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geometropolis · 1 year ago

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grt3D episode 20 (finale): the endpoint

origin z listened intently to her brother’s plan. “OKAY, Y… BUT WOULD IT WORK?”

“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” origin y asked.

“OCTAGON WAS ONLY ABLE TO REACH INTO THE 3RD DIMENSION BEFORE WHEN MÖBIUS STRIP WAS THERE. SHE HAS SOME DIMENSIONAL POWER NOW, BUT I DON’T KNOW IF SHE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TO DO IT ON HER OWN.”

“SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?”

“WELL, YOU CAN HELP HER.”

“HOW?”

“WELL, WHEN YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS. SHAPES ARE ABLE TO CROSS INTO THE PARADOX WHEN ATTACHED TO ONE OF US, RIGHT?”

“...RIGHT.”

“SO, I’M THINKING, IF OCTAGON COULD DO HER 3D ARM THING WHILE ATTACHED TO YOU SHE’D BE ABLE TO REACH INTO THE 3RD DIMENSION.”

“OKAY… BUT NO, THAT WOULDN’T WORK. FOR ANY SHAPE TO BE ATTACHED TO ME THEIR LINES HAVE TO BE GONE.”

“SO JUST HAVE ONE OF THE OTHER SHAPES USE THE GRAPHER ON HER WHEN SHE’S ATTACHED TO YOU.”

“WOULD THAT REALLY WORK?”

“I THINK SO. BUT THEN, I DON’T KNOW IF OCTAGON WOULD BE ABLE TO REACH FAR ENOUGH WHEN SHE DOES DO IT… THE 2ND AND 3RD DIMENSIONS ARE PRETTY FAR APART.”

“...OH, HUH… WELL, I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT TO DO. WE GOT THIS! SO ANYWAY, UM, I’LL BE HERE. ONCE IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION COME TELL ME, AND OUR PLAN WILL BEGIN. THEN STICK THE CONTESTANTS TO YOURSELF AND FLY TO THE LOGARITHM LABYRINTH LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!”

“THEIR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!”

“YES. OKAY. I’M JUST GONNA UPDATE THE FOLKS ON THIS END AND I’LL BE RIGHT BACK.”

“GOT IT, Y!”

“SEE YOU, Z.”

origin y flashed out of the paradox.

sphere smiled at origin z. “you got this.”

“i hope so… hey, i’ll be right back.”

origin z flashed out of the paradox herself and translated over to the cabin. she wasn’t surprised when she found hexagon sitting outside, wide awake.

“hey, hexagonal prism, you and the others will go home today.”

“what?” hexagon gasped. “really?”

“yes. my brother and i have come up with a plan… and it’ll only work if you, cylinder, and pyramid cooperate. i can’t really explain in detail but i think you’ll know when it’s time.”

“okay. got it. i’ll be sure to tell the others.”

“okey dokey!!! now i gotta go, before möbius strip sees me.”

“thank you so much, origin z!”

origin z giggled as she flew off.

hexagon held octagon’s pacifier in her hand and squeezed it. everything will be alright soon enough, she thought. just you wait…

…

“COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!” möbius yelled. “IT’S ELIMINATION TIME! DOO-DOO!!!!”

cylinder groaned. she was too tired for this nonsense. she dragged pyramid out of bed and together with hexagon (who had still been outside when they found her) went over to möbius strip.

origin z heard möbius’s voice and flashed into the paradox.

“OKAY, PLEBS. IF YOU KNOW ME AT ALL, YOU KNOW WHO I’M ELIMINATING RIGHT NOW.”

“we actually, um, don’t know anything about you,” cylinder stated. “who are you, anyway? what are you?”

“THAT’S FOR ME TO KNOW AND FOR YOU TO FIND OUT.”

“...okay then.”

“ANYWHO… IT’S HEXAGON. WE ALL KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE HEXAGON. SPARKLE?”

origin z had flashed back. she was glowing. “yes?”

“TAKE HER AWAY!”

origin z began to buzz; not only hexagon, but also pyramid and cylinder were drawn towards her.

“WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”

“hey, origin z,” hexagon piped up, “take the others. but leave me here. i’ll catch up to you.”

“...are you sure?” origin z asked.

“yes. now go!”

origin z stopped buzzing. with pyramid and cylinder attached, she began to soar over to the logarithm labyrinth.

möbius strip was seething. “WHAT THE HELL?” he was about to fly off when hexagon grabbed him.

“don’t think i’m done with you, möbius!” she yelled.

“LET GO OF ME, YOU WRETCH!”

“no way! i’m pissed off at you! you cling so strongly to the idea that everyone’s a monster that you’ve let yourself become one! you’re an idiot! you’re a hypocrite! my primes, what is wrong with you?”

“NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. STOP TRYING TO BE A HERO. HEXAGON. I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES, YOU JUST WANT TO SPITE ME. YOU JUST WANT SOME SELFISH, SELFISH CATHARSIS.”

“so what if i do?” hexagon cried. “i don’t care if you think i’m horrible! because we are the same! you’re not a god and neither am i! so shut up and stop acting like one!”

“but what if i am a god?” he whispered. “how would you know?”

meanwhile, origin z had arrived outside of the tunnel.

“okay,” she murmured to pyramid and cylinder. “good luck.”

the two nodded, smiled and began to crawl through the tunnel.

back in the 2nd dimension, origin y had attracted all of the shapes but oval to himself now that his sister had given him the signal.

“are you ready?” origin y asked.

oval gave him a thumbs up and blasted the shapes with the grapher. their limbs reappeared.

“okay, everyone. slowly and carefully stand up. hold hands and make a line… octagon should be at the end.”

trapezoid and pentagon squeezed each other’s hands. pentagon was holding octagon’s.

“are you okay?” she asked.

octagon’s face was clouded with fear. “i don’t know.”

“you can do this!”

“yeah!” trapezoid agreed.

octagon smiled slightly.

“now,” origin y continued in his gentle voice, “i’m going to flash just a little bit. i’m not gonna flash strong enough to go to the paradox, but just to give octagon more dimensional power. okay?”

octagon nodded.

origin began to glow a bright light.

“okay, octagon. reach your arm out. we can do this.”

octagon extended her free arm. slowly it began to rise out of the 2nd dimension, carrying her with it.

as she rose into that strange limbo she held tighter onto pentagon’s hand.

pyramid and cylinder had made their way into the cave, noticing the floating möbius strip in the center: their home, the 2nd dimension.

suddenly a fuschia hand reached out from the möbius strip, coming through it somehow, without a body visible on the other side.

“grab on!” octagon’s voice rang out. pyramid and cylinder did so. “NOW!” octagon yelled; origin y stopped transferring dimensional power to her, and they were all dragged back to the 2nd dimension.

origin y let go of all the shapes and they collapsed on the ground.

“home,” pyramid murmured. “home! i’m finally home!!” they hugged cylinder and the two wept.

“wait…” heart said, “w-where’s hexagon?”

octagon’s eyes widened.

“she told origin z to go without her, and that she’d catch up,” cylinder answered, wiping her eyes.

“...so we have to do it again,” square said.

“can you do it, origin?” kite asked. “octagon?”

“yes, we can,” origin y said. “but i’ll ask my sister what’s going on… i’ll be back in a sec…” with that he flashed away to the paradox.

at the same time, hexagon shoved möbius strip aside and began to run for the logarithm labyrinth.

she was speeding along as quick as she could, but möbius strip soon overtook her.

“hexagonal prism!” origin z called.

hexagon turned around.

origin z attracted the little polyhedron to herself, and together they flew to the tunnel entrance.

unfortunately, möbius got there first. he began to hit his body against the mouth of the cave tunnel, causing rocks to fall and block up the entrance.

“NO!” hexagon cried.

“don’t worry, pal!” origin z exclaimed. “you can take the long way around… and möbius strip won’t be able to stop you.”

she flew over to the base of the mountain, where there was an opening.

origin z released her and quickly returned her limbs. “okay. you’ll find your way there eventually… good luck! and thank you!!”

“thank you, origin z… i’ll miss you.”

origin z glowed. “i’ll miss you too. now get going!!!!”

hexagon began to traverse the network of caves and tunnels within the mountain. i wish octagon were here with me, she thought. we got through the labyrinth in the 2nd dimension so quickly together!

to play it safe, hexagon kept her right hand on the wall. it would take a while for her to find the tunnel to the 2nd dimension, but she would find it eventually.

möbius strip watched hexagon enter the mountain… so, like before, he bumped against the mouth of the cave so it was blocked off with rocks and stones. hexagon heard a distant rumble.

she was trapped in the labyrinth.

a sudden feeling of panic surged in her body, causing her to let go of the wall and frantically go from tunnel to tunnel.

meanwhile, origin y had just returned from the paradox.

“okay, guys, so hexagon has to traverse the 3D version of the logarithm labyrinth to get to us, so it might take a bit longer for her to get here,” he explained.

“wait, why?” pyramid asked.

“möbius strip blocked up the main entrance.”

“oh… the only other ways in are the skylight and the other tunnel, but both are way too small…”

“so how will she get back?” trapezoid fretted.

“well, we all got dragged back here once origin stopped flashing, right? because the dimensions were correcting themselves?” droplet asked.

cylinder nodded.

“then i might have an idea… pyramid, cylinder, could you possibly join our hand-holding chain? we’ll need to reach even farther…”

hexagon was running around erratically, desperately, not knowing what to do.

the 2D team repeated their plan, this time, with a longer shape chain, letting octagon fully emerge into the 3rd dimension. of course, she was still holding pentagon’s hand.

“HEXAGON?” she screamed. “HEXAGON!!!”

hexagon stopped in her tracks.

“FOLLOW MY VOICE, HEXAGON! WE’RE HERE TO GET YOU!”

“NO YOU’RE NOT,” an all too familiar voice growled.

“möbius?” octagon asked in surprise, glancing around. “geez, where is that voice coming from?”

möbius strip ignored her question. “WHY RESCUE HER?” he could not enter the cave, but his voice could; it echoed around octagon. “HEXAGON LEFT YOU IN YOUR TIME OF NEED. WHY SHOULD YOU TREAT HER ANY DIFFERENTLY?”

octagon ground her foot into the rocky floor in anger.

“WHY NOT MAKE HER FEEL THE SAME PAIN YOU DID?”

“BECAUSE I LOVE HER, YOU IDIOT!” octagon cried.

hexagon ran towards the sound of her voice, tears streaming down her cheeks. she found a deep hole in the wall; when she peered through, she could see octagon’s eyes, shining with tears and defiance.

“OCTAGON!” hexagon gasped.

“HEXAGON?”

octagon looked through from the other side.

“YOU’RE MAKING A GRAVE MISTAKE, OCTAGON,” möbius chided.

octagon stuck her hand through the tunnel. “IT’S THE BEST MISTAKE I’LL EVER MAKE! GRAB ON, HEXAGON!”

hexagon reached her arm into the tunnel, trying to feel for octagon’s hand. “I CAN’T REACH!” she cried.

“I HOPE YOU ALL DIE IN YOUR HELLHOLE,” möbius strip snarled.

“I HOPE SO TOO, MÖBIUS!” octagon screamed. “I HOPE SO TOO!”

she pushed herself against the cave wall, stretching her hand out as far as she could. she felt a hand in the darkness. she grabbed it and held tight.

“NOW, ORIGIN! NOW!!!!!!”

origin y ceased his flashing, and the shapes’ supply of dimensional power was cut off. they all were pulled back to the 2nd dimension, hexagon phasing through the cave wall as her body entered limbo. she passed out.

meanwhile, möbius strip was now alone beside the mountain… well, not as alone as he would like.

“hello, sir!” origin z greeted.

“get away from me.”

“NO THANKS!!!!” and she began to buzz.

“WHAT? NO! STOP!!!”

but there was nothing he could do. möbius strip was dragged closer and closer towards his co-host.

“oh yeah,” she said, “don’t be surprised when you don’t see sphere in the paradox. i already let him go.”

with that, she flashed into the paradox.

…

“so we c-can finally go home,” heart sighed in relief.

“indeed we can,” cylinder – rectangle? – said.

“then let’s go!” pyramid – triangle? – exclaimed.

“wait, guys!” origin y yelped.

“what is it now, big guy?” parallelogram asked.

“it’s just… look, i know we’ll all see each other again. but this is still a goodbye, right?”

pentagon and trapezoid exchanged glances.

“so we should… we should say goodbye.”

“especially because…” square bit his lip. “we’re moving. all four of us group twoers. we’re moving out of geometropolis.”

droplet gasped. “no! square!”

“don’t worry!” circle patted her on the head. “we’ll keep in touch!”

“we may find someplace better than here,” square continued. “we may not. either way, we’re gonna explore this dimension a bit more…”

star fell onto him and wailed. “noooo!!!! i’ll miss you so much, bro!”

square chuckled. “oh yeah? well i’ll miss you more!!!”

the shapes gave their farewells, all of them temporary. they would see each other again.

helvetica had been sitting around hexagon, who had still been knocked out. all of the commotion caused her to wake up.

she rubbed her eyes. “where… where am i?”

pentagon grinned at her, helping her up. “you’re home!”

hexagon looked around. “hey, where did octagon go?”

after a few moments, octagon reappeared, holding hexagon’s ukulele.

“you…” she began, “you left this.” she held out the instrument.

hexagon’s eyes glimmered. she held out octagon’s pacifier. “and you left this. trade?”

“yes, please.”

the best friends exchanged objects.

“hey…” hexagon murmured. “just for the record… i’m sorry. i had my reasons for doing what i did, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”

octagon averted her eyes. “yeah. it did hurt, and it still does… hexagon, i’m still upset at you. but thank you for the apology. i shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions… you’re one of my best friends forever, and i’m sorry i forgot that.”

“it’s okay, sweet girl.” hexagon extended her arms for a hug.

octagon simply took one of her hands and shook it, smiling softly. “we’re not there yet, cookie thief. but we will be.”

origin y watched in silence as the shapes slowly but surely left the field. it was the 20th day. just as long as the contract asked for.

“hey, origin,” a voice called.

origin y turned to see circle smiling up at him.

“thank you for everything,” circle said. and he kissed him.

circle then ran off to join his friends. “bye everyone!! love you all so much!!!!”

origin glowed. he flashed away to the paradox.

there was love etched into the fabric of the universe. there were emotions plotted onto its graph. it was held together through brunnian links.

geometropolis was not blank now.

it was full of color.

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

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grt3D episode 16: shape escape!

the dark of night swept over hexagon’s eyes, but she was not asleep. she was standing in the middle of the field alone.

she’s gone, she thought. she’s really gone.

suddenly, hexagon noticed something sitting on the ground. as she approached, she realized it was octagon’s pacifier. her breath caught, and she squeezed her eyes shut.

you aren’t a monster, hexagon, she thought to herself. it’s just a competition. you had a reason to clinch the win for yourself. after all, do you really think möbius strip would have let you tie? no. you’re not a monster. you’re not a monster. you’re not a monster.

“but what if i am?” she asked aloud. she picked up the pacifier and held it gingerly, as if guilt poured out of it into her shaky hands.

“what if you’re what?” a voice asked.

hexagon turned around sharply to see star standing behind her.

“are you okay?” he asked.

“...huh? oh? i’m fine.”

“do you wanna come back to our cabin? it must be lonely sleeping all by yourself.”

hexagon looked away again. “no, it’s fine. i’m fine.”

“what are you doing out here so late?”

“i could ask you the same thing.”

“well… i first went to your cabin to check on you, but you weren’t there, so… i found you here!”

“hm.”

“now answer my question, dude! why are you out here? and how do you feel about the final?”

“...i was just taking a walk. clearing my head. and i dunno… it’s the final, i guess?”

“me personally?” star grinned. “i’m pumped! this is gonna be a lot of fun. i wonder what the challenge is gonna be! darn… hey, are you sure you’re good? i think you should get some sleep. tomorrow’s gonna be a big day!”

hexagon furrowed her brow.

“and hey, you can join square and i in our swag cabin if you’d like…!”

“...why are you talking to me?”

star blinked. “huh?”

“why are you asking me if i’m okay, or if i want to go to bed…? why do you care about what i’m doing?”

“...because you’re my opponent!”

“but you should be sleeping yourself! you should be making sure you’re okay! in any event, it’s better for you if i’m not!”

“you know i wouldn’t like that… it should be a fair fight! and either way, you’ve been so nice to all of us for the entire show, so you deserve the same.”

hexagon shook her head. “what’s the point of being nice to me? we’re supposed to be enemies.”

star smiled. “i think you know the point of being nice, bromeister. aaaaanyway… i dunno what you’re up to, but i’m gonna go to bed. feel free to come with… either way, good night and good luck! i’m sure you’ll do great tomorrow!”

he turned and began to leave.

“...wait,” hexagon blurted.

star turned, still smiling. “changed your mind?”

hexagon squeezed the pacifier tight in her hand. “...i’ll come with you. i need the sleep.”

…

“ARE YOU DONE YET?” möbius strip asked.

origin turned around. “just finished!” he had been generating the materials for the final challenge: three large rooms, each bedecked with a strange variety of items.

“THANK THE PRIMES. OKEY DOKE!!! GET THOSE GUYS OVER HERE.”

“sure, sir… hey, am i allowed to let the eliminated contestants out of the paradox so they can watch in person?”

“NO… THEY MIGHT INTERFERE.”

origin sighed. “okay… i’ll go get square, hexagon, and star…”

he first translated over to helvetica’s old cabin, expecting to find hexagon inside. he manifested a hand and knocked on the door.

“hello?” he called. but there was no response. upon opening the door, he found the cabin empty.

confused, he went over to square and star’s cabin and knocked on the door. when he opened it, he found hexagon asleep with the others. he was glad to see them all being chummy enough with one another to sleep in the same room despite being opponents.

“wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!” origin sang, rousing the contestants.

“morning already?” square asked groggily, eyes half-lidded.

star yawned.

“indeed it is,” origin said gently. “rise and shine, everyone! the final challenge will start soon.”

hexagon opened her eyes suddenly, without any languidness, as if she hadn’t been asleep in the first place. she briskly got out of bed and followed origin outside, octagon’s pacifier in hand.

after a couple of minutes the three little polygons had arrived in the field, where möbius strip was waiting.

hexagon eyed the strange structures before her. “what are these?”

“THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE,” möbius strip answered. “AN ESCAPE ROOM!”

star and square exchanged glances.

“THERE ARE THREE IDENTICAL ROOMS BEFORE YOU, COURTESY OF TWINKLE. EACH OF YOU WILL BE LOCKED IN ONE OF THESE ROOMS, WHICH CONTAIN CLUES ON HOW TO ESCAPE. THE FIRST ONE OUT WINS THE RACE TO THE THIRD DIMENSION!”

hexagon balled her fist around the pacifier. this is it, she thought. you better make it count. you better make it all worth it…

“you all ready?” origin asked the contestants.

“YOU BETTER BE!” möbius interjected. “TWINKY, LET THEM INSIDE!!!!”

apparently, the doors to the escape rooms could be easily opened from the outside but not the inside; origin manifested three hands, which he used to open all three doors at once, letting all three contestants into their rooms. he promptly shut the doors after them, locking them inside.

“I SHOULD MENTION HOW THE WALLS ARE SOUNDPROOF, SO YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HEAR EACH OTHER… OF COURSE, I’M LOUD ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN STILL HEAR ME, XD. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

all three got to work.

star looked around. the items furnishing the room were odd: a radio; a tv; a remote; two chairs stacked one on the other by the wall; a rock; an empty picture frame. at first he just stood there gazing at his surroundings, but then he shook himself.

you gotta get going! he thought to himself.

square approached the empty picture frame first. on the bottom it had an inscription saying “104.3”.

“oh, that’s the classic rock station on the radio,” he realized. he smiled, thinking of droplet. “i bet star won’t know that, haha… anyway, what does it mean?”

then he glanced over and noticed the rock.

hexagon turned on the tv: the weather channel was on.

“another lukewarm day in geometropolis!” the shape on tv announced. “mid 60s, no precipitation, low winds. just another lazy summer day…”

hexagon noticed a little card sitting by the tv: it was one of those tv channel menus you find at hotels. weirdly enough, instead of just listing the channels, the menu had times written down, and the word “up” below all of them. next to channel 4 was “2:30”; next to channel 5 was “11:00”; next to channel 6 was “4:45”. hexagon squinted and glanced over at the radio, which said it was 10:37.

“am i really meant to wait half an hour to watch something on channel 5?” she asked herself, before picking up the tv remote. “maybe not…”

star was tossing the rock between his hands as he went about the room; he then set it down to more properly assess the chairs. they were stacked in the corner, so star removed the top one and set it down beside the other.

“can’t help but wonder what kinda clues would be on a chair,” he muttered. “i guess i can sit down on one? that’s something.”

he proceeded to sit down. and he proceeded to think. i don’t really know what i’m doing, do i? i’ve never been the type for this sort of challenge… i bet rhombus or droplet would be great at this. they’re both really observant. and so is heart. huh…

he grabbed the rock again and stood up, wandering around more. star then spotted the inscription on the picture frame.

“what on earth is ‘104.3’ supposed to mean? maybe if i turn it over…” star recalled how, in school, heart used to type out 0.7734 and turn it upside down to say ‘hello’. “e-h-o-i? ehoi??”

star bit his lip. “guess i’ll just try sticking this number anywhere i can to see if it’ll do anything…” and so he made his way to the tv.

hexagon pressed the ‘guide’ button on the remote and flipped to channel 4; she then scrolled to see what was gonna be on at 2:30. “square roots and you.” she flipped to channel 5, and scrolled to 11:00. “integer interviews with cardioid.” finally, she flipped to channel 6, and scrolled to 4:45. “tessellation: will you ever find that special someone?”

she smiled at the last one. “hexagons can tessellate with a bunch of shapes… but anyway. square roots and you, integer interviews with cardioid, tessellation…” she put her hands on her hips. “what do i make of that?”

hexagon paused. “s, i, t… ah! sit!”

she put the pacifier in her mouth (to free up her hands), grabbed one of the chairs, set it down, and sat on it.

“...what now?”

square turned on the radio and flipped to 104.3; they were playing golden slumbers by the binomials.

“mm,” he murmured. “love this one… but what does the rock have to do with it?”

he bent down and picked up the rock. like almost all rocks, it was angular and gray. square gently tapped the radio with it, and nothing happened.

“rock… and roll? maybe i roll it?” square sent the rock rolling on the floor, but, angular as it was, it didn’t go very far. “darn. hm… i’ll come back to you later, rock.”

square put the rock down beside the radio, and made his way to the tv. he turned it on; it was on the city drive live channel.

“y’know, why do they call it city drive live?” he asked rhetorically. “geometropolis is barely a city, if it even is one.”

he began flipping through the channels, but ended up returning to city drive live. perhaps there was a clue in the channel the tv was set to at the beginning?

square decided to sit down as he watched. he clambered up the stack of chairs and sat on the top one. as he did so, one of his corners grazed the wall. he looked just north of him to see a tiny dent in that part of the wall.

“oops, did i make that?” square felt it with his hand, but realized it wasn’t the right shape to be made by one of his angles. he then heard a soft click as his hand brushed past it, but nothing happened. “is this… the keyhole?”

star had tested out 104.3 on the tv and the clock, but he soon realized that such a number wouldn’t do anything on those devices. he made his way over to the radio and turned it on, tossing the rock in one hand. he saw that the station had a decimal number.

“nice!!!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. but… which fist?

the rock went flying out of his hand and landed right on top of the radio, crushing it to bits!

“aaah!” star cried. “nooooo!!!” he frowned – he just destroyed what was likely an important clue! he wasn’t even able to get to the right station yet!

he put the rock aside and tried to put the radio fragments back together. then he noticed a gleaming gray piece he hadn’t seen before – a strangely shaped piece of metal.

“the key!!!!!!!!!!!!”

hexagon got up from her chair and picked up the channel menu again. “s… i… t… up? sit up? but i was sitting up…”

she glanced back at the chair she had been sitting in, which was in front of the chair it had been on top of.

her eyes brightened. “i guess i wasn’t sitting as ‘up’ as i could’ve been!” she put the chair back over the other, which she then sat on again. now her top edge was right up against the north wall, where she felt a little notch and heard a little click.

“ah! so there’s the keyhole! hm, now where’s the key… i suppose i haven’t looked at the picture frame yet, have i…”

she got down from her perch and approached the empty picture frame. “104.3,” she said to herself. “sounds like a radio station! i’ll try that out…” and from there she approached the radio.

square was pacing around the room. “key, key, key… where in primes’ name is that key…”

suddenly he tripped over the rock. “i hate rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he cried. he then picked himself up again and chuckled. “funny that i like rock music, then…”

he turned and glared at the radio, which was still playing the binomials. now they were on let it be.

“are they doing twofers? nice.”

square proceeded to go around the room and sort through every item, to see if he could find any trace of the key.

“nothing behind the picture frame… nothing behind the clock… nothing behind the chairs… nothing behind the tv…” he picked up the radio. “nothing behind the radio either… ugh!”

hexagon turned the radio to 104.3 and listened closely. “the binomials… this must be a rock station. or maybe it’s specifically for 70s songs? i guess i should listen for the next song to make sure.”

lucky for her, the song was just ending. then arithmetic idiot by green day came on.

“okay, this is definitely not a 70s station! it must be a rock station after all. maybe that explains…?”

hexagon picked up the rock by her feet.

star, meanwhile, was still overjoyed from his happy little accident. he went over to the door, expecting to find the keyhole there. however, there was none. he scratched his head and turned around.

“oh, keyhole!!! come out, come out, wherever you are!!!!!!”

he noticed a teeny-tiny dent in the wall behind the tv.

“gotcha!” star shoved the key inside, but nothing happened. the dent was too small for the key. “i guess this isn’t it…”

he began to stick the key into any little nook and cranny he could find… and still nothing worked.

square was annoyed. square was frustrated. at this point, he didn’t care if he didn’t win; he just wanted to get out of that stupid room! he picked up the rock and threw it at the door. the rock bounced off and flew past his face.

“haha! you didn’t get me this time, rock!”

crash! then it hit the radio.

“...oh.”

square groaned and sat down, defeated.

hexagon steadied the rock in one hand. “well, there’s rock on the radio… so i’ll put a rock on the radio!” with that she threw it down onto the radio, which burst into pieces. a glimmer of light reflected off of one of these pieces, catching hexagon’s eye. she then grabbed it in her hand. it was the key!

“yes!” she exclaimed, scaling the chairs once again. she stuck the key in the dent in the wall, and it fit all the way inside.

click!

hexagon ran to the door, which was now unlocked. she slammed it open and ran outside. there was no sign of square or star. she took the pacifier out of her mouth.

“yes!” hexagon cried. “yes, i did it! i won, i really won!!!!!!”

“congrats, hexagon!” origin cheered, clapping with manifested hands.

“you really did win,” möbius strip said, translating near her. “...what did i say would happen?”

her eyes widened.

meanwhile, star was fiddling with the key near the chairs.

“this teeny-weeny hole won’t work… ah, how about that one?” he clumsily shoved the key into a dent in the wall.

click!

“wait… was that it?”

star turned around and approached the door. and wouldn’t you know it, the darned thing was unlocked!

“huh!”

he left his room and saw hexagon standing outside her own. she had… a mortified expression?

“i guess i didn’t win, did i?” star said to himself, smiling slightly.

“you got second place, though!” origin said. “that’s wonderful!”

star noticed that the big shape had his camera lens on. “hey, can the eliminated contestants see me right now?”

“they sure can!”

star beamed. “hi guys!!! hi heptagon, and parallelogram, and oval, and rhombus, and droplet, and… and heart.” his face fell slightly, but only for a moment. “i’m a winner.”

“no you’re not!” a voice behind him cried. “hexagon’s right there!”

star turned around. it was square, who finally made it out. star grabbed him and gave him a hug. “this guy’s a winner too, guys! we’re all winners!!!”

square chuckled and pushed him away. “you’re an idiot.”

“at least i solved that escape room before you did!”

“then we’re both idiots.” and then square hugged him back.

“winners? idiots? we have so many titles, it’s insane.”

origin glowed, happy to broadcast this to the paradox.

“HEY TWINKLE!” möbius called. “STOP FOCUSING ON THE LOSERS. GET A LOAD OF THE WINNER!!!!!!”

origin begrudgingly did as his boss said. square then looked over and noticed hexagon’s expression.

“i think…” he mumbled, “i think something’s wrong.”

star and square followed origin.

“AND SO WE CONCLUDE OUR STORY,” möbius began once origin arrived, speaking mainly to the eliminated contestants. “AS A WISE MAN ONCE SAID… FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS. DON’T CRY ABOUT LOSING. CRY ABOUT BEING DUMB ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY TO BEAT YOU. CRY ABOUT BEING GULLIBLE ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY TO TRICK YOU. CRY ABOUT BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO BELIEVE FRIENDSHIP IS REAL. ONLY THE REAL GENIUSES, LIKE HEXAGON HERE, CAN TRULY WIN A COMPETITION. ISN’T THAT RIGHT, HEXAGON?”

hexagon was shaking. she said nothing.

“YES. SHE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO WIN. THAT’S HOW LIFE WORKS. LOL! SUCKS TO SUCK, LOSERS!!! IN A FEW DAYS YOU’LL GO BACK TO YOUR REGULAR LIVES, YOUR PATHETIC LIVES. MAYBE ONE DAY A CHANCE LIKE THIS WILL COME AGAIN. WOULD YOU DESTROY EACH OTHER OVER IT? DESTROY YOURSELVES? HISTORY DOESN’T LIE. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AND YOU KNOW IT, YET YOU KILL TO HEAR THE OPPOSITE TOLD TO YOU. YOU SCUM. YOU WRETCHED, PRIME-FORSAKEN SCUM. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LIE WHILE IT LASTED. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW.”

square and star stepped closer.

“möbius strip?” square gasped. “the hell?”

“SAY GOODBYE TO THIS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL WORLD, HEXAGON! THAT’S ALL, FOLKS!!!”

hexagon stared at origin as möbius descended upon her, clutching the pacifier she held. “octagon, i–”

“do it, twinkle,” möbius growled, interrupting her.

origin cut him open with a pair of scissors.

FLASH! möbius strip opened into a strip… a 3D strip.

möbius and hexagon disappeared.

the race for the 3rd dimension was over.

hexagon had won.

…

“what do you think she was about to say to you?”

“i don’t know. i don’t care. she’s gone anyway. it’s all over.”

“hey, guys?” origin piped up. “i’m gonna let you all out of the paradox. but the contract says you have to stick around on the show grounds for a few more days.”

“how many?” heptagon asked.

“four, i think? …okay everyone, get ready…” then origin began to buzz, and the eliminated contestants stuck to his edge. they all flashed out of the paradox.

star and square were still standing outside the escape rooms, stunned. the two had been accompanied by origin until he suddenly disappeared for the paradox.

square heard a buzzing noise, and turned around to see origin again – with everyone else! star followed his gaze.

“hi, winners,” origin greeted. “sorry for leaving you here before, i just had to make sure these guys were okay after… all that.”

“just for the record,” parallelogram spoke up, “we’re not.”

“anyway, star, could you go get the grapher for me?”

star glanced at square, who nodded and ran back to their cabin. he soon returned with the remote.

“bombs away, origin,” he said.

origin released all of the shapes, and square blasted them all with a beam of light. as each got hit, their limbs returned.

“so that’s where it’s been!” rhombus exclaimed.

square then dropped the grapher and immediately ran into rectangle, circle, and triangle for a hug.

star, meanwhile, stood still. he was soon knocked over by droplet, heptagon, and parallelogram.

“buddy!” parallelogram chuckled. “look at you, mister 2nd place! that’s awesome!”

droplet grinned and glanced over at square. “you two are amazing!!!!”

star smiled and laughed.

heart was watching from afar. he took a deep breath and approached him.

“long time no see,” star said before heart could even open his mouth.

“hi,” heart replied.

“...i’m sorry for being a bad friend. i hope i’ve become a better person in the meantime.”

“i hope s-so too.”

star smiled. “i’ve learned a lot since i turned pink.”

“and i’ve learned a lot since i made you that way… hey, why don’t we start over?”

“yeah?”

“okay, so… hi! um, my name is h-heart.”

“hello, heart, nice to meet you! say, what do you like to do in your free time?”

“i like to sing and play video games. how about you?” suddenly heart’s face fell. “...i’m just now realizing that i’ve never a-actually known your hobbies. oh my primes…”

star grinned. “i don’t know what i like to do in my free time, actually. i’m finding out!”

“i guess you’re a new person to the both of us.”

“indeed i am!”

“i’ll see you around…! hey, i n-never caught your name, new f-friend!”

“it’s star.”

“star. i like it!”

“i like it too. wow, who knew we had so much in common.”

heart chuckled, beaming.

“square!!!” droplet exclaimed, running over to him. “you did so well!!!!”

square made room for her beside his other friends. “thanks! hey, wait a minute… droplet, are you thinking what i’m thinking?” he eyed star.

droplet giggled. “of course i am!”

square whispered what he had in mind to triangle, rectangle, and circle. the five of them crowded around star.

“you’re insecure, don’t know what for,” they began to sing. “you’re turning heads when you walk through the door~! don’t need makeup to cover up, being the way that you are is enough~!”

star groaned.

“everyone else in the world can see it,” they continued, kite and oval joining in, “everyone else but you~!”

“will you never let me live that down?”

“BABY YOU LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBODY ELSE!” group two, yim yum, and the cool kids (minus star) all belted. “THE WAY THAT YOU FLIP YOUR HAIR GETS ME OVERWHELMED! BUT WHEN YOU SMILE AT THE GROUND IT AIN’T HARD TO TELL… YOU DON’T KNOW, OH-OH! YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!!!!”

they all collapsed in a fit of laughter, star included.

origin glowed as he watched them mingle and chat as the daylight faded. some of these contestants had a record of being bitter and frustrated with the challenge – which should reasonably have been heightened given those horrible things möbius strip had said! – but instead of whining and wailing they were happy. they were together, so they were happy.

“borromean rings indeed,” he said to himself.

however, not everyone was happy. the remains of helvetica were standing off to the side, not talking to their fellow contestants.

octagon’s face, as expected, was lined with anger, loneliness, and despair. seeing this, trapezoid tried to console her.

“want to take one of our nightly walks again?” he asked.

her face suddenly softened. “yes. please.”

pentagon took her by the hand. “then let’s go!”

heptagon approached origin as the three left for the forest. “um… is it possible for me to go home now?”

origin looked at him intently. “y’know what? i want to keep you guys around, just in case something happens in the next few days allotted in the contract. however… möbius isn’t around, so i’ll make an exception for you.”

heptagon’s face brightened. “you’ll take me back?”

“...i think it’d be best if you went by yourself. how about you go say goodbye?”

heptagon’s face suddenly clouded. “oh…” he inhaled sharply and went over to the other contestants.

“borromean rings…” origin murmured. “borromean rings.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 7: mathematicakes

“you really should be asleep, y’know,” star murmured.

“i know,” droplet replied. “i can’t sleep though.”

the two shapes were sitting just outside their cabin. the night was dark and a gentle breeze was blowing. the faint rustle of leaves could be heard through the otherwise still silence.

“hm…” star blinked his half-lidded eyes. “hey, i never told you about what happened with me and heart, did i?”

droplet didn’t reply, just looked at him.

“you deserve to know, you know.”

“really? i haven’t done anything to help this team…”

star scoffed. “that is soooo not true. but even if it were, that doesn’t change the fact that you’re a part of it.”

“...thanks.”

“right…” star took a deep breath. “y’know, i’m still shocked about it myself. i should’ve seen this whole thing coming, but i didn’t. even if heart would tell me about whatever he was worried about, he never called me out for not listening… but i guess i should’ve seen that myself.”

“so he finally got mad?”

“yeah… i mean, he had every right to be mad. now that i’m thinking about it, i’ve always done this. i’ve always told him to stop worrying and just, y’know, relax with me. that’s why i wanted us to sign up for this show, so we can just have fun together like we used to.”

droplet smiled. “well, you just want him to smile and be happy!”

“well yeah! i love the guy… but y’know, i can’t just turn his frown upside down without knowing why he’s frowning, right?”

“right…”

“i hope he’s doing okay in the paradox. he was so afraid of what it’d be like there.”

“another one of us is going there this morning,” droplet said slowly. “thanks to me…”

“droplet…”

“thanks for talking to me.” she stood up. “i need to go to bed now.”

with that, droplet went inside and went to bed. rhombus was sitting on their own bed, messing with their weird remote like usual. as droplet passed, they didn’t look up.

…

“HELLOOOOOOO MORTALS!!!!” möbius strip called. “WE’RE BACK TO EARLY RISING!!!!!!!”

the shapes dragged themselves in their fatigued stupor to the usual spot in the field; just like the morning before, origin was actually present.

“time for the elimination?” star asked.

“YUP. THE COOL KIDS WILL BE MUCH COOLER TODAY… AS THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS THE NERD!! HA!!!”

“you mean rhombus, right, sir?” origin asked.

“DUHOY.”

rhombus didn’t even bother to look at droplet; they just glared at star. “you know what?” they started. “i don’t blame droplet for this. i blame you, star, for trusting her and her stupid idea. that ruined it for me.”

star furrowed his brow. “i admit, i’ve done my fair share of damage. but if being genuinely nice to people for the first time in my life is wrong? i don’t want to be right.”

“...you’re not gonna last long.”

“i’ve lasted longer than you. tcch, say hi to heart for me…”

origin started buzzing; as rhombus’s limbs disappeared, they dropped their remote.

droplet sighed.

“OKAY, WE CAN’T START THE CHALLENGE UNTIL TWINKLE COMES BACK,” möbius explained, “BUT I CAN AT LEAST EXPLAIN IT TO YOU.”

“please do!” rectangle exclaimed.

“TODAY’S CHALLENGE WILL BE A BAKE-OFF: YOU’LL ALL GET PLENTY OF NUMBERS AND OPERATIONS – USE THEM TO MAKE A DELICIOUS MATHEMATICAKE FOR ME TO JUDGE. YOU’LL HAVE AROUND AN HOUR AND A HALF TO FINISH.”

“aw man,” rectangle grumbled. “i suck at baking.”

“yes!” hexagon exclaimed. “i love baking!” she turned to her teammates. “is it fine if i lead this challenge?”

“oh, definitely,” octagon said. pentagon nodded.

trapezoid paused. he also loved baking.

but she should get a chance to shine, he thought. “of course!” he smiled.

origin soon reappeared. “you needed those numbers and operations, right sir?”

“YESIREE!”

origin glowed for a moment, and soon hundreds of symbols came flying out from his side. “you can use these to make your lovely desserts – and there should be an equal sign per team too, right?”

“YES INDEED! IF YOU DIDN’T KNOW, ONCE YOU’RE DONE ADDING EVERYTHING, YOU NEED TO PUT IT THROUGH THE EQUAL SIGN TO BAKE. I DON’T WANT ANY RAW NUMBERS.”

“ohhhhh,” square gasped. “that’s why rectangle’s homemade mathematicookies always taste so bad! they’re raw.”

“shut up,” rectangle muttered.

“OKAY… GO! …and twinkle, can you come here for a sec?”

“welp,” parallelogram said to himself as he headed over to pick up ingredients, “i guess it’s just me and me.”

“i’m right here,” heptagon cut in.

“just leave me be.”

“i want to help!”

“do you really?”

“please, parallelogram.” for once, heptagon’s voice was riddled with emotion. “please just let me help you.”

parallelogram regarded him with shock. “fine, whatever,” he muttered. “if you insist… here, carry some of these.” he handed heptagon a few of the numbers while he carried the rest. “i don’t want to give you too much to mess up…”

“so, what do you think we should bake?” star asked droplet. “a double-decker even mathematicake? a multicolor exponential?”

“it doesn’t matter what i think… i’ll just mess it up…”

star clicked his tongue. “okay, well, then i guess i’ll take the lead. i’ll tell you what to do, okay?”

“fine, sure, whatever…” her mind was clearly elsewhere.

“so first we’ll need a pi, and a couple sine functions…”

meanwhile, hexagon was leading her own team. “okay gang, so how do you all want to help? i already have a recipe in mind.”

“i can be your baking assistant!” pentagon suggested.

“me too!” said octagon.

“how about you, trapezoid?” hexagon asked.

i want to be her baking assistant as well, he thought, but i don’t wanna step on her toes…

“i can just do prep and clean up,” he said.

“okay!” she faced the rest of the team. “so i wanna make a triple-triple-three mathematicake! it’s one of my personal favorites.”

“will we need a lot of 3s?” pentagon asked.

“oh yeah, for sure. you have three layers, each with three 3s. that’s…”

“nine threes in all,” octagon finished.

“right. and we’ll need a whole bunch of parentheses and plus signs as well…”

“it’s only addition… then why do you need parentheses? it’s commutative anyway.”

“that’s the funny thing about baking,” hexagon said. “even if in regular math you can end up with the same result in a billion different ways, in this kind of math it’s the process that makes the biggest difference.”

“so the parentheses separate out each layer,” trapezoid continued. “for this type of cake, the overall contents would be the same without them, but you’d just get one really tall cake. there’s aesthetic value in splitting the cake in layers, which is why we add them.”

“hey, that’s right! have you baked before, trapezoid?”

“what? oh, um… no…!” trapezoid quickly went away to get the ingredients.

“twinkle,” möbius said, “could you please keep your camera on group two?”

“huh? why?”

“listen. i know you’re broadcasting the show to the eliminated contestants. i want them to see this.”

group two, like always, was arguing.

“square’s right for once,” triangle said. “you suck at baking, rectangle. let me do it.”

“hey, you’ve never even baked once in your life!” he countered. “even if my baking is bad, at least i’ve done it before! let me do it!”

“i’m gonna do it.”

“no, i’m gonna!”

“for primes’ sake!” square snapped. “can you two just cut it out for one second? you’re driving me insane!”

“i’m gonna make my own cake.”

“fine, me too!”

square rolled his eyes. we’re definitely gonna lose as it is, he mentally noted. still wouldn’t hurt to have a little secret self-sabotage down the line… anything to make sure i can get away from these two.

“you want them to see group two fighting for the billionth time?” origin asked.

“...yes,” möbius replied cryptically. “i think it’s… enriching.”

“okay…” origin replied, staying right in front of them…

at the same time, droplet was absent-mindedly handing star ingredients.

“square root symbol!” star requested, and droplet gave. “e! i! opening bracket! natural logarithm! …okay, that should be it!”

“mm,” droplet replied.

the two began to put the ingredients together. “okay, so we’ll take the natural log of pi times 37… pass me that 3, would you?”

droplet passed it to him. then she blinked and shook herself out of her thoughts. “...hey wait a sec, what in math are we doing?”

“what do you mean? we’re making a mathematicake.”

“but look at all these crazy ingredients!” she exclaimed, motioning to the bizarre operations scattered in front of them. “this cake will be terrible!”

“you sound just like rhombus,” star chuckled.

droplet paused and sighed. “well, i… sorry, i just think this idea might be a little too…”

“a little too out there?”

“yeah…”

“wanna help me workshop it?”

“...what does that mean?”

“well,” star explained, “we’ll talk about the idea – what works, what doesn’t – and we’ll make whatever changes we need, and then it’ll be better!”

“so you can make your idea work?”

“so we can make it work.” he smiled. “together.”

parallelogram held a few numbers in his hands and shrugged. “i’ll be honest; i remember the ingredients for two-ten mathematicake but i do not remember the method.”

“i might know how,” heptagon said nervously.

parallelogram raised an eyebrow.

“i know it has 10 thin layers, each with a different power of two. i know we should use parentheses to separate the layers, each pair of parentheses containing 2 and an exponent.”

“...huh…”

heptagon bit his lip. will he listen?

“...i guess that makes sense,” parallelogram concluded.

heptagon exhaled. thank the primes.

“i’ll go get some more 2s, i’ll be right back. don’t mess anything up while i’m gone.”

möbius had long since moved on, so origin decided to move along himself, leaving group two’s drama behind him.

good progress was being made on helvetica’s triple-triple-three mathematicake: trapezoid got the ingredients, and hexagon was leading octagon and pentagon in combining them the right way. “remember pemdas!” she sang. “it’s all about the process.”

octagon put a 3 in a pair of parentheses. “i love baking!” she said. “it’s so orderly!”

pentagon put a plus sign next to it. “and i love baking because you get to throw a bunch of stuff together and make something yummy!”

octagon put another 3. “only if it’s in the right order.”

“right…”

“good work, everyone!” hexagon beamed. “you’re doing great. just tell trapezoid when you’re ready for the next pair of parentheses.”

“got it!”

trapezoid translated over to hexagon. “you’re great at this!” he exclaimed. “just a few minutes ago they had no idea how to bake at all, and now they’re experts!”

“just playing my part!”

trapezoid soon handed pentagon and octagon another pair of parentheses. “don’t forget to put a plus sign after the first pair before you put this one down.”

“oh, right!” hexagon piped up. “i almost forgot that part! thanks, bud… hey, you seem to know a lot about baking. why didn’t you want to help?”

trapezoid sighed. “well… you said you liked to bake, and i wanted to let you have your moment. i would’ve just… stepped all over you.”

“aw, i appreciate it… but you don’t have to do that for me. i want you to shine as well! …how about we lead together?”

hexagon smiled at him and he couldn’t help but smile back. “sounds good to me.”

droplet blinked at star. “so irrational numbers add flavor?”

“yeah,” he said. “they give the cake a certain… spice.”

“i guess the square root symbols make sense then… but i think maybe it’s a bit too complicated with logarithms and exponents too?”

“do you think the flavors would clash?”

“yeah.”

“maybe we should simplify things then… how about each layer has the square root of two plus pi?”

droplet nodded. “sounds good! and we can add an additional pi to the end of everything for that last little pop.”

the cool kids were the last to know what they were doing, but their idea was the most unique; the two quickly got started putting things together.

rectangle and triangle were busy making their own individual mathematicakes; neither knew any recipes, but at the very least rectangle knew how it was supposed to work. triangle just threw down a bunch of numbers and symbols.

if there’s anything square knew about baking, though, it’s that adding a single additional 1 to the end of a recipe completely changes it. he grabbed two 1s and two plus signs and started sneaking towards his team’s equal sign.

“TIME’S RUNNING OUT, FOLKS!” möbius proclaimed. “TIME TO START PUTTING THINGS THROUGH THE EQUAL SIGN.”

helvetica was the first to start baking their cake, with trapezoid explaining the proper way to put it in the equal sign and for how long.

parallelogram had been closely monitoring heptagon as he put the numbers and operations together; heptagon seemed to know what he was doing, but parallelogram was still dubious…

heptagon soon put it in to bake.

“hm, it actually does smell nice,” parallelogram noted. heptagon smiled.

triangle and rectangle headed over to their equal sign, glowering at each other, where square was waiting. “i’ll put your cakes in for you,” he told them. before they could respond he took their cakes and put them through �� not before sneaking in a +1 to each.

the cool kids were the last to put their cake in; droplet and star high-fived after doing so.

“we did it!” star cheered. “this cake is gonna be great!”

“i hope so…”

“and thanks for your help! it really meant a lot.”

droplet smiled.

“OKEY DOKEY!!!” möbius boomed. “LET’S SEE IF YOUR CAKES HAVE WHAT IT TAKES!!!!!”

first helvetica presented theirs. möbius strip approached it and the cake seemed to noclip out of reality.

“THIS IS DELICIOUS! I WANT TO EAT IT AGAIN!”

origin buzzed and the cake appeared again. möbius touched it again, and it vanished like before.

“9/10 FOR HELVETICA! YUMMYYYY!!!!!!”

“yes!” hexagon smiled. “awesome job, everyone! especially you, trapezoid.”

trapezoid smiled back. “especially you, hexagon.”

“too bad we didn’t get to eat it…” pentagon mumbled.

next up was yim yum. möbius touched the cake.

“OH NICE. THIS IS GREAT CAKE. A CLASSIC! 7/10.”

“oh wow, that’s pretty good!” parallelogram was taken aback. he hadn’t expected heptagon to actually do well.

he made eye contact with heptagon. and for a moment, he smiled.

then the cool kids. like before, möbius approached their cake and made it glitch out of existence.

nothing.

“uh… möbius strip?” star asked uneasily.

“THIS IS THE BEST MATHEMATICAKE I HAVE EVER EATEN!!!!!!!!!!!” möbius strip screamed. “THE FLAVOR, THE AROMA, OH, I JUST WANT TO EAT IT AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND AGAIN AND A–”

“that’s enough cake for you, sir,” origin butted in.

“YES!!! 100000000/10!!!!!! THE COOL KIDS WIN AT CAKE!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“woohoo!!!!!” star hooted. “we did it, droplet! we made my stupid idea work!”

droplet laughed, then paused. “hey, was this all meant to teach me a lesson about how being imaginative is great but that it can only work when grounded in reality?”

star blinked. “huh?”

“NOW TIME FOR THE LAST CAKE OF THE DAY…”

triangle and rectangle brought up their cakes.

“I SEE YOU HAVE TWO CAKES!”

“uhh, yes,” rectangle said. “that’s a… a good thing!”

“yeah!” triangle affirmed, knocking into him. “two cakes for the price of one! you should give us double points.”

“don’t push it.”

“LET ME TRY YOURS FIRST, TRIANGLE…” möbius made it disappear. “THIS IS… THIS IS GOOD! THE FLAVOR SEEMS SO… IT SEEMS SO GARBLED AND BAD AT FIRST, BUT THERE’S THIS SINGLE UNIFYING TANG AT THE END THAT TIES IT ALL TOGETHER! WOW!”

square groaned. no, i accidentally made her cake better! darn!

triangle put her hands on her hips. “what’d i say, tango? i’m simply better than you at this.”

“he hasn’t even tasted mine yet!” rectangle protested.

“OH, YES!” möbius exclaimed. he touched rectangle’s cake and it vanished. “MMM, GOOD… HEY, EEUGH!!! WHAT’S THAT DISGUSTING AFTERTASTE??? THAT’S THE WORST THING I’VE EVER TASTED IN MY LIFE!!!!!!!”

rectangle was shocked. “w-what?”

square glanced at him.

“YOU KNOW WHAT? TRIANGLE’S CAKE WOULD’VE BEEN A 5/10; THIS ONE IS A -5! FOR A TOTAL SCORE OF 0/10, YOU GOSH DARN IMBECILES!!! IF THESE RECIPES WERE COMBINED MAYBE THIS WOULD’VE BEEN A CAKE THAT WAS EDIBLE FROM START TO FINISH!!!! GOOD DAY!!!!!!!”

möbius was so offended by the horrible cake that he left.

“um…” origin started awkwardly, “group two, you um, lost, by the way…” he then left as quickly as his boss.

rectangle’s brows knitted. “ugh, it… it’s all my fault…” he looked at triangle. “it’s all because of this dumb fight i started with you. if we’d have worked together, we would’ve had a decent cake…”

“you’re right,” triangle snapped. “you should’ve just let me take the lead, like always.”

rectangle sighed.

“don’t blame yourself,” square told his brother. “it was probably just… a little something that accidentally got into your cake. it totally would’ve been fine otherwise.”

“what are you talking about?”

square bit his lip.

“square! that was you, wasn’t it?” triangle pointed at him. “you keep trying to sabotage our team!”

“this again?” rectangle gasped. “you said you’d stop!”

“hey, hey, i never promised anything,” square said defensively. “and this is for your own good, rectangle. you want to win; i don’t. we lose, i get out, and you have a higher chance of winning!”

“i don’t want you to get out, square! neither of us do!”

“i’m sure triangle wants me gone,” square retorted, “don’t you, triangle?”

triangle didn’t respond.

“and weren’t you mad at me yourself, rectangle? why do you want me to stay?”

“because you’re my brother!”

square stopped talking.

…

the empty white grid was filled with voices echoing out from its center –

“hey, how are you?”

“check this out!”

“i just miss them, okay?”

“still think my team’s gonna win.”

“darn, that sucks!”

– and rhombus did not enjoy it one bit.

“kite, how do you stand it here?” they asked.

“what do you mean?” their cousin replied. “it’s pretty chill.”

“everyone’s either screaming or crying or talking about something completely insignificant. it’s driving me crazy!”

“sorry not everyone’s as above-it-all as you are, rhombus. this… this is nice.”

“they’re all just distracting themselves. i say we try and find a way to escape this place so we can–”

“did you even say hello to heart yet?”

rhombus was taken aback.

“okay, folks, gather round,” circle called over his fellow eliminated contestants.

“what’s it gonna be this time?” heart asked. rhombus was surprised – he seemed so… calm.

“i bet it’s gonna be a baking challenge,” kite teased, nudging oval.

“what! i love baking!” oval cried. “don’t you jinx it–”

“TODAY’S CHALLENGE WILL BE A BAKE-OFF…”

“noooooooooooooo!!!! how dare he do that without me!!!!!!”

the other shapes laughed, heart among them.

eventually, they were subjected to watching triangle and rectangle fight. for the billionth time.

“i want to punch them both in the face so bad,” circle groaned. “they used to be so close!”

“well, y’know what they say,” heart noted morosely, “keep your enemies closer…”

“it’s like… they turned the dial on friendship so far that it circled around and became animosity,” kite suggested.

“darn,” circle said. “sounds about right…”

“that’s just what this competition has been doing to people, i guess…”

the broadcast lingered on group two for an uncomfortably long time before moving on.

they saw helvetica succeed. they saw parallelogram accept heptagon’s help – even if begrudgingly. they saw star and droplet make an awesomely stupid and stupidly awesome cake.

“y’know, i still don’t forgive star for what he did to me,” heart murmured, “because he hasn’t been able to apologize yet. but i know i will forgive him someday.”

rhombus lingered near him, uneasy. they didn’t know what to say… they didn’t even know what to think. and rhombus always knew what to think.

“oh, hey rhombus!” heart moved towards them. “it’s been a while since we’ve properly t-talked…”

rhombus paused. “...i don’t think we’ve ever properly talked. i don’t think i’ve ever properly talked to anyone.” their voice was strained and uncomfortable.

“...well, things can change! i’m not-very good at talking to other people myself, but… here we are. so let’s start over: n-nice to meet you, my name is heart, and i believe we started on the wrong foot. what’s your name?”

“my name is rhombus and i… i’m sorry.”

“for what?”

“for ruining everything.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 3: sucker ball

sweep, sweep, sweep... dust, dust, dust... pace, pace, pace.

“i think this is good enough...” heart sighed in exhaustion and flumped onto one of the chairs by the window. he had just been cleaning his team’s cabin for the fifty-billionth time that night, and it finally seemed tidy enough for him.

for a while, heart just sat there and thought; to document everything he was thinking of would be hard, given how busy his mind tended to be.

a knock on the door shook heart from his thoughts rather violently - he started and fell out of the chair, with a yelp of “d-diamonds and spades! what was that?”

another knock answered his question, and heart exhaled slowly. he approached the door and opened it, to see a very tired-looking trapezoid.

“hey, heart, if you’re done with the–” he yawned. “if you’re done with the cleaning supplies, is it okay if i take them back for now? if you ever need them again, you can just ask, of course.”

heart stepped back and let him in. “o-oh, oh yeah, sure!” he started by grabbing the broom and dustpan leaning near the table and handing them to trapezoid.

“thanks bud. y’know, i’m surprised no one else has asked me for them.” trapezoid also picked up the bottle of window cleaner that was near the door.

“oh?”

“yeah... these cabins aren’t the best, you’d imagine everyone would want to tidy them up.”

heart chuckled. “yeah... i don’t get how anyone could live anywhere so disorganized. and dusty.”

“i know, right? that’s the one thing me and octagon can agree upon.”

heart smiled. trapezoid patted him on the shoulder. “you’re a good kid, heart,” he said at length. “look out for your teammates, ‘kay?”

trapezoid soon departed, and heart sighed happily. he turned around to face his sleeping teammates, to find star glaring right at him.

…

origin was flying back and forth, much to the annoyance of möbius strip.

“WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” he asked.

origin turned to show some papers and a pencil. “i’m writing the contestants personalized invitations to wake up, like you suggested yesterday. see, i made kite’s invitation a poem, because she told me she likes–”

“DID YOU MAKE ME AN INVITATION?”

origin broke out in cold sweat. “n-no, i–”

“GOOD. NOW DELIVER THOSE SOON, MAILMAN! I WANT TO START THINGS BRIGHT AND EARLY.”

möbius turned and flew off.

soon enough, origin finished his invitations and placed them by the door of each cabin, knocking on the door with a manifested hand as he did so. afterwards, he flew north and flashed into the paradox again.

möbius strip arrived to the field to see his 15 contestants arranged in it; but no origin.

“TWINKY-DINK! WHERE DID YOU GO?”

unfortunately, despite all of his yelling, there wasn’t actually anything möbius could do to bring origin back from where he obviously was - the paradox. in his frustration, möbius strip grumbled for approximately 5 minutes.

“i’m bored,” pentagon said after a while, frowning. “what are we doing?”

möbius coughed. “WE’RE WAITING FOR SOMEONE TO GET BACK, SOMEONE WHOM WE NEED TO START THE CHALLENGE.”

after a moment, square asked rectangle, “why do we need to do the challenge so early, anyway? can’t we just do something else until twinkle gets back?” rectangle thought this was a good question to ask möbius himself, and suggested such to his brother.

square begrudgingly repeated the question, marginally louder than the first time.

“well, i want to do it now,” triangle challenged, before möbius could answer. “i don’t wanna have to wait to do a challenge.”

“but this early? we’re all tired,” square sighed.

“speak for yourself.”

“HOW ABOUT DON’T SPEAK AT ALL?” möbius strip retorted. “WE HAVE TO DO IT NOW BECAUSE I’M ALWAYS BUSY IN THE AFTERNOON.”

“tcch, with what?” triangle asked.

möbius didn’t reply. the group proceeded to sit around until origin returned.

“do you really think so?” kite mused to parallelogram. “i mean, i suppose it does go on a case-by-case basis, but surely the possibility of it happening at all should be acknowledged...”

“well sure, but it’s not like that whole genre should be taken off of the market just because of the possibility of someone replicating the actions of people in the game. that’d be kinda stupid, to be honest.”

“yeah, yeah, i agree, but again it really depends. most people will know the actions of those characters are wrong, and so will refrain from taking up after them, but in some cases it’s vague enough that people could find its presence in the game to be justification for doing it in real life.”

“absolutely. and those people should just get help, is what i say. oh yeah, and if the game frames those actions as being good, then that’s definitely subject to criticism. that’s what could contribute to the vagueness you’re talking about.”

“of course.”

“will they not just shut up?” octagon groaned, peering at kite.

hexagon patted her shoulder. “don’t worry, i think they’re done for now.”

a moment passed.

“did you ever come up with a good answer to the trolley problem?”

octagon facepalmed.

meanwhile, heart was playing patty-cake with droplet.

“why don’t you play patty-cake with me, heart?” star nudged him.

heart blinked. “...i didn’t know you liked playing patty-cake.”

“really? cuz i always have...”

heart furrowed his brow.

another half hour passed before origin finally reappeared. he seemed to have some kind of ...camera lens in his center.

“THANK THE PRIMES YOU DECIDED TO GRACE OUR HUMBLE PRESENCE,” möbius snapped. “I’M HONORED YOU DECIDED TO SHOW UP.”

origin sighed. “sorry, möbius strip... i was busy setting something up.”

“AND APPARENTLY THAT WASN’T THE GOALS FOR TODAY’S CHALLENGE. LET’S GET GOING.”

the two moved over to a different part of the field.

“OKAY, TWINKIE, SOCCER GOALS.”

origin moved back a bit. “...sorry, sir, i can’t do that right now...”

“OH, CUZ OF YOUR DUMB CAMERA. CAN’T YOU PUT IT AWAY FOR NOW? WE NEED THE GOALS.”

“...sorry, not now.”

“THEN WHAT? WE CAN’T PLAY SOCCER WITHOUT SOCCER GOALS.”

“...could we use something else?”

“LIKE WHAT?”

origin thought for a second, then went over to whisper his idea to möbius strip.

“don’t see why you needed to whisper that, but okay,” möbius conceded. “HELLO, CONTESTANTS! COME HITHER, IF YOU MAY,” he called.

the 15 shapes came over to the two of them.

“NOW: HELVETICA, GO TO ONE SIDE OF THE FIELD, WITH A SPACE IN THE MIDDLE OF YOUR LITTLE GROUP, THERE YOU GO, AND COOL KIDS, DO THE SAME ON THE OTHER SIDE.”

they did such, even if they didn’t know why. pentagon and trapezoid stood together with a little gap between them and the other two, octagon and hexagon; star and heart were apart from droplet and rhombus.

“NOW, GROUP TWO AND YIM YUM, GO ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF THE FIELD. THE OTHER TWO TEAMS WILL ACT AS THE GOALS, THE BALL KICKED BETWEEN THEM. IT’S SOCCER TIME. NO GOALIES. 7 MINUTES PER ROUND.”

“but wait!” kite interjected. “our team only has three members. will it really be fair for us to go up against the other four-membered teams?”

triangle scoffed. “well, you’re tall, surely that counts for something.”

“not really, no,” parallelogram answered sharply. “i think any team opposing us should have a player sit out.”

möbius thought for a second. “SURE, WHATEVER.”

“then square, buddy,” triangle nudged him. “have a nice nap.”

he gave her a thumbs up and flopped down away from the game.

“guess i’ll just have to play harder, then,” triangle rubbed her hands together in anticipation.

“now go!” origin rolled the ball over to yim yum’s side, before moving to spectate just north of the game.

kite ran north to kick the ball, but missed. triangle ran and kicked it south, towards heptagon. when he didn’t even try to move, parallelogram had to run and intercept it before it could enter the goal.

“nice save, parry!” kite smiled, dribbling it towards the other side. she booted it towards the goal.

parallelogram simply frowned at heptagon.

“it’s comin’ in hot! i got this one, folks!” triangle punted the ball sharply, sending it flying back towards the other team.

“y’think we can double team it?” kite quickly asked parallelogram.

“we can try,” he grunted, kicking the ball north to her before she struck it and sent it barreling towards the other side. “but it’d be nice if we could pull a triple...” he raised an eyebrow at heptagon, who was still standing there motionless.

“i got it, i got it!” rectangle called, running over to get the ball. it was intercepted, however, by triangle.

“your kick would’ve been too weak. your foot was at the wrong angle…” triangle dribbled and kicked it hard. “and that, tango, is how you kick a ball.”

as it went rushing across, rectangle blinked in surprise. “oh... okay.”

“c’mon, heptagon!” kite nudged him. “we believe in you!”

the ball simply passed him and scored a goal for group two.

“oh, come on!” parallelogram groaned.

“that’s a point for group two! you got a minute left, folks.”

“we gotta get another point. i’ll handle this one, boys,” triangle snapped her fingers as the ball was rolled to her. she ran with it towards yim yum’s side before her teammates could reply.

“we should give heptagon another try!” kite suggested.

parallelogram disagreed. “we can’t count on him. doing that will win triangle another point.” he shuffled around the goal.

“no babysitting!” triangle exclaimed.

circle frowned as triangle continued to steal every shot. rectangle kept smiling in anticipation as the ball came towards him, but unfortunately, he never got the chance to kick it.

at the end of the round, group two won, 5 to 2.

“in your vertex!” triangle laughed triumphantly. “we did great, guys. i just know we’ll win this.”

“OKAY, THAT’S ONE WIN FOR GROUP TWO AND ONE LOSS FOR YIM YUM,” möbius announced absentmindedly. “NOW THE COOL KIDS AND HELVETICA ARE UP. THE OTHER TWO TEAMS, BE THE NET.”

as group two went over to be a goal, square looked to rectangle. “you had fun?”

“oh, um... i didn’t get too many chances to kick the ball...”

“i see...”

“b-but it’s fine! we won.”

“oh really?”

square glared at triangle, but she didn’t seem bothered at all, and proceeded to watch the other teams play.

“heart, work with me!” star called. “we can do... what did they call it? ‘double team’?”

“oh um, if you want...” heart kicked the ball to star tentatively, who swung his leg up with great force. he closed his eyes and smiled proudly.

“i know, i know, you’re in awe, but please, let’s continue the game.”

heart’s eyes were wide, but not in awe; star had completely missed the ball, which was still by his feet. heart opened his mouth to speak, but said nothing, simply glaring at his best friend.

the round proceeded with fervor; hexagon and pentagon had apparently come up with a clever strategy in which hexagon would gently kick pentagon forwards, so pentagon could kick the ball into the goal with increased velocity.

these ‘five-and-a-halfers’ were hard to fight against, considering how none of the cool kids were particularly athletically inclined. rhombus did manage to score a few points by strategically removing and replacing people’s limbs, which technically wasn’t prohibited in the game rules.

droplet came up with many fantastical strategies of her own, which heart tried to accomplish, but unfortunately, those such as the ‘magical rainbow flyer’ never came to fruition. likewise, octagon’s attempts to calculate where the ball would end up came back to bite her – all of these other strategies and missteps made this round extremely unpredictable, and her time calculating was in vain.

trapezoid was there for moral support. also for arguing.

in the end, the teams tied at 5 points each, counting as a win for both.

rounds came and went; all four teams had something up their sleeves, whether that be impeccable agility, genius strategy, or simply access to a limb remote.

the next game was helvetica vs. group two; at this point, helvetica’s ‘five-and-a-halfers’ made them feared on the field. octagon and trapezoid might argue about where the both of them thought the ball would end up, but one of them was always right, meaning that hexagon and pentagon almost always hit it. and their soccer balls were like meteorites.

on the other side was triangle, however, and she wasn’t to be messed with either. she went fast and she went hard; she was ruthless. no ball could escape her ‘pythagorean fear-em’. when balls came, she hit them; and when square persistently reprimanded her for taking over the team, she ignored him. nothing could stop her.

those in the goals chattered in anticipation for the fabled match between two legends – a strategical mastermind and a brute-strength behemoth. nobody knew who was going to win.

when the ball was rolled, it began. hexagon instantly kicked it up north to pentagon, who dribbled it over to the other side. circle shuffled over to intercept it, but triangle swept in and booted it.

“really, triangle?” square sighed. “now’s not the time to be cocky.”

“i’m not being cocky. i’m just playin’. go hard or go home, that’s what i always say.”

“then maybe you should stop talking...” square said under his breath.

pentagon came back with the ball, and rectangle was preparing to kick it from her – but here was triangle, rolling it away with the flick of her foot. “you gotta be faster than that!”

after pentagon passed her the ball, hexagon began to bounce it on her knee. “it’s as if we’re playing against one person!”

octagon looked up at her. “you thinking what i’m thinking?”

hexagon smiled. octagon glanced over to the northern part of group two’s field, in the back, and subtly nodded to hexagon. pentagon ran over to that empty spot, and hexagon swiftly kicked the ball towards her.

“move move move!” triangle tried to shove her way through her teammates. instead, square, who was only a little ways away, casually kicked the ball south, out of pentagon’s reach.

“what was that for?” triangle glared at him, sending the ball back over. “why didn’t you move? you could’ve missed!”

“so could you.”

“but i’ve won us so many games!”

“not all of them.”

“those were exceptions!”

“man, they were able to hit it after all,” trapezoid bit his lip as pentagon sidled back to their side. “at least square was. i think we should hit near the other back corner.”

“no way!” octagon shook her head. “near the front is the way to go. circle and rectangle haven’t kicked the ball the entire game!”

“true...”

“okey dokey!” pentagon chirped, being flung north by hexagon, up to the ball. “get pent!”

she kicked it into the front, where it landed right on circle’s head.

“what do i do, what do i do?” rectangle cried, shuffling around him. triangle and square were too busy arguing to notice.

“hey, guys!” circle ran towards his two fighting friends, and the ball flew off of his head. as it fell, rectangle swiped his foot underneath to kick it. and while he got a good start, there was no one to back him up – and hexagon intercepted it with a mighty drive, getting an easy goal.

“ow!” star exclaimed as the ball hit him in the face.

“a point for helvetica!” origin announced. he could’ve made a comment on group two’s rough shape, but decided against it.

as the ball was rolled to helvetica’s side, triangle pushed her way towards it.

“get out of the way, square,” she snapped. “your brother can’t even kick a soccer ball straight.”

“maybe if you bothered to let him play, he’d know how to by now.”

“guys! the game!” circle called out. “let’s have fun, okay?”

the game continued, helvetica scoring point after point. triangle got a few in, but half of the time she was stifled by a bothered square who didn’t want her to play if it meant she’d take over again.

“one minute remaining, folks,” origin edged back from the ruckus.

“oh yeah?” triangle yelled. “i’ll show you a minute!”

she then proceeded to shove square to the side and hit the ball towards hexagon’s face.

“whoa!” hexagon jumped out of the way, which sent pentagon, who was standing over her head, flying forward.

fortunately for the two of them, however, trapezoid kicked it through to pentagon, who, while flying forwards, was able to kick the ball into the goal behind triangle.

“what the hex!” hexagon smiled. “how did we do that?”

pentagon returned to her and stuck out her tongue. “dunno. but that’s a ‘five-and-two-thirds’, to be sure.”

“and that’s game!” origin announced. “helvetica wins with 7 to 4! great job!”

“for prime’s sake!” triangle cried. “okay, you wanna play soccer? fine! then i won’t do anything next round.”

“...we’re not up next round...” rectangle said.

“you see how this team works without a triangle! the strongest shape!”

“not the strongest in strategy, though,” square said nonchalantly, heading over to the other side of the field. “that completely failed.”

“oh shut it! at least i did something!”

he didn’t dignify her with a response.

circle frowned as triangle stormed off. he wanted to talk to her, but he knew nothing he said would help.

“hey, rectangle?” he called.

rectangle turned to him from where he stood. “yeah?”

“can you try and talk to triangle?”

he pointed to himself, surprised, “m-me?”

“you two are so close! i’m sure she’ll listen to you.”

“oh, but, i’ve got to be part of the goal...”

circle started pushing him from behind. “c’mon, buddy! it’s now or never.” rectangle acquiesced and went after triangle.

the round between helvetica and yim yum was taking place – much more quietly than the previous one – and kite and parallelogram were finding it hard to fight. hexagon was sitting out, sure – but trapezoid was acting as pentagon’s support now, and he wasn’t too bad himself.

“we gotta step up our game!” parallelogram wiped sweat off of his brow. the opposing team had already scored a point. he kicked the ball north to kite.

“i know!” kite panted, sending it back. “i think–”

“i know what you think, kite,” he smiled at her. “and yes, it’d be nice if heptagon would be a ‘helptagon’ instead. but we can’t rely on it.” he passed her the ball around star.

“okay, yeah.”

“and i doubt talking about him in the third person will do any good in convincing him.”

kite scored a goal, avoiding heart and rhombus. “good point.”

parallelogram and kite worked surprisingly well as a pair; kite could cover the ball up north, parallelogram could cover the ball down south, and both were relatively fast, so as long as they knew where the ball was headed, they got just about everything covered.

unfortunately for them, they often didn’t – pentagon had a new schtick with trapezoid, called ‘pentamonium’. in this move, the two of them would create such a scuffle with legs and jumping and balls and blades of grass that you couldn’t possibly tell where the soccer ball was unless you were staring right at it.

some of the time, they did happen to spot the ball; most of the time, they didn’t, landing helvetica an easy goal. kite and parallelogram could manage for the most part, but without backup, it was hard to truly cover the field.

“i wish octagon weren’t so good at calculating where the ball’s headed,” parallelogram noted. “it makes it so hard to get anything through.”

“true,” kite reciprocated. “but as trapezoid’s working with pentagon now, he can’t work to fix her mistakes. so her guess isn’t guaranteed to be accurate.”

“what does that leave us?”

“half of the time? we’re fine. the other half? pentamonium. easy point for them.”

“so how do we make it harder for octagon to track us? i’m not good at strategy.”

the two kept kicking until a voice called from behind.

“maybe if you stop being so predictable, octagon wouldn’t be able to predict where the ball’s headed.”

heptagon was staring tiredly at them.

“oh? what should we do?” parallelogram called back.

no response was given.

“think, think, think, parry! what to do...?”

and suddenly, he had an idea. “aha! let’s keep switching places, back and forth!” he whispered.

kite and parallelogram switched places on the field, and again, and again, and again! they became a blur as they ran north to south and back again, their legs a flurry of movement.

“huh?” octagon gasped. “what’s going on?”

and suddenly the ball hit her in the face.

now it was confusion vs. confusion. points were scored all over the place, because the teams could barely see where the ball was or where it was going. but in the time that helvetica was still getting used to the bizarre new playing field, yim yum was able to catch up.

meanwhile, while chaos was reigning free on the field, rectangle was catching up with triangle.

“h-hey, triangle!” he called.

she stopped abruptly, causing rectangle to bump into her.

“hey, tango. not so good at kickin’ balls, are we?”

rectangle chuckled sheepishly. “nah. you remember what i was like in gym class... yikes. b-but anyway, you should probably come back.”

“why? square doesn’t want me to play.”

“no, it’s not that he doesn’t want you to play, it’s just that he wants all of us to play. together.”

triangle snorted. “now that just sounds sappy. i’m part of ‘all of us’, aren’t i?”

“sure, of course.”

“then he should just let me play! c’mon tango, let’s go back.”

rectangle and triangle made their way back to the field; nothing was really resolved, even if triangle made it seem that way. but there was no time for any more dialogue, as when they got back to the game, the round was finishing up - and it was entropy incarnate.

“where’s the ball?”

“i don’t even know what a ball is anymore!”

“is the ball even on the field?”

“what did i kick just now? what was that?”

“that was my face, idiot.”

“aaaaaah!”

the round finished up with the strangest conclusion; yim yum won, 12 to 11. it was so close to being a tie, if not for kite tripping and sending the ball into the goal at the last second.

“you managed to be even more bonkers than pentagon!” trapezoid said in awe in the game’s aftermath. “now that’s impressive.”

“hey, at least we were unpredictable!” parallelogram smirked. he turned to face the rest of helvetica. “good game! but at the same time… ‘get pent’.”

there were friendly chuckles throughout.

“thanks for the help, heptagon!” kite smiled at her teammate. he glanced at her, but didn’t reply.

the last round was the cool kids vs. group two - and then möbius strip would finally conclude the rowdy day of soccer balls and kicks and bizarre strategies.

“okay, this shouldn’t be too hard,” rhombus shrugged as they came to their team’s side of the field. “they have so many weak spots it’s hilarious.”

“how can you tell?” droplet asked, climbing up over their head.

“observation, my little friend. seeing what actually happens and taking it to heart is a big help. a whole lot more useful than conjecture, anyway.”

droplet simply blinked at them in response.

“and... go!” origin rolled the ball to their side.

heart started up with a double team with star; he knew how little star actually cared about the game, and so easily (and resignedly) covered his friend when he inevitably missed the ball. he kicked it rather gracefully to droplet, who was the other side.

“one of you get it already! sheesh!” triangle yelled when her teammates didn’t take any action. “you wanted to play, so play!”

rectangle hurried up to the ball and managed to roll it out from under droplet’s foot. he kicked it as hard as he could.

“don’t be so snippy with him,” square grunted.

“i’ll be as snippy as i like, thank you very much.”

the ball came over, and droplet backed up to get it – she hopped and kicked the ball. it barely made it to the other side of the field, and triangle alone rushed to reach it.

“c’mon, c’mon – ugh!” her own kick wasn’t very strong, and angrily turned back to her teammates. “why do you insist on me letting you guys play if you don’t do anything?” rhombus rushed over and passed it to heart, who scored a goal.

“they’d know what to do if you helped them!” square yelled back. “you never help them!”

“why do they need to be helped? i don’t need to be helped!”

“not everyone is you, for geometry’s sake!”

“guys!” circle cried. “please!” he got the ball and kicked it far out onto the other side of the field.

“for crying out loud, square! i already know!”

“then act like it!”

“how about you stop acting so obtuse!”

“guys!” circle had to deal with intercepting the balls every time now, as his friends couldn’t see past their quarrel – even the uninvolved rectangle was entangled in their mess. “please help me!”

“you’re calling me obtuse? i’m just trying to stand up for my brother! he’s always been the closest to you, and i keep having to worry you’ll upset him – just like yesterday! if anything, you’re obtuse!”

“i’m clearly acute!”

“and i am literally right!”

“i don’t need protecting!” rectangle frankly looked offended. “if i didn’t want to be friends with triangle, i wouldn’t be!”

“then maybe you shouldn’t!” square glared at him.

“you don’t have the right to pick who i’m friends with!”

“and neither of you should have the right to be so annoying!” triangle countered. “i’ve had to deal with the two of you since day one, and what do i get in return?”

“hopefully someone who cares about you,” rectangle looked over at her, hurt.

“but is that the case? i don’t know!”

“are you kidding me?”

“guys!” circle cried again.

zap! thud.

“woop, and there’s another point for the cool kids,” origin said hesitantly. “hm.”

circle was now limbless and motionless, the ball sitting in the goal behind him. he sighed and frowned where he sat.

“if you guys won’t play, i will!” triangle insisted. she kicked the ball sharply.

“how do i tolerate you?” square grumbled.

triangle continued kicking the ball back as it came, frequently going over on the offense despite the risk. heart was starting to fail to make up for star’s overconfidence (much to heart’s dismay), so his kicks were a little easier to counter now.

“c’mon, star–” heart eyed him, with a panicked edge to his voice. “i don’t think you need to be posing right now...”

“but don’t i look cool?”

“sure, but that’s not... that’s not important right now, star! please!”

star shrugged. heart sighed a shaky sigh.

droplet’s gentle kick was actually great for the strategy – having the kick only barely move the ball made it easy for a teammate to follow it up, even if it was easy to intercept. she was able to work very well with rhombus and heart.

not so much with star, but she didn’t pay attention to that.

the game was closing off, and the cool kids were clearly winning. they kept on getting points because triangle was the only one on her team really playing. triangle kept kicking harder and harder out of spite, edging farther into enemy territory, but, despite the opposing team’s lack of experience, her balls were always easily intercepted.

the game finished and the cool kids obviously won, 6 to 0. it was kind of pathetic – or at least triangle thought so. she felt betrayed by her teammates – her friends.

“OKAY, EVERYONE, TIME TO ANNOUNCE SCORES,” möbius said drily. all of the shapes followed him back to the main field – all but circle, who, without limbs, was unable to translate anywhere.

when they got there, octagon instantly had a question. “how will the scores be tallied?”

möbius strip yawned. “FIRSTLY, IT’S YOUR TOTAL POINTS FROM EVERY ROUND. ALL OF THOSE ARE ADDED UP. THEN, YOU GET A POINT ADDED FOR EVERY GAME YOU WON, AND A POINT REMOVED FOR EVERY GAME YOU LOST.”

“yikes!” heart gasped, envisioning every shot star missed. he shook with fear.

“OKAY, SO... THE TEAM WITH THE HIGHEST SCORE IS HELVETICA.”

“nice!” hexagon and pentagon jumped for joy.

trapezoid rubbed his chin. “but what’s our score?”

“YOU HEARD HOW THE SCORES WERE COUNTED. FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF.”

“but–”

“I’M TOO TIRED FOR THIS. ANYWHO...... THE TEAM WITH THE SECOND HIGHEST SCORE IS YIM YUM.”

parallelogram nudged kite playfully. “i guess being tall did come in handy.” she chuckled sheepishly in response.

heptagon even managed a half-smile.

“okay, okay... AHEM,” möbius grabbed everyone’s attention again. “NOW IT’S DOWN TO THE BOTTOM TWO, GROUP TWO AND THE COOL KIDS.”

“oh i know we lost...” heart whimpered. “star…”

“WHO’S GONNA BE SAFE? WHO’S GONNA BE UP FOR ELIMINATION?” möbius strip sang. “OOOOH... hey twinkle, give me a drumroll.”

no response.

“gone again? i swear, if he’s in the paradox... ANYWHO, THE COOL KIDS ARE SAFE, AND GROUP TWO IS NOT! WHOOPS! GUESS YOU FOLKS ARE UP FOR ELIMINATION!”

“really?” heart gasped. “we didn’t fail miserably?”

“hooray!” droplet clapped happily. “we didn’t fail miserably! ...what does ‘miserably’ mean?”

meanwhile, group two had failed miserably. square didn’t care about losing the challenge, he was just upset at triangle. rectangle didn’t mind much either; he was just offended by his brother.

and triangle? i think that mess revealed itself.

she faced square. “we lost the challenge! all thanks to you! i hope you feel proud of yourself.” and then she stormed off to their team’s cabin.

“i’m not the one who should be worried about pride,” he replied darkly.

as this was going down, heart watched pensively and sighed. soon enough, star approached and grabbed his hand.

“yikes, buddy, your hand is sweaty!”

heart stared at him, paused, then chuckled sheepishly. “not much i can do about that...”

“well, you can stop worrying so much! goodness gracious, you were so on edge today for no reason – you should’ve just had fun with me!”

star looked at him tenderly, but when heart looked into his eyes, he couldn’t help but see his steely gaze from that morning.

…

“hey, you okay?”

circle looked out to see origin flying in from the east. “oh, you came back for me!”

origin didn’t have the camera lens in his center anymore... odd.

“yeah...” origin said. “are you okay? that game was... pretty rough...”

circle chuckled sadly. “you could certainly say that...”

origin lowered south towards him. it was kind of awkward, origin sitting next to circle, considering the size difference between them.

“i could take you back to your cabin whenever you’d like. but if not we could just sit here... if that’s okay with you, of course...”

circle smiled up at him. “i’ll sit for a bit with you. but i’ll want to go back to the cabin eventually...”

so, the two sat there together in the field, talking periodically, but leaving plenty of time for the evening’s quiet.

“you really want to try again? do you think it would work?”

“well, i have to try. the four of us have been friends forever, i don’t want to give up on that now!”

“yeah, you’re right... y’know, circle... a triangle might be the ‘strongest shape’, but i’d say you’re the strongest friend i’ve ever met.”

moments passed.

“i think i’ll go back now,” circle said all of a sudden. “don’t want them to miss me, right?” he smiled.

origin couldn’t smile back, as he had no face, but he seemed to be smiling somehow anyway. “okay... i’ll give you back your limbs once you get there.”

he started buzzing and circle stuck to him; and buzzing he went towards the cabin.

when he got there, origin released circle, who magically regained his arms and legs as he landed – unusual. circle stood up and shook out his limbs. “hey twinkle!” he called.

origin edged closer. “sorry, my name’s origin.”

“oh. that’s a lovely name!”

“thank you. what was it?”

“oh yeah… i thought you could only remove limbs. like when you do the buzzy-thing. since when could you replace them?”

origin chuckled. “since always! but i don’t like using my line-making power much... so i usually use the grapher. and i don’t really know where that is. but hey, i’m willing to use my powers for you.”

“oh,” circle blinked at him. “okay, cool! thank you so much! good night!!” and then he entered his cabin.

origin seemed to glow a bit. “no problem.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 6: little icarus

it was getting late. heptagon was sitting on his bed with the lights off, rocking back and forth.

suddenly, they flicked on. parallelogram burst into the cabin and made brief eye contact with heptagon, who had frozen still.

“don’t look at me like that,” parallelogram said, as heptagon stared at him. “just go to sleep already.”

“i–”

“you what? are you going to finally apologize for leaving us out to dry? or are you just going to find an excuse for it?”

heptagon shut his mouth again.

“just as i thought.” parallelogram rolled his eyes, then got into bed and attempted to sleep; he found that too difficult, however.

he sat up. “i used to feel kinda bad for you, y’know,” he started. “just like you, i was taken from my life to compete in this silly thing. and at first i was super pissed about it.”

heptagon looked at him.

“but, y’know, kite was right. she often is. there was nothing i could do to get out of here, so i made the best of it. and look where i am now! now i actually want to win!”

heptagon looked away again. “so?” his response was near-inaudible.

“i quit moping around. you didn’t. and that’s screwing us over. even if i didn’t care about the third dimension at first, i had the heart to care about those who did. and now i care as well.”

nothing. heptagon’s response was complete silence again.

“listen. i don’t care if you want to win or lose or whatever. but stop treating us like we don’t exist. because we do. we do want to win. and you’re ruining it for us.”

still nothing.

“geez, it’s like talking to a wall…” parallelogram muttered, shaking his head. he closed his eyes again and went to sleep.

heptagon stared at the door. kite never came.

…

that morning, origin actually stuck around in geometropolis instead of just spending time with the eliminated contestants in the paradox. this was for the best, as kite was looking for him.

“hey, kite!” he greeted.

“hey.”

“sorry about–”

“you don’t have to apologize for heptagon…” kite smiled and sat down next to him. “hopefully, soon, he’ll apologize himself.”

“d’you think he will?”

“sure. i wish i hadn’t snapped the way i did…”

“even if he kinda deserved it…”

kite chuckled sheepishly. “even if he kinda deserved it. hey… no matter what happened, there’s a chance i’ll be eliminated today… like, seriously, why was oval eliminated? is there, like, a viewer vote or something? because he certainly didn’t deserve it.”

“nope, no viewer vote. but i’d… i’d be sad if you were eliminated.” origin spoke in a stilted manner, his voice grave. “don’t tell anyone, but you’re one of my favorite contestants.”

“aw, that’s sweet of you!”

“but yeah, möbius just tells me who’s gonna be eliminated. don’t know how he decides, though. hey, speaking of the devil…!”

“DID SOMEBODY SAY MY NAME?” the proverbial devil in question asked, arriving on the scene. “MY EARS ARE BURNING~!”

“good morning, sir!”

“GOOD MORNING TWINNY!!! it’s been a while since i’ve seen you this early…”

“the eliminated contestants are doing fine without me, i think.”

“DOING PROOFS, I HOPE?”

“they’re… doing the best they can!” origin leaned in to kite. “not!” he whispered, certainly putting the ‘wink’ in ‘twinkle’.

“hey,” kite piped up. “am i eliminated?”

möbius edged back. “yes... how did you know?”

kite took a moment to process the information; she breathed in, and breathed out. “...just a guess.”

“darn,” origin said, unsurprised. he now directed his voice at möbius strip. “should we gather everyone, or should i just take her now?”

“i should say goodbye to people, right?” kite asked.

möbius yawned. “i don’t want to gather everyone yet. i’m letting them sleep in. you can go and say goodbye to whoever… BUT BE QUICK!”

kite smiled at him. “thanks!” she then went off.

“huh,” möbius said. “weird.”

kite first went to the cool kids’ cabin to say bye to her cousin. she knocked lightly on the door. “rhombus!” she whispered loudly.

“what is it?” rhombus replied from the other side of the door in their usual monotone voice; they didn’t sound bleary at all, as if they hadn’t been asleep.

“i’m… i’m eliminated. möbius just told me.”

“oh… oh kite,” rhombus’s tone softened. “i’m so sorry. you’ve been doing so great.”

“thanks.”

“see you at home?”

“yeah. see you at home.”

rhombus opened the door and hugged her.

kite then went to her own cabin, knocked on the door, and waited.

heptagon opened it.

“is… is parallelogram awake?”

heptagon frowned and nodded. “yes.”

parallelogram stepped out from behind him.

“kite! where were you last night?” he asked, concern lingering in his voice. “wh–”

“parry, listen. möbius told me i’m eliminated.”

“WHAT?” he cried in shock and dismay. “why would they vote for YOU?”

this confused kite, but she continued. “parry… you gotta keep going strong, okay? for me.”

“kite…” parallelogram grabbed her hand. “i’ll do my best. hopefully… others will too.” the two looked at heptagon.

“i have to go now,” kite finally said. “i’ll be rooting for you, pal!”

soon enough, kite indeed went. origin buzzed and took her away.

hours passed before he returned; but as möbius wasn’t going to start for a while anyway, he was willing to wait.

“GOOD NOON EVERYONE,” möbius yelled at 12 on the dot. “TIME FOR TODAY’S CHALLENGE! oh, and kite’s eliminated, by the way.”

the contestants gathered in their usual spot; among them was square, groggy and very annoyed. “is there no other way for you to wake us up?” he complained. “geez louise.”

“I WON’T TOLERATE SUCH INSOLENCE… SHUT UP.”

square rolled his eyes. then he had an epiphany.

if i annoy the heck out of möbius strip… will he eliminate me?

“yeah,” triangle called out to him. “shut up, square.”

“...TODAY’S CHALLENGE IS A RACE. ONE MEMBER PER TEAM WILL RUN FROM HERE TO THE EDGE OF THE FOREST AND BACK. LAST ONE BACK LOSES. YOU HAVE, UM… 20 MINUTES TO PREPARE. SURE.”

“okay!” droplet addressed her teammates. “i have a great idea–”

“no you don’t,” rhombus said. “okay, you two are terrible at running, so i’m gonna do the race.”

“i–”

“i’m not that bad at running!” star protested.

“yes you are. okay, you two just stay here and–”

“can you please listen to me?” droplet cried. “you two never listen! you never take anything i say seriously!!”

star froze in place. this was just like heart…

“i keep suggesting ideas for challenges but neither of you even try them!” droplet continued, tears forming in her eyes. “and neither of you tell me anything!! it isn’t fair!!!”

rhombus was about to speak when star cut in. “hey… what is your idea, droplet?”

“well i… i wanted to use tree branches to make wings!” she wiped her eyes, and they shone. “if i ran while wearing them, i’d catch the breeze and speed ahead!”

“that is an absolutely ridiculous–” rhombus started.

“–ridiculously cool idea!!!” star blurted. rhombus glowered at him. “why don’t we try it?” he continued.

droplet beamed at him.

meanwhile, helvetica had a plan of their own.

“okay, pentagon, we all know you’re the fastest shape here,” trapezoid said.

“yup!”

“but we want to make sure you can keep up that speed for the whole race – so we have a way to get you water throughout, so you don’t get thirsty!”

“all we need is a bunch of cups, really, courtesy of origin,” hexagon explained. “before the race we’ll fill them all up with water, and then we’ll set them out along the course – that way you can just drink from a cup whenever you get to it.”

“...wait, but what if she trips on one of the cups?” octagon asked. “or what if somebody else does?”

“oh, i hadn’t thought of that…” trapezoid bit his lip.

“i know!” hexagon perked up. “i’ll just carry them all and go along with pentagon during the race.”

“you sure you can do it?” octagon was skeptical. “the cups would all spill…”

“well, she plays the ukulele,” trapezoid pointed out. “i’d say her hands are pretty darn steady.”

“yes indeed!” hexagon smiled. “if i can carry a tune i can surely carry a few cups, can’t i?”

“...okay. i’m running,” parallelogram stated.

“...do you need any help with anything?” heptagon asked hesitantly.

parallelogram looked dubious. “no??”

“but i–”

“look. it’s fine. i’m running.”

heptagon frowned as parallelogram left without another word.

möbius strip was minding his own business when he suddenly heard his name being called.

“hey möbius,” square yelled. “where are you from?”

“HUH?”

“where are you from? what’s your favorite color? how old are you?”

“LEAVE ME ALONE…”

“what time did you go to sleep last night? what did you have for breakfast this morning? what’s your credit card number?”

“i swear to the PRIMES ABOVE!” rectangle moaned. “what has gotten into you, square?”

“i could ask you the same thing…”

“don’t worry about him, tango,” triangle said, guiding him away from his brother. “anyway, so i’m gonna run the race – can you wait at the finish line with, i dunno, a mathematicookie or something? i’m gonna be pretty hungry.”

“what?” rectangle exclaimed. “i’m not just gonna be your servant! you didn’t even ask me if i was on board with this idea.”

“well, i’m clearly the better runner.”

rectangle scoffed. “no you’re not.”

“uh, yes, i am.”

“did you not see me yesterday? i’m not the wimpy rectangle you knew in grade school anymore.”

triangle shrugged. “true. but i’m still faster and stronger. for a challenge entirely dependent on one team member, i think it should be me.”

“what, and just let you step all over me again? you know, square wasn’t wrong about everything – you barely let me participate in challenges!”

“maybe that’s for the best!”

“...tell that to circle.”

triangle went silent.

“fine,” she said at length. “you can run. i don’t care.”

“thanks, origin,” octagon said, receiving a manifested thumbs-up in response. “okay, let’s get these cups filled up.”

helvetica translated over to their cabin with verve, hexagon practicing her cup-carrying abilities on the way.

pentagon opened the door and turned on the sink. “cup!” she requested. hexagon passed her one. after a few moments, she asked the same again, switching out the full cup for an empty one.

trapezoid spent a few moments chatting with them, before going to wait outside with octagon; there wasn’t much either of them could do to help, after all.

“hey, trapezoid…” octagon said at length, chewing her pacifier tensely, “how are you so close to those two?”

trapezoid blinked. “what do you mean?”

“i mean, well…” she paused. “ugh, how do i say this? …how do you be a good friend?”

octagon received a warm smile in response. “well, what do you think?” trapezoid asked.

octagon groaned. “hrrgh, i dunno.”

“well… i think a big part of being a good friend is helping them whenever you can… being able to have fun with them, tell jokes… and y’know, you have to enjoy each other’s company, right?”

“yeah, i guess that sounds right.”

“why do you ask?”

“i just–”

“we’re done!” pentagon exclaimed, as hexagon came out with a huge stack of full cups. “you were right, hexagon really can carry!”

“that should be enough branches!” droplet proclaimed, as star dropped them off near her feet; they were specifically branches with plenty of leaves, taken from trees in the forest. she turned to rhombus. “how’s the blueprint going?”

rhombus held up a drawing of wooden wings. “it’s certainly going,” they said half-heartedly.

“perfect! now let’s get to work…!”

droplet and star began crafting the wings: rhombus’s blueprint outlined a system that involved cutting little notches out of branches and inserting little wooden pegs to connect them together, making joints that were just flexible enough. they also bent a twig on each wing into a handle for droplet to hold. even though rhombus wasn’t really on board with the idea, they certainly put effort into designing the wings the best they could.

after a few minutes, the wings were done! droplet grabbed the handles and flapped the wings – and they were sent northward! “wow!” she exclaimed. “they work!”

“thank the primes,” rhombus muttered.

“OKAY EVERYONE, COME TO ME,” möbius called.

the racing contestants gathered just south of him, pentagon accompanied by the water-bearing hexagon; the other contestants waited a bit to the west.

“oh möbius~!” square sang.

“TWINKLE, GET THAT PEST AWAY FROM ME! IF HE DOESN’T SHUT UP I’LL MAKE HIS TEAM LOSE RIGHT NOW.”

origin started towards square, who promptly ran away. the two circled around the others several times before rectangle grabbed his arm.

“for the love of geometry, square, you need to stop,” he pleaded. “for me, if not for anyone else.”

square sighed. “fine.”

origin flashed away, and came back a moment later with his camera lens.

“OKAY. OH MY GOODNESS. OKAY. RACERS: ON YOUR MARKS, GET SET… GO!!!!!!!”

rectangle, pentagon, parallelogram, and droplet burst forth, with pentagon taking the easy lead – just behind her was rectangle, and then parallelogram and droplet.

“just tell me when you’re thirsty!” hexagon puffed as she ran alongside pentagon. “i’ll give you a cup!”

“can i have one now?”

hexagon passed her a cup, which pentagon emptied in a second and dropped.

“no littering!” trapezoid chided from the sidelines.

“sorry!!”

droplet was falling behind, much to her dismay.

“c’mon, droplet!” a voice called out. “you can do it! use those wings!!!”

she briefly looked back to see star cheering for her.

newly determined, droplet started running faster. and she jumped.

then the breeze started pushing her forward! the other racers watched in awe as droplet passed them.

“it isn’t gonna last,” rhombus muttered.

“why not?” star replied. “it’s your design.”

“well yeah, but a good design can’t make a stupid idea work. this is gonna crash and burn.”

“really???” star gasped.

“i was being figurative.”

“oh… well… i believe in her, anyway.”

trapezoid was loudly cheering on pentagon. “PENTA-GO FOR THE GOLD!!!!”

octagon smiled and laughed. “heh… oh yeah, about what i was saying earlier…”

trapezoid looked to her. “oh yeah? about being friends? what was that about?”

“yeah, um…” octagon turned away. “...i like you guys.”

trapezoid blinked. “oh?”

“b-but i’m not good at it!”

“...not good at liking us?”

“i mean, ugh,” octagon shook her head. “like, you guys do all the things you mentioned before, all the time: you help each other, you have fun, you make each other happy, whatever… i don’t.”

“i mean, you might be a little detached, but we love having you on the team, octagon,” trapezoid smiled.

“oh?” octagon made an awkward expression. “well… um… if i am ‘a little detached’... how do i… be a little more… attached…?”

“you gotta put yourself out there, that’s what! jump into things!”

octagon scoffed. “tcch, i’m not doing that.”

trapezoid rolled his eyes affectionately. “if you say so…”

“primes, i gotta catch up!” rectangle gritted his teeth. “i have to prove triangle wrong!” he pushed his legs harder, speeding far past parallelogram.

“darn!” parallelogram bit his lip.

heptagon watched from the side, unsure what to do. he wanted to help, but…

droplet continued to soar past the other racers, speeding towards the tree. as she approached, she flapped her makeshift wings to get herself to slow down, but she was already moving too fast – and she crashed.

“ow…” she murmured. by the time she picked herself up and dusted herself off, pentagon had already reached the tree and moved on.

“cup!” pentagon exclaimed, and received one.

droplet grabbed the wing handles again and started flapping – but she was barely getting anywhere. the wings had broken…

square, meanwhile, was busy sneaking away from the rest of the waiting contestants to bother möbius strip – but triangle intercepted him.

“oh my primes, square!” triangle snapped. “didn’t you hear what möbius strip said? if you bug him again we automatically lose, you idiot!”

“i know! and when that happens, he’s gonna eliminate me! we’d both be happy about that!”

“you don’t know it’d be you! what about rectangle?”

“don’t be ridiculous, there’s no reason why möbius would eliminate him.”

“has he had a reason to eliminate oval? or kite?”

“or circle?”

“shut up about circle!”

“listen, i know you want me out of here. i want me out of here. just let me do this.”

“i won’t.”

“why?”

“i. just. won’t.”

rhombus sighed as they watched droplet struggle to catch up with her competitors on foot; she had to leave the broken wings by the tree. “what did i tell you? i should’ve just brought the remote to mess with the other teams…”

“there was no harm in trying out her idea…” star mumbled.

“uh, yes, there clearly was. we’re about to lose. this is why i don’t listen to her.”

star frowned. heart had often been afraid about completely irrational things, sure, but it certainly didn’t help anything when star brushed him off…

pentagon and rectangle were nearing the finish line, with hexagon down to only two cups.

“cup!” pentagon exclaimed. hexagon promptly passed it to her.

“you’re almost there!” trapezoid called. “you can do it!”

octagon watched on tensely.

“cup!”

hexagon held out the cup – but then she tripped over the empty one on the ground! the last cup of water went flying.

“nooooooo!”

but then a fuschia blur swept in, catching the cup before the water could spill out, and handing it to pentagon as she ran past.

“octagon!” pentagon exclaimed. she downed the water and jolted forward.

rectangle groaned as she passed him again. parallelogram nervously looked over his shoulder: droplet was still far behind.

phew, he thought. at least i won’t lose.

and with that pentagon crossed the finish line, arriving back to möbius strip. rectangle and parallelogram soon followed, with droplet trailing behind.

“CONGRATULATIONS, HELVETICA! SORRY, COOL KIDS. NEUTRAL REMARK, GROUP TWO AND YIM YUM.”

hexagon and trapezoid started cheering. “pentagon! pentagon!”

octagon walked towards them, took a breath, and joined their cheers.

upon seeing her, octagon’s teammates started cheering for her as well. “octagon! pentagon! woo!!!”

the cool kids, however, had nothing to cheer for. droplet dragged herself towards her teammates.

“i thought it would work…” she said softly.

star kneeled down. “well, you–”

“you thought wrong.” rhombus’s usually blank voice had an edge of resentment. “enough.”

they left for the team’s cabin. star took droplet’s hand and led her back with him.

heptagon stared at parallelogram, who was pacing back and forth.

“for crying out loud!” parallelogram suddenly blurted, stopping. “why are you always staring at me like an idiot?”

heptagon had a vaguely worried expression. “you almost lost.”

“yeah, i know.” parallelogram continued to pace. “you don’t have to rub it in…”

“i could’ve helped.”

“that’s new! well too late for that.”

and heptagon went silent again, his eyes wide and empty. there was nothing more he could say if there was nothing more parallelogram would listen to.

…

“you’re so calm!” circle had been surprised by kite’s lack of surprise. she’d just showed up, without any drama whatsoever.

“yeah, well, i guess i had extra time to process.”

like every day, origin had broadcasted the challenge live to the inhabitants of the paradox; in fact, they had started betting on the racers.

“i bet parallelogram’s gonna get it!” kite exclaimed.

oval chuckled. “you can’t just choose him cuz he’s our teammate! it’s pretty clearly pentagon.”

“yeah,” heart conceded. “if droplet’s plan works, she’ll probably win, but if not it’s definitely pentagon. she’s scary fast.”

circle concurred.

in the end everybody but kite won the bet.

origin returned in due time. “hey folks, how are things?” he asked.

“i wish rhombus could be a little nicer,” kite said. “well, nicer to everyone aside from me. they treat me pretty well.”

“i’m glad droplet’s being listened to…” heart murmured. “hey, origin, how long is star gonna stay pink?”

“oh, he’ll be like that until the end of the competition, i’m afraid.”

“huh.”

suddenly kite sighed a sad sigh.

“what’s wrong?” oval asked. the two of them went aside.

“i dunno,” kite said, “i’m just thinking about our team. i feel like it’s my fault they keep teetering on the edge of total failure.”

“is this about heptagon?”

“for the most part, yeah. heptagon doesn’t want to be here; if i’d have just left him alone, not only would he be happier, but also i’d be able to focus more with parry. we’d have done so much better if i accepted it was just the two of us.”

“i guess… but it wasn’t wrong of you to believe in heptagon.”

“yes it was. please don’t sugarcoat it.”

“yim yum’s in a weird place, sure, but that isn’t your fault. i understand if you blame him; you have no reason to blame yourself.”

“fine. i can’t help but worry, though… even if heptagon actually comes around, i doubt parry will be willing to accept that.”

“well, it’s not like either of us have anything to lose. if parallelogram doesn’t accept his help and suffers because of it, that’s his loss and his loss alone.”

“i guess… y’know, you’re very wise, oval.”

“hey, i have to be! it’s not like there’s anything better to do.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

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grt3D episode 2: search party

the light dawned quietly on geometropolis, its presence only known to those awake to see its light. kite was one such shape, staring out of the window of her team’s cabin. she was quite lost in thought, ruminating over her team’s loss in the previous challenge.

i could’ve done more for my team, she pondered. i got too cocky with that attack of mine. and when rhombus hit me with that... weird... limb-removing ray? what was that? anyway... when they used that weird thing on me, and my limbs were gone, i got easily hit with the power of two and wasn’t able to do anything helpful the rest of the time…

kite turned back to see her teammates, who were still sound asleep. they were off in dreamland somewhere; hopefully, wherever that was, it was more pleasant than their cabin – it really was the bare necessities. there was little room and few luxuries, but kite didn’t mind. she was too busy thinking to care.

i just hope that none of us get out. someone from our team or helvetica is leaving today. even though i don’t know my teammates too well, i’m sure i’ll miss them. and anyway... what even happens to us when we’re eliminated?

kite glanced out the window again, and heard a subtle staticky noise, as well as... was that whispering? from afar. origin was roaming around, almost hesitantly. kite couldn’t really make out what he was whispering to himself, but she didn’t have much time to think about it - soon enough, a large flash emanated from him... and he was gone. kite briefly considered this in bemusement, but soon relapsed into her quiet contemplation.

…

“are you sure? they might find it annoying... especially this early...”

“OH WELL!”

“...so i should?”

“DO YOU WANT TO WRITE THEM ALL PERSONALIZED INVITATIONS TO GET UP, TWINKLE-SPRINKLE?”

origin was first rather surprised by möbius’ new nickname for him, but then considered the idea. “can i?”

“JUST DO IT.”

“yes, sir...”

origin’s speech subsided, as a large speaker appeared in his center. after a moment, terribly loud elevator music started playing from it.

“goody goodness!” circle exclaimed, having fallen off of his bed. “what in math is that?”

triangle groaned, glancing at him from her bed. “i’d be able to answer your question if i could actually hear you.” she got off and looked around. “ugh, it’s that big golden thingy again. come on, roundy.”

she started to leave and beckoned to her teammates. rectangle filed out after her and frowned. “don’t call him ‘roundy’... that isn’t nice...”

“you don’t mind, do ya?” triangle asked her yellow friend.

“nope!” he replied. “i quite like it, actually. it’s funny.”

“see?” triangle patted rectangle. “don’t fret, tango. hey...you don’t mind me calling you that, do you?”

square chuckled from behind and pushed the three out of the doorway. “come on, möbius probably wants to start things for the day. let’s not dillydally... or whatever.”

soon enough, a cavalcade of polygons (among others) arranged themselves in the field, looking in anticipation at origin and möbius strip. the former was still blasting elevator music.

“can you stop?” octagon called to him. no reply came.

origin edged a tad closer to möbius strip. “hey... moby... can i stop the noise now?”

“MOBY?” if a möbius strip could look incredulous, he sure could pull it off. “MOBY??”

origin edged back. “sorry, um, you just called me ‘twinkle-sprinkle’ earlier and i-“

“WHAT IS IT?”

“oh, can i stop the noise now?”

“YOU DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, PALLY!”

and the noise stopped. silence filled the field.

“so... um... we gonna... do something??” star queried after a moment, rather loudly.

“shhh!” heart pulled his arm.

“YEAH, LOL,” möbius replied, deadpan. “I’M GONNA PUNT ONE OF YOU SUCKERS TO KINGDOM COME.”

the members of yim yum and helvetica looked at their respective teammates morosely. all but pentagon, who likely isn’t capable of looking morose, and heptagon, who was struggling to shield his excitement.

“would you mind telling us where exactly kingdom come is?” oval asked, scratching his head nervously.

a möbius strip obviously doesn’t have eyes, and yet one can certainly give the impression of staring into your soul. möbius proceeded to do so, before retreating and sweetly saying, “YOU’LL BE GOING TO THE PARADOX!”

heptagon’s expression changed into one of distress. he thought they’d be going home.

“oh, okay, thanks,” oval replied to möbius strip, even though he had no clue what the paradox was.

“NO, I MEANT IT.” möbius insisted. “YOU, OVAL, SPECIFICALLY, WILL BE GOING TO THE PARADOX. RIGHT NOW.”

oval stepped back in shock. “what? oh?” he frowned and looked at his teammates. “gosh, i have to leave so soon...” he looked back at möbius. “is there any particular reason why i’m eliminated? a vote, or–”

“BUH-BYE!”

with that, oval started floating towards the buzzing origin - and his limbs suddenly disappeared as he stuck to him with a zhloop.

“golly....” oval looked at rest of the shapes in the field. “well, folks, it’s been nice working with you! i hope you all have a wonderful ti–”

and with a flash and a bang, origin and oval were gone.

heptagon bit his lip and furrowed his brow.

kite sighed, before approaching her remaining teammates. “hey guys... i suppose we didn’t do too well last time... if we work harder, i know we can–”

“we didn’t do well?” parallelogram raised an eyebrow. “sorry to be so harsh, but i think there’s one person here who needs to ‘work harder’.”

he squinted and stared at heptagon, who was now lying down again.

“come on, parry, give him a break–”

“he’s had enough of a break as it is.”

“...well, you can manage to cut him some slack, can’t you? come on, let’s not fight over this.”

“yeah, um, please don’t fight over this actually,” rhombus called to their cousin. “möbius is kinda waiting for you.”

kite gasped. “oh! oh i’m so sorry! please go on with whatever you were gonna say, möbius strip...”

“SHE KNOWS NOT TO CALL ME ‘MOBY’,” möbius muttered to himself, rather loudly. “AAAANYWAY, IT’S CHALLENGE TIME! TODAY’S CHALLENGE WILL BE A SCAVENGER HUNT.”

“ooh! sounds fun!” pentagon smiled.

octagon sighed. “but fewer rules than last time... alas.”

a pause. “IF YOU DON’T MIND,” möbius cleared his theoretical throat. “EACH TEAM WILL GET A LIST OF ITEMS TO FIND AND A CAMERA. AS YOU FIND EACH ITEM ON THE LIST, TAKE A PHOTO OF IT WITH YOUR CAMERA. ONCE YOU’VE FOUND EVERYTHING, COME TO TWINKLE AND SHOW HIM YOUR PHOTOS. THE LAST TEAM TO FINISH THE SCAVENGER HUNT WILL BE UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

heart and star sighed in relief in unison. “finally something less confusing!” they both said. “jinx!” they both said again, and chuckled.

droplet raised her hand.

“YES, MORTAL?” möbius addressed her politely.

“well... twinkle isn’t back yet, and we don’t have the lists or cameras yet either...”

“OH, HE’LL BE BACK. I’LL BE SURE OF IT.”

“um, what about the lists... or cameras...?”

and as she said each, möbius dropped them in the hands of a member of each team.

“BEGIN, I GUESS,” möbius muttered.

“nice! what a cool camera,” trapezoid chuckled to himself, admiring its specs (which weren’t actually very good, mind you).

“yikes! this is one bizarre list,” rectangle blinked incredulously at the paper that just manifested in his hand, given its contents. it ran like so:

MÖBIUS’ MARVELOUS MANIACAL MEGA... SCAVENGER HUNT THINGY (NOTE TO SELF: ASK TWINKY-DINK FOR MORE COOL WORDS STARTING WITH M)

1 - SOMETHING BIG AND GREEN

2 - SOMETHING PUFFY

3 - SOMETHING THAT MAKES THE SOUND ‘WFFFFFFFFTH’

4 - X

5 - SOMETHING THAT SMELLS BLUE

7 - A LONG DISTANCE

8 - MY WILL TO LIVE

9 - WHAT CURSIVE SOUNDS LIKE

10 - WHEN I ASKED FOR YOUR OPINION

11 - ITEM NUMBER SIX

square peered over his shoulder at the list. “... i can’t read this.”

“the first one says ‘something big and green’.”

rectangle’s brother nudged him smugly. “i wonder what that could be.”

rectangle blinked, and paused to think a moment. “...i’m green.”

meanwhile, hexagon was sitting down, plucking at her ukulele (which origin had been so kind to bring her from home, upon her request).

“could you please stop, hexagon?” octagon groaned. “i’m trying to find out how to make pentagon big.” she continued pacing around, chewing thoughtfully on her pacifier.

“mommy says i’ll be big when i’m older,” pentagon noted, stomping at the ground rather violently. “but i don’t want to be bigger. when you’re small, you can crawl into the walls more easily.”

trapezoid sighed. “well anyway, octagon, i don’t see how making pentagon bigger would help. she isn’t green green, she’s chartreuse.”

“chartreuse is technically still green, dummy,” octagon yelled. “and this is the only lead i’ve got, so shut it.”

hexagon turned around. “wait a sec, octy?”

“don’t call me octy.”

“octagon, could you grab pentagon’s right hand? i have an idea.”

octagon shook her head.

“please?”

“why?”

“pretty please?”

octagon grumbled and dramatically swung her arm around to grab pentagon’s hand, sneering. in doing so, she accidentally knocked into rhombus. “watch it!” she snapped, frowning at them.

rhombus wordlessly knocked into their limb remote, which, releasing a beam of light, removed droplet’s limbs. droplet had been sleeping, and the beam awoke her.

“huh… hey, heart! heart! i know what’s puffy!” she exclaimed after coming to her senses.

heart rushed over, rather out of breath. “really? thank goodness...”

“dreams! aren’t they so puffy and light?”

“yeah! but i don’t think we can take pictures of dreams, sorry… hey, where’s the camera anyway?”

“oops. storage full...” star tossed the camera over his head between his hands. “oopsie doopsie doop...”

“star, you know what i told you...” heart took the camera from his friend, and sighed once he began browsing through the photos. “we need this camera for the challenge, not for taking pictures of you... you might be awfully photogenic – i m-mean, heh, you might awfully want to take pictures of yourself right now, but we need this camera if we don’t want to be up for elimination.”

droplet glanced over at the two and blinked.

“oh, it’s fine,” star patted heart and smiled. “we won immunity last time, didn’t we? why can’t it happen again?”

“well, if we don’t look for anything–”

“shshh – you’re worrying too much. you should come relax with me.”

heart sighed and walked over to rhombus, looking forlornly at the list of items to find.

at the same time, kite was busy thinking – not like that’s anything out of the ordinary.

“i’d imagine cursive would sound like... very flowery, perhaps even slightly pretentious, language. i mean, i guess you could write anything in cursive, even crude things, but generally speaking...”

parallelogram toyed with the camera. “what difference would it make? you can’t take a picture of fancy talk.”

“...can’t you record a video on that?” kite asked, motioning to the camera.

“this thing? i think these cost a digit a piece.”

“yeah, it looks pretty cheap, huh. but oh well, we’ll make do... won’t we, heptagon?”

heptagon barely glanced at her in response.

“if you have any suggestions for any of the items on the list, don’t be afraid to tell us.”

he rolled his eyes. “sure thing.”

parallelogram groaned. “well then, if we can’t actually record what cursive sounds like, what now?”

kite thought for a second. “could we take a picture of actual cursive? i mean, if we can’t record anything, i guess cursive itself would represent its sound, right?”

“i guess so. d’you have a pencil?”

kite checked their nonexistent pockets momentarily. “sorry, nope.”

parallelogram tutted. “what now? i can’t write in cursive without a pencil... do you have a pen?”

“nope.”

“crayon?”

“would it suffice to say that i have no writing implements of any sort?”

“yes, even if the very fact would annoy me to no end… what now?”

the two sat there thinking together.

“okay!” hexagon exclaimed. “now trapezoid, grab pentagon’s left hand, ‘kay?”

trapezoid did just that.

“okay,” hexagon continued. “if i’m remembering correctly, if a shape is pulled at from both sides, they’ll dilate for as long as the force is being applied. pentagon, are you okay with a little tug? it shouldn’t hurt.”

pentagon grinned. “yes please!”

trapezoid looked at her with concern.

“okey doke,” hexagon started, pulling out the camera and kneeling down. “now… pull!”

octagon and trapezoid pulled pentagon in two directions at once – causing her to grow in size!

“woah!” pentagon gasped.

“perfect!” hexagon exclaimed after a moment of pulling. “stay right where you are.” then she snapped the shutter and grinned.

octagon approached to look at the photo, causing pentagon to snap back to her original, tiny size. as she handed the camera to octagon, hexagon picked up her ukulele again and strummed in satisfaction.

“this is...” octagon started. “actually really clever of you! wow!”

hexagon strummed again, even more satisfied now, smiling right up against octagon. “thanks! that’s especially flattering, coming from you!”

“oh, sh-shut up,” octagon looked away before hexagon could see her facial expression.

“...can i come back now?” trapezoid called, still holding pentagon’s hand. “did it work?”

“yeah! come see!” hexagon waved at the two of them.

trapezoid and pentagon joined octagon and pentagon and, upon seeing the result of hexagon’s idea, trapezoid patted pentagon on the head with pride. “good job, kiddo!” he said with a smile.

“okay, whatever, so hexagon’s plan worked,” octagon muttered. “let’s just get on with things. what’s next?”

“be polite, missy. and next is ‘something puffy’.”

“okay, ‘smelling blue’ is totally beyond me. whoever wrote these needs help!” triangle tried for the millionth time to rip the list in half, given its infuriating absurdity. however, rectangle snatched it from her again.

“they sure do. möbius lost all of these things and needs us to find them! that must be terrible, losing so many things at once...”

“well, they certainly lost number 6,” square scoffed. “cuz that’s nowhere to be found.”

circle grabbed the list and squinted. “could they hide it somewhere? is it really small or written in invisible ink or something?”

“well, a long distance shouldn’t be too hard to find,” triangle pointed out. “or rather make.”

“how?”

triangle abruptly grabbed rectangle, causing him to yelp.

“woah, dude!” square flared up. “what in math are you doing?”

“i’m gonna throw tango really far! to make a long distance between him and us.”

“you’re gonna do what?” rectangle cried.

“no way am i letting you throw my brother,” square said. “if you have to throw anyone, throw me.”

“or you could just throw me,” circle suggested. “i wouldn’t mind.”

“why are you so worried about getting immunity?” rhombus asked heart, absentmindedly returning droplet’s limbs.

“we don’t know what the paradox is. i don’t want to have to find out.”

droplet, now able to stand up, stood up. she turned and glanced at star, who was busy doing nothing. “i think this would be faster if we could get star to help us!”

heart chuckled sheepishly. “yeah... but star said he wants to relax, so it’s up to us to win the challenge.”

“can you relax with me?” star called. “it’s so boring without you.”

“sorry, star! i can’t right now!”

“ugh... fine...”

heart turned back to his other teammates. “okay, so, anyway, what could ‘x’ mean?”

“you’ve known star since you two were young, correct?” rhombus asked.

“hm? yes...” heart jumped back, rather surprised. “but wait! i n-never told you that.. how do you know?”

rhombus shrugged. “i can’t see why else you two would be so close. you have nothing in common.”

heart bit his lip. “...he’s a fun guy! star’s a nice person who likes people to be happy. i enjoy his company.”

“...i see. also ‘x’ implies a variable, an unknown, which makes your question about what it is kind of redundant.”

parallelogram started aiming the camera to be thrown at heptagon’s resting face.

“don’t!” kite exclaimed. “come on, let’s think.”

“i mean, huh...... hey, wait a sec!”

“what is it?”

“can’t we just take a picture of the words ‘what cursive sounds like’ on the list?”

“what? how? why?”

“i mean, ‘what cursive sounds like’ is indeed ‘what cursive sounds like’, right?”

“...yeah?”

“so we could hand in ‘what cursive sounds like’ for ‘what cursive sounds like’ and technically be correct.”

“yeah... yeah! yeah wait actually you are so right!” in her excitement, kite leaned over and hugged parallelogram.

“i-i am?”

kite retreated shyly. “y-yeah, you are... and wait, couldn’t that technically apply to all of them then?”

“‘something big and green’, ‘something puffy’, ‘something that makes the sound “wffffffffth”’.... yeah, it checks out!”

“not really,” a monotone voice interrupted.

“what? heptagon?” kite turned around.

“it can’t work for the last one, as item number six doesn’t exist.”

“what do you mean?” parallelogram turned to face him as well. “‘item number six’ is the same as ‘item number six’, right?”

“sure, but ‘item number six’ can’t be the same as anything if it never existed to begin with.”

“but... then...” kite bit her lip. “then our plan wouldn’t work for a number of them... nothing actually smells blue, and cursive doesn’t sound like anything, right? and i suppose if somebody were really down in the dumps, their will to live might not exist either...”

“‘my will to live’??” heart slumped, exasperated. “i don’t want to be psychoanalyzed right now! i didn’t sign up for this!”

rhombus paused, swiftly putting away their comically large clipboard. “...you didn’t?”

“we’re gonna be up for elimination, i just know it... we’ve only found two things... i’m so sorry, you two...”

“hey, it’s okay!” droplet patted him on the shoulder. “i don’t think anyone else is finished. betcha they’re just as confuzzled as we are.”

“i doubt that’s possible...”

rhombus blinked at him momentarily. “i think you do need to relax.”

“you ready?” triangle asked.

“i’m not ready, i’m roundy!” circle giggled as triangle held him up.

“yeah, okay.” and without another word triangle sent him flying south. “can one of you two take a picture?” she asked rectangle and square.

“well, we’d have to take it in such a way that shows the long distance,” rectangle noted, “so both you and circle have to be in frame.”

“what does that mean?”

“well, either i walk back really far so the camera captures both of you, or circle moves closer.”

“why should he move closer when i took an entire second to throw him?”

“fair… then i guess i just have to move back myself.”

triangle suddenly grabbed him again. “it’d be easier if i just threw you back instead.” and she did.

“okay folks, we’re down to number 5...” trapezoid eyed the bizarre list. “now, does anyone know what blue smells like?”

“is it supposed to smell like something?” hexagon was tuning her uke.

“hmm...” pentagon popped out of a bush. “would blue paint technically smell like blue?”

“i don’t think each color of paint has a distinct smell... it’d probably just smell like paint,” hexagon pointed out. “unless the different colors of paint do smell different?”

“it might depend on the brand of paint,” trapezoid suggested.

“it doesn’t matter either way!” octagon thumped her foot. “we don’t have any paint!”

“we certainly won’t have any paint with that attitude, octagon,” trapezoid chided.

hexagon sat and thought for a second. “do any of you have paint at home?”

octagon blinked at her confusedly. “y-yeah, but how does that help anything?”

“well,” hexagon stroked her ukulele. “i had my uke at home, and when i asked origin politely to get it for me, he did.”

octagon’s eyes widened. “who? oh yeah! twinkle, that infernal thing! you’re right!”

pentagon looked around, and spotted origin to the northwest. “and good for us, origin finally came back. möbius was right.”

“hey ory!” hexagon waved to him from where she stood. “could you come over here please?”

origin moved over to helvetica swiftly. “is there anything i could do for you?” he asked quietly, happily.

“whoa, i didn’t know it could talk,” octagon muttered.

trapezoid chuckled sheepishly. “hey bud, i think you need to ask origin yourself. the paint is at your house, after all,” he whispered to her.

“fine, okay,” octagon conceded. “twinkle, get me my paints from home.”

origin didn’t reply, but somehow appeared uncomfortable.

octagon grumbled as hexagon nudged her. “ugh. could you pretty please get my paints from home, origin? i would really appreciate it.” she glared at hexagon after this. “this better work,” she whispered behind clenched teeth.

“oh, sure, if you’d like!” origin replied. “thank you for asking so politely.”

and with that he flew off.

“we don’t even know if blue paint smells blue...” octagon sighed.

möbius strip watched the teams from far up north. in the corner of his vision he could see origin flying by, and groaned as he left the field.

“FOR THE LOVE OF GEOMETRY!” möbius cried. “I JUST GOT THAT DWEEB BACK HERE, AND HE’S ALREADY LEAVING! THIS CHALLENGE IS TAKING LONG ENOUGH AS IT IS! UGGGGGGH!!!”

heart glared concernedly at möbius from where he stood. “that guy is terribly loud.”

he looked back at the list and started to pace. “come on, heart, come on! this isn’t like the play in 3rd grade, no, this is something you can actually do... right?”

“hey, heart?” a voice called from the right of him. heart turned around to see rhombus sitting down by star and droplet.

“y-yeah?”

“i’ve looked over every possibility. some of those are literally impossible.”

“möbius strip wouldn’t do that to us, would he?” droplet asked them. “that wouldn’t be very nice...”

“oh, he totally would. anyway,” they turned back to heart. “we’ve tried really hard to find the things on that list, but we can’t. you really should take it easy.”

“but– we’ll–” heart stammered.

“chill out, bromide,” star shrugged. “even if, cuz of you, we win immunity this round, you’d be so darned tired for the next one you wouldn’t even be able to participate!”

heart did realize the truth in his best friend’s words, but still wasn’t comforted. “but if we don’t win immunity this round, i might not be there to even see it… i’ll be in some prime-forsaken place…”

“come here, buddy,” star got up and grabbed heart’s hand, before dragging him down to relax with the other two. “settle down.”

upon laying down, heart’s eyes started to close, and he chuckled momentarily. “dreams really are puffy, aren’t they...?” and then his eyelids became heavy…

“there goes our entire plan...” parallelogram grunted. “thanks a lot...”

heptagon blinked curiously at him, then shrugged and lay down again.

“oh, come now parry. we should thank him for contributing.” kite turned to heptagon. “you’re really smart, you know... you would’ve been a big help last challenge.”

heptagon didn’t reply.

“hm. well,” kite picked up the list again. “then i guess we can’t finish this at all, can we?”

“huh?” parallelogram moved up next to her.

“i mean, if we can’t submit the pictures of the questions for these because they don’t exist, then we can’t submit any pictures for them... cuz they don’t exist.”

“oh shoot... oh shoot, you’re right! dodeca-dang it!”

“what’re we gonna do now? i don’t think we can complete the challenge...”

“well...” parallelogram looked around for a moment. “then i doubt anyone else can, either. i think we’re good for now.”

“we should just wait? till when? i don’t think the challenge ends until 3 teams submit their photos...”

“oh well. i’d be happier relaxing here than doing another challenge.”

“really? i thought you liked it here after all.”

“sure, but not for the challenges.”

kite smiled but decided not to push the obvious question. she turned to heptagon. “are you happy we can relax instead of doing another challenge?”

he simply furrowed his brow.

“i mean, you didn’t seem too keen on competing last time, so i’d imagine you don’t like the challenges.”

heptagon simply shrugged again.

“TRIANGLE!” square yelled, glaring at her for throwing his brother. “WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT FOR?”

“hey, i was just trying to make this quick!” she replied. “your brother isn’t as soft as you think he is. he’s fine.”

“well, you don’t know my brother that well…” square grumbled as he left to find rectangle. triangle followed.

rectangle had hit a tree while holding the camera, causing it to break in half.

“rectangle!” square exclaimed with concern. “are you okay??”

“yeah,” rectangle looked back at square, rubbing his head. “but the camera isn’t…”

“oh my prime!” triangle cried. “tango, what have you done?” she picked up the pieces of the broken camera, frustrated.

“it wasn’t his fault, triangle,” square seethed. “it was yours.”

“um…” rectangle furrowed his brow. “let’s just find circle, okay?”

“TWINKLE! FINALLY!” möbius yelled, startling the large golden shape as he came into view. “come over here, we have a challenge to wrap up.”

“oh– but–” origin stuttered. “i have something to deliver to octagon.”

“deliver? you’re no mailman. did i ever give you permission to do that?”

“sorry, no... can i just... can i just give these to her?”

“i’ll be taking those. what are they? paints?”

“yeah... and they’re also octagon’s...”

“well they’re mine now. once we finish the challenge put them away for me. OKAY,” he was talking much louder now, as if announcing. “WHOEVER’S DONE COME TO TWINKLE TO GET YOUR PHOTOS EVALUATED. REMEMBER, LAST TEAM FINISHED IS UP FOR ELIMINATION!”

he waited several minutes, and not one team approached his co-host.

“WHAT IN MATH IS TAKING THEM SO LONG?” möbius strip groaned. “i’m so bored! and i have things to do...”

origin sighed. “could i... see the list of things they need to find?”

“knock yourself out,” möbius threw one to him, somehow. “...hey wait, i never got you to check it over after i wrote it!”

“...when did you write it?”

“earlier this morning.”

“...i was in the paradox this morning....”

“oopsie.”

origin read over the list, and almost flashed into the paradox in surprise. “n-no wonder nobody’s finished...”

“WHAT IS IT?”

“‘when i asked for your opinion’? forgive my impertinence, sir, but half of these either don’t exist, or at least don’t exist tangibly...”

“WELL, WHEN DID I ASK FOR YOUR OPINION ON MY LIST, HUH?”

origin regarded his boss incredulously, but didn’t give the obvious answer. instead, he simply sighed and asked, “could we please end the challenge early? i don’t think this one was very fair...”

“OOH, AND WE PUT EVERYONE UP FOR ELIMINATION, BECAUSE NONE OF THEM FINISHED?” möbius cackled maniacally. “SOUNDS DEVIOUS! I MIGHT ACTUALLY BE STARTING TO LIKE YOU.”

“uh, n-no, i meant none of them would be... i mean, if th-that’s okay with you, of course.”

möbius regarded him incredulously and groaned. “UGH, YOU’RE SUCH A GOODY-TWO-SHOES. BUT FINE, TWINNY, IF YOU INSIST.”

“...i don’t insist, but yeah, thanks...”

and after a moment, the speaker appeared on origin again. möbius could easily be heard as it was, but he liked being a bit dramatic sometimes. as he announced the following, it was broadcasted through origin’s speaker…

“THIS CHALLENGE IS OVER. ALL OF YOU WIN IMMUNITY. BYE.”

and with that, möbius strip took the paints himself and departed, leaving 15 confused contestants and one awfully embarrassed origin.

“y-yeah...” he apologetically and very shyly addressed them. “s-sorry about all this... we decided that it was... that it was... impossible... to c-complete the challenge...” origin’s voice trailed off. he stayed in place for a few awkward moments.

“what a rip-off!” octagon yelled at him. and with that, origin immediately flashed away to the paradox.

heart woke up abruptly from the sudden noise. “...did we... did we lose...?”

rhombus turned and looked at him. “none of us did.”

“thank the primes!” and heart fell back asleep with a sigh of relief.

…

“hello, um, sorry about this.”

“no, it’s fine. you don’t need to apologize.”

“i should’ve explained to you what was going to happen. where you were about to go.”

“it’s okay, it’s okay…” oval assured him. “but now that i’m here, it’d be nice if i got an explanation.”

“oh, yeah, sure!” origin said. “welcome to the paradox... don’t really know why it’s called that, to be honest. it’s basically just a graph world.”

“ah, okay.”

“it goes on forever and ever... and all there is is this big ol’ grid. nothing more, nothing less.”

“hey twinkle – sorry, origin,” oval piped up after a moment, “could i have my limbs back?”

“oh, sorry, it doesn’t work like that here.”

“oh?”

“yeah, you can’t have limbs in the paradox.”

“bummer.”

“yeah... the paradox is like... the most basic version of our world. no limbs, no faces, just shapes.”

“...ah... so... what will i do here?”

“...proofs.”

“proofs?”

“you’ll be given proofs to solve while you’re here. you have to prove a certain shape is what it says it is. for example, um… prove that you’re an oval!”

“how am i supposed to do that?”

“i don’t know. i guess that’s what you’ll end up learning here.”

“well… i think i’m an oval… no, i know i’m an oval. so therefore, i’m an oval.”

origin chuckled. “guess you cracked the code… but yeah, you’ll be doing proofs. that’s what möbius strip wants eliminated contestants to do, anyway.”

“hm... do i have to, though?”

“i guess not... i don’t really care. and it’s not like möbius can come here and tell me what to do anyway. you can do whatever you want, really.”

“thanks, origin.”

origin paused for a moment. “you’re very welcome.” and then he flashed away.

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 12: the logarithm labyrinth

square and droplet were lying on their beds late at night, wide awake.

“okay, so…” droplet started. “what’s your favorite number?”

“27,” square replied.

“favorite color?”

“gray.”

“favorite song?”

“fallen angle by poison. how about you?”

“well, um… 3, rainbow, and somebody to love by quintuple.”

“i love quintuple!” square exclaimed. “oh, have you listened to their song with data bowie?”

“under pressure? of course!”

“not to mention other classic bands like fleetwood math, blue öval cult, guns and rulers…”

“i love those! wow, we have a lot in common!” droplet smiled.

“in terms of our music taste, anyway… hey, y’know what else we have in common?

“what?”

“we’re both pretty darn awesome. we were so on top of today’s challenge.”

“you’re right. i wonder what we’ll do today…”

“nothing a pair of wings can’t help!” droplet’s wings were sitting on one of the empty beds.

“you don’t know that.”

“yeah, no, i don’t.” square sat up. “y’know, if origin already knows every challenge we’re gonna do, i wonder if i can trick him into telling us. so we can prepare ahead of time.”

“i mean we could, in theory. but that wouldn’t be very nice, would it?”

“i guess not…” a pause. “hey, i just realized i’m the only group twoer left. i mean, i knew already that my friends had been eliminated, but darn, they were my whole team then.”

“star and i are the only cool kids. i wonder how he’s doing?”

“you wanna find out?”

“can i?”

square smiled at her.

the two left the cabin and started walking towards the homeslices’. droplet approached the window and looked through, to see star staring right at her! or… through her?

“aah!” she yelped, falling backwards.

“golly!” he cried, shaking himself. he left his cabin and joined her outside. “droplet, what in math are you doing here?”

“i wanted to see how you’re doing, that’s all.”

“well i’m doing fine, buddy! bit nervous about tomorrow morning’s elimination, but otherwise, smooth sailing for me.”

“think you might get eliminated?”

“maybe.”

“well, if you do, you’ll get to see heart again!”

star chuckled sadly. “that’s the thing…”

“what?” droplet blinked at him.

“i want to prove to heart that i’ve really changed for the better. i only want to see him once i’m worthy to be his friend again.”

“but you’ve already grown so much, star!”

star smiled. “i know i have. but i want to be even better!”

square was leaning on the side of the cabin. “i think that’s a noble goal,” he said. “good luck with that.”

“hey, you haven’t wanted to win for a while, have you?” star asked.

“nope. i’m glad you two want to, though. hope you don’t get eliminated tomorrow.”

“thanks.” star looked slightly uneasy.

“hey, star,” droplet piped up. “...what’s your favorite song?”

“what makes you beautiful by one dimension. why?”

“noooo!” square cried over-dramatically. “he’s not one of us!”

“next thing we know he’s gonna say he listens to odd sheeran!” droplet chimed in, laughing. “unironically!”

star shook his head affectionately. “good night to neither of you.” and he went back into his cabin.

“i bet everyone else here also has garbage taste in music,” square retorted.

“all the more reason why we’re on the same team…!” droplet giggled.

…

“so, oval… how was your first day of co-hosting?”

“not bad, not bad… well, i guess it was a little rough.”

origin sighed. “yup. that’s just how it is around here… the contestants are always mad about something. and i don’t blame them.”

“neither do i. hey, what’ll we do if möbius never comes back?” oval had a worried expression. “then the winner won’t be able to go to the 3rd dimension… this’ll all be for nothing…”

“there’s nothing i can really do to get in contact with möbius strip, unfortunately.”

“hey, how did you end up working for him anyway? what’s your connection to him?”

“well, hm… möbius strip heard about me from my older sister a while back, and she has basically the same abilities i do. then he used his powers to come here, and he found me, and he told me about this idea he had for a game show. he told me that hey, he could travel between the 2nd and 3rd dimensions, and that it’d be fun if he could have a little competition where a shape could win the ability to go to the 3rd dimension. he just wanted my help with some stuff, and i obliged, as i had nothing better to do.”

“but why you in particular?”

“well, because of my sister he knew about my ability to access the paradox. maybe that’s why?”

“do you not know?”

“no, not really.”

oval was still curious. “how long have you known möbius strip?”

origin paused to think. “well, i–”

“hey guys!” hexagon greeted, hand in hand with octagon. “we’re back to our early morning walks.”

“oh!” oval exclaimed. “good morning, you two!”

“how are you?”

“i’m doing well. hey, glad to see you two cheering up a bit since yesterday morning.”

octagon smiled slightly. “yeah. we’ve had time to process.”

“good thing we did that during the challenge rather than instead of it!” hexagon chuckled.

“yup. we talked afterward too, though.”

hexagon nudged octagon with her elbow. “late into the night…! just like we’re on a sleepover…!”

octagon rolled her eyes but couldn’t stop herself from smiling. “shut up.”

“hey, you think it’s time to wake everyone up?” oval asked origin.

“yeah, um, probably. you wanna do it?”

“sure! i’ll be back in a jiff.”

as oval left to rouse the other contestants, origin translated over to hexagon and octagon. “so?” he asked eagerly. “what’s up with you two?”

“nothing,” octagon muttered, biting her pacifier. “we’re just…really good friends now. we talk a lot.”

“for hours and hours~!” hexagon said in a dreamy sort of voice. she chuckled. “sorry, it’s just cute when you get flustered.”

“aaugh!! shut up!!!!”

as oval was walking over to the cabins, he spotted something strange behind a bush; he picked it up and tucked it away.

soon enough, he returned to the main field with the other contestants.

“so?” parallelogram asked origin drily. “who’s next on your list?”

origin edged back uncomfortably. “we’ll get to the elimination in a moment. how’s everyone doing?”

“pretty good,” square said. droplet nodded.

“yeah, i’m okay,” star agreed.

“okay, well, yes,” origin continued, “it is time for the elimination.”

“and the homeslices lost yesterday’s challenge,” oval said. “so one of you will be sent to the paradox.”

“you may take this time to talk.”

parallelogram looked at his teammates. both looked antsy.

“to talk about what?” he asked. “enough with the theatrics, origin. you know who’s being eliminated. just spit it out already…”

origin sighed. “okay… the eliminated contestant is, um… parallelogram.”

“i knew it!” parallelogram cried. “i swear to the primes!”

“i’m really sorry, parallelogram.” origin began to buzz.

heptagon stared up at him with wide, glistening eyes. “parry…”

“take it easy, heptagon,” parallelogram said in a grave voice as he floated towards origin. “and star… figure out what you wanna do, and do it. just make my elimination worth it…”

star nodded silently as origin vanished, parallelogram gone with him.

“okay,” oval went on, “origin told me what today’s challenge is going to be, so i might as well explain it to you all.”

“yeah, go ahead,” square said.

“okay. so just northwest of where we are right now is the logarithm labyrinth.”

“oh, i’ve heard of that place!” hexagon piped up. “it’s this complicated cave system, right?”

“you got it! it’s this system of really intricate caves, like a maze. the challenge will be to get from one end of the tunnels to the other. but what’s important to note is that only one member of your team needs to reach the other side for you to be safe. the last team to have someone get across will be up for elimination.”

“that doesn’t sound too bad,” droplet said. “right?”

origin soon reappeared. “oval, you explained everything?”

“indeed i did!”

“okay! so i’ll take you all over there. now hold still everyone~!” origin began to buzz again.

“hey, can you not take me?” oval asked. “i just want to walk.”

“oh, okey doke!” the remaining shapes lost their limbs and stuck to origin; together they translated over to the logarithm labyrinth, oval right behind them.

origin released the contestants, still missing their arms and legs. but before he could use his powers to fix that, a beam of light hit them all.

“the grapher!” origin gasped, seeing oval holding it proudly. “that’s where that thing went!”

“i found it by a bush,” oval explained.

“how about you hold onto it for now? so i don’t lose it again?”

“sounds like a plan!” oval gave him a thumbs up.

“okay, so are we starting?” octagon asked, crowded around the labyrinth entrance with the other contestants who now had their limbs.

“oh, yes! 3… 2… 1… go!”

everyone squeezed through the opening to find a large cavern with many tunnels branching off of it.

“i think we should split up,” square said. “only one of us needs to get to the end, after all.”

“okey doke!” droplet replied. “i’ll see you on the other side!” she popped into one of the tunnels, while square popped into another.

“we should probably do the same,” hexagon told octagon.

“oh…” octagon frowned. “i thought we’d do it together…”

hexagon paused, then shook herself. “y’know what? yeah. c’mon, octagon!” she grabbed her hand and led her into a tunnel.

star began to go one way, with a sulking heptagon trailing behind him.

“y’know, heptagon,” star piped up, stopping, “we don’t both need to get to the other side. you can just relax if you want.”

“but that’ll lessen your chances of–”

“shshh, i don’t care, dude! i’m still figuring out if i even want to win! just go back and take a nap. that’s the most helpful thing you could do right now.”

star smiled. heptagon’s harshly lined face softened. “...okay. thank you.” with that, heptagon turned back.

“now it’s just you and me, star,” star said to himself. “just you and me…”

droplet was pretty small, so she found it relatively easy to navigate through the tunnels – there were little crevices and narrow shortcuts that few others would likely be able to fit through.

it’s weird going this alone, she thought. it’s for the best of course, but i dunno… it’s weird. hey, what’s that?

she had spotted a crystal poking out of the tunnel’s rocky wall, and marveled at it for a moment.

meanwhile, origin and oval had made their way to the other side of the labyrinth to wait for the contestants as they exited; origin had his camera lens.

suddenly, oval groaned.

“what is it?” origin asked.

“i forgot to tell them all to be careful. sometimes the walls break up and rocks go flying around – i hope none of them get hurt…”

“i’m sure they’ll be fine, don’t worry.”

“you’re probably right…” but oval remained uneasy.

“also, i’m just now realizing that the eliminated contestants won’t be seeing much. it’s not like i can broadcast inside the labyrinth itself…”

hexagon bumped into a wall. “oy vey, a dead end.”

“i guess we should’ve gone right at the fork, not left,” octagon said. “we’ll just retrace our steps.”

“okey doke! you lead the way, octy!”

the two began to walk in the other direction.

“y’know, octagon…” hexagon said, “sorry for making so many jokes about, um, us being good friends now, and us talking and stuff… you just have such a funny reaction to it!”

“hm.” octagon stopped as they reached the fork in the tunnel, and took the path they previously hadn’t taken. “well, for the record, i’m not actually that bothered by it. i just have to wonder… how is my reaction funny???”

“i dunno, it just is! it’s adorable!” hexagon giggled. “you look away and your face gets all red whenever i so much as mention the fact that we talk…”

“well it’s because you make it sound like it’s a big deal!!! when it isn’t!!!!!” octagon stopped herself and took a breath. “...i just did it again, didn’t i?”

meanwhile, square was traversing the caverns by himself.

it’s just like the time i was going it alone through the forest for the turf war challenge, he thought grimly. the other three are in the paradox without me… i wonder if they miss me…

he soon found himself at a dead end and shook his head. “how many dead ends has this been? 5? screw this.” he kicked the rocky tunnel wall in frustration.

a distant rumble could be heard…

heptagon had just exited the cave. suddenly, the tunnel walls that had just enclosed him broke up into rocky pieces, blocking the passageway.

“geez,” he muttered to himself. “i got out just in time.”

hm, he thought. where would it be easiest for me to relax? should i stay here? or go back to the cabins? or go around to where origin and oval are? …i’m overthinking this, aren’t i?

so heptagon simply sat down right by the labyrinth and closed his eyes.

hexagon and octagon were still chatting as they made their way through.

“guess what!” hexagon exclaimed.

“what?” octagon responded.

“i heard that droplet won the citywide storytelling contest this past year.”

“oh really? wow.”

“yeah. and kite got first prize in a creative writing competition.”

“have you gotten any awards?”

“well…” hexagon chuckled sheepishly, “maybe a few…”

“wait – you’re the one who won the citywide spelling bee five years in a row! that’s you!”

“the one and only!”

“that’s crazy!” octagon nudged her affectionately. “you’re like a celebrity!”

“hey!”

“when we get back i have to get your autograph.”

“knock it off!” hexagon nudged her back. “i bet you’ve gotten your fair share of achievements yourself.”

“you don’t know that!”

“oh c’mon octagon, you’re a smart cookie!”

“so you’re gonna steal me? you cookie thief?”

the two burst into laughter.

“but really,” hexagon continued. “i bet you got straight As in grade school. gold honor roll. ms. valedictorian herself.”

“yeah, you got me…”

“what was your score on the SAT?”

“1520. why?”

“oh my primes!” hexagon laughed. “you’re insane!”

“no, you’re insane!”

at the same time, star was walking through the tunnels at a casual pace, talking to himself.

“it’s been, like, a week since heart was eliminated. that’s crazy, man! hey, this place looks familiar…”

he found himself in a large cavern.

“i’m right back at the beginning, aren’t i!” he exclaimed. “lol, oh well…”

star began to pace back and forth in the empty space before him, thinking to himself.

i only really signed up for this whole thing so i could hang out with him, he pondered, so i could hang out with this IDEA of him. i had just attached myself so strongly to the idea of a perfectly happy, carefree heart… when that isn’t real. there’s no perfectly happy, carefree star either.

“what am i doing with myself now?” he said aloud. “i don’t know if heart and i will be friends after this… but that shouldn’t be all i’m thinking of. i need to do something with myself.”

he looked toward one of the tunnels.

“i need to win.”

droplet had found a multitude of crystals in the labyrinth walls. and they were colorful! everything in geometropolis was gray, minus its inhabitants – so droplet’s eyes were wide in awe at the sight of these marvelous gems.

the crystals made a path through the caverns which she followed eagerly. much to her surprise, droplet saw the light creeping in at the end of the tunnel! she had found the exit!

“AAAAAAAAAAAH!”

droplet jolted at the sound of the cry. it was square!

she ran back through the tunnels and finally reached her teammate, surrounded by broken cavern walls.

“what’s wrong?” droplet asked. “i heard you yell!”

“one of these rocks crushed my foot,” he groaned. “but i’m fine. sorry to worry you.”

“just glad you’re okay.”

“how far along were you?”

“i just found the exit…”

“oh…”

meanwhile, hexagon and octagon were continuing along at a steady pace.

“it’s hard to say who’s the toughest competition,” octagon said. “most of the others still in the game don’t really want to be.”

“i suppose you’re right,” hexagon responded. “square? no. heptagon? definitely not. star? not sure, but i don’t think so. as far as i know the only one who really wants to win is droplet.”

“hm.”

“i guess my toughest competition is you!” hexagon elbowed octagon playfully.

“...hey, i think that’s the exit!” octagon pointed ahead towards the light.

the two made it out of the labyrinth to greet origin and oval.

“and nothing without pentagon is the first team safe!” oval announced. “congratulations! now it’s down to go the DSTance and the homeslices!”

square sighed. “i’ll make my way. but go without me, droplet. i don’t want to slow you down.”

droplet hesitated. “okay.”

she ran off to find the crystals again, and noticed a flash of pink ahead of her.

“star!” she exclaimed.

he barely caught a glimpse of her as he sped past. “droplet!”

“it looks like a race between the last of us cool kids!”

“indeed it does!”

droplet was on star’s tail, but she couldn’t catch up to him. she spotted a little crevice in the wall and jumped through the shortcut, emerging a little ways in front of her old teammate.

“you’ve always been the inventive type!” star exclaimed, “but i won’t let that stop me!” he jumped ahead of her and kept running.

the two were coming up on the exit, lined with crystals sparkling in the light.

“i never knew you were so fast!” droplet huffed.

“i’ve never had a reason to run!”

“and there we go!” oval exclaimed. “the homeslices are safe! that means go the DSTance is up for elimination.”

droplet emerged from the labyrinth mere seconds after star and collapsed in exhaustion.

“that was epic,” star said, helping her up to her feet.

“hey,” origin started, “where’s heptagon and square?”

“square’s still inside,” droplet replied, an edge of concern to her voice. “his foot got smooshed by a rock… he’s coming out, but he’s probably going pretty slowly.”

“and heptagon’s somewhere,” star answered, “just not in the labyrinth. i told him to go take a nap.”

“where did he go?” origin asked.

“dunno. i thought he would’ve gone to you, but maybe he just plopped down by the entrance.”

“okay. hm, i have an idea…”

origin started buzzing; star, droplet, hexagon, and octagon all lost their limbs and stuck to him at once – and soon enough, square and heptagon were dragged over to him as well, like metal to a magnet.

“oh!” square gasped. “my foot can’t hurt if it’s gone.”

and so origin took the contestants back to the main field while oval followed behind him, using the grapher to return the arms and legs to his fellow shapes.

“does your foot still hurt?” droplet asked square.

“nope. it’s good as new. hey, sorry we lost.”

“it’s fine. anyway, it wasn’t your fault.”

square shrugged. “i dunno, it feels like it is.”

“well möbius strip is wrong. no need to feel bad.”

droplet smiled. square smiled back. “if you say so.”

octagon and hexagon had been chatting ever since they had emerged from the logarithm labyrinth, and continued to do so as they went to their cabin.

“so what about that autograph?” octagon asked cheekily.

“what do you want me to sign?” hexagon replied, grinning.

octagon lifted up her pacifier. “this!”

…

“AAAAH I HATE MӦBIUS STRIP I HATE THIS SHOW I HATE EVERYTHING!!!!”

“...hello to you too, parry.”

parallelogram suddenly rushed over to kite. “primes, how i’ve missed you! geez!”

kite chuckled. “i’ve missed you so much… hey, crazy to think heptagon is the last one of us still standing, huh?”

“yeah… he’s a good guy. he doesn’t deserve this.”

“you don’t deserve this either.”

“yeah, i don’t. screw möbius strip!! that pathetic jerkwad!!!”

“kinda hope he never comes back. origin is a much better host.”

“you got that right! but then the bar is incredibly low.”

“true.”

soon enough all of the inhabitants of the paradox gathered round to watch the contest – only to be treated with a static view of the mouth of a cave.

“this isn’t very exciting,” triangle said. “y’know what? how about we go over the standings again?”

“sounds like a plan,” trapezoid replied. “so who’s left?”

“we have hexagon and octagon on nothing without pentagon, square and droplet on go the DSTance, and heptagon and star on the homeslices,” rhombus said. “pretty interesting variety.”

“three who really want to win and three who really don’t…” heart murmured. “and yet all of them are d-doing pretty well for themselves.”

“we can all agree that heptagon does not want to be there,” rectangle said, “like at all. i’m on the fence about square – he came to the competition with the intention of winning, so i’m not ruling out the possibility of that coming back.”

“and he is a pretty darn good teammate,” trapezoid noted. “we should definitely watch out for him.”

“how about star?” pentagon asked. “i’ve never known what’s going on with him.”

“yeah, he’s a bit of a mystery,” circle said, “surprisingly enough. why is he here?”

“well, um…” heart started, “he j-just came here to have fun with me. of course, heh, at this p-point it’s clear that that didn’t really pan out…”

“so what’s he doing now?” parallelogram asked. “do you think he might want to actually win now?”

“maybe. he’s never cared about that kind of stuff before… but i d-dunno, things have changed.”

“hm.”

“well, okay, so we can put heptagon at the bottom,” kite concluded, “but from there it’s hard to tell. maybe we should go from the top down?”

“i’d say hexagon and octagon are at the top of their game,” triangle said. “those two are probably the ones to beat at the moment.”

“who would you say is stronger?” rectangle asked.

“i’d think hexagon, only by slightly,” rhombus interjected. “both are very strong, and work incredibly well together, but octagon seems to be a bit more volatile emotion-wise. hexagon has a better handle on things like that, at least generally speaking.”

“you’re not wrong,” trapezoid conceded.

“not to mention how hexagon is good at being sociable with anyone, while octagon’s only just getting used to this type of thing. once teams dissipate, which i’m assuming they will soon, hexagon will have more flexibility in terms of making alliances.”

everyone seemed to agree with this.

“so on top is hexagon and octagon,” circle restated. “then who?”

“rectangle’s right in that square might rediscover his desire to win,” parallelogram noted, “but as of right now? he still doesn’t really want to. he has potential, but at least in the current moment, square would place pretty low.”

“and i’d place star right next to him for the same reason,” kite said. “things have changed and he’s changed, but nobody has any clue what he’s really been up to lately or what he wants. at least up until now he has yet to definitively say he wants to win, but i could see him pushing through if it did come to that.”

“then droplet would g-go right below hexagon and octagon,” heart continued. “she isn’t the most skilled or experienced, sure, but she’s incredibly creative and great in teams – and she really does w-want to win!”

the group continued to discuss the state of the competition despite having little to no idea what the current challenge was. eventually, however, go the DSTance ended up losing.

“so…” triangle started. “how have things changed in the past 5 minutes…?”

“star is up,” rhombus said. “way, way up.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 17: paradise lost

it took several hours for möbius strip to arrive in the 3rd dimension with hexagon after departing from the 2nd. at that point, it was the next morning.

hexagon woke up in a cave. it was unlike any cave she had ever seen in her life. yes, it was angular and gray, but… it didn’t only have width. it didn’t only have height. it had depth.

it took a moment for hexagon’s eyes to adjust to her strange surroundings. she stood up and walked around. looking down, she saw her legs. they were tubes? with round nubs at the bottom? and her body… it was the same orange as always, but… thick. it’s like she was now two hexagons, with a row of squares stuck between them. her arms looked similar to her legs.

hexagon shook out her new arms and legs. she was kind of overwhelmed, given everything that had happened; she took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. her eyes were round too… and what was that little nub between them?

she looked up and saw a small hole in the ceiling. light was shining through into the cave. she looked down again and saw a möbius strip, around her size, floating in the middle of the cave right underneath the ceiling hole.

“...m-möbius strip?” she asked.

she got no answer.

curious and confused, she kneeled down and looked closer. if she squinted, hexagon could see a minuscule grid on the surface of this strip. and… were those teensy-weensy colored dots?

“is that… is that the 2nd dimension???” she was taken aback. amazed? horrified? surprised? hexagon wasn’t sure what she was feeling. she did know she was confused, however. “the entirety of our world is on this one möbius strip in this one cave? that’s crazy!”

hexagon continued to explore the cave; aside from the large cavern she and the entirety of the 2nd dimension were housed in, there was a large tunnel leading out from one side and a small one (which she would most certainly not be able to fit through) leading out from the other. taking one final look around the cavern, hexagon proceeded through the large tunnel.

but suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. “hey, wait a second… where is möbius strip?” hexagon shook herself and hurried through the tunnel until she reached the light. she was on top of a mountain – which on its own was disorienting – far above a small city. or was it a large town? it looked vaguely familiar to her.

hexagon looked up and saw a dark gray strip fluttering in the wind against a light gray sky. sky? she shook herself out of her confusion. that was möbius strip! it had to be!

“MӦBIUS STRIP!” she yelled. “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”

he might’ve wavered for a moment, but hexagon couldn’t tell. he continued to fly off into the distance.

“great.”

she looked back at the civilization beneath her, and began to descend. it was tricky for her to maneuver her strange new limbs and strange new body around, especially in such a rocky, steep area, and especially while holding a pacifier in one hand.

“this is cool, this is awesome,” hexagon told herself as she climbed. “sure, it’s weird, and painful – ow, my foot! – and a result of horrible behavior on my part and möbius strip’s, but it’s cool! totally worth it!” she grinned and bore it.

eventually she reached the bottom, and was met with a vast, empty, gray field. “i didn’t realize this place was gonna be as gray as geometropolis! golly.”

hexagon walked through, feeling the soft ground under her feet. she saw a flash of gold in the corner of her eye. when she tilted her body to the side, she could hear faint buzzing in the distance.

“didn’t origin say something about a sister? huh.”

i’ll go check her out later, she thought. first i should see what’s happening in this city. town? city? whatever.

the orange polyhedron continued onward until she reached some tall, gray buildings. she wandered past them, looking up with wide eyes at the skyline. suddenly she bumped into somebody.

from the sides, this shape looked like an upside-down triangle. but they had a square on top.

“oh!” they yelped. “sorry!”

hexagon gasped. “golly! i should be the one apologizing, i wasn’t looking where i was going. sorry about that!”

“no worries!” this shape had a tired face, but kind eyes. “hey, i don’t think i’ve seen someone like you in town before. are you new here?”

“oh, me?” hexagon blinked. “yeah, i am. say, could you tell me where i am?”

“you’re in geometropolis, my friend. that over there is the logarithm labyrinth, and…”

hexagon’s eyes widened.

“...hey, are you okay…?”

hexagon shook herself. “yup! totally fine!!”

the shape smiled. “okay. well, my name is tr–” they paused. “my name is pyramid. what’s yours?”

“my name is… hexagon…?” her voice trailed off.

“hexagonal prism? i could’ve guessed! …say, hexagonal prism, you didn’t happen to see a gray strip flying through the sky as you arrived, did you?”

hexagon knitted her brow slightly. “why yes, i did.”

pyramid suddenly looked very tense.

“...hey, are you okay?” hexagon asked, concerned and confused.

pyramid laughed. nervously? sadly? “yeah, i’m fine. well then, hexagonal prism, i guess i’ll see you around. hope you enjoy your time here!” then they muttered under their breath, “unlike the rest of us…”

hexagon smiled at this friendly stranger and walked on. at least the people here are nice, she thought. say, i’m starving.

she nervously patted herself and found her wallet. hexagon sighed in relief. she tended to keep a lot of digits on hand, so she could go and get a hotel room and some food.

hexagon continued down the sidewalk, skipping over the cracks. it was still early, so not many people were out and about, but those who were seemed amused by her energy.

these buildings are all so familiar, hexagon thought to herself. i don’t recognize any of them, but… they’re all situated in the same way as home. drugstore, cafe, little bench, tree…

eventually hexagon found a little hotel (in the same spot there was one in the 2nd dimension!) and booked a room. this business having been dealt with, hexagon went back out into the world and decided to look for someplace to eat. she was about to walk on autopilot, but she stopped herself.

don’t just rely on your memory of home! she thought to herself. if i’ve never been here, i shouldn’t already have a map… i’m just gonna wander around for a while and only stop to eat once my strange new feet are tired.

having resigned herself to this task, hexagon ignored her plaintive stomach. she was hungry – not only for food, but also for something beyond the life she used to live.

look at this place, she thought to herself, it’s so much better than home. it’s so much livelier! …sure, it might seem exactly the same, but it’s not. it’s different. it’s a whole other dimension, for primes’ sake! the people here are nice and the sights are beautiful… unlike home. the only sights i got were a computer screen from 9 to 5. goodness gracious, i didn’t do the absolute most throughout school only to get an office job where i get yelled at by customers 24/7. it’s not that i’m more special than everyone else… i just think, well, since i aimed higher, that i should’ve ended up higher. i dunno. i must sound really conceited… heck, hexagon, this is your own brain! nobody’s here to tell you if you’re conceited! maybe i am special! but it doesn’t matter… nobody wants a job like that. all my co-workers hated it. at least i was able to grin and bear it – didn’t one of them get fired for yelling back at a customer? hm… i’m lucky to be here. i’m really, really gosh darn lucky. i was so sick of the 2nd dimension. this is a primesend. i really, truly hate möbius strip, but this is a primesend.

as hexagon walked, she passed sights she would’ve recognized if she hadn’t chosen to not think of home. an apartment building, a high school, several more apartment buildings… hey, that looks like my old doctor’s office! no, it doesn’t. keep walking.

she ended up finding a park with a small pond. hexagon stood by the edge of the water and looked at her reflection. “i look weird,” she muttered, “but in a good way! …i hope.”

she bent down and picked up a small stone. sticking out her tongue, she threw it, and it skipped along the surface of the water 8 times. hexagon smiled slightly. skipping stones was one of the only interesting things she got to do back in the 2nd dimension. it was only that, and…

“my ukulele!” she gasped. “aw man, that’s still in our cabin. i’ll have to make sure to get it once i get back home…”

hexagon gazed out over the water, at the clouds reflected on its surface. she looked up at the real thing, the puffs of light gray drifting across the sky.

“if i don’t know where möbius strip is, how will i get back home? will i ever get back home?” she paused and stood up. “well, i couldn’t care less if i don’t! i like it here! i could live here for the rest of my life if i had to! i’ll get a job i like and do something good with myself! it’s what i was born to do!”

she pumped her fist into the sky – but, in doing so, dropped the pacifier she had been holding.

hexagon picked it up and dusted it off, but averted her eyes. “if i stay here, though, i’ll never be able to give this back to her…” her phrasing skirted the name of the item and the person to whom it belonged.

at this point hexagon continued on her walk. y’know, she thought, i’m almost surprised that i don’t miss home. you tend to hear about these things, about people leaving home and then missing it. but was geometropolis ever really home at all? …don’t say that. there are people there you know and love. pentagon? trapezoid? …octagon? i still love her. i still love all of them. but i don’t miss the 2nd dimension, just the people in it. golly, i wonder if i could get them all to move here…

hexagon skipped and spun around. this is freedom! i’d do anything to show them what it’s like here…

or do they already know?

no! no, they don’t! there’s a whole other axis here! i can’t seriously think there’s nothing beautiful and profound to learn by being here as opposed to the 2nd dimension!

hexagon shook herself. eventually she came upon a little deli. i might as well get something to eat now. i’ve been walking long enough!

she opened the door, causing a little bell on the doorpost to jingle.

“my first customer of the day!” the shape at the counter exclaimed, chuckling. they were round on top but flat on the bottom. “what can i getcha?”

hexagon smiled and looked up at the menu, which was posted on big panels over the counter. “i’ll have one toasted base-10 bagel, please, with cream cheese and lox.”

“that’ll be 1.5 digits, my dear!”

she paid them and soon had her bagel. “thank you!” she said as she left.

hexagon stood outside the deli. yeah, there’s a deli back at home. and in a block… she crossed the street. there’s a nice bench to sit on.

the orange polyhedron sat down and ate her breakfast. at this point, more folks were out on the town. she watched a couple enter the deli and heard the little chime of the bell.

it was a delicious base-10 bagel! just like the ones back home… hexagon gazed off into the distance. her mind was full, but not with easily discernible thoughts. there were just feelings drifting around in her head, bouncing around languidly (and never quite hitting the corners). for some reason, not that she knew why, hexagon began to tear up.

at first nobody noticed. it was that time of morning when everybody’s rushing to work, so she couldn’t blame them.

then a little shape came up to her, completely round.

“sir and/or ma’am?”

hexagon blinked in surprise and swallowed her bite of bagel. a little kid was staring at her.

“sir and/or ma’am? are you okay?” the kid asked.

hexagon wiped her eyes. “yeah, i’m okay. this is just a really good bagel.”

“did you get it from the deli? i’ve never had one before.”

“you should!”

“okay. will it make me cry?”

“it might.”

the kid paused. “okay.”

the little sphere left without saying goodbye, but their smile was enough. hexagon took a deep breath. you’re okay. you’re okay.

hexagon threw out the wax paper in which she had been holding the base-10 bagel and started back for the hotel. at this point, as she had recognized the position of the deli in 2D geometropolis, she could make her way back to the hotel in the 3rd dimension without a hitch.

her walking speed was much more brisk now, and she passed swaths of people without even noticing them. within a few minutes hexagon had arrived back at the hotel.

she checked into her room and flumped down on the bed, exhausted from walking. she crept under the covers and closed her eyes…

she was back in the cave in the logarithm labyrinth, staring at the 2nd dimension.

“do you like it here?” a voice asked. “i hope you like it here.”

“...wh-who is that?” hexagon turned around.

“who do you want me to be?”

hexagon blinked and looked back at the 2nd dimension.

“your world looks just like me. isn’t that odd?”

“möbius strip…” hexagon growled. “when will i go back home?”

“home? HOME?” möbius laughed. “there’s no such thing. why else would you be here?”

hexagon looked in her hands. she was holding a pacifier. “i need to go home. i need to give this back.”

“to whom?”

hexagon bit her lip.

“you can pretend like you’re above it all, but you’re not. you just don’t want to feel guilty. don’t worry, i can assure you that you’ve done nothing wrong. why, i would do the same as you.”

“what ARE you up to? did you really know i was gonna win from the beginning of race to the 3rd dimension?”

“maybe, maybe not.”

“and why did you get such a kick out of seeing us all fight?”

“it’s funny because it’s true, hexagon. it’s the truest thing of all.”

“...who are you?”

“i could ask you the same thing. satan? god? what’s the real difference, anyway? both have power. both kill for more.”

“get out of my head.”

“i was never in it.”

“what?”

hexagon woke up in a cold sweat after napping for several hours. at some point in her sleep, she had begun to chew on the pacifier. she took it out of her mouth and gazed at it.

“what do you want, hexagon?” she asked herself. “a new life? or a good one?”

she shook herself and got out of bed. “what do i even want to do today? if this place is exactly like home, i know there’s nothing interesting for me to do. at the very least, there’s nothing to do so long as i’m a stranger…”

hexagon paced around her hotel room; there were a couple of arm chairs, a dresser, a tv, a radio, an empty picture frame… she shook away anything she was reminded of.

she grabbed the tv remote and sat on the edge of the bed.

“just like yesterday, today in geometropolis is warm and calm,” the shape on tv announced. “mid 60s, no precipitation, low winds. hope you all have something fun to do… heh.”

hexagon picked up the tv menu. there didn’t seem to be anything interesting on. she flipped to one of those channels that’s almost entirely infomercials.

“but wait, there’s more!” a voice on tv yelled desperately. “if you call now, we’ll double your order of side straighteners, and include a free angle-o-tron! a 40 digit value, for the low, low price of 19.99! call now!!!!”

hexagon rubbed her hand on one of her edges and smiled wryly. “i think i’ll pass up this offer…”

she stood up and began to make some tau tea at the tiny kitchenette. 6.28318530717958647… hexagon dropped each number into her cup of boiling water; the more she added, the stronger the flavor.

hexagon tried to take a sip, steam billowing against her face, but she burnt her tongue. she set the cup down and waved her hand over it, wanting it to cool down. she clicked her tongue as she waited.

she took another sip.

“DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE SECOND DIMENSION?”

hexagon spit out her mouthful of tau tea.

“DO YOU WANT TO… SEE YOUR LOVED ONES AGAIN?”

she rushed over to the tv.

“THEN JOIN THE COMPETITION! CALL THE NUMBER ON-SCREEN NOW! WITH A SMALL SIGN-UP FEE OF ONLY 100 DIGITS, YOU HAVE YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK! by signing up you agree to stay on show premises for the full allotted time of 5 days.”

“...he’s not taking me back,” hexagon murmured. she absently picked up the phone. then she froze, realizing what she was doing. what möbius was doing.

he just wants more money out of me, she thought. 100 digits? geez louise… he’s holding me hostage and forcing me to pay my own ransom… but won’t there be other contestants? who here would wanna go to the 2nd dimension?

anyway, if i like it here, why should i participate? …but DO i even like it here? or am i just telling myself that? …either way, if i do enter, i’d just be giving möbius what he wants… more digits… and i might not even win…

hexagon held the phone in one hand, pacifier in the other. she stared at the latter intently… and dialed 123-456-7890.

she entered. she paid. she gave in.

i’m nothing without helvetica. i need to go home.

hexagon stood by the window and continued to hold the phone long after the shape on the other end hung up. she subconsciously began to hum the tune to that little song she and octagon had made up; when realizing this, she teared up a little.

“hello?” she said to herself, pretending she was talking on the phone. “octagon? yes, it’s me, hexagon. i’m sorry for everything. i promise that i was friends with you. i promise that i miss you. i promise that i love you. i have your pacifier here with me. when i get home, i’ll give it to you. what? what about home? oh… it’s with all of you…”

she paused and laughed a hollow laugh. “i’m going insane, talking to nobody over the phone…”

“you all mean so much to me,” hexagon continued, ignoring that thought. “i thought i would achieve my dream by coming here, but something seems wrong. without you, without trapezoid, without pentagon… this place is just like geometropolis, but it doesn’t have you in it. it isn’t home. it doesn’t feel like it…”

she looked out at the horizon. the sky was dimming. “just like my geometropolis, this geometropolis is gray and placid and calm. it’s all math. it’s all peaceful. and there are shapes here. wonderful, colorful shapes. perhaps i could get to know them… but i already know you. you are the color in my dull life. it’s strange to be without you.”

hexagon put the pacifier back in her mouth and smiled. “i’m keeping your pacifier safe. i hope you do the same with my ukulele.”

she furrowed her brow defiantly. “i’ll be coming to get it soon.”

…

“i already miss hep,” parallelogram sighed.

kite chuckled. “and you already have a nickname for him, clearly.”

“what? he’s one of us.”

yim yum, minus heptagon, was resting in their cabin.

oval smiled. “you’re right… and y’know, i’m more than happy sticking here for a few more days, but i’m curious as to why origin wants that.”

“what do you mean?” kite asked.

“he said something about never knowing what the extra days are for… like, since hexagon won in the first 16, why are there four more? he wants to know if something’s supposed to happen. but why doesn’t he already know?”

“y’know, origin is so strange to me,” parallelogram said. “i don’t think he has ill-intent at all, but i do feel like there’s a lot he isn’t telling us. who is he? what is he? what’s really going on with möbius strip?”

“are you sure he knows?”

parallelogram just shrugged.

the cool kids and group two were hanging out in their respective cabins, continuing to catch up after everything.

helvetica was in their own. well, helvetica minus hexagon. her bed was occupied only by her ukulele.

“hey, octagon,” trapezoid spoke up, “can i talk to you?”

“...sure,” she replied.

“...about hexagon.”

octagon sighed.

“look, i know that what she did hurt you. i understand completely… but do you really think she was planning it the whole time? i can’t guarantee with 100% certainty that she was really your friend, but you heard what she told you. you’ve been with her longer than pentagon and i have. do you really want to believe she never loved you?”

octagon averted her eyes. “but why else would she do that to me?”

“you said it yourself,” pentagon piped up. “she said she wanted to win, so she made sure she would!”

“but–”

“she was selfish. but that doesn’t mean she’s evil or anything.”

“and octagon,” trapezoid pointed out, “didn’t you just want to win at the beginning? at first you didn’t want to be friends with us at all. how would we know now that you didn’t become friends with us only to advance in the competition?”

octagon’s brows knitted. “i…”

“listen, i’m not really accusing you of anything. i’m just saying that you can’t really prove it either way. but i love you, and pentagon loves you, so we know that you’re really friends with us. we know, even without proof. that’s part of what love is about.”

“but what if i was only using you? then you’d have been wrong the whole time.”

“so what?” pentagon said. “innocent until proven guilty!”

octagon blinked.

“you can certainly say hexagon betrayed you,” trapezoid continued. “you have every right to say that, and you have every right to be upset at her. but think about it. for a while, you thought she really was friends with you. you knew you were friends. heck, for all i know, it could turn out that she was manipulating you the whole time. but until you know that for certain, why give up the friendship you once had? why give it up over probability?”

“don’t i also have the right to not be friends with her anymore?”

trapezoid looked octagon in the eyes. “i know you don’t want that.”

“...no. i don’t.” octagon grabbed hexagon’s ukulele. “how long until she gets back?”

“i dunno.”

“i guess you’ll have enough time to learn how to play that!” pentagon exclaimed, smiling.

octagon didn’t smile back, but her face softened. she was still angry. she was still upset. but no longer at a traitor: now at her best friend forever.

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 1 year ago

Text

grt3D episode 19: home (away from home)

pyramid’s eyes fluttered open. how long have i been sleeping? they wondered. what time is it?

they sat up in bed and saw that it was now dark outside. apparently, they, sphere, and cylinder had slept until the evening. well, pyramid had. the other two were still out like a light.

pyramid glanced around and saw that hexagon’s bed was empty. they rubbed their eyes, stretched, and decided to go outside and look for her. they had nothing better to do, after all.

they furtively crept outside into the darkness of night. something about the atmosphere was uncomfortable; this wide, vast field; the black void of the sky; the small cabin in an empty world. pyramid couldn’t understand how hexagon could willingly go out there.

“she’s just like hexagram,” they murmured to themselves, smiling. “nobody else is that brave…”

“hexagram? who’s hexagram?”

pyramid swung around. “WHO’S THERE???”

“...it’s just me… hexagonal prism. i had gone for a walk. who were you talking about?”

pyramid sighed. “just… my daughter. you remind me of her.”

hexagon smiled and sat down. she patted the ground next to her, inviting them to sit down beside her.

“you have the same verve and energy that she does,” pyramid continued, taking a seat. “friendly. sympathetic. brave.”

“you seem to miss her a lot,” hexagon murmured.

“i do. i’m worried for her. i’m worried for her father, too. i need to get back to them.”

hexagon averted her eyes in discomfort. i want to get back home, but… what about pyramid?

“i’ll make sure you do,” she insisted, with a sparkle in her eye. “i’ll make sure we all do!”

“except for sphere?”

“except for sphere.”

“say, what was your name back in the 2nd dimension?”

hexagon chuckled. “hexagon. similar to your daughter. i’m not really used to being called ‘hexagonal prism’ anyway.”

“well then, hexagon. my name is triangle.”

“i knew a triangle back home!”

“oh wow! you can continue to call me pyramid, if you’d like, just to avoid confusion… us triangles are very common, y’know. folks say we’re the strongest shape.”

hexagon nodded. “you’re very strong for keeping up hope for these past ten years.”

“thank you…”

hexagon inhaled and exhaled slowly. “y’know, i really like what cylinder said yesterday.”

“what?”

“that we should all have a truce. we won’t hate the players, we’ll hate the game: we’ll hate möbius strip. we’re all in this together, after all.”

“i hope you’re right.”

“about what?”

“that we’ll all go back home. because i’m sure your loved ones miss you dearly.”

hexagon’s breath caught. “you really think so?”

“i’m sure of it. just as much as my daughter and husband miss me.”

hexagon teared up a little, but quickly wiped her eyes. “we’ll see them all again. really soon. i’m sure of it.”

she patted pyramid’s hand and returned to the cabin to go to sleep.

pyramid continued to sit out in the field a little ways away from the cabin. they stared up at the sky. wasn’t this scary for me a minute ago? they wondered. why am i suddenly totally comfortable out here?

“BOO!” a voice yelled.

“AAH!” pyramid lept back, glancing around. “why is everyone scaring me tonight??”

origin z giggled as she came into view.

“oh… it’s just you,” pyramid said in relief, falling backwards onto the ground.

“‘just you’? since when was i a ‘just you’??”

pyramid yawned.

“why aren’t you inside?” origin z asked.

“i dunno. i came out here to look for hexagonal prism, for hexagon, and we talked, and she went back inside. so now i’m out here.”

“you seem much more calm now than you did during the challenge.”

“hm.”

origin z began to hum a tune, but much to her dismay, this caused pyramid to fall asleep.

“aw darn,” she muttered. “i wanted to talk to you, not sing you to sleep!!! oh well. good night i guess.”

…

“COME HITHER, MY LOVELY CONTESTANTS!” möbius strip crooned. “IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION~!”

hexagon and cylinder got out of bed. sphere shifted in their bed but was not roused.

“c’mon, sphere!” hexagon said, gently shaking them.

“mm?” they murmured.

“time to wake up!”

“mm.”

the three of them left the cabin to find pyramid sitting outside.

“what’re you doing here?” cylinder asked.

“good question,” pyramid answered.

they all met möbius strip and origin z in the center of the field.

“IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION~!” möbius strip repeated. “YOU ALL KNOW WHAT’S UP… LOSING CONTESTANT GOES TO THE PARADOX!”

cylinder and sphere exchanged glances.

“AAAAAAAAND THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS… CYLINDER!”

“wait!!!” hexagon yelled.

“ugh. WHAT IS IT?”

“it’s just… i think it’d be a better idea if you eliminated sphere.”

“WHY?”

“look, i know you love proving your point about competitiveness and stuff. so if you really want to see us all fight tooth and nail, why keep around a contestant who doesn’t even want to win in the first place?”

cylinder’s eyes widened.

möbius paused for thought. “YOU KNOW WHAT? ORANGE GIRL IS RIGHT. SPARKLE, GET SPHERE OUT OF HERE!”

sphere glanced at hexagon. she winked at them.

origin z began to buzz, and sphere was dragged towards her.

“toodle-oo, my dear friends,” sphere said. “it’s been a pleasure!”

the three remaining contestants waved goodbye to them as they and origin z vanished.

cylinder approached hexagon, her eyes shining with emotion. “thank you,” she said. “thank you so much.”

“HEXAGONAL PRISM… OR SHOULD I SAY HEXAGON?” möbius growled. “I HAVE A FEELING YOU HAD SOME ULTERIOR MOTIVE FOR TELLING ME TO PICK SPHERE.”

hexagon simply smiled enigmatically. möbius strip grumbled.

within moments origin z reappeared.

“sir~!” she sang. “i’m back~!!!”

“GOOD! NOW, THREE HULA HOOPS PLEASE! AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!!”

“got it!” origin z flashed and three hula hoops manifested on the ground.

“NOW, CONTESTANTS, YOU’RE USED TO THE FINALS STARTING WHEN THERE ARE THREE CONTESTANTS LEFT. WHY, YOU’RE THREE CONTESTANTS! BUT INSTEAD WE’LL DO THAT WHEN THERE’S JUST TWO OF YOU. I WANT THE FIGHT TO BE MORE… PERSONAL :).”

pyramid furrowed their brow.

“ANYWAY! GRAB A HULA HOOP, EVERYONE… YOU WILL HULA-HOOP! FIRST TWO TO DROP THEIR HOOP IS UP FOR ELIMINATION!!!”

hexagon grabbed a hula hoop and stared at it, confused. cylinder looked quite in her element; pyramid did not.

“AND… BEGIN!!!”

a big speaker appeared on origin z. she made a loud airhorn noise.

cylinder, given how round she was, was able to hula-hoop quite easily. pyramid, on the other hand, could not. they were much more blocky in shape, and so found it quite difficult.

“this is so hard…” they groaned. “i don’t know if i can do this for very long…”

meanwhile, hexagon wasn’t doing horribly, but she could barely understand what it was she was doing. she was rotating her body, and this other thing was rotating around her. the very notion of being through something was foreign to her.

“you two holding up well?” she asked.

“yes!” cylinder affirmed.

“no!” pyramid cried.

the three continued on for a few minutes before pyramid finally collapsed.

“PYRAMID IS UP FOR ELIMINATION!” möbius yelled.

cylinder looked at pyramid with concern, then looked over to hexagon. “listen, hexagonal prism, i bet my folks back at home have already forgotten me. you just came here a few days ago… i’ll let you have this one.”

“cylinder!” pyramid gasped.

hexagon blinked. “thank you… but no. even if they have forgotten you, they should have the chance to remember you, too. i’m not letting you lose on purpose.”

cylinder held a steady gaze with hexagon for a few moments; this was difficult, as hexagon was hula-hooping rather erratically, her body wiggling to and fro. “if you say so,” cylinder said, a smile appearing on her face. “good luck.”

pyramid sat up and watched intently as the two upped their game. origin z joined them, and manifested a box of plus popcorn.

“DON’T TALK TO THE CONTESTANTS!” möbius yelled at her.

“I’M NOT!” she yelled back.

pyramid chuckled.

cylinder and hexagon went at it for a while: cylinder, because she was good at it, and hexagon, out of sheer willpower. hexagon was flailing around, but she somehow made it look heroic.

after about 15 minutes möbius strip got annoyed.

“WHY DO YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS TAKE SO LONG?????” he whined and bumped into hexagon, causing her to drop her hula-hoop. “OOPS! GUESS HEXAGON’S UP FOR ELIMINATION TOO…”

“hey!” she yelped. “what was that for?”

“FOR CHANGING MY MIND THIS MORNING, YOU LITTLE BRAT!”

hexagon frowned. cylinder walked over to her and shook her hand.

“good game,” cylinder said, before walking back to the cabin with pyramid.

hexagon watched them and smiled.

“you’re wrong about everything, möbius strip,” she murmured.

“WHAT?”

but hexagon was already off on her way, following the other two contestants back to the cabin. she turned around and waved. origin z waved back.

…

“sooooo…. welcome to the paradox, sphere!”

sphere was limbless and faceless, sitting in an endless, three-dimensional grid. “okay.”

“i suppose origin y has brought you to the 2D version… hm, if he’s here i can say hi. HEY Y!!!!!!!!!”

“WHAT IS IT, Z?” a distant voice replied.

“HOW ARE YOU????”

“I’M FINE!”

“OKAY!!!!!! y’know, sphere, my brother doesn’t usually yell. he’s only doing it so i can hear him.”

“i know,” sphere replied.

origin z sat there humming for about a minute.

“say,” sphere said, “would you be a dear and call your brother again?”

“sure, but why?”

“well… you know what möbius strip is up to. origin y can help stop him.”

“um okay… but what is möbius strip doing?”

“...he brought me, pyramid, cylinder, and hexagonal prism to the 3rd dimension and left us here, some of us for years, and is now hosting another competition show to 1. drain us of more money and 2. perform some kind of psychological torture on us.”

“ohhhh… no yeah that makes sense. he is a bit mean, isn’t he?”

sphere nodded. “anyway… it seems like dimensional powers run in the family. i’m wondering if, somehow, origin y could connect to you and somehow bring those three back home?”

“i’m not sure. the two of us can communicate, but, well… if i were to, let’s say, try to send you from this paradox to the one in the 2nd dimension, you’d instantly bounce back here. because you’re 3D. the 2nd dimension wouldn’t like that.”

“hm… well, dear, at the very least we could tell him what’s going on.”

“of course. HEY Y!!!!!”

“YEAH??????”

“UM SO. I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU AND UM. IT’S KINDA CRAZY.”

“...DID YOU SEE A SHAPE STAND ON THEIR HEAD AGAIN?”

“NO! FOR REAL! IT’S CRAZY! MÖBIUS STRIP HAS BEEN KEEPING THE WINNING CONTESTANTS OF RACE TO THE 3RD DIMENSION HERE IN THE 3RD DIMENSION FOR ALL THIS TIME AND HE’S BEEN HOSTING ANOTHER COMPETITION SHOW FOR THEM – AND THEY EACH HAD TO PAY LIKE 100 DIGITS TO ENTER – AND IS ONLY GONNA TAKE THE WINNER BACK TO THE 2ND DIMENSION. OR AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT HE SAID HE’D DO. TO BE HONEST I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF HE JUST TAKES THE MONEY AND RUNS.”

for a solid ten seconds origin y was silent.

suddenly his voice rang out. “WHAT????”

“SEE? I TOLD YOU IT WAS CRAZY.”

“oh my primes,” origin y muttered. “oh my primes. OH MY PRIMES!!!!!”

“SO ANYWAY UM. CAN YOU HELP US BRING THE THREE BACK TO THE 2ND DIMENSION?”

“WHO’S ‘WE’? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN THREE, AREN’T THERE FOUR WINNERS SO FAR?”

“WELL, UM, SPHERE’S HERE WITH ME. THEY ALREADY GOT ELIMINATED.”

“sphere, sphere… OH! CIRCLE! I REMEMBER YOU!”

sphere – circle – laughed. they raised their voice and yelled, “IT’S ME, ORIGIN Y!”

“GEEZ, I NEVER KNEW YOU NEVER CAME BACK… I’M SO SORRY. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT MÖBIUS WAS REALLY DOING…”

“IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, DEAR. ANYWAY, I’VE LIVED HERE LONG ENOUGH THAT I HAVE, UM, A WIFE? SO I DON’T REALLY WANT TO GO BACK.”

“OH, YOU’RE MARRIED? MAZEL TOV! GOSH, WHAT A LUCKY LADY…”

“THANK YOU!”

“AAAANYWAY,” origin z interjected, “Y, CAN YOU SEE IF THERE’S ANY WAY FOR YOU TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN DIMENSIONS?”

“UM, I CAN TRY, BUT YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T JUST SEND THEM HERE, RIGHT?”

“I KNOW. BUT MÖBIUS IS AN ANOMALY, RIGHT? AND HE CAN FREELY TRAVEL BETWEEN DIMENSIONS… MAYBE THERE’S SOMEONE ELSE LIKE HIM OVER THERE?”

origin y had the feeling that… perhaps there was someone like that. someone who could reach out into the 3rd dimension…

“MAYBE,” he said. “I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED. HEY, Z?”

“YEAH?”

“WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PLEASE STAY IN THE PARADOX. IF I DO HAVE ANY NEWS FOR YOU I WANT YOU TO BE HERE TO RECEIVE IT.”

“OKEY DOKE! BUT WHEN I’M NOT HERE FEEL FREE TO TELL SPHERE. CIRCLE? what would you rather be called?”

“sphere, thank you.”

“SPHERE.”

“RIGHT,” origin y continued. “I’LL GO AND TELL THE FOLKS HERE… I’M SURE THEY’LL BE ON BOARD TO HELP.”

“THANK YOU Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

“NO PROB, Z.”

sphere and origin z heard a flash; origin y had left the paradox.

origin y translated over to the cabins.

“um… guys?” he called. “i have an announcement to make…”

the ex-contestants left their cabins, confused.

“what’s going on?” oval asked.

“well… let’s just say i’m glad i had you guys stay for the last few days of the contract…”

origin y went on to explain what was going on. with möbius strip, with the 3rd dimension, with the show… with hexagon…

octagon dropped hexagon’s ukulele in shock and dismay.

“you can’t be serious,” trapezoid muttered.

“unfortunately, i am,” origin y said, sighing.

“but i suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised,” parallelogram pointed out. “möbius strip has never really been above board regarding the competition.”

there was commotion among the shapes.

“BUT ANYWAY!” origin y yelled, cutting through the clutter. “...my sister, origin z, is trying to come up with a plan to get the winners back to the 2nd dimension. well, most of them anyway; one of them has been there long enough that they got married and don’t want to leave. so we’re gonna find a way to bridge dimensions and rescue the other three.”

rhombus tossed the grapher between their hands. “any ideas?”

“well, z pointed out that möbius strip is kind of an anomaly, right? most things can’t freely travel between dimensions, because they can’t just change their state; if, let’s say, i were to just throw one of you guys into the 3rd dimension, you’d snap right back to here, because the 3rd dimension wouldn’t be able to handle a 2D shape being there and would correct that mathematical error. but möbius strip is able to do it… my sister was wondering if somebody else possibly could. and that rings a bell…”

the shapes looked amongst themselves, exchanging confused glances.

octagon raised her hand. everyone went silent.

“i reached into the 3rd dimension,” she said quietly. “i can do it.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 5: poly-gone

the indifferent light of dawn began to illuminate the plain, making everything a paler shade of gray. the grid was not entirely monochromatic at this time of morning, however.

square was sitting outside of his cabin; he had been unable to sleep, his thoughts stormy and tumultuous.

primes, what is wrong with everyone? he thought. with triangle, with heart, with star?

he replayed the scene in his mind of heart shooting star with the color gun. of friend turning upon friend.

everything is going downhill.

“everything is getting messed up–” he was now saying this aloud “–because of this stupid show! whether they want to go to the third dimension or not, everyone’s tearing each other apart over it!”

square sighed and shook his head. “i don’t want to do this anymore. but y’know, we have to stay on show premises or whatever.” he got up and started walking. “that sucks.”

he made his way into the forest for a stroll, and saw a flash of pink.

“heart?”

but it was star, still pink from the day before.

“oh!” star gasped. “did you see heart?”

“no.”

“oh. thanks anyway...”

how long had star been out here? how long had heart?

square left the forest. this was going to be a long day.

…

“okay,” möbius strip started, “before doing ANYTHING ELSE, could you please just make the challenge stuff?”

“sure, sir.”

origin manifested 11 chairs, which he gave to möbius. he then disappeared into the paradox.

“YOU’RE A TERRIBLE CO-HOST!” möbius yelled into thin air. “DID YOU KNOW THAT?? ugh.”

“ohhh möbius strip~!” hexagon sang.

“WHAT IS IT.”

“what’s today’s challenge?”

“YOU’LL SEE IN A MOMENT. HEY, WHY ARE YOU THREE UP SO EARLY?”

hexagon was accompanied by trapezoid and pentagon. “we were taking a little morning jog.”

“SCREW YOU. ANYWAY… WAKE UP SLEEPYHEADS!!! IT’S TIME!!!!!!!”

octagon came with the other contestants, groggy. she perked up upon seeing the rest of her team.

“hey, why are you all out here?”

“we were taking a little morning jog :)” hexagon repeated. “sorry we didn’t invite you to join us. you said you didn’t like to be woken up early.”

octagon sighed. “yeah, i guess i did say that…”

star soon arrived from the forest, dejected. “everything sucks now!” he sobbed.

“YEAH, OKAY. WELL, IT’S PARADOX TIME FOR ONE OF YOU PARTY PEOPLE!!!!”

möbius strip did some strange little victory dance; this only made him appear to glitch even farther out of perceptible reality. he finished, then paused.

“FOR THE LOVE OF – OKAY. GUESS WE’RE DOING THIS WITHOUT TWINKLE. SO… THE MEMBER OF THE COOL KIDS ELIMINATED IS… HEART!”

droplet frowned. star sobbed again. rhombus rolled their eyes.

“HE’S NOT HERE EITHER, IS HE? I SWEAR…”

“he’s–” star choked out, “he’s still in the forest somewhere.”

“OKAY, WELL, TWINKLE CAN SEND HIM TO THE PARADOX WHEN HE GETS HERE. WHENEVER THAT IS…” möbius let out a long sigh. a very long sigh, in fact, lasting approximately 3 minutes.

“so what’s today’s challenge?” triangle asked.

“MUSICAL CHAIRS.” and with that, möbius threw down the chairs he’d been holding. they did not all land face up, which octagon promptly fixed. “YOU KNOW THE RULES. WALK AROUND WHEN THE MUSIC IS PLAYING. SIT DOWN IN A CHAIR WHEN IT STOPS. IF YOU CAN’T FIND A CHAIR YOU’RE OUT. A CHAIR GETS TAKEN AWAY EACH ROUND. THE FIRST TEAM TO HAVE ALL OF THEIR MEMBERS OUT IS UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

“but what about the teams with only 3 members…?” kite asked.

“YEAH YEAH, SOMEBODY WILL SIT OUT OF THE TEAM WITH 4. WHATEVER.”

helvetica discussed among themselves who should sit out, but they couldn’t decide – all of them wanted to participate!

“IF YOU CAN’T CHOOSE I’LL JUST PICK!!! UM… PENTAGON.”

“aw man!” the little shape exclaimed. “but i love musical chairs.”

“oh, i can sit out instead!” trapezoid and hexagon both offered in unison. they glanced at each other.

“y’know what? i’ll sit out,” octagon grumbled. “just get it over with already.”

“thank you octagon!” her three teammates smiled sweetly, hand in hand, as she sat down and sighed.

“OKAY,” möbius cut back in, “TIME TO BEGIN! BUT SINCE TWINKY ISN’T HERE, I’LL HAVE TO PLAY THE MUSIC.”

by “play” möbius meant sing; in a shrill voice he began to sing an old pop song, as the contestants began to walk around the chairs.

“thank the primes heptagon is bothering to participate,” parallelogram said in a hushed voice to kite. “if he didn’t we’d be doomed.”

“yeah. but we can’t guarantee he’ll actually sit down when the music stops…”

“don’t worry. i’ll make him sit if he won’t do it himself.”

kite looked uneasy, but nodded.

square walked around the chairs slowly, narrowing his eyes as his brother walked with triangle.

meanwhile, star was walking with rhombus, who was fiddling with the remote, as droplet trailed behind.

“i can’t do this without him!” star wailed. “we’ve always been together! but i ruined everything… i just wanna go home!”

“but you can’t,” rhombus snapped. “so knock it off.”

“but i don’t want to play musical chairs…”

“listen.” rhombus stopped and grabbed him by the shoulder. “you never participate as it is. i don’t care about your fight, i don’t care about how you’re feeling – just pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and move on.” they let go of him and continued walking. “no, you haven’t ruined everything. yet. keep your whining up and you just might.”

star sniffed and stood still.

suddenly, möbius stopped singing. everyone rushed to a chair – except heptagon, who was dragged into one by parallelogram anyway… and square.

“oh well,” square retorted, “guess i’m out.” he went and sat down next to octagon, closing his eyes.

triangle shook her head.

“OKAY, NEXT ROUND.” möbius removed a chair and started singing again.

“y’know, that song sounds familiar…” trapezoid noted to himself as he walked.

“okay, grandpa!” pentagon chuckled, sitting above him.

“hey! i’m not that old.”

“this song is, like, from 40 years ago,” hexagon playfully noted.

“i like to listen to classics! it’s not like i was alive back then.”

“sure,” hexagon and pentagon teased in unison.

triangle looked over her shoulder at rectangle, who was walking behind her. “pick up the pace, tango!” she called. “if you walk as slowly as your brother you’re never gonna get a seat in time.”

rectangle furrowed his brow.

“c’mon, slowpoke!”

“fine!” rectangle started running – bumping into triangle and knocking her over.

“whoa-hoa!” she laughed.

rectangle looked back at her and grinned.

“star! star!” droplet exclaimed.

“what is it…?”

“would you please tell me what happened?”

star turned to her. “what are you talking about?”

“yesterday, something happened… is everything okay?”

“ugh…”

“i saw you talking to rhombus about it and i–”

“...uhhhh didn’t you hear what rhombus said? we have to move on. yeah. not talking about it anymore. case closed.”

“but you told them–”

“yeah. whatever.”

droplet frowned and sighed, letting star walk past her again.

then möbius strip stopped singing.

rectangle dashed for the nearest chair, knocking into rhombus on the way. they bumped into their limb remote, which let out a beam hitting möbius.

it didn’t do anything.

“that felt funny,” möbius strip said to himself. “ANYWAY, RHOMBUS, YOU ARE OUT.”

rhombus looked daggers at star. “don’t ruin it.” he gulped.

suddenly origin appeared again. “s-sorry!” he began. “i just–”

“YEAH, OKAY. COME WITH ME.” there was an edge of frustration to möbius’s voice as he began to drag origin towards the forest.

the contestants remained seated.

parallelogram loosened his hand from heptagon’s arm.

and heptagon bolted.

“heptagon!” kite yelled, violently pushing the chair out from under her and chasing after him.

she never knew he had it in him to run like that; he was usually so stationary. now it was as if he were running for his life, he was so frantic.

as they were waiting, the rest of the contestants chatted amongst themselves.

“what do you call a lying trapezoid?” trapezoid asked.

“i dunno,” pentagon replied, “what?”

“a fraud-rilateral!”

pentagon started laughing.

“that was so bad!” hexagon giggled.

“why, do you have a better one?” trapezoid challenged.

“okay… what do you call a shape who left?”

“what?”

“poly-gone!”

pentagon laughed again.

“shut up…” parallelogram muttered.

octagon sighed as she gazed at her teammates. “how are they so good at this?” she asked herself.

“at what?” square asked.

“being friends.”

“how is anyone?”

octagon chewed her pacifier. “hell if i know…”

suddenly, a voice called out. “heyyy octagon!”

“yeah, hexagon?”

“come over here and chat while the game’s paused!”

“if you insist…!”

octagon stood up and looked back at square. he shrugged.

meanwhile, kite was in hot pursuit of heptagon.

“come back here!” she huffed.

but he did not come back, or slow down, or anything – he just kept running. faster. faster. faster. faster –

until kite grabbed his arm, wrenching him backwards.

“heptagon,” she started, in a low voice.

he stared at her with wide eyes, but said nothing.

“i can’t believe i ever trusted you… you don’t care about any of us, do you?”

he blinked, but said nothing.

“you don’t want to be here, i get it. but can’t you see what you’re doing? can’t you see how you’re screwing up parallelogram’s chances? my chances??”

his eyes wavered, but he said nothing.

“it’s your fault we’ve been doing terribly this whole time!” kite cried. “it’s your fault oval is gone! why was he eliminated anyway? why wasn’t it you?”

she let go of him, but he didn’t run away.

“it should’ve been you…” she whispered.

heptagon started to move his hand but kite hit it away.

“we’re gonna lose again today because of you! you know you can’t just run away, right? you’re stuck here! we’re all stuck here!”

tears formed in heptagon’s blank eyes.

“you’re a jerk, heptagon.”

and she ran back the way she came.

möbius had finally returned with origin.

“NOW THAT TWINKLE HAS FINALLY ELIMINATED HEART, WE MAY CONTINUE. WHERE WERE WE? OH… NEITHER KITE OR HEPTAGON IS SITTING DOWN…”

parallelogram’s eyes widened.

“SO THEY’RE BOTH OUT.”

“what?” kite cried, finally making it back to the game that very moment. “that’s not fair! it’s heptagon’s fault!”

“yeah!” parallelogram agreed.

“OH WELL. YOU GOT A BONUS LAST CHALLENGE, SO I GUESS IT’S ONLY FAIR YOU HAVE TO SUFFER NOW. LOL!!”

kite stormed off to the side and sat down.

möbius had intended for origin to play the music on his speaker, but as origin had his camera lens, that clearly wasn’t going to happen.

“CAN’T YOU MULTITASK?”

“i could sing myself if you’d like, sir.”

“FINE, WHATEVER.”

origin was in fact much better at singing than möbius strip; he had similar taste in music, though, as every song he sang was one only trapezoid could recognize.

“i swear i’m not that old!!!” trapezoid shook his fists in the air.

“grampezoid! grampezoid!!” pentagon said, skipping around him.

hexagon chuckled. “now that’s a good joke!”

as the shapes continued to walk around, parallelogram kept a special watch on rectangle. since when was he so fast? but then, since when had heptagon been so fast?

unfortunately, parallelogram was lost in thought when origin stopped singing; he was about to sit down when rectangle rushed into the seat closest to him. grumbling, parallelogram looked around for an empty seat… and there were none.

“AND THERE GOES THE LAST OF YIM YUM!!!!!!” möbius announced. “OH HI, HEPTAGON. THERE YOU ARE.”

heptagon had just returned. everyone was staring at him.

“YOU LOSE.”

…

“hey, heart.”

heart didn’t reply.

circle had slowly approached him after he was finally brought to the paradox; oval was keeping his distance.

“are you okay?”

“i don’t know.”

“do you want to talk?”

“i don’t know.”

“hey,” oval piped up, “the challenge is finally on.”

circle and oval moved towards the 10x10 video from origin.

“aw man, we missed part of it,” circle said.

“is anything interesting happening?” heart asked softly. he was still sitting a ways away.

“not really. it’s just musical chairs.”

“if only we could’ve played musical chairs yesterday…”

“yeah. darn.” circle cleared his throat. “...you saw how my team was a few days ago, heart… sorry you had to go through a similar thing with star. it really sucks.”

“...mhm.”

“at least you have all the time in the world to just… relax here, right?”

“relax… i can finally relax like he wanted me to…”

the shapes continued to watch the challenge. heart joined them, though his mind was still elsewhere.

“it isn’t as bad here as i thought it would be,” he said to himself. “at least i’m not dead. or am i? it’s so calm here… if i did die, it isn’t so bad…”

origin eventually reappeared.

“it keeps getting crazier, folks. now it’s yim yum getting put through the wringer…”

“who do you think’s getting eliminated?” oval asked.

“i don’t know.”

“where was heptagon going?”

“i don’t–”

“he was trying to escape,” heart answered.

“what?”

“he doesn’t want to win, but he doesn’t want to be eliminated either.”

“heart…” circle started.

“he’ll be right at home here, i’m sure.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 4: shooting star

content warning: this episode contains depictions of guns/shooting. viewer discretion is advised.

“what time is it?” trapezoid yawned, checking the clock: 3:02 am. he had been roused by a strange noise outside, which he was going to investigate. the night was otherwise cold and silent, just like every other night in geometropolis…

as he was about to leave the cabin trapezoid briefly looked behind him – and caught a glance of pentagon’s empty bed.

“pentagon!” he gasped, and ran outside. he started searching far and wide – throughout the field, around the cabins, and soon made his way to the edge of the forest. “pentagon?” he called. he heard a rustle.

“gotcha!” pentagon exclaimed, jumping at trapezoid from behind a tree.

“PENTAGON!” trapezoid yelled.

the little shape froze in place.

“what in math are you doing out here?” trapezoid continued.

“i-i was just–” pentagon stammered, uncharacteristically meek.

“get back to the cabin immediately! it’s way too dark out for you to be in the forest at night – you’ll hit a tree! you aren’t safe here, all by yourself!”

“...b-but i’m not all by myself. you’re with me.”

“i wasn’t before! primes, who knows what could’ve happened to you! this is unacceptable. come with me right now.”

trapezoid grabbed her hand and started to bring her back to the cabin. the moment he looked back, though… he saw her crying.

“aww, pentagon…” trapezoid stopped walking and patted her on the head. “it’s okay, don’t cry. i’m sorry for yelling at you. let’s just get back to bed, okay? i can sing you a lullaby if you want!”

little pentagon dried her eyes but did not respond. she wrenched her hand from trapezoid’s and ran ahead of him back to the cabin, leaving him to follow behind. by the time he was back inside, pentagon was already asleep – at least, she was pretending to be so trapezoid would leave her alone.

“sweet dreams…” trapezoid said softly, before finally returning to bed himself.

…

“TWINKLE, TWINKLE, GIANT STAR,” möbius strip crooned, “WHY DON’T I KNOW WHERE YOU ARE?”

“sorry, i’m right here!” origin said, rushing over to his boss.

“where were you?” möbius strip asked at a normal volume for once.

“in the paradox.”

“why?”

“...to keep track of the eliminated contestants.”

möbius strip again displayed his natural talent of conveying incredulity despite lacking a face. “there’s only one eliminated contestant.”

“...right.”

“...BUT NOT FOR LONG!” möbius strip’s voice regained its characteristic deafening quality. “GOOD MORNING EVERYONE! COME OUT, COME OUT WHEREVER YOU ARE~!!!”

“geez, dude, can you turn it down a notch?” parallelogram groaned, stretching his tired arms as he left his cabin. kite followed behind him, dragging heptagon by the foot.

“CAN I TURN IT DOWN A NOTCH? CAN ANYONE, REALLY?”

“that’s a good question, actually,” kite mused. “how much control do we really have over our habits? can we–”

“NO. YOU CAN’T. NOW SHUT UP.”

soon enough, all of the contestants had gathered in the field – all except circle. the remaining members of group two had distanced themselves from one another in the crowd.

möbius strip cleared his nonexistent throat and addressed the shapes. “IT IS NOW TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION…”

origin manifested a speaker in his center, which began to play a generic drum roll sound effect.

surely square will be voted out, triangle thought bitterly to herself. he cost us the challenge.

it’s triangle for sure, square mused. serves her right for being a jerk like always.

“AND THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS… CIRCLE!”

everyone gasped. the members of group two gasped the loudest.

origin’s speaker vanished. he shifted uncomfortably.

“CONGRATULATIONS ON LOSING!!!” möbius continued. “NOW WHERE IS THE MAN OF THE HOUR?”

“he never left our cabin,” square said in an unsteady voice.

origin rushed over to group two’s cabin – and circle was indeed inside. origin knocked on the door, and circle went out to him with a morose expression on his face.

“are you okay, circle?” origin asked gently.

circle looked at him with tired eyes. “it didn’t work. they didn’t listen to me. they were arguing all night…”

“i’m sorry… hey… i’m here for you if you need to talk about anything…”

“...i’m eliminated, aren’t i?”

“HURRY IT UP, TWINKY!” möbius yelled from afar.

origin chuckled sadly. “yeah, sorry.”

“...good. i don’t want to spend another second hearing my frie–” circle cut himself off mid-word and corrected himself. “hearing triangle, square, and rectangle fighting and screaming at each other over nothing. if they want to hate each other i don’t want to be a part of it.”

“okay.”

and with that origin started buzzing, causing circle to float towards him and lose his arms and legs. then the two of them flashed away.

“did he just go to the paradox?” möbius asked himself. “yeah i think he went to the paradox... ugh, great, i forgot to ask him to generate the stuff for today’s challenge before he left! …HEY TWINKLE! I DON’T KNOW IF YOU CAN HEAR ME IN YOUR WEIRD LITTLE POCKET DIMENSION THING BUT IF YOU CAN GET BACK HERE RIGHT NOW!!!!!!!”

“i really don’t have enough ibuprofen for this!!!” heart exclaimed, exasperated.

and, just like that, origin came back.

“SO YOU HEARD ME???”

“...what? …anyway, i just remembered to give you the stuff for the challenge. so here.”

twinkle manifested a number of strange gun-like objects and gave them to möbius strip, before flashing away again.

“huh,” möbius mused. “SO YES: TODAY’S CHALLENGE IS A TURF WAR. YOU WILL ALL GET COLOR GUNS – WHEN YOU POINT AND SHOOT AT AN OBJECT WITH A COLOR GUN, THAT OBJECT WILL CHANGE TO YOUR TEAM’S COLOR. TRY TO CHANGE AS MANY TREES IN THE FOREST YOUR TEAM’S COLOR AS YOU CAN IN THE NEXT 20 MINUTES. THE TEAM WITH THE LEAST AMOUNT OF TREES THEIR COLOR WILL BE UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

he sent the color guns flying out among the teams. group two’s color guns were mint green; the cool kids’ color guns were baby pink; yim yum’s color guns were salmon; helvetica’s color guns were pale blue.

“OH YEAH. AND UM, DON’T SHOOT EACH OTHER. IT HURTS… AND THE COLOR STICKS TO SHAPES FOR, LIKE, WEEKS. IF YOU DO YOUR TEAM AUTOMATICALLY LOSES… OKAY, SO–”

“wait!” parallelogram yelled. “you gave our team four color guns, even though we only have three team members!”

“yeah!” triangle yelled back. “why do we only have three while they have four?”

“OOPS. OH WELL.” möbius didn’t seem to care.

“well, i guess that just means we have extra ammo,” kite pointed out. “hm… heptagon has started to help more in challenges! i think if we give him a clear outlet to help more, he might, well, help more…”

“what, you want to give him the extra color gun in addition to his own?” parallelogram asked incredulously. “i thought the both of us would get two each.”

“parry… he’s getting better. we should give him a chance.”

unlike he had on days prior, heptagon was not lying down with his eyes closed; instead, he was silently sitting and gazing at his teammates.

parallelogram looked at him and groaned. “fine. heptagon, you get the extra color gun.”

“wait, what?” heptagon blurted.

“OH MY GOD, ARE YOU IDIOTS DONE TALKING?” möbius groaned. “YOU ALWAYS DO THAT.”

“sorry!!” kite said.

“...OKAY. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO… BEGIN!”

origin suddenly appeared, with his camera lens.

“OF COURSE YOU ONLY CAME TO WATCH…”

heart instantly grabbed his color gun and set out for the forest. “c’mon, team! we gotta get started if we don’t want to lose!!”

“wait, heart!” star called after him. “you agreed you’d hang out with me today!”

“later!”

rhombus and droplet grabbed their color guns and joined heart.

“but…” star frowned and begrudgingly followed his team, led by the frantically determined heart. “you always say that…”

meanwhile, square just approached his brother.

“you better come with me,” square told him. “let’s stay away from triangle so she can’t ruin our chances of doing anything.”

“stop talking about her like that!” rectangle said. “triangle’s our friend.”

“no, she’s your friend. apparently. even though it’s her fault poor circle is gone…”

rectangle scoffed.

“now, like i said, if we just go ourselves we’ll do fine. come with me–”

“no.”

“what?”

“i’m going with triangle.”

“i’m not going anywhere with trapezoid!” pentagon exclaimed defiantly, clinging to hexagon as the team was about to leave for the forest.

“why?” hexagon asked. “he was just worried about you.”

“he yelled at me!”

“i didn’t–” trapezoid started. “okay, well, i did, but–”

“i’m not going with him,” pentagon concluded.

“well…” octagon pondered, “how about we split up, then?”

“i’m going with hexagon!” pentagon announced.

“okay,” hexagon chuckled.

“then i’m going with trapezoid,” octagon affirmed. “and hey, we’ll cover more ground this way. c’mon, trapezoid…”

trapezoid followed octagon into the forest, sighing…

“kite, are you sure this is a good idea?” parallelogram asked, shooting a couple trees and turning them salmon.

“yes. and stop asking that right in front of him! heptagon–” kite now turned around, “–how are things going?”

but heptagon was nowhere in sight.

“what did i say?” parallelogram spat. “he’s no good for anything! you shouldn’t have trusted him with such a big responsibility. and not only is he gone, but also two precious color guns!”

“sorry, i guess i just wanted to believe he was starting to care…” kite sighed. “but there’s no point in trying to look for him so we could get the color guns back. that’d waste so much of our time.”

“i guess you’re right…” parallelogram conceded. “and i’m sorry for getting angry at you. the anger’s for heptagon, and, well, he’s never there to receive it.”

“heh.” kite shot some more trees salmon.

where had heptagon gone?

“this place is so much better when nobody’s here,” he said to himself back at his team’s cabin. “hey, it almost looks like home!”

then he suddenly went quiet. heptagon was quiet for a while.

“hexagon, you’re so nice,” pentagon said. she skipped ahead of hexagon and shot a few trees, going “pew pew pew!” as she did so.

hexagon smiled and shot a tree herself; pentagon had already gotten most of them in the area. “i’m glad you think so! but y’know, trapezoid’s trying to be nice as well…”

“no he isn’t! he just gets mad at me for no reason.”

“i’m really sorry he yelled at you like that. that wasn’t nice.”

“so he isn’t nice! just like i said!”

“pentagon… he shouldn’t have yelled at you. but do you know why he was angry at all?”

“because i was here instead of in the cabin.”

“because you could’ve gotten hurt,” hexagon tilted her head and made eye contact with pentagon. “he was angry because he wanted you to be safe, and you weren’t.”

pentagon paused, confused. “why didn’t he just bring me back then, right when he found me?”

“well, he had to tell you not to do it again, right? so you wouldn’t come back here at night again?”

“...but i will. i need to.”

trapezoid and octagon weren’t nearly as fast as pentagon, but they still made good progress.

“i just don’t understand why she doesn’t understand me!” trapezoid complained as octagon shot a few trees up ahead.

“what is she, 10?” octagon replied. “give her a break.”

“listen, you of all people should know i babysit! little kids aren’t normally this stubborn!”

octagon chewed her pacifier slowly. “what, is she a normal little kid?”

trapezoid regarded octagon for a couple moments. “i suppose not… why?”

“do you know why she was here last night to begin with?”

“no, she didn’t tell me.”

“did you let her?”

trapezoid sighed. “i guess not…”

“bingo!” octagon exclaimed, shooting another tree. “she’s gonna come back here tonight no matter what you say, because she has a reason to.”

“i gotta go talk to her…” trapezoid said, turning to leave.

“okay, as long as you color some more trees blue on the way…” octagon muttered.

and now she was alone.

heart was busy shooting every tree he could see.

“you’re good at this,” rhombus noted. “you have good aim.”

“thanks! i have to.”

droplet wasn’t such a good aim herself, but it was the thought that counts. “how much time do we have left?” she asked. “if we have enough we might be able to do my plan!”

“we’re not doing your plan, droplet,” rhombus dismissed her.

“i think we’re a quarter of the way through…” heart replied. “wait, a quarter? for the love of geometry, we gotta pick up the pace! oh my primes!!”

“dude, we already have, like, a third of the trees pink,” star pointed out, having finally caught up with the rest of his team.

“that’s not enough! the other teams are probably changing our trees into green and blue and prime knows what as we speak!!” heart jolted around to look at his best friend. “...star… where’s your color gun?”

star blinked at him. “oh, that thing? i forgot it somewhere… whoops.”

heart glared at him. “...’whoops’? ‘whoops’? are we seriously risking our lives over a ‘whoops’?”

“whoa! since when was this a matter of life and death, buddy?”

“oh, i don’t know, s-since always? why, do you know what the paradox is? do you want to risk potentially being thrown into an alternate dimension which we’ve never seen or known of before in our lives and for all we know could kill us?”

“dude,” star took a step back. “it isn’t that big of a deal.”

rhombus rolled their eyes and walked away, shooting more trees. droplet’s eyes darted between rhombus and her other teammates; she stood still.

“why aren’t you taking this seriously?” heart cried. “why don’t you ever take me seriously?”

star didn’t reply.

“i only signed up for this… for this d-dumb show because you wanted me to! i don’t want to go to the third dimension, cuz i’m t-terrified of it, but i don’t want to go to the paradox either! at least i’m mostly sure the third d-dimension won’t kill me!”

“heart! just calm down!”

“...you always say that. you s-say that whenever i’m worried about anything. and look, now we’re gonna lose because i’ve spent all this time arguing with you instead of turning more trees pink…” heart cocked his color gun again.

“stop following me, rectangle,” triangle snapped. “don’t go parroting your idiot brother and saying circle’s elimination is my fault.”

“i’m not gonna,” rectangle snapped back. “we’re friends, triangle. no matter what square says.”

“screw him.”

“yeah… screw him. so how many trees have you gotten so far?”

“a heck of a ton. we have the second most now… all thanks to me.”

rectangle shot a few trees, turning them from salmon to mint green. “i can help too, y’know.”

“sure,” triangle said absently.

“screw her,” square muttered to himself. “lousy son of a–”

he then bumped into kite, who had been too busy thinking to be aware of her surroundings. she promptly apologized.

“hey, where’s the rest of your team?” parallelogram asked from behind her.

“i don’t know,” square replied coolly, “where’s yours?”

square walked past the two and shook his head. “at least they didn’t know oval well before they lost him. i’ve known circle since… since…”

“since forever?” hexagon finished for him. pentagon was holding her hand. “i’m sorry he got eliminated, square.”

“could you please leave me alone?” square moaned, turning back the other direction – right towards heart and star.

parallelogram dropped his gun in exhaustion. “this sucks,” he said.

“that’s the…” kite thought for a moment. “that’s the 13th time you’ve said that today.”

“because it’s true.”

“...right.”

“well? we’re the first team to lose a member, we practically only have two members now because one might as well not exist, and we’re currently losing, meaning by tomorrow that number will be down to one.”

“look on the bright side,” kite started, “we’re doing pretty well for a two-person team.”

“yeah, i suppose,” parallelogram smiled, “but unfortunately ‘pretty well’ isn’t good enough.”

“if only it were…”

“yeah, if only…”

trapezoid finally made it to the other half of his team. “pentagon!” he called.

pentagon frowned upon seeing him; she held hexagon’s hand tighter.

after catching his breath, trapezoid kneeled down beside her. “hey, pentagon… i’d just like to ask… why did you go into the forest last night?”

“i… i couldn’t just stay in the cabin all night.”

“why not?”

“i need to get all my energy out before i go to sleep. it was really hard to sleep the night before when i stayed in the cabin all night...”

“oh, i see.”

trapezoid looked towards hexagon; hexagon smiled at him, and trapezoid’s gaze returned to pentagon.

“...hey, i’ll tell you what,” trapezoid stood up again, “how about you and i take a walk in the forest together before bed? that way you can move around as much as you like and get all of that energy out while also being safe. what do you think?”

pentagon went over and held his hand. “if we start running around now i’ll get all the energy out sooner. c’mon!” and with that she took off at lightning speed, trapezoid in tow. trapezoid colored some more trees as he went, smiling.

octagon had been trying to keep track of how many trees she changed, but that number became fuzzy as her mind clouded over.

it’s always the three of them, she thought, chewing her pacifier methodically. trapezoid, hexagon, and pentagon… the perfect trio…

“heyyyy octagon!” a familiar voice sang from behind a tree.

“hey hexagon.”

“how’s it going?”

“fine. you?”

“good! thanks for knocking some sense into trapezoid. things are going a lot better now.”

octagon blinked in surprise. “what? i did that?”

“you sure did!” hexagon beamed, patting octagon’s shoulder. “and wow, that’s a lot of blue trees! they look so pretty, don’t they?”

octagon looked out at them. “yeah… yeah, i guess they do.” she smiled back. perhaps she was part of the perfect quartet, not just an addition to the perfect trio.

“rhombus, rhombus!” droplet called.

“stop saying my name,” rhombus groaned, turning more and more trees pink.

“can we please try my idea?”

“no.”

“but if we use our color guns to make someone else’s color guns pink, then they’d shoot more pink for us! it’d work!”

“if we shoot anywhere near somebody’s color gun, then we’re shooting dangerously close to their body. do you want to instantly lose for shooting someone? don’t be so naïve, droplet.”

heart, remarkably trigger-happy for someone usually so inhibited, kept darting around, changing trees to pink with shaky hands. star struggled to keep up with him.

“of course i tell you to calm down all the time, heart! because you’re always so worried about everything… for no reason! don’t you remember back in middle school, how much fun we had together? don’t you miss that? don’t you miss when things were normal?”

heart kept shooting. “shut up,” he said behind clenched teeth.

“what… what is wrong with you, heart?” star yelled.

“SHUT UP!” heart cried, swinging his arm around.

BANG!

star flew back. he was pink.

everyone froze at the sound, including heart himself.

“OOOOOOOKAY THAT’S ENOUGH FOLKS,” möbius cut in. “THE COOL KIDS LOSE. I GUESS.”

square turned as heart dropped the color gun and ran deep into the forest.

a few silent moments passed.

“hey, um, möbius strip?” parallelogram called. “who would’ve won if not for… y’know?”

“the cool kids.”

rhombus seethed. “i hate this team.”

…

“thanks for setting up the camera, origin,” oval said.

“of course! i wanted you guys to be able to see what’s going on in the challenge.”

the video recorded by origin with his camera lens was being shown in the paradox, live, in a little 10x10 grid.

the now faceless, limbless circle had been sitting quietly by himself upon arrival. now he translated over next to oval to watch the challenge as origin popped back into geometropolis.

“i hate my friends,” circle said suddenly.

“i don’t blame you,” oval said.

“i love them too, of course…” circle paused. “but i’m glad i get to be away from them. so i can hate them, if only just for a little while.”

“do you think they could get along again?”

“i don’t know. it’s not like it’d make much of a difference anyway… the four of us don’t hang out much anymore as it is. square and triangle could go on to despise each other for the rest of their lives.”

“you wouldn’t like that, would you?”

“no.”

the two watched on in silence. eventually, origin returned.

“sorry about the ending there. poor guys, geez…”

neither shape responded.

“we’re only, what, four days into the competition? and everyone’s already so on edge… it isn’t usually this early…” origin’s voice trailed off.

“i mean, they all really want to go to the third dimension,” oval noted. “well, except for heart. and heptagon. and i guess parallelogram too? but he seems happy to compete now that he’s had a few days…”

“the challenge is transforming all of us,” circle said in a monotone voice, “whether we like it or not.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

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grt3D episode 14: vexed by hexagon

there was a knock on the homeslices’ door.

“...hello?” star opened it slowly, tiredly, to see square standing before him, holding a pair of wings in one hand.

“hey… can i stay here?” square asked. “i’m the only one in my cabin now… and it’s pretty lonely…”

star smiled. “sure thing, bro.”

square followed him into the cabin and sat down on one of the empty beds, putting the wings on the floor beside him. heptagon was sound asleep.

“so…” star said in a hushed voice. “you’re back in the game too?”

“i suppose i am,” square replied.

“good for you!”

“...winning this show was my dream. i just forgot that.”

“we’ve all forgotten a lot of things here…”

“but we’ve learned a lot more.”

“that’s true.”

“hey, what’s that?” square noticed a little gray box sitting behind star.

“oh, this?” star picked it up and held it. “it’s this remote oval told me to keep safe. rhombus used it to get rid of people’s arms and legs.”

“oh yeah, that thing.”

“not sure what i’m gonna do with it. maybe i’ll use it in the challenge today?”

“today? is it morning already?”

“i dunno. whatever. but i’ll use this sucker on you faster than you can say ‘that’s cheating, you dimwit!’”

square smirked. “is it cheating?”

“you’re the square, you tell me.”

the two chuckled. heptagon rolled over.

“shut up, star!” square exclaimed between clenched teeth, holding back another laugh. “you’ll wake him up!”

“quiet contest?”

“in 3… 2… 1…”

bzzzt! star clicked the remote’s button.

“hey!” square cried, limbless. “...oops.”

heptagon opened his eyes wearily and glanced at square. “...hi.”

“hi.”

“...goodnight.”

and with that heptagon went back to sleep.

“geez, star, can i have my limbs back?”

meanwhile, hexagon and octagon were up talking like usual.

“then i said, ‘he’s totally into you! and even if he isn’t, hanging out won’t hurt anything!’” hexagon smiled. “and guess what happened next.”

“what?” octagon smiled back.

“the two of them started dating! my best friend became the first kid in school to ever get a boyfriend – and, hey, i think they’re getting married in a few months?”

“wow! you’re quite the matchmaker, huh?”

“i guess you can say that. i just notice things in people.”

“you certainly do.”

“speaking of which, i’m glad i could help square get his dream back on its feet. i’ve hated to see him so down about it lately.”

“yeah… but hey, don’t you think it’s a bit risky to help him?”

“...what do you mean?”

octagon chewed her pacifier pensively. “well… he’s more competition.”

“i suppose you’re right.” hexagon shrugged. “and yeah, i am thinking about winning, but i want it to be a fair fight, y’know?”

“that makes sense.”

“we are coming around towards the finals, aren’t we…”

the two remained silent for a few seconds.

“...so who else did you pair up?” octagon asked.

“only a few others – not including myself, surprisingly enough. still earned myself the superlative ‘most romantic’ in our high school yearbook, though.”

“you’ve never dated anyone???”

“nope,” hexagon replied, smiling sheepishly. “why are you so surprised?”

“cuz, well…” octagon blushed. “cuz you’re so cool…”

hexagon elbowed her affectionately. “hey, i never said nobody’s had a crush on me before!”

octagon chuckled, a silly grin on her face. “oh, really…”

…

“you can do this,” origin muttered to himself as he translated back and forth in the field. “you can do this. you can do this. you can do this.”

“WHO CAN DO WHAT?” a voice asked.

origin jolted back. “m-möbius strip! sir! i didn’t see you there!”

“GOOD MORNING, TWINKLE. READY TO WAKE EVERYONE UP?”

“...in a second. sir… what took you so long in getting back here? you were gone for days.”

“WELL… i thought i might as well seize the opportunity to get some work done. you know how it is.” möbius’s voice had lowered.

origin sighed. “advertisements?”

“yup!”

“i should’ve known…”

“what? i’m an opportunistic sort!”

origin still wasn’t satisfied. “why would any of them want to come here anyway? it’s not like any of these guys would want to go to the 1st dimension.”

möbius chuckled cryptically, but said nothing.

“...i guess i’ll go wake everyone up, sir.” origin’s voice was bitter and tired.

in a couple of minutes, star, hexagon, octagon, heptagon, and square arrived, origin trailing behind them. hexagon and octagon were still chatting, but every so often hexagon would glance over at square.

square had a determined yet pensive look. heptagon was crossing his fingers.

“HELLO AND GOOD MORNING, IDIOTS!” möbius greeted. “TODAY, HEPTAGON AND SQUARE ARE UP FOR ELIMINATION BECAUSE THEY’RE THE BIGGEST IDIOTS OUT OF ALL OF YOU.”

star tapped his foot nervously.

“SOOOO… THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS SQUA–”

“HEPTAGON!” origin blurted. “the eliminated contestant is heptagon!”

heptagon’s face brightened.

“WHAT????”

“you heard me!!!” origin yelled uneasily, starting to buzz.

heptagon chuckled happily, tears in his eyes. star squeezed his hand as he started to drift towards origin.

square smiled. “so long.”

“HEY!!!!” möbius screamed. “TWINKY, WHAT ARE YOU DOING????”

but origin and heptagon left to the paradox without another word.

“I SWEAR TO THE PRIMES, I’M GONNA KILL THAT GUY!!!! well, he can’t die, but whatever. I’M GONNA KILL HIM!!!!!!!!!!!”

in a moment origin returned. “sir, let’s begin the next challenge.” his voice was shaky, but confident.

“WHY YOU… GET OUT OF HERE! GO BACK TO THE PARADOX, YOU JERK!!!!”

origin said nothing. he vanished again.

möbius translated towards square. “i will eliminate you,” he whispered.

square held fast. “you won’t.”

möbius raised his voice. “TODAY IS THE SEMIFINAL, MEANING ONLY THE WINNER OF THE CHALLENGE HAS A CONFIRMED SPOT IN THE FINAL! THE LOSERS WILL ALL BE UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

“shoot.” hexagon bit her lip. this is gonna hurt a lot more than i thought…

“...but what’s the challenge?” star asked.

“A GO-KART RACE!” möbius announced. “IF I KEPT THE TRAITOROUS TWINKLE AROUND, HE WOULD GENERATE SOME GO-KARTS FOR YOU. BUT SINCE HE’S TRAIPSING AROUND IN THE PARADOX YOU’LL HAVE TO MAKE YOUR KARTS YOURSELVES. YOU HAVE HALF AN HOUR UNTIL THE RACE STARTS… SO GET BUILDING!”

the four remaining shapes bolted towards the forest to get materials.

square started yanking branches off of a tree, and dragged them towards his new cabin. he ran inside and grabbed droplet’s old wooden wings.

star did the same, but tried to look for thinner, lighter branches to use.

hexagon and octagon went about the search for branches together.

“hey hexy,” octagon piped up, “what are you planning? i’m gonna try to make my kart as aerodynamic as possible…”

hexagon’s mind was elsewhere. she didn’t respond.

“hello? hexagon?”

“huh?” hexagon blinked. “oh, sorry… hey, octagon?”

“yeah?”

“let’s just keep in mind that… you want to win. i want to win.”

“...yeah, we want to win.”

“that’s not what i said…”

“anyway, hexy, i was thinking we could collaborate on the kart design! we’re both smart, after all. then we’d both do really well!”

hexagon smiled uneasily. “...okay, octagon.”

meanwhile, square had begun to fit together the branches into a rectangle shape with a triangle at the front; he then slotted the wings into the back.

“all this needs is wheels and i’ll be golden,” he said to himself. “now how will i make these branches into circles?”

an idea popped into his head, and he ran back to the forest to meet star.

“so square’s made the comeback,” star said, grinning.

“indeed i have,” square replied. “say, can i borrow two of your thin branches?”

“what? and help my rival?”

square smirked.

“of course!” star handed them to him and waved him goodbye.

star continued to make his go-kart. he was never the best at building things, but he tried to follow the advice of his internal droplet and rhombus.

“be bold!" he told himself. “but not too bold! something unique… but possible. aha!”

he began to bend one of his branches into an arc, and affixed the end to another branch. he then grabbed the grapher…

square had finished his kart. “hey möbius!” he called. “where’s the starting line?”

“WOULDN’T YOU LIKE TO KNOW, WEATHER BOY? …RIGHT BESIDE ME, YOU LITTLE TWIT.”

square rolled his eyes and started to roll his go-kart over to him. as he did so, he passed octagon and hexagon. their karts looked identical; smooth and aerodynamic.

“hey, hexagon!” he called. but she didn’t reply.

soon enough, all four shapes were done with their karts, and had rolled them beside möbius strip.

“OKAY, FOLKS! THIS RACE WILL HAVE THREE LAPS, FROM HERE TO THE FOREST AND BACK. FIRST ONE TO FINISH WINS A SPOT IN THE FINALS!”

hexagon knitted her brow.

"ON YOUR MARKS… GET SET… GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

and they were off! hexagon and octagon took an easy lead; collaboration really did make for a good design.

star was a little ways behind them, while square was in last place.

square grumbled.

“what, you thought i’d go easy on you?” star smirked.

“of course not,” square replied. “i’m just going easy on you.”

“oh yeah?”

“oh yeah!”

hexagon and octagon neared the forest and turned around, halfway through their first lap.

“the finals!” octagon exclaimed. “i cannot wait! y’know, helvetica’s gonna pull through for sure. best friends forever and whatnot.”

“mhm.”

“hey, i wish origin were here to broadcast this. imagine the look on trapezoid and pentagon’s face when they see us win!”

hexagon said nothing.

by pulling a lever, square flapped the wings on his kart, overtaking star just as hexagon and octagon completed their first lap.

“darn!” star exclaimed. “guess i’ll have to use this…” he had mounted the grapher on the front of his crescent-shaped kart and readied his finger to press it.

square completed his first lap, star on his tail. he glanced back and swerved out of the way just before the grapher’s blast could hit him. “hoo boy! so you really are using it, huh!”

“well, you’re using the wings! i’d say it’s pretty even.”

“sounds odd to me!”

star continued to try and shoot square with a beam from the grapher, which would make his limbs disappear and thus incapacitate him, but he had no luck. square just kept on dodging!

so star put the pedal to the metal and sped ahead of square, before turning his go-kart around to face him. driving backwards, star continued to blast at his rival’s kart. the two continued this little tango, spinning around in circles and not getting anywhere.

while those two were occupied, hexagon and octagon completed their second lap.

“almost there…” hexagon murmured.

“hey!” square cried. “those two are almost at the finish line!”

star jolted. “i gotta get ‘em!” he turned his kart to aim the grapher towards them.

“i just can’t wait!” octagon exclaimed. “we’re gonna tie, and we’ll both get into the finals! …right, hexy?”

“there can’t be a tie!” hexagon snapped back.

“what?”

suddenly octagon got hit by a flash of light, and her limbs disappeared.

“AAAAH!” she screamed, her kart skidding to a stop.

hexagon stopped for a moment, her eyes wide. she stared at her best friend forever.

“HEXY! HELP ME! HELP ME, PLEASE!”

hexagon put her foot on the gas. “i’m sorry, octy.”

“HEXY!!!”

hexagon sped ahead, nearing the finish line, as octagon sat motionless. star swerved past octagon’s kart, button-mashing the grapher.

“just get hexagon already!” square cried.

“i’m trying!!!” star cried back.

but they were too late. hexagon crossed the finish line.

“AND HEXAGON WINS A SPOT IN THE FINALS!!!!” möbius announced.

star and square stopped their karts and got out. star pulled the grapher off of his kart and aimed it at octagon, whose arms and legs returned.

“octagon, i’m sorry…” he said softly.

octagon didn’t reply. she didn’t care about him. she walked past him, past the finish line, towards hexagon’s stopped kart. the one she helped her build. the one that left her behind.

hexagon was standing beside it, facing away.

“hexagon,” octagon’s voice trembled.

her best friend forever said nothing.

“hexagon. you left me there. you heard me calling for your help but you left me there. i thought we were in this together.”

her best friend said nothing.

“together we got so far. you got so far. we could’ve tied and got into the finals together. but the moment you had the chance to win…” octagon spat out her pacifier in disgust. “you threw me under the bus! hexagon! was that what all of this was for?”

her friend said nothing.

“you… you were playing the long-con, weren’t you?” octagon’s voice cracked, tears welling up in her eyes. “you only became friends with me just to use me! you saw i was smart, that i was rational, so you used me as a tool to win! but i wasn’t smart at all. i was too dumb to tell that you were never my friend to begin with!”

“no!” hexagon finally cried, spinning around to face octagon. her voice was timorous with emotion. “that’s not true, octagon… i love you…”

“then why did you do this? why?”

“...because i’ve always wanted to win, octagon! just as much as everyone here, i want to win!” her voice lowered to a whisper. “i want to win…”

“...hexagon.”

“i’m sorry…”

octagon stepped back. “i hope you’re happy. I HOPE YOU’RE HAPPY!” she burst into tears and ran off.

hexagon fell onto her knees.

“WELL GOLLY GEE!” möbius interjected. “NOW I’M SORRY I TOLD TWINKY-DINK TO SKEDADDLE, CUZ THAT WAS JUICY! SQUARE, YOU MIGHT NOT BE ELIMINATED AFTER ALL.”

“shut up,” square muttered. “c’mon, star. let’s go.” he unfastened the wings from his kart.

star took the grapher uneasily from his own and went along with square. “i don’t want to hold onto this anymore.”

square looked into his eyes. “you want me to?”

star blinked.

now hexagon was alone with möbius strip.

“just as i expected,” he murmured. “no friendship can last so long as you’re competing for something… silly to even try with her.”

“don’t eliminate octagon.”

“i will. i will eliminate her. but don’t bother trying to tell her… i’m sure that won’t make her any happier with you.”

“i hate you.”

“then you hate yourself, darling. you are going to win.”

…

“heptagon!” parallelogram called. “buddy!”

heptagon’s old teammates, yim yum, gathered around him as he arrived in the paradox: parallelogram, kite, and oval.

“you did it!” kite cheered. “you finally lost!”

“are you okay?” oval asked.

heptagon took a moment. “yes,” he said at length, with mild unease. “yes, i think i am.”

heart rushed over to him. “a-and, um, the challenge will be ending in only a couple of days. then we can go home.”

“oh yeah… you’re right.”

“everything will be okay.”

heptagon chuckled. “i get the impression that you’re also trying to convince yourself of that.”

“p-perhaps i am.”

suddenly, origin appeared.

“origin!” circle gasped. “what are you doing here?”

“well, i…” origin mumbled. “möbius strip got angry at me and told me to go back here…”

“cuz you saved my guts,” heptagon said.

“let’s go!” triangle cheered. “screw möbius!!!”

“good on ya, bud!” oval nudged origin.

origin giggled. “yeah, he’s pissed off at me now. i think you’re all right about the elimination thing, that he’s been trying to cause the most tension possible with it. square wants to win now, so möbius wanted him gone.”

“what a jerk!” rectangle exclaimed.

“mhm,” parallelogram nodded.

“does this mean you can decide who’s in the finals?” trapezoid asked. “after all, tomorrow, you can just bring anyone you want here…”

“in theory, sure,” origin answered, “but i doubt möbius strip will let me get away with that again… also, unless there’s some huge reason to pick one over the other, it isn’t really fair for me to decide.”

“is it fair for möbius to?” droplet asked.

“fair point…”

“hey,” pentagon piped up, “if you’re here, how will we see today’s challenge?”

“...i guess we can’t? sorry guys.”

“aw darn!” triangle groaned. “it can get pretty boring in here.”

“she isn’t wrong…” heart conceded.

“but it’s not like you’re always watching a challenge,” origin pointed out. “are you always bored when you’re not? i thought, um, we just hang out and stuff.”

“well yeah, sure,” rectangle said, “but today’s the semifinals. today we were all anticipating something exciting, and now we don’t have it… so we’re even more bored than usual.”

“hm…” origin thought for a moment. “what, do you all want to do some proofs?”

“you call that exciting???” pentagon cried.

“yes!” rhombus replied eagerly.

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

3 notes · View notes

geometropolis · 2 years ago

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grt3D episode 13: softly spoken magic spelling

heptagon found it very hard to sleep, as he wasn’t tired in the slightest – star had let him nod off for the entirety of the day’s challenge. star, meanwhile, had taken the challenge seriously for likely the first time in his life, meaning that he was exhausted, and thus that he was able to sleep like a baby.

awake as he was, heptagon left the cabin and started walking around through the cool night. he strolled past the forest and the main field and even went as far north as the logarithm labyrinth. it was strange to see all of these places empty; in a normal context they would be full of his fellow contestants.

usually a feeling of unease would sweep over him. tonight, however, heptagon felt a strange feeling of calm.

we have a backyard like this at home, he thought. vast and gray and still, lined with trees…

eventually heptagon circled back towards his cabin, to see star standing outside the door with a pensive expression.

“hey, star,” heptagon said tentatively. “i thought you were asleep.”

“oh, i was,” star replied, not elaborating further.

“...good job in yesterday’s challenge.” heptagon joined his friend by the door.

“thanks.”

“a change of heart for you?”

star smiled tiredly, but earnestly. “i guess you could call it that. dude, something about being pink just makes me care about things.”

heptagon blinked and smiled back. “you look so happy. i’m glad for you.”

“i’m glad for me too. y’know… maybe it isn’t about me proving to heart that i’m worthy of being friends with him, right? maybe it’s about proving to myself that i’m worthy of being my own friend.”

“you aren’t friends with yourself already?”

star shook his head. “i’m only just acquainted with myself. but i’m finding out… i’m finding out what he likes.”

“that’s good.”

“it is.”

the two stood together for a while in amicable silence. at some point star turned to heptagon.

“have you been doing okay?” he asked.

“i think so,” heptagon replied.

“...hey, this show won’t go on for too much longer. you’ll go home and everything will be okay soon enough.”

“hopefully.”

“definitely. look, if i’m still alive after everything that happened then i’m pretty sure you’ll be alright.”

“i hope you win.”

“i hope you don’t!” star fistbumped heptagon. “i’m still tired as heck. i’ll see you tomorrow, ‘kay?”

“sure thing.”

star was about to head inside when he stopped. he beamed and rushed back over to heptagon, hugging him. “good night, bro!”

heptagon laughed. “good night!”

…

as per usual, origin and oval gathered the contestants early in the morning. the light of day was shining upon all of them, instilling in each and every shape a curiosity regarding what was to come.

“i’m sorry you guys lost,” hexagon told square and droplet. “you two have been doing so well.”

“thanks,” droplet replied, sighing.

square shot her a pained look and opened his mouth to speak.

“now don’t you start apologizing!” droplet chuckled. “everything’s fine.”

“no, it’s not fine,” square said. “look, if this show were fair, i’d for sure be eliminated, and both of us would be happy. but we know that’s not the case. there’s a 50% chance you’re going to the paradox instead of me.”

“yeah, it isn’t fair… but there’s nothing we can do about it. it’s certainly not your fault.”

heptagon shrugged. “i guess it’s safe to say that everything’s möbius strip’s fault?” he muttered.

“DID SOMEBODY SAY MY NAME?”

everyone jolted back. it was him. möbius strip had suddenly reappeared.

“m-möbius,” origin stammered. “sir, you’re finally back!”

“INDEED I AM!” möbius sang. “AND I SEE YOU’VE KEPT THINGS RUNNING SMOOTHLY IN MY ABSENCE, TWINKLE.”

origin sighed. i hoped i’d never have to hear him call me that again…

möbius translated past all of the shapes and stopped at oval. “WHAT’S THIS ONE DOING HERE? SHOULDN’T HE BE IN THE PARADOX?”

“oh, um, sorry, i needed a co-host for the time i was, um, hosting.”

“HOSTING? AT BEST YOU’RE FOLLOWING A SCRIPT. AND I’M GLAD TO SEE YOU’VE DONE ALL THE ELIMINATIONS CORRECTLY.”

“mhm…” origin sighed.

“OKAY. SO, TWINKLE, WHO LOST LAST TIME?”

“we did,” droplet answered. “square and i.”

“AH, GO THE DSTANCE. SO…”

“don’t we get time to talk?” square asked uneasily.

“WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT? ANYWAY… THE NEXT CONTESTANT ELIMINATED IS DROPLET!”

droplet’s breath caught.

“droplet…” square murmured as tears formed in his teammate’s eyes.

“i’m okay, square, i’m okay,” she replied shakily, not making eye contact.

“you don’t have to be okay with this. i’m sorry it has to be this way.”

“no, it’s–” her voice cut off as she burst into sobs. square hugged her tight.

“Y’KNOW, TWINKLE,” möbius interjected, “YOU SHOULD REALLY SHOW THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANTS THE ELIMINATIONS. THIS STUFF IS JUICY!”

origin grumbled.

“OKAY, THAT’S ENOUGH WEEPING. LET’S GO, TWINKY! TAKE OVAL AND DROPLET BACK WHERE THEY BELONG!”

oval approached origin. “hey,” he whispered, “you know you don’t have to do what he says. you can fight against this.”

“i can’t fight against him.”

“yes you can. i believe in you, origin. we all believe in you.”

origin glowed briefly. “...give star the grapher.”

“what?”

“believe in me.”

oval nodded and quickly dashed over to star, his new-old teammate.

“hey, i need you to keep this safe for me.”

star blinked at him and glanced over at droplet. “okay. just keep her safe too, alright?”

oval smiled. “of course.”

soon origin buzzed and took him and droplet away.

the remaining contestants – hexagon, square, octagon, star, and heptagon – were still staring at möbius strip.

“GEEZ LOUISE!” möbius exclaimed. “YOU’RE LOOKING AT ME LIKE I’M A GHOST OR SOMETHING! LOL!”

“i wish you were one…” square muttered.

“OKAY, SO BIG NEWS EVERYONE: NO MORE TEAMS! EVER!! YOU’RE ALL ALOOOOOONE!!!!”

heptagon looked at star with a glimmer of hope in his eyes. square smiled.

hexagon and octagon had been holding hands. they separated their hands for a moment, before bringing them together again. octagon shrugged sheepishly.

“OR YOU COULD BE CLINGY IF YOU WANT. I COULDN’T CARE LESS. AND DON’T ASK ME ABOUT THE CABINS AGAIN. JUST STAY WHERE YOU’VE BEEN.”

soon enough origin returned with his camera lens. “are we ready for the challenge, sir?”

“INDEED WE ARE!” möbius strip addressed the contestants. “TODAY’S CHALLENGE IS A SPELLING BEE. YOU WILL ALL STAND IN A LINE AND, IN ORDER, WILL BE GIVEN A WORD TO SPELL. IF YOU SPELL A WORD INCORRECTLY, YOU GET A STRIKE. THE FIRST TWO CONTESTANTS TO THREE STRIKES ARE UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

“but then who’ll you decide who to eliminate?” star asked.

“EH. I’LL JUST DO WHATEVER I FEEL LIKE PROBABLY. THERE AREN’T TEAM ORDERS ANYMORE.”

“that’s reassuring…”

the contestants then lined up: heptagon, square, hexagon, octagon, star. heptagon and square glanced at each other knowingly.

“YOU RECORDING, TWINKLE?”

“...yes i am, sir.”

“SO LET’S BEGIN! HEPTAGON: SPELL SACRILEGIOUS.”

heptagon blinked slowly and smiled. “q. sacrilegious.”

“WRONG, STRIKE ONE! SQUARE, YOU CAN STEAL HIS WORD! SPELL SACRILEGIOUS.”

square smiled as well. “c. sacrilegious.”

“WRONG, STRIKE ONE! GEEZ, YOU PEOPLE ARE IDIOTS. HEXAGON, YOUR TURN. SACRILEGIOUS.”

hexagon glanced at square. “s-a-c-r-i-l-e-g-i-o-u-s. sacrilegious.”

“BINGO BONGO! THE GIRL HAS GOT IT! NOW, OCTAGON, YOUR TURN: SPELL FUCHSIA.”

octagon chewed her pacifier. “f-u…” star chuckled. octagon hesitated and glanced over at hexagon for help, but her friend was busy helping square.

“y’know, you’re really good in challenges,” hexagon was saying. “why’d you want to join the race to the 3rd dimension again?”

octagon knitted her brow. “...c-h-s-i-a? fuchsia?”

“GOOD JOB! NOW, STAR: SPELL SEPARATE.”

star made a popping noise with his mouth. “uhhh…. s-e-p-e-r-a-t-e? seperate??”

“WROOOOONG!” möbius strip yelled. “STRIKE ONE! HEPTAGON, YOU TRY: SPELL SEPARATE.”

“f-u,” heptagon said, causing star to chuckle again. “separate.”

“STRIKE TWO FOR HEPTAGON, CUZ THAT’S INCORRECT! SQUARE?”

hexagon looked square in the eyes. “you’re here for a reason. you should try.”

square shook his head. “r. separate.”

“STRIKE TWO FOR SQUARE! HEXAGON?”

“...s-e-p-a-r-a-t-e,” hexagon answered. “separate.”

“GOOD! NOW, OCTAGON…” möbius strip looked at her for a moment. “wait a second… YOU’RE THE ONE WHO SENT ME BACK, WEREN’T YOU?”

“what?” she cried.

“YEAH! YOU SENT ME BACK TO THE 3RD DIMENSION! HOOOO BOY, YOU THOUGHT YOU COULD GET AWAY WITH THAT LITTLE STUNT OF YOURS? I DON’T THINK SO! SPELL FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION, YOU LITTLE TWERP!!!!”

octagon glared at him incredulously. “excuse me?”

“SPELL IT!”

“hexagon,” octagon whispered behind clenched teeth. “help me out here, will ya?”

but hexagon was still talking to square.

“come on!” octagon seethed. “f-l-o-x-i-n-o-s-s-i-n-i-h-i-l-i-p-i-l-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n? whatever it was you said?”

“WRONG! STRIKE ONE FOR OCTAGON. LMAO.”

octagon grumbled.

“i don’t know if it’s worth it,” square mumbled. “it’s all just so tiring.”

“but think about it,” hexagon said. “if you do win, you’ll get to go to a whole other dimension! that’s incredible!”

“but my friends wouldn’t be able to.”

“hm…”

“HEXAGON!” octagon and möbius strip yelled at once.

“huh? sorry.”

“SPELL FLOCCINAUCINIHILIPILIFICATION, PLEASE.”

“oh? okay. f-l-o-c-c-i-n-a-u-c-i-n-i-h-i-l-i-p-i-l-i-f-i-c-a-t-i-o-n. floccinaucinihilipilification.”

möbius strip was taken aback. “DARN. OKAY. UM, STAR, SPELL NAUSEOUS.”

“okay,” star said. “n-a-u-s-e-o-u-s. nauseous.”

“good job!” heptagon smiled at him.

“OKEY DOKEY! HEPTAGON. YOU HAVE ONE MORE STRIKE TO GO BEFORE YOU’RE UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

heptagon continued to smile.

“OKAY: SPELL BUS.”

“why does he get an easy one???” octagon wailed.

“bus,” heptagon said. “l-o-l. bus.”

“AAAAND THERE WE GO, FOLKS! HEPTAGON IS UP FOR ELIMINATION.”

“good job yourself!” star exclaimed, smiling back at his friend.

möbius continued. “SQUARE? CAN YOU SPELL BUS?”

“no,” square said. “guess i lose too.”

“square!” hexagon whined. “stop doing this!”

“YOU HEARD HER! STOP DOING THAT AND START SPELLING BUS!”

“n-o.” square closed his eyes.

“...AMAZING SPELLING FROM SQUARE! NOW ONTO HEXAGON!”

“what???” square and octagon both cried.

“just roll with it,” hexagon told square. “listen, i know your friends aren’t here anymore. and that sucks – trust me, i should know. but at this point, there’s nothing you can do to bring them back. so why continue to bring yourself down over it?”

“i just…” square bit his lip. “i’m just sad, okay? this game has taken away every friend i’ve had. i’m tired of this.”

“all of those friends would be so proud of you if you won. and you’d be proud of yourself.”

square looked away with half-lidded eyes. he said nothing.

“HEXAGON: SPELL PARAPHERNALIA.”

“p-a-r-a-p-h-e-r-n-a-l-i-a. paraphernalia.”

“NICE! OCTAGON: SPELL ONOMATOPOEIA. OR DON’T.”

“oh, i’ll spell it all right…” octagon grumbled. “o-n-o-m…” she nudged hexagon, who looked at her.

“a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a,” hexagon whispered, smiling.

“thanks,” octagon whispered back. “...a-t-o-p-o-e-i-a. onomatopoeia.”

“HEY, YOU CHEATED!” möbius yelled. “YOU SHOULD AUTOMATICALLY BE UP FOR ELIMINATION, YOU WORM!”

“hey, if octagon should lose for cheating, so should i,” hexagon piped up. “i’m the one who helped her.”

“UGH… WHATEVER. NEVERMIND. STAR: SPELL ACQUIESCE.”

“hm…” star said. “a-q-u-i-e-s-e? aquiese?”

“WRONG! STRIKE TWO FOR STAR!”

“darn.”

“OKAY, HEPTAGON IS OUT, SO WE’RE BACK TO SQUARE.”

“just put me up for elimination already,” square groaned.

“SPELL YES.”

“t. screw this. just let me be with my friends.”

“why don’t you want to be with your goals?” hexagon suddenly asked. “why don’t you want to be with your dreams? why don’t you want to be with yourself?”

square said nothing.

“...WELL, I GUESS SQUARE LOSES TOO?” möbius announced. “I REALLY WANT OCTAGON TO LOSE BUT HEY, WHATEVER. I’M OVER IT.”

origin sighed.

“OKAY, SO, THAT’S THAT.” möbius strip then flew off.

“hey, um, sorry about all of this,” origin addressed the contestants. “i realize you all must be experiencing major whiplash right now, as, well… let’s just say möbius strip’s hosting style is very different from mine.”

“it sure is,” octagon moaned. “he’s such a jerk!”

“but look, we’re both safe!” hexagon exclaimed happily, grabbing her hands.

octagon smiled, but looked askance towards square. square was still.

“desperately hoping i’m next on möbius’s chopping block,” heptagon told star. “i’m so close to getting out of here.”

“well, both you and square really want to get out. if möbius has been eliminating people to cause as much pain as possible, well, it’d happen either way.”

“that’s true.”

“not necessarily,” square said slowly.

“what do you mean?” star asked, turning towards him.

“i might’ve changed my mind.”

…

“wooooooooo!” heart cheered as droplet arrived in the paradox. “you did so well!”

droplet rushed toward him. “thanks… i just wish i could’ve done better…”

rhombus slowly approached. “hey, droplet.”

“hm…?”

“you…” rhombus hesitated. “you’ve done amazingly. i’m sorry i didn’t see that sooner.”

“yeah, you’ve been incredible!” triangle piped up.

pentagon giggled. “the two of us should hang out sometime!”

“i didn’t believe in you,” rhombus continued. “i’m glad so many other folks did.”

“well…” droplet replied at length, chuckling, “6th place isn’t so bad, right?”

oval translated over to kite and parallelogram. “looks like it’s really down to heptagon, huh.”

“well, now that möbius is back, i’m not sure he’ll be eliminated anytime soon…” parallelogram sighed.

“i guess all we can do is hope,” kite added.

“hope that origin grows a spine…” oval muttered.

the eliminated contestants found the challenge very entertaining to watch, as they tried (and failed) to spell the words themselves. mostly they marveled at how bizarre möbius strip’s lexicon was.

“is floccinaucinihilipilification even a word?” triangle exclaimed. “that sounds made up!”

“well, hexagon could spell it,” trapezoid replied. “it must be real.”

“then what does it mean?”

“floccinaucinihilipilification: the act or habit of estimating something to be worthless,” rhombus stated in a monotone voice.

they received exasperated, incredulous silence in response.

“what?” rectangle cried.

“you heard me,” rhombus replied mirthfully.

“hey guys, i know an even longer word!” pentagon exclaimed.

“what is it?” droplet asked.

“jghhjkopfdjihljbisojfnvbesononvbeojefnbpoepfnbvtpweonvojbpwv!!!! try to spell that, nerds!!!!!!!!”

kite pondered this for a moment. “...can you use it in a sentence?”

nobody was surprised at the outcome of the challenge: square and heptagon were up for elimination.

oval wasn’t having much fun. he just stared at möbius with contempt. “you have the power, origin. let’s see you use it…”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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geometropolis · 2 years ago

Text

grt3D episode 10: all that twinkles is not gold

“hey, are you okay?”

heptagon jolted and turned around. star was sitting up in his bed.

“yeah…” heptagon resumed looking out the window, lost in thought. his face was lined with stress.

“you don’t look okay, dude.” star jumped off his bed and joined heptagon in gazing out into the dark, dark night.

“oh. sorry.”

“...you still don’t want to be here, do you?”

heptagon didn’t respond. he was staring into space now, eyes unfocused.

“do you want to be here?” star asked.

“no.”

“...i didn’t think so. but you still help the team win.”

“of course i do. it isn’t fair for me to not.”

star regarded him briefly and sighed. “y’know, it’s–”

“do you want to be here?”

“what?”

“why are you here?” heptagon inquired. “you yourself used to not participate.”

“well… i dunno,” star shrugged. “i just wanted something fun to do. i didn’t care about winning or losing. i just wanted to be famous, if anything! but i suppose now i’m infamous…”

“hm.”

“what are you looking at?”

heptagon blinked. “nothing in particular.”

“i see… y’know, i don’t actually know much about you, heptagon.”

“what do you want to know?”

“hm… where do you live?”

heptagon made a pained expression.

“...heptagon?”

“good night, star.”

heptagon went to bed, leaving star standing by the window.

star continued to think to himself while gazing through the window. i remember how heart used to do this all the time. just stare out the window and think… and he’d have that cute expression when he was really thinking hard about something, with his face all scrunched up… star smiled sadly. i miss him a lot…

“hey, you good?”

star jolted and turned around. parallelogram was sitting up in his bed.

…

origin didn’t stay in the paradox for long that morning; he made sure to be in the field as soon as possible so he could be there for the contestants. and there was hexagon, up bright and early.

“hey, hexagon!” origin greeted her. “good morning!”

“hey, origin! how are you?”

“a bit stressed about this hosting thing, but i’m fine. how about you? you doing okay?”

hexagon smiled sheepishly. “yeah. i’m worried about octagon, though…”

“come sit with me. what is it?”

hexagon accepted her friend’s invitation and took a seat besides origin. “well, we’re obviously all bummed about pentagon. but trapezoid and i, we’ve allowed ourselves to be sad, to have a good cry about it. octagon hasn’t.”

“hm.”

“she forced herself to do the entire challenge alone yesterday… i wanted to talk to her, but she just ran off…”

“somebody had to do the challenge.”

“i know, it’s just… i’m worried about her. i’m worried that she thinks we hate her for getting pentagon eliminated.”

“do you hate her for it?”

“of course not! we were upset at her at first, but she’s still our friend.”

“well… today’s challenge will be much more relaxed. i’m sure you three will have plenty of time to talk things out.”

hexagon smiled warmly. “you’re the best, origin.”

“you are too, hexagon.”

the two sat in silence for several minutes.

“hey,” hexagon said, “isn’t everyone usually up by now?”

“oh my primes, you’re right!” origin exclaimed. “most of the time möbius strip does it! …um, please wait here.” he started translating over to the cabins.

hexagon closed her eyes; she could hear the distant sound of singing.

soon enough, her fellow contestants joined her in the field.

“hello and, um, good morning everyone!” origin addressed them. “i hope you’re holding up well… and sorry for waking you all up a few minutes late.”

“no biggie,” star replied.

“so anyway… unfortunately i’ll have to, um, eliminate a member of go the DSTance in a second.”

“hey, wait,” triangle interjected, “how do you know who to eliminate if möbius isn’t here?”

“...he always tells me ahead of time.”

parallelogram wasn’t paying attention.

“so who is it?” droplet asked anxiously.

origin paused. “hey, um, how about i let you, square, and triangle just chat a bit before one of you has to go?”

triangle smiled. “that’d be nice… hey square, if you’re eliminated, tell circle and rectangle that i’m sorry.”

square rolled his eyes affectionately. “i’m not doing your dirty work. do that yourself!”

“and if i’m eliminated?” droplet asked with a touch of irony.

triangle put an arm on her shoulder. “you’ll get the biggest apology of all, i assure you!”

“okay…” origin continued, “are you ready for the elimination?”

square looked at his teammates. they nodded. “yes.”

“okay… the next contestant eliminated is triangle. i’m sorry you have to go, triangle – you’ve played a great game.”

triangle smiled at droplet and laughed. “thank goodness! was worried i’d have to say sorry to you too…”

square grabbed his friend’s hand. “hey. are you sure you’re fine with this?”

“it’s for the best.”

“tell rectangle and circle that i miss them both so much.”

“i will. hey, square… do you forgive me?”

square smiled. “no…”

“no?”

“no… not yet. what you did still hurts.”

triangle chuckled sadly. “yeah…”

“but that pain will go away. because you’re one of my best friends in the world, triangle, along with rectangle and circle. and i love you.”

tears formed in triangle’s eyes. “i love you too.”

origin started buzzing and triangle stuck to him. “i’ll see you all in a second,” he said. and with that he and triangle were gone.

droplet took square’s hand. “you okay?”

square’s eyes were glistening. “i just lost triangle, but at the same time i finally found her.” he nodded. “yeah, i’m okay. i think i’ll be okay.”

origin soon returned. “we’ll start today’s challenge in a sec. square, um, take as long as you need.”

square shook himself and cleared his throat. “i’m good. thanks.”

“okay. so today’s challenge is simple: as i am the acting host of race to the 3rd dimension at the moment, i, um, need a co-host. i have chosen an eliminated contestant to be my co-host, and you all have three tries to guess who it is! whichever team guesses correctly in three tries first is safe from elimination.”

“what if nobody gets it?” octagon asked.

“oh… um, well i guess nobody’s up for elimination then.”

“so what’s stopping us all from not guessing entirely, if we all agree not to try?” star asked, glancing at heptagon.

origin looked uneasy. “well, um… please try. you could choose not to but that really wouldn’t be nice.”

“fair enough.”

“okay… so i’ll give each team paper and a pencil. write down your three guesses and um, come to me when you’re ready.”

origin manifested three sheets of paper and three pencils. then he manifested his camera lens.

“okay, so it’s probably not triangle,” octagon thought out loud. “it’d be pretty stupid if he brought her back after all that.”

“octagon,” hexagon said. “we need to talk.”

“no we don’t. we need to do the gosh darn challenge!”

“no, we do need to talk,” trapezoid stated. “octagon… are you okay?”

droplet was humming. she looked up at square. “so what do you think?”

square blinked. “i dunno. hey, sorry again for making us lose the last challenge. i know you actually want to win, so it wasn’t fair of me to just make us lose like that… i just wanted to clear stuff up with triangle. as you can tell… it hasn’t been the easiest for us lately.”

“hey, it’s fine. i’m just glad the two of you got to work things out… and thanks for telling me what happened.”

“of course. so anyway… i’m feeling kite for some reason.”

“kite?” droplet thought for a second. “yeah, i can see her as a co-host. i’m pretty sure she’s friends with origin, too.” she wrote kite’s name down on the paper.

“who else?”

“hm… maybe rhombus? they did have that weird limb remote that origin’s used after all.”

“wait, do they still have it in the paradox? i thought their limbs disappeared before they left.”

“oh… then maybe they dropped it somewhere…”

“i still think rhombus is an option. write them down.”

heptagon was fidgeting with the pencil. “i think we should put down kite,” he said.

parallelogram smiled. “i agree. but i guess we’re pretty biased…!”

heptagon smiled back briefly, before his face returned to its typical, vaguely nervous expression. “oval is a pretty safe choice too. again, team bias, but he was pretty darn charismatic when he was here.”

“you’re right,” star replied. “what should we do for our last guess?”

heptagon bit his lip. “i’ll have to think about it.”

“oh, hey heptagon, how are you?”

heptagon looked away. “i’m fine, star.”

parallelogram regarded his teammate for a moment. “hey, heptagon. you’ve really been helping us a ton in challenges lately. i just have to ask… why didn’t you before?”

he received no reply.

parallelogram continued. “i mean, it’s not like you did nothing at all. on the first day you did absolutely nothing, but something changed by day two so you were doing the bare minimum to keep us from losing. and then one day you tried to run away. i guess what i’m saying is… i know you don’t want to win, heptagon. but do you also not want to lose?”

“i want…” heptagon suddenly looked him in the eye, his eyes wide and scared. “i want to go home.”

droplet continued to hum. square harmonized with her tune. the two smiled at each other.

“y’know those wings you made for that one challenge?” square asked. “maybe we can find a way to use them in another.”

“you’d have to help me work on that idea, though, to help me get it… off the ground.” she giggled. “get it?”

square chuckled. “mhm. but yeah, i think the idea could work if we chip at it a little bit. hopefully we won’t get any more gosh darn races to do, but we could probably find something to do with them.”

“sounds good to me!”

“so who else should we write down? pentagon would make a fun co-host.”

“i was thinking circle!”

“oh! bingo.”

droplet wrote his name down. “okay, now let’s review: kite, rhombus, and circle.”

“everything checks out. wanna give it in?”

“sure!” droplet smiled and started translating over to origin.

octagon chewed her pacifier, antsy. “we don’t have time for all of your touchy-feely nonsense! that almost cost us the challenge yesterday!”

“but it’s important,” hexagon interjected. “we know you miss pentagon as much as we do.”

“enough about pentagon! yes, i miss her, but this… this emotional garbage is the reason why she’s gone! she’s gone because we’re too comfortable with each other. she’s gone because we like each other too much… how dare you!” octagon was trembling.

trapezoid reached a hand out. “octagon…”

she hit his hand away, positively livid. “we used to be great! we went for so long without a single elimination but this all got thrown out because you two had the audacity to think we should be friends!” she paused, tears forming in her eyes. “this is supposed to be a team, not a family! but now you all care more about each other than about the challenge! i hate that you’re friends with me! if you just left me alone you’d still have your beloved pentagon!”

origin lingered anxiously north of all of the contestants. i want to go and see if helvetica – i mean, nothing without pentagon is okay, but… i have to be here for everyone. i’m not just an assistant anymore… i’m the host.

heptagon shook himself. “i… i’m scared of whatever the paradox is. i’m scared of whatever the 3rd dimension is. i’m scared… i’m scared of this game itself! i just wanted to tune it all out, close my eyes, pretend like i was back home and that everything was fine…”

star put his arm on heptagon’s shoulder.

heptagon continued. “but that was so unfair of me… oval and kite are gone because i didn’t want to accept the fact that i’m here! and kite’s right – i’m stuck here, and there’s nothing i can do to get out. i only really realized that once she was already gone… so i just had to make it up to you, parallelogram. i just had to help you win every challenge. i’m sorry for everything.”

parallelogram furrowed his brow. “oh, heptagon… it’s okay. you can’t help being afraid.”

“i didn’t have to be such a jerk about it. i could’ve just told you…”

“but now you did.” star smiled. “and hey, yeah, it sucks that you’re stuck in this terrifying place, but i have good news: one, if you don’t try to win, you probably won’t, and two, if origin’s able to pick an eliminated contestant to be a co-host, the paradox probably isn’t that bad.”

“i guess you’re right… thanks. but as long as we’re in a team together i should try to help you guys win, anyway. who should i write last?”

“put heart.”

“why?” parallelogram asked.

“because… because i miss him.”

“okay,” heptagon said, writing him down.

“oh, what’s this?” origin asked as droplet approached him.

“we’re done guessing! here you go.” she handed him her paper.

“thank you!” he read through it and made no reply; droplet returned to square.

heptagon now arrived.

hexagon inhaled sharply. trapezoid sighed.

“...you’re doing it too, octagon,” he said.

“...what?”

“you’re focusing on us more than the challenge. we haven’t even guessed anyone yet. and…”

“the homeslices guessed correctly!” origin announced. “they win immunity.”

“...we already lost.”

hexagon glanced between the two of her teammates nervously.

“but it’s okay, bu–”

“AAAAH!” octagon screamed, covering her ears. “DON’T YOU DARE CALL ME THAT!”

she ran off.

“...buddy.” trapezoid sighed and squeezed hexagon’s hand.

“hey origin!” droplet called.

“yes?”

“who is the co-host? which of the homeslices’ guesses was right?”

“you’ll just have to wait and see!”

“it’s oval,” heptagon muttered. “it’s definitely oval.”

“shhhhh!”

“so, heptagon…” parallelogram started.

“yes?”

“if you ever start feeling scared, and don’t want to participate in a challenge, just tell us. we’ll understand.”

“...i can’t just do that to you! that isn’t fair!”

“it’s fair if i say it is.”

heptagon sighed. “i appreciate the effort, but i can’t just leave you hanging like that. my fear shouldn’t take precedence over you.”

parallelogram smiled. “it’s up to you what you do, buddy. just don’t torture yourself over it, ‘kay?”

“...okay.”

octagon had stormed off to her cabin and curled up in bed.

trapezoid opened the door. “octagon, we–”

“i know you hate me. just leave me alone.”

“i… okay, octagon. i’ll leave you alone. but i want to talk to you tomorrow morning, okay?”

“...but what if you’re eliminated?”

trapezoid began to leave. “i don’t know. what if i am?”

…

“...hi.”

it was triangle.

rectangle and circle were beside her. “hey.”

“how… how have you two been doing in here?”

“not too bad,” circle said.

“yeah, it’s okay,” rectangle agreed.

“i’m sorry you have to be here though, instead of still in the challenge. i… i’m sorry for being such a horrible friend.”

a silence.

“...it’s been a long while since the four of us have really hung out, so i never have anything exciting to do. when i saw the ad for this race to the third dimension thing i just had to accept… of course, you all accepted as well. but you all were in the back of my mind, cuz i couldn’t stop thinking about this new, shiny thing, this new world! someplace exciting! you all were with me again, but i took it for granted… i took you all for granted. i’ve been so horrible to you two and square because of this silly challenge – it’s made me forget what we’ve had. the excitement i used to feel when with you guys. as it was, things were never going to be the same as they were back in grade school. but now… now i’ve ruined everything for us, for our friendship. and i’m sorry.”

circle moved closer to her. “triangle…”

“i’m sorry for neglecting you, circle. you just wanted us to be happy again like we used to be. i’m sorry it can never really be like that again. oh, and rectangle… i’ve ruined your relationship with your brother. you never used to fight. we never used to fight. i’m so sorry…”

“...square and i have fought before,” rectangle said.

“what?”

“in middle school – remember that overnight trip we went on? – square got mad that i wanted to room with circle and not him. we argued so much about it! but then it turned out the three of us got to room together, so there was no problem.”

“but–”

“we’re brothers, of course we fight. i guess i only just now realized that, because we get along so well otherwise. and it’s the same for you and me…”

“but this is different! i’ve been such a jerk to you!”

“the challenge is on,” kite interjected.

rectangle continued. “listen, triangle. i know you’ve been horrible. but you aren’t a horrible person… as long as you’re willing to apologize, it’s not over between us. you’ve messed up. but you haven’t messed everything up.”

“especially when we’ve known you for so long,” circle chimed in. “do you remember the day we met?”

“yes,” triangle murmured. “it was in kindergarten. i was teasing rectangle… you and square stood up for him. and then you offered to play with me, even though i was being mean. and we were friends ever since.”

“and we’re still friends, triangle. we’ve seen that you’re sorry; you’ve told us you’re sorry. things have changed, but you’re still the triangle we know and love.”

“...darn. you really know how to make a loser feel like a winner.”

rectangle chuckled. “now who’s being sappy?”

“heh… by the way, square says he misses you two.”

“he should join us here,” circle suggested with mirth. “group two reunion! a party for the biggest losers of all.”

“i’d drink to that!”

the eliminated contestants weren’t too tense about watching the challenge – all except pentagon, anyway.

“i just wish i could tell octagon i’m not mad at her,” she said. “she looks so sad.”

“yeah, i’m sorry,” oval murmured.

“octagon was a lot of fun, and that’s what i came here for! she’s one of my best friends ever!”

“maybe i can tell her that.”

“huh? what do you mean?”

“oh, um–”

“oval, did origin choose you to be the co-host?” kite asked.

“...yeah. i guess i’m not very good at keeping secrets, am i?”

“nope. but congratulations!”

“i’m sure you’ll be great,” heart added.

“thanks!” oval replied. “but yeah, pentagon. i’ll be sure to tell her tomorrow.”

“oh yeah!” pentagon exclaimed. “if you’re gonna see everyone tomorrow, tell all of my teammates that i love them and i miss them and that i wish them luck!!!”

“okey doke.”

rhombus winced as octagon screamed at her teammates. she was denying herself the right to feel. octagon was suffering.

“pentagon,” they said. “your team went for so long without losing a single challenge. how?”

pentagon paused. “i don’t know. we just got along really well, i guess.”

“you were such good friends?”

“family. we were a family.”

#story #object novel #osc #geometropolis #geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension #grt3d

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