Day 26 — Dodgeball

(Rules: standard island dodgeball — hit a player with the ball and they’re out; first team to lose all members loses. Heavy dialogue throughout.)

The court is a sandy rectangle between two lines of palms. Mewo floats at midcourt, lounging in his usual “too-cool” way. Dontavious Donquavious III sits in a gilded chair and claps like a confused monarch.

Mewo: “Dodge. Throw. Don’t get hit. Last team with someone standing wins.”
Dontavious (dramatic): “May the agile prevail! And may the losers respect the dignity of departure!”

Teams take their places.

BIG SHOTS: Steve, Luigi, Springtrap, Spamton, Virian, Golden Freddy, Middle Finger Cat, Joe Metri Desh, Ernst Richter.
RITUAL RULERS: CassiLyn, Noxor (tablet-caller), Wembry, Caring Individual, Gayery, Blobert, Kaibi, Skrunkly.

Mewo snaps once and the game begins.

First Minutes — Rapid Back-and-Forth

CassiLyn warms up, eyes steely.
Steve: “Spread formation — flank throws, bait them into the center.”
Luigi: “Okay… I’ll… I’ll try to not trip.”

Virian charges, over-enthusiastic, and tries a trick throw; Caring Individual ducks, Blobert scoops and tosses back — Virian is clipped and out.
Virian (as she jogs off): “NOOO! Tell Kaibi I love him! WE’LL RAISE THE MOON TOMORROW!”
Kaibi (calm from the other side): “Stay safe.”

Golden Freddy stands robotic and absorbing; Skrunkly feints, then hurls — the ball thunks off animatronic plating and Golden Freddy still counts as out (the rules are rules).
Golden Freddy (deadpan as he walks off): “I expected less dignity from people.”

Spamton tries to bargain with the ball:
“[[FREE—FREE—FREE PASS!!!]]—BUY—NO—oh—ow—” as he is nailed cleanly by a double-team throw and is out, muttering bracketed spam as he strolls away.

Springtrap cackles from the line: “The fear is delicious.” He takes a few tactical throws, dropping Blobert briefly with a lucky ricochet. Blobert pops up moments later — he’s resilient — but the point stands: both teams are bleeding members.

Midgame — Tactics Escalate, Dialogue Everywhere

Ernst (calm, pencil behind ear): “If we form a V-formation, we’ll reduce lateral coverage loss.”
Joe Metri Desh leaps and catches a blind ricochet, yelling: “DID YOU KNOW this jump was inspired by—” he’s cut off by a ball to the chest and is out.
Middle Finger Cat flicks a tail, pops a middle finger at Skrunkly, then vaults to snatch a ball mid-air and nails Caring Individual — he’s out.
Caring Individual (as he leaves): “I asked if someone cared about me, and apparently the ball said no.”

Wembry trembles but catches one with clumsy grace and tags Ernst out — he’s surprised, drops his clipboard, and walks off.
Ernst: “My notes! My beautiful notes!”

Noxor (calling from the Ritual side): “Cass, left alley. Skrunkly, bait right — now.”
Cassie: “On it.”

The Blobie Moment — The Court Freezes

The game is mid-surge: Cassie has the ball, winds up, and heaves a heavy, perfectly aimed throw toward Springtrap — a potentially game-changing strike.

Suddenly, a crashing sound from the tree line: Blobie has arrived on the perimeter, 99% Awakened, eyes wild. He runs across one side of the campus — but not in a brutal charge. He performs the absolute goofiest, most ridiculous run imaginable: arms flailing, knees high, tongue lolling, like a cartoon character with no sense of dignity. The entire court halts mid-throw and stares.

Cassie (mid-throw, baffled): “What the—?”
Steve: “Is he… why is he running like that?”
Luigi: “I’ve never seen a run like that in my life.”
Middle Finger Cat: raises an incredulous paw.
Springtrap actually laughs — a genuine, snake-like chuckle.

Blobie bolts, knocks over a concession stand, sloshes through a small puddle, then stops abruptly in front of the court. He locks eyes with CassiLyn — the timer feels like it freezes.

Blobie (wordlessly) licks the air slowly, as if testing the flavor of panic. Then — to everyone’s horror and utter bafflement — he saunters directly to the ball Cassie had thrown, catches it in both hands, turns to the crowd, and licks it slowly, theatrically, like a performer tasting an apple on stage.

The noise level drops to nothing.

He makes a big show of it: slow, long lick. The ball squeaks, stretches — then Blobie POPS the ball with his teeth. The rubber snaps. Everyone gasps.

Cassie (staring, voice thin): “That was my throw.”
Noxor (stunned): “He… popped it. Why did he—?”
Spamton (stuttering): “[[UNEXPECTED POP—REFUND?]]—NO—NO—NO!”

Then Blobie turns and locks eyes with Cassie in a long, weirdly charismatic stare — like he’s trying to communicate something, or dare her — and without breaking the stare, he runs, straight into a metal pole on his way out. THWACK. He bounces off, stumbles, shakes his head, looks dazed — stunned for a few seconds — then shoves through the underbrush and disappears into the forest.

Virian (yelling after him): “HEY! COME BACK! THAT’S NOT A DRILL — WAIT —”
Kaibi (quietly): “He’s unstable. He meant to send a message.”
CassiLyn (shaking): “He looked at me… he knew me.”
Springtrap (delighted): “Most intriguing. An agent of chaos — and slapstick.”
Blobert (small voice): “Me saw Blobie… weird dance.”

The referee bell rings awkwardly. Play resumes, but everyone’s hands shake and eyes dart to the treeline every second.

Late Game — Tension, Calls, and Banter

Middle Finger Cat nails Skrunkly with a perfect underhand toss. Skrunkly falls out, giggling.

Joe already out. Virian out early. Spamton out earlier.

Kaibi stands oddly still, not playing physically but his presence steadies Wembry and Cassie. He gives an almost imperceptible nod and Wembry breathes deeper.

Steve (to Luigi): “We need to focus. Don’t look at the trees.”
Luigi (voice small): “It’s hard to not look at the trees…”

Springtrap—ever the predator—uses misdirection, feinting a throw that swoops low and tags Caring Individual, who is out. He smiles and licks nothing in particular.

Kaibi (softly to Cassie): “You are safe. Breathe.”
CassiLyn (whisper): “I appreciate it.”

Final Minutes — Clutch Plays

Ritual Rulers slowly whittle down Big Shots. Golden Freddy, Ernst, and Joe already gone. Middle Finger Cat and Springtrap are the last line of defense for Big Shots; Steve and Luigi are hanging on.

Steve (tablet of imaginary stats): “Luigi, to your left—he’s faking. Move now!”
Luigi ducks and throws a desperate lob. Skrunkly dives — she misses. The ball sails and SMACKS Luigi square in the chest. He’s out.

Luigi (breathing fast, smiling sadly): “I… I tried…”
Steve (voice breaking): “Don’t go… not like this.”

Now it’s down to Steve and Springtrap vs Cassie, Noxor, Kaibi, Wembry, Skrunkly, Blobert. The numbers are brutal.

Steve becomes a machine — precise throws, baiting Springtrap and landing a hit that finally tags Springtrap out with a shocking flurry. Springtrap shrugs, amused to be out, and fades into the shadows.

Steve clutches the last ball like it’s a tether to sanity.

Cassie (quiet, steady): “This is for everyone who’s been hurt.” She winds up — the toss is perfect, steered by Noxor’s call and Kaibi’s faint mental nudge of timing. The ball hits Steve. He staggers, jaw clenched.

Steve (soft): “Good game.” He drops his last bag and walks the Dock of Shame.

Aftermath — Reactions & Heavy Dialogue

CassiLyn (to Kaibi): “You helped. Thank you.”
Kaibi (shrugs): “We watched. I nudged when needed.”

Wembry sobs quietly, clutching a stolen ball like a talisman: “I’m so tired. I keep thinking I’ll wake up.”
Noxor grins despite the exhaustion: “Nice work. Mesh held steady. Good night, island.”

Springtrap watches Steve go, eyes glinting: “A fine opponent. You cut where necessary.” (He means it, in his way.)

Virian sits cross-legged, stupified: “He licked the ball and then crashed into a pole? What a freakin’ weirdo.”
Middle Finger Cat flicks a paw at the forest. “If he comes back like that again, I will end him. But also he was kind of funny.”

Spamton (from earlier, bitterness): “[[MISS—MEGA—DEAL]]—THEY WON—CLICK—YOU’RE A LOSER—BUT—GOOD ON YOU—CLICK.”

Blobert presses a small, green hand to his chest: “We win but me scared. Blobie scary. Me like when Kaibi nice.”

Kaibi sits quietly and looks toward the trees where Blobie vanished, hands folded: “He’s showing signs of… other things. We’ll need to be ready.”

Dontavious (clapping loudly as if nothing happened): “Marvelous. What a spectacle. Truly a fine display of competitive spirit — and theatrical digestion of rubber.” (Everyone ignores him.)

Final Score

WINNER: Ritual Rulers — they survived; Big Shots lost all members.

Big Shots Eliminated Tonight: Luigi, Virian, Golden Freddy, Spamton earlier, Joe, Ernst, Springtrap, Steve (last to go).

Ritual Rulers Remaining: CassiLyn, Noxor, Wembry, Kaibi, Skrunkly, Blobert, Gayery, Caring Individual (depending who was knocked earlier — but main core intact).

Closing — Uneasy Victory

The teams collect themselves. Ritual Rulers cheer weakly; joy is tempered by how close everything has come to breaking. The forest hums with something like amusement. Blobie’s bizarre behavior — lick, pop, stare, pole-crash — becomes the island’s newest riddle.

CassiLyn (soft, to the team): “We won. We did it together. Rest. Tomorrow we prepare for whatever that… thing does next.”

Kaibi (smiles faintly): “We’ll keep watch.”

The island exhales. The night is long, and the woods watch like a beast licking its lips.

I feel a mild feeling to say that kaibi has a bit more use of physical powers(?) But if the ai is taking its times its ok