geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension (grt3d) masterpost
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[what is grt3d?]
grt3d is an osc story/object novel written and illustrated by ellie (@smile-files). 16 shapes from the 2d city of geometropolis compete in challenges set up by the mysterious möbius strip to win the ultimate prize: the ability to go to the 3rd dimension! geometropolis: race to the 3rd dimension, above all, is a story about love, growth, community, and finding meaning in life - as well as math jokes, of course.
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below you will find the list of episodes (including links) as well as character references. please enjoy grt3d!
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[list of episodes]
episode 1: square up!
episode 2: search party
episode 3: sucker ball
episode 4: shooting star
episode 5: poly-gone
episode 6: little icarus
episode 7: mathematicakes
episode 8: friends... to the end
episode 9: break the 3rd wall
episode 10: all that twinkles is not gold
episode 11: catch my drift
episode 12: the logarithm labyrinth
episode 13: softly spoken magic spelling
episode 14: vexed by hexagon
episode 15: proof
episode 16: shape escape!
episode 17: paradise lost
episode 18: race to the 2nd dimension
episode 19: home (away from home)
episode 20 (finale): the endpoint
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[character references]
please note that these drawings are not to scale. if a character is not listed, their pronouns can be requested in the askbox.
my gift exchange piece for @smile-files of her characters from geometropolis: race to the third dimension!!! ^_^ (i super recommend it.. go read it here!! -> @geometropolis)
after the events of grt3d... what do you think i should name the new comic series for this year? i'm thinking geometropolis: journey across the 2nd dimension (or gjat2d for short!!)
origin z listened intently to her brother’s plan. “OKAY, Y… BUT WOULD IT WORK?”
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN?” origin y asked.
“OCTAGON WAS ONLY ABLE TO REACH INTO THE 3RD DIMENSION BEFORE WHEN MÖBIUS STRIP WAS THERE. SHE HAS SOME DIMENSIONAL POWER NOW, BUT I DON’T KNOW IF SHE WOULD HAVE ENOUGH TO DO IT ON HER OWN.”
“SO WHAT DO YOU SUGGEST?”
“WELL, YOU CAN HELP HER.”
“HOW?”
“WELL, WHEN YOU KNOW HOW IT WORKS. SHAPES ARE ABLE TO CROSS INTO THE PARADOX WHEN ATTACHED TO ONE OF US, RIGHT?”
“...RIGHT.”
“SO, I’M THINKING, IF OCTAGON COULD DO HER 3D ARM THING WHILE ATTACHED TO YOU SHE’D BE ABLE TO REACH INTO THE 3RD DIMENSION.”
“OKAY… BUT NO, THAT WOULDN’T WORK. FOR ANY SHAPE TO BE ATTACHED TO ME THEIR LINES HAVE TO BE GONE.”
“SO JUST HAVE ONE OF THE OTHER SHAPES USE THE GRAPHER ON HER WHEN SHE’S ATTACHED TO YOU.”
“WOULD THAT REALLY WORK?”
“I THINK SO. BUT THEN, I DON’T KNOW IF OCTAGON WOULD BE ABLE TO REACH FAR ENOUGH WHEN SHE DOES DO IT… THE 2ND AND 3RD DIMENSIONS ARE PRETTY FAR APART.”
“...OH, HUH… WELL, I THINK I HAVE AN IDEA OF WHAT TO DO. WE GOT THIS! SO ANYWAY, UM, I’LL BE HERE. ONCE IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION COME TELL ME, AND OUR PLAN WILL BEGIN. THEN STICK THE CONTESTANTS TO YOURSELF AND FLY TO THE LOGARITHM LABYRINTH LIKE YOUR LIFE DEPENDS ON IT!”
“THEIR LIVES DEPEND ON IT!”
“YES. OKAY. I’M JUST GONNA UPDATE THE FOLKS ON THIS END AND I’LL BE RIGHT BACK.”
“GOT IT, Y!”
“SEE YOU, Z.”
origin y flashed out of the paradox.
sphere smiled at origin z. “you got this.”
“i hope so… hey, i’ll be right back.”
origin z flashed out of the paradox herself and translated over to the cabin. she wasn’t surprised when she found hexagon sitting outside, wide awake.
“hey, hexagonal prism, you and the others will go home today.”
“what?” hexagon gasped. “really?”
“yes. my brother and i have come up with a plan… and it’ll only work if you, cylinder, and pyramid cooperate. i can’t really explain in detail but i think you’ll know when it’s time.”
“okay. got it. i’ll be sure to tell the others.”
“okey dokey!!! now i gotta go, before möbius strip sees me.”
“thank you so much, origin z!”
origin z giggled as she flew off.
hexagon held octagon’s pacifier in her hand and squeezed it. everything will be alright soon enough, she thought. just you wait…
…
“COME OUT, COME OUT, WHEREVER YOU ARE!!!!!!!!!!” möbius yelled. “IT’S ELIMINATION TIME! DOO-DOO!!!!”
cylinder groaned. she was too tired for this nonsense. she dragged pyramid out of bed and together with hexagon (who had still been outside when they found her) went over to möbius strip.
origin z heard möbius’s voice and flashed into the paradox.
“OKAY, PLEBS. IF YOU KNOW ME AT ALL, YOU KNOW WHO I’M ELIMINATING RIGHT NOW.”
“we actually, um, don’t know anything about you,” cylinder stated. “who are you, anyway? what are you?”
“THAT’S FOR ME TO KNOW AND FOR YOU TO FIND OUT.”
“...okay then.”
“ANYWHO… IT’S HEXAGON. WE ALL KNEW IT WAS GONNA BE HEXAGON. SPARKLE?”
origin z had flashed back. she was glowing. “yes?”
“TAKE HER AWAY!”
origin z began to buzz; not only hexagon, but also pyramid and cylinder were drawn towards her.
“WHAT? WHAT ARE YOU DOING???”
“hey, origin z,” hexagon piped up, “take the others. but leave me here. i’ll catch up to you.”
“...are you sure?” origin z asked.
“yes. now go!”
origin z stopped buzzing. with pyramid and cylinder attached, she began to soar over to the logarithm labyrinth.
möbius strip was seething. “WHAT THE HELL?” he was about to fly off when hexagon grabbed him.
“don’t think i’m done with you, möbius!” she yelled.
“LET GO OF ME, YOU WRETCH!”
“no way! i’m pissed off at you! you cling so strongly to the idea that everyone’s a monster that you’ve let yourself become one! you’re an idiot! you’re a hypocrite! my primes, what is wrong with you?”
“NOTHING. NOTHING AT ALL. STOP TRYING TO BE A HERO. HEXAGON. I SEE IT IN YOUR EYES, YOU JUST WANT TO SPITE ME. YOU JUST WANT SOME SELFISH, SELFISH CATHARSIS.”
“so what if i do?” hexagon cried. “i don’t care if you think i’m horrible! because we are the same! you’re not a god and neither am i! so shut up and stop acting like one!”
“but what if i am a god?” he whispered. “how would you know?”
meanwhile, origin z had arrived outside of the tunnel.
“okay,” she murmured to pyramid and cylinder. “good luck.”
the two nodded, smiled and began to crawl through the tunnel.
back in the 2nd dimension, origin y had attracted all of the shapes but oval to himself now that his sister had given him the signal.
“are you ready?” origin y asked.
oval gave him a thumbs up and blasted the shapes with the grapher. their limbs reappeared.
“okay, everyone. slowly and carefully stand up. hold hands and make a line… octagon should be at the end.”
trapezoid and pentagon squeezed each other’s hands. pentagon was holding octagon’s.
“are you okay?” she asked.
octagon’s face was clouded with fear. “i don’t know.”
“you can do this!”
“yeah!” trapezoid agreed.
octagon smiled slightly.
“now,” origin y continued in his gentle voice, “i’m going to flash just a little bit. i’m not gonna flash strong enough to go to the paradox, but just to give octagon more dimensional power. okay?”
octagon nodded.
origin began to glow a bright light.
“okay, octagon. reach your arm out. we can do this.”
octagon extended her free arm. slowly it began to rise out of the 2nd dimension, carrying her with it.
as she rose into that strange limbo she held tighter onto pentagon’s hand.
pyramid and cylinder had made their way into the cave, noticing the floating möbius strip in the center: their home, the 2nd dimension.
suddenly a fuschia hand reached out from the möbius strip, coming through it somehow, without a body visible on the other side.
“grab on!” octagon’s voice rang out. pyramid and cylinder did so. “NOW!” octagon yelled; origin y stopped transferring dimensional power to her, and they were all dragged back to the 2nd dimension.
origin y let go of all the shapes and they collapsed on the ground.
“home,” pyramid murmured. “home! i’m finally home!!” they hugged cylinder and the two wept.
“wait…” heart said, “w-where’s hexagon?”
octagon’s eyes widened.
“she told origin z to go without her, and that she’d catch up,” cylinder answered, wiping her eyes.
“...so we have to do it again,” square said.
“can you do it, origin?” kite asked. “octagon?”
“yes, we can,” origin y said. “but i’ll ask my sister what’s going on… i’ll be back in a sec…” with that he flashed away to the paradox.
at the same time, hexagon shoved möbius strip aside and began to run for the logarithm labyrinth.
she was speeding along as quick as she could, but möbius strip soon overtook her.
“hexagonal prism!” origin z called.
hexagon turned around.
origin z attracted the little polyhedron to herself, and together they flew to the tunnel entrance.
unfortunately, möbius got there first. he began to hit his body against the mouth of the cave tunnel, causing rocks to fall and block up the entrance.
“NO!” hexagon cried.
“don’t worry, pal!” origin z exclaimed. “you can take the long way around… and möbius strip won’t be able to stop you.”
she flew over to the base of the mountain, where there was an opening.
origin z released her and quickly returned her limbs. “okay. you’ll find your way there eventually… good luck! and thank you!!”
“thank you, origin z… i’ll miss you.”
origin z glowed. “i’ll miss you too. now get going!!!!”
hexagon began to traverse the network of caves and tunnels within the mountain. i wish octagon were here with me, she thought. we got through the labyrinth in the 2nd dimension so quickly together!
to play it safe, hexagon kept her right hand on the wall. it would take a while for her to find the tunnel to the 2nd dimension, but she would find it eventually.
möbius strip watched hexagon enter the mountain… so, like before, he bumped against the mouth of the cave so it was blocked off with rocks and stones. hexagon heard a distant rumble.
she was trapped in the labyrinth.
a sudden feeling of panic surged in her body, causing her to let go of the wall and frantically go from tunnel to tunnel.
meanwhile, origin y had just returned from the paradox.
“okay, guys, so hexagon has to traverse the 3D version of the logarithm labyrinth to get to us, so it might take a bit longer for her to get here,” he explained.
“wait, why?” pyramid asked.
“möbius strip blocked up the main entrance.”
“oh… the only other ways in are the skylight and the other tunnel, but both are way too small…”
“so how will she get back?” trapezoid fretted.
“well, we all got dragged back here once origin stopped flashing, right? because the dimensions were correcting themselves?” droplet asked.
cylinder nodded.
“then i might have an idea… pyramid, cylinder, could you possibly join our hand-holding chain? we’ll need to reach even farther…”
hexagon was running around erratically, desperately, not knowing what to do.
the 2D team repeated their plan, this time, with a longer shape chain, letting octagon fully emerge into the 3rd dimension. of course, she was still holding pentagon’s hand.
“HEXAGON?” she screamed. “HEXAGON!!!”
hexagon stopped in her tracks.
“FOLLOW MY VOICE, HEXAGON! WE’RE HERE TO GET YOU!”
“NO YOU’RE NOT,” an all too familiar voice growled.
“möbius?” octagon asked in surprise, glancing around. “geez, where is that voice coming from?”
möbius strip ignored her question. “WHY RESCUE HER?” he could not enter the cave, but his voice could; it echoed around octagon. “HEXAGON LEFT YOU IN YOUR TIME OF NEED. WHY SHOULD YOU TREAT HER ANY DIFFERENTLY?”
octagon ground her foot into the rocky floor in anger.
“WHY NOT MAKE HER FEEL THE SAME PAIN YOU DID?”
“BECAUSE I LOVE HER, YOU IDIOT!” octagon cried.
hexagon ran towards the sound of her voice, tears streaming down her cheeks. she found a deep hole in the wall; when she peered through, she could see octagon’s eyes, shining with tears and defiance.
“OCTAGON!” hexagon gasped.
“HEXAGON?”
octagon looked through from the other side.
“YOU’RE MAKING A GRAVE MISTAKE, OCTAGON,” möbius chided.
octagon stuck her hand through the tunnel. “IT’S THE BEST MISTAKE I’LL EVER MAKE! GRAB ON, HEXAGON!”
hexagon reached her arm into the tunnel, trying to feel for octagon’s hand. “I CAN’T REACH!” she cried.
“I HOPE YOU ALL DIE IN YOUR HELLHOLE,” möbius strip snarled.
“I HOPE SO TOO, MÖBIUS!” octagon screamed. “I HOPE SO TOO!”
she pushed herself against the cave wall, stretching her hand out as far as she could. she felt a hand in the darkness. she grabbed it and held tight.
“NOW, ORIGIN! NOW!!!!!!”
origin y ceased his flashing, and the shapes’ supply of dimensional power was cut off. they all were pulled back to the 2nd dimension, hexagon phasing through the cave wall as her body entered limbo. she passed out.
meanwhile, möbius strip was now alone beside the mountain… well, not as alone as he would like.
“hello, sir!” origin z greeted.
“get away from me.”
“NO THANKS!!!!” and she began to buzz.
“WHAT? NO! STOP!!!”
but there was nothing he could do. möbius strip was dragged closer and closer towards his co-host.
“oh yeah,” she said, “don’t be surprised when you don’t see sphere in the paradox. i already let him go.”
with that, she flashed into the paradox.
…
“so we c-can finally go home,” heart sighed in relief.
“indeed we can,” cylinder – rectangle? – said.
“then let’s go!” pyramid – triangle? – exclaimed.
“wait, guys!” origin y yelped.
“what is it now, big guy?” parallelogram asked.
“it’s just… look, i know we’ll all see each other again. but this is still a goodbye, right?”
pentagon and trapezoid exchanged glances.
“so we should… we should say goodbye.”
“especially because…” square bit his lip. “we’re moving. all four of us group twoers. we’re moving out of geometropolis.”
droplet gasped. “no! square!”
“don’t worry!” circle patted her on the head. “we’ll keep in touch!”
“we may find someplace better than here,” square continued. “we may not. either way, we’re gonna explore this dimension a bit more…”
star fell onto him and wailed. “noooo!!!! i’ll miss you so much, bro!”
square chuckled. “oh yeah? well i’ll miss you more!!!”
the shapes gave their farewells, all of them temporary. they would see each other again.
helvetica had been sitting around hexagon, who had still been knocked out. all of the commotion caused her to wake up.
she rubbed her eyes. “where… where am i?”
pentagon grinned at her, helping her up. “you’re home!”
hexagon looked around. “hey, where did octagon go?”
after a few moments, octagon reappeared, holding hexagon’s ukulele.
“you…” she began, “you left this.” she held out the instrument.
hexagon’s eyes glimmered. she held out octagon’s pacifier. “and you left this. trade?”
“yes, please.”
the best friends exchanged objects.
“hey…” hexagon murmured. “just for the record… i’m sorry. i had my reasons for doing what i did, but that doesn’t mean it didn’t hurt.”
octagon averted her eyes. “yeah. it did hurt, and it still does… hexagon, i’m still upset at you. but thank you for the apology. i shouldn’t have jumped to conclusions… you’re one of my best friends forever, and i’m sorry i forgot that.”
“it’s okay, sweet girl.” hexagon extended her arms for a hug.
octagon simply took one of her hands and shook it, smiling softly. “we’re not there yet, cookie thief. but we will be.”
origin y watched in silence as the shapes slowly but surely left the field. it was the 20th day. just as long as the contract asked for.
“hey, origin,” a voice called.
origin y turned to see circle smiling up at him.
“thank you for everything,” circle said. and he kissed him.
circle then ran off to join his friends. “bye everyone!! love you all so much!!!!”
origin glowed. he flashed away to the paradox.
there was love etched into the fabric of the universe. there were emotions plotted onto its graph. it was held together through brunnian links.
pyramid’s eyes fluttered open. how long have i been sleeping? they wondered. what time is it?
they sat up in bed and saw that it was now dark outside. apparently, they, sphere, and cylinder had slept until the evening. well, pyramid had. the other two were still out like a light.
pyramid glanced around and saw that hexagon’s bed was empty. they rubbed their eyes, stretched, and decided to go outside and look for her. they had nothing better to do, after all.
they furtively crept outside into the darkness of night. something about the atmosphere was uncomfortable; this wide, vast field; the black void of the sky; the small cabin in an empty world. pyramid couldn’t understand how hexagon could willingly go out there.
“she’s just like hexagram,” they murmured to themselves, smiling. “nobody else is that brave…”
“hexagram? who’s hexagram?”
pyramid swung around. “WHO’S THERE???”
“...it’s just me… hexagonal prism. i had gone for a walk. who were you talking about?”
pyramid sighed. “just… my daughter. you remind me of her.”
hexagon smiled and sat down. she patted the ground next to her, inviting them to sit down beside her.
“you have the same verve and energy that she does,” pyramid continued, taking a seat. “friendly. sympathetic. brave.”
“you seem to miss her a lot,” hexagon murmured.
“i do. i’m worried for her. i’m worried for her father, too. i need to get back to them.”
hexagon averted her eyes in discomfort. i want to get back home, but… what about pyramid?
“i’ll make sure you do,” she insisted, with a sparkle in her eye. “i’ll make sure we all do!”
“except for sphere?”
“except for sphere.”
“say, what was your name back in the 2nd dimension?”
hexagon chuckled. “hexagon. similar to your daughter. i’m not really used to being called ‘hexagonal prism’ anyway.”
“well then, hexagon. my name is triangle.”
“i knew a triangle back home!”
“oh wow! you can continue to call me pyramid, if you’d like, just to avoid confusion… us triangles are very common, y’know. folks say we’re the strongest shape.”
hexagon nodded. “you’re very strong for keeping up hope for these past ten years.”
“thank you…”
hexagon inhaled and exhaled slowly. “y’know, i really like what cylinder said yesterday.”
“what?”
“that we should all have a truce. we won’t hate the players, we’ll hate the game: we’ll hate möbius strip. we’re all in this together, after all.”
“i hope you’re right.”
“about what?”
“that we’ll all go back home. because i’m sure your loved ones miss you dearly.”
hexagon’s breath caught. “you really think so?”
“i’m sure of it. just as much as my daughter and husband miss me.”
hexagon teared up a little, but quickly wiped her eyes. “we’ll see them all again. really soon. i’m sure of it.”
she patted pyramid’s hand and returned to the cabin to go to sleep.
pyramid continued to sit out in the field a little ways away from the cabin. they stared up at the sky. wasn’t this scary for me a minute ago? they wondered. why am i suddenly totally comfortable out here?
“BOO!” a voice yelled.
“AAH!” pyramid lept back, glancing around. “why is everyone scaring me tonight??”
origin z giggled as she came into view.
“oh… it’s just you,” pyramid said in relief, falling backwards onto the ground.
“‘just you’? since when was i a ‘just you’??”
pyramid yawned.
“why aren’t you inside?” origin z asked.
“i dunno. i came out here to look for hexagonal prism, for hexagon, and we talked, and she went back inside. so now i’m out here.”
“you seem much more calm now than you did during the challenge.”
“hm.”
origin z began to hum a tune, but much to her dismay, this caused pyramid to fall asleep.
“aw darn,” she muttered. “i wanted to talk to you, not sing you to sleep!!! oh well. good night i guess.”
…
“COME HITHER, MY LOVELY CONTESTANTS!” möbius strip crooned. “IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION~!”
hexagon and cylinder got out of bed. sphere shifted in their bed but was not roused.
the three of them left the cabin to find pyramid sitting outside.
“what’re you doing here?” cylinder asked.
“good question,” pyramid answered.
they all met möbius strip and origin z in the center of the field.
“IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION~!” möbius strip repeated. “YOU ALL KNOW WHAT’S UP… LOSING CONTESTANT GOES TO THE PARADOX!”
cylinder and sphere exchanged glances.
“AAAAAAAAND THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS… CYLINDER!”
“wait!!!” hexagon yelled.
“ugh. WHAT IS IT?”
“it’s just… i think it’d be a better idea if you eliminated sphere.”
“WHY?”
“look, i know you love proving your point about competitiveness and stuff. so if you really want to see us all fight tooth and nail, why keep around a contestant who doesn’t even want to win in the first place?”
cylinder’s eyes widened.
möbius paused for thought. “YOU KNOW WHAT? ORANGE GIRL IS RIGHT. SPARKLE, GET SPHERE OUT OF HERE!”
sphere glanced at hexagon. she winked at them.
origin z began to buzz, and sphere was dragged towards her.
“toodle-oo, my dear friends,” sphere said. “it’s been a pleasure!”
the three remaining contestants waved goodbye to them as they and origin z vanished.
cylinder approached hexagon, her eyes shining with emotion. “thank you,” she said. “thank you so much.”
“HEXAGONAL PRISM… OR SHOULD I SAY HEXAGON?” möbius growled. “I HAVE A FEELING YOU HAD SOME ULTERIOR MOTIVE FOR TELLING ME TO PICK SPHERE.”
“GOOD! NOW, THREE HULA HOOPS PLEASE! AND MAKE IT SNAPPY!!”
“got it!” origin z flashed and three hula hoops manifested on the ground.
“NOW, CONTESTANTS, YOU’RE USED TO THE FINALS STARTING WHEN THERE ARE THREE CONTESTANTS LEFT. WHY, YOU’RE THREE CONTESTANTS! BUT INSTEAD WE’LL DO THAT WHEN THERE’S JUST TWO OF YOU. I WANT THE FIGHT TO BE MORE… PERSONAL :).”
pyramid furrowed their brow.
“ANYWAY! GRAB A HULA HOOP, EVERYONE… YOU WILL HULA-HOOP! FIRST TWO TO DROP THEIR HOOP IS UP FOR ELIMINATION!!!”
hexagon grabbed a hula hoop and stared at it, confused. cylinder looked quite in her element; pyramid did not.
“AND… BEGIN!!!”
a big speaker appeared on origin z. she made a loud airhorn noise.
cylinder, given how round she was, was able to hula-hoop quite easily. pyramid, on the other hand, could not. they were much more blocky in shape, and so found it quite difficult.
“this is so hard…” they groaned. “i don’t know if i can do this for very long…”
meanwhile, hexagon wasn’t doing horribly, but she could barely understand what it was she was doing. she was rotating her body, and this other thing was rotating around her. the very notion of being through something was foreign to her.
“you two holding up well?” she asked.
“yes!” cylinder affirmed.
“no!” pyramid cried.
the three continued on for a few minutes before pyramid finally collapsed.
“PYRAMID IS UP FOR ELIMINATION!” möbius yelled.
cylinder looked at pyramid with concern, then looked over to hexagon. “listen, hexagonal prism, i bet my folks back at home have already forgotten me. you just came here a few days ago… i’ll let you have this one.”
“cylinder!” pyramid gasped.
hexagon blinked. “thank you… but no. even if they have forgotten you, they should have the chance to remember you, too. i’m not letting you lose on purpose.”
cylinder held a steady gaze with hexagon for a few moments; this was difficult, as hexagon was hula-hooping rather erratically, her body wiggling to and fro. “if you say so,” cylinder said, a smile appearing on her face. “good luck.”
pyramid sat up and watched intently as the two upped their game. origin z joined them, and manifested a box of plus popcorn.
“DON’T TALK TO THE CONTESTANTS!” möbius yelled at her.
“I’M NOT!” she yelled back.
pyramid chuckled.
cylinder and hexagon went at it for a while: cylinder, because she was good at it, and hexagon, out of sheer willpower. hexagon was flailing around, but she somehow made it look heroic.
after about 15 minutes möbius strip got annoyed.
“WHY DO YOU PEOPLE ALWAYS TAKE SO LONG?????” he whined and bumped into hexagon, causing her to drop her hula-hoop. “OOPS! GUESS HEXAGON’S UP FOR ELIMINATION TOO…”
“hey!” she yelped. “what was that for?”
“FOR CHANGING MY MIND THIS MORNING, YOU LITTLE BRAT!”
hexagon frowned. cylinder walked over to her and shook her hand.
“good game,” cylinder said, before walking back to the cabin with pyramid.
hexagon watched them and smiled.
“you’re wrong about everything, möbius strip,” she murmured.
“WHAT?”
but hexagon was already off on her way, following the other two contestants back to the cabin. she turned around and waved. origin z waved back.
…
“sooooo…. welcome to the paradox, sphere!”
sphere was limbless and faceless, sitting in an endless, three-dimensional grid. “okay.”
“i suppose origin y has brought you to the 2D version… hm, if he’s here i can say hi. HEY Y!!!!!!!!!”
“WHAT IS IT, Z?” a distant voice replied.
“HOW ARE YOU????”
“I’M FINE!”
“OKAY!!!!!! y’know, sphere, my brother doesn’t usually yell. he’s only doing it so i can hear him.”
“i know,” sphere replied.
origin z sat there humming for about a minute.
“say,” sphere said, “would you be a dear and call your brother again?”
“sure, but why?”
“well… you know what möbius strip is up to. origin y can help stop him.”
“um okay… but what is möbius strip doing?”
“...he brought me, pyramid, cylinder, and hexagonal prism to the 3rd dimension and left us here, some of us for years, and is now hosting another competition show to 1. drain us of more money and 2. perform some kind of psychological torture on us.”
“ohhhh… no yeah that makes sense. he is a bit mean, isn’t he?”
sphere nodded. “anyway… it seems like dimensional powers run in the family. i’m wondering if, somehow, origin y could connect to you and somehow bring those three back home?”
“i’m not sure. the two of us can communicate, but, well… if i were to, let’s say, try to send you from this paradox to the one in the 2nd dimension, you’d instantly bounce back here. because you’re 3D. the 2nd dimension wouldn’t like that.”
“hm… well, dear, at the very least we could tell him what’s going on.”
“of course. HEY Y!!!!!”
“YEAH??????”
“UM SO. I HAVE SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT TO TELL YOU AND UM. IT’S KINDA CRAZY.”
“...DID YOU SEE A SHAPE STAND ON THEIR HEAD AGAIN?”
“NO! FOR REAL! IT’S CRAZY! MÖBIUS STRIP HAS BEEN KEEPING THE WINNING CONTESTANTS OF RACE TO THE 3RD DIMENSION HERE IN THE 3RD DIMENSION FOR ALL THIS TIME AND HE’S BEEN HOSTING ANOTHER COMPETITION SHOW FOR THEM – AND THEY EACH HAD TO PAY LIKE 100 DIGITS TO ENTER – AND IS ONLY GONNA TAKE THE WINNER BACK TO THE 2ND DIMENSION. OR AT LEAST THAT’S WHAT HE SAID HE’D DO. TO BE HONEST I WOULDN’T BE SURPRISED IF HE JUST TAKES THE MONEY AND RUNS.”
for a solid ten seconds origin y was silent.
suddenly his voice rang out. “WHAT????”
“SEE? I TOLD YOU IT WAS CRAZY.”
“oh my primes,” origin y muttered. “oh my primes. OH MY PRIMES!!!!!”
“SO ANYWAY UM. CAN YOU HELP US BRING THE THREE BACK TO THE 2ND DIMENSION?”
“WHO’S ‘WE’? AND WHAT DO YOU MEAN THREE, AREN’T THERE FOUR WINNERS SO FAR?”
“WELL, UM, SPHERE’S HERE WITH ME. THEY ALREADY GOT ELIMINATED.”
“sphere, sphere… OH! CIRCLE! I REMEMBER YOU!”
sphere – circle – laughed. they raised their voice and yelled, “IT’S ME, ORIGIN Y!”
“GEEZ, I NEVER KNEW YOU NEVER CAME BACK… I’M SO SORRY. I HAD NO IDEA WHAT MÖBIUS WAS REALLY DOING…”
“IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT, DEAR. ANYWAY, I’VE LIVED HERE LONG ENOUGH THAT I HAVE, UM, A WIFE? SO I DON’T REALLY WANT TO GO BACK.”
“OH, YOU’RE MARRIED? MAZEL TOV! GOSH, WHAT A LUCKY LADY…”
“THANK YOU!”
“AAAANYWAY,” origin z interjected, “Y, CAN YOU SEE IF THERE’S ANY WAY FOR YOU TO BRIDGE THE GAP BETWEEN DIMENSIONS?”
“UM, I CAN TRY, BUT YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T JUST SEND THEM HERE, RIGHT?”
“I KNOW. BUT MÖBIUS IS AN ANOMALY, RIGHT? AND HE CAN FREELY TRAVEL BETWEEN DIMENSIONS… MAYBE THERE’S SOMEONE ELSE LIKE HIM OVER THERE?”
origin y had the feeling that… perhaps there was someone like that. someone who could reach out into the 3rd dimension…
“MAYBE,” he said. “I’LL KEEP YOU POSTED. HEY, Z?”
“YEAH?”
“WHENEVER POSSIBLE, PLEASE STAY IN THE PARADOX. IF I DO HAVE ANY NEWS FOR YOU I WANT YOU TO BE HERE TO RECEIVE IT.”
“OKEY DOKE! BUT WHEN I’M NOT HERE FEEL FREE TO TELL SPHERE. CIRCLE? what would you rather be called?”
“sphere, thank you.”
“SPHERE.”
“RIGHT,” origin y continued. “I’LL GO AND TELL THE FOLKS HERE… I’M SURE THEY’LL BE ON BOARD TO HELP.”
“THANK YOU Y!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
“NO PROB, Z.”
sphere and origin z heard a flash; origin y had left the paradox.
origin y translated over to the cabins.
“um… guys?” he called. “i have an announcement to make…”
the ex-contestants left their cabins, confused.
“what’s going on?” oval asked.
“well… let’s just say i’m glad i had you guys stay for the last few days of the contract…”
origin y went on to explain what was going on. with möbius strip, with the 3rd dimension, with the show… with hexagon…
octagon dropped hexagon’s ukulele in shock and dismay.
“you can’t be serious,” trapezoid muttered.
“unfortunately, i am,” origin y said, sighing.
“but i suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised,” parallelogram pointed out. “möbius strip has never really been above board regarding the competition.”
there was commotion among the shapes.
“BUT ANYWAY!” origin y yelled, cutting through the clutter. “...my sister, origin z, is trying to come up with a plan to get the winners back to the 2nd dimension. well, most of them anyway; one of them has been there long enough that they got married and don’t want to leave. so we’re gonna find a way to bridge dimensions and rescue the other three.”
rhombus tossed the grapher between their hands. “any ideas?”
“well, z pointed out that möbius strip is kind of an anomaly, right? most things can’t freely travel between dimensions, because they can’t just change their state; if, let’s say, i were to just throw one of you guys into the 3rd dimension, you’d snap right back to here, because the 3rd dimension wouldn’t be able to handle a 2D shape being there and would correct that mathematical error. but möbius strip is able to do it… my sister was wondering if somebody else possibly could. and that rings a bell…”
the shapes looked amongst themselves, exchanging confused glances.
octagon raised her hand. everyone went silent.
“i reached into the 3rd dimension,” she said quietly. “i can do it.”
hexagon was awoken by a loud buzzing sound. it was about 2 am, so primeforsaken a time to wake up that for most shapes it was still considered night. the orange polyhedron groaned when she saw that it was still dark outside.
“i’m, like, on the 8th floor,” she muttered, taking the pacifier out of her mouth. “if there’s any construction going on, i shouldn’t be able to hear it.”
hexagon opened the window to take a better look. her eyes were barely over the windowsill… when suddenly she began to rise. her nose was over the windowsill. her mouth. she widened her eyes in fear and befuddlement only to see a giant, golden star suspended in the air: this star had 6 points: one on top, one on bottom, and four around the middle, like a sparkle of light. knowing what was to come, hexagon shoved the pacifier back in her mouth.
hexagon found herself stuck fast to the giant shape, her arms and legs disappearing. “hey,” she exclaimed, “are you origin’s sister?”
“oh?” the shape replied. “why, yes i am! my name is origin… i guess for the sake of clarity you can call me origin z and my brother origin y. say, how’d you come to know the little guy?”
“i was in the competition show he co-hosted.”
“which one?”
“what?”
origin z began to speed through the air without hearing her question. hexagon looked down and saw the buildings flying beneath her.
“aaaaaah!” she wailed. she hadn’t been afraid when origin – origin y – had carried her to the grounds of race to the 3rd dimension, but that was because she wasn’t quite… above the ground.
as hexagon sailed along, she hoped that this fear would go away; after all, she was new to this dimension! any native of the 2nd dimension would find this kind of experience disorienting, right? unfortunately for her, though, the feeling stayed.
i guess if i’ve gained anything here, hexagon thought, it’s a new phobia!
origin z stopped near an apartment building; a lavender shape came flying out through the window and stuck onto her beside hexagon.
“who’re you?” the shape asked curtly.
“...my name is hexagonal prism,” hexagon replied, smiling sheepishly as she said her ‘name’. “and you?”
“...cylinder. my name is cylinder.” cylinder broke eye contact as quickly as she made it.
“right…”
origin z went on to pick up two more shapes: a perfectly round tan one from a cozy little house, named sphere, and a familiar face from off the street.
“pyramid!” hexagon exclaimed when she saw them.
the mint green polyhedron chuckled uncomfortably. “who knew i’d be seeing you again so soon? and sphere, cylinder… good to see you as well.”
sphere smiled a worried smile.
cylinder nodded solemnly. “good luck, both of you,” she said.
soon enough, origin z had arrived in the vast gray field north of geometropolis. she stopped right above a sign saying “put contestants here!” and proceeded to drop the four shapes, still limbless, on the ground.
“ouch!” sphere yelped, biting their lip.
after a few minutes, the infamous möbius strip made his appearance. he translated over to origin z. “say, sparkle,” he whispered, “you don’t happen to have your grapher, do you? i left mine back in the 2nd dimension…”
origin z pulled out a little gray remote and zapped all four shapes with it, causing their arms and legs to reappear.
“anyway… GLAD YOU ALL COULD MAKE IT!” he said to the contestants in his typical loud voice. “OVER THE YEARS ALL OF YOU HAVE PROVEN YOUR WORTH AS WINNERS. YOU HAVE DESTROYED THOSE IN YOUR PATH IN PURSUIT OF A NEW LIFE… BUT, APPARENTLY, YOU ALL WANT, NAY, NEED THE OLD ONE BACK. SO? WILL YOU PROVE YOUR WORTH AGAIN?”
hexagon looked around at her fellow contestants, her eyes wide with shock and confusion. they seemed upset, but not surprised.
“what is he talking about?” she cried. “did you guys win race to the 3rd dimension too?”
sphere nodded. “yup…”
“there were other seasons? ...but i’d never heard of it before a few weeks ago… how long ago did the last winner get here?”
“five years ago,” cylinder answered in a monotone voice, her brows knitted.
hexagon edged back. “a-and–”
“i got here ten years ago,” pyramid said.
“and i’ve been here for 15,” sphere finished.
hexagon’s eyes were as wide and round as dinner plates; she glared at möbius strip. “what. the hell. is wrong with you.”
“YOU ALL KNOW THE DRILL.” möbius ignored her. “I WISH I COULD’VE GOTTEN MORE CONTESTANTS BEFORE STARTING RACE TO THE 2ND DIMENSION, BUT… due to some complications… WE’RE STARTING NOW. SO ANYWAY. FOUR CONTESTANTS, NO TEAMS, FIRST CHALLENGE IS GONNA BE CHECKERS. SPARKLE?”
“yes, sir!” origin z manifested two checker boards and checkers for each.
“OKAY SO UM. UH… PYRAMID AGAINST CYLINDER AND SPHERE AGAINST… HEXAGONAL PRISM :)”
hexagon sat down across from sphere, her face grave.
“something wrong, my dear?” sphere asked, moving a black checker.
“it’s…” hexagon started. “it’s just… are you okay?” she moved a gray one.
sphere chuckled. “you mean given everything möbius strip has done?” they moved another checker.
“what else?”
“well… there’s a reason why i signed up for this show. i was reminded of my old home.”
the two continued moving checkers around. hexagon captured one of theirs.
“hm…” sphere bit their lip. “watch this!” they captured two of hexagon’s checkers in one move.
“wow, i didn’t even know you could do that!”
“you learn something new everyday, my dear.”
hexagon smiled.
while pyramid had seemed casual enough while talking to hexagon, at the present moment they were quite desperately trying to win at checkers.
“i’m sorry i’m taking so long on my turn,” they said, pensively holding a black checker. “i just don’t want to mess up…”
“no, pyramid, i get it,” cylinder replied. “take as long as you like. hell, the longer you take, the more mad we’ll make möbius. by the look of it, he’s trying to get this thing over and done with as soon as mathematically possible.”
“and wouldn’t we like to make him mad… well, i know you would. but what if he puts us both up for elimination because we’re taking a billion years?”
“hm.”
pyramid finally made their move. cylinder immediately captured their checker.
“and wouldn’t it also be in our best interest to speed this along?” pyramid asked. “we have families to get back to… and it’s been so many years…”
cylinder conceded.
“i still can’t believe it…” hexagon murmured. “15 years?”
“mhm,” sphere nodded. they moved a checker.
“how come i’d never heard of disappearances? surely you’d hear on the news if somebody vanished one day and never came back.”
“well, people move out of geometropolis all the time, my dear. if somebody’s suddenly gone, everyone just assumes they found somewhere better to live.”
hexagon bit her lip. “geez…” she captured one of sphere’s checkers.
“mm… yes, when i met my wife i told her about where i came from, and she said that if i ever found a way back i should take it. after all, it was sort of like we were kidnapped.”
“you have a wife??”
sphere smiled. “yes. her name is octahedron. we met… ten years ago.” sphere captured two more of hers.
“i suppose i shouldn’t be too surprised! given how long you’ve been here, it’s no wonder you’ve found a new circle of loved ones.”
“well dear, to be honest, it was my first circle of loved ones. i didn’t really have anyone back in geometropolis.”
“nobody? nobody at all?”
“well… i had a family… but let’s just say that we were estranged. you seem like the type to have a lot of friends and folks back home in the 2nd dimension.”
“i do! i’m not super close to my family, because they don’t live in geometropolis, but i do have a lot of friends. a lot of best friends, too.” hexagon moved a piece to the end of the board, crowning it.
“then i pray you won’t stay here long enough to make some 3D ones…!”
hexagon chuckled.
“you know,” cylinder said, furrowing her brow, “you’re very good at checkers.”
“sorry,” pyramid replied, capturing a piece and crowning their own at the same time.
“it’s horrible for möbius to pit us against each other. i know he wants money. but why doesn’t he just have us pay to go home? why waste time with a silly, dumb competition?”
pyramid chuckled uneasily. “he loves to see us suffer…”
“he loves to see us hate each other is more like it.” cylinder turned to sphere and hexagon. “can we all agree not to get upset at each other over this whole thing, and instead just get upset at möbius?”
hexagon blinked. “sure.”
“he’d get a kick out of it if we tore each other apart to get home. we’re already giving him our money; we don’t have to give him anything else.”
hexagon and sphere nodded.
“WHAT IN MATH ARE YOU GUYS TALKING ABOUT???” möbius asked. “GEEZ, JUST PLAY YOUR CHECKERS.”
origin z had been spinning around, not paying attention, but what möbius strip said made her curious about the contestants. she edged closer to them, wanting to join their conversation.
“STOP RIGHT THERE, SPARKLE!”
she turned around.
“do not talk to the contestants,” möbius strip growled. “i’m not making that mistake again…”
“but why?” origin z asked.
“blame your brother, dimwit. go back to spinning or whatever.”
his co-host edged back in shame. “okay…”
hexagon frowned. “at the very least möbius could be nice to her. he’s always so mean for no reason… it’s not like he’s proving a point by being a bad boss.”
sphere crowned a checker. “you tell him that.”
“anyway, what were we talking about?”
“friends? family?”
“right… golly, i miss my friends so much.” hexagon captured one of sphere’s checkers.
sphere looked up at her. “i bet you do.”
“the worst thing is that i did something horrible to one of them before i came here and didn’t get the chance to apologize… i’m so worried about her. here, look.” hexagon showed them octagon’s pacifier. “this is hers. another friend gave it to her. but anyway… now i wish i hadn’t won at all. not like i’d wish this fate upon anyone else, but y’know. i just wanna tell my friend how much i love her.”
sphere sighed and smiled sadly. they were about to capture two more of hexagon’s pieces, but they paused.
“...is something wrong?”
“i’m fine, dear. i just believe i’ve made a grave mistake.”
hexagon eyed them with concern.
“i never had anyone in the 2nd dimension. i’ve been trapped here in the 3rd dimension against my will, but i have loved ones now. i have a wife. when the advertisement for this competition came on the television i automatically had the urge to go back. part of me felt like i should miss home. i lived there for so many years. i met so many people. i can’t just throw that life away, right? but i now realize that i never had a life there to begin with. call it delusional, call it stockholm syndrome, but i love living here. i love the people i’ve met here more than i’ve loved anyone before…”
“even though this dimension is boring as sin?” hexagon smiled.
“just as boring as yours. but you miss your beloved friends. they are where your life truly resides. not in the gray: in the colors of the people you love.”
sphere proceeded to make a very dumb move.
“if you insist on letting me win,” she said, capturing two of their pieces. “aw man…”
“what is it now, dear?”
“you’ve been so awfully sweet! now if i do win this competition, and i do go back home, i’ll have to miss you!”
sphere smiled and shook their head. “well sure, but you’re always going to be missing someone. you can’t be in two dimensions at once, my dear.”
“i just wish i could travel between these two more easily. maybe then i could meet your wife!”
sphere laughed affectionately at that.
“...so sphere doesn’t want to win anymore,” pyramid said, capturing one of cylinder’s pieces. “i suppose we should feel happy about that.”
“at the very least,” cylinder began, “there’s one fewer person to worry about. good for sphere! anyway, i’m wondering about hexagonal prism. she’s a fresh face, and the friendly type too. cuz she last saw her loved ones a few days ago she’s still on that desperate high to get back to them.” cylinder moved a checker.
pyramid frowned. “are we not?”
“well, sure we are, but it’s different for us. we’re older and we’ve been here longer. we’ve had the time to at least start the semblance of a life here. the only thing hexagonal prism has is the memories of home.”
“i guess you’re right. but man, i just really miss my husband and kid…”
cylinder nodded sympathetically and sighed. “i can’t believe möbius would even need to do another season of race to the 3rd dimension, and then this. doesn’t he have enough digits? what’s he even doing with all of them?”
“paying for our therapy bills?”
“that’s rich!”
both of them laughed, but soon retreated back into their default states: cylinder, bitter and focused, pyramid, nervous and tense.
“sometimes i feel like i’ll never get out of here,” pyramid whispered.
“you will,” cylinder replied firmly.
“but we can’t both go back home!” pyramid cried. “it’s you see your family or i see mine or neither of us do. there’s no happy ending for all of us.”
hexagon heard them and frowned. cylinder sighed, unhappy that she had no good rebuttal. it was all up to möbius strip, after all.
möbius strip was flying back and forth, impatient. “WHY ARE THEY TAKING SO LONG???” he seethed. “I SWEAR TO THE PRIMES!!!!”
origin z was gazing at the four contestants sadly.
hexagon turned and waved at her.
excited, origin z manifested a hand and waved back. she giggled.
“WHAT’S SO FUNNY?”
“oh, nuttin…”
hexagon, as expected, won against sphere.
cylinder was so lost in thought that she lost against pyramid. also, well, pyramid was just good at checkers.
“good game?” pyramid said.
“good game.” cylinder replied, shaking their hand.
“OKEY DOKEY!” möbius announced. “CYLINDER AND SPHERE ARE UP FOR ELIMINATION!!!!”
pyramid patted cylinder on the back.
sphere yawned. “say, möbius strip, where are we sleeping? i’m pooped…”
“OVER YONDER. SPARKLE?”
“yes?” origin z replied.
“BRING THESE GUYS TO THE CABIN.”
“gotcha.”
origin z began to buzz, and the four polyhedra stuck to her in the typical fashion. she began to translate over to the cabin; there was only one, as there were only four contestants (and as was standard practice for these competition shows, there were always four beds per cabin).
“sooooo….” origin z began once out of the earshot of her boss, “how’s everyone doing?”
“not very well, unfortunately,” cylinder muttered. “i’ll probably be eliminated tomorrow.”
“what makes you say that? it might be sphere for all you know.”
“well,” hexagon explained, “möbius strip has a history of using eliminations to stir up trouble. if somebody really wants to lose? he’ll keep them in the game. if somebody really wants to win? he’ll eliminate them.”
“so…” pyramid said, “cylinder’s probably gonna be eliminated tomorrow.”
“darn,” sphere sighed.
“hm… well i wish you both luck!” origin z exclaimed. “i hope möbius strip has a change of heart.”
“heart?” cylinder chuckled. “he doesn’t have one!”
the contestants were soon dropped off at their cabin and given back their arms and legs.
“thank you, origin z!!!!” hexagon said.
the other three thanked her as well.
“why, thank you!!!” she replied before departing.
the four polyhedra entered the cabin and all claimed their beds. sphere went to sleep almost instantly, even though it was the middle of the day.
“what are we supposed to do now?” cylinder asked. “what’s the point of having short challenges if möbius is waiting for the next day to do eliminations anyway?”
“i don’t know…” pyramid groaned. “can we just collectively admit that we don’t know what he’s up to? he’s a jerk. he’s a creep. but beyond that we have no clue who he really is or what he’s really doing.”
“maybe that’s all he is,” hexagon murmured. “a greedy, low-down son of a gun. he keeps telling us about how desire turns us into horrible people. takes one to know one, i suppose.”
cylinder glanced at sphere and chuckled. “they’ve got the right idea. we’ve done nothing and still i’m wiped…
“so good night?”
“why not?”
cylinder and pyramid proceeded to nod off, leaving hexagon awake and alone.
“i heard what you said,” she said softly. “but we will get our happy ending. we’ll all go home.”
it took several hours for möbius strip to arrive in the 3rd dimension with hexagon after departing from the 2nd. at that point, it was the next morning.
hexagon woke up in a cave. it was unlike any cave she had ever seen in her life. yes, it was angular and gray, but… it didn’t only have width. it didn’t only have height. it had depth.
it took a moment for hexagon’s eyes to adjust to her strange surroundings. she stood up and walked around. looking down, she saw her legs. they were tubes? with round nubs at the bottom? and her body… it was the same orange as always, but… thick. it’s like she was now two hexagons, with a row of squares stuck between them. her arms looked similar to her legs.
hexagon shook out her new arms and legs. she was kind of overwhelmed, given everything that had happened; she took a deep breath and rubbed her eyes. her eyes were round too… and what was that little nub between them?
she looked up and saw a small hole in the ceiling. light was shining through into the cave. she looked down again and saw a möbius strip, around her size, floating in the middle of the cave right underneath the ceiling hole.
“...m-möbius strip?” she asked.
she got no answer.
curious and confused, she kneeled down and looked closer. if she squinted, hexagon could see a minuscule grid on the surface of this strip. and… were those teensy-weensy colored dots?
“is that… is that the 2nd dimension???” she was taken aback. amazed? horrified? surprised? hexagon wasn’t sure what she was feeling. she did know she was confused, however. “the entirety of our world is on this one möbius strip in this one cave? that’s crazy!”
hexagon continued to explore the cave; aside from the large cavern she and the entirety of the 2nd dimension were housed in, there was a large tunnel leading out from one side and a small one (which she would most certainly not be able to fit through) leading out from the other. taking one final look around the cavern, hexagon proceeded through the large tunnel.
but suddenly, she stopped in her tracks. “hey, wait a second… where is möbius strip?” hexagon shook herself and hurried through the tunnel until she reached the light. she was on top of a mountain – which on its own was disorienting – far above a small city. or was it a large town? it looked vaguely familiar to her.
hexagon looked up and saw a dark gray strip fluttering in the wind against a light gray sky. sky? she shook herself out of her confusion. that was möbius strip! it had to be!
“MӦBIUS STRIP!” she yelled. “WHERE ARE YOU GOING?”
he might’ve wavered for a moment, but hexagon couldn’t tell. he continued to fly off into the distance.
“great.”
she looked back at the civilization beneath her, and began to descend. it was tricky for her to maneuver her strange new limbs and strange new body around, especially in such a rocky, steep area, and especially while holding a pacifier in one hand.
“this is cool, this is awesome,” hexagon told herself as she climbed. “sure, it’s weird, and painful – ow, my foot! – and a result of horrible behavior on my part and möbius strip’s, but it’s cool! totally worth it!” she grinned and bore it.
eventually she reached the bottom, and was met with a vast, empty, gray field. “i didn’t realize this place was gonna be as gray as geometropolis! golly.”
hexagon walked through, feeling the soft ground under her feet. she saw a flash of gold in the corner of her eye. when she tilted her body to the side, she could hear faint buzzing in the distance.
“didn’t origin say something about a sister? huh.”
i’ll go check her out later, she thought. first i should see what’s happening in this city. town? city? whatever.
the orange polyhedron continued onward until she reached some tall, gray buildings. she wandered past them, looking up with wide eyes at the skyline. suddenly she bumped into somebody.
from the sides, this shape looked like an upside-down triangle. but they had a square on top.
“oh!” they yelped. “sorry!”
hexagon gasped. “golly! i should be the one apologizing, i wasn’t looking where i was going. sorry about that!”
“no worries!” this shape had a tired face, but kind eyes. “hey, i don’t think i’ve seen someone like you in town before. are you new here?”
“oh, me?” hexagon blinked. “yeah, i am. say, could you tell me where i am?”
“you’re in geometropolis, my friend. that over there is the logarithm labyrinth, and…”
hexagon’s eyes widened.
“...hey, are you okay…?”
hexagon shook herself. “yup! totally fine!!”
the shape smiled. “okay. well, my name is tr–” they paused. “my name is pyramid. what’s yours?”
“my name is… hexagon…?” her voice trailed off.
“hexagonal prism? i could’ve guessed! …say, hexagonal prism, you didn’t happen to see a gray strip flying through the sky as you arrived, did you?”
hexagon knitted her brow slightly. “why yes, i did.”
pyramid suddenly looked very tense.
“...hey, are you okay?” hexagon asked, concerned and confused.
pyramid laughed. nervously? sadly? “yeah, i’m fine. well then, hexagonal prism, i guess i’ll see you around. hope you enjoy your time here!” then they muttered under their breath, “unlike the rest of us…”
hexagon smiled at this friendly stranger and walked on. at least the people here are nice, she thought. say, i’m starving.
she nervously patted herself and found her wallet. hexagon sighed in relief. she tended to keep a lot of digits on hand, so she could go and get a hotel room and some food.
hexagon continued down the sidewalk, skipping over the cracks. it was still early, so not many people were out and about, but those who were seemed amused by her energy.
these buildings are all so familiar, hexagon thought to herself. i don’t recognize any of them, but… they’re all situated in the same way as home. drugstore, cafe, little bench, tree…
eventually hexagon found a little hotel (in the same spot there was one in the 2nd dimension!) and booked a room. this business having been dealt with, hexagon went back out into the world and decided to look for someplace to eat. she was about to walk on autopilot, but she stopped herself.
don’t just rely on your memory of home! she thought to herself. if i’ve never been here, i shouldn’t already have a map… i’m just gonna wander around for a while and only stop to eat once my strange new feet are tired.
having resigned herself to this task, hexagon ignored her plaintive stomach. she was hungry – not only for food, but also for something beyond the life she used to live.
look at this place, she thought to herself, it’s so much better than home. it’s so much livelier! …sure, it might seem exactly the same, but it’s not. it’s different. it’s a whole other dimension, for primes’ sake! the people here are nice and the sights are beautiful… unlike home. the only sights i got were a computer screen from 9 to 5. goodness gracious, i didn’t do the absolute most throughout school only to get an office job where i get yelled at by customers 24/7. it’s not that i’m more special than everyone else… i just think, well, since i aimed higher, that i should’ve ended up higher. i dunno. i must sound really conceited… heck, hexagon, this is your own brain! nobody’s here to tell you if you’re conceited! maybe i am special! but it doesn’t matter… nobody wants a job like that. all my co-workers hated it. at least i was able to grin and bear it – didn’t one of them get fired for yelling back at a customer? hm… i’m lucky to be here. i’m really, really gosh darn lucky. i was so sick of the 2nd dimension. this is a primesend. i really, truly hate möbius strip, but this is a primesend.
as hexagon walked, she passed sights she would’ve recognized if she hadn’t chosen to not think of home. an apartment building, a high school, several more apartment buildings… hey, that looks like my old doctor’s office! no, it doesn’t. keep walking.
she ended up finding a park with a small pond. hexagon stood by the edge of the water and looked at her reflection. “i look weird,” she muttered, “but in a good way! …i hope.”
she bent down and picked up a small stone. sticking out her tongue, she threw it, and it skipped along the surface of the water 8 times. hexagon smiled slightly. skipping stones was one of the only interesting things she got to do back in the 2nd dimension. it was only that, and…
“my ukulele!” she gasped. “aw man, that’s still in our cabin. i’ll have to make sure to get it once i get back home…”
hexagon gazed out over the water, at the clouds reflected on its surface. she looked up at the real thing, the puffs of light gray drifting across the sky.
“if i don’t know where möbius strip is, how will i get back home? will i ever get back home?” she paused and stood up. “well, i couldn’t care less if i don’t! i like it here! i could live here for the rest of my life if i had to! i’ll get a job i like and do something good with myself! it’s what i was born to do!”
she pumped her fist into the sky – but, in doing so, dropped the pacifier she had been holding.
hexagon picked it up and dusted it off, but averted her eyes. “if i stay here, though, i’ll never be able to give this back to her…” her phrasing skirted the name of the item and the person to whom it belonged.
at this point hexagon continued on her walk. y’know, she thought, i’m almost surprised that i don’t miss home. you tend to hear about these things, about people leaving home and then missing it. but was geometropolis ever really home at all? …don’t say that. there are people there you know and love. pentagon? trapezoid? …octagon? i still love her. i still love all of them. but i don’t miss the 2nd dimension, just the people in it. golly, i wonder if i could get them all to move here…
hexagon skipped and spun around. this is freedom! i’d do anything to show them what it’s like here…
or do they already know?
no! no, they don’t! there’s a whole other axis here! i can’t seriously think there’s nothing beautiful and profound to learn by being here as opposed to the 2nd dimension!
hexagon shook herself. eventually she came upon a little deli. i might as well get something to eat now. i’ve been walking long enough!
she opened the door, causing a little bell on the doorpost to jingle.
“my first customer of the day!” the shape at the counter exclaimed, chuckling. they were round on top but flat on the bottom. “what can i getcha?”
hexagon smiled and looked up at the menu, which was posted on big panels over the counter. “i’ll have one toasted base-10 bagel, please, with cream cheese and lox.”
“that’ll be 1.5 digits, my dear!”
she paid them and soon had her bagel. “thank you!” she said as she left.
hexagon stood outside the deli. yeah, there’s a deli back at home. and in a block… she crossed the street. there’s a nice bench to sit on.
the orange polyhedron sat down and ate her breakfast. at this point, more folks were out on the town. she watched a couple enter the deli and heard the little chime of the bell.
it was a delicious base-10 bagel! just like the ones back home… hexagon gazed off into the distance. her mind was full, but not with easily discernible thoughts. there were just feelings drifting around in her head, bouncing around languidly (and never quite hitting the corners). for some reason, not that she knew why, hexagon began to tear up.
at first nobody noticed. it was that time of morning when everybody’s rushing to work, so she couldn’t blame them.
then a little shape came up to her, completely round.
“sir and/or ma’am?”
hexagon blinked in surprise and swallowed her bite of bagel. a little kid was staring at her.
“sir and/or ma’am? are you okay?” the kid asked.
hexagon wiped her eyes. “yeah, i’m okay. this is just a really good bagel.”
“did you get it from the deli? i’ve never had one before.”
“you should!”
“okay. will it make me cry?”
“it might.”
the kid paused. “okay.”
the little sphere left without saying goodbye, but their smile was enough. hexagon took a deep breath. you’re okay. you’re okay.
hexagon threw out the wax paper in which she had been holding the base-10 bagel and started back for the hotel. at this point, as she had recognized the position of the deli in 2D geometropolis, she could make her way back to the hotel in the 3rd dimension without a hitch.
her walking speed was much more brisk now, and she passed swaths of people without even noticing them. within a few minutes hexagon had arrived back at the hotel.
she checked into her room and flumped down on the bed, exhausted from walking. she crept under the covers and closed her eyes…
she was back in the cave in the logarithm labyrinth, staring at the 2nd dimension.
“do you like it here?” a voice asked. “i hope you like it here.”
“...wh-who is that?” hexagon turned around.
“who do you want me to be?”
hexagon blinked and looked back at the 2nd dimension.
“your world looks just like me. isn’t that odd?”
“möbius strip…” hexagon growled. “when will i go back home?”
“home? HOME?” möbius laughed. “there’s no such thing. why else would you be here?”
hexagon looked in her hands. she was holding a pacifier. “i need to go home. i need to give this back.”
“to whom?”
hexagon bit her lip.
“you can pretend like you’re above it all, but you’re not. you just don’t want to feel guilty. don’t worry, i can assure you that you’ve done nothing wrong. why, i would do the same as you.”
“what ARE you up to? did you really know i was gonna win from the beginning of race to the 3rd dimension?”
“maybe, maybe not.”
“and why did you get such a kick out of seeing us all fight?”
“it’s funny because it’s true, hexagon. it’s the truest thing of all.”
“...who are you?”
“i could ask you the same thing. satan? god? what’s the real difference, anyway? both have power. both kill for more.”
“get out of my head.”
“i was never in it.”
“what?”
hexagon woke up in a cold sweat after napping for several hours. at some point in her sleep, she had begun to chew on the pacifier. she took it out of her mouth and gazed at it.
“what do you want, hexagon?” she asked herself. “a new life? or a good one?”
she shook herself and got out of bed. “what do i even want to do today? if this place is exactly like home, i know there’s nothing interesting for me to do. at the very least, there’s nothing to do so long as i’m a stranger…”
hexagon paced around her hotel room; there were a couple of arm chairs, a dresser, a tv, a radio, an empty picture frame… she shook away anything she was reminded of.
she grabbed the tv remote and sat on the edge of the bed.
“just like yesterday, today in geometropolis is warm and calm,” the shape on tv announced. “mid 60s, no precipitation, low winds. hope you all have something fun to do… heh.”
hexagon picked up the tv menu. there didn’t seem to be anything interesting on. she flipped to one of those channels that’s almost entirely infomercials.
“but wait, there’s more!” a voice on tv yelled desperately. “if you call now, we’ll double your order of side straighteners, and include a free angle-o-tron! a 40 digit value, for the low, low price of 19.99! call now!!!!”
hexagon rubbed her hand on one of her edges and smiled wryly. “i think i’ll pass up this offer…”
she stood up and began to make some tau tea at the tiny kitchenette. 6.28318530717958647… hexagon dropped each number into her cup of boiling water; the more she added, the stronger the flavor.
hexagon tried to take a sip, steam billowing against her face, but she burnt her tongue. she set the cup down and waved her hand over it, wanting it to cool down. she clicked her tongue as she waited.
she took another sip.
“DO YOU WANT TO GO TO THE SECOND DIMENSION?”
hexagon spit out her mouthful of tau tea.
“DO YOU WANT TO… SEE YOUR LOVED ONES AGAIN?”
she rushed over to the tv.
“THEN JOIN THE COMPETITION! CALL THE NUMBER ON-SCREEN NOW! WITH A SMALL SIGN-UP FEE OF ONLY 100 DIGITS, YOU HAVE YOUR ONLY CHANCE TO TAKE YOUR LIFE BACK! by signing up you agree to stay on show premises for the full allotted time of 5 days.”
“...he’s not taking me back,” hexagon murmured. she absently picked up the phone. then she froze, realizing what she was doing. what möbius was doing.
he just wants more money out of me, she thought. 100 digits? geez louise… he’s holding me hostage and forcing me to pay my own ransom… but won’t there be other contestants? who here would wanna go to the 2nd dimension?
anyway, if i like it here, why should i participate? …but DO i even like it here? or am i just telling myself that? …either way, if i do enter, i’d just be giving möbius what he wants… more digits… and i might not even win…
hexagon held the phone in one hand, pacifier in the other. she stared at the latter intently… and dialed 123-456-7890.
she entered. she paid. she gave in.
i’m nothing without helvetica. i need to go home.
hexagon stood by the window and continued to hold the phone long after the shape on the other end hung up. she subconsciously began to hum the tune to that little song she and octagon had made up; when realizing this, she teared up a little.
“hello?” she said to herself, pretending she was talking on the phone. “octagon? yes, it’s me, hexagon. i’m sorry for everything. i promise that i was friends with you. i promise that i miss you. i promise that i love you. i have your pacifier here with me. when i get home, i’ll give it to you. what? what about home? oh… it’s with all of you…”
she paused and laughed a hollow laugh. “i’m going insane, talking to nobody over the phone…”
“you all mean so much to me,” hexagon continued, ignoring that thought. “i thought i would achieve my dream by coming here, but something seems wrong. without you, without trapezoid, without pentagon… this place is just like geometropolis, but it doesn’t have you in it. it isn’t home. it doesn’t feel like it…”
she looked out at the horizon. the sky was dimming. “just like my geometropolis, this geometropolis is gray and placid and calm. it’s all math. it’s all peaceful. and there are shapes here. wonderful, colorful shapes. perhaps i could get to know them… but i already know you. you are the color in my dull life. it’s strange to be without you.”
hexagon put the pacifier back in her mouth and smiled. “i’m keeping your pacifier safe. i hope you do the same with my ukulele.”
she furrowed her brow defiantly. “i’ll be coming to get it soon.”
…
“i already miss hep,” parallelogram sighed.
kite chuckled. “and you already have a nickname for him, clearly.”
“what? he’s one of us.”
yim yum, minus heptagon, was resting in their cabin.
oval smiled. “you’re right… and y’know, i’m more than happy sticking here for a few more days, but i’m curious as to why origin wants that.”
“what do you mean?” kite asked.
“he said something about never knowing what the extra days are for… like, since hexagon won in the first 16, why are there four more? he wants to know if something’s supposed to happen. but why doesn’t he already know?”
“y’know, origin is so strange to me,” parallelogram said. “i don’t think he has ill-intent at all, but i do feel like there’s a lot he isn’t telling us. who is he? what is he? what’s really going on with möbius strip?”
“are you sure he knows?”
parallelogram just shrugged.
the cool kids and group two were hanging out in their respective cabins, continuing to catch up after everything.
helvetica was in their own. well, helvetica minus hexagon. her bed was occupied only by her ukulele.
“hey, octagon,” trapezoid spoke up, “can i talk to you?”
“...sure,” she replied.
“...about hexagon.”
octagon sighed.
“look, i know that what she did hurt you. i understand completely… but do you really think she was planning it the whole time? i can’t guarantee with 100% certainty that she was really your friend, but you heard what she told you. you’ve been with her longer than pentagon and i have. do you really want to believe she never loved you?”
octagon averted her eyes. “but why else would she do that to me?”
“you said it yourself,” pentagon piped up. “she said she wanted to win, so she made sure she would!”
“but–”
“she was selfish. but that doesn’t mean she’s evil or anything.”
“and octagon,” trapezoid pointed out, “didn’t you just want to win at the beginning? at first you didn’t want to be friends with us at all. how would we know now that you didn’t become friends with us only to advance in the competition?”
octagon’s brows knitted. “i…”
“listen, i’m not really accusing you of anything. i’m just saying that you can’t really prove it either way. but i love you, and pentagon loves you, so we know that you’re really friends with us. we know, even without proof. that’s part of what love is about.”
“but what if i was only using you? then you’d have been wrong the whole time.”
“so what?” pentagon said. “innocent until proven guilty!”
octagon blinked.
“you can certainly say hexagon betrayed you,” trapezoid continued. “you have every right to say that, and you have every right to be upset at her. but think about it. for a while, you thought she really was friends with you. you knew you were friends. heck, for all i know, it could turn out that she was manipulating you the whole time. but until you know that for certain, why give up the friendship you once had? why give it up over probability?”
“don’t i also have the right to not be friends with her anymore?”
trapezoid looked octagon in the eyes. “i know you don’t want that.”
“...no. i don’t.” octagon grabbed hexagon’s ukulele. “how long until she gets back?”
“i dunno.”
“i guess you’ll have enough time to learn how to play that!” pentagon exclaimed, smiling.
octagon didn’t smile back, but her face softened. she was still angry. she was still upset. but no longer at a traitor: now at her best friend forever.
the dark of night swept over hexagon’s eyes, but she was not asleep. she was standing in the middle of the field alone.
she’s gone, she thought. she’s really gone.
suddenly, hexagon noticed something sitting on the ground. as she approached, she realized it was octagon’s pacifier. her breath caught, and she squeezed her eyes shut.
you aren’t a monster, hexagon, she thought to herself. it’s just a competition. you had a reason to clinch the win for yourself. after all, do you really think möbius strip would have let you tie? no. you’re not a monster. you’re not a monster. you’re not a monster.
“but what if i am?” she asked aloud. she picked up the pacifier and held it gingerly, as if guilt poured out of it into her shaky hands.
“what if you’re what?” a voice asked.
hexagon turned around sharply to see star standing behind her.
“are you okay?” he asked.
“...huh? oh? i’m fine.”
“do you wanna come back to our cabin? it must be lonely sleeping all by yourself.”
“well… i first went to your cabin to check on you, but you weren’t there, so… i found you here!”
“hm.”
“now answer my question, dude! why are you out here? and how do you feel about the final?”
“...i was just taking a walk. clearing my head. and i dunno… it’s the final, i guess?”
“me personally?” star grinned. “i’m pumped! this is gonna be a lot of fun. i wonder what the challenge is gonna be! darn… hey, are you sure you’re good? i think you should get some sleep. tomorrow’s gonna be a big day!”
hexagon furrowed her brow.
“and hey, you can join square and i in our swag cabin if you’d like…!”
“...why are you talking to me?”
star blinked. “huh?”
“why are you asking me if i’m okay, or if i want to go to bed…? why do you care about what i’m doing?”
“...because you’re my opponent!”
“but you should be sleeping yourself! you should be making sure you’re okay! in any event, it’s better for you if i’m not!”
“you know i wouldn’t like that… it should be a fair fight! and either way, you’ve been so nice to all of us for the entire show, so you deserve the same.”
hexagon shook her head. “what’s the point of being nice to me? we’re supposed to be enemies.”
star smiled. “i think you know the point of being nice, bromeister. aaaaanyway… i dunno what you’re up to, but i’m gonna go to bed. feel free to come with… either way, good night and good luck! i’m sure you’ll do great tomorrow!”
he turned and began to leave.
“...wait,” hexagon blurted.
star turned, still smiling. “changed your mind?”
hexagon squeezed the pacifier tight in her hand. “...i’ll come with you. i need the sleep.”
…
“ARE YOU DONE YET?” möbius strip asked.
origin turned around. “just finished!” he had been generating the materials for the final challenge: three large rooms, each bedecked with a strange variety of items.
“THANK THE PRIMES. OKEY DOKE!!! GET THOSE GUYS OVER HERE.”
“sure, sir… hey, am i allowed to let the eliminated contestants out of the paradox so they can watch in person?”
“NO… THEY MIGHT INTERFERE.”
origin sighed. “okay… i’ll go get square, hexagon, and star…”
he first translated over to helvetica’s old cabin, expecting to find hexagon inside. he manifested a hand and knocked on the door.
“hello?” he called. but there was no response. upon opening the door, he found the cabin empty.
confused, he went over to square and star’s cabin and knocked on the door. when he opened it, he found hexagon asleep with the others. he was glad to see them all being chummy enough with one another to sleep in the same room despite being opponents.
“wakey wakey, eggs and bakey!” origin sang, rousing the contestants.
“indeed it is,” origin said gently. “rise and shine, everyone! the final challenge will start soon.”
hexagon opened her eyes suddenly, without any languidness, as if she hadn’t been asleep in the first place. she briskly got out of bed and followed origin outside, octagon’s pacifier in hand.
after a couple of minutes the three little polygons had arrived in the field, where möbius strip was waiting.
hexagon eyed the strange structures before her. “what are these?”
“THIS WILL BE YOUR FINAL CHALLENGE,” möbius strip answered. “AN ESCAPE ROOM!”
star and square exchanged glances.
“THERE ARE THREE IDENTICAL ROOMS BEFORE YOU, COURTESY OF TWINKLE. EACH OF YOU WILL BE LOCKED IN ONE OF THESE ROOMS, WHICH CONTAIN CLUES ON HOW TO ESCAPE. THE FIRST ONE OUT WINS THE RACE TO THE THIRD DIMENSION!”
hexagon balled her fist around the pacifier. this is it, she thought. you better make it count. you better make it all worth it…
“you all ready?” origin asked the contestants.
“YOU BETTER BE!” möbius interjected. “TWINKY, LET THEM INSIDE!!!!”
apparently, the doors to the escape rooms could be easily opened from the outside but not the inside; origin manifested three hands, which he used to open all three doors at once, letting all three contestants into their rooms. he promptly shut the doors after them, locking them inside.
“I SHOULD MENTION HOW THE WALLS ARE SOUNDPROOF, SO YOU WON’T BE ABLE TO HEAR EACH OTHER… OF COURSE, I’M LOUD ENOUGH THAT YOU CAN STILL HEAR ME, XD. NOW, WITHOUT FURTHER ADO, BEGIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
all three got to work.
star looked around. the items furnishing the room were odd: a radio; a tv; a remote; two chairs stacked one on the other by the wall; a rock; an empty picture frame. at first he just stood there gazing at his surroundings, but then he shook himself.
you gotta get going! he thought to himself.
square approached the empty picture frame first. on the bottom it had an inscription saying “104.3”.
“oh, that’s the classic rock station on the radio,” he realized. he smiled, thinking of droplet. “i bet star won’t know that, haha… anyway, what does it mean?”
then he glanced over and noticed the rock.
hexagon turned on the tv: the weather channel was on.
“another lukewarm day in geometropolis!” the shape on tv announced. “mid 60s, no precipitation, low winds. just another lazy summer day…”
hexagon noticed a little card sitting by the tv: it was one of those tv channel menus you find at hotels. weirdly enough, instead of just listing the channels, the menu had times written down, and the word “up” below all of them. next to channel 4 was “2:30”; next to channel 5 was “11:00”; next to channel 6 was “4:45”. hexagon squinted and glanced over at the radio, which said it was 10:37.
“am i really meant to wait half an hour to watch something on channel 5?” she asked herself, before picking up the tv remote. “maybe not…”
star was tossing the rock between his hands as he went about the room; he then set it down to more properly assess the chairs. they were stacked in the corner, so star removed the top one and set it down beside the other.
“can’t help but wonder what kinda clues would be on a chair,” he muttered. “i guess i can sit down on one? that’s something.”
he proceeded to sit down. and he proceeded to think. i don’t really know what i’m doing, do i? i’ve never been the type for this sort of challenge… i bet rhombus or droplet would be great at this. they’re both really observant. and so is heart. huh…
he grabbed the rock again and stood up, wandering around more. star then spotted the inscription on the picture frame.
“what on earth is ‘104.3’ supposed to mean? maybe if i turn it over…” star recalled how, in school, heart used to type out 0.7734 and turn it upside down to say ‘hello’. “e-h-o-i? ehoi??”
star bit his lip. “guess i’ll just try sticking this number anywhere i can to see if it’ll do anything…” and so he made his way to the tv.
hexagon pressed the ‘guide’ button on the remote and flipped to channel 4; she then scrolled to see what was gonna be on at 2:30. “square roots and you.” she flipped to channel 5, and scrolled to 11:00. “integer interviews with cardioid.” finally, she flipped to channel 6, and scrolled to 4:45. “tessellation: will you ever find that special someone?”
she smiled at the last one. “hexagons can tessellate with a bunch of shapes… but anyway. square roots and you, integer interviews with cardioid, tessellation…” she put her hands on her hips. “what do i make of that?”
hexagon paused. “s, i, t… ah! sit!”
she put the pacifier in her mouth (to free up her hands), grabbed one of the chairs, set it down, and sat on it.
“...what now?”
square turned on the radio and flipped to 104.3; they were playing golden slumbers by the binomials.
“mm,” he murmured. “love this one… but what does the rock have to do with it?”
he bent down and picked up the rock. like almost all rocks, it was angular and gray. square gently tapped the radio with it, and nothing happened.
“rock… and roll? maybe i roll it?” square sent the rock rolling on the floor, but, angular as it was, it didn’t go very far. “darn. hm… i’ll come back to you later, rock.”
square put the rock down beside the radio, and made his way to the tv. he turned it on; it was on the city drive live channel.
“y’know, why do they call it city drive live?” he asked rhetorically. “geometropolis is barely a city, if it even is one.”
he began flipping through the channels, but ended up returning to city drive live. perhaps there was a clue in the channel the tv was set to at the beginning?
square decided to sit down as he watched. he clambered up the stack of chairs and sat on the top one. as he did so, one of his corners grazed the wall. he looked just north of him to see a tiny dent in that part of the wall.
“oops, did i make that?” square felt it with his hand, but realized it wasn’t the right shape to be made by one of his angles. he then heard a soft click as his hand brushed past it, but nothing happened. “is this… the keyhole?”
star had tested out 104.3 on the tv and the clock, but he soon realized that such a number wouldn’t do anything on those devices. he made his way over to the radio and turned it on, tossing the rock in one hand. he saw that the station had a decimal number.
“nice!!!” he exclaimed, pumping his fist in the air. but… which fist?
the rock went flying out of his hand and landed right on top of the radio, crushing it to bits!
“aaah!” star cried. “nooooo!!!” he frowned – he just destroyed what was likely an important clue! he wasn’t even able to get to the right station yet!
he put the rock aside and tried to put the radio fragments back together. then he noticed a gleaming gray piece he hadn’t seen before – a strangely shaped piece of metal.
“the key!!!!!!!!!!!!”
hexagon got up from her chair and picked up the channel menu again. “s… i… t… up? sit up? but i was sitting up…”
she glanced back at the chair she had been sitting in, which was in front of the chair it had been on top of.
her eyes brightened. “i guess i wasn’t sitting as ‘up’ as i could’ve been!” she put the chair back over the other, which she then sat on again. now her top edge was right up against the north wall, where she felt a little notch and heard a little click.
“ah! so there’s the keyhole! hm, now where’s the key… i suppose i haven’t looked at the picture frame yet, have i…”
she got down from her perch and approached the empty picture frame. “104.3,” she said to herself. “sounds like a radio station! i’ll try that out…” and from there she approached the radio.
square was pacing around the room. “key, key, key… where in primes’ name is that key…”
suddenly he tripped over the rock. “i hate rocks!!!!!!!!!!!!!” he cried. he then picked himself up again and chuckled. “funny that i like rock music, then…”
he turned and glared at the radio, which was still playing the binomials. now they were on let it be.
“are they doing twofers? nice.”
square proceeded to go around the room and sort through every item, to see if he could find any trace of the key.
“nothing behind the picture frame… nothing behind the clock… nothing behind the chairs… nothing behind the tv…” he picked up the radio. “nothing behind the radio either… ugh!”
hexagon turned the radio to 104.3 and listened closely. “the binomials… this must be a rock station. or maybe it’s specifically for 70s songs? i guess i should listen for the next song to make sure.”
lucky for her, the song was just ending. then arithmetic idiot by green day came on.
“okay, this is definitely not a 70s station! it must be a rock station after all. maybe that explains…?”
hexagon picked up the rock by her feet.
star, meanwhile, was still overjoyed from his happy little accident. he went over to the door, expecting to find the keyhole there. however, there was none. he scratched his head and turned around.
“oh, keyhole!!! come out, come out, wherever you are!!!!!!”
he noticed a teeny-tiny dent in the wall behind the tv.
“gotcha!” star shoved the key inside, but nothing happened. the dent was too small for the key. “i guess this isn’t it…”
he began to stick the key into any little nook and cranny he could find… and still nothing worked.
square was annoyed. square was frustrated. at this point, he didn’t care if he didn’t win; he just wanted to get out of that stupid room! he picked up the rock and threw it at the door. the rock bounced off and flew past his face.
“haha! you didn’t get me this time, rock!”
crash! then it hit the radio.
“...oh.”
square groaned and sat down, defeated.
hexagon steadied the rock in one hand. “well, there’s rock on the radio… so i’ll put a rock on the radio!” with that she threw it down onto the radio, which burst into pieces. a glimmer of light reflected off of one of these pieces, catching hexagon’s eye. she then grabbed it in her hand. it was the key!
“yes!” she exclaimed, scaling the chairs once again. she stuck the key in the dent in the wall, and it fit all the way inside.
click!
hexagon ran to the door, which was now unlocked. she slammed it open and ran outside. there was no sign of square or star. she took the pacifier out of her mouth.
“yes!” hexagon cried. “yes, i did it! i won, i really won!!!!!!”
“congrats, hexagon!” origin cheered, clapping with manifested hands.
“you really did win,” möbius strip said, translating near her. “...what did i say would happen?”
her eyes widened.
meanwhile, star was fiddling with the key near the chairs.
“this teeny-weeny hole won’t work… ah, how about that one?” he clumsily shoved the key into a dent in the wall.
click!
“wait… was that it?”
star turned around and approached the door. and wouldn’t you know it, the darned thing was unlocked!
“huh!”
he left his room and saw hexagon standing outside her own. she had… a mortified expression?
“i guess i didn’t win, did i?” star said to himself, smiling slightly.
“you got second place, though!” origin said. “that’s wonderful!”
star noticed that the big shape had his camera lens on. “hey, can the eliminated contestants see me right now?”
“they sure can!”
star beamed. “hi guys!!! hi heptagon, and parallelogram, and oval, and rhombus, and droplet, and… and heart.” his face fell slightly, but only for a moment. “i’m a winner.”
“no you’re not!” a voice behind him cried. “hexagon’s right there!”
star turned around. it was square, who finally made it out. star grabbed him and gave him a hug. “this guy’s a winner too, guys! we’re all winners!!!”
square chuckled and pushed him away. “you’re an idiot.”
“at least i solved that escape room before you did!”
“then we’re both idiots.” and then square hugged him back.
“winners? idiots? we have so many titles, it’s insane.”
origin glowed, happy to broadcast this to the paradox.
“HEY TWINKLE!” möbius called. “STOP FOCUSING ON THE LOSERS. GET A LOAD OF THE WINNER!!!!!!”
origin begrudgingly did as his boss said. square then looked over and noticed hexagon’s expression.
“i think…” he mumbled, “i think something’s wrong.”
star and square followed origin.
“AND SO WE CONCLUDE OUR STORY,” möbius began once origin arrived, speaking mainly to the eliminated contestants. “AS A WISE MAN ONCE SAID… FINDERS KEEPERS, LOSERS WEEPERS. DON’T CRY ABOUT LOSING. CRY ABOUT BEING DUMB ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY TO BEAT YOU. CRY ABOUT BEING GULLIBLE ENOUGH FOR SOMEBODY TO TRICK YOU. CRY ABOUT BEING STUPID ENOUGH TO BELIEVE FRIENDSHIP IS REAL. ONLY THE REAL GENIUSES, LIKE HEXAGON HERE, CAN TRULY WIN A COMPETITION. ISN’T THAT RIGHT, HEXAGON?”
hexagon was shaking. she said nothing.
“YES. SHE WAS ALWAYS GOING TO WIN. THAT’S HOW LIFE WORKS. LOL! SUCKS TO SUCK, LOSERS!!! IN A FEW DAYS YOU’LL GO BACK TO YOUR REGULAR LIVES, YOUR PATHETIC LIVES. MAYBE ONE DAY A CHANCE LIKE THIS WILL COME AGAIN. WOULD YOU DESTROY EACH OTHER OVER IT? DESTROY YOURSELVES? HISTORY DOESN’T LIE. YOU WILL NEVER SEE THE LIGHT OF DAY AND YOU KNOW IT, YET YOU KILL TO HEAR THE OPPOSITE TOLD TO YOU. YOU SCUM. YOU WRETCHED, PRIME-FORSAKEN SCUM. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE LIE WHILE IT LASTED. I HOPE YOU ENJOYED THE SHOW.”
square and star stepped closer.
“möbius strip?” square gasped. “the hell?”
“SAY GOODBYE TO THIS CRUEL AND UNUSUAL WORLD, HEXAGON! THAT’S ALL, FOLKS!!!”
hexagon stared at origin as möbius descended upon her, clutching the pacifier she held. “octagon, i–”
FLASH! möbius strip opened into a strip… a 3D strip.
möbius and hexagon disappeared.
the race for the 3rd dimension was over.
hexagon had won.
…
“what do you think she was about to say to you?”
“i don’t know. i don’t care. she’s gone anyway. it’s all over.”
“hey, guys?” origin piped up. “i’m gonna let you all out of the paradox. but the contract says you have to stick around on the show grounds for a few more days.”
“how many?” heptagon asked.
“four, i think? …okay everyone, get ready…” then origin began to buzz, and the eliminated contestants stuck to his edge. they all flashed out of the paradox.
star and square were still standing outside the escape rooms, stunned. the two had been accompanied by origin until he suddenly disappeared for the paradox.
square heard a buzzing noise, and turned around to see origin again – with everyone else! star followed his gaze.
“hi, winners,” origin greeted. “sorry for leaving you here before, i just had to make sure these guys were okay after… all that.”
“just for the record,” parallelogram spoke up, “we’re not.”
“anyway, star, could you go get the grapher for me?”
star glanced at square, who nodded and ran back to their cabin. he soon returned with the remote.
“bombs away, origin,” he said.
origin released all of the shapes, and square blasted them all with a beam of light. as each got hit, their limbs returned.
“so that’s where it’s been!” rhombus exclaimed.
square then dropped the grapher and immediately ran into rectangle, circle, and triangle for a hug.
star, meanwhile, stood still. he was soon knocked over by droplet, heptagon, and parallelogram.
droplet grinned and glanced over at square. “you two are amazing!!!!”
star smiled and laughed.
heart was watching from afar. he took a deep breath and approached him.
“long time no see,” star said before heart could even open his mouth.
“hi,” heart replied.
“...i’m sorry for being a bad friend. i hope i’ve become a better person in the meantime.”
“i hope s-so too.”
star smiled. “i’ve learned a lot since i turned pink.”
“and i’ve learned a lot since i made you that way… hey, why don’t we start over?”
“yeah?”
“okay, so… hi! um, my name is h-heart.”
“hello, heart, nice to meet you! say, what do you like to do in your free time?”
“i like to sing and play video games. how about you?” suddenly heart’s face fell. “...i’m just now realizing that i’ve never a-actually known your hobbies. oh my primes…”
star grinned. “i don’t know what i like to do in my free time, actually. i’m finding out!”
“i guess you’re a new person to the both of us.”
“indeed i am!”
“i’ll see you around…! hey, i n-never caught your name, new f-friend!”
“it’s star.”
“star. i like it!”
“i like it too. wow, who knew we had so much in common.”
heart chuckled, beaming.
“square!!!” droplet exclaimed, running over to him. “you did so well!!!!”
square made room for her beside his other friends. “thanks! hey, wait a minute… droplet, are you thinking what i’m thinking?” he eyed star.
droplet giggled. “of course i am!”
square whispered what he had in mind to triangle, rectangle, and circle. the five of them crowded around star.
“you’re insecure, don’t know what for,” they began to sing. “you’re turning heads when you walk through the door~! don’t need makeup to cover up, being the way that you are is enough~!”
star groaned.
“everyone else in the world can see it,” they continued, kite and oval joining in, “everyone else but you~!”
“will you never let me live that down?”
“BABY YOU LIGHT UP MY WORLD LIKE NOBODY ELSE!” group two, yim yum, and the cool kids (minus star) all belted. “THE WAY THAT YOU FLIP YOUR HAIR GETS ME OVERWHELMED! BUT WHEN YOU SMILE AT THE GROUND IT AIN’T HARD TO TELL… YOU DON’T KNOW, OH-OH! YOU DON’T KNOW YOU’RE BEAUTIFUL!!!!”
they all collapsed in a fit of laughter, star included.
origin glowed as he watched them mingle and chat as the daylight faded. some of these contestants had a record of being bitter and frustrated with the challenge – which should reasonably have been heightened given those horrible things möbius strip had said! – but instead of whining and wailing they were happy. they were together, so they were happy.
“borromean rings indeed,” he said to himself.
however, not everyone was happy. the remains of helvetica were standing off to the side, not talking to their fellow contestants.
octagon’s face, as expected, was lined with anger, loneliness, and despair. seeing this, trapezoid tried to console her.
“want to take one of our nightly walks again?” he asked.
her face suddenly softened. “yes. please.”
pentagon took her by the hand. “then let’s go!”
heptagon approached origin as the three left for the forest. “um… is it possible for me to go home now?”
origin looked at him intently. “y’know what? i want to keep you guys around, just in case something happens in the next few days allotted in the contract. however… möbius isn’t around, so i’ll make an exception for you.”
heptagon’s face brightened. “you’ll take me back?”
“...i think it’d be best if you went by yourself. how about you go say goodbye?”
heptagon’s face suddenly clouded. “oh…” he inhaled sharply and went over to the other contestants.
the inhabitants of the paradox had given in and decided they’d do proofs to pass the time.
“it wouldn’t hurt,” parallelogram had said.
“okey dokey!” origin had replied. “so… who would like to volunteer to be proven?”
“me me me!!!!” pentagon had exclaimed, jumping up and down.
“okay… so pentagon, as you can see, is a regular pentagon. let’s name her vertices A, B, C, D, and E, going clockwise from her top point… now, if i inscribe a triangle in her, with vertices at A, C, and D–” with a flash a triangle appeared on pentagon, “–prove that this triangle is isosceles.”
triangle groaned. this is gonna be a long day.
and thus they all proceed to do proofs through the challenge into the night.
“pentagon and heptagon were annoying to solve,” triangle whined. “let’s do someone easy.”
“okay, how about you then?” rectangle suggested, nudging her.
“auugh.”
“sounds good to me!” origin said. “okay… so let’s label her top vertex A, right vertex B, and left vertex C… now, if side AB is congruent to side AC, prove that angle A is congruent to angle C!”
“...well, first we have our given information,” oval said. “side AB is congruent to side AC, because that’s given.”
“okay, then, we might be able to do CPCTC later on if we split her in half,” droplet suggested.
“WHAT?” triangle cried.
“she just m-meant a line that bisects you,” heart explained. “so angle A is bisected as well.”
“okay, so we’re making a bisector,” origin announced. “bisecting angle A, and dropping down to side BC on point… D.” this bisector then appeared.
“now that angle A is bisected, we have two new angles,” kite said. “angle CAD and angle BAD.”
“angle BAD?” trapezoid said. “i thought angle GOOD.”
pentagon chuckled.
“...then we can say that angles CAD and BAD are congruent, because that’s what a bisector does,” kite continued.
“and, well, we can use the reflexive property to prove that bisector AD is congruent to itself!” rhombus exclaimed. “which means that the two halves of triangle have a side, an angle, and a side in common!! SAS!!!”
“so the triangles are congruent,” heptagon said. “then you do CPCTC, and angles A and C are congruent.”
“hooray!!!!” origin giggled. “you got another one!!!!!!!”
“you people are such nerds,” triangle groaned. “and get this bisector off of me!!”
with a flash the bisector disappeared. “sorry! …okay, so who’s next?”
nobody spoke up.
“y’know, now that i think about it, proofs are actually really boring,” parallelogram said. “this stuff sucks.”
“you’re all very good at it, though!” origin pointed out.
“well yeah, because we’ve had to do it a billion times in school,” circle answered. “we all know how… even if we don’t want to.”
“really?”
“yes!” pentagon exclaimed. “and i hate school!!!”
“y’know, i got in trouble at school because i would fool around,” trapezoid said. “but that’s because it was so annoying! everything was memorization – memorize all of these equations and properties and whatnot! because that’s what your jobs are gonna be! equations and properties and whatnot!! and i had a horrible memory so every class was boring and stressful at the same time. living hell, that’s what it was.”
“yeah…” droplet concurred. “i get in trouble for doodling in class even though it’s the only way for me to pay attention.”
“wait a sec–” rectangle interjected, “i always thought i had all these fond memories of high school, but it’s only because square and triangle would convince circle and i to cut class. we’d just hang out and talk…”
“oh yeah!” circle piped up. “those were good times.”
“i only did well because i was scared my t-teachers would get mad at me if i didn’t,” heart admitted.
“does anyone here even like math?” oval asked.
after a moment, rhombus spoke up. “...i do.”
“i guess we shouldn’t be too surprised.”
“but i do wish it weren’t shoved in my face. it makes it a lot less fun.”
“okay,” triangle said, “so we can all agree that school sucks?”
“i guess so,” origin concluded.
“but don’t say that in front of the children!” trapezoid spoke in a hushed voice, gesturing towards pentagon and droplet.
“we already know it sucks!” they said in unison.
“...anyway, it’s not only school. our jobs are the same, it’s just that now we get paid to push pencils.”
“it isn’t all bad…” heptagon murmured.
“hm?”
“i mean… it’s kinda silly, but i like it. i like having a ‘boring’ life.”
parallelogram understood. “you don’t really find it boring, do you?”
“no. i don’t particularly enjoy math, but i’m fine doing it. it’s nice.”
“geez, you really weren’t the target demographic for this show,” triangle chuckled. “that’s unfortunate.”
“but as for the rest of you…” origin said, “no wonder you all wanted to win so badly. if i were you i’d do anything to get out of geometropolis.”
“so we’ve torn each other apart over it.”
“möbius strip definitely won’t let you guys forget it. sorry about that.”
“stop apologizing for him!” oval exclaimed. “goodness gracious, he’s messed you up as much as the rest of us.”
“how?”
“he forces you to do his bidding. that alone must not be fun, but especially for the eliminations? yeesh.”
“i mean… it isn’t that bad. i’m used to it at this point.”
“...what makes you say that?” parallelogram asked.
“i’ve been doing this for a long, long while. race to the 3rd dimension, i mean.”
nobody knew what he meant.
“anyway,” origin continued, “i suppose that’s it for the proofs. so what now? what are you all gonna do?”
“i’m not sure…” droplet said.
“well… you have the whole paradox to explore. you can do whatever you want.”
rectangle paused for thought. “...what do we want?”
nobody had a proper response to that.
“darn,” triangle muttered. “hey, what time is it?”
“i think it’s around midnight,” origin said. “we’ve been doing this for a while.”
“ugh.”
“i’m going to sleep…” heptagon mumbled.
“i mean, what is there for us to do?” oval asked. “we’ve already done proofs. we’ve already talked. we’ve already reconciled with one another a billion times over. there’s no challenge to watch… hey, origin, what’s tomorrow’s challenge? or… i guess… today’s? it is midnight.”
“um, there won’t be a challenge today,” origin replied. “möbius strip is gonna have me set up the stuff for the final challenge, and that’ll take all day.”
“so what will the final contestants do?” droplet asked.
“i guess they’ll be as bored as you guys are.”
“golly.”
“huh, i wonder who the final contestants will be…” rhombus muttered. “we didn’t see yesterday’s challenge, so we don’t know who’s up for elimination.”
“true…” trapezoid said. “as of now we have hexagon, octagon, star, and square. hey origin, what was yesterday’s challenge? if möbius tells you these things ahead of time you should know.”
“oh yeah,” origin replied. “it would’ve been a go-kart race. i wonder how they pulled that off without me making the karts…”
“so, hm, who would win at a go-kart race?”
“i would,” pentagon said.
heart laughed. “who of the remaining contestants would win at a g-go-kart race?”
“i mean, supposing they had to build their own go-karts…” kite mused, “droplet was the inventor. she had major influence on both star and square, so perhaps they had an upper hand.”
droplet nodded.
“at the same time,” rectangle pointed out, “hexagon and octagon are, respectfully… big nerds.”
triangle guffawed. “takes one to know one, tango!”
rectangle giggled. “you know what i mean. those two would be able to plan something smart, i’m sure.”
“they have been working well together!” circle added. “golly, helvetica always seems to pull through, huh?”
“indeed we do!” trapezoid concurred.
“because we’re the best team!!!!!” pentagon exclaimed. “i bet one of us won.”
“i wouldn’t put it past them,” parallelogram said.
the conversation didn’t end up going anywhere from that point.
“this is why i hate summer,” triangle groaned after a while. “at least during the rest of the year i have work or school or something to do. now we’re all stuck here doing nothing.”
“funny how this weird pocket dimension of nothingness evokes the same feelings as home,” rectangle said sadly. “why haven’t we all moved away?”
“we tried to.”
and then there was silence.
“triangle,” circle piped up after a moment, “if rectangle, square, and i didn’t sign up for race to the 3rd dimension, would you?”
“probably.”
“but you wanted us to sign up.”
“...yeah.”
“i mean, i only signed up cuz star w-wanted me to,” heart pointed out. “i could never just up and l-leave on my own.”
“but anyway,” rhombus said, “this would only be a vacation. 3rd dimension for a few days, and then back to geometropolis. say, origin, how long will the winner stay there?”
“uhhh i dunno,” origin answered. “möbius strip is in charge of that. he’s never told me.”
“but we’re presuming it’s temporary?”
“...i’d imagine.”
heart found this response unnerving.
“i knew someone in college who moved out of geometropolis,” oval said. “never heard from him again though. i bet he completely forgot this place existed.”
“were you friends with him?” droplet asked.
“no. i don’t think he had any friends, actually.”
“have any of your friends moved out?” kite asked.
“no… i guess not. not friends, anyway.”
“hm.”
“rectangle…” triangle murmured. “you know better than anyone how much square hated it in geometropolis. he could’ve moved.”
“well…” rectangle replied, “there’s probably a reason why he never told you guys. he’d never just leave you here.”
“screw us all, we’re too sentimental to get out of that hellhole,” parallelogram chuckled.
“hey, parry…” kite said, “at first you really didn’t wanna be here. why didn’t you sign up? what was keeping you?”
“i mean… well, it’s stupid. i was about to get a raise.”
“ah.”
“but i don’t care about that anymore. i’m glad i’ve gotten the chance to be here.”
“even though you hate the host and the way the show works?” origin asked.
“...yeah.”
“and even though you’re all bored as sin.”
“i mean…”
“maybe you should just go to sleep, parry,” heptagon muttered, having partially woken up. “none of you would be bored if you were asleep.”
“but i’d rather be awake to talk,” droplet said. “even though it’s far past my bedtime.”
“...and even though you’re all bored as sin,” origin repeated.
“i feel like you’re trying to prove a point, origin,” trapezoid said.
“i’m just trying to understand. do you folks like to be bored? or stressed out of your mind? both? i thought some of you guys hated each of those respective things. if you keep complaining about things, why won’t you change them?”
“there’s not much we could change,” triangle said. “in the challenge, or in here.”
“or in your regular lives?”
“or in our regular lives.”
“i mean, we do our best to change things for the better, when we can,” circle said, “but i guess in the end there’s only so much you can do. and you have to find a way to be content with it.”
“but you guys compared geometropolis to hell approximately a billion times!” origin exclaimed. “how could you be content with hell?”
“only the primes know,” kite said wistfully. “do we genuinely love our hometown? do we genuinely love this show? or are we just so used to them that we, chaining ourselves to one another, fool ourselves into thinking we love them?”
“ohhhhhhhhh!!!!!! just like borromean rings!!!!!!!!!!”
“...what?”
“oh, it’s a 3D thing. if i tried to explain it, it wouldn’t make any sense to you.”
“then how do you understand it?” rhombus asked.
“through my sister. she’s in the 3rd dimension… but anyway! i understand now: none of you are really connected to your current state, but through a proverbial brunnian link you are staying put. you cannot separate from one another.”
“...i guess?” triangle replied quizzically.
“whoever ends up going to the 3rd dimension will better understand,” rectangle said wryly.
“and who do we think that will be?” parallelogram asked.
“we’re still not sure of the finalists…!”
“but we will be in a couple of hours!” origin exclaimed. “i suppose you all should try to sleep: i bet this morning will be pretty crazy…!”
…
octagon lay in bed alone. she had never seen hexagon enter the cabin the night before.
“i swear i did not play hooky,” octagon sang to herself softly, “i just want to eat a cookie…”
she took the pacifier out of her mouth.
“i am a girl who’s oh-so sweet, but i just want a little treat…”
octagon held the pacifier with shaky hands and went silent.
“HELLOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EVERYONE!!!!!!!!” a voice sang. möbius strip, obviously, from the volume of his voice.
octagon jolted and fell from her bed.
“IT’S TIME FOR THE ELIMINATION!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”
she stuck the pacifier back in her mouth and wearily trudged out the door. she met the other contestants in the field.
all except hexagon.
star yawned. “oh, origin, you’re back.”
the big shape indeed was. “yes, i am! good morning…”
“SO… SQUARE, OCTAGON, AND STAR…” möbius said, “ONE OF YOU WILL NOT BE ADVANCING TO THE FINALS. WHO WILL IT BE…?”
octagon chewed her pacifier tensely, her brows furrowing.
“enough with the stalling, möbius,” square groaned.
“FINE. THE ELIMINATED CONTESTANT IS… OCTAGON!!!!!!!!!”
“DAMN IT!” octagon spat, her pacifier flying out of her mouth. square, star, and origin edged back at the sound of her voice. “DAMN YOU, MӦBIUS! DAMN YOU, HEXAGON! DAMN YOU EVERYONE!”
möbius crept towards origin. “now, twinky dink, if you dare disobey me today i will defy every law of physics to kill you.”
origin gulped. “...okay.” and he began to buzz.
octagon’s arms and legs disappeared, just as they had the day before. she started drifting towards origin.
“i’m sorry,” origin mumbled to her.
without another word the two disappeared.
“SO WE’RE DOWN TO THE FINAL 3!!!!!” möbius announced. “BUT WE WON’T DO THE FINAL CHALLENGE TODAY.”
“why not?” square asked.
“IT’LL TAKE A WHILE FOR TWINKLE TO PREPARE. SO JUST… I DUNNO, JUST GO OFF AND DO WHATEVER YOU GUYS NORMALLY DO.”
square paused for a moment before running over to helvetica’s old cabin. hexagon was sitting behind it.
“hexagon…” square said. “she’s gone.”
…
“and origin will be back,” rhombus started, “in 3… 2… 1…”
“I HATE YOU, HEXAGON!” a voice suddenly cried.
“...octagon?” trapezoid was confused and concerned, seeing origin appear with his friend and teammate. “octagon?? what happened???”
she approached him warily. “...i bet you were using me just like her.” octagon’s voice was shaky.
“octagon, what are you talking about?”
“don’t play dumb, trapezoid! didn’t you see? didn’t you all see how hexagon left me for dead?”
“huh?” pentagon edged towards them. “what do you mean?”
“in yesterday’s challenge!” octagon spat. “we could’ve tied and both made the finals! but hexagon ditched me at the last second so she could win! …i thought we were in it together…”
trapezoid didn’t know what to say.
“...i thought we were friends…” octagon began to cry.
“i’m sure she just–” pentagon started.
“don’t make excuses for her! what, are you in cahoots with her too, pentagon???”
“i don’t understand…”
“she only became friends with me because she wanted to use me as a tool. did you do that too? did you, trapezoid?”
“...i’m sure that’s not what really happened…” trapezoid murmured.
“stop dodging the question! were either of you ever actually friends with me?”
octagon seemed to not hear her. she glanced at the other eliminated contestants, who were all staring at her. with confusion? sympathy? “what are you all looking at?” she snarled.
they all averted their glances… except for circle. “i’m so sorry that happened, octagon,” he murmured.
she blinked at him. he did not approach, nor did he say anything more.
“but octagon…” trapezoid’s voice was low. “hey, why don’t you tell us the whole story?”
“...why don’t you know?”
“origin was here. we didn’t get to watch the challenge.”
octagon sighed. “oh, right. so, um… we had a go-kart race challenge and hexy – i mean, hexagon and i worked on our karts together. i thought we’d be able to collaborate well and make a good design – and we did! we’ve always worked well together. when it came to the race itself, the two of us were tied for first place the whole time. i knew this challenge was only supposed to have one winner, only one confirmed finalist, but… i thought that if we tied, maybe by technicality we’d both get immunity into the finals. i wanted us to be there together… so we stuck together – until star hit me with that weird remote thing, making my arms and legs disappear… of course, at that point i couldn’t drive anymore, and my kart stopped.” octagon’s breath caught. her voice trembled. “i yelled out to hexagon for help! but instead of doing something, anything, she just stared at me. and she left me. and she won. hexagon, my first friend in the world, betrayed me at the last second so she could win. she was using me. she was using me!”
trapezoid and pentagon were taken aback.
“what did…” trapezoid began slowly, “what did she say afterwards?”
“she said that she loved me. but i’m sure she was lying. she was lying.”
pentagon nudged octagon softly. “how about we rest, ‘kay?”
octagon sobbed.
“you have us,” trapezoid assured her. “i promise.”
meanwhile, the rest of the inhabitants of the paradox were discussing the coming finals.
“so our finalists are star, hexagon, and square,” rhombus said. “who are we all rooting for?”
“let’s go square!!!!!!!!” rectangle exclaimed.
“square! square!! square!!!” circle and triangle cheered in unison.
“hm,” droplet said. “i’m not sure whether to root for him or star. can i pick both?”
“sure,” rhombus replied. “why not?”
“how about you? who do you want to win?”
“...dunno. i think hexagon’s the most likely to win, but i’m not particularly partial to any of them.”
“i’m going for star,” parallelogram said. “he was a good teammate.”
“yeah,” heptagon agreed. “lovely guy…”
heart had been talking to himself. “i want star to win,” he finally announced, in a voice more confident – and loud – than he had anticipated. “i m-mean… i think star’s come a long way. i’d be really happy to see h-him find happiness for himself.”
“that’s fair,” kite said. “i for one am on the fence. i want to support hexagon, but…”
“you’re not sure about her?” parallelogram finished her sentence.
“yeah. for her to leave octagon behind is one thing, y’know, it’s just her desire to win in the moment, but i just can’t believe that it would be premeditated!”
“i suppose we can’t know for sure. what do you want to believe?”
“...i want to believe she was really friends with octagon. i mean, even for us it’s kinda disturbing to think that someone so nice and friendly and supportive would turn out like that.”
“y’know, ask me a week ago and i’d tell you that the competition could do that to anyone, even hexagon,” triangle said, “but now? no. i just can’t believe it.”
“i guess all of us cynics are being mind-controlled by all of these bright, sunshiney people,” parallelogram chuckled.
“i’m not a cynic! i was just guilty.”
“...what’s the difference?”
“anyway, i find it hard to have an opinion,” oval said. “i guess being co-host has forced me to be impartial…”
“i won’t believe that for a second!” circle exclaimed, nudging him. “your vote is on star, isn’t it?”
“...yeah…”
droplet glanced over at octagon, who was surrounded by trapezoid and pentagon. are trapezoid and pentagon rooting for hexagon? she wondered. how about octagon? i’m not sure if she has anyone else to root for…
“hexagon…” octagon muttered under her breath. “i hope you’re happy…”
