have one hour." "Cool." Triangle would snap his fingers, and they'd all be teleported to the edge of a rather narrow but deep ravine. This wasn't the same ravine as the one in the forest, mind you. There was nothing but the green fields up to the horizon. A single wooden bridge spanned the entire distance of the ravine. "Go."
"Alright!" Golf Ball began addressing her team. "This challenge seems simple enough. All of us will be crossing that bridge!" "I, like, don't know about that, GB." Match interrupted. "Like, that bridge doesn't look too, like, sturdy." The bridge in question was a singular wooden (as stated before) rope bridge, which actually looked rather new, as if it just appeared today. But looks can be deceiving, after all. "Alright then. One at a time it is! Who's willing to go first?" "Why don't you do it?" Blocky would be quick to respond. "You seem to be incredibly confident with your plan, you bossy-" "Blocky will go first!" Coiny would suddenly interrupt, much to their surprise. "Great!" Golf Ball slightly smiled. "Blocky, go!" "What the?" Blocky, of course, was confused. "I didn't agree to-" "GO!" Coiny would push Blocky onto the bridge, and he would momentarily lose his balance. He'd be able to regain it, however, and he would be able to stand normally on the bridge after a few seconds. Blocky shook his fists at them in anger. "Hey! Since you're there, how about just cross the bridge for our team, and we can argue later?" Golf Ball taunted. "Yeah, Blocky! Don't be such a downer!" Coiny added. "Alright! Alright!" Blocky would begin crossing the bridge, albeit slowly in order to further anger Golf Ball.
"Oh no! One of them is already crossing the bridge!" Pin would point to the bridge, where Blocky was already crossing. "Guys, we need one of our lighter teammates to-" Teardrop, presumably out of fear of Pin should neither of them cross, would rush to the bridge, leaping over Blocky in the process. In the end, however, both Teardrop and Blocky would make it across the bridge. "Leafy! Help me push Spongy onto the bridge!" Pin called out. "But why?" Leafy asked. "Spongy Is the heaviest member of our team!" "I know, but if we manage to get him to the other side, then we can use him as a wall to prevent the others from crossing!" "Great idea! Let's do it!" Pin and Leafy would immediately begin pushing Spongy towards the bridge. "Uh oh!" Spongy cried out. "Quiet down!" Pin immediately silenced him. The other members of Team Prawn would be unable to cross as, Pin would order them to wait for them to get Spongy across. As they slowly but surely pushed him along, there would be enough time for Tennis Ball, Golf Ball, and Ice Cube to cross the bridge. After Ice Cube crossed the bridge, Spongy would almost be at the start of the bridge.
"Ugh!" Pin feigned anger. "Spongy is just too heavy! I give up!" "Snowball! How about you push instead of us?" Leafy asked. "No way!" Snowball would obviously deny the request. "I don't want to push something that stinks!" "Oh, relax! There's fresh air here! Can't you feel the breeze?" "Ugh, fine! But i'm only doing this for the team!" "...Of course you are, Snowball." Pin sighed. Pin and Leafy would leave to let Snowball do his thing. With one strong tackle, Snowball would manage to push Spongy fully onto the bridge. It would drain Snowball of most of his energy, however. "Jeez! Spongy is heavier than I thought. Just *what* is up with you?" "Sorry..." Spongy would attempt to apologize, but no one cared. "Quiet!" Snowball would continue pushing Spongy along the bridge. As he did so, Team Sharp Minds would look at them with fear. "Uh... Guys? What do we do?" Coiny asked. "I don't think any of us are small enough to fit through those two." "I'll go next!" Needle replied. "I think i'm thin enough to squeeze through both of them. Maybe Match as well!" Match, upon realizing she'd have to squeeze through *Spongy*, would obviously decline. "What? Like, no way! Do you know how, like, *smelly* Spongy is?" "Do you *want* us to lose?" "If it means I don't have to, like, smell him, then yeah!" Needle would look at her with slight disgust. "Ugh, are you serious?"
Needle, not wanting to deal with Matchs nonsense any longer, would rush to the bridge and would effortlessly squeeze through Snowball and Spongy, and would make it across before any of them realized what was happening. "Huh?" Snowball would turn around to see who it was, but he'd only be able to see Needle once she was on the other side. "HOW?" "Act quicker, or the rest of them will get across as well!" Pin angrily shouted at him. "UGH! ALRIGHT!" Snowball would prepare himself for another strong tackle, taking a few steps back for a running start. He would then would do it, charging towards Spongy and hitting him with all the force he could muster. He'd be able to get him across a good portion of the bridge, but at the expense of slightly throwing him up the air due to the angle he struck him at, or something. The vibrations of Spongys landing would be felt throughout the entire bridge, especially in Snowballs feet. "Uh... That can't be good." The already-weak bridge would begin to make all sorts of not good sounds as its supports began falling apart, and the wood below Snowball and Spongys feet would fall, and them along with it. They could only scream as they fell down into the ravine.
The rest of the bridges planks would fall into the ravine as well, leaving only the rope railings remaining. Pin sighed upon seeing this new development. "Oh, great. What do we do now? We just lost two of our contestants, and there isn't even a bridge!" "This was your fault, Pin!" Pen, feeling brave, would call out Pin. Pin, of course, didn't take it lightly. "WHAT? How?" "It was your idea to send Spongy to the bridge in the first place! If you let us cross before you enacted your 'plan', we would've all gotten to the other side by now!" "It was Snowball that messed it up!" "He couldn't have messed it up if you didn't order him to do it in the first place!" Pin would then stare at Pen angrily, with the same rage she did with Snowball. All the life seemed to drain from him as he continued staring. After she looked away, Pen had changed his mind. "Uh... It was Snowballs fault, yeah. You're right."
The remaining members of Team Prawn watched the entire argument unfold, bewildered. Teardrop would be especially afraid. As they waited for Pin to calm down, Team Sharp Minds would immediately begin planning out their next move. Golf Ball would begin yelling across the ravine. "GUYS! YOU CAN HANG ONTO THE RAILINGS AND GO ACROSS THAT WAY!" "GBs right!" Coiny agreed. "Lets go while they're distracted!" Coiny would immediately rush to the bridge, and would hang on to the railings. Coiny would begin making his way across the ravine. "Oh noio!" Bubble panicked. Oi don't think oi can do that!" "Bubble, relax!" Match would pat her in the shoulder. "We can, like, not do that!" Match would then display an extremely rare case of her actually using her brain. "I mean, it's, like, basic math! Even if, like, every other member of the other team, like, got across, we'd still win!" Of course, Bubble, the math genius she was, doubted her. "I don't knoiow... Maybe you did the math wrong..." "Oh, of course not! I mean..." Match would run through the calculations in her head again. If only 6 members of her team made it across, and only 6 members of the other team remained, then... "I do suppose it'll be, like, a tie... But I guess that means we have to, like, win!" Match walked towards the bridge. "I'll, like, do it. You stay here! "Oh... Okay..."
Match would reluctantly hang onto the railings to begin crossing the ravine. Over time, both she and Coiny would make it across. "Guys! Stop getting distracted! What are you even looking at me for?" Pin had just noticed that everyone was looking at her. "Pin, you kinda, uh..." Firey would be immediately interrupted. "Does it matter? Look, most of their team is already across the bridge! It's now or never! Let's go!" Pin would begin making her way to the bridge. Everyone still alive would be reluctant to follow her, especially Leafy. But Firey, being the one least suspicious of Pin (even though he just had a reason to be just seconds earlier), would follow her. Pin and Firey would carefully make their way across the bridge, but Firey would eventually make a wrong move, causing him to accidentally burn his rope. He would then fall not long after, screaming as he went. "FIREY!" Pin would shout down below as soon as she noticed. Pin would flinch in reaction to watching Firey seemingly die, and would accidentally cut her own rope as well with her tip. She'd then fall as well, screaming as she made her way down.
The remaining contestants that had not crossed the ravine would look across it, confused. "So, uh... What now?" Pen asked. Triangle and the Announcer would then spontaneously appear on the other side of the ravine, with all the winners. "Well, it's only been 45 minutes... But I suppose we'll call it here." Triangle looked out to the other side. "There's most likely no feasible way any one of you could cross. I mean, besides going *around*, but that would take *forever*. And that's also technically cheating, so..." Triangle would then look at those with him. "Alright, for Team Sharp Minds... Everyone but Bubble has crossed the ravine. That makes 7 people." Triangle nodded as he put that into his memory. "As for Team Prawn..." Triangle would look at Teardrop with a grin, learning that Pins team had lost, but would attempt to hide it as she looked back at him. "It's just Teardrop. That makes only 1. And as far as I know, 7 is a far greater number than 1. Team Sharp Minds wins." The Announcer would then simulate clearing its throat, as he was supposed to be doing this job. "...I just did your job. You should be happy, you know. If you felt any *emotion*."
"YES! WE DID IT!" Coiny celebrated as soon as Triangle reported the news. Every member of Team Sharp Minds on that side of the ravine would celebrate, although it would be a bit less enthusiastic than the previous times they had celebrated. "Yes, yes. We can see that." Triangle nodded.
YOU ARE READING
Battle for Triangles Multiversal Travel Machine (and also Dream Island)
FanfictionThe Battle for Dream Island gets spicier once a new host appears and ups the ante. Part 1/3 of the BFTMTMAADI Trilogy, a BFDI Fanfiction series. Logo made by @catsanddogs3333. Everything else made by me. Battle for Dream Island made by jacknjellify.
