Battle for Triangles Multiversal Travel Machine (and also Dream Island)

Episode 16 - Throwing Up Nonsense

Triangle would snap his fingers, and they'd all be teleported away from the valley and into the Cake at Stake area. The members of Team Sharp Minds would be seated in the area proper, while Team Prawn watched in the nearby bleachers, as usual. "Well, no need for any introductions." The Announcer began, clearly starting to get sick of everybody, despite its monotone not giving away any sort of emotion. "Let's just get into it." Needle would raise her hand to ask a question. "Um-" Someone else would immediately interrupt her, however, and what he'd say would shock her. "It's me." Tennis Ball sighed. "I clearly need to go." Everyone else would also be quite surprised by Tennis Ball wanting himself to be eliminated willingly. Absolutely no one in the history of the competition had willingly wanted to be eliminated. It was rather obvious why that was the case for so long, given that Dream Island *was* a captivating prize. While some had welcomed elimination with open arms, they had all wished that it was someone else before that. "...*What*?" Needle would especially be confused by his decision. "W-Why? You're the brains behind our team! Without you-" "Without me, the team will be doing just fine." Tennis Ball nodded. "Even better, in fact. I did all the calculations regarding this plan in my head, and..." He'd sigh. "I just have far too many drawbacks to be kept alive, despite my intelligence."

"But..." Needle would try to protest against it, but as much as she hated the thought, he was right. There wasn't really *that* much of a reason to keep him on the team. "...You're the smart one!" "Exactly!" Tennis Ball immediately interrupted. "And i'm *only* the smart one. I'm not good at anything else!" He'd sigh. "I'm far too much trouble than i'm worth. I'll be fine if you vote me off." He'd nod. "I'll understand." "But, still..." Needle didn't want to give up on him yet, though. "The team could still need your-" "Hah." He'd chuckle. "Did you think it was *really* me that was providing the smarts in this team?" He'd smile, after having been frowning throughout the majority of the duration of Cake at Stake. "I mean, it sure seemed like I was, but I've actually been sitting on the sidelines, watching the one that's truly the most intelligent in this team..." He'd sigh. "You." Needle blushed slightly at the compliment. "I... What?" Needle would stare directly at Tennis Ball, having been looking slightly away from him to prevent it from being awkward. "...No..." She'd shake her head. "I'm-" "No, you are." Tennis Ball immediately nodded as he interrupted. "And I feel like a lot of us can agree with that. Right?" "Of course!" Coiny would nod as well in agreement. "Needle, I don't think we'd be doing well at *all* if you weren't team leader." He'd blush slightly as he finished. "Yeah." Spongy agreed as well. "I wouldn't be doing so foine if I was in Team Prawn!" Bubble would also agree.

"See?" Tennis Ball nodded once again, satisfied that he had proven his point well enough. Surely Needle couldn't refute it now. "Everyone here knows you do all the work, and they appreciate you for it!" He'd breathe. "And I do as well. Needle... You know it deep in your heart that it's true. I need to go for the team to survive. I'll just be a burden on most things." Needle would *still* hesitate, however. "But..." She'd begin, but Tennis Ball would interrupt her again. "Besides, it won't be the end of the world, right?" He'd chuckle. "With the new expansion, we'd still be able to talk! We can still formulate our plans and such. It'll be just fine!" Tennis Ball would nod. Needle would continue to hesitate, but would end up nodding in approval. "...Yeah, you're right." She'd hesitate again. "But... It'll be sad to see you go." "Oh, Needle..." Tennis Ball kept smiling. "I'm not going anywhere! I'll just be living in the next house over!" He would point to the HLR with his foot. Meanwhile, Coiny would awkwardly stare at Needle as she continued her exchange with Tennis Ball. There was nothing wrong about their conversation, of course. It's just that the way they seem to imply *certain* things is causing him to be somewhat suspicious. He didn't really know where he got the idea for that, and so would try to look away from them, and would see Pin winking at him.

"Well..." Needle would sigh as she conceded. "I suppose you're right... If that's the case, then..." She'd wave goodbye. "I'll see you around, Tennis Ball. I'm voting for you." Tennis Ball would simply nod in approval, for that was what he wanted. "...So will I." Coiny would nod as well. "Me too." Spongy wouldn't nod, for he weighed too much in mass to do that without exhausting himself. "Uh..." Bubble would doubt herself in the last second, but would end up nodding with everyone else as well. "Alroight. I suppoise it's good if everyone else agrees on it." "That's a majority." the Announcer remarked. "4 votes are for Tennis Ball. Therefore, he is eliminated." "*What*?" Pin was rather outraged by this conclusion. "But I didn't even get to vote!" "No matter who you voted, the end result would still be the same. Same for Tennis Ball, but if we gave him the chance, he'd probably vote for himself as well." Tennis Ball would nod again. Pin would scoff. "Ugh. Fine." the Announcer would then turn back to Tennis Ball. "Tennis Ball, goodbye." Tennis Ball would continue to smile, and would silently walk out. As he did, however, he'd get close to Needle, whispering something to her. "...We need to talk. Go behind the Huge Loser Residence ASAP, alright?" Needle would just nod. He'd get down from the Cake at Stake area, and would walk to the HLR without any complaints.

Alright, it's almost night." The Announcer would announce. "It's time to-" "No, no." Triangle would raise his hand to interrupt. "Hold on." Triangle would finally begin, having been fiddling with the ice bag attached to his head throughout Cake at Stake. "One more thing before you guys go." He'd breathe. "I've been hearing from the newly-eliminated contestants that they haven't been sufficiently rewarded. That was mostly because the pile was being used-" "We know!" Blocky folded his arms, wanting to get away from everyone as soon as possible. "Just get on with it." "Yeah, alright." Triangle would nod. "Long story short, both teams have the opportunity to choose... Uh..." He'd look at the pile, and would estimate how much stuff it has using an estimation of how large it was. "Let's say... Three things from the pile." "Wait, whoi only three?" Bubble would ask. "There were six Cake at Stakes between the first one without proizes and now!" "...Huh." Triangle would pause. "...That's surprising. I didn't know you could count to three, let alone double that." "Hey! I totally can! And way beyond too!" Bubble would continue ranting about her supposed intelligence (even though she didn't have a brain) while Triangle continued. "Anyways, that's correct." He'd nod. "There have been six Cake at Stakes since the start of the expansion construction. I can't be bothered right now to check who won each contest due to this headache, although it's managed to lessen somewhat during the previous contest..." He'd grab his ice bag again. "So each team gets three. It's fair and equal and all that." "But-" Coiny would be quickly interrupted. "What, you want Team Sharp Minds to *not* be able to get anything from the pile?" Coiny sighed. "Alright, alright. Fine."

"Wait!" Bubble would remember something. "Speaking of the poile, I gotta go get the minifridge from my former teams van! I'll be roight back!" Bubble would then immediately rush out of the Cake at Stake area to do exactly what she had said. Triangle would sigh. "Alright, who goes first?" He'd ask. "After whoever goes first, we'll alternate between the two teams." "Well, us! Duh." Blocky scoffed. "We won the last contest, so we have the right to go first." "Alright, sure." Triangle would not without any complaints. "Go ahead." The members of Team Prawn would then walk to the pile. They'd reach into it for a few seconds, until Blocky found something of interest. "Woah!" Blocky would be rather surprised by his discovery. He'd grab one of the objects of interest and would show it to the others. "One part of the pile is specifically full of these weird... Device things!" "Actually, those are BFDI-" "-TMTMAADI." Triangle would interrupt the Announcer, but it would continue regardless. "-DDSs. This super fun portable handheld video game console will let you play the most exciting games on 12 screens. A dodecascreen. Plus, it's foldable. I was supposed to give these to you during the Final 12, which is why there are 12 of them in the pile, but Triangle didn't let me." Triangle scoffed. "No, i'm sure it was because you didn't like the fact that the teams were still a thing." "Quiet." the Announcer continued.

"Anyways, each team is free to take one each during their turn, allowing them to get up to a maximum of three, provided that they don't pick anything else." "Well, there's always nothing on in that busted TV, so I'll get one!" He'd then hold on to the DDS like it was his own child. "Alright, that's their turn over with." Triangle continued. "Team Sharp Minds goes next." Team Sharp Minds would then go to the pile. Team Prawn wouldn't back away, as it was going to be their turn immediately afterwards, and so there was no point in wasting their time and effort into walking there and then back again. "We gotta get one of those DDS things!" Coiny immediately began. Needle would sigh. "Coiny, come on. You know that we need to prioritize training our team for future contests!" "But all we've been doing is plan all day!" Coiny protested. "And then we just go to sleep afterwards!" He'd sigh. "Look, no offense, Needle, but it gets tiring after a while. I wanna do something for entertainment, alright?" "I mean, i'm right here now, Coiny!" Pin would join in. "You can just hang out with me instead! Doesn't that sound way more fun?" "Well, I mean..." Coiny would scratch his head. "I suppose you're right... Heh..." Coiny and Pin would slightly blush at each other, which would slightly anger Needle, but she would hold back her anger successfully. "But you know what I meant." Coiny went back to looking at Needle. "Some alone time, you know." Needle sighed again. "Alright, alright... We'll get *one* of them. For those who behave the most." "Aw... Needle!" Bubble protested. "That's not fun at all!" "It's harsh, but needed." Needle would look at Pin, and would scoff. Come on." They'd pick one of the consoles out of the pile.

"Well, we're not like them, are we?" Blocky would rhetorically ask. "Let's get three of them! That way, we can actually do something fun while those 'theorists' can go stay in their crazy corner!" Firey would shout "HEY!" and Teardrop would shake her head while Blocky ignored them as he grabbed another DDS. Needle would reach into the pile once more once they pulled it out, and would then notice something. "Hey, what's this?" She would pull out something out of the pile. It was rectangular in shape, and was wrapped with packaging for a stack of sheets of paper. "Oh, that..." Triangle paused. "That's a... Thing. It's like the mini fridge, for those who remember that, meaning just Bubble." He'd hesitate for a moment to continue, not being too sure on how to word what he wanted to say properly. "Something strange goes on inside it that causes it to dispense infinite amounts of paper. You'll always be able to pull one out." "Neat!" Needle smiled. "That'll be great for planning!" "That, as well as some other things, were confiscated from Team Prawns house while there was a contest going on." Triangle remarked. "How anomalous objects ended up *there*, of all places, I have no idea." Teardrop would stare at Triangle in anger. She knew exactly why it was there. Meanwhile, Blocky would get yet another console.

"Well, that paper will be useless without something to write with!" Coiny remarked. "Precisely!" Needle would nod. "So that's why we'll get..." She would then pull out a pencil from the pile. "Hey!" Pencil shouted from the HLR. "That's my mini-me!" Triangle would turn to look at her. "That was yours? We also confiscated that." He'd pause. "You were eliminated anyway, so you wouldn't be able to keep it with you, anyway. Sorry." As soon as Triangle finished speaking, it was then brought to everyones attention by the Announcer that all the eliminated contestants had been let out of the HLR. "Well, someone has let the dogs out." Triangle chuckled. "That means it's now night." He'd continue. "Alright! You're all free to hang out and such for the night. The single rule still remains: no leaving the boundary of the fence. You never know what lurks beyond the fence. The fence is our-" "The fence is simply just there to prevent contestants getting lost and disappearing." the Announcer immediately interrupted. "Proceed."

-

Needle was just about to leave to go meet Tennis Ball, when Coiny would suddenly grab her hand to stop her. "Hey, Needle?" He'd begin. "Hm?" Needle replied. "I just wanted to ask..." Coiny sighed. "I know you told me not to worry about it, but I couldn't help myself, you know. Just..." He'd sigh again. "What was going on between you and Tennis Ball?" He'd ask. "What?" Needle would be confused. "What do you mean?" "Uh..." Coiny would scratch his head. He didn't really know either. I don't even know what i'm writing most of the time. "I don't really know. It's just that the way you guys seemed to talk during Cake at Stake felt..." He'd slightly blush in embarrassment. "Off. Like you guys were close, like best friends, but I didn't know anything about it." "That?" Needle would pause to think about it for a moment, and would chuckle. "...It was nothing, Coiny. Seriously." She'd nod. "I told you before, didn't I?" "But..." Coiny was still confused about some things, much like I am about *a lot* of things. "I saw you blush when looking at him! He went close to you before he went to the HLR!" "I was just flattered, that's all." She'd begin blushing yet again. "No one's really called me smart before... Considering how both the two smart spheres were on our team." She'd pause. "And the whole 'getting close to me thing'... I think he just wants to tell me something in secret." "Oh..." Coiny sighed. "Alright."

Coiny would pause for a moment before continuing. "I'm just concerned, that's all. You know how it is..." "You don't have to be so concerned all the time." Needle would pat him in the shoulder. "I mean, you probably already know that you're the only one I have..." Needle blushed even more. She didn't really like using *that word*. "...Those sorts of feelings for, right?" Coiny would nod. "Yeah, but... I'm starting to think that might not be the case for very long." Needle would be even more concerned by his response, and would start getting angry again. Coiny just couldn't come to terms that she was just being friendly to others, much like she couldn't understand that he was close to Pin. Ironic. "Coiny..." She'd fold her arms. "There's a line between being concerned and being obsessed. I'm starting to think you're *just* a bit too close to that line." "I-I'm not obsessed!" Coiny protested. "N-Not in the bad way, anyway..." "Uh... Sure." Needle scoffed. "Whatever that means." "Needle, please!" Coiny grew angrier as well. "...I just want to know that you'll stay mine, alright?" "Of course!" Needle would fake a smile. "Besides, I don't think it should be me that you're concerned about..."

Needle could barely contain her anger at that point, and it was slightly noticeable in the tone of her voice. Coiny remained oblivious to it, however. "...What do you mean?" He'd ask. Needle wanted to berate him for not getting the point already, but she decided to just tell him directly instead. "What about you and Pin, Coiny?" She'd ask back. Coiny would freeze in shock, not really knowing what to respond to *that* accusation. "After all, going by your logic, shouldn't I be concerned as well?" Needle scoffed. "I mean, you blushing at her, being close... That sounds all too familiar, isn't it?" She'd ask rhetorically. Coiny would begin to sweat. "...Needle, we're just friends. I-" "I'm just using your own arguments against you." She'd smile. "Don't you see how silly you sound when you're *not* the one making these claims?" "I..." Coiny would continue to grow angrier. Needle had just used his own tactics against him, and he *definitely* didn't like being humiliated like that. "W-Whatever!" He'd shout. "My point is, I just want to know if you're alright, okay?" "Likewise." Needle would nod. Coiny wanted to fire back at her, but would give up. He'd sigh. "Just... Just go. I'll be around when you want to talk. I'm sure what business you have with TB is important." "Alright, alright..." Coiny would then let go of her, and Needle would continue along her way.
Several seconds after the tension finally died out, Bubble would finally return to the Cake at Stake area. "Coiny! Oi'm back!" She'd greet him. "It took a long toime dragging the fridge to the house, but-" "Uh... Bubble." Coiny would immediately interrupt her. "Wrong time, and all." "Huh?" Bubble would be confused, having missed what just happened. "What's wrong?" He'd sigh. "...Nothing. Just... Go talk with your other friends right now. I'm kind of... Busy." "Oh..." Bubble would go silent. "...Alroight." She would then make her way to Match and Pencil, who were talking elsewhere. Shortly afterwards, Pin would then walk up to Coiny, asking him to talk to her somewhere quiet, and Coiny would agree. Meanwhile, Needle would make her way to the 'back' of the HLR, which was the side facing the fence. I already mentioned this area before. It's the alleyway thing I mentioned. Whatever. Anyways, Tennis Ball would already be waiting for her there. "Needle!" He'd smile. "I thought you weren't gonna come." Needle sighed. "I couldn't get here any sooner. Was busy with..." She'd pause. "...Team management stuff." She'd scoff. "Why did you want me to come here, anyway?" "Uh..." It was clear to him that Needle was angry, which made the whole thing awkward. "...GB told me something that *might* happen to interest you." "Oh?" Needle seemed to lose her anger. "What is it?"

Tennis Ball would continue, now a bit more confident because it was clear that Needle wasn't going to just shut him up anymore. "Well, uh... GB told me that there had been theories floating that Pin was some sort of... Bad person." Needle would nod. "I *have* heard of that. I just haven't heard about it in detail..." "Well, neither does she." Tennis Ball continued. "But basically, Pin told her to tell me to tell you and the others that those theories aren't true at all, and that Pin is just that, a good leader that wants to win the competition as much as you do." Awkward silence would then follow. "...Is that it?" She'd ask. Tennis Ball would look around, and once he was certain no one was watching them, he would shake his head. "Of course not. I knew that you would know something about the whole theory thing, and..." He'd pause, hesitating, but would proceed. "You probably don't believe it either, do you?" "Well, of course not." She'd fold her arms. "Pin's a..." She'd hesitate. "...Good friend, and a good leader." The anger in her voice could clearly be heard. "I know that." "Well, according to what I saw, that may not be the case." That piqued Needles interest. "What do you mean?" She'd ask. "The entire thing's as clear as day, if you're willing to look into it." He'd pause. "Everyone can see it. Coiny and Pin are clearly..." He'd hesitate again, not wanting to anger Needle. "Close. Closer than you, perhaps. And you're clearly angered by it."

Needle would blush slightly, embarrassed. Was it *that* obvious? "...No i'm not!" She'd lie. "What makes you think that? I know that they're good friends, and I understand that!" "Come *on*." Tennis Ball would scoff. "Like i'd believe that. You said so yourself. Why would two people that are supposedly just friends would be blushing when close to each other?" He'd breathe. "Normal friends *just* don't do that. Even I don't do that with GB." "Uh..." Needle didn't want to face the truth. "But... They're-" "There's no getting around it." Tennis Ball shook his head. "They definitely have a thing too." The anger which had just recently subsided within Needle would begin to rise again just beneath the surface. She'd slightly clench her fists, not closing it too tightly, as to not make it obvious. "...And what if they were?" She'd ask. "Well, although those theories are just that, theories, that doesn't mean that they aren't true." he'd continue. "There just hasn't been any conclusive evidence that favors either side. Anything that seemed like it was just written away as slightly stricter leader behavior. A result of the competition, or something." "...What are you implying, here?" "Well, i'm just saying..." He'd smile and wink. "If you find some evidence for the theory being true, you can probably nip that issue in the bud, before it comes to bite you."

Needle would think about it for a moment, but would hesitate. "N-No! I couldn't possibly do that..." She'd respond. "Pin's my friend too." "But does she feel the same way about you?" He'd ask back. "I know she does! After all, she has to. She's a good leader... Right? And a good leader must be friends with her subordinates?" Needle would use a big word she had learned from Golf Ball. "My point is, I couldn't possibly do that to her." "Oh, sure." Tennis Ball chuckled. "It was just a suggestion, anyway. It's not like I could force you to do it, anyway. It was fully up to you." Needle would nod as Tennis Ball continued. "I mean, i'm just trying to help you out with your thing with Coiny, but if you trust him enough, enough to risk him *possibly* going for the easier choice, you could do that." That seemed to make the idea of letting things be less appealing than she thought. "...Um-" "What?" Tennis Ball rhetorically asked. "I thought you made up your mind. I mean, if you trust Coiny, then there's no need, right? You... You're not *that* concerned about Coiny, right?" Needle would reluctantly nod. "...Yeah... Wait, am I?" "I don't know, are you?" He'd smile. Needle would gulp, and would nod again, this time a bit more confident. "...I am." "See? I knew you'd come to your senses." He'd continue smiling. "I predicted it, in fact."

"But..." Needle continued to hesitate. "GB only told you to tell me not to believe those theories." "Well, you and I both know that that doesn't really seem to be the case when we think about it, right?" Tennis Ball would nod. "After all, we're Team 'Sharp Minds', aren't we? Our minds have to be sharp, or we'll lose our edge." Needle would nod. "...I suppose you're right." She'd sigh. "Will that be all?" "Yep." Tennis Ball would nod. "I gotta go find GB, anyway. We still have so much to discuss!" He'd return to his usual cheerful expression, which could be seen whenever he was talking to his *platonic* friend. Needle would shrug. "Alright." Needle would then walk away, followed by Tennis Ball in the opposite direction.

Meanwhile, Bubble would finally get to Pencil and Match. "Hey, gois!" Bubble would greet them. "Oh! Bubble!" Match would wave at her. "Like, you're here!" "Oh, uh. I forgot to ask, because... You know. Bubbles doin't have broins and all that, but..." Bubble looked around, just to make sure she won't look dumb for asking. "Where's Oice Cube?" "Oh, her?" She'd trail off, clearly saddened by remembering her. "Like, She hasn't been, like, doing so good ever since, like, her elimination. She keeps talking about, like, revenge and stuff." "Oh... That's too bad..." Bubble frowned. "Maybe oi could go talk to her about it? I mean, we're good froinds-" "I wouldn't, like, recommend that right now." Match would interrupt her. "Like, I think she might still be mad. She might, like, react too harshly and, like, pop you. You won't want that, right?" Bubble sighed. "Oh, yeah..." "But, like, for now, you can talk to us!" Match would return to smiling. "We're, like, the alliance, remember?" "Yoiy!" "Great! Because, like, I got this shocking news, about, like, those *mean guys* and such." Bubble would be confused, as they normally didn't care for *them*. "Huh?" "Like, I heard that their friendship, like, broke up!" Match would speak in a higher pitch than normal, probably out of excitement. "They used to be, like, the best of friends, but then they suddenly hated each other! That's, like, crazy, right?" Pencil would slightly blush. "Uh... Yeah. I have noticed their friendship before, despite my..." She'd gulp. "Hatred for them, and even then... That's... Concerning." "Like, yeah!" Match agreed. "Now that they're, like, angrier and such, like, what might happen to us?" Pencil would begin to sweat. "I mean, the hosts will probably stop things before they get worse, right? That's... What they're supposed to do." "Like, yeah." Match nodded. "I sure hope so."

"...Match?" Just then, Ice Cube had suddenly appeared, appearing between Pencil and Match. "Icy?" Match would be surprised by her sudden appearance. "Like, what's up?" "Um... May I... Talk to you for a second?" "Oh!" She'd nod. "Sure thing! Bubble, would you, like, like to-" "Oh, just you..." Match would be confused. "Huh? Why?" Ice Cube would just shake her head. Whatever she wanted to say, she wanted to say it now. "Oh, alright..." Match nodded. "Bubble, just, like, keep talking with Pencil, alright? I'm sure she, like, still remembers all that we, like, talked about." Pencil sighed. "Every single detail, Match. And quite possibly everyone else in the HLR remembers as well." "I'll see you around, Bubble!" Match and Ice Cube would then walk off to elsewhere. "Hey... Bubble." Pencil would then focus her attention on Bubble. "Yeah?" Bubble replied. Pencil would continue blushing as she remembered what happened. "...You remember how I was dragged away by Pen?" "Um... No." Her blush would quickly fade away as soon as she heard her answer. "Bubbles don't-" "Figures." Pencil scoffed. "Basically, Pen told me about these theories flying around-" "You too?" Bubble suddenly grew interested. Pencil shrugged. "...Huh. Sounds like *everyone* has been hearing about this whole thing."

She'd sigh. "Basically, Pen just said that there has been a whole lot of opposition against the whole theory thing, but he and several others knew the truth. He's been connecting the theory with the whole thing with his friendships breaking up as well." Bubble nodded, attempting to follow along. "He's been gathering a lot of evidence and such, and..." She'd slightly blush. "I just don't want it to seemingly go to waste, because..." She'd sigh. "I think I believe him." "Huh? Whoi?" She'd ask. "Well... In the short time Pin was eliminated, all the other eliminated contestants seem to... Begin to only talk about her." She'd breathe. "I noticed Match was constantly talking about Pin, then GB, who was supposed to be leading, then Flower, then the others... It just seems too... Suspicious." Bubble nodded. "...I just wanna say... Just keep an eye out, alright? This competition seems to be getting way over everyones heads... Makes them think differently, way too wildly." She'd blush slightly more. "It's... It's insane, really. Just watch yourself, alright?" "Oh, alroight..." Pencil would sigh. "Um... That'll be all. You should probably go talk with Ice Cube, or something. I know Match said not to, but... It's probably for the best." "...Alroight." Bubble would then walk off to go find Match and Ice Cube, leaving Pencil to continue thinking in silence. Throughout the night, the contestants, eliminated and not, would eventually settle into their respective houses. The eliminated contestants would settle in for their first night in the HLR that they had built over the course of the previous two days, while the remaining contestants would go to their respective houses. Needle, Coiny, and Bubble would continue planning for Team Sharp Minds, while Pin would oversee Spongys running on the treadmill. Meanwhile in Team Prawn, Blocky and Flower would be busy entertaining themselves with their BF(TMTMAA)DI DDSs, while Leafy would put hers on her bed as she talked with Firey and Teardrop about their lives and their theories.

-

The morning would eventually arrive without anything interesting going on during the night, and everyone would then be awakened by the sound of Triangles whistle as soon as the sun fully rose above the horizon. The ten remaining contestants would line up into their usual two lines. "Good morning, contestants." Triangle sighed as he began. "Once again. Ugh." Triangle paused for a moment. "...Before we begin the series of contests for today, I have an announcement to-" "So do I." The Announcer would immediately interrupt. Triangle would sigh in response. "...Who's going to go first, then?" "How about me for once?" the Announcer would suggest. "All this time, you've been the big-mouthed host." Triangle looked at him angrily. "You *dare* call me that? How..." He'd pause, trying to think of another word to use, but would give up instantly. "...*dare* you. I'm going first, then." "Oh, *come on*!" Blocky folded his arms in protest. "Let the speaker box go first!" "Yeah!" Coiny agreed as well. Everyone else would then immediately begin protesting Triangles insistence on going first (even though it wasn't such a big deal), which would only anger Triangle even further. He'd sigh, and would reach for the ice bag, but he'd quickly realize that he had removed it from him the night prior without realizing it.

"Alright, alright." He'd sigh again. "The box goes first. Why not." "We are now halfway through the competition, as there were 20 contestants, but now there are 10, which is half that number." the Announcer would announce the obvious. "You are the Final 10. As such, we will now be breaking up the teams." That seemed to catch everyones interest, however, and they would gasp in shock. "*WHAT*?" Needle in particular would be surprised by the change. Pin in particular wouldn't be all that concerned about it. Coiny would shout "WHY?" demanding an explanation. Bubble panicked and shouted "Oh noio!", as usual. Leafy would simply shout a generic "No!" in response, clearly distressed. "I was planning to do that earlier, but that *clumsy* Triangle insisted on keeping the teams going." "No I wasn't!" Triangle protested. "...Was I?" Awkward silence would then follow. "...Anyways." Triangle sighed. "Time for my announcement." Everyone would groan in disappointment and anger as soon as Triangle began. Triangle was just... Triangle was just bad, according to them. He'd continue regardless. "Now, you guys may have noticed that there are some brand new buildings scattered throughout the expansion area that are currently closed as of right now." He'd begin. "But today, I'd like to announce what will be occupying one of those buildings!"

Triangle would step aside, expecting someone to fill his place, but nothing would happen. Still waiting for someone, however, Triangle would angrily tap his foot. Eventually, however, the expected guest would finally come out, having been hiding behind one of the vans the whole time. The guest would step out after looking at everyone, and would take a few cautious steps towards the hosts. As he came fully into view as he left the safety of the vans, the contestants would be able to get a good look at him. The guest was a semi-transparent green mold of... Something that seemed edible. Once again, much like Bubble, no one would be able to put a name on it, having not seen anything like it in their lives. Bubble, on the other hand, would feel as if she had already met the guest before, although couldn't put her finger on exactly when it was. After all, bubbles didn't have brains. The guest would finally fill the gap that Triangle had opened between him and the Announcer, and would sigh and clear its throat before speaking.

"Uh... Hi." The guest began. "My name's... Uh, Gelatin. Owner of world-famous restaurant chain Gelatin's Steakhouse." "Never heard of it." Coiny remarked. Gelatin would then look at Triangle. He'd sigh. "...These are southerners. They haven't heard of things like restaurants, or steaks, or..." Triangle sighed. "Or pretty much anything about civilization for... Their entire lives. basically." He'd scoff. "Continue." 'Gelatin' would be rather concerned about this, but would continue regardless. "...Alright. When I heard from your..." He'd look at Triangle again. "...Beloved host, over here..." He'd awkwardly point at him, not wanting to extend his arm *too* much towards him in fear of incurring his wrath. "...That you have only been fed bread, or sometimes nothing at all, for the longest time now, I felt somewhat bad for you guys." He'd take a deep breath. "So Triangle kidnapped-" Triangle would immediately nudge Gelatin with a bit too much excessive force, causing a slight dent in his shape as he was made of a pliable material. He'd then focus his attention on the contestants, staring at them and implying to not remember what he just said. "Brought! I meant. Brought." Gelatin would smile. "He brought me here to feed you poor souls. I'm happy to announce that i'll be opening a new branch of Gelatin's Steakhouse right here, where I will personally be serving you all of my world-famous dishes, the main one being, of course, the steak!" He'd continue smiling, although it was clear that it was forced. "...Everyone loves steak, right?"

Gelatin would worryingly stare at Bubble, while her and the other contestants would also stare back at him. The whole scene was just awkward, as it was clear that something wrong was going on, but they couldn't put their finger on just what it was. "Uh... What's a 'steak'?" Needle couldn't help but ask. "Alright!" Triangle smiled. "That'll be all, Gelatin. Thank you very much." He'd quickly wrap one of his arms around Gelatin, preventing him from escaping his grasp. "Now, uh..." Triangle would sweat. "Me and Gelatin here have to go... 'Negotiate' on how the business will be running in a place such as this. He won't be used to *these* working conditions, after all!" He'd laugh slightly as he continued nudging him to play along, and Gelatin would end up laughing as well. "I'll also be announcing what the other buildings will be for tonight, so look out for that!" "Heheh..." Gelatin nodded. "Yeah. That's right." "So yeah. I'll be busy yet again for the day, so..." Triangle would focus his attention on the Announcer. "Speakery! Take them to the site of the next challenge, please!" Triangle would then begin making his way to his Base of Operations, with Gelatin still being dragged along. "Oh! I guess we're going!" Gelatin clearly began to panic in response to this. "Uh... I'll see you around, guys! Hopefully soon! Very soon..." Everyone would awkwardly stare as Triangle and a clearly uncomfortable Gelatin made their way back to the Base of Operations. Everyone would only stop staring as soon as the Announcer began once again.

"People, follow me." the Announcer began. They'd begin making their way back to the valley yet again, wishing that they had just been teleported instead. As they got closer and closer to the valley, however, they'd notice that much of the area of the valley was now occupied by a massive paper bag. Some of the contestants would ask questions regarding it, but the Announcer would completely ignore their inquiries until they finally got there. "Uh..." Coiny in particular would be concerned about it. "I have a feeling that the massive paper bag has something to do with the next contest." "That's right." the Announcer replied. "The fifteenth contest is to stay afloat in this large barf bag. The first team to have all members fall into the strange warm liquid inside will be the losing team." "*THAT'S DISGUSTING*!" Flower immediately remarked. "Well, I know *someone* that would enjoy this contest." Blocky remarked as well. "Well, I had other plans for this contest, but Triangle insisted. So too bad." the Announcer continued. Everyone would then be teleported into the bag. Everyone would be standing on circular white platforms, which were all floating in the liquid. "The timer starts... Now."

A stopwatch which had just appeared next to the Announcer in the platform would then begin ticking. As soon as the time began, everyone would immediately investigate the liquid itself. "OH MY GOSH!" Flower began panicking as soon as she looked down at the liquid. "Is that actually *VOMIT*?" "No. Of course not." the Announcer answered. "It's colored water. Or, at least I think it is. At this point, I can't tell." Spongy would attempt to look at the liquid, only to fall into the liquid. "OH NO!" Spongy screamed as he fell into the liquid and would burn to death as a result. "Oh. Now I remember." the Announcer continued. "Triangle replaced the colored water with colored lava." Everyone would then begin panicking. Even though some of them could survive being doused with lava, it was still a worrying sight. "Oh moi gosh, oh moi gosh!" Bubble panicked. "We're all going to DOI in here!" "Calm down." the Announcer replied. "Not everyone will die. Only most people will. At least one person will remain by the end of the contest." "That's not any better now, is it?" Blocky asked. As everyone continued panicking, a rather foul smell would begin spreading throughout the inside of the bag. "Ew, gross!" Pin would be disgusted. "Spongys stench is now going all over the place!" Flower would begin dramatically choking, not being able to stand the stench, and would end up fainting and falling into the liquid. "Oh, now it smells good."

As a result of both Spongy and Flower falling into the liquid, waves of the colored lava would begin traveling throughout the liquid. The stronger waves, which were a result of Spongys fall, would hit them first. "Oh no!" Coiny would panic as the waves began rocking his platform. "Woahoahoah!" Leafy would begin to wobble as well as the waves hit her platform also. Needle would be taken by surprise by the wobbling, and would trip and fall, but would manage to hang on to her platform just in time and not fall into the liquid. Leafy and Bubble, however, would be thrown out of their platforms and would fall into the liquid. "We need to open a hole to let the air out!" Pin would fake being unable to breathe. "I think Spongys stench is overpowering Flowers!" Pins platform would then hit the 'walls' of the bag. The waves would've given the platforms a bit of speed, and so they began moving around, which resulted in... That. What on Earth am I writing? "Oh!" Pin would notice this happening. "Wait!" Pin would then immediately attempt to cling on to the paper, and would begin tearing it using her point. Needle would also do the same as soon as her platform hit the walls as well, but as her point was on the bottom, she'd trip yet again and would fall into the liquid.

"Man!" Coiny coughed. "This place almost stinks as much as Spongy!" "Maybe it *does* stink like Spongy, huh?" Firey replied. "Maybe because Spongy fell into it!" Coiny took offense to that, as Firey was clearly mocking his intelligence. As Firey and Coinys platforms drifted ever so slowly towards each other, they'd begin slapping each other, fulfilling some sort of running gag that happened in the 'original series', whatever that means. As they continued slapping each other, Pin would gradually open a wider hole in the paper bag. But shortly after Pin began opening it further with her hands, a strong gust of wind would suddenly blow into the hole, causing Pins platform to be blown towards the opposite wall. Pin would begin screaming as she was blowing away, which would catch the attention of Firey and Coiny. "Huh?" Firey in particular would be taken by surprise by the sudden yelling. Coiny and Fireys platforms had just drifted onto the path of the wind, and would be in the way of Pins platform as it was blown to the opposite wall. Pins platform would end up narrowly missing Coinys platform and would then hit Fireys, causing the two of them to fall into the liquid. "Haha!" Coiny would laugh at Fireys failure, but then would realize a logical error. "Wait, Announcer?" "Yes?" the Announcer replied. "If this is colored lava, and this bag is made of paper, wouldn't-"

Firey had fallen into the liquid just before their platforms hit the opposite wall, causing the now slightly-warmer liquid (caused by Firey falling in and heating it up) to burn through it, and the liquid would begin draining. "Oh no!" Coiny began panicking and would scream. As he was the closest to the newly-opened hole, he would be the first to be sucked in closer by the natural flow of the liquid. Teardrop and Blocky, who had been silently drifting throughout the bag the entire time as they wanted to be left alone, would be less affected as they were originally further from it, but would gradually be more and more pulled in as they continued coming closer. The Announcer would also be sucked in, but wouldn't care all that much. Eventually, Coinys platform would be the first to try to fit through the hole, and would gradually manage to do so. As the hole widened even more to easily fit the platform, Coiny would have less and less room in his platform to continue staying above the liquid. Eventually, the platform would break free from the barf bag, and Coiny would fall into the liquid. Teardrop and Blocky would eventually meet the same fate, but by then, it didn't matter, as Team Prawn had already won the contest. The Announcer would be able to escape the paper bag unscathed through teleporting. It would watch as the 'barf' bag gradually deflated as the holes caused both air and lava to escape, the latter burning some of the grass in the process as it poured out, but would suddenly dissipate into thin air shortly after impact. Eventually, the situation would eventually calm down. The bag would end up being mostly deflated, and a whole bunch of the lava had also gone out of it, but there was still some of it still remaining in the bag. The Announcer would continue watching, looking for any survivors that escaped the bag, but there were none.

After another few minutes, the Announcer wouldn't even say anything in memory of those who were lost, for they would just be recovered some time after this. It'd simply just continue on as if the contestants were still alive. "As Team Prawn still had some contestants remaining when Team Sharp Minds lost their last contestant, they win." it would announce to no one in particular. The Announcer stayed silent for a moment before finally beginning to make the journey back to the living quarters, leading a group of ten that wasn't even there.

-

At the bottom of the bag, Needle and Pin were still floating around in the lava. While the lava was indeed hot, they were made out of metal, which managed to resist melting. After quite a while of floating through the seemingly endless green, they'd eventually hit each other. It was an inevitability, of course. Given a long enough time, their paths through the infinite green would've caused them to end up meeting each other. Needle and Pin would grab each other, not wanting to remain alone in this seemingly alien world. Although they could not die, they still felt the pain as if they were about to. They held hands, not wanting to suffer through the pain alone. But Pin hadn't been alone, in fact, as in her other hand, she held Coinys, and Needle was unable to see it as the green dominated their vision.