"So who's the host gonna be?"

~~~

The teams were picked, new friends met, and the first contest completed. Sure, it was a bit unfair given the team sizes- Puffball didn't even NEED to help pull the rope for her team to win- but hey- at least neither her nor Fries had to worry about elimination, though her potato friend did seem a bit sad upon seeing his friend Pin up for voting.

But that wasn't important now. She had to focus on herself, and more importantly, staying in the game. She heard from Fries how horribly cramped the TLC was, and she did NOT want to end up in there.

"Are you excited to be competing?" Puffball's thoughts were cut off by a voice popping up beside her, and someone tugging on her fur to get her attention.

It was that Ruby who had visited them so many years ago. She had definitely grown quite a bit, but seemingly had the exact same impulsive personality.

"Oh? Yeah! It's been my dream to compete here...I always loved watching the show!" The furball responded delightfully, sparkling in excitement as she spoke. "And you? I haven't seen you since-" But before she could finish her sentence, Ruby was gone, off to chatter away with someone else.

Puffball sighed to herself as she floated over to Fries, gently nudging against his box. "Hmm? Oh- how are you, Puffy?" The fluff ball blushed, backing off a bit. "Hey! Don't call me that in public, it's embarrassing!" The potato object simply chuckled, reaching out to ruffle the fur on her head, earning a slight purr from his fuzzy companion. "So- are you enjoying this? Is it everything you dreamed of?" Fries questioned, sitting on the grass and motioning for Puffball to float down next to him. 

"Definitely! It's been so fun, meeting everyone, and getting to do the challenge, and we even won!" 

"You didn't even pull the rope! You just floated there!" 

"Hey, I was moral support!"

The two friends chatted and laughed together, watching as the sun slowly began to sink below the horizon. Although she brushed it off as a joke, Puffball would be lying to say she wasn't a little disappointed that she didn't actually contribute to the challenge.

"So...are we just like, living out here or what? No houses?" Match called out from nearby, seemingly annoyed at their lack of shelter for the night. "Hmm...seems like it to me. But don't worry, we have a campfire here!" Gelatin responded, eagerly motioning toward Firey who was badgering Coiny about his team's loss. "Yeah! I'll keep you all warm, just no one try roasting marshmallows on me, they get all gross in my flames!"

Soon, all of the contestants were gathered around Firey, chatting and getting to know one another. There were a few familiar faces to Puffball, like of course Coiny and Pin, but also Golf Ball and Tennis Ball, alongside a few others that she remembered from watching season 1. She never thought she'd be here, competing alongside the objects she fawned over on TV, not to mention chattering along with the previous winner! 

"Hey- you're like, a real puffball right? Like the endangered ones?" Firey had turned to her, asking about her excitedly. "Uh- I am..." Puffball shied away slightly, preparing for disapproval. "Woah! That's so cool! I've always wanted to meet a real puffball! You guys are super cool!" Some of the other objects chimed in, nodding and smiling at her. She didn't expect all this positive attention, in fact, she expected to be excluded and ridiculed for her species.

In the past, Puffball had caught some flak from objects for technically being an animal, such as certain restaurants not allowing her inside, and getting some rude remarks from objects claiming to be allergic to her. Nothing outright hateful, but it didn't feel great being looked at differently from everyone else. But here, the objects treated her as one of their own, eagerly accepting her into the competition, and evidently found her species fascinating. They kept asking about her and her experiences, even encouraging her to show off her color shifting and other abilities.

The fluffy creature really felt like she belonged, as everyone seemed so nice, accepting her in, despite not even being an Object at all. This is where she needed to be in life.

This was home.

~~~

It had been a few weeks since the last contest, and by now, pretty much everyone had a good idea of who everyone else on their team was, even if they did lack a name for themselves. The first elimination of the season had just taken place- Donut was out. Puffball didn't really know him that well anyway, he mainly just sulked and kept to himself. At least it wasn't Pin, who Fries seemed to care about quite a bit.

However, the elimination ceremony was over, and it was time to start the next challenge. The wheel was spun, and the challenge selected: "Make Yoylestew."

That was an interesting challenge...where would they get the ingredients?

Fries suggested to start digging because "The ingredients are probably underground", but the other contestants had other ideas, and soon, the objects began talking amongst themselves in confusion.

"So, how are we going to do this?" Golf Ball asked the team, probing her teammates for ideas.

"Yeah, we need Yoyleberries for Yoylestew." Book chimed in, pointing to her entry for a Yoylestew recipe.

"And the nearest yoyleberries are in Yoyleland! Which is 2,763 miles away!" Firey pointed out. "It'll take months of walking." The flame sighed in disappointment at their current dilemma.

However, Golf Ball had a solution- she knew a faster way to get there. "But only DAYS of FLYING." The spherical object pointed out assuredly, looking up toward Puffball.

The fluffball perked up a bit at her gaze- she was going to actually help out! She could make her team win!

Firey, however, didn't seem to pickup on her cue, blurting out in confusion. "Flying!? But nobody here can fly!"

Puffball huffed at the flame's ignorance, shifting her size and closing in on him, an annoyed look on her face. 

"Uh...turn around?" Firey quickly turned, shrieking in surprise and flaring up, singeing the tips of Puffball's fur, causing her to back away and quickly blow out the smoldering embers. Fries looked up from his digging in concern, only returning once Puffball nodded to him that she was okay.

"Spongy, Gelatin, Book, Needle, and Ice Cube. You can all ride Puffball to Yoyleland! Bring back LOTS of Yoyleberries!" Golf Ball called out, directing the chosen team members toward Puffball. The pink creature enlarged her form by breathing in deep and inflating her lungs, easing onto the grass to let her teammates safely climb on her back, grunting slightly in discomfort as they pressed down on her body. Fries once again approached her, this time with an even more concerned look on his face. That was a lot of weight on her back at once.

"You sure you're ok carrying that much? You've never carried so many people before- I don't want you to get hurt." Puffball had only ever carried Fries before, and he didn't want her to over exert herself with a large load of passengers. Especially with someone as large as Spongy up there- the last thing he wanted was her getting injured. "Its ok- I'll be fine, I promise. Just a quick trip, after all!" The fluffy creature reassured her companion, slowly lifting off the ground, breathing deeply to keep herself enlarged. "Just be careful, ok?"

Fries nestled her fur once more, before backing off to give her space to get going. 

After a quick warning from Match about a "Wild Leafy", it was time for Puffball and her group to set off.

She began to rise in the air, looking back at Fries as he waved to her, his face a mix of pride and concern.

And with that, she began to fly off, over the horizon.

~~~Author's Notes~~~ 

omg fire actually updated a fic??????

sorry about the hiatus, i explained it more in my announcement post, but tldr is i've been dealing with a lot of irl stuff so i haven't had time/motivation to write here.

also that last part will be foreshadowing, just you wait. 

next chapter we're gonna expand on the fact that she was flying over the canal for like literal days?? she had to stop at some point so uh we might be taking some creative liberties to make it more realistic

also yes i am approaching this from a somewhat realistic angle- puffball is an animal after all, so like the size shifting is from her expanding her lungs to be bigger (shes literally a pufferfish lmao)

yeah not much else to write here

-Fire