Battle for Resolving the Fate of the Universe (and also Dream Island Again)

Episode 11 - Running out of Borrowed Time

Cake at Stake was more quiet than the previous ones had been.

There was tension in the air, and everyone could feel it. The members of Beautiful Brawn were once again up for elimination, much like they had been many times before. Although, this time, it had somewhat of a heavier weight to them than their previous losses. It was their first loss after a... single victory. Regardless of how small of a victory that was, especially compared to all the victories that Donut's Team had scored throughout the competition, it was still a blow to their morale. And with their constantly-dwindling numbers now extremely obvious, with only half the seats of the elimination area occupied, it made the whole situation even worse. And that's not even mentioning the whole recent conflict between the veterans and the newcomers. With ten seats and seven contestants, there was room to leave a few gaps in the seating arrangements. Fries and Yellow Face sat on one end, followed by a three-seat gap, and then the rest of the contestants sat on the other end. As they had an awkward staring contest, the members of Donut's Team refused to even comment on the whole situation. They had been watching the arguing unfold from the sidelines, hearing their bickering and noticing their mild annoyance for each other. It was nearly the exact opposite of the situation they were facing, and so they felt like they couldn't intervene *that* easily, since they'd say that they don't know what they were experiencing.

Donut looked at the awkward staring from below, with a massive frown on his face. Well, any emotion he showed with his mouth was massive, of course. As he was unsure (as always) about who he was going to vote off, he decided to consult his supposed second-in-command, although he'd started to wonder if they took orders from him more seriously. "Pen?" He whispered to him. "Who are we voting for?" Pen turned to him and raised an eyebrow, frowning. "You're the team leader." He remarked. "You can't just keep relying on *us* for help. It's supposed to be the other way 'round." Donut sighed. "I know, I know..." He replied. "But again, it's just that you know the situation more than I do. You've known these guys for longer, and..." He scratched. "...And I feel like you can defuse the situation better, I guess." Pen sighed as well. He glanced down at Pencil for a moment, feeling the same stresses as everyone else was. "...To be perfectly honest..." He paused for a moment to word his response properly. "...I don't know either. They're on the other team, so I haven't been able to keep an eye on them." He shrugged. "You know, since we've been focusing on the contests." Donut sighed. "Why *did* we..." He muttered to himself. After pausing for a moment, he'd look back at Pen. "We have to work towards easing the tension. We just have to figure out..."

He'd then notice Fries looking at him with an ugly look on his face, clearly displeased by the fact that he was even remotely close to any one of them. He'd sigh once again and would awkwardly step away from Pen, even though that only brought him closer to the rest of the team members in the bleachers. As he stepped away, Tennis Ball would take his place and talk with Pen. "What were you guys talking about?" He asked. Pen thought about it for a moment. "...Nothing much." He sighed as well. "Just... things." Tennis Ball looked down at the members of Beautiful Brawn, then back at Pen. "it was about *them*, wasn't it?" He'd point down with his foot. Pen sighed once more. "...Yep. What else would we be talking about?" "It's not that big of a deal." Tennis Ball remarked. Pen raised an eyebrow. "What do you-" "We've been through *worse*." Tennis Ball interjected. "Like, way worse. These guys are just some newbies that are making use of *our* home. We've dealt with arguing amongst ourselves. Amongst friends." He sighed. "...You know, like what happened with you and..." Pen nodded. "Yeah. Yeah." He looked down. "I know that we've faced the same sort of stuff before. But something keeps on telling me that this time will be worse..." He shrugged. "...Somehow. As if it can get any worse than it already is."

The Announcer finally got tired of the lack of voting going on, and would speak up once again. "Come on, people." It announced. "Get voting." Pen sighed. "Alright, time to get to work." He remarked. He'd look at the Announcer. "I vote for Woody." He'd cast his vote. immediately, Woody would start panicking and screaming. Pen sighed. "Yep. I saw that coming." He remarked. "And that's exactly why I'm voting for him. He's always afraid of *everything*, and it's getting on my nerves." Donut nodded. "Yeah, me too." He'd add. "I thought you guys were just overreacting, but... *Sheesh*. Let's hope that *that* gets somewhat muted in the TLC." Leafy turned to them and frowned. "Guys! What're you-" "It's just the most practical option, Leafy." Tennis Ball interjected. "I mean, look at them." He'd point at the members of Beautiful Brawn again, save for the screaming Woody. "These guys are clearly at each other's throats. Is saving Woody really going to be worth it if it means hurting them?" He'd pause for a moment. "Eraser and Snowball need emotional support right now, Fries and Yellow Face will be angered even more if we vote for them, and we need Pencil to ease the situation, since she's at the center of it." Tennis Ball sighed. "...And out of Ice Cube and Woody, ice Cube is the more useful member. Sorry about this, Leafy, but Woody has to go."

Leafy groaned. "...Oh, alright..." She sighed. "You *are* right, TB. Woody does need our help, but so does everyone else. And the needs of many outweigh the needs of one." She sighed again. "i'll vote for Woody as well." She'd then look at Match, who was nearby. "How about you, Match?" She asked. Match folded her arms and scoffed. "Like, Woody's just... *Woody*, but, like, I have to look after my friends!" She exclaimed. "Any, like, enemy of my friend Pencil is also, like, an enemy of *me*." She looked down at Fries. "Who does that Fries guy, like, think he is? He, like, appears here, in our place, then gets, like, angry when we do our thing! I'm, like, voting for him." Fries simply folded his arms in kind and groaned. He had exhausted his vocal cords last night. Match then looked at Ruby. "Like, what about you?" Ruby groaned. "Oh... I don't know..." Match raised an eyebrow. "Like, excuse me?" She asked. "Like, I thought you were my friend! You, like, agree with me, right?" Ruby frowned. "...Yeah... But it's just that he's also-" Match raised her eyebrow even further. "*Excuse* me?" She interjected. "Uh..." Ruby scratched her head. "You know... I *was* friends with him for a-" "But, like, you're friends with *me* now!" Match continued. "I'm, like, *way* better than *that* guy. Come on, like, let's-"

Nickel sighed. "Alright, that's it." He interjected. He'd awkwardly shuffle his way towards them, separating Ruby from Match. "Look, who do *you* think you are?" He asked her. "And, like, who do *YOU* think you are?" Match fired back. "Like I said, you guys, like, just suddenly appear, and then you, like, get mad at what we do normally!" She'd stare at him. "Like, *we* own this place, so, like, *you* have to deal with it!" Nickel clearly wasn't amused. "We've already dealt with enough as is!" He shouted. "The least you could do is just zip it and-" "Hey." The Announcer interrupted. Both of them then looked at it. "Technically, I own the place." It continued. "And technically, it's still Cake at Stake. Get back to voting." Nickel sighed. "...This isn't over." He remarked before walking off. Match then looked at Ruby once again. "So, like, who are you voting for?" Ruby frowned. "I..." She scratched her head. "...I wanted to vote for Woody as well. I mean, *they're* voting him off, so I *think* it's fine?" Match sighed. "Alright, like, sure." She frowned slightly, as if she *wasn't* okay with this. "I'll, like, respect that. That's, like, what friends do, right?" Meanwhile, Nickel squinted at them, clearly displeased with the latest developments. He then got around to casting his vote. "I'll deal with all *that* later." He remarked to no one in particular.

Nickel continued. "I'm voting for Ice Cube." Ice Cube was rather surprised by this development. "What?" She'd say. Nickel sighed. "Has nobody noticed that Ice Cube has done *absolutely* nothing for their team?" Nickel asked. "I know that hating on Woody seems to be the hip thing at the moment..." That'd send Woody into another panic attack in the background. "But he's at least of *some* us. Like if, uh..." He'd awkwardly pause for a moment. "...*Something*." He scoffed. "But Ice Cube hasn't done anything. In my opinion, the most useless members have to go." Ice Cube was obviously angered by this. "I want revenge!" She exclaimed. "Shush." The Announcer interrupted. "There's still two of you that have to vote." "Oh!" Firey, who had just been standing on the background until then, would realize that he hadn't voted yet. "Uh... I'll vote for Woody as well." He'd reply. "I agree with much of what they've said." Teardrop would then give a thumbs-up, indicating that she agreed with what Firey said. "Alright." The Announcer said. "All the votes have been cast. Fries and Ice Cube got one vote each." Fries and Ice Cube would simply grumble at their seats, probably thinking about getting their revenge. "And Woody has gotten seven. Therefore he is eliminated."

Once again, Woody's screaming would intensify, shortly before him and his seat would fly upwards into the sky, and into the TLC. As soon as the reverberating from the crash stopped, they'd hear Woody screaming inside, his voice *somewhat* muffled by the sheet of metal now between him and them. "Alright, time for a short break." The Announcer announced. Pencil then raised an eyebrow. "Uh, Speakery?" Pencil asked. "*Don't* call me that." The Announcer replied. "What?" "I just remembered. Isn't this called *Cake* at Stake?" Pencil asked. "When are we getting there." "You'll get your cake eventually." The Announcer replied. "But if you keep asking questions, then I won't give you any cake. Now go."

-

The contestants then began to disperse to their usual hangout places, just like they've done every break. As Tennis Ball was making his way to Donut's Team's house, however, he'd suddenly get hit on the head (well, whatever counts for his head, anyway) by a rock. "Ow!" He'd wince in pain for a moment. Shortly after recovering, and with no one helping him out, he'd turn to look at whoever it might've been. "Who did-" His eyes then immediately widened. As he turned to look out of the fence, he'd see someone... familiar. Golf Ball stood just outside the fence with an innocuous smile on her face, standing beside a small pile of rocks. Tennis Ball raised an eyebrow, stunned. "Golf Ball?" He obviously couldn't believe his eyes. She'd been gone for... a little while, and so her sudden reappearance, although definitely something worth celebrating, was still some cause for concern. He'd keep his feelings suppressed, wanting to show professionalism to his *platonic* friend, and would blink a few times just to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Although his vision would become somewhat blurred from the tears forming in his eyes, it was still just as clear as day: there Golf Ball was, looking the same as she always has been, without any sort of difference in appearance. "Golf Ball!" He exclaimed, and would start making his way towards her.

He'd only be able to make about three steps before he was stopped in his tracks, however. He'd suddenly feel an unknown hand tap him in the back, catching him by surprise. Tennis Ball would quickly turn to confront whoever it was, only to ease up a bit when he found out that it was Pen. "...Oh, it's just you." He sighed. He'd point towards the fence with his foot. "Look, I have to go talk with-" "You've seen- well, *heard*, about what's going on in Beautiful Brawn, no?" Pen asked. Tennis Ball frowned. "Uh... Yeah." He raised an eyebrow. "...What're you asking me for?" He asked. "Well... I always knew that you were smart." Pen remarked. "I just thought that... You know, you'd have something to say about it." Tennis Ball slightly nodded, looking for something to say in order to get away. "Uh... Yeah. A little." He replied. "...It's a bad thing, of course. We need to do something about it." "What do you suggest we do, then?" Pen asked. "Uh..." Tennis Ball began to sweat. He'd glance back at the fence. Golf Ball was clearly getting impatient. He'd then look back at Pen. "...We have to talk to them, of course. Get them to apologize to each other. I feel like both sides are at fault, and so if both of them apologized, then that should... settle things." He sighed. "...I gotta go, Pen." He'd then quickly run off. "TB!" Pen exclaimed. "Wait!"

Tennis Ball wouldn't waste a moment more to meet up with his beloved... friend, once again. "GB!" He exclaimed once again. "It's been so long!" Golf Ball chuckled. "It's only been a few days." She remarked. "Come on." "Where have you been?" Tennis Ball asked. "You've missed out on *a lot*!" "Yeah, yeah." Golf Ball nodded. "I can see that. But I won't be here for long, though. In fact, I only came just to see you." Tennis Ball raised an eyebrow. "What?" He asked. "You're already leaving again? But you just-" Golf Ball sighed. "I know, I know. But I've got important things to do. Things I can't tell you right now." Tennis Ball frowned. "...Oh, alright." He nodded. "Is it research-related, though?" He asked. "Uh..." Golf Ball would sweat, before nodding shortly after. "Yeah. Research. I've just discovered something big, and I can't wait to show it to you all. Not now, though. Maybe soon." Tennis Ball's eyes widened. "Really?" He asked. "Yeah. *Really*." Golf Ball replied. "I'd love to tell you more, but... I can't. Not right now." She sighed. "I... I just wanted you to do something for me." "What is it?" Tennis Ball asked. "Come closer." Golf Ball replied. "Sure thing!" Tennis Ball then took a step closer, and Golf Ball would whisper... something to him. Whatever it was, Tennis Ball would nod in understanding. She'd continue to whisper for about a minute or so, until all that was over and done with.

Tennis Ball finally stepped back and nodded. "Alright. I'll do that." He remarked. "Just..." He sighed. "...Just promise you'll be back soon, okay?" He asked. "It's just... I..." Golf Ball nodded. "i know." She interjected. "I'd *love* to come back. But as you probably know, this is *extremely* important." She paused for a moment. "As much as I want to stay there with you, that just isn't possible at the moment." She sighed. "...Just know this, however." Tennis Ball raised an eyebrow. "What is it?" He asked. "As..." Golf Ball sighed again. "...As soon as all that I'm doing, all that *we're* doing, is over, I won't have to leave you ever again. We can... do things together, you know? Science stuff." Tennis Ball nodded, and his eyes widened. "Really?" He asked. Golf Ball smiled. "Absolutely. It absolutely pains me that I can't hang out with you, but I know it has to be done." She took a deep breath. "...It really has to." Tennis Ball nodded. After a moment of awkward silence, Golf Ball sighed one last time. "...I gotta go. I'm on borrowed time." Tennis Ball sighed as well. "Well, alright..." He'd look away, not wanting to see her leave once again. "...I'll see ya soon, GB." "...Yeah." Golf Ball nodded. "I'll see you soon. Real soon."

They then separated once again.

-

Donut tapped Pen in the shoulder. "You coming?" Donut asked. "Uh..." Pen turned to him. "...Right. Yeah." He replied. "Let's go." They'd then go the rest of the way to Donut's Team's house. Leafy, Ice Cube (who wanted to get away with Beautiful Brawn's bickering), and Teardrop were sitting on the couch, with the rest of the members either upstairs or still outside. Pen and Donut made their way over to a more secluded corner to talk in private. "...What got you distracted all of a sudden?" Donut asked. Pen sighed. "...It's nothing. I just wanted to see if Tennis Ball had anything to add." Donut raised an eyebrow. "...Like you said, though. We're- er, *I'm* the team leader." He'd remark. "I'm supposed to be helping you guys, not the other way around, right?" Pen nodded. "...Yeah. Yeah. Right." He'd sigh. "But, like..." He'd scratch his head. "...I suppose that leadership is more of a... group thing? I guess." He'd shrug. "All the team members have *something* to do in order to help each other?" He'd sigh once again. "...I don't know. I'm not used to this whole 'team leader' thing, either. I'm just following what I've seen." Pen rolled his eyes. "Look, I just wanted to point out that Tennis Ball's smart, alright? He might be able to help us out with this whole issue." Donut shrugged. "...I guess I could see where you're coming from." He remarked.

"...But again, I'm only asking you guys for help since you guys probably knew each other better than I do." Donut continued. "Like... You definitely seem to know *something*." Pen nodded. "Uh... Yeah." He remarked. "I know that..." He sighed. "My mind's such a mess, sorry." He continued. "You're a newcomer, so of course you're gonna need help..." He blushed slightly out of embarrassment. He'd quickly notice, however, and would cover his mouth. "Er, sorry." He'd say, his voice muffled. Donut raised an eyebrow. "Uh... Pen, you okay?" He asked. "Yeah, yeah." Pen nodded. "I'm fine, just..." His blush deepened. Donut was clearly puzzled. "...You clearly aren't. You're, uh..." He'd frown slightly. "...Can I ask about why your mind is all messed up?" Pen shook his head. "No, no." He replied. "I'm fine. Really." Donut frowned. "Come on. I know that I'm not exactly the best team leader, but-" "You know what?" Pen interrupted. "Yeah, you aren't doing so well. I understand." He continued. "I feel like so many responsibilities were put onto you so suddenly. How about this?" Pen paused for a moment. "I'll... uh... I'll go deal with easing the tensions in the other team, while you focus on getting to know our teammates. How about that?" "Uh..." Donut raised an eyebrow once again. "You sure?" "Yes!" Pen shouted. "Uh... Yes. Sorry. Like you said, we know ourselves better than you do. We'll take care of ourselves, then."

Donut sighed. "...Alright, sure." Pen nodded. "Thanks." He then quickly ran off, leaving Donut completely confused. He'd sigh. "This is so exhausting..." He'd mutter to no one in particular. Leafy then suddenly appeared from the front of the couch. "Tell me about it." She'd reply, catching Donut by surprised. He'd gasp and would quickly turn to face her. "Don't... do that." He remarked. "That's... That scared me." Leafy sighed. "...Sorry." Donut raised an eyebrow. "You're the really nice one, aren't you?" He asked. "I've heard some stuff about you." Leafy nodded. "Yep, that's me!" She replied. "I consider myself as a friend to everybody, even if they don't want my friendship!" Donut sighed. "How do you manage to keep that act up?" He asked her. Leafy raised an eyebrow. "...Act?" One of her eyes would twitch slightly. "I-It's not an act! My friendliness is genuine, and comes straight for the heart!" She'd then look at Ice Cube. "Isn't that right, Icy?" Ice Cube smiled. "Yeah!" She exclaimed. Donut sighed. "...Sorry." He apologized. "It's just..." He rolled his eyes. "It's just that it feels fake to me." He made his way over to the couch. Leafy would quickly get defensive. "I-It's not fake!" She protested. Donut shrugged and sat down, causing Teardrop to get up and walk off as well. "...I'm sure it is."

Donut sighed. "It's just... It's just that I've met a lot of people, and they've all hated at least *one* guy." He remarked. "The fact that there's someone that's friends with *everyone* they've met is just... jarring to me." He shrugged. "That's just my opinion, though. I don't know what you guys do." Leafy frowned. "...Perhaps that's just it." She remarked. "You need to get along with us! Make new friends! I know that you already have a few, but nothing's wrong with having more!" Donut sighed. "...Yeah, I'm trying, alright?" He sighed again. "The only person I've managed to get *somewhat* close to is Pen, however." He'd look at Leafy. "...Speaking of, you mind telling me about him?" He asked. "Oh!" Leafy smiled again. "He's a great guy! A good friend of mine!" Donut nodded. "Yeah, I knew that." He muttered to himself. "He used to be a big meanie, though. Hung out with Blocky and his..." She paused, hesitating. She shook her head. "He used to hurt others, but some time ago, he managed to get better and start making new friends! I'm so proud of him!" Donut nodded. "Really?" He asked. He used to be just like him, he thought. Most people never really liked him and his big mouth, and so he mostly pushed everyone aside, until he finally found his company.

Donut raised an eyebrow. "What about Ice Cube?" He asked. "Is he just as useless as... some claim her to be?" "No, absolutely not!" Leafy replied. "She's also a good friend! Just... a little misunderstood." She remarked. "She's trying her best, but she hasn't really been able to do much, I'll admit... But that's just because she doesn't have arms! Oh, poor Icy!" She'd try to hug Ice Cube, but she was just too cold for that. She'd immediately let go of her. "She's really nice if you get to know her! It's just that... she tends to hold a grudge." She'd sweat. Donut frowned. "Reminds me of a certain someone I used to know..." He muttered to himself. "And what about you?" He asked. "Anything else you can say about yourself, other than you being extremely friendly?" Leafy smiled. "Well, I'm really kind, generous, giving, charitable, nice, amazing, wonderful..." Donut frowned as he noticed that most of the words meant the same thing. Donut nodded. "...Yeah. That sounds about right." He remarked. He looked out the window. There wasn't anyone wandering about at that time, save for the Announcer, who was working on building... something. Looks to be a large metal box, from what little details he could see. He then turned to Leafy. "Uh... Hey." He'd say. "...Since we have to pass the time, why don't you tell me about everyone else?" Leafy's eyes widened. "Oh?" She asked. "Sure thing!" She smiled.

-

Fries was just walking around, minding his own business.

With him angry at nearly every single person in this dreaded place, he just wanted to stay alone. He didn't even want to stick around with *Yellow Face*. His constant obnoxious voice gets tiring after some point, you know? His aimless wandering eventually brought him to the Announcer, however. The Speaker Box was busy working away in the 'back' of the living quarters, constructing something at the former location of Gelatin's Steakhouse. It was using some sort of complex machinery, something far beyond his comprehension, to do... something. It wasn't like Fries studied architecture, or anything. He walked over to the Announcer, seeing as he had nothing better to do with his life. "Hey, uh, speaker box... thing?" He asked. The Announcer quickly stopped whatever it was doing and turned to face him. "What?" It asked. "What're you doing?" Fries asked. "I'm working on a new containment chamber." The Announcer replied. Fries raised an eyebrow. "...Containment chamber?" He asked. "A new place to store the eliminated contestants." The Announcer replied. "The TLC's carrying capacity is only six, and as you probably know, we're getting very close to that limit." Fries nodded. "...Yeah. But there's only five in there at the moment, though." He remarked. "I know." The Announcer replied. "But Spongy is a larger contestant, and so it's starting to get cramped in there."

There would be awkward silence for a moment, as Fries and the Announcer didn't exactly have anything they could talk about. "...Well, since I got nothing else to do, can I help?" He asked. "Really?" The Announcer asked. "Uh... Yeah." Fries replied. "Why not?" "it's just that most people tend to avoid me." The Announcer remarked. "Sure. You can help. Go grab that hammer and nail those metal bits to that wall." The Announcer then turned to 'point' at the back wall of this... containment chamber, which had already been built. Fries pointed at a tray of oddly-shaped metal pieces. Again, Fries didn't really know the purpose of those things. "Those things?" Fries asked. "Yes." The Announcer replied. "Sure." Fries nodded. He'd then grab a hammer and the tray, and went over to the wall. A box of nails was already there, and so that task would be somewhat easier for him. He'd grab one of the little metal things, and placed it on the wall. The base of the... thing, seemed to already stick onto the wall, as if through magnets or some other magical method. The Announcer said to nail them to the wall, however, and so he would. He'd grab the hammer tightly, and would prepare to strike the nail. He *did* have some experience with hammers, before, though hadn't used them during construction. It was more of...

Fries looked down at the hammer. Vivid memories filled his head as soon as he started staring at it. Those days after the Event were by far the most tumultuous moment of his life. It was for most of the people still living on this cursed Earth. It was already miserable enough with an eternal war raging, but then to suddenly have your home and country destroyed by nuclear fire, followed by all the things you take for granted suddenly become scarce, it... changes a person. A lot. Makes them more willing to do whatever they have to do to stay alive. Even if it goes against human (or object) decency. He had to fight with whatever he could get his hands on, and he had to kill whoever got in his way, no matter who they were in his life before. The screams... Not just his own, but those of his friends, his family. And later on, of complete strangers as they simultaneously wailed in agony. All the same to him now, anyway. Fries continued to stay perfectly still as his eyes remained fixed on the hammer, being completely incapable of moving. He remembered why he joined the group he was in now. *They* caused this, *they* had to pay. *They* must be made to suffer for the crimes they had committed, to suffer the same fate they had made others bear. And in that state of rage, he could've sworn that the hammer, although it was perfectly clean, had a slight tinge of red.

After a single deep breath, he swung the hammer.

-

The break passed, much like any breath or sigh of relief.

Everyone would be gathered up by the Announcer, and they would then be teleported away to the location of the contest, which happened to be the coast. As soon as they were there, they saw what awaited them: extending into the ocean was a wooden beam, similar to the one they had to stay on in the first contest, although now the goal was clearly to cross it to get to... who knows where. "This contest will be a little different from the previous ones." The Announcer announced. "The teams temporarily will temporarily be temporarily formed, temporarily, within the teams temporarily." Pretty much everyone raised an eyebrow in confusion, as none of them knew what he had just said. "That's why it's Teams in Teams." The Announcer continued. "Beautiful Brawn will become 2 teams of 3, and Donut's Team will be 3 teams of 3. Got that?" Leafy nodded. "Uh... Sure. I think." "I originally intended the teams to be randomly chosen." The Announcer continued. "But due to budget cuts, we can no longer do that. As such, we'll just form them based on alphabetical order." Snowball raised an eyebrow. "What's that?" He asked. "Shush." The Announcer replied. "You'll see." It then paused for a moment to think. "Donut, Firey, and Leafy, you'll be one team." Leafy smiled. "Yay!" She exclaimed. "I'm so glad I get to be with you guys!" Donut shrugged. "Uh... Yeah." He replied. "Me too."

"Match, Nickel, and Pen will be another team." The Announcer continued. Match folded her arms. "Like, seriously?" She scoffed. "I have to, like, team up with *him*?" Nickel scoffed back. "Yeah. Why *her*?" Pen frowned. "Guys, come on. Please..." The Announcer didn't care for their feelings, however. "And the rest will be the third. As for Beautiful Brawn: Eraser, Fries, and Ice Cube will be a team, and the rest will be another." Of course, this arrangement would displease all six of them. The two remaining newbies of Beautiful Brawn just so happened to be each paired up with two... *others*. Eraser would immediately turn away from Fries, and would look at the Announcer. "So what *is* the contest?" He asked. "I was getting to that." The Announcer replied. "There will be three islands. You will go through all of them in sequence." "Will any of them be Dream Island?" Pen asked. "I feel like we *really*-" "No, none of the islands are Dream Island." The Announcer answered. "The voting will only be on the three members of the last team to arrive. So yeah. To start, cross that balance beam to get to island 1." All five teams would then immediately get to work on crossing said balance beam. Well, except for a few, anyway. Fries would stay back while Eraser and Ice Cube would cross, but the former would notice this. "Dude, come on!" He shouted at him. "Is possibly going to the TLC *seriously* better than sticking with us?" He asked. Fries sighed. "Alright, fine." They then started once again.

Ruby, Teardrop, and Tennis Ball would all be in first place, followed by Donut, Firey, and Leafy. All the other teams would have one rebellious member, however, which would intentionally slow them down. The balance beam was so thin, however, and so they would be forced to form a single file line. This would naturally cause problems as one of the slower teams would catch up to another, leading to a sort of traffic jam. Pencil, Snowball, and Yellow Face would get stuck behind Nickel and the others, while Eraser and the gang would get stuck behind *them*. "Look what you did!" Eraser shouted. "Now we're dead last!" Fries scoffed. "Not my problem." He remarked. "It *is* your problem!" Eraser shouted. "Again, *elimination*! *TLC*!" Eventually, Ruby's team would manage to make it to the first island. On the island were about thirty safes, with the combination for each one being marked at the bottom, for... whatever reason. Five of them have a makeshift raft they can use to get to the next island, while the others just have junk. "Let's get to work!" Tennis Ball exclaimed. "Start working on one of the safes." They'd then rush to one at random, and would start trying to figure out the combination, since they had *no* way of figuring out where the combination was. In fact, they only managed to infer what to do through common sense. Teardrop and Tennis Ball would know how to easily crack safes, however, while Ruby would somewhat struggle.

Donut's Team would arrive not long after, and would do much the same strategy. Firey would try to melt the safes, while Leafy and Donut would try their best to figure out the combination. Match's team would then arrive next. "Guys, look!" Pen pointed at the other contestants, who were already working on the safes. "We gotta go do the same as well!" Pen and Match then quickly got to work, while Nickel would be a bit less reluctant, opting to just spin the lock around with his foot. Pencil's team would arrive as well, but Snowball, being Snowball, would have no idea what to do. "What are those metal box things?" He asked. Pencil looked at him, then at Yellow Face, then sighed. "I'll do the work, alright? You two play nice." She then made her way to an unoccupied safe. Eraser's team would then finally arrive, and they'd do much the same. Tennis Ball would manage to find what they needed first: a raft and two paddles. "I think I found it!" Tennis Ball exclaimed. He then looked for the next island for a moment. "Over there!" He then pointed at it with his foot. "Let's go!" They then immediately rushed out into the island's coast, where they'd quickly set out. Eraser's team would find a raft afterwards. "Alright, we got it." Fries remarked. "Now let's get out of here." They would then promptly do so.

The other teams would struggle with finding their rafts, mostly because they were effectively a man down, or worse. Snowball would try to get away from Yellow Face, only for Yellow Face to approach him yet again, yelling something about how he's being treated unfairly, or something. It wasn't like Snowball could process it, or anything. Whatever it was, Snowball would eventually become outraged by this nonsense. "GRR!" He'd shout. "I'VE HAD ENOUGH OF YOU!" He couldn't hit *him*, however, since even he knew that that would lead to terrible consequences. Instead, he'd opt to just take out his frustration on a nearby safe, flipping it. He'd then notice the combination of the safe written out in the bottom, though he obviously wouldn't know this. "Huh?" Snowball raised an eyebrow. "There's numbers on this side of the box!" "Let me take a look." Pencil quickly rushed over to him and took a look. She'd figure out what they were immediately, and would proceed to fiddle with the lock until it opened, revealing a raft. "What do you know?" She asked rhetorically. They then immediately set out as well. Match would overhear this information and would tell the others, and they'd eventually get going as well, though they were now in last place.

While rowing towards the next island, Donut's Team would fall behind Eraser's, since they had to be rather careful, as a particularly strong wave could possibly knock Firey off and cause him to die, meaning they had to focus on him as well. Meanwhile, Ruby and Teardrop were the ones rowing on their raft, with Tennis Ball constantly giving orders on how hard each of them had to row. Ruby groaned. "Seriously?" She shouted. "How come *I* have to row?" She asked. "You have arms!" Tennis Ball shouted back. "If you're not rowing, then we'll fall behind!" Ruby scoffed. "So much for being able to do things with your legs, huh?" She remarked. "I *can* row with my legs, just so you know." Tennis Ball retorted. "It'd just be slower! And we can't go slow right now! We have to go faster! *FASTER*!" Meanwhile, Teardrop remained as silent as she'd always been, constantly rowing without even a short break. As she continued rowing, however, she'd feel as if the ocean itself was trying to suck up the paddle, pulling it into the deep blue below. She'd obviously try to resist it, but as time went on, it'd get harder and harder to continue rowing. "Come on! Keep going!" Tennis Ball shouted. "Almost there!" Suddenly, however, Teardrop would finally be unable to resist, and she and the paddle would suddenly fall into the water, causing him and Ruby to panic.

-

The pressure was clearly getting to Teardrop.

Every day, the war GD Inc had been waiting for continued to draw nearer. Even though she was off in the middle of nowhere, she could feel its effects as fear and paranoia began to cement its iron grip on the poor employees of the facility. The deadlines would continue to be pushed further and further closer to the present, as the company needed their weapons of war ready either now or never. They couldn't be wasting their precious resources on things that only had a *chance* of working, after all.

The experimental creatures created from Teardrop's genetic data were showing promise, and she knew in her heart that they'd be everything GD Inc had wanted, and much, *much* more. She just knew it. Perhaps she had an extremely close connection to them, even though she'd never see them outside the context of a test. She perhaps had the instinct of a mother, who knew whether or not her children were rising or falling. She was a metaphorical mother, in a sense. A twisted and completely sick sense. Whatever. Teardrop looked at her little aquarium made out of prototypes. They had formed their own little society in their little glass world, living lives that knew nothing of hardship or suffering. She managed to keep them well-fed, taking crumbs out of her food to feed them. Their little habitat was well-maintained, having eventually become maintained by the inhabitants themselves. Seeing as they were essentially miniature versions of herself, it wasn't all that hard to see herself in there, living her life without a clue as to what their greater purpose was, or what their future incarnations would have to do. They didn't know anything about GD Inc, or the conflict, or of any sort of pain and misery. They continued to live in their little glass house, unaware that it was completely fragile.

Teardrop sighed on the inside. It was only a matter of time until the war got to them. GD Inc has continued to demand more and more out of her, and her position became more and more similar to the countless others constantly working away, being chained to their desks. Was this really the life she wanted? Did she really want to be just a cog in a machine, just doing the same things over and over? She knew that a life of blissful ignorance was a wrong one, but as more and more time passed, the more she felt like it was the better one.

She continued staring at the glass box for a while longer, before looking back at her computer. She had to write up a report about how the newest subjects were doing. In her opinion, they were doing quite well.

*Quite*.

-

Teardrop eventually surfaced from her unfortunate time in the water, but by then, their team had drastically fallen behind. Tennis Ball sighed a deep sigh of relief. "I thought we'd lost you!" He exclaimed. "We gotta get back into the game!" Teardrop then quickly got back on the raft, then proceeded to start rowing once again. They weren't *dead* last, however. Snowball had *finally*, *truly* had enough, and, in a fit of rage, shoved Yellow Face off their raft. He didn't end up surfacing, however, and he and Pencil would choose to move on, not knowing that what they just did secured their loss. One of the unspoken rules that the Announcer had forgotten to tell them was that the mini-teams had to bring *all* their contestants to the end, meaning that they'd eventually have to get him back somehow. Without knowing this, however, they continued on rowing until they (and the other teams) got to the second island. On the island were ten rather tall poles, with keys hanging from them. Beside the poles were a pile of building blocks, which they assumed they'd have to use in order to get the keys. Donut's team had already gotten most of the way up, quickly followed by Match's team. Ruby's and Pencil's team were just starting out, while Eraser's team were bickering once again. In his frustration, Eraser would grab a block and hurl it at the pole, causing it to fall into the ground.

Eraser's team stared at the damage they had done, only for Eraser to shrug. "That was easy enough." He remarked. They'd then grab the key and proceeded to leave for the final island. Snowball would notice this and do the same thing as well, quickly following Eraser's team. Donut's team would be the first team to get their key the legitimate way, followed by Match's team and Ruby's team. They'd then all set sail for the final island as well. The island only had a building with a locked front door, which they figured they had to open with the key. Eraser would try their key out first, only to find out that theirs didn't work. Eraser groaned. "Are you *kidding* me?" He asked rhetorically. Fries scoffed. "Let *me* try, will you?" He'd then snatch the key from his hands and tried to unlock it as well, but it just wouldn't budge. Fries sighed. "Easy, huh?" He'd look at Eraser. "LET'S JUST GO BACK!" Eraser shouted, and then they did. Donut's team would then try theirs next, and to their surprise, it would unlock the door. They'd step inside, finding the Announcer standing there. "Donut, Firey, Leafy, you're the first team to finish." It announced. Of course, this would cause them to celebrate. "As a prize, you get to have one slice of cake each." "Ooh!" Leafy exclaimed. "Cake!" They'd then proceed to each take a bite of their slice. "This is cold!" Firey remarked. "I'll heat mine up. You want me to heat yours up as well, Leafy?" Leafy shook her head. "I'm fine with it!" She exclaimed. "Just take the gift as it is." She then continued to eat. Donut did much the same, having already taken a bite.

Match's team would try their key, and it'd unlock the door, meaning that they were in second place. "Congrats." The Announcer announced. "Do we, like, get cake too?" Match asked. "No." The Announcer replied. "Only the winners get cake." Match frowned. "But, like-" "No." Ruby's team would try theirs next, but it wouldn't unlock the door, causing them to go back and get another one. Finally, Pencil's team would try theirs, and it would work. "Pencil, Snowball- wait." Pencil raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean, 'wait'?" She asked. "Yeah!" Snowball shouted. "What do you-" "You're missing Yellow Face." The Announcer interrupted. "Go back and get him." "Uh..." Pencil rolled her eyes. "He... he drowned." "Who needs him, anyway?" Snowball asked. "I do." The Announcer replied. "I've recovered him back at the start. Go get him." Snowball clearly wasn't pleased, however. "But-" "No buts." The Announcer interrupted. "A team has to stick together. Now go." Snowball groaned, and they'd then proceed to make the long journey back. Eraser's team would eventually make it back with another key, which would unlock the door. Eraser groaned. "Finally!" He then proceeded to walk outside, leaving Fries and Ice Cube by themselves. Ruby's team would eventually return as well, getting fourth place. After quite a while, Pencil's team would finally return to the island, with Yellow Face now in tow. As soon as they got there, however, they'd find that everyone else was now there.

Snowball groaned. "Come *ON*!" He shouted. Pencil sighed. "Pencil, Snowball, Yellow Face. You're the last team to get here." The Announcer announced. "As such, one of you will be eliminated." Pencil and Eraser then looked at Yellow Face. Clearly, they only wanted *one* person to get the boot.