The moment Leafy got yanked out of the hot air balloon, she could feel the air trying to tear her apart. It wasn't just air resistance from falling; the day was a particularly windy one, and her form wavered like mad, threatening to remove her grip from Bubble's arm.

"LET GO!" shouted Bubble suddenly.

"WHAT??" Leafy almost couldn't believe she'd just said that, especially since the roaring wind made it difficult to hear.

"LET! GO!!" Bubble repeated. "OI'M MADE OF METAL, OI CAN PROBABLY SURVOIVE THE FALL! YOU'RE LOIGHT — YOU CAN FLOAT TO THE GROUND OIF YOU JUST LET GO!!"

In a different situation, Leafy might have argued. But the trees were approaching fast, and it was hard to think with the wind in her face. So she reluctantly released her grasp on Bubble, and almost instantly, the wind caught her. Just in time, too; Bubble smashed through the canopy, and if Leafy had held on for more than another second, the branches likely would have ripped her apart on the way down.

--------------------

II Taco was attempting to drag MePad through the Perilous Forest (apparently, his short-range teleportation was less accurate than long-range) when she heard an earthy THUMP nearby.

Intrigued but instantly on alert, she peered around a tree trunk to see... something sticking out of the ground. It looked like a gray ball with legs and arms. It appeared to be upside down. "What in the..." she began to mutter to herself. But, upon hearing another noise in the canopy above, she quickly shoved MePad into the nearest bush before diving in herself.

A green lemon leaf fluttered down from the treetops and carefully landed, immediately running over to the metal sphere. "You alright, Bubble?" they asked as they grabbed its legs and yanked the ball out of its hole. II Taco knew the plant to be Leafy from BFB, although she had never actually directly met her. And apparently the metal orb was named... Bubble? That couldn't have been right.

"Mostly," replied Bubble, her eyes trying to focus. "Moinly just dizzy. Oi think the only thing oi really injured is moi pride."

"Hey, it's been years since that long jump contest in BFDI. I can't blame you for forgetting how much harder it is to jump when made of yoylemetal. We all did."

"Oi suppose... you didn't hoive to keep holding on, though. You could hoive let go befoire you fell out of the balloon."

"Nonsense! I still see you as my friend, and even if I didn't, why would I just let someone fall to their death?"

"...well, thoink you."

A short, awkward silence followed. "So, uh," Bubble began, "where oire we? You know the IIverse better than oi do."

Leafy put her hand to her chin. "Well, the only forest that I know is around here is the Perilous Forest, so that must be where we are."

"P-Perilous Foirest?"

"Oh, I'm sure whoever named it has a sense of humor. I mean, I've never actually been in here before, but I'm willing to bet that there's nothing dangerous around!"

Debatable, II Taco thought to herself.

Suddenly, she heard something else approaching. It sounded like... screaming?

Apparently, the other two objects heard it as well. They looked around for the source, but it wasn't clear where the sound was coming from until something flew directly into Bubble's face. Emitting a surprised muffle, she fell over again before managing to push the offending object off of her face. "Whoit the heck?"

"Ow..." the object groaned, trying to stand up. Taco immediately recognized him as Paper. But what was he doing all the way out here?

"Are you ok?" Leafy asked him. Paper nodded, then spotted Bubble. "Oh! Are you from BFB? I don't recognize you."

Standing up as well, Bubble nodded. "Oi'm Bubble. Oi assume you're Paper, from Hotel OJ?"

"That's me!" Paper decided not to mention that Bubble did not look anything like a bubble. He rotated around to get his bearings. "Are we... in the Perilous Forest?"

"Yup. Whoit were you doing, floying through the oair like that?"

Scratching the back of his head, Paper chuckled. "That's a long story. I should get back, though. OJ's probably worrying about me, and he's already got enough to-"

Footsteps reached their ears. Engrossed by the arrival of Paper, Taco was caught off guard as a new object rushed into the clearing. "Paper! There you are, are you- oh!" the new object exclaimed upon noticing everyone else. "Leafy? Bubble? What are you guys doing here??"

"I could ask the same, Firey!" answered Leafy. Taco really didn't need the confirmation of a name this time, though — anyone could have easily seen he was a ball of flames.

Firey shook his head. "Hang on a sec." He cupped his hands around his mouth and called out, "OJ! HE'S OVER HERE!"

More footsteps, as well as the sound of twigs snapping. Taco nearly got flattened as OJ sprinted straight through her bush, somehow not noticing her or MePad. "Paper!!" one of the new objects exclaimed, wrapping him in a tight embrace. Taco froze when she realized it was OJ. "I'm so glad you're okay! Wait, are you okay? Are you hurt??"

"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Paper laughed as he wriggled out of the hug. "I'm not hurt at all. The wind carried right between several trees, so I didn't get scratched by any branches or thorns or anything."

"Thank goodness. You had me really scared for a-" OJ abruptly stopped. "Oh. Hi, Leafy. And, uh... Metal... Ball?"

"Bubble," Bubble clarified, reaching out a hand. "Oi'm from BFB. You're OJ? It's noice to foinally meet you!"

OJ took her hand uncertainly and shook it. "Thanks?" He looked around at the crowd. "So. Um. What in the world is going on here? I was not expecting to see anyone else in the forest."

"Neither were we," Leafy agreed. "We thought everyone other than our team were either in Goiky, or Hotel OJ. Also, isn't that a bit far from here?"

OJ winced. "Eh, it may n-not be a good idea to mention the hotel right now..." Paper stuttered.

Leafy tilted her head to one side slightly in confusion. "Why? Did something happen?"

"How about we all catch up while we walk back?" suggested Firey. "OJ and I ran quite a ways, and I'm sure you guys have your own story to tell."

"Yeah, we fell out of a hot air balloon!"

"What."

Bubble held a finger up. "Er, Foirey, did you set something on foire?"

"I don't think so, why?"

"Because oi smell something burning."

Taco realized she could smell it too. Much more strongly, in fact. With a start, she realized that a corner of her lettuce was aflame, as well as a bit of her bush — Firey must have just barely brushed it as he passed by earlier. Without thinking, Taco leapt out of the leafy cover (shoving MePad out the other side with her feet as she did so), and quickly rolled once in the dirt to ensure that she was properly extinguished. She stood and brushed herself off before remembering that she wasn't alone.

She froze. Firey, Leafy, Bubble, OJ, and Paper were all staring at her with a mixture of confusion (from the former three objects) and shock (from the latter two). The final three competitors from the first seasons of their respective shows, all standing near each other. Well... it appears I'm in a bit of a pickle.

"...Taco," muttered OJ through clenched teeth.

Taco cleared her throat. "Hello again. This was... an unexpected meeting, to say the least."

OJ didn't respond to this, clenching his fists tighter instead. "OJ," Paper warned, placing a hand on his shoulder. "Don't do something you'll regret."

The citrusy drink closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, slowly letting his hands unclench. While keeping her eyes forward, Taco began to inch backwards slightly, with the hope that she could perhaps make it to MePad and teleport anywhere else. Anywhere but there.

"Who's that?" Bubble whispered to Leafy, watching the interaction with bewilderment.

Leafy leaned in to answer. "That's Taco, from this universe. In season 1 of Inanimate Insanity, she placed second and tried to steal the prize money from OJ, who won." She chuckled quietly. "When I first heard that, I would have asked what sort of person would do that, but... you know."

"Microphone told me, you know," OJ said to Taco out of the blue. The Mexican food froze again. "A couple days after she was eliminated."

"...and?"

"I-" He sighed. "I don't know. There's a lot of things going on right now, and I really don't need you to be-"

Behind them, Firey suddenly stumbled. Leafy and Bubble turned away from the conversation to see him leaning against a nearby tree, using his hand to keep him from setting it ablaze. "Firey?" Leafy questioned. "What's wrong?"

Firey waved her off. "I'm fine. Just..." He kneaded his forehead slowly. "All that running just made my headache worse. But I'm good. It'll go away."

Bubble's pupils shrank to tiny dots, and her gray surface somehow got paler. "H-h-h-headache?"

"Yeah, why?"

The metal sphere stepped back, terror clearly written on her face. "We- we need to leave," she said to Leafy?

"What? Bubble, what's-"

"NOW!"

Leafy jumped slightly; she wasn't used to Bubble speaking so forcefully. Bubble turned and tried to sprint away but immediately slammed into Taco. "Oof!" she complained, both objects rolling through the bush behind and hitting something hard.

"Woah, what was that about?" Paper exclaimed.

"I- I don't know!" Leafy tried to explain.

A few feet away, Taco groaned and sat up, instantly coming face-to-face with another entirely new object. This one appeared to be a living stone, with legs but no arms, and a curious but joyful expression. "Who are..."

She suddenly realized she and Bubble were lying on top of MePad. This is my opportunity. Quickly, Taco reached for his home button and pressed it without a second thought, transporting her, Bubble, and Rocky away to a destination unknown.

--------------------

Vwoop! MePad and co. almost materialized in the wall of a building. II Taco leapt back when she saw this; she'd nearly done it once or twice before, when getting used to using MePad's teleportation, but fortunately she still had all her body parts.

Ten seconds of observation could save my life, she mused, before doing a quick 360. It was immediately obvious that she was now in Goiky — the lava-scorched terrain was a dead giveaway. What's more, it appeared that MePad had taken her behind the singular building on the entirety of the plains (the one on the patio). Good, a bit of cover.

"Urrrgg..."

Taco turned to see Bubble wobbly getting to her feet. She'd momentarily forgotten that there was a second passenger in the teleportation this time around.

With a jolt, she remembered that there had actually been three passengers. She kept turning just in time to see Rocky tap MePad's home button with his foot. "No!!" she cried, lunging forward, but too late — with another vwoop, MePad vanished once more, taking only Rocky with him this time.

--------------------

OJ blanched at their disappearance. "Where- where did they go??"

Beyond bewildered, Leafy put her hands on her head. "I don't know! I didn't even realize MePad was there! I thought he went missing a few days ago!"

Someone tapped Paper on his shoulder. He turned around just in time to see Firey step towards him. But that was the last thing he saw as the flaming object grabbed him and tore him in half with a deft rip.

"PAPER!!" shrieked OJ, stunned at what he'd just witnessed. So stunned, in fact, that he would have died had it not been for Leafy. She wrapped her arms around the drink and yanked him away just as Firey swung a bandaged fist at the spot he'd been standing.

"Firey!" Leafy yelled, angry beyond belief. "What is WRONG with y-"

She choked on her next words. Firey turned towards her, and he wore an expression of pure hate. His eyes were red, and what's more, his flames now had a noticeable scarlet tinge to them. An old memory resurfaced in Leafy's mind's eye; she'd only seen something like this once before, and it wasn't good. "Oh my tree," she whispered in disbelief.

Firey took a step towards them and she suddenly snapped back into reality. Not wasting any more time, Leafy grabbed OJ's arm and yanked him away as she ran, forcing him to stumble along. "Wh-where are we going?" he stuttered. "What about-"

"We can recover him later! Right now, we need to get OUT of this highly flammable environment!! Are we going the right way?"

OJ tried to clear his head for a moment. "A little to... uh, the left, then we'll be heading straight for the mansion. You can't miss it when we exit the forest."

Not questioning what mansion he meant, Leafy corrected their course and left Firey in the dust.

Now, Firey was a fast runner. He could have easily caught up to them. But instead, he decided to do something else entirely. He raised his hands to his head until his bandages lit up, then placed his burning limbs onto the nearest row of bushes. They instantly burst into flames and the fire rapidly started spreading.

He smiled, and leisurely strolled in the direction Leafy and OJ fled as the trees around him began to burn.

this

this is

this is the 100th overall chapter in the Crossing Over saga

what the fuck

🎉