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

Episode 25 - The Actual Battle

The two vans continued driving along the road throughout the rest of the day, making only a few stops every several hours to refuel for a few minutes or so, and continued on into the night. Triangle had pretty much given up by then on trying to keep everyone quiet during the otherwise-boring trip, seeing it as trying to climb up a hill that constantly gets steeper and steeper, or something. It gets hard to think of metaphors when you have a full head, which was what Triangle felt then. Instead of furiously yelling at them for being so loud every few minutes, he had instead resorted to just counting the seconds in his head as they went by, focusing on only that *and* the road ahead, with absolutely nothing else being able to enter his mind until they got to the destination. By the time it was fully night, and the sun had fully gone below the horizon, *and* it had now also been some time since they finally reached the edge of the forest (or *a* forest, at least), he had managed to count up to around several thousand or so. There were most likely several errors made along the way, but Triangle didn't care. This was just out of recreation, and it wasn't like the world would blow up if he counted incorrectly. The world *would* blow up if they didn't get to Dream Island in time, however. Anyways, once he finally saw the tops of the trees obscuring their view of the horizon, he'd sigh in glorious relief and would finally stop counting.

As soon as they were just about to enter the forest, Triangle would suddenly slam on the brakes, and the van would stop just before it became *fully* forest. Blocky would be a little surprised, not knowing he was about to brake, and would brake some time after him. Triangle would ignore the questioning and protests of the contestants as he shut off the engine for the night, as well as all the other systems in the van. It *would* be wasting energy, after all. Triangle would sigh, and would turn to face the contestants, who were continuing to argue. "Alright, we'll be stopping here for the night." "What?" Match protested. "But, like, the conversation was just, like, getting good!" Triangle sighed. "It's *always* been getting good, but it's always been bad as well." He'd scoff. "Whatever that means, anyway." His mind was still a bit overcrowded, and so some of the things he said might not make sense if it wasn't related to the trip or the plan. Triangle knew this, and so instead of answering their inquiries, he would instead exit the van as soon as the engine had fully shut down, and there were no more noises coming out of it. Silence was generally a good sign that it's no longer doing anything. Anyways. Everyone else would then follow suit, realizing shortly after that Triangle didn't have any intentions on continuing forward for the day. Upon seeing them do this, Blocky and the contestants on the other van would *also* do much the same.

Triangle took a moment or two to take in the fresh air, and would then turn around to face the contestants once again. Although he'd like to go to sleep immediately after such an exhausting day, there was still one thing left to do before being able to do that, which was yet *another* meeting. "Everyone!" He'd yell. "Gather around!" Everyone would, of course, quickly comply. Although everyone disliked Triangle, and didn't like doing whatever he ordered, because of reasons that have been explained in prior episodes, it was simply just the *best* option. While some would entertain the idea of running off into the forest, never to be seen by those that remained ever again and never to have to deal with the competition or any of its contestants, some unknown force would pull them towards the crowd that developed. I'd say gravity, but that's just dumb. Triangle would do a quick count of everyone as soon as everyone he could see had gathered into the crowd, as well as himself, and would count eighteen people being here in total. Triangle would then sigh as soon as he finished the count. "Alright. I'm sick and tired of having to be stuck with you guys in a cramped van. Even though it may not seem like it right now, i'm *absolutely* sure that you guys feel the same way." No one would budge, however. While the contestants hated each other to some degree, they all hated the host more. "While I know that I'll have to put up with you guys for a few days at best, I've had enough of it for today." He'd continue. "We'll be resting here, and then we'll be having our next contest."

"Wait, we'll be having another contest?" Tennis Ball would ask. "What'll it be this time, will the remaining contestants compete, or does everyone have to compete?" Triangle nodded. "*Everyone*." "But why?" Tennis Ball would continue asking. "It's not like people like us can do anything, given our status. The eliminated contestants won't be able to win anything!" "Yeah!" Eraser nodded in agreement. "Why would we want to compete at all if we're not gonna get anything?" "If you'd like, you can use your position as a pseudo-contestant to help the contestant of your choice win Dream Island." Triangle continued. "And the-" "How?" Eraser would ask, continuing a trend of people interrupting each other for dumb reasons. Triangle sighed. "Well... Contests have to be graded somewhat differently now in order to account for... Recent events." He began. "These contests will evaluate the contestants not just in their standard performance anymore, but also in leading their group. Given the events that have unfolded, I do believe that these qualities will be crucial for whoever wins Dream Island, for their ownership of the island may come into dispute." Eraser folded his arms, displeased with Triangles explanation. It *did* use at least one big word, after all. "What if we don't like our group leader?" He'd ask. "Yeah." Pen agreed. "Like, I'd rather have Rocky be the winner than... Some people..." Pen would look at Leafy, and would be rather uncomfortable, remembering what happened between them.

"But there's still better candidates!" Pen continued. "Why do I have to be stuck with *Rocky*?" He'd ask. "Hey!" Eraser protested. "Rocky's not that bad!" "He *is* that bad!" Pen fired back. "He's *not*!" A third voice would suddenly join the scene. The two of them would then stare at Blocky, which was said third party. Blocky would stare at them as well. "...What?" Triangle breathed. "Anyways, if you'd like..." He continued. "Sure. You can go against your chosen group and help someone else win. I can't stop you, anyway. After all, the winner should be based on who people like the most, not factors like... Skill, or..." He'd scoff. "...Something." He looked at the area around him, trying to pretend like he never said anything. The great green plains that this area (and all other object shows, but you didn't get that from me) was known for had come to an abrupt end, well, in terms of being sparsely populated with nature, anyway, and would give way to the just as vast forest. Triangle would continue after a sufficiently long and awkward silence had passed. "We'll be sleeping here for the night. You know, rest, not have to breathe in someone elses breath, actually move a bit..." He'd sigh. "That sort of stuff. I don't know why you guys love the concept of being stuffed in a van for hours on end..." "Who says I do?" Snowball would immediately protest, and would look at Woody angrily. Given that they *were* from separate groups, and therefore were *technically* competing, he felt like he at least had the freedom to stare at him threateningly without a few ugly looks being pointed his way.

"...Most of you, anyway." Triangle sighed. "I don't like the idea either, SB. It's probably not good for us either." He'd look around again, and would see everyones faces returning to having angry expressions as he continued talking. "Besides, you can still talk to each other throughout the night, just don't wake anyone else up in the process. Have some courtesy, yeah?" Triangle would breathe, noticing that their expression wouldn't change at all. He'd sigh yet again. "...Speaking of things I can't stop, while you're free to just run away into the woods and never have to deal with me again, and i'm sure the idea is tempting for much of the eliminated contestants..." Triangle would then look at most members of the crowd, who couldn't help but nod. It was true, after all. "...Yeah, I can't stop you if you try to run." He'd nod. "For now, at least. But i'd just like to remind you about what exactly might happen to you if you do run. You'll be separated from... What's left of civilization, anyway, most likely alone, and will probably go mad from the isolation." Triangle breathed in again. "And, of course, once you leave the competition, you can't return. As I probably said before, if you leave, you'll be forfeiting your shot of entering Dream Island, and given what's been said about it..." He'd sigh. "And also... Well, you know. Who even knows what's out there, *especially* after what just happened? There might be scary creatures out to get you, you know. Especially in those woods! You never know! I don't, either." Triangle smiled, as the crowd was no longer smiling as much. "Good night, everybody!"

Triangle would walk up to the edge of the forest, and would then climb up one of the trees which dotted the boundary between the plains and the forest, which mainly consisted of small patches of trees across the plains, as opposed to the solid cluster of trees in the forest proper. After spending a few minutes of continuously struggling to actually climb the tree (Triangle had no experience in doing so, because when would you ever have to do that), he'd finally be able to grab on to one of the branches, hoist himself up, and would rest on said branch after being sure it would hold his weight. From his seat high up above, he could now just sit back and watch as the remaining contestants would begin to rest and sleep for the night. While there had been no documented evidence for Objects to have a need for sleeping, given that they were very much not human, they always seemed to do it for no particular reason, much like eating and drinking. Maybe it was just something hard-wired into their brains, or maybe they felt the need to speed up time, even though they're completely different from all the species in this world. Or something. This is an object show fanfiction, not an in-depth look into object lifestyle. Most of the contestants wouldn't stray too far from the vans, of course, and would only go at least far enough to not have to sleep on the cold hard asphalt of the road. It seemed like it was only yesterday when he built the road spanning the entire planet, Triangle thought. Did it *really* go around the entire planet, or did it stop after a certain point? Surely he wasn't capable of something *that* massive, right? Whatever the answer may be, it was completely irrelevant for now.

Most contestants would then lay down on the grass just a few feet away from the van, just off to the side of the road, and would be gathered around in groups based on usual lines: friendships, alliances, and other words for similar groups like that. By the time Triangle had finally gone to sleep, which was around several hours after he got up there (mostly because he had to get used to sleeping on the rough branch), most of the contestants had gone to sleep as well.

-

The night went by, surprisingly, without any particularly terrible incidents. No one had any bad dreams about anything, despite the Devent, and there hadn't been much talking going on throughout the night either. Everyone had realized that they pretty much exhausted every good conversation topic under the sun, despite realizations of this hours prior, and so they just wanted to relax and sleep for the night. Triangle, of course, woke up before everyone else did. That was just his routine, of course, and there was still no real reason to stop now, especially with the *looming death and destruction* and all. Triangle would look up at the night sky, and past all the green leaves that grew from the tree and its branches was the clear sky, still entirely black without a hint of sunshine. There were surprisingly no clouds, not because he simply couldn't see them. There just *wasn't* any clouds that night. All that was hanging out up there was the moon and the stars, remaining in fixed positions in the sky as usual. It was a dumb thing to think about, Triangle thought, but he couldn't help but continue looking at it, what with having a lack of things to do. He'd note that despite so much had happened over the course of a week or so, and beyond that, he had experienced literally a thousand years of history throughout his life, and yet the stars remained in their fixed positions in the sky, barely even moving. Whenever night came around, and Triangle cared to look at the stars, he could always expect to see the same few stars in the sky.

Eventually, though, Triangle realized that that *was* a dumb thing to think about, and so stopped. It's not like it's going to be important in the future anyway, Triangle thought. Nothing much was going to happen until the contestants woke up, unless the local wildlife finally decided to make themselves seen, and so Triangle took this relatively boring time to think about what he would do next. He had done this many times over the course of the competition, pretty much every night, even, but that was because there was *always* something new to think about whenever he did so, something new to account for in his grand master plan, and things that used to be entirely clear and set out to him one day would suddenly be foggy and mysterious in the next. Triangle would feel his stomach churn as he continued to remain still, lost in thought. There had only been a few instances when he actually felt his stomach rumble, and generally it wasn't for good reasons, or even just because he was hungry. Not wanting to assume the worst, but paradoxically assuming the worst anyway (basically, he was just assuming the best out of several bad options), he'd assume that someone, or more likely, *something*, had poisoned him. But Triangle couldn't remember if he had eaten anything for the past week or so, and all he drank was either water or the coffee, and neither of them seemed to be likely candidates.

His mind would then think back to what GD had said some time ago: whenever he felt something weird, *anything at all*, he said, it was usually either something wrong with himself, or the universe. And when it's not one thing, it's probably the other. At least, that's what he *thought* he said. The memories all seemed to blur into each other over the course of several centuries. Triangle felt that he knew so much, yet only remembered so little. He'd brush those thoughts aside, not really being a fan of thinking about the worst possible scenarios, and would think about something he had planned to do in the future, once all this drama was over: putting the events he had experienced while hosting the competition into writing. Should civilization be rebuilt, either through the restructuring of the Multiverse, or by the natural progression of society, or something else entirely (you can never be too sure, of course), he knew for certain that if he put all his experiences into a book, it would *definitely* sell like hotcakes. Triangle had written many autobiographies before in his life, and they did sell by the truckload. It would make sense for his new hypothetical book to follow the trend. The experiences he had this time around, however, were much more strange and convoluted than before. While most of his earlier books had been just ramblings about GD Inc and boring economic and political nonsense, this would be the first time he'd write of something that actually excited people: he'd be writing of action, of drama, of heated debates and of the true lives of people, including himself. It would be in rather stark contrast to the rest of his life, which mostly consisted of said boring content in his earlier books. Would his new book be treated much like his other autobiographies, or would people think he had gone off the deep end and would dismiss it as a work of entirely fabricated fiction? Or perhaps the Event (or Devent, whichever, really) had changed the world so much that people wouldn't even care about what some possibly-deranged triangle had to say? Probably the last one, he thought.

Despite these fears, however, Triangle wouldn't seem to care all that much about what these hypothetical future people would think of his book. His autobiographies weren't really made for profit, anyway. That was what the other GD Inc ventures and products were for. His writings were a method of escape for him. In a world that was either extremely excruciating or extremely boring, there were times where he just wanted to sit down, not be interrupted, and do something he loved. There hadn't really been much time to do that back then, and there certainly wasn't any time now either. But one of these days, he swore, he'd sit down on a bench by the edge of a cliff, whip out the old pen and paper, and would get to writing and sorting out his thoughts of recent times and experiences. Eventually, the black sky would finally give way to shades of orange and red, and the familiar disc of the sun began to rise up above the horizon. Triangle would begin carefully descending (at least, to the best of his ability) down the tree, as even though a simple fall wouldn't injure him too badly (again, god bless technological augmentation), it was best to just be safe. You never know, after all. One of these days, he could fall the wrong way and die instantly. He'd obviously struggle, however, and would still fall down the last few feet, resulting in a rather loud thud sound upon impact. The noise of the impact would cause some of the contestants to wake up from their relatively light slumber, which in turn would cause the others to wake up as well.

Triangle would sigh, and would give himself and the remaining contestants a few minutes or so (it was hard to tell anymore) to fully wake up and prepare themselves for the coming day, and then would order them to gather around him so that he could announce the next contest. The contestants would gather in a large crowd, just like before, with all semblance of order and lines having been thrown out. None of those things existed anymore, anyway. As long as Triangle could keep track of who was still there, it was probably just fine. As soon as everyone had gathered around, he'd begin counting how many people remained. It wasn't a surprise, of course, when Triangle noticed that quite a few people went missing, presumably disappearing into the forest, throughout the night. Although Triangle could say as much as he wanted regarding the perils of the outside, for now, his words were just that: words. He didn't had any powers for the time being, or even *anything* that could set him apart from the contestants that stood before him. He was pretty much just one of them. One of the extremely flat, two-dimensional contestants with no personality whatsoever. Contestants of a sick and twisted competition to satisfy as many of some authors desires as possible. Why any of them even followed his orders at all after the Devent was a mind-boggling mystery to him.

The first thing he'd check was if Bubble was still dead, or had been recovered through some unknown magical force. Although the Bubble Recovery Center was a thing that existed near the Huge Loser Residence, there was always the chance that that was taken out by the EMP. The answers to those questions was that she *was* still gone, and she *wasn't* recovered. At least, there weren't any signs that she was recovered, anyway. Next, he'd do another count of the remaining contestants to make sure if someone had disappeared or not while the others were asleep. After a few recounts (can't even trust ones own memory in these trying times), he'd settle a total of 14, with himself included. That meant that four contestants had disappeared during the night, and given how dense the crowd was, it was hard to determine just who it was that vanished. While he could still determine how many people were there, it was hard to determine who the people in the back were, as only the top of their bodies could be seen from where he stood. Triangle sighed. He supposed that it was worth a shot to try and wield his power. "Line up, come on." He'd scoff. "The apocalypse happening *doesn't* mean we have to be so disorganized right away." The contestants would hesitate for a moment, but would then reluctantly line up, doing so slowly to inconvenience him, but it would eventually allow Triangle to actually see who wasn't present. Out of them, Leafy, Golf Ball, Flower, and Woody had disappeared during the night. Combining that with Bubbles death, as well as the disappearance of Coiny and Pin during the Devent, and that meant that 7 out of the 20 contestants weren't here. Subtract 7 from 20 and you'd get 13, which were the remaining contestants. Add Triangle and you'd get the total of 14. Why did I do all the math for you? Only God knows.

"Alright." Triangle continued. "So, out of the five remaining contestants still in the actual competition, there are two that will be gone during the next contest." He'd sigh. "...Their loss, really. That means they have less of a chance of winning Dream Island." He'd pause. "Anyways. Time for the next contest." "Which is?" Eraser asked, interrupting him from answering his question once again. Triangle paused for a moment. "Why, we'll be doing some good old recreational warfare, of course." He'd smile. "You mean, like... A battle?" Eraser asked again. Triangle would nod. "Why, yes! It is much like a battle. A Battle for Dream Island, perhaps?" He'd wink. Triangle would pause again, expecting at least some cheering, or at least some laughing due to the """joke""", but would receive none. Triangle would sigh, and would then continue. "Given recent developments, I expect that you people will be fighting some evil force shortly." He'd say, his mind still tripping up a bit due to the overload. "Wait, WHAT?" Pen would immediately be shocked by this revelation. "How does *that* mean we have to fight bad guys?" Tennis Ball would ask. "Uh... You guys don't know the classic generic story arc?" Triangle would ask. "Evil forces rise, good forces gather, there's an epic fight scene, and the good guys win. You guys don't read books here in Goiky? No?" "A book?" Tennis Ball continued asking. "You've heard of them too? Those things are mythical tomes of ancient knowledge!" "Oh, come on." Triangle scoffed. "They're not *that* mythical. I have a few of them back where I came from." He'd breathe. "I'm sure that some of you have read *at least* one book in your lifetime, even if you don't know it." He'd sigh, allowing himself to release some more information he wasn't supposed to. It was relatively minor compared to what else he knew, anyway. "I know at least one friend who *is* a book, and i'm pretty sure your girlfriend has also written one."

Everyone would gasp as Triangle had used yet another one of the forbidden words, and he'd sigh shortly after realizing what he just did. That pretty much just made him a criminal now, or something. Not like he wasn't a criminal already. "Anyways, I'm getting off-track." He'd breathe. "The next contest will be a Battle for Dream Island. Or, at least, *part* of the Battle for Dream Island. This part in particular will be an *actual* battle. You guys will duke it out in the forest for whichever contestant you want to win. The groups with the most contestants to return here when time is up will be rewarded the mythical points." "Wait, what about me and Firey?" Blocky would ask. "Oh, you guys get to experience the joys of being a host." Triangle would smile. "Sit around, do nothing, that sort of stuff. You guys won't even need to enforce any rules!" "Oh!" Blocky smiled back and nodded. "We can do that easily!" Triangle would breathe yet again. "One more detail before we continue, though. While points will be given out based on how many members of your group manage to return, they'll also be given based on who people vote for. Those who manage to make it back here within the given time will also be able to vote for someone to give points to."

Triangle would pause. "Alright! Everyone, I'll give you five minutes to strategize for the contest here, and then another five minutes to go out into the woods. I know you guys want to get on with it already, which is why you guys have such short times. Now get to it!" Most people would gather around based on their group, but because some people have either died or ran away, that would leave some of them just out on their own. Tennis Ball would walk up to Triangle as they began planning. "Uh... Triangle?" Tennis Ball would get his attention. "Yeah?" Triangle replied. "Don't you think that some of us will be a bit disadvantaged?" Tennis Ball would ask. "Some of the groups have only one member in it!" "Didn't I already address that issue?" He'd sigh. "Whatever. I knew you were clumsy, but this is just another thing." Tennis Ball would grow angry, but Triangle would continue regardless. "Well, given the arrangement of the groups, all five of them *should* have three members, assuming that all eliminated and non-eliminated contestants are alive, which..." He'd breathe. "They aren't. Oh well. Tough luck!" "*What*?" That would only anger Tennis Ball further. "Aren't you gonna, like, even out the balance, or something?" He'd ask. "Nope." He'd smile. "I already did, anyway. If only someone had bothered to listen." He'd chuckle. "Don't worry about it, i'll make sure things end up just fine. Just watch."

Pencil sat on her own, looking out into the empty grass plains, ignoring the other groups as they talked about their plans. "So guys, what's the plan?" She'd sarcastically ask. No one, besides the wind, anyway, would reply. "What's that?" She'd reply, also sarcastically. "Just hide like a coward in the trees, as most of the other groups outnumber us?" The wind continued to blow, resembling my will to move on from writing this utter nonsense and get to writing something good, like writing about Needle having hot and steamy make-out sessions with Coiny, or anything that just isn't *this*. "Alright!" She'd nod. "Sounds good!" A familiar voice would then call out to her, however. "Hey, Pencil!" Needles group had walked up to her from behind, seeing that she was entirely alone. "Match?" Pencil would be confused. "Aren't you in a different group?" She'd ask. "What are you doing here?" "Didn't you hear?" Match replied. "Like, Triangle said that members of groups can, like, help people from, like, other groups, like, win and such." "Really?" Pencil, much like Tennis Ball, hadn't been paying attention to Triangle talking. "We can do that?" "Of course!" Match nodded. "Like, if you don't want *your* group leader to win, you can, like, get someone elses to win!" Pencil sighed. "Well, for my case, my group leader is dead. So i'm in." "Like, that's great!" Match nodded again. "Like, Needle *deserves* to win Dream Island, like, am I right?" Snowball sighed. "I don't really want someone else to win Dream Island other than me, but at times like these, we gotta choose the lesser of many evils." "Like, SB, don't be, like, such a downer." Match sighed. Snowball would sigh in response. "I'm just saying."

Pencil wouldn't be fully convinced, however. "Wouldn't Leafy be a better winner?" She'd sigh. "I mean, no offense, Needle..." "None taken." Needle would nod. "I've learned to not be so moved by peoples compliments." "But Leafy's extremely friendly, and you slap someone whenever someone says a certain word, no matter how friendly you are with them." Pencil continued. "Oh, you mean Needy?" Snowball would reply. You probably very well know what happened immediately after. By the time *it* had happened, one of Snowballs cheeks was now entirely red. "Don't call me Needy!" Needle would shout. "But fair point." "Well, like, Leafys dead, so, like, pick the next best thing!" Match added. Pencil sighed. "Well, I suppose you're right... Sure." Needles group would then celebrate, as they had someone else on their side. Meanwhile, the other groups would *also* be planning how to win the contest. What a shocker. "Alright, here's the plan." Eraser began. "Pen and I will-" Eraser would look to where Pen had been standing, and he was gone. He'd then groan. "...ARE YOU KIDDING ME?" Pen had already gone to ally with Needles group. "Alright, guys! Here's the plan..." Tennis Ball, meanwhile, would *also* be planning. "Wait, you're not siding with Needle?" Spongy would ask. "Well, while I would like for Needle to win..." Teardrop would take some offense to that, but wouldn't be able to verbalize it. "I'm not one to betray my team- Er, group." He'd go silent for a moment in embarrassment.

"So." Tennis Ball would continue. "Spongy, you're heavy, and you can crush people. We can use that to our advantage! That's our plan." Spongy would raise an eyebrow. "Wait, that's it?" He'd ask. "Well, do you have any other ideas?" Tennis Ball would ask back. "I mean, i'm heavy and can't do much, and Teardrop can run really fast. There isn't really much planning needed for either of us, or you, for that matter." "Oh..." Spongy sighed. "Alright." "Great!" Tennis Ball nodded. "Are we all in agreement?" "Yeah." Spongy would 'nod' to the best of his ability. Teardrop would also nod. "Alright!" Tennis Ball continued. "Let's go win this!" Some more time would eventually pass, and Triangle would pull out his whistle, which, he thought, was his only actual method of wielding his once incredible power. He'd then start blowing his whistle after he thought the five minutes had passed, which would prompt everyone to gather around him once more. "Alright!" Triangle began. "Your five minutes are up. It's time to go into the forest! Line up, everyone!" Everyone would then comply again, much to Triangles surprise. "Alright, just..." Triangle paused. "Just walk into the forest. Everyone scatter to prepare for the battle. But not too far! Be close enough to hear the whistle." Triangle would blow into the whistle again. "I'll be blowing into it every thirty seconds, and then a long one after the five minutes have passed, to signal that the contest has started. Alright?" The contestants would nod. "Now go!"

Triangle would blow on his whistle one more time, urging them to get moving. Yet again, the contestants seemed alright in following Triangles orders, and would begin walking into the forest. As they walked, Spongy and Tennis Ball would have a conversation. "Uh... Tennis Ball?" Spongy would get his attention. "Yeah?" Tennis Ball replied. "Why are we following Triangles orders?" Spongy would ask. "Because he's the host, silly." Tennis Ball would chuckle, and they'd hear the first of the several whistles. "Why do you ask, anyway?" He'd continue. "I mean, you haven't seen him use his 'powers' lately, right?" Spongy would ask back. Tennis Ball would raise an eyebrow. "So?" "He probably lost them!" Spongy theorized. "He couldn't stop us if we ran away!" "Didn't you hear what he said about the dangers of the outside world?" Tennis Ball would ask. "We're *in* the outside world right now." Spongy would point out. Tennis Ball chuckled. "You know what I mean. Like, the outside world *without* having the contestants by your side." He'd pause. "Besides, are you seriously going to give up a chance for a life of luxury at Dream Island for you to be free?" They'd hear another whistle. "And free from *what*, anyway? Some people have been saying that Triangle is working for something evil, but what business would we have with people like us?" "Oh..." Spongy sighed. "Alright. Sure." They'd continue walking, with the whistles periodically being heard, and the groups would eventually scatter based on which groups they had allied with for the contest. By the time the five minutes were up, Triangle would blow his whistle for a few seconds longer than the previous bursts, indicating that the contest had begun.

As soon as the contest began, everyone would immediately begin running back towards the edge of the forest, wanting to get there before either the time ends or someone not friendly with them manages to catch up to them. Most of the contestants would be running almost perfectly straight, wanting to head towards the edge as quickly as possible, while some would make their way towards other contestants to stop them from doing so. Eraser, however, would have to pick up Rocky to get moving, as Rocky had chosen to just stay still. He'd be the slowest one out of all of them, due to having to carry Rocky with him. "Oh no!" Match would panic. "Like, Spongy is like, gaining on us!" Needle sighed. "Well, that's karma for you, I suppose." Spongy would be running towards Match, being the lightest of the three, and would therefore be easier to shove and pin (haha) down. Needle and Snowball would slightly move out of the way, not wanting to also be crushed by Spongy, which would allow Spongy to knock down Match unopposed. Match would scream in disgust, while Spongy would laugh at the hollow victory. "Hey, get off of her!" Snowball would yell at Spongy. Both he and Needle, as soon as they saw that Spongy was now crushing Match, would start running back to them to get Match out of his grasp.

After some time, Pen would manage to catch up to them. "NEEDLE!" Pen would yell. "WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" He'd ask. "Just go!" Needle replied. "We have to help Match!" "I can help!" Pen protested. "*GO*!" Needle yelled back. "We need *someone* to be over there when time runs out!" "Oh..." Pen would look on to the edge of the forest, and he could see that other contestants were already getting ahead. "...Alright!" Pen would then continue running to the edge of the forest. As soon as he was out of sight, Needle and Snowball would begin to struggle to lift Spongy up and free Match. "Spongy... Come on!" the anger would be clearly heard in Needles voice. "Get up!" "No!" Spongy responded. "SPONGY!" Needle yelled yet again. "I raise you to be a runner that's almost as good as me, and *this* is how you repay me?" "Needle, I am a lot of things, and a friend to you is one of them." Spongy replied. "But a backstabber to my group? That is *not* one of them!" He'd continue, getting angry as well. Needle groaned. "Aw, seriously?" "Alright, fine!" Spongy would suddenly allow himself to be lifted up for a moment, causing them to lift him up with ease. A bit too easily, in fact. They'd lift him up with such force that he'd begin falling down the other way, threatening to crush them instead. Needle, with her quick thinking, would be able to move out of the way, but Snowball would be crushed, with the water inside him being soaked up by Spongy, pretty much killing him,

"SNOWBALL! NO!" Needle yelled. Match would immediately begin breathing heavily, having held her breath for most of the time she was pinned down by Spongy. "Oh my gosh!" Match would breathe again. "I'm, like, free!" "Come on, Match!" Needle would run up to her. "Let's go!" She would then immediately grab Matchs arm, and the two of them would begin running towards the edge of the forest again. Meanwhile, Spongy would struggle to get back up, but to no avail. "Needle, like, wait!" Match would reply while they were on their way. "Don't you remember the last time that we, like, ran together?" She'd ask. Needle wouldn't reply, however. Meanwhile, everyone else would continue running as normal. Tennis Ball, having the least stamina out of everyone, would begin to slow down, and would look behind him to see Eraser and Rocky managing to catch up to him. "YOU!" Eraser would shout as soon as he noticed. "Huh?" Tennis Ball would then realize what was about to unfold. He'd scream as Eraser would quickly swerve to get closer to him, and would swiftly kick him and cause him to roll. Eraser would then laugh at the misery he caused. "NO! I CAN'T STOP ROLLING!" Tennis Ball would shout, almost getting his mouth full of dirt in the process. Eraser would watch for a minute as Tennis Ball helplessly rolled around and eventually stopped, and would nudge him slightly to ensure that he'd end up upside-down to prevent him from getting back into the battle (which has become more of a race more than anything, except cheating is allowed). Eraser would then grab Rocky again and would begin running back to the 'finish line', which was where the Triangle was hanging out, which was, of course, the edge of the forest.

After a few more minutes, the first people would finally emerge from the forest. Teardrop would be the first one to do so, being the fastest, but she would actually be somewhat exhausted from all the running, mostly because she also feared for her life, as literally anyone could come to stop her. "Great! Someone actually got here." Triangle smiled. "I was expecting everyone to use this opportunity to run away." He'd sigh. "Oh well." He'd pause. "Anyways, I already told you guys about this, but i'll reiterate again, just in case you didn't listen: I'll let you vote for whoever you want to win, even if they're not in your group." He'd pause. "So, who will it be?" He'd ask. Teardrop would then immediately point to herself. "What's that?" He'd sarcastically ask. "You're voting for *Needle*?" Teardrop would begin to *aggressively* point to herself, whatever that means. She probably just continued pointing, but with her arm slightly shaking in anger. "Alright!" Triangle nodded. "Needle it is!" Teardrops arm continued to shake more and more, and it was almost like she was actually going to sweat. Eventually, Triangle would chuckle. "Oh, i'm just messing with you. Of course I know what you meant, i'm not insensitive." He'd take a moment to hold back his laughter. "Two votes for you. One for getting here for your group, and one for the vote." Teardrop would stop pointing at herself, and would wipe her invisible sweat away with relief.

Several seconds after, Needle would emerge from the forest, along with Match, who now had a face full of grass and dirt, in tow. "Who will it be for you two?" Triangle would ask. "ME, OF COURSE!" Needle yelled, clearly exhausted as well. "Yeah, like, what she said." Match replied as well, spitting out some dirt as well as she spoke. "...Gross." Triangle remarked. "But alright, sure." Pen would be the next. Although he had a headstart on Needle, Needle could simply just *run faster*. "NEEDLE!" He'd yell. Triangle would look visibly impressed, and would nod. "...Alright. You're the first person to vote for someone else other than your own group leader." "Wait, what?" Pen would be confused, as he was simply calling out her name. "Don't you know?" Triangle continued. "I knew this contest would obviously be rigged if the points were given *just* for how many contestants in a group make it, so I said that people who manage to finish the contest will just be free to vote for whoever they want to win." He'd pause. "Don't you know?" He'd ask. "Oh." Pen would be embarrassed. "Uh... Then yeah, Needle." He'd nod. "Yeah. Of course." Triangle nodded back. Pencil would then be the next to emerge from the forest. "You?" He'd ask her. "Uh..." Pencil would be confused. "What do you mean, *me*?" She'd point to herself. "You can vote for who, out of the remaining contestants, do you want to win. This contest, I mean." Triangle would pause. "Did *anyone* pay attention to what I said?" He'd ask everyone. "Uh... Needle?" Pencil would then reply. "Right." Triangle nodded.

Ice Cube would then emerge from the forest just as Pencil cast her vote. "What?" She would appear shocked, as she had just stumbled upon the scene of a crime. "Icy!" Pencil would turn to her and smile. "You're here! I'm so glad-" "I WANT REVENGE!" Ice Cube would shout. Pencil would then give up on trying to be nice, and would scoff. "Ugh. What is it this time?" "So a vote for Leafy, I assume?" Triangle would look at Ice Cube. She would then nod. Finally, Eraser, who was still carrying Rocky, would be the last to emerge from the forest. "Who do you want to win?" Triangle would ask. "ROCKY!" Eraser would yell out. Rocky would simply nod. "Uh... Yeah. Sure." Triangle would nod as well. "I got no clue why you want a *vomiting rock* that barely speaks to win Dream Island, or even just this contest, but sure." "EXACTLY!" Blocky, who had been busy just relaxing on the grass, would join in. Eraser would then angrily shake his fist at him. Some things just *never* change. They'd then wait for the other contestants to begin emerging from the forest as well, while Triangle began (or continued to) writing down the number of people who voted for someone in his notepad.

NEEDLE: 4
ROCKY: 2
TEARDROP: 1
LEAFY: 1

Eventually, the time (or, what Triangle felt like was a good enough time) would pass by, and Triangle would blow his whistle again to signify that the contest was over. "TIME'S UP!" Triangle would yell. "Alright, let's go see how the votes will be distributed." He would then look at the notepad again. "First up!" He'd pause. "Needle gets 4 points." Needle would then celebrate. "Rocky gets 2." Triangle continued. Rocky would almost vomit in joy, but would stop as soon as he realized that he was still being held by Eraser. "Huh?" Eraser would feel Rocky gradually turning warm as he held the vomit. "...Oh, right." Eraser would then let go of Rocky, who would then vomit onto the grass as soon as he landed. "And Teardrop and Leafy get one each." Triangle continued yet again. "As no one voted for Bubble, she gets zero votes." Triangle would breathe. "Next up! We'll also be giving points based on how many members from their actual group managed to get back here." Triangle would then count the remaining contestants, and then would remember which ones belong to which groups. "Bubbles group gets one point, Leafys also one, Needles two..." Triangle continued. Needle would then shout "Yeah!" in celebration. "You said that already!" Blocky complained. "Rockys group gets *all* three points, which is an impressive feat, actually..." Triangle continued. Eraser would *also* shout "Yeah!" in celebration, and Rocky would vomit again in celebration. "...And Teardrop gets one." Triangle would finish.

Triangle would do all the calculations again, and would write the brand new scores.

NEEDLE: 10
ROCKY: 9
TEARDROP: 9
LEAFY: 5
BUBBLE: 2

"Alright, everyone!" He'd begin talking yet again as soon as the calculations were done. "Get back in the vans! We still got a long road ahead of us."