Chapter Text
It had been a week since the host's have left, along with their powers and prizes. After the short bickering shifted to an argument, which shifted to a full-blown fight, the contestants could only watch as the hosts finally made an agreement- well, less of an agreement, more of a resolution- and left. Sure, the contestants could wait for their return, but it wasnt exactly a fair play, considering Two's contestants lived safe and snug in the hotel their host had left behind, while, the objects on Four's side were stuck in the wasteland of who-knows where. But, it was fine for the most part. They could play the waiting game. Or, maybe it was their next challenge! "Whoever can sit still without starving to death won". Yeah, that made it all the more fun.
Minutes turned into hours, as hours turned into days, and before they knew it, it had been a week. The only sounds barely- audible were the rustling of quiet leaves and the whistle of dry air. Nobody had ever realised it, but the lack of excitement and silence had taken a toll on some of them.
The "some of them" being food-based objects. Some have begun to rot and decompose, and let me tell you, it wasn't pretty. Pie, Cake, even Lollipop, all of them were being morphed to waste with every passing day. Started with subtle cracks and smudging, with visible rot appearing near the fifth day of the algebraliens hiatus.
Recently, Tennis Ball, our beloved sphere of green fuzz, has been trying to find a cure to the rot. He'd concluded the cure was either freezing, or something a bit more complex. He didn't exactly feel welcome shutting the poor guys in a freezer, he probably wouldn't even be able to build himself, so he'd have to resort to something else
Down in TB's lab, in which he hid from his peers, he paced, back and forth on the smooth floor. It wasn't apparent whether he was thinking or had a bad case of lice, but I digress. The soft glow of the florescent light above his head was the only thing illuminating the dusty room. Sure, he would've taken time out of his day sweeping and cleaning up, but he had better things to worry about. The rot, for example.
Set infront of him was a counter, and a bunch of chemicals. He'd concluded that if he found a way to extract the healing properties out of natural medicines and somehow mixed them into one, he'd find the cure! Only problem was, he didn't have any of the natural medicine he spiralled about in his files.
He kept his pacing steady yet quick, walking in circles as if he had something to find, before pausing. "Ah, this is no use, I can't keep sitting around.." - He thought to himself. He slowly made his way over to the counter, where his yellow files were neatly kept. His eyes scanned over his research, silently praying he didn't have to go out and witness the silent yet deadly mold sprouting on his friends again.
As he quietly read over his files, he heard a quick knock on the metal door of the lab. And Before he could even turn his head, Golf ball had kicked in, an eyebrow already cocked-up as if expecting to see what she saw. To her utter expectance, she watched as Tennis ball's expression shifted from stressed-out to surprise to relief. For a brief moment, he took a breath collected his thoughts, and walked over to GB with an attempted smile.
Before he could start on his ramblings about "Look, GB! I'm so close to finding a cure!" Or "Golfie! Look at all this research!", she shushed him, causing him to stop in his tracks, standing like an utter buffoon.
"..TB, you've been overworking yourself."
She spoke, her blunt statement loud and clear. It was obvious that not sleeping for multiple days was unhealthy, but she felt the need to stamp it in his head, just so he'd finally understand.
Tennis Ball paused for a moment to process her words, before taking a small step back with a nervous smile, biting the inside of his lip.
".....ohhh.. Y'knnoowww..."
He replied, his voice nothing more than a mutter. He knew what he was doing was unhealthy, but he was so far in, he couldn't just.. leave! He avoided her harsh glare, dragging his gaze over to the multiple tubes and beakers on his desk. GB rolled her eyes at his half-assed excuse, before following his gaze to the multiple test tubes. Sure, if anything, it was impressive, but not healthy at all.
"..Come on, Tennis Ball. You know you can't keep spiraling on and on about this cure of yours! Come up, everyone's worried.."
She spoke, tapping her foot impatiently against the floor of the laboratory. Tennis Ball frowned slightly, before taking another small step back, looking back at her with a plead.
"..Please, Golfie! I'm so close to figuring it out, I promise! I'll be out in.. say, two weeks?"
Golf ball didn't react, just shook her head no. She knew that it was TB's one and only dream to be known as head scientist, to be famous for something he did, but this wasn't good for him or the others. She thought for a second.
Either she let him be and let him go down a path that led to nothing. Shed hate to leave him obsessing over the idea of finding the medication, but she knew it was the only thing he was productivly doing right now. But on the other hand, she could drag him up and make him take a break, which was probably the best option.
"You're coming up, no complaints."
Tennis Ball gave a frown, before sighing out of sheer admittance. He watched as GB turned on her heel to leave, approaching the metal door that led to the staircase, before looking back, expecting him to comply.
Well, he finally did, but not without neatly fixing his notes like a child. After he read over them one last time, he finally followed along, walking behind her while trying to match her pace. As much as he'd love to stay down another few days to experiment with the chemicals he spent so long trying to get, he couldn't say no to GB. She had been his friend ever since season one. And, after all, she knew best.
And so, the two stepped up the long flight of stairs, chatting about what to do later on when the others were asleep. Honestly, Golf Ball couldn't do anything when people like Blocky and Snowball were on her back, so night was the best option. Tennis Ball knew he'd rather keep on with his research, even if it led to nothing, but who was he to complain? Golf Ball knew best.