Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

It was morning.

Iscream had received a letter from Chikn Nuggit to visit him in the place he usually spent the day, sitting on his rug in the middle of the void with his cat compatriot and blithering on about whatever topic he could think of.

The only entertaining thing about watching these conversations was the occasional oblivious reality warp from the demigod. The latest had been Chikn turning into a plushie, which wasn’t much alone, but Chee’s reaction had made the experience worthwhile.

But as the bunny approached the spot, Chikn was nowhere to be found. There was, however, the cat.

Chee noticed Iscream and waved. “Oh, hey, Iscream!”

Iscream didn’t return the gesture. “Did you also get a letter?”

“Hm? Oh, yeah, I did.” Chee reached into her hat and pulled out a slightly crumpled paper. “Do you know what this is about?”

“No clue.”

The two animals stood in awkward silence for a second, until Iscream noticed something peeking out from under the mattress.

They crouched down and yanked it out from beneath them. It was a note.

“Dear Chee and Iscream,” The bunny read aloud. “Recently I did some digging into my family history… blah blah blah, public record, blah blah-”

Iscream’s eyes widened. “…eh, this isn’t really important.” They crumpled the paper up and chucked it about a yard away, praying to the lord below that Chee wouldn’t hold true to that statement about cats and curiosity.

Chee was not satisfied. She raised an eyebrow and scampered to the note, beginning to unfold and smooth it. Iscream thought about stopping her… but then again, what good would that do? If the note was telling the truth…

“…and so, I have come to the conclusion that I may be a-” Now Chee’s eyes were bugged out. “…demigod of chaos? And I’ve decided to use that power to start the multiverse’s greatest… game show?”

Chee dropped the note and looked up at Iscream with an expression of worry. “Iscream, did you know about this?”

The bunny’s heart dropped. “…w-why on earth would I know about this?!” They spat. “Just because I’m a demon means I have to know about every demigod in the-”

“YOU’RE A WHAT?!”

Whoops.

Iscream pinched the bridge of their nonexistent nose. “…okay, yes, I’m a demon. And yes, I knew that Chikn was a demigod.”

The cat stood still for a moment, and then let out a laugh. “HA! Oh, man, you almost had me for a minute!” She chortled. “What, are you and Chikn playing some kind of prank on me?

Iscream sighed. “…yes. I am playing a prank on you.”

“Knew it!” The cat wiped a tear from her eye.

It was probably better for Chee to hear the truth from Chikn himself, Iscream thought.

…then, they heard something.

It sounded a bit like… screaming.

Curious, they looked up and saw two figures plummeting out of the sky. Iscream took out a pair of binoculars to get a better look at these strange sky folk.

One of them was tan, hanging onto a brown fedora with all their might as their… hair? Ears? Whatever was on their head flapped in the wind. Strangely, they seemed to be lacking legs, merely possessing a conical body, two arms, and a head.

The other one had the same body shape, only without the physical traits that made the tan creature stand out. They were, however, a striking hue of yellow.

Iscream sighed and put away their binoculars. Were they going to have to catch those two?

As the screaming became louder and louder, the rabbit begrudgingly pulled out a knife, made a small incision along their paw, and peeled their fur back to allow their inky black claw to extend out into a landing mat for the visitors.

The tan one landed first, followed swiftly by the yellow one. Both bounced for a minute, but eventually came to a rest, at which point Iscream retracted their claw and repaired their damaged flesh.

The two no-longer-falling folk groaned as they got to their feet. Or, where their feet would have been. “…what in tarnation is this place?” The tan creature asked, his teeth still clamping down on the hat.

Chee was rather startled by the display she had just witnesses. “…who are you two?” She asked.

The two looked at Chee, along with Iscream. “I feel like I should be askin’ you that question.” Replied the tan one.

“Ah ah ah.” Iscream chided their rude new visitor. “This is our home. We should know who you are first.”

“…fine.” He grumbled. “Name’s Tunner. This here-” He gestured at the still rather confused yellow creature behind him. “-is Garnold. And you two are?”

Iscream smirked. “Now, that wasn’t so hard, was it? My name’s Iscream, and she’s Chee. Now that that’s out of the way, why don’t you enlighten us as to why you were falling out of the sky?”

“Well, we-”

Garnold stepped forward. “I can take this question, Tunner.”

Tunner nodded and stepped back, fastening his hat back to his head. Garnold turned back to the animals. “…well, I can’t speak for Tunner, but when I woke up this morning, there was this weird dog at the foot of my bed. He asked me if I wanted to be part of a game show, and I agreed, and then…”

Garnold glanced up at the sky. “Well, you saw.”

“I sure did.” Iscream glanced over their shoulder at Chee. She seemed very confused

She slowly got closer to the pair. “Wait, what… are you two?”

The two creatures gave her funny looks. “Sprunki, ‘course.” Tunner responded. “What, never seen one before?”

“…no?” Chee tilted her head. “I’ve never even heard of a ‘Sprunki’. What is a ‘Sprunki’?”

“It’s what we are.” Garnold replied, as though Chee was the crazy one for having never heard of a Sprunki before today.

Chee decided it was best not to bother arguing. “…okay, you’re Sprunki, then. Chikn’s bringing you on his game show?”

“Chicken? Like the animal?” Tunner interjected.

“No, that’s just his name. Chikn Nuggit.”

Tunner narrowed his eyes. “…y’all got some strange names ‘round these parts.”

Just then, a tiny red and white owl fell out of the sky. “What the-” He muttered, leaping up and glancing around hurriedly, before looking up to see an equally small pink fox falling out of the sky.

Fortunately, the owl managed to catch them. “Lucy!” He shook the fox lightly in his arms. “Are you alright?!”

The fox rubbed her eyes. “Yeah, I’m okay… where are we?”

The two miniature animals looked around at their audience. “…perhaps these folks have an answer for us.” The owl suggested, before carefully letting Lucy down and addressing the other four. “My name is Sammy. I work for the Miniforce, and I would like to know what this place is.”

Everyone looked at Sammy as though he had just said he was a space alien. “…and what, pray tell, is a ‘Miniforce’?” Iscream questioned.

“You haven’t heard of us?” The fox (Lucy) asked disbelievingly. “We’re the world’s largest agency dedicated to defending animals.”

“Not a word about ya has passed my ears.” Tunner admitted.

“…well, can you at least tell us where we are?” Restated Sammy.

Everyone glanced around at their surroundings, or lack thereof.

“…you know, I’m not sure where exactly we are…” Chee admitted. “…but I hang out here with Chikn and Iscream a lot. Mostly Chikn.”

The fox snapped her paws. “Oh, we didn’t ask for your names! So sorry about that, could you tell us?”

“Iscream.”

“Tunner.”

“Garnold.”

“Chee.”

“Got it, thanks!” Lucy gave a thumbs up. “So, does this have anything to do with the game show we signed up for?”

“I would assume so. That’s why we’re here, anyways.” Garnold responded.

Iscream glanced up. “Incoming.” They said, taking a step to the side to avoid the creature that landed right beside them.

This one appeared to be some sort of sheep, wearing a tattered old shirt and metal chains around their neck and wrists. They lifted their head off the ground and frantically tried to get to their feet, but they had no luck without the ability to use their arms.

Sammy stared inquisitively at the lamb. “Why is that one in chains?” He whispered to Lucy.

“Do you, uh… do you need help?” Chee asked the newcomer.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Tunner warned. “If this fella’s some sort o’ convict, we oughta stay away.”

“Well, they could also have been imprisoned by some sort of evildoer.” Lucy reasoned. “And besides, if they do try and attack us, it’s still a six on one.”

The lamb was still desperately rolling around and letting out panicked bleats when a tiny black crown dropped on their face, rolling onto the carpet beside them.

The group took notice of the strange item, but Iscream was the one to grab it. Upon touching it, Iscream sensed a great power within, not unlike their own.

“Hey, let us see!” Garnold requested.

Hesitantly, Iscream tightened their grip on the crown and held it for the rest to see. “It’s just some old crown.” They lied.

“…then why is it blinking at us?” Sammy pointed at the artifact with a wing.

The rabbit spun the crown around, and sure enough, a bright red eye was glaring at them. “…not sure.”

“Do you think it’s cursed?” Lucy pondered. “Like, what would happen if one of us put it on?”

“I’m not touching that thing.” Chee crossed her arms and fervently shook her head.

While the rest of the group was debating over the artifact, Tunner was helping the lamb to their feet. “Easy, kid.” He reassured them. “We ain’t gonna hurt ya.”

The sheep, although trembling, resisted the urge to turn tail and run away. At the very least, this white void didn’t seem to have any giant horrible aberrations…

They bleated a question. Tunner raised an eyebrow. “…are ya able to speak?” He asked.

Annoyed, the lamb bleated even louder.

“I still can’t understand you.”

Before they could try and gesture for something, a clink behind the lamb reminded them of their chains. They turned around and bleated again.

Tunner understood what that noise meant. He carefully handled the chains and managed to remove them from the lamb in no time. “There. Ya happy?” He asked as the lamb rubbed their sore hooves and nodded.

Another two thuds drew everyone’s attention. Now, what looked to be a magnifying glass in a formal jacket and a pistachio green robot had fallen here.

The magnifying glass stood first and dusted themselves off, glancing around at his audience. “…where am I?”

“The void.” Garnold answered. “…apparently.”

“Well, this is certainly some place for a game show.” He remarked. “I assume you all must be contestants as well?”

The crowd nodded in unison.

“I see. Well, my name is Rodger, and this is-”

“I can introduce myself.” The robot grumbled, and Rodger stepped back. “Name’s Vee. I’m only here because I thought I would be hosting. I was not expecting to plummet out of the sky.”

“So you also host a game show?” Sammy questioned.

Vee fixed her bow tie. “Only the best one in the Gardenview Education Center.”

“Sprunki, Minforce, Gardenview whozawhatzit…” Chee was rubbing her temples. “Why am I learning about so many confusing words today?”

Another loud thud. This time, it was a skeleton in some sort of strange costume. “…SEE, THIS IS WHY I’M MORE OF A CAT PERSON…” He muttered before standing himself up, towering above the rest of the contestants.

“Aaaaaand that’s a skeleton.” Tunner stated. “Here I was thinkin’ this group couldn’t get much stranger.”

“Oh, it can always get stranger.” Iscream said, waving off Tunner with one hand and clutching the crown with the other. “So, what’s your name, new guy?”

He looked down at the strange white rabbit, observing it for a second and then crouching down to shake their paw. “WHY, I AM THE GREAT PAPYRUS! SOON-TO-BE MEMBER OF THE ROYAL GUARD, BRILLIANT PUZZLE CONSTRUCTOR, AND MASTERFUL SPAGHETTI CHEF! NOW, WHO ARE YOU ALL?”

The group each introduced themselves, and by the time they were done, another contestant had fallen onto the carpet.

“Well That Was Fun” The newcomer stated, before leaping several feet into the air and landing perfectly on their feet, standing even taller than Papyrus. She was garbed in light blue and black clothing, and her eyes seemed to be some sort of computer screen.

“Another robot?” Rodger’s singular eye narrowed. “I suppose you have competition now, Vee.”

“Oh, shut up.” Vee snapped, before turning back to the other robot. “So, who are you?”

“Well My Full Name Is Serial Number Q5U4EX7YY2E9N But You May Simply Refer To Me As:” She struck a pose. “Queen”

“And she’s got an ego like you, too.” Rodger nudged Vee, who was doing all in her power to stop herself from smashing his glass in.

Meanwhile, Iscream was getting an idea on how they could test this crown. “A queen, you say?” They stepped forward, hiding the crown behind their back.

Queen turned her head to look at the rabbit. “Yeah What Is It”

“I can’t help but notice you don’t have a crown.” They said in a sickly-sweet tone, before holding out the crown. “Would you like to wear this one?”

She stared at the thing for five seconds, then let out a mocking laugh. “Okay Three Things Buddy” She leaned down over Iscream. “One: Crowns Are For Losers Who Are Insecure In Their Status; Two: That Thing Is Very Obviously Cursed And Three: It Looks Dumb”

Suddenly, the crown began hissing at the robot, its two prongs growing sharper and two more sprouting out of its sides. Everyone except for Iscream and Queen jumped back, with Queen dropping her grin for almost offended look. “And I Especially Do Not Want It If It Does That”

The sound of one more impact on the carpet brought everyone’s attentions to a strange red and white cat sitting on what looked to be a white cushion. The cat was wearing a yellow belly warmer, a collar with a blue orb, and had two tails with blue flames on the ends.

“Phew, that was a close one!” They said, wiping sweat from their brow. “Thanks for stopping my fall, Whisper!”

The cat stood up and rolled over their cushion, revealing it to have two eyes and big purple lips. “A-anytime…” He mumbled, still seeing stars from the impact.

The cat was now looking over the rest of the contestants. “…uh, who are you all?” He asked.

Lucy stepped forwards and cleared her throat. “Well, I’m Lucy, and this is Sammy, that’s Chee, that’s Papyrus, that’s Garnold-”

“I’m Garnold.” Garnold corrected, then pointed at Tunner. “He’s Tunner.”

“Oh, right, sorry!” Apologized Lucy, before continuing to list all twelve contestants. “…and you are?”

“The nyame’s Jibanyan!” The cat offered a paw to Lucy. “Pleased to meet you!”

Lucy tried to return Jibanyan’s gesture… but her paw phased through his.

Jibanyan’s pupils shrunk. “W-WHAT?! ARE YOU A GHOST?!” He shrieked, skittering away from the fox.

“Whisper”, as Jibanyan had called him, had floated into the air. “Jibanyan, you’re a yo-kai. You’re the ghost.”

The red cat paused, thought for a second, and then smacked himself in the forehead. “Oh, right! How did I forget that?”

“Okay, is everyone here?”

Everyone jumped at the new voice, as it hadn’t been preceded by a fall. The voice was from a small yellow dog with massive eyes, which most only recognized as the strange creature that had offered to put them on a game show.

Chee, however, recognized him as her best friend. “Chikn!” She called, running up to him. “Who are all these people? Why are they here? And what was that prank about you being a demigod for?”

Chikn shook his head. “No prank. I really am a demigod!”

The cat’s face fell. “…wait. Really?”

“Yup.”

“…I have… several questions.”

But before Chikn could answer any of them, he was interrupted by a loud bleat from the lamb.

“Oh, right!” Chikn snapped back to attention. “You’ve all been brought here to partake in a friendly little competition. You’ll be teammates with the person you came here with… for now!” He explained with a wink.

Vee raised her hand. “What’s the prize?”

Chikn looked confused. “What prize?”

“Wait. You’re there’s nyo prize for winning?” Jibanyan asked, disgusted.

“Uh… tell you what. The winner gets anything they want!” The dog promised.

“ANYTHING? LIKE A WISH FROM A GENIE?” Asked Papyrus.

“Yep!” Chikn nodded. “Just like a genie.”

“Okay But When Do We Start” Queen questioned.

Chikn thought for a minute. “Well, it’s getting a little late. I say you all should get to know each other around the bonfire, and we can start tomorrow?”

“Well, I hate to be rude, but…” Whisper glanced around at the blank white surroundings. “…there doesn’t seem to be a bonfire, or any indication that it’s late at all!”

“Oh, right.” Chikn pointed to a door beside him that… probably wasn’t there before. “Here, you can all go through here.”

After deciding that there was really no better option, everyone began to filter through the door… except Chee.

“Aren’t you gonna go with them, Chee?” Chikn asked.

Chee still looked very worried. “First, I want to talk to you. About…” She glanced down at her feet. “…you know.”

Chikn’s smile drooped a little. “Oh, right. We probably should talk.”

“…so, where do we start?”

Chapter Text

The twelve contestants sat around the bonfire, positioned in the middle of the woods and backed by a deep blue sky, speckled white. Provided as snacks were several bags of marshmallows and other s’more supplies.

The contestants were all a bit reluctant to speak with each other, whether because of the strange circumstances or because they were eating. But eventually, the lull in conversation ended with a suggestion.

“So, uh.” Tunner cleared his throat. “I reckon we should all get to know each other better.”

“I’d rather not humanize anyone here.” Iscream shrugged. “Considering I’m probably gonna have to obliterate you all in this game.”

Sammy gave the rabbit a displeased glance. “That’s a rather cynical way of thinking, is it not?”

Iscream used a claw to tear open a bag of marshmallows and eat it whole, plastic and all. “I guess that makes me a cynical bunny.”

“ALRIGHT, LET’S NOT GET INTO A FIGHT THIS SOON.” Papyrus stood up. “I SAY WE ALL GO AROUND THE CIRCLE AND SAY A LITTLE ABOUT OURSELVES. WHO WOULD LIKE TO START?”

Queen and Vee’s hands instantly shot up.

“…WELL, IT SEEMS WE ARE AT AN IMPASSE.” The skeleton squinted and scratched his chin, glancing between the two robots. “…I’VE GOT IT! I AM THINKING OF A NUMBER BETWEEN ONE AND TEN. THE ONE WHO IS CLOSEST TO THE NUMBER I’M THINKING OF GETS TO START!”

Vee huffed and crossed her arms. “Fine, I’ll pick 10.”

“Picking Random Number Between One And Ten” Queen’s eyes flashed a red ellipsis. “Result: 7”

Papyrus gasped. “IT WAS SEVEN! YOU GET TO GO FIRST.”

The light blue monarch let out a haughty, shrill laugh. “Well I Am The Villainous And Feared Ruler Of The Cyber City (Formerly)” She explained. “Now I Live In Some Nerd’s Castle After Some Large Children Beat Me Up (Also I Shoved A Wire In One Of Their Faces)”

Queen pulled out a wine glass filled with a strange green liquid and took a sip of it as everyone else gave her concerned looks. “I Enjoy Long Walks On The Destroyed Landscape And The Occasional Glass Of Battery Acid (Ages 3 And Up)”

“Several Of My Exploits Are Available To Read Online So Go Look It Up” She finished. “Oh And If I Win I’m Probably Gonna Wish For Something Stupid Like The Ability To Make People Uncontrollably Dance Whenever They Hear Bossa Nova Music”

She then poked the tiny owl on her right. “Okay You Go Now”

Sammy rubbed his left wing. “Very Well. My name is Sammy, and I make up one fourth of the Bluebell Division of Miniforce field agents, alongside my associates Max, Lucy-” He gestured at Lucy beside him. “-and, regrettably, Volt. That’s all from me. Your turn, Lucy.”

Lucy nodded, then turned to the group. “My name is Lucy, and I also work with the Miniforce. Now, Sammy forgot to mention that we both have special abilities. He can jump an incredible distance into the air, and I can summon spheres of magic to block attacks or throw as an attack!”

She thought for a second. “…and if I win, I’ll wish for world peace.” She added, before turning to the shuddering lamb on the next log stump. “How about you? Where do you come from?”

They looked up from the crown they were staring down at, glancing around at their expecting audience. They began to bleat out a tale of horror and cruelty, to… no reaction.

“Does anyone understand this?” Rodger asked the group, and he was answered by murmurs of disagreement.

The lamb sighed and sat back down. They turned to look at the next contestant in line, Garnold.

After swallowing his s’more, he stood up. “Uh, hi, everyone. My name’s Garnold, and I like to build robots and stuff.” He paused to glance at the two actual robots around the fire. “…and uh, usually, I have this robot suit I wear around, but I wasn’t able to pick it up before… you know.”

As he sat back down, he snapped. “Oh! And I’d probably wish to be able to put on my suit automatically, kinda like Iron Man. If any of you know who that is.”

“I don’t knyow why anyone would want to be a robot.” Interjected Jibanyan. “The only robot I’ve even seen is… pretty scary.”

“Well, that robot was also technically you.” Added Whisper.

Vee loudly cleared her throat. “I believe it was my turn.” She said, causing Whisper and Jibanyan to go quiet.

“Thank you. My name’s Vee, as you know. I’m an employee at the Gardenview Education Center—and museum—and I host a game show for my fellow Toons there. Or, at least…” She sighed. “…at least I used to. But that’s not important, who’s next?”

“AREN’T YOU GOING TO TELL US WHAT YOU’LL WISH FOR?” Papyrus questioned.

Vee narrowed her eyes. “I’d like to keep that private, thank you.”

Iscream, knowing they were next in line, debated how much about themselves they wanted to keep private. Deciding that withholding information about the extent of their powers would probably help them, they hopped off their stump and began to speak.

“My name’s Iscream. I’m a bunny. I don’t… really know what I’m gonna wish for, but it’ll be something big!” They cooed.

They then sat down and glanced up at Papyrus. “WELL, I BELIEVE I ALREADY GAVE A SUMMARY OF MY ACHIEVEMENTS, NOR DO I KNOW WHAT I’D LIKE TO WISH FOR. SO I’LL LET YOU CONTINUE, STRANGE MAN IN THE HAT!”

“Not sure if I want that nickname catchin’ on, but…” Tunner tugged on the brim of his hat, showing more of his eyes. “Tunner. I’m somethin’ of a sheriff back in my hometown. I’d probably wish for cash.” He stated, before offering a nod to the ghost beside him.

Whisper floated up in the air. “I usually reserve this speech for my new masters, but it’ll work just fine in this scenario. My name is Whisper, and I am a yo-kai butler, serving anyone who frees me from my stone capsule prison!”

“Now I hear you thinking; ‘but Whisper, whatever is a yo-kai?’ Well, yo-kai are creatures invisible to most ordinary humans that are responsible for all the strange occurrences in life! Suddenly sad? Suddenly happy? Suddenly belly-dancing? It’s the work of a yo-kai, I promise you that!”

“Now as of late, I’ve been serving as the faithful servant of a boy named Nate Adams, who can see and speak with us through the use of the Yo-kai Watch! And furthermore-”

A marshmallow hit Whisper in the head. “Hey, blabbermouth!” Jibanyan barked. “We’ve got two more folks waiting!”

Whisper floated down sheepishly. “Right, right, of course. I’ll… keep my wish private.”

Now it was Jibanyan’s turn. “Well, my nyame’s Jibanyan. I like chocobars, ‘Nyext Harmeowny’, dried tuna… and I hate cars. My wish would be to wipe cars out of existence, forever!”

“Would That Include Cool Flying Limousines” Queen asked.

Jibanyan nodded.

“Hm” The queen’s smile dropped. “I Do Not Appreciate That”

Everyone turned to the final contestant. “…ah, yes.” Rodger straightened his ascot. “My name is Rodger. I am a detective, and I also come from Gardenview Education Center. I would wish for… the ability to read minds.”

“Oh, sure, because that’s not invasive at all.” Vee snarked.

The gentle creaking of a door drew heads to Chee, who looked much less anxious than she had an hour earlier. “Oh, sorry. Am I interrupting something?” She looked around at the other guests.

“Actually, you’re just in time to introduce yourself.” Lucy beckoned Chee into the circle. “Tell us a little excerpt from the story of Chee!”

The calico cat shuffled in, lightly blushing from all the eyes watching her. “Well… my full name’s actually Cheezborger, Chee is just a nickname. I’m good friends with Chikn, and also Iscream, and… well, there’s this squirrel named Hawt Saus but he’s… kinda mean.”

“Okay, but what about you?” Garnold questioned. “You can’t really define yourself based on your friends, can you?”

“…uh.” Chee stammered. “…well, I- I guess I… people say I make friends easily…”

Vee leaned forward in her seat. “We don’t want to hear what other people say about you! We want to hear what you think about yourself!”

Chee was searching for anything she could say about herself, anything that she thought defined her as a cat… but she was coming up short. “…I- I don’t… I don’t know…”

She felt her eyes start to water. Was she really about to start crying over something as stupid as an icebreaker? What was-

“Hey.”

Chee snapped out of her spiral by the voice to her left. Lucy was offering her a red cloth, which was previously around the fox’s neck. “It’s okay. You don’t need to tell us about yourself right now, we can just get to know you during the games.” She reassured.

The cat was still for a moment, but cautiously took the cloth and began to dry her eyes with it. “…thank you…” She mumbled.

“Any time.” Lucy turned back to the group. “So, anyone else got any fun games we could play?”

“OOH!” Papyrus stood up again. “HOW ABOUT A GAME OF TRUTH OR DARE? I HEAR THAT’S ALWAYS GOOD FOR PARTIES.”

The other contestants seemed intrigued by the idea, and agreed to let Papyrus choose first.

“HMM… LUCY! TRUTH OR DARE?”

The fox smirked. “I’ll go with truth.”

“VERY WELL!” Papyrus cleared his throat loudly. “WHAT… IS THE LARGEST AMOUNT OF FOOD YOU HAVE EATEN IN ONE SITTING?”

“…well, there was this one time where me and Max baked an entire cake together for our friend Louie’s birthday.” Lucy recalled. “But I didn’t used to be the best baker, so they all weren’t willing to eat it, so Max and I went halfsies on a whole cake!”

“AH, I DIDN’T TAKE YOU FOR A FELLOW CHEF!” Papyrus admitted. “GLAD TO KNOW YOU, TOO, APPRECIATE THE FINE ART OF COOKING.”

Lucy nodded, then turned to Sammy. “Sammy, truth or-”

“Not playing.”

“Awwww, come on!” Lucy pleaded. “It’ll help the other contestants here get to know you better!”

Sammy sighed. “Fine. But I pick dare.”

“Alright…” Lucy thought long and hard about a dare that Sammy would be willing to do. “…how about. You have to wear…”

Her gaze stopped on a certain red cat. “…Jibanyan’s… collar! Until the next turn ends.”

The cat leapt up. “Hey! This is supposed to be his embarrassing task, nyot mine!”

“…well, how about… Tunner’s hat, then?”

Tunner’s ‘hair’ bristled at the mention of his name. “Might be a bit too big for him, but I’ll let ya borrow it for a minute.”

He tossed the hat to Sammy, who reluctantly put it on. “Let’s make this quick… you.” The owl pointed at the lamb. “Nod for truth, shake for dare.”

The lamb gulped, then shook their head.

“Dare, then?” Sammy asked.

The lamb nodded.

“…wait, truth or dare?”

The lamb shook their head.

“Well then what are you saying no to?”

“I Think They’re Trying To Say Dare” Queen said.

The lamb nodded to that.

“Wait, are you- GAH! Nevermind, you get a dare!” Sammy spat. “Not like any of us could understand your bleats, anyways! Just… go as long as you can without blinking.”

The lamb nodded one more time, and began staring deep into Sammy’s eyes.

They stared.

And they stared.

And they stared.

And- oop, they blinked.

With that, Sammy threw the hat back to Tunner, who brushed off the dust and placed it back on his head. “Alright, I can’t keep callin’ ya lamb. Your new name is… Lambert. That okay with you?” Tunner inquired.

The lamb just shrugged and bleated.

“Alright then. Do you wanna try and take your turn, or give it to someone else?”

Lambert glanced around, and pointed at the golden Sprunki beside them.

“You wanna ask him a question?”

The lamb shook their head.

“You want him to take yer turn?”

The lamb nodded, then leaned back.

Garnold gave Lambert a little pat on the head, then stood up. “Rodger.” He stated, drawing the Toon’s attention. “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever smelled?”

“…that’s an easy question. Ichor.” The magnifying glass responded, before sitting down.

Iscream tilted their head. “Ichor? Like, god blood?”

“No, no. It’s this natural resource found below Gardenview.” He explained. “Imagine the smell of hydrogen sulfide and raw sewage. That is ichor.”

Whisper chimed in. “Why would you keep such an awful smelling liquid inside what is apparently a children’s entertainment center?” He pondered aloud.

“That’s what I’ve been trying to find out.” Rodger finished, before the door to the void creaked open again to reveal Chikn.

“Okay, guys, I’ve set up the first challenge.” He announced proudly. “Wanna hear the rules?”

Whisper raised his hand. “Wouldn’t you just tell us anyways?”

Chikn shrugged. “Well, yeah, but do you want to hear them now or later?”

After a brief bit of conversing, the group decided they wanted to hear the rules… later.

“Alright, then I’ll leave you to it… unless anyone has any urgent questions.” The dog scanned the group and focused on a green robot’s raised hand.

“Can I be the co-host?” She asked.

Chikn took a deep breath in. “Nope. Sorry.”

Vee grumbled. Then, Lambert raised a hoof. They picked up the crown that was once at their feet and bleated inquisitively about it.

Chikn nodded. “Yes, that’s your teammate.”

“REALLY?” Papyrus asked in disbelief. “IS IT AT LEAST A SUPER-POWERFUL MAGIC CROWN?”

“Well, considering the guy I stole it from miiiiiiiiiight have been some kind of crazy monster sealed in the void, it’s probably at least a little magic.” The dog tapped his head as he thought.

Everyone gave Chikn funny looks, except Lambert. “…a what?” Chee questioned.

“Relax!” Chikn began waving off the group. “Not like he’s gonna find us or anything. There were like, 8 different chains on him. Any other questions? No? Okay, see y’all tomorrow.”

The dog reached through the door and tossed out several sleeping bags for the contestants to use, then disappeared.

After some more time conversing over the fire, everyone settled into their bags and closed their eyes, preparing to get some shut-eye…

“MY SUIT!” Shouted Garnold. “I should have asked for my SUIT!”

“Imagine Not Actually Being A Robot LOL” Queen commented. “Oh Wait You Don’t Have To”

An incoming laugh from the robot was hushed by a sudden, startling “CAN EVERYONE SHUT UP?!” from Jibanyan.

And so they did.

Chapter Text

The contestants woke up late the next morning. A bright orange sky awaited them, and a large swath of trees in the forest had vanished, leaving what looked to be a target range in its place.

Laying on the counter, atop several ranged weapons, was Chikn. “Hey, guys! Ready to hear the rules?”

“I think we can figure it out.” Sammy remarked, scanning the table.

Chikn slid off the counter, taking a crossbow with him. “Well, there are a few conditions. First, one contestant needs to stay behind. This should hopefully help you learn to trust your teammates a little more, if you don’t trust each other already.”

The dog loaded an arrow into his weapon, turned to face the targets, and fired at one. The arrow just barely hit the closest target. “Every team gets twenty shots, one for each target. Each target hit is worth two points, and whoever hits the most targets gets ten extra points!”

“Alright, any other questions?” Chikn asked.

Tunner raised a hand. “Are we able to use our own weapons?”

“…sure, why not?”

“How about things we can summon?” Lucy was next to speak. “Like… say, magic spheres?”

“Yeah, that’s okay, I think.”

“Is that a cannon?” Jibanyan asked disbelievingly, pointing at a cannon.

Chikn nodded. “Okay, I’ve got another thing to set up, so get started without me, alright?”

Once the dog hopped back over the counter, he was gone. Suddenly, a large sign shot up from beneath the counter, displaying a message: “Team Cream Cheese: Up”

Iscream turned to Chee. “Okay, you wanna go or should I?”

“Well… I did take an archery class once or twice, so I could try using the bow!” Chee suggested.

“Then it’s all yours, kid.”

The cat picked up the bow and a bundle of arrows. “I’m like 20 years old.”

“And I’m like one thousand-” The rabbit slapped a paw over their mouth. “…times… ten… DAYS old!”

“So, 27?” Vee asserted.

Iscream turned to give the robot a funny look. “How did you-”

“Computer.” She responded, banging on the side of her head for emphasis.

“Ah. Got it.” Iscream turned back around. “You done yet, Chee?”

Chee turned back around, accidentally letting go of her arrow and sending it thunking into the ground. “…well, that was my last arrow, so yes.”

The sign lowered, then returned displaying the points Chee had earned: “7 Targets Hit, 14 Points Earned (New Leading Score!)”

“Only seven?” Iscream shook their head. “That’s awful.”

“WELL, I THINK YOU DID WELL!” Papyrus countered.

“Well, thank you… uh…” Chee rubbed the back of her hood. “…sorry, what was your name again?”

The sign changed again, now calling team “Tunnold” to the stand. The two Sprunki glanced at each other, and Garnold nodded towards the counter.

“Alright, folks, watch and learn.” Tunner reached under his hat and pulled out a silver six-shooter. He carefully loaded the bullets into the barrel, took aim, and fired at six targets.

Once the sixth was fired, Tunner didn’t even bother checking to see if he had hit them before loading another six bullets and sending them into the range.

Another six bullets. The other contestants watched in silence as only two targets were left intact so far, with two left to hit.

Tunner loaded his last two bullets into the barrel, fired one, and fi-

“DON’T CHOKE-”

-fired one right into the sky. He spun around and glared at the crowd. “Alright, which one of you did that?”

Everyone pointed at Jibanyan. “Whaaaaaat?! I would nyever do something so rude!”

The sheriff just sighed and put his revolver away. “Well, that’s still nineteen targets hit. Not too shabby, if I do say so m’self.”

Next to the counter was “Team Miniforce”, Sammy and Lucy. “Shall I use my bow, or shall you use your magic?” The owl questioned.

“I’d like to take a crack at this challenge, if it’s alright with you.” Lucy stated.

“By all means.”

Lucy pulled herself on top of the counter and summoned a sphere of magic in her palm. Carefully positioning the sphere in the air, she flicked it lightly with her paw and sent it hurtling into a target.

She would repeat this process for each target, only missing one due to the wind changing on the seventh shot.

“I should’ve played pool back at the academy.” The fox remarked as she settled back into the crowd.

Next to the bat was Lambert and their crown buddy. The lamb began looking over the weapons they could use before they felt a tap at their lower hoof.

They turned to see the crown had sprouted a tendril and was trying to get their attention. Once the artifact had the sheep’s focus, it shifted and contorted into a small blunderbuss.

Lambert stared in surprise at it for a while, then cautiously picked up the gun.

“Wait, hold on just a second!” Whisper pushed through the crowd. “The rules state that one contestant needs to stay behind, no matter the form it takes!”

“Oh Boy Don’t Tell Me This Guy Is A Goody Two Shoes” Queen elbowed the ghost, and he turned to face the monarch.

“H-hey! Just because I don’t like breaking rules doesn’t mean I’m a ‘goody-two shoes’!” He retorted.

Queen’s eyes displayed a loading spiral for a brief moment. “good·y two shoes [goody two shoes] Noun, derogatory goody two shoes (noun) · goody two shoes (plural noun) 1. an ostentatiously virtuous or well-behaved person: ‘This Nerd Is A Goody Two Shoes’”

The ghost’s jaw dropped to the floor. Jibanyan had to pick it up and reattach it to his body. “…very well!” He huffed, swatting some air at the robot’s face. “I suppose I am a goody two shoes! Better than being a rude, spiteful… meanie such as yourself!”

As the two continued to bicker, Lambert observed their score: “10 Targets Hit, 20 Points Earned”. They would have scored more, but the recoil kept throwing off their aim.

As they placed the gun down, it dissolved into a dark black energy and zipped onto the lamb’s head, before finally solidifying into its base state.

The sign now called “Team Rodger x Vee” to shoot. Both toons took a step forward before noticing the other.

“…what do you think you’re doing?” Vee questioned.

“Participating in the challenge.” Rodger responded. “I’m a magnifying glass, Vee. My accuracy will be key to victory.”

The robot stifled a laugh. “Really now? Remind me, which of us has the larger skill check window?”

“I hardly think that applies with-”

“Exactly. Me. So sit back down, Rodger.”

Rodger narrowed his eye at Vee, but ultimately acquiesced to her demand and sat down. A slight rustle beside him drew his attention to the rabbit beside him.

“Boy, she does NOT like you.” Iscream commented.

Rodger sighed. “Really? I could not tell.”

“Soooo… what’s the story there?” The bunny rolled onto their belly and kicked their legs in the air. “Are you two exes or something?”

“Wh- no!” The detective frantically denied. “She just doesn’t appreciate my work, is all.”

“What’s your work?”

“I’m a detective.”

“I thought you said you were a kids mascot or something.”

“Who says I can’t be both?”

“Can you two be quiet?” Vee snapped.

After a brief silence, Vee turned back around and aimed the BB gun she had picked out at the targets. Twenty pellets later, only two targets were left standing.

“Well done, Vee.” Rodger congratulated.

The computer avoided eye contact with him. “Thank you.”

The sign now demanded “Team Fox.” Papyrus adjusted his mittens. “FEAR NOT, TEAMMATE! FOR I SHALL-”

He was then pushed back by a gloved hand. “Nah I’m Doing This” Queen asserted.

“AH. VERY WELL!” Papyrus inspected his armor for a dent (the push was rather forceful) “I SHALL PERFORM THE NEXT CHALLENGE, THEN.”

Staring down the targets, Queen snapped her fingers and summoned a fleet of holographic copies of her head. They all let out haughty laughs and then exploded into several, smaller heads which pelted the range.

“Analyzing Results Of Attack: 90% Of Targets Hit” Queen calculated. “Initiating Celebratory Laugh Protocol”

Yet another laugh from the monarch, before she strided back to the crowd. The sign called up the final team, lovingly titled “The Other Team.”

“Okay, Jibanyan!” Whisper patted the cat on the back. “All you have to do is use that handy fire magic of yours and scorch those targets! I’m sure it’ll be a cinch for a yo-kai with your-”

A horrific explosion threw Whisper onto the ground. He stared at Jibanyan, who was stuffing another cannonball into the giant cannon. “What was that? I couldn’t hear you over the sound of my cannon, nyan!”

“WHY ARE YOU USING THE CANNON?!” The ghost shouted.

“Because it’s fun!”

Another shot rocketed into a target. “Haha, bullseye!”

Eventually, all twenty cannonballs had been shot out of the cannon. Only five targets had been hit.

“…why… did you use the cannon?” Whisper sobbed on the ground.

Jibanyan leapt off said cannon and picked Whisper up by his head whisp. “Aw, don’t cry, buddy! We’ll get more points next time.”

The sign popped up one more time, displaying just two words. “Behind You”

“Hello!”

Most the group jumped once again at Chikn’s voice. “How did the first challenge go?” He asked.

“Well, I almost hit ev’ry target.” Tunner stepped forward. “Until a certain cat-” He growled that word. “-decided to be a lil’ prankster.”

“What can I say?” Jibanyan giggled. “I’m a practical joker.”

“…oh, wait! I can just check the scores myself.” Chikn pulled out a small sheet of paper. “Alright, looks great! So, Team Miniforce and Team Tunnold are tied for first place in this challenge, so you may need to decide who gets the points between yourselves.”

He paused. “Or you could split them! That’s always fun. Anyways, your sleeping bags are all set up and food is by the fire. See ya tomorrow!”

The dog once again disappeared. “…so, uh, are we just going to be sleeping outside for who knows how long?” Chee asked nobody in particular.

“I’m not really the biggest fan of camping.” Garnold whispered to himself as the group began to trek back to the campsite.

Upon reaching the fire again, the teams were greeted by a table full of hamburgers, separated into piles of “vegan” and “non-vegan.”

Most everyone picked up a burger, took a seat around the circle, and began to chow down on their food.

“BLEH! THIS BURGER TASTES MOST PECULIAR!” Papyrus remarked, spitting out a chunk of his food. “IS IT NOT MADE FROM MAGIC?”

“…probably not?” Lucy responded confusedly. “Most food isn’t made of magic?”

“Can’t Believe They Didn’t Even Give Us Something To Drink” Queen interrupted. “0/5 Stars Would Not Recommend”

“At least you all can eat.” The other robot snarked.

As the other contestants chattered over their meal, another group had finished their meals and begun speaking on a more serious matter.

“I am not the only one who is more than a little concerned that we are seemingly stranded in a world with an ambiguously reality-bending canine watching over us, surely.” Rodger wiped his glass clean with his ascot.

Sammy and Whisper glanced at each other. “No, you’re not.” Sammy nodded. “And perhaps more of us should be. Power corrupts, after all.”

“Well, we don’t want to cause a panic.” Whisper scratched his chin. “But researching the abilities of our host would be a worthwhile task indeed. Plus, no doubt Nate is looking for me back home in Springdale!”

“Certainly.” Rodger nodded. “I say we form an unofficial alliance of sorts, a… truce, if you will. Dedicated to preventing any potential problems that our predicament could produce.”

“Agreed.” Sammy stuck a wing out and was joined by Whisper and Rodger’s fingerless hands.

As the three formed their alliance, Tunner had remembered something. “Say, Lucy. Weren’t you and I s’posed to divvy up or points?” He asked.

“…oh, right!” Lucy jumped off her log. “Should we go fifty fifty, or do you have another plan in mind?”

The Sprunki adjusted his hat. “I was thinkin’ we make things interestin’. With a duel.”

Lucy’s eyes widened. “…as in, ten paces?”

“If you’re up for it. I could do with half points.”

“…you know what? You’re on.” Lucy smirked and held out a paw.

Tunner met that paw. “And don’t you worry, I’ll be usin’ rubber bullets.”

The two contestants discreetly left the group and trekked into the depths of the woods. The bright orange glow of the fire against the night sky (time worked strangely in this place) faded, leaving only a dull blue shade hiding the brown and green hues of the trees.

As they walked further, the air seemed to go deathly quiet. Only the sounds of the pair’s footsteps served to break the deafening silence. Not even a cricket was out here.

Nothing was out here.

…but soon enough, the two found a clearing large enough for their duel. “Alright, who’s doing the countin’?” Tunner inquired. “Me or you?”

“…you can do it.” Lucy was still a bit unnerved by the woods.

The two got into their positions. Backs to each other, they waited.

“One.”

Lucy took a step forward. She inhaled deeply, calming her nerves.

“Two.”

Another step. Lucy felt a tickle at the back of her neck, and adjusted her scarf.

“Three.”

As the fox stepped forward again, she heard something. A crackling branch.

“Four.”

What could that be? There shouldn’t have been anyone out here. Did someone tail them?

“Five.”

Lucy glanced at her paws and noticed they were shaking.

“Six.”

She clenched her fists as tight as she could, then released.

“Seven.”

The shaking was gone. Good.

“Eight.”

Tunner’s voice was hard to make out now. It wouldn’t be long.

“Nine.”

Lucy took one more step and braced herself.

“Ten.”

“So then I used my guts to beat him with my pompadour!” Jibanyan concluded.

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the cat. “There were several problems with that story.” Vee asserted.

“You… don’t even have a pompadour?” Chee added.

Jibanyan scoffed. “I don’t anymore. That was when I was a delinquent.”

“And you were a delinquent because… a frog hypnotized you. And your friend Nate.” Garnold was rubbing his temples, trying to make sense of the tale.

“His nyame’s Roughraff. He’s actually pretty cool once you get to knyow him.”

Suddenly, the bushes nearby gave way to reveal Tunner (who was rubbing his shoulder) and Lucy.

“Where Did You Two Go” Queen asked.

“We had a duel.” Tunner stated. “To see who’d get the points. She won.”

Lucy smiled proudly as she sat beside Sammy, who smiled back and gave the fox a nod. “Sorry if I threw it a bit too hard, I was a little jumpy.”

“No worries.” Tunner sat down beside Garnold. “Apologies, Garnold.”

“Eh, you’re fine.” The engineer waved off the sheriff’s concerns. “We can just get more points next challenge.”

A loud bleat drew attention to Lambert, who was now ravenously devouring the pile of vegan burgers.

“Goodness, have some manners!” Whisper looked appalled at the sheep’s horrible etiquette. “Put those burgers on a plate, at least!”

Chapter Text

Chikn was away planning “something big!” for the next challenge, which left the contestants with a morning of freedom.

The cloudy grey skies hinted at possible rain, so Garnold and Papyrus had volunteered to build a shelter that could house them all. It would be no easy task, but the two insisted.

In the meantime, Lucy was holding up a bubble to protect Vee and Queen from the rain.

“You Know I’m Waterproof Right” Queen remarked to the concentrating fox.

“Well I’m not.” Vee shot back. “So keep that barrier up.”

Lucy took a breath in. “That is what I’m trying to do. So please, try not to disturb me.”

“Alr Alr”

“Sorry.”

The three got quiet… for about two minutes. “Hey This Pink Color Is Kinda Irritating Can You Make It Blue Or Something”

“…no, I can’t control the color of my magic.” Lucy calmly stated. “It would be like trying to change my height, or-”

“What That’s Not How Magic Works” Queen asserted, tousling Lucy’s head fur and causing the bubble to flicker. “I Mean Maybe If You’re Not As Experienced As Someone Else (Me) But Magic Is Actually Really Malleable”

Lucy sighed. “Maybe magic works differently where I’m from.”

“Say, where are you from?” Vee asked, hoping to cut off Queen before she could say more.

“Well, I grew up in a monastery.” She explained. “There, I was trained by the wise Master Cho until I was old enough to find a job. He recommended I join the Miniforce, where I met the rest of my team—Sammy, Max, and Volt—and the rest is history.”

There was another silent stretch. “What were they like? Your teammates, I mean.” Vee continued.

“Well, you’ve already met Sammy. Max can be a bit hard-headed when he’s angry, but most of the time he’s a softie. And Volt… he’s kind of emotionally unaware. Can’t tell you how many times I’ve had to stop him and Sammy from killing each other.”

“Sounds Like A Fun Gang” Queen stated. “Well I Guess You’re All Probably Wondering What My Background Was Like”

“Not really.” Vee crossed her arms.

Queen gave an unamused look to the robot in return. “You Know What Just For That I’m Giving You The Full Version Without Cuts (Estimated Time: Six Hours)”

At that, a hole appeared in the bubble’s surface and spat Queen out, sealing shut with just Lucy and Vee inside.

“I Hope That Bubble’s Soundproof Because I’m Still Doing It”

A good distance away, sitting around the extinguished campfire was a group that was trying to distinguish the nature of a certain black crown.

“So, ya thinkin’ it’s demonic, huh?” Tunner asked the bunny holding the crown.

Iscream nodded. “I know it when I see it. Black and red? Cold to the touch? The slightest sensation of its breath on my paw? This thing is certainly from some Hell out there.”

Tunner nodded. “You sure do seem to have an interest in this kinda stuff, huh?”

“…maybe.” Iscream set the crown back on Lambert’s head.

“Why is that?”

The rabbit’s ears twitched. “…morbid curiosity, I suppose.”

“Hmph.”

The three sat and stared up at the sky, hearing only the sound of a distant voice monologuing about their backstory.

“…you know, you remind me of someone.”

Iscream brought their attention to Tunner again. “I do, now?”

“Yeah.” Tunner reached under his hat and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. “Jevin, his name was. Into black magic and cult-type activities. I’ve had to tussle with him a couple times, but what can ya do?”

“Sounds like my kind of company.” Iscream snickered.

Lambert bleated something to the two, drawing their attention. “What is it, little fella?” Tunner asked, now retrieving a lighter from beneath his hat.

Another bleat.

“…you know, I can’t understand a word they’re saying.” Iscream turned back to Tunner.

The sheriff sighed as he lit the cigarette. “Yeah, neither can I.” He inhaled a puff of smoke, then extended one to Iscream. “You smoke?”

“Nah, that stuff kills ya.” The bunny pushed his hand back.

Tunner raised an eyebrow. “Really? Even demons don’t like smokin’?”

“Well, personally, I don’t, but others-”

Iscream’s eyes shot open, and their pupils had shrunk to pinpricks. Tunner’s neutral expression had morphed into a wide grin. “Caught ya.” He smirked.

The rabbit sighed. “…you know what, not like it matters now. Yes, I’m a demon.”

Lambert’s eyes widened at the admission and they took a step back. Tunner held his ground, however. “Don’t you worry, I won’t tell no one.” He leaned forwards, the brim of his hat obscuring his eyes. “But what exactly were you planning to do with that crown?”

“I can’t tell you now.” Now it was Iscream’s turn to smile, revealing several sharp rows of teeth that certainly weren’t there before. “I might still do it.”

“Fair enough.” Tunner sat back down. “But do try not to kill anyone. I might have’ta get on your case if you do that.”

“Deal.” Iscream returned to a neutral state.

Meanwhile, Lambert was still shaken by the confrontation, no matter how peacefully it had resolved.

The crown glanced around at the group. “Such a prideful bunch.” It whispered.

Yet further, at the very edge of the woods, two cats and an owl were simply sitting back and relaxing.

“Uggghhhh, I’m BORED.”

…well, one of the cats was relaxing, anyways.

Sammy stared down the sulking Jibanyan. “Then go find something to do.”

“…alright, I’ve got something to do!” Jibanyan suddenly jumped up on top of a nearby stump and clapped his paws together. “I’m gonna tell you how I became a yo-kai!”

“Oh, boy.” Sammy crossed his arms. “I’ll bet this is going to be one big ego stroke.”

Chee glanced at the owl. “Well, I don’t know, maybe it could be a nice story!”

“She’s right-” Jibanyan pointed at Cheezborger. “-and you’re wrong. Anyways, it began on a ship in the middle of the ocean. My owner was a pirate captain, sailing the high seas and always searching for adventure!”

“What was their name?” Chee asked.

Jibanyan waved her off. “Nyot important. We had sailed across the world, planning on being the first two living beings to chart the dreaded… BERMUDA TRIANGLE!”

He paused, waiting for a reaction, but the two just seemed confused. “…Bermuda Triangle?” Jibanyan repeated. “Big- big triangle in the sea where ships go missing?”

“Doesn’t ring a bell.” Sammy shook his head.

“…well, whatever. We were almost at the other end of the death zone, traveling across terrible storms and unforgiving waves. But just when we thought we’d see the sunlight again… a massive sea monster rose from the water!”

Chee gasped in shock, but Sammy just rolled his eyes. Or, well, rolled his head to give the illusion that his eyes were rolling.

Jibanyan was unphased. “It raised a tentacle and began to drag our boat into the ocean! But my owner wouldn’t go down so easy, nyo way! She climbed onto the tentacle, drawing her sword, and jammed it into one of the beast’s eyes before finally falling.”

“And so, I am cursed to wander the earth until I one day find my beloved owner again.” The cat finished, taking a bow.

Chee began clapping. “That was an awesome story!” She praised.

“Yes… a fictional one.” Sammy amended.

“Psh, you’re just jealous.” Jibanyan marched forwards and leaned into Sammy’s face. “But hey, who wouldn’t be?”

Sammy’s beak twitched. “…I’m going for a walk.” He stated, before standing up and leaving the group.

Jibanyan watched him leave, before turning back to Chee. “What a jerk, huh?”

“Where are we headed, again?” Whisper asked his hiking partner, armed with only a small flashlight and his wits.

Rodger glanced behind him, partially to acknowledge Whisper and partially to make sure he wasn’t being followed. “We are seeing if anything lies beyond this forest. Signs of life, if you will.”

Whisper gulped. “…but… what if there’s…” He glanced side to side. “…ghosts?”

The toon sighed. “Whisper, aren’t you a ghost?”

“Yo-kai, actually. And that just means I know they exist!”

“Alright, if you see a ‘yokai,’ you have permission to flee. But I’m going until I find something.” Rodger stated.

“W-well, there’s NO WAY I’m floating back through these woods!”

“Then I suppose you’re stuck with me.”

Whisper pouted for a moment, but dropped the argument. “…what are you hoping to find, pray tell?”

“Signs of life.” Rodger flicked his flashlight at a nearby bush, but it was only the wind that shook it, not an animal. “We can’t possibly be alone out here, can we?”

The yo-kai thought. “I’m not sure… this place seems positively deserted.”

“There must be something. This world cannot possibly have been concocted solely for the purpose of a game show.”

“Why not?”

Rodger paused. “…someone that childish shouldn’t have that much power.”

“Ah.” Whisper put a hand to his chin. “Well, my current boss is an elementary school student, and he’s handling being the sole person who’s able to see yo-kai just fine!”

Rodger glanced at Whisper. “…well, you can entrust your safety to children all you want. I’m doing the intelligent thing.”

“Is that meant to insinuate that I’m not smart?” Whisper raised an eyebrow.

“Considering you haven’t noticed our change of surroundings, yes. I’d say it is.”

Whisper broke eye contact with Rodger and surveyed the forest again, and sure enough, something was wrong.

The trees around them looked… fake. Like someone had put up a cardboard cutout of a tree. Whisper flew to the other side of the tree, but it always seemed to be facing him. “Well, isn’t this some peculiar foliage?” He thought.

“Indeed.” Rodger nodded. “Let’s mark this spot and come back later.”

“Way ahead of you, detective!” Whisper saluted the toon, took out a small pocketknife, and carved the tiniest “X” into a tree’s bark.

Rodger clicked his flashlight off. “Now, time to-”

Footsteps.

“…was that you, Rodger?” Whisper asked.

“No.” Rodger clicked his light back on and began flashing the surrounding area, and stopped on the source of the noise…

…a pixelated man with a grey shirt and a raised index finger.

“No vandalizing school grounds in the halls.” He said in a stilted monotone, before placing his hands on each of the contestants’ shoulders.

And just like that, the three vanished.

Chapter Text

Rodger awoke on a stale blue carpet, fluorescent lights burning his eyes overhead.

He sat up, noticing many wooden desks around him and an extraordinary number of globes. Behind one of these desks, writing on a piece of paper with a pencil about the size of their forearm, was the grey-shirted man that had abducted them.

Rodger then glanced to his right. Whisper was still unconscious, drooling on the carpet.

The toon stood up, adjusted his jabot, and approached the man. “…excuse me, but… where have you taken us?” He said, trying not to come across as confused or annoyed.

“Detention.” The man said. “You broke a school rule. Your parents will hear about this one.”

“I don’t believe I’m enrolled here, thank you.” Rodger rebutted. “Who are you, anyways?”

The man looked up from his paper. “You were on school grounds. I am the principal.” He stated, before looking back down.

“The principal? Of what?”

“The thing.”

“What thing?”

“The thing.”

Rodger smacked himself in the forehead. “Whatever. Can you at least tell me how long we’ll be in here?”

“Usually around 15 seconds.” The principal of… the thing answered.

“Well, I’m sure it’s been more than that.” Rodger glanced at his wrist, then realized he wasn’t wearing a watch. “So can we leave now?”

“No.”

“Wh- …why not?”

“Mr. Baldimore told me to keep any rulebreakers inside until he gets back from his trip.”

“What trip?”

“His trip. He was invited by a dog.”

Rodger’s eye narrowed. “…yellow?”

“Yes.”

Of course, their “host” was behind this. He was getting too close to finding the truth, and now he was being punished. “…very well. I’ll wait here.”

“Good.” The principal jolted up and moved to the door. Before he left, however, he gave one final message. “No touching my keys in the halls.”

The door shut, and Rodger’s gaze moved to the principal’s desk. On top of it was a massive keychain. He was about to inspect it when he heard a loud groan from behind.

“Ohhh… how long was I out for?” Whisper smacked his lips as he rose in the air.

“Good morning.” Rodger greeted. “We’ve been kidnapped by the principal of this school, and he won’t let us leave until a ‘Mr. Baldimore’ gets back.”

“Ah.” Whisper nodded. “Well then, I suppose we just need to wait here until he gets back and WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Rodger had grabbed the keys and was now using them to unlock the door. “Getting us out of here.”

“B-BUT YOU’RE GOING AGAINST THE WORD OF AUTHORITIES!”

“He only said not to touch his keys ‘in the halls.’ And we’re not in the halls, are we?”

Before Whisper could continue to argue, Rodger unlocked the door and was checking the nearby hallways for signs of their jailor.

“Alright, the coast is clear. Come on.” Rodger gestured for Whisper to follow him.

“Ohhhh, no! I am staying right here and doing my time.” Whisper crossed his arms and turned his nose (or where it would hypothetically be) up at the detective.

Rodger rolled his eye. “Then I suppose you’ll be down even more points when the challenge finishes without you.”

…that got Whisper’s attention. “…fine. But if we get caught, you’re taking the blame.”

The contestants had been led to a large obstacle course, made of… very shoddy looking wood and overseen by a rather strange fellow.

He wore a long sleeve green shirt, a pair of blue pants, brown shoes… but that was everything normal about him. His head looked like a collection of shapes pasted atop each other, he had two big red lips, giant eyes, and only a single hair sticking out of his forehead.

“Oh, hi! Welcome to my obstacle course!” Spoke the man in a nasally, odd voice.

The crowd just stared at him.

“…why does he look like that?” Iscream whispered to themselves.

Chikn was standing beside the schoolteacher, admiring the craftsmanship of the course. He pulled himself away after a few seconds, however. “Alright, guys! This next challenge is an obstacle course, made by our special guest host, Mr. Baldimore!”

“Oh, please! Call me Baldi!”

“Oh, alright.” Chikn nodded. “Baldi built this obstacle course for you all, and you’re gonna each try to make it to the end with your partner! First place gets 35 points, last place gets 5 points, BUT your points get halved if only one of you can make it to the end. I’ll leave you all to it! I gotta get a head start on the next challenge…”

Chikn blipped away, and Baldi cleared his throat. “The teams will go in order of first to last place in points! Whisperand Jibanyan please get ready for your run!”

“Uh, problem.” Jibanyan stepped forward. “I don’t think I can run today.”

“Because Whisper is missing?” Sammy said.

Jibanyan raised an eyebrow. “What? Nyo, I couldn’t care less about that. I care about the rain! It’s pouring wet out there, nyan!”

“I begrudgingly have to agree with the cat.” Vee glanced at the protective bubble around her. “I’m missing my companion too.”

“Uh oh!” Baldi furrowed his brow in deep thought. “Then I guess you two will have to wait until the rain stops to run! That means… Chee and Iscream please get ready for your run!”

The pair glanced at each other in the crowd, then stepped out into the rain. Chee bristled at the droplets, and Iscream simply shrugged them off.

“…alright, Chee, you can do this.” The cat whispered to herself. “You haven’t been taking up that exercise routine for nothing…”

Iscream glanced back at the spectators. “Watch and learn, dummies!” They boasted.

Baldi held up a polygonal hand with three fingers, and counted each one down. “3! 2! 1! Ready or not, here they come!”

Chee bolted ahead, dashing on all fours towards the first obstacle, which looked to be a large wall. She quickly jumped onto it and sunk her claws into the soggy wood, moving fast to make sure she couldn’t slip off.

Next was a rope climb. Lot of climbing related obstacles here. Not that she was complaining, cats were very coordinated. Maybe she actually had a shot at first place, depending on how well Iscream was doing!

She looked behind her to check, and… Iscream wasn’t there.

…that was bad. She had two choices from here. Either backtrack and make sure they were okay, or reach the end by herself.

The choice was pretty obvious.

Iscream was currently struggling on the wall, scrambling to stay up. “Iscream, use your claws!” Chee advised.

“Oh, GREAT idea!” The bunny spat. “I NEVER would have thought of that!”

Chee sighed and carefully reached out a paw to grab Iscream’s ear, yanking them up with little resistance save for a surprised yelp.

“What was THAT for?” Iscream tried to protest, but Chee was already crossing the ropes.

The rabbit, thankfully, had a much easier time from then on. They struggled a little with the ropes, and had a very close call with several swinging platforms suspended over a mud pit, but  the last obstacle was also the easiest. A long runway straight to the finish line.

“Wow, we’re actually going to do this!” Chee started bolting to the finish line, dragging Iscream along (by the paw this time).”

They were close. Inching closer to the finish line.

…inching closer.

Closer.

…they really should have been at the finish line by now.

Chee glanced up and notices a large cloud at the end of the course with googly eyes, blowing a forceful gust of wind at them.

So that was the problem! Chee could handle this, though. She refused to get declawed for this exact reason!

Iscream was hanging onto Chee’s paw for dear life, not wanting to get blown back into the mud pit by the cloud. “HOW MUCH FURTHER ARE WE?”

“WE’RE… ALMOST…” Chee finally grabbed onto the checkered portion of the wood. “THERE!”

Just like that, the cloud ceased its attack and let the pair rest.

“Congratulations! You beat the course in 4.59 minutes!” Baldi announced from behind the team, giving the cat and rabbit duo miniature heart attacks. “Please make your way back to the other contestants now!”

With that, he marched away. “…I’m gonna throw up.” Iscream groaned.

“So, how’d you two do?” Lucy asked Chee.

“I don’t know, I thought we did pretty good. Beat it in like 5 minutes!”

“Ooh, good time.” The fox noted. “You wouldn’t be willing to share some tips with us, would you?” She nudged Sammy. “I’m sure my partner needs all the help he can get, hehe!”

Sammy rolled his eyes. “We’re trained field agents. We can certainly do this without an advantage.”

“Wouldn’t your prior training technically be an advantage, though?” Another voice chimed in. It was Garnold.

Sammy twisted his head to look at the sprunki. “Perhaps. But I’m certain there are skills you have that I lack.”

“…hm. I guess that’s true.” Garnold acknowledged. “Unless you’ve got, like… a degree in engineering.”

“Lambert and The Red Crown are up next to race!”

All eyes turned to Lambert, who stepped out from the cover of the trees into the rain and took their place on the starting platform.

Compared to handling weapons, the lamb was far better at movement. Maybe this was how they’d make up for their poor performance with the gun.

“3! 2! 1! Go!”

Lambert started forward, getting a hold onto the wall and… immediately slipping back down. Their hooves weren’t good for verticality.

But they weren’t going to lose on the first obstacle. They got right back to climbing, and slipping, and climbing, and slipping, and climbing, and-

…suddenly, their head felt lighter. The crown was working again, but how-

Lambert glanced at their hooves. They were surrounded by amorphous black mass, warped into large claws and tightening into the wood.

…the lamb slowly pulled a claw away from the wall, and the fingers loosened. They weren’t their own claws, but they weren’t resisting commands.

Lambert was going to have to get some more knowledge on this… “crown” later. If it even was a crown.

But for now, they just pulled themselves up and started on the next obstacle, the rope climb. It was easy enough that the claws were able to retract, and they stayed retracted for the third obstacle…

…but that didn’t mean it was easy. Just that the crown couldn’t help them.

The platforms were terribly slick. They also had a tendency to spin, forcing the lamb to balance and take several leaps of faith.

The final obstacle was a very windy runway. But Lamb knew exactly how to counteract the wind.

When the cloud began to propel the lamb back, they got to their knees and rolled forward.

That got them some good distance. Another roll got them closer. They were rolling faster than the cloud could push them back. And in due time…

“Congratulations! You beat the course in 3.23 minutes! Please make your way back to the other contestants now!”

The lamb breathed a sigh of relief. That was good enough for them.

The two woke up in the principal’s office again.

“##############” Rodger cussed, and Whisper gasped in response.

“No profanity in the halls.” The principal stated, before leaving the room again.

Whisper huffed. “Well, Sherlock, we’ve been attacked by a living broom, a poorly-drawn girl, and a boy who eats too much gum. What’s your plan now?”

“…I don’t know.”

“Right. Then let’s just-” Whisper paused. “…wait. What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“I mean I’ve tried everything I can, Whisper. I’m…” Rodger sighed. “…I’m giving up.”

With that, Rodger slowly slid into a seated position on the carpet. It… hardly felt like carpet at all, really. It felt like someone made a hardwood floor to look like carpet.

The pair did not speak to each other for a good few minutes, leaving only the humming of the fan overhead.

After a sufficiently uncomfortable silence, Whisper finally thought of something to say. “…er… how do you think the others are doing?”

Rodger glanced at the ghost. “…I’m sure they’ve been doing fine.”

“Yes, certainly.”

“Do you think our teammates are winning without us?”

“Depending on what the event is, maybe.”

“Mhm.”

There was another pause.

Whisper glanced at the floor. “…someone’s probably looking for us, right?”

Rodger’s head shifted slightly, but he remained distant.

“I mean, Jibanyan’s certainly looking for me! He might be… rather abrasive, and a little selfish, but he’d never just leave me here. He’s got too much to lose.”

“…good for you.”

Whisper thought for another moment. “…and I’m sure that green robot you came here with will be looking for you, too!”

That earned a laugh from the magnifying glass. “Please. She’s glad I’m gone.”

“Wh- now don’t be ridiculous!” The yo-kai shook his head. “Aren’t you two friends?”

“I’m afraid we don’t speak much.” Rodger admitted. “She’s a Main class toon. Us normal toons don’t get to speak with them often, much less a truth seeker such as myself.”

“…there’s some kind of hierarchy?”

“A minor one. Really, it can be divided into who’s close with Dandy and who isn’t.” He paused. “…who knows the truth and who doesn’t.”

“Hm. And how does that correlate to the television not liking you?”

“Well, it’s not just her.” Rodger leaned back against a desk leg. “I suspect that my… persistence in getting answers has made me one of the least popular toons. And truthfully, I can see why.”

Whisper wasn’t sure how to respond from here. He had never been the most eloquent, but he had a feeling saying nothing would be worse.

Perhaps he should try to… give advice? No, that sounded like an awful idea.

…but maybe if he spoke from someone else’s experience?

“…you know, I knew someone in your position once.”

Rodger glanced back up at Whisper. “Really, now.”

“Well, somewhat.” Whisper shrugged. “They weren’t a detective. But they were reviled and ridiculed for pursuing something they believed in! It nearly drove them to give up…

“…until one day, they found someone who believed in them. Someone who encouraged them to keep going, even if the world and everyone in it told them to just quit!” Whisper concluded. “So I think you just need to find the one in your life who believes in you!”

Rodger ruminated on the butler’s words. “…you know.” He said, his eyes drifting towards one of the several globes in the room. “I think I already do.”

And like that, the detective had a new plan. “Alright, Whisper. Do you still have those keys?”

Whisper floated into the air and got out said keys. “But of course! What’s the plan, detective?”

“It revolves around that robot with no sense of boundaries.” Rodger took the keys and tossed them into the door, gesturing for Whisper to follow him.

Whisper, however, seemed to know what the plan was. “…I’ll act as our bait.”

“Perfect.” Rodger took a sharp right, towards the sound of whirring conveyor belts.

Every other team of contestants had finished their run, save for two.

Baldi had taken out an extremely large pocketwatch and was tapping his foot impatiently. The other contestants were mingling, and Jibanyan and Vee…

“You don’t think they died out there or anything, right?” Jibanyan wondered aloud.

“I wouldn’t be surprised.” Vee scoffed. “He’s as fragile as the object he’s based off of.”

Finally, Baldi sighed and stashed his watch. “It looks like your teammates are nowhere to be found! Looks like I’ll be forced to give you last place on default.”

“Woah, hang on, nyo way!” Jibanyan shook his head and stepped forward. “I don’t wanna lose more points cause Whisper ditched us! I’ll run this course by myself if I nyeed to!”

“The rules say you need 2 partners to race!”

The yokai’s head whipped around to look at the green robot behind him. “Then I’ll race with her! Start my timer!”

Vee’s eyes widened. “Sorry, what did you-”

She was then hoisted into the air by a pair of paws and dragged into the final race of the night.

Several minutes later, the pair finally reached the finish line.

As it turned out, trying to get a large rolling magic bubble up a wall, across a sixteen foot gap, several moving platforms, and a windy runway.

Baldi walked onto the scene and stared down at the two. “Congratulations! You reached the end!” He cheered.

“…how… how fast?” Jibanyan sputtered.

“Let’s just say…” Baldi winked. “You got last place!”

“Of course.” Vee grumbled.

Baldi gave the bubble a light pat. “Don’t cry! I’m sure you can make up for this in the next challenge!”

He then turned to look at you. “…but I hear it’ll be a scary good time!” He winked.

The teacher gave a hearty laugh… and then paused. “Say, do you hear smoke?”

“…hear smoke?” Vee responded. “I don’t-”

Suddenly, the entire course began to wobble and collapse. Vee’s bubble protected her, but Jibanyan ended up getting flattened by a falling beam.

“What was THAT?!” He shouted and he slid out from under the rubble, glancing around until he spotted a familiar white ghost riding atop a very bulky robot.

“I STILL CANNOT SEE YOU – FRIENDS” It stated in a low grumbly voice.

Whisper got off the robot’s back, along with Rodger. “Alright, we’re back! We can race now!” The yokai announced.

Baldi glanced at the robot, then at the ruined course. “Sorry, but the challenge is over! But congratulations on escaping my school!”

Rodger dusted off his jacket. “I presume you’re Mr. Baldimore, then?”

“That’s me!” The schoolteacher gave a ‘thumbs’-up.

“Mhm. Well, while I’d like to complain about your way of running things… I’m more interested to hear the scores.”

“Oh, of course!” Baldi took out a hammer and quickly built a scoreboard out of the rubble.

FIRST PLACE! – LAMB (3.23 MINUTES)

SECOND PLACE! – SAMMY, LUCY (3.45 MINUTES)

THIRD PLACE! – CHEEZBORGER, ISCREAM (4.59 MINUTES)

FOURTH PLACE! – QUEEN, PAPYRUS (5.18 MINUTES)

FIFTH PLACE! – TUNNER, GARNOLD (6.22 MINUTES)

SIXTH PLACE TIE – WHISPER, JIBANYAN, VEE, RODGER (6.34 MINUTES)

scores!!!

1: Team Miniforce, 73 points

2: Team Fox, 56 points

3: Team Lamb, 55 points

4: Team Sleuthvision, 46 points

5: Team Tunnold, 43 points

6: Team Cheesecream, 39 points

7: Team Yokai, 20 points

“Sweet, we’ve got the lead!” Lucy pumped her fist.

“Well I Totally Would Have Beaten You In The Race If I Was Trying” Queen brushed off the fox’s enthusiasm.

Papyrus narrowed his eyes. “YOU STOPPED SEVERAL TIMES TO DRINK ENTIRE GLASSES OF ACID.”

“Battery Acid (Ages 3 And Up) (Get It Right)”

“Lemme tell ya, I would’ve done a lot better if I had legs.” Tunner added.

“Oh, yeah, definitely…” Iscream mumbled.

“Nyow, nyow.” Jibanyan snuck up behind the bunny. “Don’t be mad just because you’re losing.”

“…Jibanyan, we’re in last place.” Whisper noted.

The cat slowly turned to give Whisper a look.

Baldi cleared his throat, and the chatter died out. “Thank you all for testing my challenge! I’ll take our school counselor back now-” He pointed at the robot, which was trying to hug a large tree. “-and you can spend the rest of the day freely!”

With that final statement, the teacher creature began guiding the robot into the distance.

Chapter Text

Papyrus and Garnold’s exploits building cabins ended up being very lucrative. The contestants now had three somewhat spacious cabins to stay in.

Chikn even showed up and offered to grab a few things from each contestant’s home to fill in the cabins. Most accepted, a few declined, and everyone began to populate the cabins.

The first cabin, which was also the largest, had been christened “Queen’s Summer Home” and was now home to five contestants.

Well. Six if you counted the crown.

Queen had wasted no time converting the living room into a throne room of sorts, complete with arcade cabinets, strobe lights, and easy access to ‘her’ ‘private’ kitchen.

And best of all, she had two loyal servants waiting on her hand and foot! Sure, one of them was mute, short, and almost always around a definitely cursed crown; and the other was a ghost who tended to talk too much, but they were servants nonetheless.

Shame her other roommate wasn’t as pleasant.

“You realize this is supposed to be a living room.” A short green robot grumbled.

“Yeah And Now It’s The Room I Live In” Queen rebutted.

Whisper then butted into the argument. “You know, it’s still a living room! It’s just got a lot of Queen’s items in it.”

“It’s still unacceptable.” Vee took a step forward, approaching Queen’s throne/armchair. “This cabin belongs to five people, not just you. So move all this-” She gestured at the junk around the room. “-into some other room, and-”

“Didn’t Ask Don’t Care (L)”

Vee was glad she didn’t have blood pressure, because it would certainly be rising by now. “…and why are you two supporting her?” She turned her attention to Lambert and Whisper.

“Ah, well… I’m a butler, so I’ve sort of got an obligation to serve royalty, or nobility, or… random humans who free me from stone capsules…” Whisper reasoned, scratching the back of his head.

Lambert just shrugged.

“Very well. I’ll report this to the host.” Vee grumbled.

Queen kicked her legs up onto her chair’s arms. “Alright While You Do That I’m Going To Keep My Stuff Here”

There was no point in arguing with her. So Vee didn’t, and just retreated further into the house, down a hallway and stopping in front of a door with a name carved on it; “Garnold.”

Inside was the golden sprunki, setting up the laboratory equipment Chikn had provided him with. He’d say the room was a little too small for any real work to be done, but it was certainly comforting to be surrounded by metal again.

The toon visitor waited until he had finished screwing something into a wall before making herself known. “Garnold, was it?”

Garnold spun around. “…oh, Vee? What’s up?”

“I believe I recall you saying something about having a degree in engineering.”

“…well, sort of. I’d meet the qualifications for getting one, but I don’t officially have a degree since I don’t live near any colleges.”

Vee squinted. “…uh huh. Well, normally I wouldn’t trust someone I don’t know with this job, but I don’t have much of a choice.”

Garnold’s expression got serious. “What job are we talking about?”

“I need a checkup.”

“…oh. That’s it?”

“What do you mean, that’s it?” Vee questioned, feeling a little offended. “I’m entrusting you with the machine equivalent of surgery.”

“Well, kind of, but… it’s a lot easier to perform surgery on someone who doesn’t need anesthesia.”

Vee just rolled her eyes and pulled herself onto a large table. “I’ll instruct you on what all to fix.”

Garnold was still apprehensive, but there didn’t seem to be much arguing with this robot. “…so… is there a panel I can unscrew, or…”

“Yeah. One on the back of the head, one on the back of the… well. One on my back.”

“Right. Which first?”

“Back.”

“…the back.”

“Yes, genius, the back.”

“Right, right…”

Six screws later, and Garnold was staring at one of the most unique robot interiors he’d ever seen.

Well, for the most part, it looked like pretty normal robot wiring, but the power source seemed to be some kind of… strange, black liquid.

“…hey, uh… is this that ichor stuff Rodger mentioned a few days ago?” He asked, staring at the two capsules of it surrounded by ichor.

“…yes. Don’t touch it.” Vee ordered. “It only needs changed every four months.”

“Right, right. So what do I do?”

“Just tighten the springs on the limbs.”

“Got it.”

This was the first time Garnold had done a tune-up on a robot while they were conscious. It was… a little nerve-wracking, honestly. But Vee didn’t seem to be worried.

“…okay, they’re tightened.”

“Good. You can seal it up now.”

So he began screwing it back on. “…hey, uh. Who did your wiring back home?”

“…what kind of question is that?”

“Just… small talk.” Garnold paused. “…and I guess I’m a little curious about your specifications.”

Vee made a sound between a sigh and a grunt. “An associate. Goes by the name of Brightney. Rather well-learned in several areas, including robotics.”

“Was she the one who built you?”

“…no.” Vee’s voice took on a colder tone.

Garnold took this as his cue to stop talking. “…so, should I open the panel on the back of the head now?”

“No. That one doesn’t need checking on.” Vee slid to the edge of the table and got to her feet. “Good work.”

“…ah, well, I try.”

The second cabin, only having one room and four beds, was by far the smallest. Within lay a group lay four contestants and a crown.

“…so the sheep just gave this to you.” Sammy asked his coworker, who had put the borrowed crown on a hardwood table.

“Yep.” Lucy confirmed. “I’m guessing they want me to study it.”

“You can tell?”

“Well, I also want to study it, so I’m just hoping our interests align.”

“Mhm.”

“What’s this about studying?” Rodger walked up to the table from behind the agents.

“Oh, hey Rodger.” Lucy spun around to see the magnifying glass. “We’re trying to figure out what this Crown is. Want to help?”

Rodger nodded. “Of course. What kind of detective would I be if I didn’t want to find answers?”

“A poor one, of course.” Sammy concluded. “…we ought to collect some kind of sample from it. Does anyone have a knife?”

“…to?” Rodger raised an eyebrow.

“To get a sample.”

Lucy frowned. “But what if that makes it mad? It’s probably sentient.”

“Oh, come now. It’s a hat.” Sammy rolled his eyes. “What could it possibly do to us?”

“I recommend you avoid finding out.”

The three’s attentions were locked onto the crown.

“…you.” Lucy took a step back. “You can speak?”

The crown shook gently, as if to nod. “I prefer to save my words for those who have worth.”

“Why, that’s just rude.” Sammy shook his head. “…but this does make finding out more information about you easier. Shall we ask you a few questions?”

“My secrets are not for you to know. They are for my bearers.”

“‘Bearers’ meaning those who have worn you, I assume.” Rodger pressed.

The crown’s eye dropped into a disdainful look. “My, my. Perhaps that massive intellect you possess could qualify you as a worthy bearer.”

“…really?” Rodger puffed his chest.

“I’m fairly certain that was sarcasm.” Lucy noted, causing the detective’s mood to quickly drop. “…well, if only your bearers are allowed to see your secrets…”

A pair of pink paws reached for the crown.

“Stop.”

Sammy smacked Lucy’s paws away. “Hey, what was that for?” She complained, rubbing her wrists.

“We don’t know what this thing could do to you. It’s a talking crown with clearly evil properties.”

“Well, if it possesses me, just take the crown off.” Lucy put her paws on her hips. “But someone’s gotta bear this crown, and it’s gonna be me.”

“Lucy.” Sammy grimaced.

“It’ll be fine.”

Lucy glanced at Sammy, then at Rodger, then back at the crown. She picked it up, raised it over her head, and gently placed it-

Sammy had wrapped the shuddering fox in a blanket while Rodger took the questioning into his own hands. “…are you feeling better now?”

“I saw things no mammal should ever have to see.” Lucy whispered.

“…I did warn you, to be fair.”

“Oh, shut up…”

Iscream was stretched out on a couch, groaning quietly.

“You have some really weird cravings, you know.” Chee mumbled as she set down a bowl of cereal, sprinkled with pepper flakes and drowned in mayonnaise, for the rabbit to eat.

The rabbit grunted, before sticking a paw in the bowl and sprinkling bits of cereal into their maw.

Now, Chee knew Iscream could be dramatic. This was probably one of those occasions. The bunny was almost certainly playing up their symptoms to gain sympathy and get their housemates to work for them.

…but there was still a little bit of worry in Chee’s mind. That maybe this lethargy wasn’t normal.

“Nyow what’s going on here?”

Jibanyan’s voice pulled Chee out of her spiral before it could begin. “Oh! Didn’t hear you come in.” The cat spun around to see their housemate.

The yokai was leaning against a doorframe, a sealed envelope hanging loosely from their paws. “You didn’t anyswer my question. Why does the rabbit look dead?”

“Uhhhh…” Chee glanced back at Iscream, who… admittedly did look a little dead. “…I think they caught some kind of bug from the rain. What’s the envelope?”

Jibanyan’s gaze diverted to the object in question. “Oh, it showed up at our door a few minyutes ago. I was gonna read it out loud when everyone was here.”

And right on cue, a loud pair of boots signaled the approaching fourth resident of the house.

“GOOD TO SEE YOU AGAIN, FRIENDS!” Papyrus greeted as he swung the door open. “SORRY I’M LATE, I WAS ENJOYING THE GREAT OUTDOORS!”

Jibanyan just nodded as he cut the envelope open with a claw. “Cool. Nyow let’s read this letter!”

Dearest Contestants,

You are invited to Ashewood Manor for a proper dinner.

A train will arrive at noon to bring you to the manor.

Please do not try to find it yourself, Rodger and Whisper.

-Your Host, Chikn Nuggit

“How’s Chikn going to get a train here?” Chee asked.

Papyrus scratched his chin. “PERHAPS HE MEANS ONE OF THOSE TINY TRAINS FOR LITTLE MONSTERS TO RIDE. THE ONES THAT ARRIVE DURING HOLIDAYS.”

“For fourteen people? I think nyot.” Jibanyan shook his head. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he actually built some kind of magic train overnyight. Y’knyow, assuming he is some kinyda god.”

…that information still boggled Chee. She hadn’t really been able to process it, due to all the new faces and the challenges, but… Chikn? One of the sweetest people she knew? A demigod? A demigod of chaos?

She should probably talk to him again soon.

“WAIT, DOES ANYONE KNOW WHAT TIME IT IS?” Papyrus asked, glancing out the window.

“Time f’r you t’ get a watch…” Iscream mumbled, punctuating their jab with a weak chuckle.

Papyrus looked back at the rabbit, frowning. “THERE’S NO TIME FOR ME TO GET A WATCH, OUR TRAIN’S ALREADY HERE!”

The train, a red and black engine that looked as though it was pulled straight out of an old cartoon, jolted to life as soon as the last contestant had jumped off. It only managed to get halfway into the thicker part of the forest before seemingly vanishing from view.

But nobody’s attention was on the train. They were all staring up at the towering mansion before them.

It was unlike anything a lot of them had ever seen, and especially something they didn’t expect to see in this world. The cold stone and brick walls, the dirty windows, the swath of grey clouds that lingered just above the building…

“I’m gettin’ a terrible feelin’ just looking at this place.” Tunner gritted his teeth.

“I concur.” Whisper added. “It looks rather… creepy.”

While Cheezborger was also a little put off by the exterior, she wasn’t… too worried. Chikn loved to play the occasional prank, but he wouldn’t put any of his friends in an actually dangerous situation.

At least, that’s what she told herself.

After a moment of the other contestants chattering about what the new challenge could be, the front doors slowly creaked open, silencing the murmurs.

“Hey, looks like everyone made it!” Chikn chirped, adorned with a solid black top hat and matching black bowtie. “Come on in, the food’s inside!”

He then disappeared into the dark, beckoning for the contestants to follow him in.

“…WELL, YOU HEARD HIM!” Papyrus spoke up, setting Iscream’s body down on the grass before leaping over the crowd to follow Chikn’s vanishing act.

The rest of the group was slightly more reluctant to enter. The yokai were volunteered first as scouts, on the reasoning that they were ghosts and ‘more familiar with scary houses.’ Whisper had attempted to explain why that wasn’t the case, but he couldn’t get a word out before being tossed inside with Jibanyan.

Once they came out unscathed (save for a large, cartoonish bump on Whisper’s head) a minute later, the rest of the group slowly filtered in, with two exceptions.

The one to notice these exceptions was Lucy. “…are you coming, Cheezborger?”

“Huh?” Chee’s head snapped up. “Oh, yeah, just… can you help me carry Iscream?”

The fox’s head turned to see the snoring bunny on the ground. “Oh! Sure I can.” She nodded, jogging over and creating a small disc of energy beneath Iscream. “I’ll get this side, you get the other.”

After hoisting the disc into the air, the two carefully treaded up the stairs and through the doorway.

The inside of the house was… just as unnerving as the outside. It definitely looked like a haunted house now, with peeling wallpaper, dusty furniture scattered about the hallway, and only a few dim lamps on the walls to light the way forward.

Furthermore, it was cold. Unnaturally so. The outside had always been relatively warm, even during the recent rainstorm, but there was a chill here that kept Chee on edge. Lucy didn’t notice the cold, but she did again notice a look of worry on Chee’s face.

They didn’t know each other that well, but this seemed like a pretty good opportunity to learn more.

Lucy coughed. “…so, are you… excited?”

“…huh?” Chee blinked. “For…”

“…for the new challenge.”

“Oh! Uh… yeah, I guess I am.”

“And… you’re not worried, right?”

Chee opened her mouth to deny, but a brief flicker of the lights almost caused her to drop Iscream. “…I, uh… I wouldn’t say I’m worried.”

“Then how are you feeling?”

“…right now? Kind of… ehh, scared.”

That seemed about right. Lucy had noticed Chee scanning the dark edges of the campfire spot during the earlier days of the challenges. Especially on the first day, when they were all sharing their…

“…hey, wait. You said you were friends with Chikn, right?”

Chee nodded. “We met as kids. I didn’t have many friends before him, and he sort of helped me get out of my shell.” She paused. “He’s… probably half the reason I’m not a complete shut-in.”

“Huh.” Lucy nodded. “…I think I can relate. I grew up in the mountains, in a monastery. The only company I had were my teachers. Joining the Miniforce was the first time I got to interact with other animals my age…”

…well, Chee had a guess as to why Lucy didn’t seem cold. “Wow. You… you’ve got an interesting life.”

Lucy snorted. “I’ve got an interesting life? Your best friend is a reality warping dog!”

“Well, I didn’t know he was able to do this kind of stuff! I thought it was all… normal, for him.”

“And you never asked why it was normal for him, when you couldn’t do that kind of stuff?”

“No, I could-”

…

Lucy and Chee both had a lot of questions about what the latter had almost said.

Truthfully, Chee had been keeping questions in the back of her mind since her and Chikn had last spoken, just the two of them. Ones that she really needed to ask.

But there was never a time.

And she was starting to wonder if there would ever be a time, ever again.

…

“…hey, how long is this hallway?”

Lucy had been the one to break the silence. And Chee could agree, the hallway seemed like it was stretching, and stretching, and stretching…

“Eh, we’ll find the end eventually, right?” Lucy smiled at Chee from the other side of the disc.

Chee realized that she had probably been staring blankly at Lucy for the past few minutes, and summoned a smile of her own. “Yeah, hopefully.”

…a smaller, less uncomfortable silence was allowed to grow for a moment. But Lucy, ever the extrovert, pruned it quickly. “So, what’s wrong with Iscream?”

“Oh. I have no idea.” Chee admitted. “I’m hoping they’re better soon, though. We never had much of a chance to interact before this, but… well, their first impressions weren’t the most comforting.”

As if the mere mention of their name had stirred them, Iscream began to stretch and sit up, surprising the two animals carrying the bunny.

“…what are you two doing?”

“Oh, you’re- you woke up!” Chee was genuinely excited at the development, and slowly started to lower the disc. Lucy followed suit. “How are you feeling? Any better?”

Iscream got to their feet and brushed themselves off. “…yes. I’m fine now. Where are we?”

“No idea. But there’s food somewhere here.”

“…well, let’s go find it, then.” Iscream turned and began walking.

Lucy raised a paw. “Uh, Iscream, we came in that way.”

“Ah.”

Iscream turned again, and resumed walking, Chee and Lucy right behind them.

Unfortunately, all the best food was gone once the three arrived at the dining hall.

It wasn’t really a hall at all. The room was perfectly cylindrical, with four hallways of varying wallpaper color leading to darkened places. The only quality light in the room was a cobweb-ridden grand chandelier, hanging off-center over the head of the table.

Chikn was sitting by himself at the head, wiping his mouth with a checkered napkin. The rest of the contestants were placed at the sides of the table, with only three empty seats left and three meals untouched.

Well, two meals. The plate next to Jibanyan had been emptied.

Iscream insisted on taking the seat with an empty plate, as they ‘weren’t planning on eating anyways.’ This left Cheezborger and Lucy with a slightly cold roast chicken each, which was still very delectable.

The moment Chee had swallowed her last piece of chicken, A whistle silenced the table’s conversation.

“Alright, everyone!” Chikn locked his paws together and placed them on the table. “I’m afraid I didn’t just call you all here to enjoy a nice meal. Truth be told, this is where the third challenge of the competition is being held!”

The table remained silent.

“That was supposed to be a surprise?” Vee asked.

Chikn’s sly little smile drooped. “…was… was it too obvious?”

“Well, it seemed like a lot of effort to go through solely for dinner.” Concurred Garnold.

“…darn.” Chikn’s head flopped onto the table. “That stinks… I really wanted to surprise you all.”

…

Suddenly, the chandelier above Chikn detached from the ceiling and crashed on top of him, sending rainbow-colored confetti flying across the dining hall.

Everyone at the table had a unique expression of shock, horror, worry, or any mixture of the three.

But finally, it was Chee’s turn to break a silence that day with an ear-splitting shriek of terror.