Once in a Blue Moon

''This is a long-term fanfiction by MATT DB. Obviously, none of the events or characters are canon. Leave comments below; they help with writing the story! Thansk for reading!''

CHAPTER 0: THE COMPETITION
Soap awoke to a beautiful Saturday morning. The birds were chirping, the sun was rising, and the trees casually drifted with the wind. She subconsciously appreciated the weather before preparing for the day. Never before had a day seemed so innocuous, she decided.

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Suitcase, also noticing how calm the environment was, decided to take a stroll through the park near her house. Always being fond of the outdoors, she chose to venture into the nearby woods. As she explored the depth of the wood, she noticed something odd.

"Uhm... hello? Is anyone there?"

No one replied.

Must have been a deer, Suitcase thought to herself. She swore she saw a rectangular shadow move through the trees. Just then, a nearby bush rustled.

"This isn't funny! Whoever's doing this... I don't like it."

After that, everything went black.

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"Uuuugh..."

"Where are we?"

"Wow, isn't this great."

"Apple! Get off of my foot!"

"Oh, hello there. It's so nice of you to stop by."

OJ smiled almost malevolently at the twenty-four confused and grumpy objects before him.

"You're probably wondering where you are and what you're doing here," OJ said, much to the anger of the twenty-four objects strewn about before him.

"Yeah, we kind of are!" Paintbrush snapped angrily.

"Well, all of you guys haven't been doing much since MePhone's life sentencing. It looks like you'd benefit from some activity."

"So you kidnapped us? I'm going to call the police!"

"Baseball, you won't want to do that after I reveal the cash prize for Inanimate Insanity 3..."

"Inanimate Insanity 3!? Why another one?" Balloon wondered, confused.

"You 24 have all competed in the past. Consider this a re-do of the previous season."

"OJ! You do realize II2 was canceled for a reason, right?" Nickel replied, impatiently.

"You do realize it was canceled because of what MePhone did, right?" OJ shot back, purposefully mocking Nickel. "I won't be nearly as bad a host as that jerk was."

"Are you sure you're allowed to call it Inanimate Insanity 3?"

"You have a point, Marshmallow. I guess I'll change the name to Insanity Intensified."

The others reluctantly accepted their fate, and asked OJ to get on with it.

"Alright. 24 is a lot of contestants, so I suggest you guys be split up into three different teams."

"Do we get to pick the teams?"

"Of course not, Paintbrush. The teams are pre-selected."

"Team 1 will be called The Immaculate Icicles. At random, Soap has been chosen as the team's captain. Soap, your teammates are...

"I WANT TO PICK."

"No."

"PLEASE?"

"Dear Lord. Fine, you can pick a teammate."

"Cool! I totally pick-"

"Hold up. This will work a bit differently. First, though, are the other teams. Test Tube, you are the captain of the Intelligent Iguanas. Microphone, you are the team captain of the Inaudible Inchworms."

The two gleefully walked to their respective team mats.

"Here's how it will work. Soap, you will pick one person to go onto Microphone's team instead of your own. Microphone, you will then choose a member of Test Tube's team. Test Tube, your pick will be placdd onto Soap's team. This continues until everyone is picked."

Several of the objects are visually shocked by the twist.

"Alright. Soap, you pick first."

"Hmm. Tissues is gross, so I pick him for Mic's team. He's too much for even me to deal with."

Tissues glumly walked to Microphone's mat.

"Uh... Test Tube, I'm picking Box to be on your team."

"Ugh. Really? Fine, Soap can have Apple."

After a half hour of boring team picking, OJ motioned for the contestants to follow him deeper into the forest.

"Alright, guys. Your first challenge will take place just up ahead."

The contestants walked for some time, until they come acorss a massive, sprawling mansion.

"I thought I'd relive my favorite challenge from Inanimate Insanity 2. This mansion, as many of you know, is home to the spirits of the objects that we've lost. In here, you'll find Bow, Dough, Toilet, and..."

OJ chokes up a little before continuing on.

"...Knife, who, along with Toilet, was tragically killed during one of II2's challenges."

The contestants all offered a moment of silence before OJ continued on, "The challenge is a test to see who can last the longest inside the haunted mansion. If you exit at any time, you will be eliminated from the challenge. The first team to have all of its members eliminated will be eligible for elimination. You don't want that to happen. Now, if you please..."

OJ opened the massive doors to the mansion, and 23 of the contestants entered. Suitcase looked back and carried Box inside.

"Alright. You guys can scatter around and try to entertain yourselves. I'll be heading to the luxury, non-haunted area."

The contestants followed OJ's instructions. After an hour, no one had even heard any sign of a haunting. Eventually, though, a startling sound broke the silence.

On the fourth floor, Trophy and Salt heard a muffled scream from above, followed by the breaking of glass.

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