Pencil wakes up one day to find herself back at the beginning of BFDI. With future knowledge of the contests to come, she tries to sway the competition to her favor.
"There is only one nickel left. Match, Needle, one of you will be eliminated."
Pencil chewed on her nails nervously. A lucky coin toss in episode 13 had saved Match from her usual elimination, but an unlucky one last episode led to this. She knew Match wasn't super well-liked by the viewers. There was a chance she'd still lose her best friend, even after staying for an extra episode...
"Match."
Both woodsicles held their breath.
"You're eliminated."
A ding on the tv screen nearby revealed the votes, confirming Match's elimination. "NO!" screeched Pencil, burying her face in her hands. "Not again..."
Fortunately for her, that last part was too muffled for anyone else to understand. She barely even heard Match's last words before the firestarter was lasered away, and when she finally uncovered her face, Bubble was staring at her with concern. "Ooh, Poincil, whoit do we doio when Match's gone?"
"I don't know..."
A familiarly high-pitched voice came from behind, and Pencil turned to find Ice Cube, hoping for a chance at joining the alliance. She balled her fists. Icy had never accomplished much for the alliance the first time around. In fact, if she was remembering correctly, Icy had essentially done diddly squat. She was probably the poorest "substitution" for Match she'd ever seen.
But Pencil said none of that. Instead, she simply said, "No. Now buzz off."
A big frown formed on Icy's face, and she sulked away over to Needle, which elicited a pointed glare from the pointed object. "Poincil!" Bubble complained. "Thoit was rude!"
"So what??" snapped Pencil. "She never would've been a good replacement for Match, anyway! I was doing us a favor."
Bubble opened her mouth to protest, then saw the expression on her friend's face and thought better of it. "Oif you soi so..."
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The Announcer hopped onto a little platform just inside the rim of the contest location. Pencil never thought she'd be standing inside a giant barf bag twice in her lifetime, yet there she was. "You're all floating in a large barf bag," the host told her, Bubble, Ice Cube, Teardrop, and Needle. "For every second you stay on top of your island, you earn one point. Go."
I'm glad Rocky's not here to make the colored water *actually* vomit this time, thought Pencil while narrowing her eyes at Needle. From a floating platform nearby, she heard Bubble speak. "Poincil, woi could probably just get a million points oif woi stay hoire forever!"
"Yeah, yeah." Pulling out the bowling ball she had on her, she took careful aim and hurled it at Needle.
But the sewing tool had seen her. She caught the projectile with a grunt and heaved it back in Pencil's direction. Pencil dodged it, but the ball continued past her and punched a hole straight through the side of the barf bag. She gasped and pulled out a pillow.
