Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Winner and Loser hug for a long time. Finally, Winner pulls away, frowning. The Rift is still crackling overhead, and without Black Hole to hold it back, who knows what’ll happen?

“We should recover everyone.” Winner suggests. “I’ll introduce you.”

“Of course, buddy.” Loser wheezes, wiping his eyes. “Anything you want, I’m just glad we’re back together.”

“How was BFB?”

“How was TPOT?”

“Oh, well… it’s been a lot, frankly, but I’ve enjoyed it overall! Let’s talk while we crank.” Winner’s arm starts smacking at the Wireless Recovery Center’s buttons, turning the crank. “So the first episode, we had to decide which of us newbies would be joining the…”

Price Tag, Donut, and Golf Ball all tumble out of the machine. Winner pauses, hesitating.

“GUYS!” Donut yells, almost falling flat on his face. “ONE IS ERASING CONTESTANTS! WE HAVE TO-” He pauses, seeing the dark, starless sky. The pastry’s voice sounds despondent. “Oh. I… I wasn’t fast enough.”

“Who’s One?” Winner asks, bashing a P into the machine. “And… should we recover Pencil?”

“NO WAY!” Price Tag exclaims angrily. “She and Liy have both lost it! I say she can stay dead a little longer!”

“But we need everyone for Cake at Stake!” Golf Ball retorts. “We don’t even know which teams lost! Last I saw was Tree murdering me!”

“Calm down, everyone!” Loser says, making a shushing gesture. Instantly, everyone quiets down, even Price Tag. There’s that classic Loser charisma, Winner thinks, a little prickle of jealousy hitting them. No, no, they shouldn’t be envious. They’re friends again, now! “We can figure it all out once we’re all back together! Now, where’s Two?”

“That’s another thing.” Winner sighs. “They’ve just been laying in bed for months without moving. Four and X tried to host, but I don’t know where they are, and Bottle did her best, but we need them to get their act together and help us out!”

They finish putting Pencil’s name into the machine. However, the LCD flashes red and displays an error message. CANNOT RECOVER PENCIL: OUT OF RANGE

“How curious!” Golf Ball exclaims, her rage immediately forgotten in favor of scientific curiosity. “Where might Pencil be to escape this recovery center’s area of operation?”

Out of the corner of their eye, Winner notices Donut walking away, eyeing the rift, which has thankfully calmed down for the moment. Good, the last thing they need is another problem. Regardless, as a fellow CloudYAYer, Winner decides it’s their duty to figure out what’s on his mind.

“Hey Loser? Gimme a second to talk to Donut here. He’s my teammate.” Loser nods, and Winner smiles at him before following Donut to a spot behind the hotel. Donut slumps down against the wall, looking utterly defeated.

“Oh. Hey.” He says quietly, drawing his legs in closer to his body. “I… didn’t want you to have to see me like this.”

“See you like what?” Winner asks, raising an eyebrow. “Donut, it’s nothing to be ashamed of. Everyone feels hopeless sometimes.”

“No, it’s not that.” Donut sighs. “Winner, I really screwed everything up. Look, there’s something I really need to tell you, and everyone. But let’s recover them all first.”

“Well, if you say so, Donut.” Winner takes their friend’s hand and helps him up. “Come on, you know that everyone will be here for you! We’ll take it on together, like we always do.”

Donut doesn’t look convinced, but regardless, he lets his teammate take him back to the Wireless Recovery Center.

Marker, Tennis Ball, Pen, Tree, Book, Bottle, and TV have just been recovered. Currently, Golf Ball and Price Tag are having a hushed debate about whether they should bring back Liy.

“Well, we both must agree that at the very least, Black Hole and Grassy deserve to be recovered!” Golf Ball huffs. Price Tag rolls their eyes but says nothing. “TENNIS BALL! RECOVER GRASSY AND BLACK HOLE!”

“Okay GB!”

However, when Tennis Ball types their names into the recovery center, they receive two more error messages. CANNOT RECOVER GRASSY AND BLACK HOLE – STILL ALIVE

“They must be in the hotel somewhere.” Loser says.

“I hate when Black Hole goes missing!” Fanny, obviously.

“Someone needs to find them, quick!” Book looks worried. “Grassy can’t be alone in the hotel forever, and we need Black Hole to contain the rift.”

“I’ll go.” Marker volunteers. “Tree, want to come wiith?”

The mysteriously purple tree, still not looking used to his new appearance, shrugs and walks along with Marker into the hotel.

“Wow, I hope they find them!” Bottle says. Even she isn’t sounding so cheerful right now.

“More than that, I hope they find Two!” Donut says. “We need their help to fix this!”

“And come to think of it, has anyone seen Four? We need them to do the elimination!” Tennis Ball exclaims.

“Well… that can probably wait a little longer, right?” TV chimes. Everyone turns to look at him. “It wouldn’t hurt to keep me around for a while?”

“You’re the reason so many people DIED last challenge in the first place!” Price Tag protests.

“Everyone!” Loser instantly gets command of the crowd again with just a shout. “I understand we’re all struggling, but that’s no excuse to be harsh with one another!”

With some grumbling, the crowd fall silent. Fanny and Donut exchange glances, and share a nod. Winner is very curious what they could possibly be talking about, but decides to leave it for now.

One’s Dimension

“Helloooo? Anyone there?” Black Hole calls out. He has lost track of how long he’s been here. He can’t seem to suck anything up, which is nice, but he’s starting to get bored, not to mention worried about what’s happening to his fellow contestants. “Maybe I can…”

It takes all his concentration, but he gets the sense that the strange Algebralien who took him to this place isn’t here right now, or at least not actively watching him. With an echoing yell, he’s able to suck up and annihilate this dimension, returning exactly where he left. Instinctively, he flies up to the Rift, which has thankfully stopped acting up for the moment. His captor must have been responsible for its surge in activity.

As he ponders the implications of this, he hears a faint call from the hotel roof, and swoops over to investigate. It’s Marker and Tree, with a shuddering Grassy in tow.

“Hellooo, Black Hole!” Marker says happily. “We found Grassy in the vents, but things aren’t looking too good… we can’t find Four anywhere, Pencil can’t be recovered, and the sky’s gone all dark and scaryyy! But it’s good to see you!”

“It’s… good to see you too, Marker.” Black Hole says. “Hi, Tree. Grassy.”

Grassy only sniffles in response. It occurs to Black Hole he doesn’t actually know who won the contest- last he checked, Liy, Pencil, Grassy, and himself were all still around. Maybe he should talk to Grassy once the poor kid is feeling a little better.

“We were just debating whether we even should recover Liy.” Tree says. “According to Price Tag and Winner, she went “murdery.”

Black Hole sighs, unsurprised. He’s always suspected Liy has some kind of dark past, and his words must’ve been the last straw for her to unleash it. But regardless, he doesn’t believe it’s right to hold anyone in death-stasis.

“I’ll talk to her. Or at least, I’ll try.” He says, trying to sound more confident than he really feels. “If she gets like that again, we can handle it.”

“Okay then, if you say so, I trust you, Black Hole!” Marker says. The singularity is happy to see his teammate have so much faith in him… but wonders if he really deserves it. “Come on, you should be there when we talk to her! Also, Donut and Fanny want to tell us all something!”

“...Alright then. Tree, you don’t mind if I come with you guys?”

“Why would I mind? You’re our teammate, after all.”

“Yeah, but… ah, never mind.”

Wireless Recovery Center

Liy falls onto her side. When she turns over, she’s immediately surrounded by basically the entire cast. The sky is dark and the air cold.

She’s definitely in trouble right now.

“What was all THAT about?” Price Tag protests. “I mean, killing me I get, even if it was really painful! But the debuters didn’t even have any of Two’s power! Are you just some kind of bloodthirsty maniac?”

“Yeah!” Marker agrees. “I gave you a token of my trust, and you just killed me anyway!”

“It wasn’t like that!” Liy protests, sitting up. “I was just trying to not hold myself back as much!”

“So that means brutally murdering a bunch of people who we now have to recover?” Winner raises an eyebrow at her. “Look, I get it, you did what you thought you had to. But keep playing this aggressively, and you’re bound to lose friends sooner or later.”

Before she can retort, the contestants walk away, grumbling. Only a few even spare her a second glance. Black Hole and Pen stay behind.

“Liy…” Black Hole sounds guilty, not angry, which actually makes her feel worse. “When I said not to hold yourself back, I didn’t mean that. Killing was… encouraged for this challenge, but you went too far. I’m not upset with you, but-”

“But what? I’m only acceptable when I murder just enough for you to be happy with me?” Liy snaps. “Why do you get to decide what I do when we’re not even on the same team anymore? Just get out of here, I don’t know why I even bother!”

There’s a long silence. Liy’s cheeks are hot and she can feel the prickle of tears in her eyes, which she blinks away. She doesn’t want to show how much this hurts her.

“...I should go check on the Rift. Or something.” Black Hole zooms away, even though the rift is back to its regular size and nothing is coming out of it. He just wanted an excuse to get away from her.

“And you!” She turns to Pen. “Get out of here already! I don’t want to hear you lecturing me on how I need to try harder! I’ve tried so hard already! I’ve been nice, nobody cared! I’ve helped my team, and where did it get me? In the bottom two with TV! And when I try being myself for once, everyone hates me! Now I’m probably going to get eliminated, and everything I did was POINTLESS!”

He takes a step back, and Liy realizes he’s afraid. Of her. Obviously, why wouldn’t he be? She’s just proved she’s everything he dislikes- a violent killer, a hypocrite who tells people to control their emotions without being able to manage their own.

“What are you waiting for?” She asks, voice failing her. “Just leave. I knew this was coming. I can’t hide who I am anymore.”

“...I don’t think this is who you are.” Pen mumbles.

“W-what? What do you mean? Did you not hear what I did?”

“No, I don’t mean that. I know what you did, and it was pretty messed up. But I don’t think that was you, Liy. I don’t think you’re some heartless monster. I think you’re just trying your best, like we all are.”

Liy huffs, crossing her arms.

“Well, clearly it wasn’t good enough, was it? I couldn’t even win the challenge, Pencil ambushed me from above like the coward she is. Where is she, anyway?”

Pen’s face falls, and he slumps down against the side of the recovery center. Liy’s anger forgotten, she sits down too.

“I think she’s gone, Liy.” He mutters. “I don’t know what happened… last I saw, she was about to murder me. Now the Center is displaying some weird error nobody’s ever seen before, and…” He rubs his eyes, and the lightswitch realizes with a jolt that he’s trying not to cry too. “I just thought maybe she’d take what I said last episode on board. I guess not.”

Liy, for the first time in a long time, has no idea what to say. What is there to say?

“Pen, you… you tried your best.” She whispers, but it sounds weak even to her. “You did all you could, but you can’t force people to change their ways. I think it’s really thoughtful of you to try and help Pencil, but she has to decide that she wants to be better.”

“And what if it’s too late?” Pen says. “I don’t know what’s going on exactly, but the stars have all disappeared. Four is missing, Two won’t get out of bed, and there’s some weird number running around kidnapping people or something. I’ve always wished I was as strong as Blocky or Snowball, or as cool as Eraser, or even as popular with the viewers as Coiny or Firey. But I’m just not.”

“I didn’t know you were on Just Not.” Liy quips, and Pen actually cracks a smile at the bad joke. “Maybe it is too late, Pen. But you did something most of us can’t- and that’s keep trying, even when it’s hard. It’s so easy just to give up and accept things will always be a certain way. Trust me, I know all about that. The fact you haven’t written Pencil off, I think that means a lot. Even if she doesn’t say it, or she can’t see it. I do.”

“You see me.” Pen says, flatly, like he can’t quite believe it. “Really?”

“Maybe not as much as I should have.” Liy sighs. “I’m sorry, Pen. For letting you down.”

“Don’t say that, Liy. We all make mistakes. What matters is that you don’t let them define you. I’ve already seen Pencil go down that path- I don’t want that to happen to you too.”

He’s… worried about her. He really is. Has anyone ever been worried about her? Nobody on the original Death P.A.C.T. seemed to care when she was eliminated. The EXITors came back when she fell down that ravine, but that was only because they had a common goal. Outside of the competition, does she have a place?

Maybe it’s too late to make things right with Price Tag and Winner. But whatever happens, she feels confident she has someone who will stick by her no matter how far she sinks, who will always be there to help her get up- Pen. And she knows she’d do the same for him.

“Hey, um… can I have your attention, please?” Donut catches her attention, gesturing towards a spot outside the hotel where all the contestants are gathered, using a fallen lantern to provide some much-needed light. “If you both would come along, Fanny and I really need to share something with you.”

Liy looks at Pen, who smiles faintly at her. She smiles back, and rises to her feet, following Donut to the gathering.

Chapter Text

Inanimate Island

Pencil is burning. She thought Two’s power hurt- getting hit by both it and Four’s magic at the same time hurts worse than the time she was stung by a thousand bugs at once during BFDIA. She can see all her past flashing by her. Her perfect 0-vote streak, coming to an end. Her elimination. Losing Bubble, and messing things up with Book and Ice Cube. Failing to win BFDIA. Being first out in BFB. And now, getting a chance to compete again in TPOT, and ruining that too.

One is right. She’s too far gone. What she needs is a total reset, to start from the very beginning.

She screams out in pain, and then… she wakes up.

Pencil is lying on the ground. The grass is bright, healthy green instead of Spongy yellow. That’s a welcome change.

But this place, with its zigzag-covered hills and flat landscape, doesn’t look much like Goiky at all. In fact, she swears she’s seen it somewhere before.

“Hiya!” As she’s getting her bearings, a face appears in the floor.

Pencil blinks. Nope, she’s not hallucinating. A face just appeared in the floor.

“Who the heck are YOU?” She exclaims, trying to blast a laser at the face before she remembers… oh, right.

“Hey now, calm down!” The face says. “I’m the Floor! Now, you must be very confused, but if you come right this way-”

“Fat chance!” She says, trying to stomp on the floor, but they just teleport away with a pop sound. Oh great. “Look, I’m in a pretty bad mood right now, so if you value your life, I’d advise you leave me the hell alone!”

“Oh wow, you’re serious, huh?” The Floor says, looking alarmed. “Well, I do value my life quite a bit actually. And you didn’t quite appear in the usual way… tell me, have you ever heard of Inanimate Insanity? Or MePhone4?”

“I don’t know what those words mean, but if you don’t SHUT UP I’ll make you!” Pencil says, wondering if stuffing dirt into the Floor’s mouth would make them stop talking.

“Hmm.” The face looks contemplative. “One sec, I gotta talk to the higher-ups about this. Back in a flash!”

Pop. Gone again. Well, at least she’s got some quiet now to get her thoughts in order.

Pencil flops down on the grass, groaning in exasperation. She doesn’t know where One sent her, or who MePhone4 is… but maybe this is just what she needs. A fresh start. A place where nobody knows her, and she can try this whole thing again. No baggage from FreeSmart, or Iance, or CloudYAY.

Yes. Yes, that’s it. One kept her promise after all. They’ve given her a chance to do everything over, just not in the way she expected.

The Floor returns- unfortunately, this time with three more objects trailing behind. A greenish robot looking thing, a blue filing cabinet, and a golden trophy.

“This better be important.” The trophy huffs. “Tea Kettle was teaching me kitchen safety before you dragged me away to meet one of the newbies, you know.”

Pencil is getting really tired of being called a newbie.

“Now, Trophy.” The cabinet says, raising a finger in a gesture that makes Pencil think of Golf Ball. That makes her unexpectedly sad. “Let’s remember to be courteous, please. First, introductions. My name is Cabby, this is Bot and Trophy.” The greenish object waves excitedly. “And you are?”

“...Pencil.” She mutters. No point lying when anyone who looks at her can pretty much tell right away. “I don’t know how I got here, or where here even is.”

“Fascinating!” Cabby opens up her bottom drawer and takes out a folder, beginning to scribble in it with a ballpoint pen. “From what the Floor told us, it seems you may not be a MeLife creation at all. We haven’t gotten an outsider here for a good while, but please, by all means, stay as long as you like. May we give you the grand tour?”

“Fine, if you insist.” Pencil rolls her eyes. “This better not take too long.”

“Oh, don’t worry, it shouldn’t.” Cabby assures her. “See, we… haven’t exactly built much in the way of a society yet. B-but, that’s not to say we have nothing of value to offer!”

Pencil groans. She finds the tour extremely boring, but she sits through the stageplay and the hospital and the restaurant and meeting the heads of the O.S.C (the tall orange one is so much like Firey it’s almost intolerable.) All she really wants is a nap and to be alone, and finally, she’s allowed that when they get to HOP. Her room is small, but it’s cozy enough. She lays down and finally gets some rest.

The following morning, Pencil is summoned by the OSC council to decide “what to do with her.” She might be intimidated, if it wasn’t clear how much the three winners don’t know what they’re doing. Frankly, she’s shocked any of them managed to get into the finale of a season, let alone come out on top.

“So Pencil, tell us. Where do you come from, exactly?” OJ says, clasping his hands together. “Every other person who’s come through here has been a leftover creation from MeLife. Except Bot, but they don’t count. We’ve never had an outsider just… spawn in.”

“I don’t want to talk about it, okay?” Pencil says. “Plus, you all obviously need the residents. Tell me, how many of your newbies have actually stayed past orientation?”

“Okay, both of you, let’s simmer down a little bit, alright?” Suitcase says, noticing the way OJ and Pencil are glaring at one another. “OJ, it’s totally reasonable to be suspicious, but we’ve seen no evidence she’s anything but an object looking to grow past her old self. We can all relate to that, can’t we?”

Pencil is struck by the accuracy of that statement. Suitcase is surprisingly perceptive- clearly she’s more than she first appears.

“And Pencil, we appreciate your concern.” Suitcase turns to her. “But we’ve actually had several objects choose to stay here. We’d never want to force anyone to stay if they’re not interested, but we do worry about how they’ll get along in the outside world.”

Pencil stays silent. She’s said enough already.

“Well, I personally think our friend here-” (“friend” is a little generous, Cabby, Pencil thinks,) “-has a right to privacy. And I don’t think we should turn her away unless we have grounds to believe she means us or anyone in our society harm.”

“You can’t deny that thing she said about Meeple was suspicious.” OJ counters. “How do we know she’s not under his thumb?”

“What, when I said they’re not so bad?” Pencil scoffs, pulling out her Meeple-brand cellphone. “Sure, I know their practices are a little shady, but they make quality products. I buy from them because they’re quality, not because I’m some kind of secret agent, is that, like, so hard to believe?”

OJ’s quirked eyebrow clearly tells her yes, actually. Pencil grumbles and pockets her phone.

“I’ve never even met Cobs, I certainly didn’t know he was holding onto a whole island full of artificial objects. And you have to admit it is weird to hold onto his corpse instead of burying it.” Pencil points out.

“He doesn’t deserve the honor of a burial.” Suitcase says, in a tone shockingly similar to Ice Cube’s. “But I agree with Cabby here. I don’t think we can kick Pencil out without real proof that she’s not trustworthy. That just leaves one question, then.”

“What is it?” Pencil yawns, just about dead from boredom.

“Do you… want to go back to wherever it is you came from?”

She freezes. Her heart is pounding. Pencil barely hears Suitcase’s next, frantic words.

“B-because we can make that happen, if you want! Like I said, we don’t want anyone to feel like they have no other options! You always have a choice, and you should never forget that… um, Pencil?”

“No.” Pencil says, her voice trembling. “I’m never going back.”

“Okay!” Cabby breaks the ensuing silence. “That’s perfectly fine! No more need for discussion then! Pencil, you’re free to go.”

She gets out of that room as fast as her legs can carry her.

Sitting on a bench in the lobby of the restaurant, Pencil feels her haze clearing. What is wrong with her? Nobody answers like that to a regular question!

Whatever. She probably already blew it with the OSC anyway. That’s fine. She was off on the wrong foot with OJ immediately, and Suitcase and Cabby definitely did not remind her of Ice Cube and Golf Ball respectively. Not even a little bit.

“Ugh, this place’s wait times are so bad, you’d be better off eating some of the grass outside.” Pencil says, thinking out. To her surprise, a chipper voice from her left responds.

“I know, right? The grass would probably taste better too!” Pencil turns, and sees a bright blue magnet sitting next to her, grinning. “You’re funny. I’m Magnet, by the way. You know, if you couldn’t tell.”

“Well, you could always be called Magnetty, or something.” Pencil says. “I’m Pencil.”

“Nice to meet you.” Magnet says, extending a hand. After a second, Pencil takes it. “You’re the new arrival everyone’s been talking about, right?”

Oh, of course. Gossip. Pencil’s dealt with that before- she can handle jealousy.

“What are they saying?” Pencil asks, preparing herself for the worst. Weirdo. Ugly. The strange girl who won’t tell anyone where she comes from.

“Just that you’re interesting, that’s all.” Magnet shrugs. “Certainly more interesting than most of the people I’ve met. You really don’t know about MePhone4?”

“I know more than I ever wanted to.” Pencil grumbles. “He really made everyone else here? Just to be in his competition show?”

“Everyone else.” Magnet says slowly. Shit, Pencil thinks to herself. She shouldn’t have said that. “So it’s true then, you’re not one of us? That’s…”

Pencil grits her teeth, preparing herself.

“...really cool.”

She blinks.

“Wait, really? You think so?”

“Yeah! I mean, you actually have a personality that wasn’t made for you by MePhone. I’m kind of jealous.” Magnet stares wistfully out the window. “I was made to be the approachable one… the girl anyone could talk to. Attractive. I guess MePhone thought I wasn’t good enough, because I got tossed in the reject bin.”

“I… wow, that’s terrible.” Pencil says. “Getting abandoned for years and having nobody even care? I actually know how that feels.”

“You do?” Magnet turns back to her. “Wow, whatever you went through must’ve been just as bad. Don’t worry, I’m not going to press you about it. It’s none of my business.”

And that was really when it started. Pencil knew then that they were going to be friends. It was Magnet who suggested they get a table together, and Pencil didn’t even think of saying no. It was nice to have someone to talk to, to laugh about how comically bad the food was, to crack jokes with.

Magnet definitely lived up to her purpose of being approachable. But she was also funny, independent, and didn’t let anyone else put her down. She even stood up to Trophy, chewing him out for his awful waiting skills.

After that, they went to the restaurant almost every day. It became a ritual for them. To come and have some fun at the food’s expense, talk whatever gossip was circling the island that day, and leave together. By night, they stayed up chatting about anything under the sun- Meeple products, who the cutest boys on the island were, and what strange gadget Test Tube would think up next.

Pencil had found her new Match- but unlike her, Magnet was no follower. She was a leader, and she took no nonsense from anyone, even the OSC themselves. When OJ tried to get Pencil’s Meeple phone confiscated, Magnet informed them in no uncertain terms that she and Pencil would both leave the island before they ever let that happen, and then stormed out of the hotel.

“You’d really do that for me?” Pencil asked.

“Of course, Pencil.” Magnet said, smiling despite her stony expression. “You’d do the same for me, wouldn’t you?”

She didn’t know when it had happened. Maybe it had always been this way, or maybe it had crept up on her after so much time together, but Pencil knew Magnet was right. There was no one she’d rather be with than her.

And then the latest batch of newbies came to the island, and everything changed overnight.

That in of itself was nothing special. Newbies came and went constantly. But these four… they seemed to be the straw that finally broke the camel’s back.

Fan had been trying to voice his concerns for weeks to anyone who would listen. In some sense, Pencil agreed- this attempt to form society out of nothing but ash had been well-intentioned, but it wasn’t coming together at all. The restaurant fare was completely inedible 90% of the time and not getting better, the hospital and its insufferable leader were inattentive and poorly coordinated, and the OSC themselves didn’t seem entirely sure what they wanted this new world to be.

Pencil had thus far escaped a job being slapped onto her, which was good, because she wasn’t sure what she’d do. Her physical strength was good enough, but not exceptional. She didn’t think she was particularly smart. Were there no opportunities for gorgeous, ultraqualified natural leaders?

When the OSC called a conference, Pencil and Magnet decided they might as well go. And also because it was mandatory.

“That’s only a suggestion anyway.” Magnet joked. “But maybe the OSC will finally tell us something interesting happened.”

“Maybe those aliens we heard about are back! I’d love to give them a piece of my mind!” Pencil said. No, she wasn’t projecting.

The two of them joined hands and walked away from their meal- which was not worth the nonexistent money they had paid for it anyway- over to the remnants of the mansion. The thought of becoming a ghost when you died unnerved Pencil. If she died, she’d probably just go back to Goiky. That is, if anyone even bothered to recover her…

Magnet squeezed her hand gently, the sign they had agreed upon to ask each other if they were okay. Pencil was prone to panic attacks, and Magnet went nonverbal when she was around big groups, so a way to communicate without words was useful.

Pencil squeezed back, smiling at Magnet.

Fan was making some announcement, Pencil didn’t really care. Some people were dissatisfied with the way things had been going? Wasn’t that a surprise.

“So, I have an announcement!” Fan said. “INANIMATE INSANITY… IS BACK!”

Pencil’s heart dropped into her throat. Another competition?

His words were fading out. Her ears were buzzing. Pencil stumbled, almost falling over. Magnet grabbed her, looking concerned, and squeezed her hand.

Pencil shook her head, and Magnet nodded, looking determined. Pencil didn’t remember much after that, but after a while, she could breathe again. They were away from the crowd.

“I’m… I’m sorry.” Pencil muttered.

“Don’t be.” Magnet took her hand. “I get it. You must have some trauma around competitions, huh?”

“Y-yeah. I don’t think… I don’t want anyone to compete.” Pencil said, her fists balling. These games never benefited anybody. They just drove you apart, soured friendships, made you enemies. Pencil had entered BFDI with Match and Bubble by her side, and what had she left with? Nothing. Bubble hated her. Match had blown away after failing to rejoin, and Pencil just couldn’t bring herself to care.

There was silence. Magnet had her thinking face on.

“Pencil, I…” She locked eyes with her. “I want to compete.”

Pencil’s world was crumbling underneath her. She was about to lose another friend to the ever-churning wheel of the game, and there was nothing she could do about it.

She thought about Ice Cube, turned bitter and spiteful by a game that ground her to dust. Book, cursed to fail for a whole season, ending up a shell of herself. Ruby, her childish happiness stripped away until she was nothing but a blind follower.

“Magnet…” Pencil said, hopelessly, reaching out towards her face. “Please don’t. I need you.”

“I never got my chance.” Magnet said, desperately, reaching out towards hers. “This game will be different than the one you went through. I know this’ll be hard, but I’m not leaving you.”

This game will be different. Pencil had thought those exact words to herself when she joined TPOT. And how did that turn out for her?

But it was no use. She could see Magnet’s mind was made up. And the last thing she wanted to do was ruin things with her only real friend on Inanimate Island.

“Okay.” She said. “Magnet, if you want to do this, then do it. But please, don’t let the game become your only joy in life. I… I lost so many friends to a game just like this one.”

“I promise, Pencil.” Magnet said. “If I get too invested… for my own sake, you have my permission to take me out of it.”

Pencil nodded. She took a few deep breaths, like Candle had been teaching her. The world started to come back together.

“And Pencil?”

“Y-yeah, Magnet?”

“If you ever want to tell me what you’ve been through… I’ll be here. I’ll listen.”

And then she walked away. Though she was still there, available to Pencil whenever she needed her, Pencil felt sure then, that she had lost Magnet forever.