Hide And Seek.

one

oj watched as paper tried to stop the cherries from doing some other reckless thing that involved many different supplies.

currently, they were on top of a ladder.

and then oj chuckled softly as the cherries accidentally spilled their water on his friend.

' hey! ' paper exclaimed.

' sorry, sorry-! ' the cherries looked at each other nervously.

oj left to go get a towel, the voices of the cherries and paper fading away.

he entered one of the closets in the hallway, grabbing what he needed then leaving.

maintaining the hotel was tough work, but he loved doing it.

he couldnt imagine doing anything different with the million.

it felt... right.

he liked seeing how comfortable everyone was here.

its like a reward.

all of his effort, and others appreciate it.

things were running smoothly.

while there are occasional screwups, its fine.

nothing bad has ever really sparked from those.

its chaotic, sure, but-

oj's thoughts were cut off by a sudden scream.

it thankfully wasnt a scream of pain or anything, it just sounded like someone was caught off-guard.

probably fell victim to another one of cherries harmless pranks.

as he approached the main living room again, he heard another voice.

it was microphones.

' mephone? what are you doing here? ' she asked, as oj entered the room.

mephone didnt respond, instead he glanced around the area.

his screen was darkened, for some reason.

oj didnt take his eyes off of mephone as he walked to paper, and handed him the towel.

the host was hunched over a bit, confusing oj.

things seemed... off.

he looked fine, but his expression was what really worried the hotel owner.

mephone looked lost, and rather hostile.

oj glanced at paper, who also seemed to take notice of mephone.

paper dries off quickly, somehow, as the towel wasnt really damp.

' whats wrong with him? is he sick again? ' paper whispered to oj.

oj shrugged. ' based on what the others said, when mephone "died" he didnt act like hes doing now. they said he was glitching out and cranky. ' he recalled.

' he just looks furious right now. ' paper observed.

' yeah. '

there was a pause for a moment, until mephone suddenly pointed at oj.

' you, ' he started.

' go gather everyone. '

oj hesitated.

' uh... okay. ' he finally replied.

' c'mon, paper. ' oj said as he turned to leave.

paper nodded, and followed his friend.

they didnt talk much as they went from door to door, bringing awareness to the unexpected visitor.

quickly, everyone had gone down to mephone, except paper and oj, who were making their way back.

as they entered the living room, the residents of the hotel were gathered around mephone, who was now standing on a short coffee table.

' 'kay, we're all here. what do you want, mephone? '  trophy groaned.

' simple. just a game of hide and seek. ' mephone smirked.

' but...why? you still have a show running, why not use hide and seek as the next challenge? ' test tube asked.

mephone glared at her before continuing.

' the game isnt all that fun with only the four of them. ' mephone sighed.

' and thats why im here. '

' what if we dont want to play? ' marshmallow asked.

' im not giving you a choice. ' mephone growled.

' eh... huh? ' said someone in the crowd.

' whats the prize..? ' tissues asked wearily, holding back a sneeze.

' your life. ' mephone replied, oddly joyful.

' but we already have lives? and with your recovery, why would we need another one? ' microphone asked.

' bow could use it. ' marshmallow mumbled.

' huh? i didnt hear you. ' mic spoke.

' shh. let me talk. ' mephone interrupted.

' also, who said anything about recovery? ' he added.

' what? mephone, are you feeling alright? ' fan asked.

' perfectly fine. anyways, heres how this'll go. ' mephone paused.

' i will be the seeker. if you are caught- ' he began.

' the first person caught will be the next seeker?! ' one cherry exclaimed in excitement, while the other jumped up and down happily.

' no, there will be only one round. ' mephone groaned.

the cherries seemed sorta disappointed.

' ahem, as i was saying, ' mephone cleared his throat before continuing.

' if you are caught, ' he grinned, suddenly generating a knife.

' you will be killed. and will not be recovered. '

this sparked panic through everyone.

' no! we arent going to do this. we wont play this stupid game. ' paintbrush said, narrowing their eyes as they approached the front door.

' like i said, im not giving you much choice. ' mephone sneered as paintbrush attempted to open the door, only for the handle to fall off as they kept tugging.

' ...what? ' their voice shook.

' every window is locked. dont try to escape. ' mephone scanned the panicking crowd.

' im going to count down from 100. ' he spoke, and pressed a button.

an intercom activated, and mephones voice rang loudly through the entire hotel.

he turned around, and closed his eyes.

' let the game begin. '

———

ignore the fact that this took about a month uhh

funny story i actually had this finished a few days after the prologue but i started chapter two then got sidetracked and never uploaded this oops