Fool's Gold - INANIMATE INSANITY

1. A new season

"You remember the deal, right? Make the challenges as interesting as possible."

"I know."

"Put the viewers on the edge of their seat. For every challenge that the audience enjoys, that's one of your dear friend's limbs put back together."

"I know."

"You have your assistants?"

"I do."

"Ready?"

"I am."

"Then let's begin. Inanimate Insanity, season 4!"

~.~.~

I awake with a jolt.

I'm in... a small room. It's so barren. There's a small table in the corner and a bed, but that's it. I rub my head. It's... so cold. It's all grey and white. It's gloomy. I can hear the distant ticking of a clock. I slowly sit up, putting my wheels on the floor. I push myself up.

'Where... am I?'

I roll to go to the table, but an intercom turns on. I flinch in surprise.

"Good morning, test subjects. Please exit your rooms and stand in front of the door so the headcount can begin."

After a few moments of shock, I roll to the door. I open it and stand outside the door for a few moments. The hallway is long and white. It's silent aside from some murmuring and the whirring of machines. I glance to the side. There are so many other people here... wait, is that-

"Clover?" I whisper, staring to my right at the four-leaved girl beside me. She seems just as shocked, those chocolate brown eyes widening as she looks at me.

"Cabby? What's going on? Why are we here?" She asks, hugging herself. She looks scared. I hate seeing her scared. It's that same fear when we learned where we go when we were eliminated... it tears me up inside. I frown, reaching out a hand to take hers.

"Hey, it'll be okay. This... we're protected by that contract Test Tube signed, yeah? That means whatever this place is will be safe. It'll be okay, Clover." I promise. She squeezes my hand with a nod.

"Headcount completed. Please proceed down the hall towards the green doors."

Everyone slowly starts to move down the hall. Clover pulls me along as we approach the big green doors at the end of the hallway. The green doors open into a large room. The walls are all cleanly white. The floor is cold metal. Velvety blue chairs are facing a large shutter door, almost like movie seats. There are strange pictures all along the walls. I reach under my shirt to the cabinet in my stomach so I could start writing a file on this, but...

It's locked?

I'm trying not to visibly panic as Clover sits us down in two of the chairs. I look around the room. I start to recognize some faces...

OJ? Balloon? Goo? Silver Spoon? Candle?

Everyone who lost season 3 is here... except for Fan and Paintbrush...

A large screen lowers down above a large shutter door at the front of the room. The room hushes to silence as the screen cuts to static. The lights on the rim of the screen turn on as the static fades...

And my heart sinks.

"Welcome, my dear test subjects, to Inanimate Insanity!"